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by its_so_on 5099 days ago
It's terrible branding, because it helps give the wrong impression.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1YoCfm7nxU&t=4m0s

It's a great tagline - if you're 15-19. Who wouldn't want to show their daring trying to ride a Ryno!

Answer: any of the people that would be actual early adopter buyers for this expensive new product. (Middle aged rich people.) Segway did it a lot better here, and Ryno needs to do like them.
1 comments
lsc 5098 days ago
meh, look at who buys the high end BMW and HD brand motorcycles. They are almost entirely limited to the over 40 crowd. I mean, that's mostly due to the expense (just like the Ryno) but clearly, The 'death machine' mystique isn't limited to the young.
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its_so_on 5097 days ago
my entire comment is about the name Ryno, which I assume is a homonym for "Rhino". And you ride it, even though it obviously looks dangerous and unstable.

Do you have any specific examples like that from BMW and HD? This wuold be like, I don't know, calling a plane "freefall". Sure there's a danger mystique - but should that be in the name?

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lsc 5097 days ago
eh, I think naming a motorcycle "death machine" would be... redundant? silly? I mean, the statistics show pretty clearly that it's one of the most dangerous ways to travel. Even so, you do see people dressing up motorcycles with skulls and German military decorations, as if the fact that it is by it's nature a dangerous machine was not enough by itself.

The Ryno, on the other hand, has no such statistics. For all I know, it's as safe as a segwey. And, if the problem they are trying to overcome is the nerd factor of the segway, and if, in fact, it isn't dangerous (I have no idea) then I think making the name sound a bit more dangerous might make sense, in the same way that putting a HD logo and some 'iron cross' accessories on a pickup makes it easier to sell.

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