Brand profile maintenance is like painting the Golden Gate Bridge - the job is never finished. It isn't designed to be. If you stop, rust sets in and negative speculation quickly takes control of your balance sheet. If you think keeping your brand identity and profile alive is expensive, try cheap! - Yeldarb Nibor, 2008.
LeMans Corporation (Drag Specialties and Parts Unlimited) is returning to AIMExpo for the show's 2026 debut in Anaheim, California, January 7-9 at the Anaheim Convention Center. LeMans will sponsor free coffee for attendees, offer exclusive dealer incentives, and anchor its exhibit with the iconic Drag Specialties semi. This year's event will also coincide with the kickoff of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross season at nearby Angel Stadium.
Newly anointed Harley CEO Artie Starrs clearly knew he was in the frame some weeks before the news was announced formerly. He signed up to do Riding Academy training at Maverick Harley-Davidson in Dallas in May this year - while the whole H Partners farrago was still underway. He reportedly placed an order for a 2025 117" M8 Heritage Classic shortly before the August 4 announcement of his appointment, collecting the bike on August 9.
The Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE: HOG) Board of Directors has approved a cash dividend of $0.18 per share for the third quarter of 2025. The dividend is payable September 24 to the shareholders of record of the Company's common stock as of September 10, 2025.
The AMA's Vintage Motorcycle Days (VMD) is slated for a return to its usual Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio on July 24-26, 2026; vintagemotorcycledays.com
Former MAG, S&S, Bitubo and Race Winning Brands man David Zemla has signed on with Beaverton, Oregon based SW-Motech USA, the North American HQ for the German luggage and touring accessories manufacturer. All SW-Motech products are made in Europe in its own facilities. Recent news also includes the appointment of Parts Canada as distributor there. SW-M products are also available through Parts Unlimited and Drag Specialties in USA and Parts Europe in Germany; www.sw-motech.us
Drag Specialties has a new Central Ohio area Sales Rep Jack Johnson joins the North East Region team following several years of parts sales experience on the dealer level as well as over 10 years of riding expertise, on Harleys and dirt bikes.
H-D has confirmed the successful conclusion of its 'Strategic Partnership' with investors KKR and PIMCO with the Completion of Sale of Residual Interests in Securitized Consumer Loan Receivables. The strategy is designed to reduce the amount of capital that is required by HDFS to fund its loan book and remove debt from the H-D balance sheet. The deal has raised a pretty meagre $230m through sale of residual interests in certain securitized consumer loan receivables at a premium to par. The residual interests sold represented aggregate retail loan receivables of approximately $2bn and related debt of approximately $1.8bn at June 30, 2025.
Finnish E-bike manufacturer Verge Motorcycles has expanded its U.S. retail presence with a new retail showroom inside the Bike Shed Moto Co. in downtown Los Angeles. This marks Verge's first major retail footprint in Southern California. "Expanding our retail presence in the USA, especially with Bike Shed Moto Co. in a dynamic market like Los Angeles, is a significant step for Verge. Customers will now be able to see, feel, and experience our bikes in an authentic environment that reflects our shared passion for motorcycling," says Pekka Parnanen of Verge Motorcycles. BSMC LA is located at 1580 Industrial Street, LA; www. bikeshedmoto.com, www.vergemotorcycles.com
Having made its name in the 1950s with snowmobiles, 2025 sees Polaris celebrate 40 years in the ATV market - initially with the three-wheel Scrambler before the four-wheel Trail Boss paved the way for the 4×6 Big Boss in 1989/PSB
