BRP is marking the 50th anniversary of Can-Am with a special collaboration with The Shoe Surgeon "that pushes again the limits of what's possible to celebrate inclusivity, its heritage and the thrill of the ride" with three custom Can-Am Ryker 3-wheel vehicles and three styles of Can-Am-inspired riding shoes. This will be followed by "revolutionary new Can-Am product updates and models, staying true to its trailblazer nature." Retail sales of Can-Am products are said to have more than doubled in the last four years and building on its motorcycle legacy, "Can-Am is also changing the power dynamic with two new electric motorcycles."
The LiveWire Group, Inc. (it's a Group now?) has appointed Karim Donnez as CEO, succeeding Jochen Zeitz who, having served as CEO for an agreed period, will remain as Chairman of LiveWire. An engineer by training, Donnez joins LiveWire from Bombardier Recreational Products where he was most recently President of BRP's Marine Group. In further news, LiveWire has appointed Hiromichi Mizuno to its Board of Directors. Described as a "global thought leader in sustainable investments" he brings "both extensive international financial experience and EV sector expertise." Additionally, Paul Krause, Chief Legal Officer at Harley-Davidson will also be appointed to the Board of Directors of LiveWire.
Indian Motorcycle dealers ranked highest in a 2023 Pied Piper study measuring response to website customers. "Powersports industry performance has improved over the past five years, but there is a large gap in customer treatment between top ranked brands and the others. Following Indian were H-D, Polaris' Side-by-Side/UTV dealers, BRP's Can-Am dealers, Kawasaki and Yamaha. The powersports industry was only answering website customer inquiries 31% of the time on average five years ago, compared to 52% of the time in 2023. Brands with the greatest improvement since 2022 were Kubota, Arctic Cat, Kawasaki and Yamaha. Only four brands failed to improve from 2022 to 2023: BMW, Harley-Davidson, Triumph and Moto Guzzi.
The recent spate of boardroom upheavals at online powersports vehicle buy and sell platform RumbleOn have included the appointment of Steven J. Pully to its board. Pully is described as "an experienced board member, corporate executive, investment banker and restructuring professional." Pully was proposed as a nominee by shareholders and former Board members. In an effort to advance the interests of all shareholders, the Board is implementing enhancements to improve the diversity of the Board, broaden the expertise and skillsets of its directors, and heighten the Board's independence.
Slated for San Juan, Argentina (November 6-11, 2023) AMA has announced ten World, Junior and Women's Trophy riders - and 21 Club Team riders - to represent the United States at the 97th FIM International Six Days Enduro (ISDE). This will be the fifth time the ISDE has been held in South America. Every participating country is allowed four riders on its World Trophy Team, three riders age 23 or younger on its Junior Trophy Team, and three female riders on its Women's team. The U.S. Women's World Trophy Team won in 2021, and previously had won in 2019 and 2007. The U.S. World Trophy Team last won the ISDE in 2019, which was the second ISDE World Trophy title for the United States. The U.S. Junior World Trophy Team last won in Argentina in 2014. The 2023 U.S. World Trophy Team includes Taylor Robert, Johnny Girroir, Dante Oliveira and Cole Martinez. The AMA's two three-day qualifiers - one on the East Coast and one on the West Coast - resulted in the qualification of 16 individuals, while five riders were selected by the ISDE committee; www.AmericanMotorcyclist.com
The AMA has announced the Hall of Fame 'Class of 2023' inductees to be honored on September 15 during the AMA's Hall of Fame Days event in Pickerington, Ohio. Rita Coombs was one of those responsible for the creation of the AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship at Loretta Lynn's in 1982. From 2007 to 2017, Ryan Dungey forged great success in AMA Supercross and Pro Motocross, tallying four 450SX and three 450MX titles. Dungey is one of only seven riders to have more than 30 450SX wins. With 98 national championship event wins, Barry Hawk cemented himself as one of the most successful off-road riders ever. Showing his versatility, he stands alone as the only rider to ever win AMA GNCC national titles on both an ATV and a motorcycle. Grant Langston is the only rider to win a World Motocross Championship, an AMA Motocross Championship and both AMA Supercross Regional Championships - East and West - in the 125/250 cc classification. A racer turned daredevil, Travis Pastrana used motorcycling to build himself into a mainstream star. At the competition level, Pastrana won the 2000 AMA 125 cc National Motocross Championship, becoming the youngest rider (16 years, 10 months, 26 days) to win an AMA Pro Motocross title. He also added a 125 cc East AMA Supercross Championship and 17 total medals at the X Games to his resume. 2024 will mark the 100th anniversary of the AMA.
Sources: AMD, IDN, FT, Reuters, PSB, MPN, BDN, MCN, AP, Bloomberg, MSNW, Electrek, electricmotorcycles.news, RideApart.com, Motor1.com, Cycle World, motorbikewriter.com