[Crazy Dave]

You may have seen my offer: Rate your ride, get paid. I've spent the day conducting surveys on the Kawasaki/Suzuki alliance that's existed since 2002. I still have time for a few more surveys, but I wanted to take a minute to express my appreciation for the responses I've received so far. The information has been most helpful.

What I'm seeing is the alliance was created to 1) enable Kawasaki and Suzuki to meet more pricing points for different product lines, 2) enable Kawasaki and Suzuki to share development costs (the specific example of the 250cc 4-stroke engine comes to mind), and 3) enable Kawasaki and Suzuki to reduce supply costs by combining orders to buy in greater quantities from suppliers. All the while, both companies remained hyper-sensitive to the brand loyalty they have with Kawasaki and Suzuki owners, hence neither company called specific attention to product sharing in their dealings with consumers. The information I did find was mostly in the form of press releases that targeted investors and industry insiders.

Few respondents, for example, realized that the Boulevard M95 Cruiser was a Kawasaki Mean Streak 1600 dressed up to look like a Suzuki. Few respondents realized the the Kawasaki Prairie Line of ATVs was rebadged to give Suzuki a more complete product line. In short, other than the well-known cost differences between Suzuki or Kawasaki as "Japanese" bikes vs. the more expensive Harleys and BMWs, most respondents were unable to cite any examples where the alliance had any impact on them.

Brand loyalty certainly survived the alliance. Even after I informed respondents about the specifics of the alliance, Suzuki owners claimed they would consider only Suzuki products in the future. The same was true with Kawasaki owners, as well.

I'm nearly done with the survey, but if you've had any experiences that differ from what I just outlined, I would like to here from you. My offer from this morning still stands (please see those other posts).

-Dave