The Quaboag Riders Motorcycle Club is to host the 2023 AMA Hillclimb Grand Championship for the sixth time in the history of the 79-year-old club, on August 5-6, 2023, at its hillclimb facility in Monson, Mass., home of the famed "Monson Monster." Time permitting, August 5 will have the Verticross Class at the end of the event. The championship will culminate with the highly anticipated King of the Hill competition, which will take place on August 6 with the ten fastest riders of the weekend competing in a one-run exhibition for the honor of being crowned King of the Hill. Competitors will battle for AMA National Championship No. 1 plates as well as awards recognizing the AMA Hillclimb Racer of the Year, AMA Vet/Senior Hillclimb Racer of the Year and AMA Youth Hillclimb Racer of the Year.
Flat track announcer, historian and former racer Scottie Deubler has been named as the Grand Marshal of the 2023 Mission Foods AMA Flat Track Grand Championship at the seven-day event on June 14-20 at the Du Quoin State Fairgrounds in Du Quoin, Ill. Known as "The Voice" of flat track in racing circles, Deubler is a third-generation flat tracker who raced in the sport's premier class, competing at renowned tracks like the Daytona Short Track, the Springfield Mile and Du Quoin's legendary "Magic Mile."
Polaris has filed a lawsuit against Timbersled founder Allen Mangum (who sold the brand to Polaris some years ago) for Intellectual Property violation and trade secrets theft after he announced he was starting a competing snowbike brand. (PSB)
BRP reported Q4 revenues of CAN $3,076.3m, an increase of CAN $728.8m or 31% compared to the same period last year, a record performance for a single quarter in the company's history. Retail sales were 21% up for powersports products, with North American SSV market share gains. FY2023 revenues were +31%, reaching an all-time record high of $10,033.4m, achieving market share gains of over +5% in North America. BRP continued to invest in "future market-shaping products" with the completion of three acquisitions, the creation of its LVHA Group and the start of construction of a Can-Am electric two-wheel motorcycle production facility in Querétaro, Mexico.
Yamaha has established a U.S. based Yamaha Motor Exploratory Fund, L.P. II, a company-financed 10-year fund with a total investment of $100m for exploring technologies and opportunities aimed at new business domain expansion and securing competitive advantages (PSB/Visor Down). This is the second such fund in the past five years that Yamaha has invested in. The search for companies to invest in will be carried out by Yamaha Motor Ventures (YMV) - Yamaha's corporate venture capital arm.
Polaris continues to help spotlight and celebrate the participation of women riders in powersports as an official partner of International Female Ride Day (IFRD). Polaris is inviting women riders, no matter their powersports vehicle of choice or their skill level, to "Just Ride" on Saturday, May 6. To continue to listen and learn from women riding enthusiasts across powersports, Polaris is also launching a new survey on IFRD aimed at gathering insights and elevating the perspectives of women riders. IFRD aims to keep women at the forefront of riding and encourages new women to join, while promoting the diversity of women already engaged in all aspects of the powersports industry. Women can join in by riding their off-road vehicles, motorcycles, three-wheeled vehicles, boats or other powersport vehicles on May 6 and use the hashtag #IFRD2022 to join in the conversation. Polaris is celebrating IFRD across the U.S. and around the world with off-road and on-road group rides, dealer events and demo rides to further empower, recognize and welcome the participation of women in powersports.
H-D will make a MY2023.5 introduction for the CVOs at the 120th 'Homecoming' in Milwaukee in July 2023. They will feature a new engine (121 water cooled) and chassis for the Touring bikes that will become standard for the 2024 model year. The 121 cu in models will have Variable Valve Timing (VVT) in the CVO models and 117 cu in non-VVT for the rest of the Touring line-up, with all MY models expected, at this stage, to be water-cooled. Leaked pictures suggest new bodywork too, as well as engine and chassis.
Sources: AMD, IDN, FT, Reuters, PSB, MPN, BDN, MCN, AP, Bloomberg, MSNW, Electrek, electricmotorcycles.news, RideApart.com, Motor1.com, Cycle World, motorbikewriter.com