It is a generalisation, of course it is, and all such judgements are imprecise by their nature, but despite the multiple issues confronting all markets of all kinds at this time, the evidence from EICMA 2022 is that the international motorcycle industry remains mostly positive about its business prospects for the coming season.
That was the 'take-away' for the International Dealer News team from the 79th edition of EICMA, Milan, in November. After the post-pandemic 2021 'comeback' year had seen a near collapse in the admittedly absurdly high and almost certainly exaggerated attendance numbers being reported for the shows to 2019, there does indeed appear to have been an increase in 2022.
The organisers are not quoting an attendance number for 2022 as such, but are claiming a 38 percent increase over 2021. The 2021 press release claimed a 342,644 total attendance figure (way down from the absurd 800,000 plus claims that the organisers had been making), and that would put 2022 at around 472,000 total visitors.
Whether or not one believes the numbers, the fact is that the show was busier this year and, despite all the reasons not to be cheerful (Russia's attack on Ukraine, consumer price inflation, supply chains, logistics, materials price rises and shortages, impending recessions in some or all markets etc.), the motorcycle industry continues to be able to sell most, if not all, of the PTW unit inventory it is generating, and may again prove to be one of those few, rare markets that can grow in a downturn.
With the magic of momentum filling its sails, expect to see the number of vendor booth comebacks that were seen in 2022 increase for EICMA 2023, with fewer withdrawals and more new generation business continuing to fill the halls for Edition 80.
TracTive: The company's X-TREME range of extreme condition suspension solutions "are recognised as the ultimate choice for big adventure bikes and for riders who travel the world with heavy luggage or explore off-road trails," says TracTive co-founder Tom Glazemakers. Distributed and serviced worldwide by TracTive technical partners, including renowned Rally-Raid Products Ltd. in the UK, Touratech GmbH in Germany and Boano Moto Srl in Italy, "more riders are now making the switch from heavyweight, highway and urban jungle-bred large displacement ADVs to the easier to handle, more responsive and versatile medium sized adventure bikes. As they spend more time and do more miles riding harder and more aggressively off-road, then a lot of changes happen to the demands being placed on the suspension - probably the most important component system for hard off-road riding," says Tom. The ultimate proving grounds in the off-road and Enduro racing world are the Dakar, the ultimate long-distance test, and the big bad Erzbergrodeo Hare Scramble, the notorious Iron Giant, where suspensions are pushed to the edge and beyond. "Riding the Yamaha Ténéré 700 Rally-Raid, Pol Tarrés became the first man (or woman) to reach the 17th of the 27 stages of the punishing multi-surface, multi-obstacle Erzbergrodeo course on a twin-cylinder machine - equipped with a new generation X-TREME PRO shock"; www.tractivesuspension.com
HP Corse/Steelform: Recent new Euro 5 compliant designs from the Bologna/Udine based exhaust manufacturer include a choice of SP-3 Carbon and SPS Carbon slip-ons for the latest three-cylinder Triumph Tiger 850/900 models; a lightweight SP-1 Short for the 649 cc, 60 hp Moto Morini X-CAPE ADV; weight-saving, model-specific applications of its SPS Carbon Short for the all-conquering R 1250 GS in titanium, satin steel, or black steel; and the SPS Carbon RR and 4-Track RR (both in titanium satin or black) for the KTM 1290 Super Adventure (S and R); www.hpcorse.com
AFAM Group: Armed with a new name and brand identity, Belgium based AFAM's product range runs from AFAM sprockets and chain to ISON and MIW filters and NITRO and SHIDO batteries. "With the transition from DC AFAM to AFAM Group, we aspire to become a lifestyle brand with a strong sense of recognisability, creativity and credibility," says Marketing Director Davy Dousselaere. "Our aim is to be able to help our clients' marketing efforts by being a strong house of brands, by being a well known and aspirational brand that creates a pull-effect in sales"; www.afam-group.com
Ognibene: Founded in 1948 and still founder-family owned and operated, last year saw the Bologna based specialist add to its TROFEO ("Trophy") brake pads programme with new heat and wear- resistant ceramic brake pads - delivering improved performance all the way from low temperatures right up to over 500 degrees C; www.ognibenechaintech.com
Tecmate International: The OptiMate manufacturer recently unveiled a breakthrough in solar recharging with a game-changing smart solar controller that charges and maintains 12V lead-acid (conventional, AGM, GEL) or 12.8V/13.2V lithium (LFP/LiFePO4) batteries from any solar panel. CEO/CTO Martin Human says: "Many cost-effective solar panels are delivered without any form of charge control as the low trickle of current is meant to be just enough to prevent the battery losing charge in the vehicle. The drain from the vehicle's circuitry and the battery will keep the voltage within range of the battery's natural rest voltage (12.5V-12.8V for lead-acid or 13.3V-13.6V for lithium LFP). The OptiMate Solar DUO controller (TM522-D) converts the trickle of current from solar to pulses of controlled higher energy that is more effective for the charging requirements of any battery. Installed between the solar panel and the battery, this smart little gadget absorbs the low current into a high-efficiency capacitor that is then frequently pulse discharged into the battery, with the concentrated energy raising the voltage going into the battery. It can, therefore, absorb most of the delivered energy, with the vehicle's circuitry continuing its low constant drain from the battery between pulses. Essentially, more is now going into the battery than it is delivering"; www.tecmate.com, www.optimate1.com
Società Generale Ricambi (SGR): Italy's leading motorcycle spare parts distributor has largely "flown under the radar" as one of Europe's majors, but is now starting to flex its muscle. The Bologna based distributor owns Moraco in France, Langenscheidt in Germany and Euromoto 85 of Barcelona, Spain, making SGR Europe one of the market's 'Big Five' distribution players. Recent new products include D.I.D chain kit additions, more AFAM transmission kits, Kellermann lights, Putoline 'Action' kits and the Uclear range of Bluetooth intercoms; www.sgr-it.com
