As a patron of the event, FEMA (the Federation of European Motorcyclist's Associations) will speak at the First International Conference on Road Safety for Motorcyclists - Friday 20 September 2019 at the AISICO Test House & Lab in Pereto, Italy. Staged in collaboration with the European Union Road Federation (ERF), the ongoing work to make guardrails more motorcyclist-friendly is a priority theme. FEMA says the need of an international debate about this subject arises from the release in April of a new Italian decree about the road safety system for motorcyclists. The decree follows the EU regulation CEN/TS 17342:2019 and describes the technical specifications to reduce the impact severity of motorcyclists' collisions with safety barriers.
Vertex Pistons of Italy (VP Italia) scored a first and second in the 85 cc 2019 European Motocross Championship Class, winning with young Latvian Edvards Bidzāns (first, Husqvarna) and Valerio Lata (second, Marchetti Racing, KTM) at Loket in Czechia, July 27-28.
BMW Motorrad was able to increase deliveries of its motorcycles and maxi-scooters in the second quarter of 2019 to 54,582 units (2018: 51,117 units; +6.8%), resulting in a corresponding increase in revenues to € 727 million (2018: € 658 million; +10.5%). Six-month deliveries rose to 93,188 units (2018: 86,975; +7.1%). Segment revenues amounted to € 1,313 million (2018: € 1,182 million; +11.1%). EBIT increased to € 191 million (2018: € 175 million; +9.1%), resulting in an EBIT margin of 14.5% (2018: 14.8%).
After three years in Berlin and a 'Road Trip' in 2018, BMW's Pure&Crafted Festival is moving from Berlin to the Taets Art and Event Park at Amsterdam for three days from Friday 27 to Sunday 29 September - three days of beer, bikes, bands, food and culture.
Italian exhaust brand LeoVince is celebrating its 65th anniversary this year - "innovative research has always been at the heart of everything that LeoVince stands for. We started on the streets, but soon ended up on the racetrack, looking for innovative materials and construction techniques. The art of manufacturing exhaust systems for champions seeking maximum performance has always been our school - bringing those same exhausts to the road for today's bikers".
Indian conglomerate Mahindra's first new model in its Classic Legends Pvt Ltd BSA relaunch for the Indian market (initially?) is being branded as a BSA Gold Star. It will feature an engine made in Austria by BRP owned Rotax - an updated version of the 652 cc single as supplied to Aprilia for the 650 Pegaso and BMW F650 Funduro. This follows Mahindra's relaunch of the once massively popular in India Jawa brand in 2018.
Led by shops in Austria, Switzerland and Germany, calls are growing in Europe for the formation of an independent motorcycle dealer association. At present the only opportunities for dealers to organise are through their OE dealer groups. The mood music among over 100 dealers who attended the February meeting of the Austrian trade association's meeting was that up to a third of dealers could be facing threats to their existence.
Sources: AMD, IDN, FT, Reuters, PSB, MPN, B&B, BDN, MCN, AP, Bloomberg, MNW
