News Briefs

In the absence of the 2020 INTERMOT and EICMA shows, IDN will publish the first of a winter and spring 2021 sequence of 64-page "No Show Specials" as the October/November edition - usually our INTERMOT and EICMA preview. The mission is to showcase the vendor company and product news that will otherwise be left to dwell in the shadows! Deadline will be September 14.

The January 2021 edition of MC Mässan, the annual powersports industry expo in Sweden, has been cancelled. Slated for Gothenburg (the show alternates between there and Stockholm), Swedish authorities have not yet indicated any likelihood that the present restrictions on large indoor events will be lifted in time for the show to go ahead. Instead the organisers are working on a tentative plan for the show to move outdoors in the spring - possibly in May 2021. The Start2Ride event planned for 19-20 September in Eskilstuna this year is also cancelled.

Documents leaked from the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) in the USA appear to suggest that Ducati is working on a 1,260 cc 157 hp Lamborghini edition Diavel. A Multistrada Enduro 1260 Grand Tour and a Scrambler 1100 Pro Dark may also be in the pipeline.

 

Discredited former Norton Motorcycles CEO Stuart Garner has been ordered to repay some GBP £14m (€ 15.5m) of pension fund money he is alleged to have embezzled from the business. Norton went into liquidation in January and has been bought for an undisclosed sum by Indian conglomerate TVS. However, Garner insists that the insolvency administrator has access to Norton assets, including cash, property and land, worth considerably more than that. It is a mess - with dealers and customers also said to have lost hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of euro.

Polaris had a much better Q2 and 2020 first half year than it had expected with overall sales revenue down by 'just' -15% at $1.512m with, counter-intuitively, North American retail sales +57%. Motorcycle sales (Indian and Slingshot) were down by -28%, but North American consumer retail sales of Indian motorcycles increased mid-teens percent in a weak domestic U.S. mid to heavyweight motorcycle sector. Polaris off-road vehicle and snowmobile sales were -9% at $953m.

Triumph’s new Trekker GT is an e-bike with components from Shimano and RockShox, based around the Shimano e-drive. It is the first e-cycle in the 118-year history of the Triumph brand and was designed in the UK by Triumph’s in-house styling team - "the elegant frame combined with the narrow-width handlebars and the ultra-comfort of the Selle Royal Vivo saddle provides the rider with optimal ergonomics and great rider control".


Sources: AMD, IDN, FT, Reuters, PSB, MPN, B&B, BDN, MCN, AP, Bloomberg, MNW. electricmotorcycles.news