An interim trade framework between India and the United States will eliminate import duties on Harley-Davidson motorcycles, granting the American brand zero-duty access to India's premium bike segment. PSB reported that Harley sold just 97 premium motorcycles in India in 2025 due in part to the tariffs, but the 800 cc+ market is very small in a country that sells millions of sub-500 cc units annually. Between April and December 2025, combined sales in the 800 cc-1,000 cc, 1,000 cc-1,60 0cc and above 1,600 cc brackets totaled under 2,000 units in India, according to data from the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM). In comparison, total motorcycle sales in India exceeded 96 million units over the same period across all engine sizes.
With sponsors including Motorcycle Storehouse, the Official 2026 BRL (Bagger Racing League) European Cup Calendar kicks off on May 23/24, 2026, at the Cremona Circuit in Italy. Round 2 sees the series move on to the Automotodrom Brno in the Czech Republic (July 11/12), followed by Nürburgring, Germany (September 5/6) with the fourth and final Round at the Circuito de Jerez, Spain (Oct 31 / Nov 1); www.baggereurope.com
Ouch! In an announcement that made the mainstream media on both sides of the Atlantic, Harley-Davidson has had to recall nearly 17,000 Softails over brake failure fears. It affects certain FLHC, FXBB, FXLRS, and FXLRST motorcycles from model years 2025 and 2026. The danger being that "the rear brake line may contact the Body Control Module (BCM), resulting in a hole in the brake line, a brake fluid leak, and loss of the rear brakes."
Following his European 'Grand Tour' earlier this year, Harley-Davidson CEO Artie Starrs continues to take a broom to the management ranks he inherited. He has now swept away EMEA manager Kolja Rebstock, who had been his host in Europe in January - maybe that hadn't gone as well as it appeared! Having joined Harley in 2021, the ex-Daimler and Mitsubishi man was widely thought to have been doing a reasonable job, given the circumstances in which he found himself - declining sales, declining dealer confidence and numbers, economic uncertainties and C-suite instability back home at the mother ship. Fellow German Jochen Zeitz could hardly have made his tenure more difficult, but maybe that wasn't enough to save Harley's Senior VP International from 'taint'?
Reigning Mission AFT SuperTwins king Dallas Daniels (No. 1 Estenson Racing Yamaha MT-07) put the H-D XG750Rs Bauman, Kopp and Robinson to the sword. He successfully defended Yamaha's home turf, completing a clean sweep of victories for the brand in the Yamaha Atlanta Short Track, round 3 of the 2026 Progressive American Flat Track in March.
British wheels specialist Talon Engineering has gone out of business. Based in Yoevil in England's rural southwest, Talon was founded in 1972 by George Sartin, an aircraft industry engineer. It quickly became established as a leading European MX wheels specialist with a global reputation for manufacturing, materials and quality excellence. In 2021 Talon was acquired by Sprit Motorcycles, a British GP2 championship-winning team headed up by Rod McDonagh. Investment, expansion and diversification followed, but so did financial issues. Ultimately, a perfect storm of ambition crashing into the economic realities of the current motorcycle industry appears to have been too much for the wheel maker.
Wall Street bonuses jumped to a record in 2025 as profits soared, with the total pool for payouts rising to $49.2bn. The average annual bonus rose 6% to $246,900, the New York state comptroller estimated.
Jet City H-D of Renton, Wa. has been merged with Destination Harley-Davidson in Tacoma, Wa., with the newly consolidated store rebadged as Grit City H-D, in owner Michael Veracka's MOD Enterprises group.