The second-hand motorbike market in Belgium is in dire straits, according to sector organization Traxio. Until May, almost 30% fewer motorbikes, that’s 9 446 units, were sold compared to last year.

The reason for this drop, according to Traxio, is the second-hand inspection of motorbikes that has been mandatory since 1 January 2023. One of the consequences of this is that a lot of those second-hand motorbikes are now ending up in neighboring countries.

Lightest class least victimized

In May, 28,9% fewer motorbikes were sold on the Belgium second-hand market than in May 2022. In February, sales were down 30,7% compared to February 2022 and even 38,8% compared to February 2021. Cumulated over the first five months of the year, this amounts to a drop of 29,8% or around 9 500 motorbikes. The decline is also more pronounced in Wallonia (-37,7%) than in Flanders (-27,2%).

According to Traxio, the search for a cause for this downward trend should not be for long: the obligation, since 1 January 2023, of roadworthiness testing for used motorbikes – just before the end of the year, there was even a rush on second-hand motorbikes. That the lightest class of 125 cc loses the least is also proof of this for Traxio because they are not required to go to the inspection for second-hand sales.

Going abroad

Since, for the time being, there is no need to present your motorbike to the technical inspection if it is sold to a foreign buyer, the result, according to Traxio, is that many motorbikes will leave for the Netherlands, for example. This is obviously bad news for the Belgian motorbike fleet and dealers and part suppliers because less maintenance and repairs will occur.

However, as Traxio’s spokesperson Filip Rylant points out in the newspaper La Dernière Heure, it’s not necessarily because of technical faults that the roadworthiness test fails for motorbikes but because of “badly adjusted headlights or papers that aren’t quite in order in the case of older bikes”.

Sales of new motorbikes stabilize

In terms of new motor registration, the market is otherwise not doing too badly, with a slight decrease in registrations in May of -2,4%, or 2 808 units. Cumulatively over the first five months, that makes for a 2% drop.

According to Traxio, that drop is mainly due to bad weather in the first part of spring and supply problems at brands such as Harley Davidson, Ducati, Piaggio, SYM, and Kymco.