September 24, 2023, saw Honda marking the 75th anniversary of the founding of the company in 1948, starting with 34 employees. The first motorcycle to be mass-produced was the 98 cc two-stroke Dream D-Type in 1949. Shortly after the launch, at which Soichiro Honda met Takeo Fujisawa, who turned out to be his ideal business partner and company Managing Director, investing some of his own money into the company as it increased its capital despite the difficult economic situation in post-war Japan. The Cub F-Type was a bicycle with a 50 cc two-stroke auxiliary engine that was sold in more than 15,000 bicycle shops and the rest, as they say, became history, becoming the largest motorcycle manufacturer in the world just 10 years later.
Celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2024, AIMExpo is the largest and most important powersports tradeshow in North America and will be back in Las Vegas, NV, February 6-8, 2024. Open only to dealers and industry professionals, AIMExpo offers an immersive experience for the powersports industry - a platform for key brands, manufacturers, dealers and distributors to learn about and discuss the important issues currently facing our industry. The venue is the Las Vegas Convention Center, South Hall, and international visitors can register on-line at www.aimexpousa.com
Internationally recognised Egli Motorradtechnik AG (Bettwil, Switzerland) has closed its doors. In the absence of a successor to take the business forward, founder and inventor Fritz W. Egli (now aged 80) has reluctantly had to take new orders with a close-down sale to happen soon. Egli is famed for his central tube frame designs and bike tuning.
Finland based electric motorcycle manufacturer Verge has appointed the developer of Apple and Tesla stores, respected business and retail visionary George Blankenship, as its new Chief Revenue Officer. With a career spanning more than 40 years, Blankenship has developed acclaimed retail strategies for world-renowned brands and will be responsible for developing Verge Motorcycles' customer interface and customer journey, as well as its global store strategy.
Alexander Buckan will take over from Edgar Heinrich as the new head of BMW Motorrad Design, effective 1 January 2024. Buckan will be responsible for the design of all BMW Group two-wheeled vehicles, rider equipment and accessories. Edgar Heinrich, who has been BMW Motorrad's Head of Design since 2012, is retiring after 35 years at the BMW Group. Buckan began his career at BMW Motorrad as a transportation designer back in 2003. Since then, he has been responsible for a variety of different models, including the F 800 GS, 450 X, R 1200 GS LC and R 1200 GS Adventure LC.
MEGA ChinaMotor reports that "noteworthy" new electric PTW introductions at CIMAMotor 2023 in September included new models from the likes of VFLY, a new brand from Yadea; FELO, a "a cutting-edge high-performance electric motorcycle brand that has competed in MotoE last year"; Arctic Leopard, a Chinese electric off-road vehicle brand that has announced its participation in the 2024 Dakar Rally; QJETECH, the electric vehicle brand of QJMOTOR Group, with ADV scooter models; Loncin owned Bicose with its EC04 'flat' scooter and the EF03 electric off-roader; CINECO, a "high-end electric vehicle brand" owned by ZONGSHEN; Surron and leading lithium battery brands such as Ampace and Greenway.
French electric snowbike manufacturer Moon Bikes says it will be opening ten new MoonBikes Parks in Europe and North America this winter - "enhancing our presence worldwide and complementing our existing family of 45 parks".
Sources: AMD, IDN, FT, Reuters, PSB, MPN, BDN, MCN, AP, Bloomberg, MSNW, Electrek, electricmotorcycles.news, RideApart.com, Motor1.com, Cycle World, motorbikewriter.com
