After a great start to summer, the weather throughout August was a bit of a let down with cooler temperatures along with some wind and rain courtesy of the back end of a hurricane on the other side of the Atlantic. The weather however, failed to stop the growth in new two wheel registrations as August saw another rise when compared with the same month last year in the UK.
After a big jump in July, the amount of growth was a little more modest in August with registrations rising by a total of 6.6%. This equated to an additional 435 new machines on the road in August, with the market 10.9% up overall this year so far. The motorcycle sector saw a 7.4% rise, and there was also a small, but none the less welcome increase of 1.8% in the moped sector. This brings the struggling 0 – 49cc moped sector almost back on par with where it was this time last year.
The naked bike segment again exhibited the strongest level of growth, with 1,619 new units registered this August when compared with 1,312 last year. This equates to a 23.4% increase. There was also a 14.4% increase in the sales of new sport touring models, and 11.5% rise in custom sales and 8% in higher powered scooters. The adventure sport bike segment remained relatively flat, as did registrations of new trail & enduro bikes. Sales of supersport models fell by 3.6% (29 units) and touring sales dropped by 44.8% which equates to 74 fewer units.
The 0 – 50cc engine band saw a 2% rise in registrations this August when compared with the same month in 2013. There was strong growth in the learner legal 51 – 125cc engine band of 10.5%, equivalent to 305 additional new units on the road. The 126 – 650cc engine band, which covers A2 licence holders saw a small fall in unit registrations equivalent to 2.5%, but the 651 – 1000cc sector also exhibited strong growth with a 16% rise. Registrations of new machines over 1000cc fell by 1.7% for the month.
In terms of manufacturer performance, Honda retained its positions at the top of the tree with 1,134 new units on the road last month. Yamaha continue to retain 2nd place, with 973 new units sold whilst Triumph occupy 3rd with 402 new machines sold. Piaggio rise to 4th (376 units) with Kawasaki in 5th (325) and Lexmoto rising to 6th (287), followed by Harley-Davidson and BMW.
The highest registering model was once again the learner legal Yamaha YZF R125, which just last week topped an MCN test of sport styled 125 machines. The highest registering models by sector were as follows:
- Adventure Sport – Yamaha WR 125 X
- Custom – Harley-Davidson Sportster N 883
- Naked – Honda CBF 125 M
- Scooter – Honda PCX 125
- Sport Touring – Kawasaki Z1000 SX
- Supersport – Yamaha YZF R125
- Touring – BMW R 1200 RT
- Trail & Enduro – Honda CRF250 L
With an increase in 51 – 125cc bikes, as well as learner legal 125cc machines making up 4 of the above 8 most popular machines by segment, let’s hope that this is a sign that more new blood is coming into the industry as riders take their first ride on two wheels!
