SEMA and PRI have said that despite strong Congressional backing and extraordinary support from the racing community, the 2021-2022 Congressional session ended without passage of the RPM Act. "Key negotiators in Congress could not reach an agreement on bill language that balanced the need for federal law to protect racers and motorsports parts businesses from EPA enforcement with reasonable measures to ensure that race parts are not used on vehicles driven on roads and public highways."
Indian Motorcycle is recalling 4,653 MY2022 Chief, Chief Bobber, Chief Bobber Darkhorse, Chief Darkhorse, Super Chief and Super Chief Limited motorcycles. The fault involves a kickstand that may not retract properly. Ouch. NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V957000.
Working in partnership with MotoGP rights holder Dorna (Madrid), Triumph is testing sustainable fuels "for a greener and cleaner future." This project has been set up to deliver a move to E40 fuel in the Moto2 World Championship by 2024, with a focus on a transition to E100 by 2027. Triumph is provider and manufacturer of the 'Spec' engine for all teams in the Moto2 series - "sustainable fuel testing to date has encompassed all dimensions of race engine performance development."
Writing in one of the few remaining motorcycle market (any market!) print magazines (of any kind) that can still boast growing readership and revenue, I am asking everyone to put your hands together and pray with me for the flickering flame of knowledge. AP reported that U.S. newspapers (locals mostly) continued to die in 2022 at the rate of two each week. Citing research, AP reported that "areas of the country that find themselves without a reliable source of local news [and genuinely independent journalism] tend to be poorer, older and less educated than those covered well." Not wishing to get into the whole Chicken and Egg thing on that, I will simply report that AP additionally said that the United States had 6,377 newspapers at the end of the first six months of 2022, down from 8,891 in 2005. At that point some 360 newspapers had shut down since the end of 2019, all but 24 of them weeklies serving small communities. An estimated 75,000 journalists worked on newspapers in USA in 2006 - down to 31,000 in 2022 - with annual newspaper revenues having declined from some $50bn to $21bn in the same time frame. Sad face!
Ducati claims a best year ever in 2022 with 61,562 motorcycles delivered worldwide - surpassing the 60,000-bike mark for the first time in its history, despite the global logistics and supply crisis. Sales grew by 3.6% over 2021. Italian deliveries grew by 10% - Italy becomes the main market for the company (9,578 units). The Multistrada V4 is the most loved bike by 'Ducatisti' with more than 10,716 units delivered worldwide during 2022. The Ducati sales network continues its expansion reaching a record 821 dealerships worldwide. The United States is in second place with 8,441 units delivered, a decrease of -6% compared to 2021 due to logistical difficulties and delays in overseas shipments. Another strategic country for Ducati is Germany, which grew by 9% over 2021 and with 6,678 delivered motorcycles is positioning itself as the third largest market. The Monster family saw sales of 7,971 units, followed by the Scrambler Ducati 800 family with 6,880 bikes delivered.
Sources: AMD, IDN, FT, Reuters, PSB, MPN, BDN, MCN, AP, Bloomberg, MSNW, Electrek, electricmotorcycles.news, RideApart.com, Motor1.com, Cycle World, motorbikewriter.com
