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Scooter sales BANNED in Ontario now?

richardus

New member
Even though they had one at the show, try finding a single C650GT at an Ontario Dealership.
Try finding ANY scooters at an Ontario BMW dealership.
Did the execs ban them? Do they think sales are too poor?
If sales are so poor, why are there none in stock anywhere in Ontario? Not even a used one!
You can't even find a used one for sale on kijiji or anywhere.

Honda has no problem stocking scooters here, Suzuki is ok with it too.

What this will do is make scooter guys like me think about going to another brand when it's time to get a new bike.
I've even emailed management about it and got zero response.
I've asked about it in facebook BMW pages and got zero response.
Maybe I'll get zero response here too?
What's up?
 
Sadly I think the trend for most manufacturer is to stock / carry as little as possible in Canada or even North America for that matter.

i.e. Yamaha TMAX. My first Scooter, still my favorite, only thing I didn't like about it was the lack of ABS. (In hind sight I "could have" practiced more braking but in an emergency, I much rather have ABS) is not even available anymore. ABS version never came to North America even though they are still currently selling really well throughout the rest of the world.
Honda has cut Silverwing and Forza...
Suzuki Burgman only comes in 650 now (200cc only lasted one year I think although it is actually a logical choice for anyone living downtown / midtown GTA)

I am not sure what part of Ontario you are from but I think downtown BMW had one in their showroom for what seemed like ages that they couldn't get rid of.

For a dealership any stock that sits cost them money so if they think this year their 310 line is going to move they are going to opt to have more of those and probably none or 1 C650 if they had a choice. Also I think possibly in part the upcoming 400 might have something to do with it.
(the 650's don't look as high tech when placed side by side with the newer 400)

I don't know, I've only rode mine for just over 1000km and so far it has been a love hate thing.
I want to put it on kijiji when I'm home or trade it in, but happy when I am on it (until I want to pass a slower moving car)
 
It certainly astounds me the stigma put upon these maxi scooters by the North American Market.

It's similar to saying "your car is automatic so.. it's not a REAL car"

The Europeans, Asians, Africans, and everywhere else looks at these bikes for their efficiency and engineering, not to mention their comfort and ease of use.
North Americans are still set on having BIG with lots of chrome sticking out everywhere, doesn't matter if nuts and bolts are flying out the back while rumbling down the road,
as long as it's big and noisy. They see a BMW Bagger hum by and can barely hear it as it purrs down the road. They say "That's not a real bike".

I know not everyone has this ideology but looks like the majority do as scooters are being pulled out of the market on this side of the pond.
Frustrating. I like highly engineered bikes that are quiet, reliable, easy to drive and outperform most of their competitors.

As for the Bike at BMW Motorrad in downtown Toronto. I know of the C650GT you were speaking of. I bought it. I took it all the way to the east coast and back. It was awesome.
It carried everything I needed for the trip without even needing a backpack. I was passing whole lines of cars and trucks without even breaking a sweat.
Looks like I picked up the last one in Ontario too so now I would say I own a "rare" bike. Should I choose to sell it one day I'm going to be asking a lot.
True, they haven't been selling over the past years, but it doesn't explain why today there are none left. And why everywhere I go, everyone walks right by the cruisers and
wants to look at my bike and ask questions about it. Everyone looks at it and thinks its cool, but nobody buys one.

I think markets change, and BMW should take that into consideration rather than just bailing out. They should still have at least one of these maxi scooters in every Motorrad show room.
They should make it mandatory for dealers to carry all their models. But... that's just my opinion and I'm not in charge.

And now with the release of the new 400, which would be a fantastic bike for any Urban commuter who likes to take weekend getaways to the country, nobody in Ontario is going to have the opportunity to decide if they want one or not. Because this new bike is not available. Shame. I guess they will be looking for Forzas, Burgmans, or something else for their urban commute machine.

As for me, I'll keep riding the C650GT for a few more years at least. It's a good bike, it's reliable and fast enough for my needs. When the time comes for a new bike, I can't promise I'll stay with BMW because they are no longer offering what I want. We'll just have to see if they change their tune when the time comes.
 
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