It’s what the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) is calling one of the best sales outcomes for several years with its newly released third-quarter sales figures pointing to a recovering and buoyant Australian motorcycle industry.

In the first nine months to September, Australians purchased at total of 79,237 brand-new motorcycles, scooters and ATVs, which represents a 5.5 percent increase over the same period last year, which was both warmer and dryer than the unseasonal weather patterns of 2016.

“It’s terrific to see the motorcycle industry so vibrant and busy,” the FCAI’s chief executive Tony Weber said. “And we are looking forward to considerable sales activity as we lead into summer months.”

While the ATV sector enjoyed the biggest spike compared to the same period last year, up nine percent, it was the roadbike sector accounting for almost half of new bikes sold this year, up 6.4 percent to 34,778 units — that equates to 138 new roadbikes being sold every single day of this year! It was the usual suspects in terms of total sales by brand, with the surprises popping up the further down you drill into the figures.

Harley-Davidson once again led the roadbike field from Honda, no doubt helped by its LAMS-approved Street 500 which, too, enjoyed a growth of 3.5 percent over the same period last year. Yamaha blitzed the off-road sector (again), selling well over 2000 more units than its nearest rival to make up a 30 percent piece of the knobby-tyred pie. It posted some impressive results, too, a 7.2 percent increase in its off-road results and a significant 16.5 percent growth in its roadbike market to result in an 11.8 percent growth overall.

As far as specific high-performing models go, Kawasaki’s Ninja 300 has been pushed back to fifth overall and back to fourth place in the roadbike category, with Yamaha’s YZF-R3 and Harley-Davidson’s Street 500 having something to say about the Ninja’s once long-term dominance. Speaking of long-term dominance, the WR450F stalwart of Yamaha’s sales-figures was the country’s best-selling bike (after the postal-issue Honda NBC110, of course), having a stellar nine months and finding 1390 new garages to call home — that’s a whopping 72.7 percent increase from the 805 it sold in the same period last year.

The once-booming scooter market, which took an 11.9 percent hit over the same 2015 period, accounted for a mere 4.1 percent of the entire two (and four) wheeled market.

For a full breakdown of who and what performed well in what sector, see below.

TOP BRANDS — TOTAL UNITS SOLD TO DATE

1          Honda              17,093

2          Yamaha           16,973

3          Kawasaki         7455

4          H-D                  7202

5          Suzuki              6965

6          KTM                 6277

6          Polaris              4000

7          BMW               2466

8          Triumph           2310

9          BRP                 1959

10        Ducati              1506

TOP BRANDS — RATE OF GROWTH TO DATE

1          Husqvarna       +40.5%

2          BRP                 +33.9%

3          KTM                 +32.5%

4          VMoto              +18.2%

5          Yamaha           +11.8%

TOP 10 OVERALL

1          Honda NBC110            1824

2          Yamaha WR450F        1390

3          Yamaha YZF-R3          1196

4          H-D Street 500           1175

5          Kawasaki Ninja 300      1075

6          Yamaha MT-07            1034

7          Honda CRF50F            1014

8          H-D FXSB Breakout     1008

9          Honda CBR500R         934

10        Yamaha PW50            898

TOP 10 ROADBIKES

1          Honda NBC110            1824

2          Yamaha YZF-R3          1196

3          H-D Street 500 1175

4          Kawasaki Ninja 300      1075

5          Yamaha MT-07            1034

6          H-D FXSB Breakout     1008

7          Honda CBR500R         934

8          Honda Grom                821

9          Yamaha XVS650         554

10        H-D Night Rod 544

TOP 10 ADVENTURE TOURING

1          Honda Africa Twin        446

2          Suzuki DR650SE         377

3          Kawasaki KLR650        297

4          BMW R 1200 GS         271

5          BMW R 1200 GSA       256

6          BMW G 650 GS           233

7          Triumph Tiger 800XC   216

8          Honda CB500X            205

9          Ducati Multistrada        177

10        BMW F 700 GS           155

TOP 10 SPORTSBIKES

1          Honda CBR500R         934

2          Honda CBR300R         342

3          Ducati 959 Panigale     260

4          BMW S 1000 RR         232

5          Yamaha YZF-R1          197

6          Honda CBR1000RR     188

7          Kawasaki ZX-10R         180

8          Ducati 1299 Panigale   142

9          Suzuki GSX-r750         134

10        Suzuki GSX-R1000      134

TOP 10 OFF-ROAD

1          Yamaha WR450F        1390

2          KTM 500 EXC              601

3          KTM 300 EXC              566

4          KTM 350EXCF 561

5          KTM 450 EXC              406

6          Yamaha WR250F        328

7          Husqvarna TE300        234

8          Yamaha WR250R        221

9          Husqvarna FE350        212

10        Suzuki RMX450Z         188

Kellie Buckley