I really appreciate Matt Jones' response since I am definitely in the same "boat" (no pun intended) as he is, I also always appreciate Matt_E's input along with our good buddy Ross_C because these guys know some stuff. I bought my first SuperJet a year ago, it was totally stock and right away I started to realize what areas were improvement critical to allow me to have more fun with it and be more confident in learning the tricks of freeride. There have been loads of great points brought to light here from the supply vs. small demand concept, to production cost etc. I thought about chiming in here quickly just to add my two cents. But one of my recently passed on best friends was an incredibly talented guy whom as a profession built ultralight airplanes, he was very well recognized in the industry, highly acclaimed and was awarded for it. I remember him quite often saying that the average ultralight build expense would run in the neighborhood of 35-40k for the average build kit and I believe that included his building costs. One thing that he also mentioned frequently was as soon as you attach a non-typical term to something you will see substantial increases in pricing because of how specific things have to be for that title...for example aviation. Once you say it has to be for aviation it now needs to be aircraft grade aluminum or whatever else due to its specialized nature.
In the jet ski or marine world, we forget that on top of machining and in-shop time and materials, aluminum parts still have to be corrosion resistant so now there is a minimum flat rate fee to have the parts anodized regardless if there is one part or fifty, the same price applies. Other areas require true stainless steel such as 303,304,316 etc. If it were the lesser expensive 440 stainless it would rust because it has ferrous metals in it. Carbon fiber replaces medium strength smc hull materials which is not only expensive on its own but not readily available at the best of times, it seems to always need to be ordered in, shipping gets added in, you know how it goes. I made a short pump cone for my Kawi about 2 years ago and it took about 3 hours to turn up on the lathe and mill around the bolt pattern, plus it had to be anodized, I was asked how much to make more and replied by saying "oh no, I am not going through that again" lol. It is amazing at how much there really is involved in making even basic parts. Another area one could look at is boat racing. Top fuel drag boats, they are still boats but built with a specific title and purpose, they require substantially stronger parts to put up with the abuse of 300+mph speeds and take full advantage of peak bottom end power without blowing the parts. Offshore boat racing, during the Poker Runs America powerboat poker run two years ago, one of the owners of a twin turbine engine offshore catamaran told me had it up for sale, for 1.5 million...still a boat, but specialized purpose...and bear in mind the first turbine engines were made in 1937 in an industry (aviation) that takes about 20 years on average to accept new changes to engine improvements or design...those guys do not like change. But I did have one question about the used parts market, specifically the exhaust dept. Why is it so ridiculously expensive for old B-pipes? I see them all the time for $600+ used and brand new at Blowsion they sell for very close to $750.00. For the extra 150 bucks I will buy new and know there are no hours, weak welds that are ready to break or dried out couplers. When I worked in the marine/atv sales industry, the rule of thumb was used always sold for about half the price unless it was very evident that it was either well looked after or very close to being new. Any thoughts about the used market on things like pipes?
