The Covid-19 pandemic may have killed more than 100,000 US citizens so far, a substantially higher toll than America’s military bodycount in the entire Vietnam war, but it hasn’t deterred survivors’ healthy appetite for dirtbikes.
According to latest US Motorcycle Industry Council data, sales of purely off-road machines were 30% up across the first four months 0f 2020. And “dual-sport” products — typically adventure bikes with some vaguely notional prowess on rough terrain — were only 5% down.
In sharp contrast over the same period, the cruiser-dominated US streetbike market plunged by 23% and scooters fell by 24%. Overall American PTW retail sales were 9% lower. No wonder leading motocross, enduro and adventure purveyor KTM has previously-reported reasons to be cheerful.