Bike sales plummet

TERRIBLE weather hit bike sales in November.

Only 5985 bikes were sold in the chilly climate, compared to 7069 in November 2001.

Even a resurgence in the middle of the month failed to turn things round – sales between November 10 and 20 were up 43 per cent on the same 10 days last year.

Some dealers started to feel the pinch so badly they were offering no-profit deals on new bikes simply to bring in cash to pay the bills. But market analysts suggest things have been recovering in the first couple of weeks of December.

Rob Hobson, editor of bike price bible CAP Green Book, said: " The NEC Show seems to have woken people up and got them interested in bikes again. "