perce Posted September 7, 2019 Report Share Posted September 7, 2019 What's happened to the annual rumour mill? The 4rt has had 15 years in production, will 2020 bring us a set of shiny new decals or a radical new model? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
midlife Posted September 7, 2019 Report Share Posted September 7, 2019 No change Why go to all the expense of changing all the tooling needed to make a trials bike when you can still sell a new 15 year old bike. They will prob be making more money now per year than when it first came out. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmyl Posted September 7, 2019 Report Share Posted September 7, 2019 Above is all very true and some bits are 315R bits so even longer then 15 yrs (First 315 was 97!!) Maybe it would be nice to see something radical but would that be at the possible expense of the legendary durability. I guess Hondas ethos is that they treat every bike they make the same with a full road legal kit, workshop manuals etc etc. With Bou winning on a very special "std" bike and the rest of the range selling in reasonable volumes plus the 4ride as you say the economics in reality say they are doing the correct thing.(head ruling heart unlike maybe some of the other manufactures that are struggling) Maybe HRC could do what the car giants do with the likes of AMG/Brabus/BMW M models. Arbarth etc and produce a limited Full factory (nearly) bike but would probably be £15K. In realty the 300RR performance wise is very good - only drawback against the 2ts is the weight but to reduce that either adds bucks or reduces reliability - Maybe a 4 speed, single plate clutch, reverse cylinder, carbon exhaust and new decals Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Reggie Posted September 8, 2019 Report Share Posted September 8, 2019 Completely agree with the economic argument and Bou's performance. But I'm still watching and waiting to see what the new model looks like ?. Half of me wants to see something radical, half of me doesn't want to think that my 2016 model is old news.....the other half of me wants to buy a new 2019 300RR cheap when its essentially the same as a 2020! With 3 models and a chunky price difference across the range, HRC do have scope to push the envelope a little, particularly with the 300RR. When you consider that many of the components are bought in units - forks and shock - Tech, Showa etc. - who have their own R&D and so some development opportunity comes from the supply chain. I also like that there are plenty of aftermarket upgrades around for the Mont - I think the HRC ethos encourages this. I take comfort from the fact that the 300RR's shorty brake lever fits nicely on my bike and am saddened that an Italian exhaust manufacturer has whipped 1100 quid out of my pocket ? Long may it continue. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonnyc21 Posted September 9, 2019 Report Share Posted September 9, 2019 When they do, my guess is that it will be an E-Bike... and at this point there isn't quite the market to justify that yet from what I have seen. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riffraffretro Posted September 10, 2019 Report Share Posted September 10, 2019 As above, really. I guess that until Bou starts struggling against the competition on the RR (yeah, almost sounds funny, doesn't it?), HRC and Honda have no real incentive to push ahead with new model development. I think that sales of the 260, 300 and 4-Ride are pretty stable, again making justification for a new model difficult financially... just imagine the return on investment that Honda is seeing now, so many years after the initial roll-out of the model range! Interesting times for sure. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duggan Posted September 10, 2019 Report Share Posted September 10, 2019 It’s been ahead of the game all along 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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