Kawasaki KLV 1000

[-pero-]

Kawa and Suzuki link hands to battle the West

August 30, 2001

TOKYO - Two major names in motorcycling, Suzuki Motor and Kawasaki Heavy Industries, are to team up to face resurgent competition from Western rivals, a far cry from the heady days of the 1970s when Japan became the unrivalled industry leader.

The alliance of Japan's third-largest motorcycle maker Suzuki and the fourth-largest Kawasaki includes product development, procurement and production, but involves no equity tie-up, the companies said.

Marketing activities will remain separate, with both companies selling bikes under their own brand name through their own sales network.

"We decided to join forces to raise our profitability by reducing costs amid increasing competition in Europe, North America and Asia," a Kawasaki spokesman said.

The move comes as Japanese motorcycle makers face slack sales in Europe due to aggressive marketing by rivals such as BWM and sluggish demand at home because of Japan's prolonged economic slump and declining number of young people.

Market share held by the top four Japanese motorcycle makers, including top-ranked Honda and No.2 Yamaha in the growing European market, has fallen to 50% from 80% in the past five years, the Kawasaki spokesman said.

The share in the US market also has decreased by about 10% over the past decade, partly because of increased competition from US cultural icon Harley-Davidson, a Suzuki spokesman said.

Some 30 years ago Japanese motorcycle makers, blessed with cheap labour, battered foreign rivals such as Harley by mass-producing cheaper bikes, a similar path followed by Japanese car and electronics makers.

"Harley-Davidsons are even winning more popularity in Japan," the Suzuki spokesman said. "Given the tough climate, we decided to co-operate to strengthen," he said.

Under the agreement, Suzuki and Kawasaki will initially work in development and production of off-road motorcycles and large-engined scooters that need various models but sell relatively small numbers.

The alliance is in line with the cost-reducing efforts elsewhere in the industry. Yamaha said in July that it aims to slash costs by 30% by the end of the 2004/05 business year.

The industry is also looking to increase its presence in China and India, where industrywide sales are in high gear. China, the world's largest motorcycle market and India, the second-largest, are crucial battlegrounds for motorcycle manufacturers, especially the Japanese makers which rely on foreign markets to compensate for a nearly two-decade long slide in sales at home.

Japanese motorcycle shipments plunged to 774 000 units in 2000/01 from the peak 3.3-million in 1981/82, according to industry numbers.

Japanese makers also face piracy problems in China, where many of the 11-million motorcycles made last year were copies of Japanese designs, an industry watcher said.

"Our motorcycle exports to China in 2000/01 fell around 70% from a year earlier," the Suzuki spokesman said. "We hope the alliance with Kawasaki will help us better deal with the giant Chinese market." - Reuters

[gizmOkak]

sm jih vidu u Italy parkirana en zravn druzga (KLV&V-Strom) en je tipično oranžn, drug rumen in črn....pa je razlika med motorji občutna, zelo velika, kawa je celih 1.5 cm višja na predelu zedeža :lol1: lahko d je sam previd al pa je razlika v terenu ali nastavitvi "fedrov" ali "znucanosti" suze ali pač drugačnih pnevmatik :D :) Mater sam če gor ne piše Kawasaki al pa Suzuki jih res ne ločiš med sabo...

Popravljeno April 13, 2004. Popravil žan

[Dr. _MAXXI_]

A ga ima kdo v naših vrstah?

Me je začel resno mantrat .)

[Tiger]

Med V-Stromom in KLV ni čisto nobene razlike, razen v barvi okvirja,ki je pri KLV črn

in pa barvi plastike ki je pri Kawasakiju samo oranžna :?

Vse ostalo na obeh motorjih je povsem identično B)

L.P.

[urqlle]

Mater mene je tale motor cist prevzel, ga ma slucajno kdo iz motosveta??? Pa se cena je ZELOOO ugodna za 2 mio pa nekaj drobiza dobis veliko motorja se vam ne zdi???

[vajenc]

Test nosilcev za Kawasaki KLV 1000 in Suzuki DL 1000 V-Strom (Motorrad news, 01.2006):

Popravljeno December 17, 2005. Popravil vajenc

[renegade]

:OK: Ojla :OK:

V Sloveniji jih nas ima KLV-je kar nekaj - sicer pa si pišemo pod V strom forum , kjer boš našel tudi ostale lastnike Kawasakijev ali Suzukijev...

Hvala za pripeti sliki o testih nosilcev za stranske kovčke !

Mislim , pa da pri nas imamo večinoma Givi nosilce , saj so cenovno najbolj ugodni in tudi najbolj razširjeni (največ ljudi jih uporablja) . Jaz osebno sem kupil nosilce Givi za ceno 16,500 SIT - v TC Motoshop, kar se mi je zdelo kar poceni.

Pa lep pozdrav !