Grab a finance deal as sales plummet

Motorcycle sales have been hit hard in the recession. By July 2009, as the ‘credit crunch’ bit, new bike registrations were already 27% down year-on-year. Latest figures show they dropped a further 14.5% by this October.

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This is terrible news if you’re in the business of selling bikes, which is why the Motorcycle Industry Association is spending thousands on a three-year campaign to get more people riding, called Get On. 

But, let’s be honest, it has its advantages for individual buyers. One of which is that, in their eagerness to secure customers, sellers are offering finance deals like never before.  

George White, one of the country’s biggest independent dealers, appears to be leading the way with its almost too good to be true 5-4-3-2-1 deal.

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Buy a new bike at 0% APR over an unprecedented five years, and you’ll also get a four-years extended warranty, three years’ free servicing, two years’ free subscription to MCN and a year’s worth of free tyres.

The deal applies to a range of key models including the Kawasaki ZX-10R, ZX-6R, ER6, Versys and Ninja 250R, Yamaha R1, R6 and XT and XJ range, and Honda Fireblade and CBR600, among others. 

With a deposit of only £99 required, it means a Ninja 250R costs just £68 per month – which could surely be explained away as, say, a pension contribution if the wife asks.

The offer doesn’t have long to run, though – it expires on Yamaha’s on December 13 and on other models at the end of the month.

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George White’s general manager, Pete Cleverly, said: “Personally I’ve never heard of 0% over five years before.

“It’s been a quiet year for bike sales and this is all about trying to build desire.”    

Manufacturers are also offering their own great finance packages through official dealers.