I think I heard it was about $50k (but it might have been 100k) to get epa certification on a bike. I heard a husaberg rep talking about it... When you only bring in 50 a year - it might be hard for that to "pencil out"...
Some states are more stringent than others about tracking 50 state legal status on bikes (epa/dot approval etc.) - the federal government is stepping in and pushing smaller states to stricter enforcement. Part of this is coming from the nhtsa (national highway traffic safety administration)- when a bike is in an accident and it is not supposed to be street legal in the first place - it is a "red flag"... The days of license plates on these "grey bikes" is coming to an end...
Along these lines, I just found the following on a motorcycle website...
U.S. Motorcycle Sales Report for 3rd Quarter 2007
October 24, 2007 - U.S. Motorcycle sales are down across the board so far this year, with one exception. The dual-sport category is up by about 4% compared to the same period in 2006. This may be due to the popularity of motorcycles like the updated KTM 990 Adventure or the popular BMW R1200GS.
The remaining categories, including off-road and street bikes, have suffered in 2007. Off-road sales are down about 15%, while street bike sales are off by nearly 5%. Even scooter sales are down by nearly 2%; the scooter market just can't seem to gain momentum in the U.S.A., even with relatively high fuel costs persuading many to find more efficient methods of transportation.
Overall motorcycle sales, including all categories, are down by 6.4% so for the first three quarters of 2007 when compared to 2006.
Given the statistics given above - the acquisition of dual sport bike specialist husqvarna by bmw seems like a prudent move.
jeff