I will make it easier on Yamaha. Take the same basic design, reduce the weight by 75-100 lbs, increase power by at least 20%. Minor tweaks and suspension changes, and viola !! Instant best seller.
The FJ1200 was a money maker for Yamaha (same with the VMAX) because the same basic bike was in production for many many years. The design and production expensis were already paid for, so in later years they could make a good profit on the bikes, even if they sold in limited numbers. I remember a conversion with a VP of General Motors, who was asked what the best car was for GM from a financial point of view. His answers suprised me at the time: The Chevy Nova from 1968 to 1978, the Camaro from 1967/81 (1st gen) and 82/92 (2nd gen), and the Chevy pickup from 1988 to 1998. The Nova was basically unchanged (except for 1 major restyling) during the production run, so after 2-3 years in the begining, they made a lot of money on the car. Plus, the basic chassis was a Camaro with a sedan body, so it had many many parts in common with other models. Same for the 1st and 2nd gen Camaro, even though it sold in few numbers towards the end of each run. The Chevy pickup was a real money maker, because its sales did not ever really drop off towards the end of the run. And the Chevy small-block V8....he said the original design team back in the 50's should have a shrine built to honor them for their vision. Thats why Yamaha continued to sell the FJ1200 and Vmax. Same for Kawasaki and the Concours, and why the bike bore Ninja keeps coming back in various incarnations. As for the project that should have gotten the design team shot, he mentioned the ill-fated effort to convert the small-block V8 to diesel, and the Vega aluminum I4 engine. -----Original Message----- From: Thor Metzinger [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Tuesday, June 04, 2002 12:03 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: GTS vs. FJR1300 We all know they should revamp and update the GTS back into circulation. Times have changed. People want a high-power, smooth ride, luggage space, sport, tour, sporty-tour, quick acceleration, stopping power, light, easy, stylish, respectable two-up ride, great gas mileage, safety-feature rich, great lighting, smooth handling bike. We all know that the GTS served this purpose, now people are laying down nearly $23K+ for a BMW/Honda/Ducati tour bike...but come on...who want to ride a bus-bike to the local store, or to hop around town on errands for the HONEYDO list in a bike that needs its own reverse gear! If Yamaha would wake up and realize that they had the answer in 93-94, and improved it to compete with BMW/Honda/Ducati, electric windshield (very rider friendly) and a shaft drive (very reliable, quiet), HID lights, Optional riding lights, front/rear ABS, EFI, Options for new PIPES/CANS, GPS-LCD built in....Hell, Ill add one more cylinder for the fun of it, Inline 5, shave off 100+lbs, they would have a market killer....In metallic-eggplant purple (almost purple-black), A deep ocean blue-green, and of course Red - a nice Malbec. but here is the catch, they also need to shave it below $10K, that, that would be a bike that would fly off the show floor. List it for $9990.00 Sorry...I just had the most wonderful dream! THOR The information contained in this e-mail including any attachments may constitute Corvis Corporation Proprietary Information that is subject to Non-Disclosure Agreement and cannot be disclosed to any other party without the express consent of Corvis Corporation. If you are neither the intended recipient of this e-mail nor responsible for delivering this e-mail to the intended recipient, note that any dissemination, distribution, copying, or retention of this e-mail is prohibited. If you believe you have received this e-mail in error, we request that you notify the sender by return e-mail and then delete this e-mail and any return e-mail immediately.
