It’s been a super 71-plate September for new bikes and, strangely, the shortage of stock has helped keep sales and deliveries steady.
Sales manager Mark Trench said: “The new 71 plate in September went very well. However, a lack of stock kept it at a sensible level.
“The fact that we didn’t have a lot of stock helped us even the month out a bit. Normally it’s frantic at the beginning of the month.
“We would usually have the bikes sitting here waiting to be prepped. But a lot of bikes were still waiting to be delivered and it smoothed things out. Instead of having a lot at the beginning of September, it spread the workload over the month.”
New bike sales have been busy this year and it’s partly down to such a strong used market and a shortage of stock creating a supply and demand scenario.
“New bike sales have been busier because of the lack of stock around. Lots of people have bought new and, in all honesty, with used bike prices being so high we probably got more new bike inquiries.
“The motorbike market is very interesting,” he said.
Good weather and not having a full range of stock available have also prolonged the season.
“With a lack of availability, people are still looking around for bikes but haven’t found what they’re after so there are still inquiries coming through and we’re going to have a longer season.”
Orwell Motorcycles has been well placed to meet the demand from people looking for quality used motorbikes.
Mark explained: “We’ve done remarkably well but the majority of our bikes have not been trade-ins.
“We’ve proactively gone to some of our old customers, who’ve not ridden a lot in the last year because of Covid and the lockdowns, and made them offers for their bikes.
“The motorbikes we like to buy are ones we’ve supplied and maintained because that means we know the history. A lot of people have been pleased with the offers they’ve been made so I think we have bought well.”
Looking for a quality used motorbike? See what we can offer at orwell.co.uk/used-bikes-ipswich