Another year ends and, just as the Christmas decorations are packed away under the stairs, the Motorcycle Industry Association has revealed the winners and losers of 2011 when it comes to two-wheel sales.
The big news is that it isn't as bad as we all expected. Yep the world has gone a bit pear-shaped, but new bike sales are only down 2.5 per cent overall compared with 2010. Not that 2010 was exactly a vintage year...
A total of 79,401 two-wheelers were registered in the UK in 2011, of which 18,962 were scooters. In fact scooter sales have leapt 20 per cent in 2011, probably to do with the cost of commuting and the fact that summer wasn't a total wash out.
The biggest selling 'big bike' class continues to be naked machines, selling 16,800 units in 2011 which is a drop of only 5.8 per cent on 2010. The top three are the Honda CBF125 with 2,275, Yamaha YBR 125 with 1,894 and finally a proper bike in the shape of Triumph's Speed Triple, with 757 units shifted. To be fair, lumping 125s in with the nakeds has skewed the figures slightly.
Sports bikes are still popular in the UK, making up the second best selling class with 12,851 sold, a drop of 9.9 per cent on 2010. The top three are Yamaha's YZF125 with 1,363, Honda's Fireblade with 1,121 and BMW's S1000RR with 887.
Finally, bringing up the rear are the good old adventure bikes, which sold 10,570 in 2011, a 13.6 per cent increase on 2010 and proving why every manufacturer is desperate to enter this market. 2012 sees a new Triumph Explorer, Kawasaki Versys 1000 and Honda Crosstourer to name a few of the highlights. What is their target - well what do you expect? BMW's GS tops the adventure class with 1,070 sold, the GS Adventure version second with 867 sold and the Triumph Tiger 800 third with 651.
It's not as bad as many predicted, but it still isn't exactly pretty reading. The big plus side is the number of 125s and scooters being sold. If new riders can be attracted to two wheels, then the future could be a bit brighter.