Well, thats fine by me - not getting a bike til March probably - too much snow right now. Must go ski. TE630 still at the top of the list...
Safari told me they will take orders but delivery would be around Christmas, price is somewhere around $730 ADU plus S&H.
If that was intended to mean this Christmas, and the information was obtained via email from the Safari / Aquline factory, I'd ignore it. That communication method has proved immensely inaccurate over the last few years. I went over to tt to search for some of those emails, but could not find any at the moment.
Looks awesome. I was seriously thinking about selling my 630 because with 12 l its useless (haven't started it in 2 months) but now i might be able to ride it I will keep it. BTW aussie 630's gain a ton of power with the lamba removed too
I couldn't disagree more. I have always got the right info from just calling them. What happens with the email is that things change and they don't tell people unless they call.
Actually we do agree, or at least about the email part of it. All I know is what people have been told in the past from the factory, several times, via email. The USA importer gives great accurate information over the phone too. Maybe you could call the factory and get a more accurate time frame?
I think the problem was that at first he was going to do a tank just for the Fi 610. then he heard about the 630 so put the 610 tank off until he could get a 630 then try to make the 630 tank so that it could fit the 610 as well. Then the GEC hit and it looked like we were going to sail through it and recover a lot faster than everyone else. but the recovery hasn't been as fast as it was hoped here in Oz. It cost's him about $12000 to tool up for a new tank and with things the way they are here and in the US he hasn't been real keen to spend the coin for a tank for a bike that is not a big seller. Then add the week US dollar and anything going from here to there is now about 25% more expensive than it was a couple of years ago. But I very seriously doubt the a foreign distributor knows anything that the bloke who run's the shop and make's the tanks does. I'll give him a call after the weekend and see when they will be out and dish out some shit for not updating his web site
Regarding how many might be sold - the 610/630 is made for the types of adventure riding that the big tank requires. I would *think* there would be a huge market for that.
I totally agree. When you add in the 08 and up 610s, looks like there's a ready market to pay for the tooling. If the tanks are retailing for 730, dealer cost should be around 5+. Even with no full bore retail sales (wish there will be), thats only 24 tanks to recoup the 12000$ investment. To top it off, the availability of a big tank would be good for bike sales and generate even more customers. I know I wouldn't have bought my 08 if I'd known it would take years to get a tank. It is just too bad the stock tank shrouds can't be used on the new tank..... Oh well.
There is a lot more to it than the $12k mould cost. Where did that number come from anyway? It is hard to know exactly how the manufacturer is recovering his R&D and tooling costs and what the real costs are, but it could be as many as 200 tanks before he sees a real return and no real guarantee that many will be sold.
I have been known to over simplify, when trying to make a point. Obviously there are expenses in every tank, whether it's the twelfth or the twelve thousandth. There are no guarantees, but interest has been building for three seasons now.
We can certainly hope that the interest actually translates into sales. I would also hope that the availability of this tank translates into sales for Husqvarna in the adventure market. It needs the sales and longevity to gain after market support and it would seem, dealer support. The 630 has been likened to the KLR. I think that is wrong - they're an entirely different breed. It could be a solid competitor to the likes of the DR650 and DRZ400 in the adventure market. It is surprising how many DRZ400s I see set up for adventure riding. I live at a cross road where nearly everyone heading north stops and see very few DRs, but a lot of DRZs. Something is up there. Aside from the extra 200cc the DRZ and the 630 are very similar bikes targeting the same sort of riders. There are very few bikes that make it to this middle ground and do it well. These are about the only two that I can think of. Against the DR it is a case of convincing the buyer that there is value and ultimately savings in the extra $2-2.5k (in Oz) when an owner is not spending a small fortune to make the bike something it was never intended to be. Surprise... the 630 has everything on the DR owners wish list. Against the DRZ the 630 needs to put out there as a genuine upgrade path which I believe that it is. Maybe the big tank is a step in that direction.
I don't see how the drz400 has anything in common with the 630. Have you ridden a drz and a 630 with a power up? completely different bike's. the drz is gutless with crap suspension and the DR650 is like a AG bike after riding the 630. The DR650 is a more reliable bike than the 630 no doubt there, and the 630 is much more race bike in every way. The 630 has a hell of a lot more in common with a 690 than anything else out there For clarification the guy who makes the tanks is looking more at the Australian market and the 630 is not a big seller in Australia.
I emailed Justgastanks (dot) com last night (Sunday) and got a reply today. "Mike, They are coming out with a tank for those Husqvarna's. We have no information on them at all at this time. I would keep checking back with us. We should have info on the tank within a couple months." Thanks, Tom R/ Mike
