2017 Australian Motorcycle Sales Figures Q1 | Road

Australian Road Motorcycle Sales – Harley still #1 – Sportsbike sales abysmal

2017 January-March (Q1) Australian Motorcycles Sales Figures

2017 Jan-March Motorcycle Sales Overview – 2017 Jan-March Off Road sales overview by brand

Harley-Davidson #1 – 2261 sales

Harley-Davidson continues to enjoy #1 status in road bike sales. The iconic American brand was only down 1.1 per cent, selling 2261 new motorcycle in the first three months of 2017. The best performer was the Softail Breakout with 352 sales putting it ahead of the learner legal Street 500, of which 322 hit the streets. The Night Rod Special was also a very strong performer with 254 sales, ranking it as seventh biggest selling motorcycle in the country.

Harley-Davidson's Breakout has been a raging success. Pictured here is the top end CVO Pro Street version of the Breakout — Harley-Davidson’s Breakout has been a raging success. Pictured here is the top end CVO Pro Street version of the Breakout

Honda #2 – 1943 sales

Honda is second in road bike sales but suffered a marked 18.3 per cent drop in sales. Sales of the NBC110 were down 38.9 per cent but the Australia Post contracted machine was still the nations biggest selling motorcycle. Honda’s new Grom helped Honda’s result considerably with 294 sales making it Australia’s fourth biggest selling motorcycle thus far in 2017. Africa Twin sales have pegged back a little since its stellar debut but the well polished machine still leads the adventure category with 191 of them hitting Australian roads. The CBR500R and CBR300R are still doing well, 221 and 131 sales respectively.

Honda’s new Grom helped Honda’s result considerably with 294 sales making it Australia’s fourth biggest selling motorcycle thus far in 2017

Yamaha #3 – 1455 sales

Third placed Yamaha also took a hit in the road bike market, down a similar 18.2 per cent as their Big Red rival. MT-07 sales dropped after a stellar debut in 2016 but what is arguably the best learner legal motorcycle in Australia still made the overall top ten with 250 sales. MT-09 sales were up 25.9 per cent, 219 sales making it Yamaha’s third strongest road bike model. The YZF-R3A is the biggest selling motorcycle for the tuning fork brand across all categories, and with 279 sales is the nations fifth highest selling model.

The YZF-R3A is the biggest selling motorcycle for the tuning fork brand across all categories, and with 279 sales is the nations fifth highest selling model

Kawasaki #4 – 1097 sales

Kawasaki sold 1097 road bikes this quarter, down 23 per cent on last year. Increasing competition in the learner market has reduced sales of the Ninja 300 markedly, but the handsome starter bike remains Team Green’s biggest selling motorcycle, 268 sales is 40.8 per cent down on 2016 but still good enough for the model to be the sixth best selling road bike in Australia. Despite recording only 54 sales, the ZX-10R was the best selling Japanese big-bore sportsbike, that figure underlining just how small the sportsbike market now is in Australia.

Kawasaki ZX-10R is Australia's biggest selling Japanese sportsbike — Despite recording only 54 sales, the ZX-10R was the best selling Japanese big-bore sportsbike, that figure underlining just how small the sportsbike market now is in Australia

Triumph #5 – 658 sales

Triumph did relatively well, down only 6.5 per cent on 2016 figures, 658 of the British brand’s machines leaving showroom floors this quarter. Star performers were, predictably, the handsome Thruxton, which was outsold only by its more affordable T120 sibling. Triumph is placed fifth on the road bike charts in Australia.

Triumph T120 Bonneville is a good seller for the British brand

BMW #6 – 618 sales

BMW sales have been very strong in recent years but even that incredibly strong brand has taken a battering in 2017. BMW are down 27.4 per cent after selling 618 motorcycles in the first quarter of this year, compared to an impressive start in 2016 which saw them shift 851 machines. GS sales have kept their ground however, with R 1200 GS and GS Adventure sales remaining quite strong. 181 of the big boxer adventure machines have hit the streets so far in 2017. The BMW S 1000 RR is also Australia’s biggest selling big-bore sportbike with 78 of them finding new homes thus far in 2017, one of the very few sportsbikes to actually buck the downward trend this year.

BMW S 1000 RR is Australia’s biggest selling big-bore sportbike

Suzuki #7 – 615 sales

Suzuki was next on the charts, down 16.1 per cent to hold seventh place in the road bike rankings. Sales of the outgoing GSX-R1000 improved, with 48 of the machines finding a new home ahead of the impending arrival of their all new sports flagship during the next quarter.

The arrival of the 2017 Suzuki GSX-R1000 in the next quarter should help Suzuki's fortunes — The arrival of the 2017 Suzuki GSX-R1000 in the next quarter should help Suzuki’s fortunes

Ducati #8 – 412 sales

Ducati ranks eighth, down 12 per cent compared to the first quarter of 2016. The 959 Panigale is a highlight for the Italian manufacturer, 70 sales making it Australia’s second biggest selling big-bore sports machine. 44 Multistrada 1200 machines found new homes.

Ducati 959 Panigale is Australia's #2 selling big-bore sportsbike — Ducati 959 Panigale is Australia’s #2 selling big-bore sportsbike

KTM #9 – 330 sales

KTM took a hit in their road bike sales, down 23.1 per cent after recording a healthy 330 sales during the first quarter of 2017. The RC390 learner machine was the top selling roadbike for the Austrian brand, making up almost a third of their road volume. The 1190 Adventure R was the most popular adventure machine in the KTM line-up, with 48 of them hitting the roads so far in 2017. KTM is the ninth biggest road bike brand in Australia.

Australian Motorcycle Sales Data | Off Road by Model

January 10, 2018

Motorcycle Sales Figures 2017 | Road By Model

January 10, 2018

The RC 390 makes up a third of KTM's roadbike sales volume in Australia — The RC 390 makes up a third of KTM’s roadbike sales volume in Australia

Indian #10 – 154 sales

Indian rounded out the road bike top ten with 154 sales, the Roadmaster registering 20 of those sales.

Indian sold 20 Roadmaster machines in the first three months of 2017 within Australia

It should be noted that some brands such as MV Agusta, Royal Enfield and Benelli are not FCAI members and thus their sales figures are not officially audited and not included in these sales results.