Sadly, it is now only a month until the National Motorcycle Museum in Anamosa, Iowa will close its doors permanently, on September 5. Mecum Auctions will be handling the sale of the John Parham Collection from September 6-9. There will be over 300 collector-grade motorcycles and over 1,000 lots of road art offered for sale to the highest bidder. In total, over 6,000 pieces will be offered.
Harley-Davidson has moved to fill the vacancy left by former CFO Gina Goetter's decision to leave the company with Jonathan Root, SVP of Harley-Davidson Financial Services (HDFS) appointed as the permanent Chief Financial Officer.
My, how times change. Following its announcement of a deal with Bell Helicopters to host the first ever Sturgis Helicopter Rally, the Buffalo Chip has partnered with Temecula, California based MotoDoffo Wines to release a "Rally Red" limited edition wine as the Official Wine of the Sturgis Buffalo Chip. The specially-labeled Cabernet Sauvignon is now available for online orders.
Marc McAllister, President and CEO, Tucker Powersports has confirmed that Tucker will again support AIMExpo at Las Vegas, February 6-8, 2024. "Tucker recognizes the importance of coming together as an industry and is proud to have a major presence at AIMExpo," said McAllister. "To share ideas, to connect with our dealers, to create inspiration, to showcase new products, and to strengthen our partnerships – it's important for us and the entire industry to be there"; www.aimexpousa.com
Yamaha Motor has announced its eventual withdrawal from the snowmobile market, with sales in Japan to end with remaining 2022 model year inventory, in Europe in 2024, and in North America in 2025. Having sold its first snowmobiles in 1968, Yamaha was an early adopter of environmentally friendly four-stroke models. However, it has concluded that it will be difficult to continue a sustainable business in the snowmobile market. Going forward, Yamaha will concentrate management resources on current business activities and new growth markets.
Buell Motorcycles has launched a 40th-anniversary Freedom Edition Hammerhead 1190 sport bike. Boasting 185 hp and 102 ft-lbs of torque, it weighs in at 419 lbs. The MRSP starts at $24,990, with the first 40 examples featuring a special four-year warranty and Team Buell autographed bodywork.
Italian electric motorcycle manufacturer Energica rider Stefano Mesa (Columbia) and Tytlers Cycle Racing continue to impress in the Super Hooligans championship series, becoming the "the first EV ever in the world to lead a race against ICE machinery," as Roland Sands pointed out in commentary breaking the e-motorcycle lap record (1:31.272 seconds) at Laguna Seca during Round 6 of the 2023 series, finishing in fifth place on the Energica Eva Ribelle RS.
Pied Piper says its latest Service Telephone Effectiveness (STE) Study has ranked Harley in first place (among 26 powersports brands) followed by Polaris off-road, BMW, Indian and LiveWire. The researcher made 'Mystery Shopper' calls to 1,608 powersports stores from March to May 2023. Other brands to beat Pied Piper's service customer responsiveness score Industry Average were Aprilia, Moto Guzzi, Royal Enfield, KTM, Husqvarna, Suzuki and Triumph. Kymco dealers came last, with Zero fifth from last.
Indian Motorcycle has issued a recall notice for certain 2022 Indian Chief Bobber, Indian Chief Dark Horse, and Indian Chief Bobber Dark Horse motorcycles. The issue is a missing belt guard reflector.
Sources: AMD, IDN, FT, Reuters, PSB, MPN, BDN, MCN, AP, Bloomberg, MSNW, Electrek, electricmotorcycles.news, RideApart.com, Motor1.com, Cycle World, motorbikewriter.com