Seemed like a few years ago everyone was dumping their Jeeps, Rock Buggies, sand rails, dirtbikes, and quads like crazy and getting a SxS. Myself, and many of my friends were also quick to jump on the SxS bandwagon.
Going to Pismo or Dumont a couple years ago, quads and rails had almost disappeared and RZRs were blasting around everywhere. Most quad-class races were cancelled. Going on Jeep runs started to consist of half of the group in SxSs. At a popular off-road event a few years back, the SxS runs were at max capacity and many of the Jeep/buggy runs had to be cancelled due to low participation. The new fast SxSs handled better than any Jeep/quad ever could, and they were more fun to customize.
But recently, this has seemed to drastically change. I know that sales of ALL new dirt toys have dropped in this economy, but it seems like SxSs are losing popularity and other forms of dirt motorsports are making a resurgence.
More than half the posts of SxS forums and FB pages are people desperately trying to sell their SxSs. Out in the dunes recently, quads were everywhere again and very few SxSs were seen (except for a couple RZRs on fire lol). Almost everyone in my off-road club has either sold their RZRs, can't afford to fix them, or they have been collecting dust in their garage for a year due to lack of interest.
Used quad prices seemed to have jumped by about 50% in the last year, with old Banshees seemingly doubling in value. I had 2 guys at Pismo in November ask me if I would sell my TRX450r (that has never happened). The same off-road event I mentioned above has less than half the SxS participation that it had 2 years ago and all of the Jeep/buggy runs are full. Hardly any SxSs are attending local runs anymore.
Moto seems to be making a HUGE come back too, as the local dealers are selling the crap out of dirtbikes and the trails are packed with them again.
What do you think the reason for this is?
Has the SxS industry priced itself out of the market?
Has reliability issues turned off consumers?
Is the popularity of sport SxSs just settling down to normal levels?
Have many people tried SxSs, and decided it wasn't for them?
I don't think the off-road community as a whole is shrinking because Pismo, Glammis, Rubicon Trail, off-road parks, and the major off-road events are experiencing very high attendance levels.
Hopefully a slowdown in popularity doesn't curtail further developments in the industry.
Going to Pismo or Dumont a couple years ago, quads and rails had almost disappeared and RZRs were blasting around everywhere. Most quad-class races were cancelled. Going on Jeep runs started to consist of half of the group in SxSs. At a popular off-road event a few years back, the SxS runs were at max capacity and many of the Jeep/buggy runs had to be cancelled due to low participation. The new fast SxSs handled better than any Jeep/quad ever could, and they were more fun to customize.
But recently, this has seemed to drastically change. I know that sales of ALL new dirt toys have dropped in this economy, but it seems like SxSs are losing popularity and other forms of dirt motorsports are making a resurgence.
More than half the posts of SxS forums and FB pages are people desperately trying to sell their SxSs. Out in the dunes recently, quads were everywhere again and very few SxSs were seen (except for a couple RZRs on fire lol). Almost everyone in my off-road club has either sold their RZRs, can't afford to fix them, or they have been collecting dust in their garage for a year due to lack of interest.
Used quad prices seemed to have jumped by about 50% in the last year, with old Banshees seemingly doubling in value. I had 2 guys at Pismo in November ask me if I would sell my TRX450r (that has never happened). The same off-road event I mentioned above has less than half the SxS participation that it had 2 years ago and all of the Jeep/buggy runs are full. Hardly any SxSs are attending local runs anymore.
Moto seems to be making a HUGE come back too, as the local dealers are selling the crap out of dirtbikes and the trails are packed with them again.
What do you think the reason for this is?
Has the SxS industry priced itself out of the market?
Has reliability issues turned off consumers?
Is the popularity of sport SxSs just settling down to normal levels?
Have many people tried SxSs, and decided it wasn't for them?
I don't think the off-road community as a whole is shrinking because Pismo, Glammis, Rubicon Trail, off-road parks, and the major off-road events are experiencing very high attendance levels.
Hopefully a slowdown in popularity doesn't curtail further developments in the industry.
