Even if Cannondale executes flawlessly on their motorcycles they are jumping into a very crowded market with many players, most with long-term experience and R&D. Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki, and Yamaha (the Big Four Japanese makers) plus the smaller manufacturers, most in the low-production/high-price niche Cannondale wants: ATK, KTM, Husaberg, and several more I don't remember.
I have a hard time looking at the new Yamaha 400 and the Husaberg line and figuring out where Cannondale comes in, even if they do everything right -- and even the Big Four take several years to perfect a new model. I just couldn't bring myself to short Cannondale at the time. Oh, well.
Furthermore, the pre-release information shows nothing revolutionary about the new bike, which was (to me) their last hope of trumping the existing market. In fact, the mountain bike industry has been living off of imported off-road motorcycle technology for some time, so I should have seen this coming.
My prediction: they will _never_ make any money in off-road motorcycles, but will spend a lot trying. Too bad for them.
Steve |
