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Originally Posted by Daschicken
How did that affect the prices?
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I don't remember how much it increased the prices, but there is the whole economics of scale to take in consideration and also the impact on fuel economy without compromising too much the performance in order to still meet emission regulations. Most motorcycles here are not seen as a summer toy.
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Just curious, as I responded to a YouTube comment yesterday saying how emissions standards were to blame for the loss of 4 cylinder 250cc bikes. I said price had way more to do with it than emissions. They could probably make them today and meet emissions with fuel injection and a cat. The problem is if they have a sufficient market as to not lose money.
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With a fuel-injected parallel-twin 250cc being almost as rev-happy as their 4-cyl predecessors, plus the lower manufacturing cost and a broader appeal to international markets more cost-conscious than the JDM leading to a quicker ROI, it's understandable why the 4-cyl ones have been phased out (even though one of my early teenage pipe-dreams was to privately import a Hornet 250 engine and fit that into a beach-buggy). Well, the tiered licensing enforced in Japan sets a 400cc limit for novice riders, which could already render 250cc motorcycles less competitive, even though they're benefitted by a lower cost for their annual licensing which appeals to more budget-conscious buyers who don't seem to care so much about a 4-cyl...
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Originally Posted by Daox
Just saw this, didn't even know they existed. They are fuel injected. Only a 4 speed trans though seems odd.
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Those seem to use an engine very similar to the Cub and its counterparts from Yamaha and Kawasaki, so that might explain why they have only a 4-speed transmission (even though they lose the automatic clutch which is a standard in the Cub class).