Top 5 Manipulation Methods that Motorcycle Industry Uses 

I have not watched the Video yet, but I just want to say that Harley Davidson is in a class on their own when it comes to ripping Customers off.

I bought my T7 because of a sweet-talking Bulgarian man I saw on the internet!

Great Video. I'm a good example... I bought an Africa Twin CRF1100 Adventure Sport DCT ES with full Outback Motortek Crashbars & bash plate. From SW-Motech the boxes, a tank bag and the Barkbusters. It's super heavy and I'm driving 99% of the time my CRF 300 Rally completly stock :)... As you said, now its hard to sell the big bike for a acceptable price. Lesson learned!

Only thing I disagreed with was "ah, another bullsh** video from Pavlin. You're always right on.

Too true Pavlin. Fortunately for some of us, we have seen through all the smoke screens over the years and don’t like to take out loans to pay for motorcycles. Ride what you can pay cash for !! Thank you for your honesty 👍

The best 13 minutes and 45 seconds I have ever spent on You Tube. Thanks.

So what your telling me is that my 210kg dry weight Desert X Adventure bike that I never really needed with all the accessories I have added to it, is the result of me being manipulated by a desk jockey marketing department sipping cappuccino in Bologna Italy a mistake….. I smile every time I ride…. Mission accomplished😂. Great video!

Hello Pavlin, I like your videos and you are absolutely right about the skillful marketing of the companies. I spent 4 1/2 weeks in Scandinavia last year with my Suzuki V-Strom 1050 and had my tent and the corresponding equipment with me. My "luggage system" consists only of 1 waterproof Ortlieb bag and 2 small packing bags that I attach to a self-welded bracket on the side. Costs approx. 15,- € and total weight incl. of the bags and holder approx. 25 kg At the North Cape I met a South Korean who had travelled with his Suzuki V-Strom 650, after retirement and without any previous experience, from Vladivostock to the North Cape. The "adventure riders" did not pay attention to Him, and He probably experienced the most adventures of all the people who were to meet there at the North Cape. The use of these terms is not only marketing, but they are also used by many people to define themselves. Why would I do this to myself?

As one small displacement carburated "dual purpose" rider I can not agree more. Great video 👍🏼

One of the most honest video on RU-vid. Thanks for kicking out the truth about product marketing/placement.

Great video. Another buzz word that is used a lot is ‘beginner’. Many so called beginner bikes are also suitable for very experienced riders. Beginner gives the impression that you need to upgrade when actually you don’t

Pavlin - I personally appreciate hearing you speak on the practicality and utilitarian use of owning and maintaining a motorcycle: the cost it will incur to travel and maintenance upkeep. From this information we can determine what brand to purchase down to the very necessity of modifying the motorcycle to help make it safe and efficient for traveling long distance. Sharing your experience via all the RU-vid visual video evidence in order to help us make sensible decision is invaluable. I don't always comment on every video you post; however, I do give a "Thumbs Up" and watch your channel as often as I can, and you almost always acknowledge my comments with a like, when it really isn't necessary. Thank you!

Preach the truth brother!!! Excellent video.

I'm a victim of said manipulation, but "luckily" I'm too poor to fall for it... I always wondered why you have no crash guard on your Teneré, but after watching your trip to Magadan I know the answer: not needed. On that regard so many new bikes, especially cinese brands I see they come with so much stuff on it that I'm not sure it has a purpose. Love your content Pavlin

Love your realistic and practical approach. Stay the route!

True words! Great wisdom! I totally agree! And throwing away the TV is one of the best and most powerful things everyone can do, and accually should do - not only in terms of motorcycles ;)

I work in marketing, which has made me jaded when it comes to buzz words and have always said it's bullshit. I have walked into dealers and they usually have a look on their face of shock after I tell them don't give me any bullshit buzz words and when i make a choice I will let them know. Dry weight is just nonsense. I've been called a salespersons nightmare. Also because I work in marketing, anytime I hear the "sales pitch". I just tell them to go away. People need to start pushing back on this. I'm a cynic. So I love the reaction of these people when they find out I'm in marketing. They usually end up either embarrassed or will be finally admit it's all nonsense.

Good one Pavlin. You are completely right! Your trip to Magadan is good proof that one does not need the most complicated electronics to go far and be safe!.

Pavlin you are absolutely right

Your garage is so clean 😃 Like tv studio 😃

You have spoken well my Friend. Im having multiple motorcycles in my garage, like a Kawasaki ZX9, 2 Honda VFR's, a Honda Deauville 650. Last weekend I've tried a Tenere 700 at my local Yamaha dealer, and I found out I need this bike, it represents all of my true needs. So with a Kawa ZX9R and with a Tenere 700 I could be a happy motorcyclist:)

I've been riding the same air-cooled and carburated bike(s) for a long time. They've been modified with a view toward form over function(not to say they don't look good). Among the many dozens of riders I've gotten to know over decades I now find a quiet respect for my "program".

You're right sold my ktm 790 adventure. Always a leaking liquid brake on my handlebar. The screen black out few times and water in the screen. Last time again leaking coolant. I had everything on it quickshifter cruise control traction control. I bought a brand new tenere 700 explore it has nothing but its reliability is all I need and I don't need more mods on it!

Great video Pavlin! Thank you!

Could not agree more. From litre plus sports bikes over decades to Hugely heavy Gs's now on Yam T7 and CRF 300 Rally. Not because of following fashion but very tall and need tall bikes and big wheels to enjoy the potholes in UK. Big trailies rule.

Always very good videos and interesting & informative 😁

Back in the pre internet era motorcycle magazines were my main source of information relating to what bike to buy. The magazines always put the latest greatest machines on the must-have pedestal while trashing the previous model year into imaginary obsolescence. BS!

The information you give is really good but the way you present it is brilliant Thak you

Γεια σου ρε Παβλίν. Αυτή την συζήτηση είχα μόλις χθες με φίλους αναβάτες σε μια εκδρομή που πήγαμε με τα ''καλά κοπέλια κλαμπ'' στη Κρήτη, Το μάρκετινγκ έχει μεγάλη δύναμη.

Great video and eye opening. It made me rethink what am I getting into? 😮

You do a really good job with your abilities. Safe travels Pavlin

Great video. Happy riding.

I have a motorcycle to commute to work, and for a weekend (or more) motorcycle trip. It's a tool, not a trophy to just look at.

You always make me think. Well done

Simply brilliant and so true. Admire the facts....

Pavlin, you really good doctor in this motorcycle adventure,wise words!Good Lucky with you ever.Know a lot..

Very well. Thanks.

I dont have any desire to go offroad but i love the look of adventure bikes like the tenere and id rather use that over a tourer for trips

thank you dear pavlin 10000% right on the spot

Great topic Pavlin. The only optional I thought was usefull were good crashguards as It Is quite risky to fall the bike during a travel. For the rest I agree with you

How true those words are for some people can not help them selves they have to have the latest gadget or thing for "Adventure" . It is just a money spending bonanza . Great video Pavlin .

Absolutly spot on 👌👍

Pavlin at his‘ best. Another vid full of passion and emotion 👍 I bought yrs ago an ultra leight-weight adventure (!) camping chair. Since then I’m the great adventurer 😂 PS: What about your Rev‘it cap? 😉

Pavlin, you're a boss. Thank you

Great video and a good dose of common sense.

110% TRUE! Cheers.

I have 20 hp. I think that it is good enough to cruise around my home, but i do not believe that i need to be manipulated in order to want a bit more power in a year or so, especially since i mostly ride 2 up and our combined weight is something like 200 kilos. My next motorcycle i think will be around 50 hp and i will probably stop at that level. (Started riding in 2023 at 48.)

True. The wet weight should be the only statistic. Beside dry weight they state kerb weight the meaning of which I have no idea. My vstrom 650xt is tricky at slow speed,so I know what I can do & not do on it. But,like many decisions in life,it comes down to luck. Right time,right price etc. Great vid.Pav.

Spot on, Pavlin!

always keep things simple, or at least try to... Thanxs Geri from Tyrol

You are right! What manipulated me for many years was the motor press. I thought press was Independent, trying to help the reader to make a good choice, but no! Whenever I was reading something about a bike that was what I needed, these guys were saying: This bike is good for beginners. After 8 years on a beginners bike ( I wad happy with), I decided to buy a real big bike! I was proud of being in the league of 1200 ccm owners .... But this bike was heavy as hell and the power was great, but only useful on the Autobahn when going 200 km/h. This is legal in Germany. Although I often enjoyed this big bike, I began to miss my old bike. Now I have got a transalp which is perfect for my needs! I do not care about press and so on who suggest an Africa Twin would better, because it would be not good for me! You have to find your own needs and make your choice!

I have a friend who outfitted his adventure bike with all the accessories. He even installed 2 cup holders just for the sake of fit and consistency... knowing that he does not like to go out on adventure trips!!

There's a sixth thing to mention in my eyes: spare parts. I recently broke my starter button during rough enduro training on my 701 Enduro. Yesterday, at the dealer I've been told that Husqvarna (or KTM or GasGas) only sell the entire throttle control unit for about 300 Euros. 300 Euros for a broken piece of plastic worth a couple of cents! Fortunately, I had found and kept the broken piece. So I will rise my plastic glueing skills. Until then, I have an additional antitheft feature: the hidden finger-in-a-hole starter button...

I forgot to add. Great video. And your English isss great keep on. Doing.

Hah, spot on as usual. Fun fact: my first bike was one of these adventure bikes. It is a great all rounder, Jack of all trades, great commuter, a VERY good daily bike. However for the love of it I can't honestly describe it as an adventure unless we assume that riding a bike is an adventure on its own. But if this were the case then why call this particular bike type adventure? As for the horsepower and some numbers - yes, they DO appeal to our imagination because of how our brains are wired. We see 100HP and of course it is more than, say, 70HP. We think more about this difference than the mater at hand which is: do we really need these 100HP? Are they going to be that much better, actually? And so on. Same for the extra equipment - I've bought crash pads for my first bike as I assumed I was only beginning to learn so dropping a bike was quite likely. Overtime I've bought a baggage trunk as I decided to ride for some longer trips and needed space for more stuff. I also bought higher, tourist windscreen as the default one is simply too short for a highway and taller windscreen makes a huge difference. And that's it, pretty much. I'm not sure I'd need more. In the same time I see some people who own the very same bike model and some of them have like 20+ extra pieces of equipment, stickers, guards and what have you. Ok, it's their choice but seriously, it's not necessary. It's mostly marketing.

Always to the point.

I'm totally convinced by Pavlin's argument against being duped by exciting badges - my next bike will be a Honda Fartwobble with tartan shopping panniers.

Don’t forget, you’re part of the industry. Brutally honest or not, it’s part of the game. Noone, not even you and very obviously so, can disconnect from all marketing influence. That’s marketing basics. We are ALL including me driven by that, there’s no trueth only influenced (to different levels, though) opinions. And a few technical facts that make not much difference to any decision making, even the budget is easy to manipulate, anyone’s! Sure you’re a have not and thus can’t be influenced, right? Wrong. But at least now we know the news, thankfully we’ve been informed. All the arguments presented only describe just another opinion related to a single point of time and a handful out of a gazilian marketing Spins for that matter. What remains, do you feel happy before, during and after your choice and years after. Influenced or not happiness is key. That Yamaha blabla is personal opinion and there are for such a basic universal tool minimum 360 angles to approach it and approve/disapprove any argument for or against it. Everyone makes his choice, his influenced one. Thus I won’t buy any ADV, I learned my lesson about that fake industry as a student, well before the silly round the world fake of hired actors. Same as with the garments offered, advertised and available in shops. That - regardless how rigidly opposing is still not free of influence, often even more so from a different side of the market. There’s no angle without Marketing anymore.

Wise words. Thank you.

You are so right! For a few years I’ve always wanted an old klr650 but the truth is I’d probably never ride it as I’m not keen to go off road 😆

I love straight shooters great job !!!

Полностью согласен. Удачи! Totally agree. Good Luck!

Ewan and Charlie with their big bikes and loads of kit have hot a lot to answer for then.. but, they did show everyone how fantastic teavel is. Even if many had gone before them.. unnoticed. But yes, i agree. Ride safe 👍

I have been manipulated to buy a big R1250GS and geez it feels so freakin' good.

Weight was a critical factor on choosing my bike as the bike carrier on my mobile home has a 250kg load. So I always want the wet weight . Was going for the Tennere but im waiting on the Kove 850 pro. I live in Andalusia so I've 1000's of km's of dirt track to ride. But. Lots of dust too.

This is now a WORLD WIDE phenomenon, all your thoughts are great. I think no company in the world will call you for promotional work. 😅😂😢

Amen brother, total sense as always.

9:04 Pavlin, you are perfect! 🤣🤣🤣

Hey buddy! Good video, as usual. Just noticed that your wall clock has stopped. RU-vid content creator trick? ;-)

Very true. I have seen so many sponsored videos about the new MT450 as "It's so light".. is it really? Its almost the same weight as the Tenere 700 but it has only 48 hp. Actually my old BMW 650 GS had the same weight and horsepower.. 20 years ago. But marketing works and people are going crazy. They sell people the dry weight. Wet weight is I think 10kg lighter than the Tenere 700. And it's a single cylinder bike.

Pavlin , greetings from Ankara, i respect your opinion and have some words to say. Year 2024 but tenere still doesn't have cruise control and quickshifter 😢 I am riding Norden now and fnished my 4th 8 thousand km dolomiti- switzerland tour . Cruise control is superior thing to cope with 900 km higway riding days .

I ll repeat my self here but, at last one guy that speaks the truth (once again) on bikes. Totally agree with you (once again as well). Keep up!

I have thrown my TV years ago off the window (I am serious) and I have a much better life. Boy your words are gold.

DRZ… I was sold in 1998 when Suzuki said they were releasing a 400cc street-legal RMX. In my case, any marketing was in the machine itself, the asking price, and the company’s long-term reputation.

Marketing offers the buyer a dream for a price - but surely riding a fully accessorised adventure bike to the supermarket turns a dull experience into an adventure...doesn't it? Some consumables are practical, but other purchases are 'tags' that we want to be identified with and I do believe that we are all susceptible to varying degrees. A very interesting topic! Cheers.

Well stated. 👍.

Great video Pavlin, 100% on point. Are you still living in Berlin?

Marketing is true. But i can't denied that i did like the test ride on the africa twin, and those AT look nice. I might buy one, but an older one with low mileage and less thecnology and less expensive. I already bought a 21 brothers bag that you talked about for my bikes.

Much Enjoyment 👍😎

It's good to keep your work clean mate

Very right Pavlin. Also I believe you don’t choose the bike, the bike chooses you 😊

excelent video by the way forget fork oil +1,5kg

...................... Well said Pavlin. Wise words.

A Honda CBR1000 RRR SP Fireblade. That motorcycle is exactly the example of you get what you buy and getting into it. Expensive because it has a lot of zeros in the name. Complicated. Again because of the long name and all the numbers and letters in it. And it's designed to frighten and possibly hurt anyone who doesnt know how to handle it. It's a blade of fire. Marketing done right. Good job Honda. But on a more serious note. I think most people never buy the motorcycle that suits them or what they actually need it for. A lot of motorcycle purchases are for ego, vanity and clout. The financial aspects of buying and maintenance are also something people try to rationalize because the strong emotion of wanting to own a particular motorcycle let's them be in denial about using common sense. BUT buying whatever you want isn't really wrong as long as you can afford it. We all want nice things.

To sum up what Palvin is talking about: it’s called psychological advertising. Case in point: I used to travel up and down the U.S. Pacific Northwest visiting many of the West Coast States, which many of them are desert states in the heart of the summer season. After traveling hundreds of miles, I would see many signs along the road advertising Coca Cola and other fast-food products. Lo and behold, as soon as I arrive at a rest stop, having traveled hundreds of miles without stopping, I would stop and buy a few cokes and grab whatever food I saw advertised for my wife and me; it could be out in the middle of nowhere. And my wife would sometime ask me: “Why coke?” You see, it’s psychological advertising and it used to get me every time, provided I wasn’t paying attention. As I’ve gotten older, I don’t fall for psychological advertising so easily now because I’ve lived long enough to know what I need and what works for me. I don’t go for the latest fad(s) or buy something just because everyone else is buying it. Palvin provides valuable information to those of us who are fair weather/seasonal riders.

Спасибо, Павлин

Μου αρέσει ο τρόπος που αναπτύσσετε τις σκέψεις σας. Χαιρετισμούς από Ελλάδα...

Hello Pavlin ... I have to terms that may reinforce what you stated above ..... Herd behaviour & idle capacity.

😅😅 amazing pavlin 👍

Hey. I’ve been riding for 58 years. Owned Harley’s for 46 years. Had gold wings bmw gs adventures etc. Probably one of the best all round bikes I’ve owned is th RE super meteor 650. Great cruiser fit luggage great tourer. Great price. I agree with you philosophy expensive is not necessarily best but this only comes with a lifetime of experience 😁

Truly. You are exposing western culture, marketing, and much more...

Hay Palvin, you do not bullsh#t. If people do not get it, too bad. I also found with accessories, bark busters do a terrific job but add to handlebar vibrations.

I used to ride Suzuki DR650 (1990s) as a Dual-Sport motorcycle and put on road tires when other enduros put on knobbies. We travelled the "nearby world" on roads/off roads to destinations which are on tourist route and non-tourist routes. Then they invented the word "Adventure". Now, I buy the bike which looks beautiful to me. My R1200GSA.

Ego effect, for lots of customers, the bike is more an extension of expected personnality and image rather than their actual need. The face of a Porsche driver when you pass him with a Honda Civic in every corner is a piece of fun ! Recently, I have 50 000 km on a CB500x, and not missing power or riding pleasure, even with passenger and luggage following my bros, sist and children on much more powerful bikes. Anyway wide choice of accessories is good as it allows you to select the most adapted to your actual need and useage, with no over spec or under spec.

this is the way i thik myself.agree 100percent.

👍 yep it is true. Two years ago All these reasons came in 1. And i bought my second factory new motorcycle. 650 it is because the 1050 vstrom was too heavy for my body type. All in all let's not forget about the so called "japanese test". I spent more time on asphalt but there are days when I do not want to see it. Greetings and ride safe!

yes, completely true. Hey, broken english is perfectly fine. Better than my Bulgarian! When you get a chance, expand on the CF moto 450.

Мисля, че до голяма степен хората в България са почти имунизирани към повечето проблеми (най-вече защото не могат да си позволят почти нищо), но всички им се иска по-лъскавото - как беше - "Луд на шаренко се радва". Успех с RU-vid :^)

Right on, brother! old retired blokes like me gets sucked in by adventure. We want to get some in before we shuffle off😂. More money than we need so it’s a $25,000 bike with170 hp, n bells and whistles when for adventure it’s more fun and practical with a lightweight 125 or 250

Power on a bike can be greatly affected by the software tuning of the bike. To pass emissions and enhance engine longevity many bikes are detuned. My new bike is detuned, my old bike got a new carburetor and was dialed in easily for max performance.