Originally slated for July 10-12 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio, the AMA has postponed its 2020 Vintage Motorcycle Days with a new date to be determined. Previously purchased tickets will be honored on the new date. Established in 1990 and held at Mid-Ohio for the past 24 years, AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days is hailed as an annual celebration of America's motorcycling heritage, welcoming thousands of enthusiasts and hundreds of vendors for bike shows, racing, seminars, the country's largest motorcycle swap meet and more.
Spain based MotoGP rights owner Dorna has had to abandon its plans to stage a rescheduled U.S. MotoGP at the Austin, Texas Circuit of the Americas (13-15 November). This means that Moto America has had to abandon its intention of making the weekend the season finale for its 2020 Superbike series.
Harley has announced a new round of job cuts with some 140 positions to be cut - 90 production jobs at its York, PA. final assembly plant and around 50 at Tomahawk, Wisconsin (molding and paint). This is not expected to be the last "right sizing" we'll see at Harley this year.
Despite new CEO Jochen Zeitz' avowed intention to steer Harley away from trying to teach the world to ride, the company has added two additional new courses to its Rider Academy training menu. The existing course is based on the MSF Basic Rider Course. To appeal to a wider range of customers, Harley will add 1-on-1 coaching sessions and private group courses with a maximum of four participants.
BMW Motorrad has reported global growth of +9.8% for June - its best ever June result - with a total of 20,021 BMW motorcycles sold. Despite understandably weak sales March to May, BMW Motorrad sold 76,707 motorcycles worldwide in the first half of 2020 for a decrease of 'only' -17.7%. Sales of 13,937 units in Europe (+2,684 more than in the same months of the previous year) saw the company post +23.9 % for Europe January to June; with a +58.2% increase in its German home market. The company says it expects to see U.S. sales buoyed by the new R 18 Cruiser.
After having hoped to be able to stage a delayed 2020 annual Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este in October this year, BMW has conceded that it will have to cancel entirely for this year, with May 28-31 confirmed for 2021. One of the most upscale and prestigious of the world's summer season of automotive and motorcycle 'beauty pageants', the event for classic and vintage cars was founded in 1929 and takes place near the Villa d'Este hotel in Cernobbio, on the shores of Lake Como in Italy.
Sources: AMD, IDN, FT, Reuters, PSB, MPN, B&B, BDN, MCN, AP, Bloomberg, MSNW, Electrek, electricmotorcycles.news
