So... I am NOT an expert on the bike market, at any level.

However, I have seen auto companies chase only the segments where they make high profits, abandoning entry level, low cost cars. This is short-term thinking, with exec bonuses based on their stock price. And it's killed them in the long run. Not if every car company made junky cars in that segment, but when you have companies that produce cars of high quality and durability in the entry level segment, they build brand loyalty that way, and it shows, customers are more likely to buy another of their cars as they move up in affluence. It finally got to a point where the companies got leadership that said, "If we can't build and make a profit on small cars (entry level), we'd better learn how." And that's when the companies started to turn around, for the better.