P&H Motorcycles News & Events

Honda, Suzuki, Yamaha launch new finance offers

With Christmas and New Year out of the way and the days growing lighter - albeit rather slowly - bikers' attention will naturally begin to turn towards their riding plans for 2011.

For many, this will involve a new bike. But January is a tough month financially in any year, let alone one in the midst of high inflation and forming part of what experts predict will be another short recession.

Bike manufacturers are aware of this, however, and routinely save their best finance offerings for January to help start a new season of motorcycling.

Suzuki kicked things off on January 1st, announcing that it is launching an interesting combined cashback offer from authorised dealerships.

With a minimum deposit of just one pound, bikers can get their hands on one of nine new Suzuki models on low-rate finance over periods of three, four or five years.

Furthermore, the cashback offer means that customers can leave the shop with a brand new bike and up to £1,000 in their pockets.

The deal applies to the entire GSX-R range, as well as the GSR750, GSX650F, GSX1250FA, V-Strom 650, Gladius 650 and SV650 models.

"Now is most definitely the time to buy if you're in the market for a new Suzuki. With £1,000 off the 2011 GSX-R1000 and no model in the promotion with less than £600 cashback, it really does offer a significant saving," said Suzuki GB general manager, Paul de Lusignan.

Yamaha, meanwhile, is urging riders to buy into its "way of life", with new offers covering different types of machine.

The Street Wise package offers three years of zero per cent finance on a range of middleweight bikes - including the FZ8 and XJ-series models - in exchange for a deposit of £99.

Those looking for something smaller can get low-rate finance at 4.9 per cent over 36 months, or take the option of having free or subsidised insurance on all its 2011/12 models at 125cc and under.

January can be a tough time of year for the household finances, so it pays to sit down and work out exactly how much room there is in the budget for bike payments.

To help on this issue, Yamaha has also launched an online finance calculator tool, which compares the various offers on the different bikes available at Yamaha dealers.

Not to be left out, Honda has revealed an extensive list of finance offers, available at authorised dealers until March 31st.

The 2012 version of the iconic CBR1000RR Fireblade - also the 20th anniversary edition - is now available at a rate of 8.4 per cent APR over 36 months, while its younger sister, the CBR600RR, can be bought on zero per cent finance over the same period.

In addition, The popular PCX125 and CBF125 can be obtained with a deposit of only £99, subject to a low-rate APR of 4.9 per cent over 36 months. This equates to monthly payments of just over £70 over three years.

Furthermore, three scooters - the SH300i, SH125 and S-Wing 125 - are now subject to zero per cent finance deals over varying terms.

Ducati has not yet revealed its own finance offers, but after having enjoyed a 15.3 per cent rise in sales in its best-ever year in the UK, the Italian brand will no doubt have something in mind to capitalise on the popularity of the Diavel, Multistrada and the brand new 1199 Panigale.

So to help plan for an action-packed spring and summer, sit down and look at the budget, then look at the bikes.