Motorcycle News
Industry Insider: China Doubles Magnesium Exports, Shortage Avoided
Well. That was a close call. When we received news of the Chinese power crisis back in Q4 of 2021, we weren’t quite sure the industry’s magnesium supply would remain steady going into 2022. After all, with China responsible for production of roughly 87% of the world’s magnesium, a power crisis would spell disaster for …
Forcite: Series A Funding Closes with Over $6 Million Raised
Forcite’s just secured over $6 million, funded post-series A – and we’re expecting big things for the Aussie startup. The report from StartupDaily tells us that the brand – currently hosting 18 employees, 60% of which are motorcycle riders themselves – previously raised over $1.15 million from investors towards a maximum target of $3 million, …
Custom Eye Candy: the Hand-Built Motorcycle Show Returns!
We’ve just had word that the Handbuilt Motorcycle Show will be returning to Austin, Texas, just in time for the MotoGP weekend, with a fleet of unique builds showcasing “the beauty of what can be created by hand, from welders to leather makers, engine gurus, and metal tinkerers.” This is the first time in two …
Industry Insider: Damaged Supply Chains Brace for Painful Recovery in Recent Analysis
With 2021 being the rollercoaster that it was, supply chains around the world have been hit with a crisis of limited product availability – but according to a recent series of analyses, that could all be on the mend…provided the trend upward stays steady. “Starting in 2020, companies reacted to the economic downturn by cancelling …
Supply Crunch Likely to Push Increase of Dealmaking Among Business Owners
I think we can all agree 2021 was a record-breaking year for business owners in the Powersports industry. From the sky-rocketing sales experienced by big brands across the world (creating fresh potential for companies to reinvent themselves and expand their product), to the latest struggle with chip shortages and demand overwhelming supply…suffice it to say that …
Industry Insider: Autonomous Driving Concerns Among the List of Worries Taken to U.S. D.O.T.
U.S. Gov’t Members Meet with Motorcycle Industry Leaders To Talk Priorities in the Powersports Community The Motorcycle Industry Council (MIC), American Motorcyclist Association (AMA), and the Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF) have just hashed out a huge meet with the U.S. D.O.T. Secretary and other gov’t department staff. The topic? Big concerns about the place of …
Lightning Motorcycles Partners With Leading Supplier of Niobium Ultra-Metal
A New Deal in Metal to Aid Efforts Towards World Land Speed Record We’ve just had word that Lightning Motorcycles, in their efforts to prep to break the World Land Speed Record (WLSR), is teaming up with a unique metal supplier in the business of a substance called niobium – and they’ll be using the …
MotoAmerica: Vance & Hines To Field Team for King of the Baggers (KOTB)
When the King of the Baggers (KOTB) racing series was unveiled for MotoAmerica’s 2020 season, crowds went wild. Here was a herd of 900-plus bikes muscling it out on the twisties in a way that supersport series couldn’t even fathom – it was addicting to watch, and purportedly even more fun to ride, if our …
Custom Eye Candy: Workhorse Speed Shop Reveals the FTR AMA
1980s Edge Meets Moto Muscle DNA Indian Motorcycles has tied themselves with Workhorse Speed Shop to give us a jazzy number for the track – and the mastermind behind the build is none other than Brice Hennebert, the creator of Appaloosa, the Indian Scout based Sprint Racer. We’re also told he injected a bit of …
Yamaha: New Ténéré World Raid Supertanker Gets a Makeover for 2022
Yammie’s ADV Middleweight Just Got Rougher and Tougher for EU Yamaha has just gone back to adventure bike basics with their long-distance, off-roading variant of the beloved Ténéré 700 – and the new Ténéré World Raid has fuel capacity increase and suspension at the top of the list of tweaks, among other improvement perks. For …
Norton: Ex-CEO Stuart Garner’s Bad Business Goes to High Court
Garner Pleads Guilty to Re-Investing Pensioners’ Funds Back Into Norton Back when we covered the reveal of Norton’s swanky, ultra-light supersport V4SS, we were impressed at the speed with which the then-CEO resurrected a brand purchased back in 2008, as well as his aspirations for the company. With the subsequent V4SS recalls (over 30) and …
Indian: Confirmation of Indian Challenger Elite in New Specifications
We’ve just had a heads up in a specification document (the same housing further information on Indian’s new Pursuit model) that Indian Motorcycles will soon launch a high-spec Challenger Elite bagger for the bike-minded masses – and word is that it will sit higher on the top-spec shelf than Indian’s current Dark Horse and Limited …
Royal Enfield: Women’s-Only FTR Program Expands for 2022
‘Build. Train. Race.’ Now Features More Rounds, More Riders, More Opportunity. With Royal Enfield releasing a gander of their long-anticipated SG650 Concept motorcycle at last year’s EICMA, we knew that the brand was laser-focused on bringing quality machines to the community – and now, their highly popular All-women’s ‘Build. Train. Race.’ FTR Program is slotted …
CAKE Releases Anti-Poaching Ösa flex AP / Ösa+ AP Electric Motorcycles
Proceeds To Be Donated to Conservation Efforts We all knew at this point that CAKE’s electric machines were being snatched up by the biggies for a few neat projects around the motorcycle industry proper. From CAKE’s partnership with FIM to bring utility machines to the trackside, to their partnership with Polestar to bring their unique …
Indian: New Pursuit Will Be Taller, Longer, Heavier Than the Challenger
When we were given the tasty tidbits of gossip that included filed trademarks by Indian Motorcycles on a new “Indian Pursuit” (and as-yet-to-surface Indian Guardian) back in 2020, we didn’t have much to go off of except the name. With further updates the following year telling us that the Pursuit’s reveal would include familiarity in …
Harley-Davidson: New Details on LiveWire’s Electric Arrow Platform
With the emergence of Harley-Davidson’s LiveWire brand, many saw the One – the brand’s first electric motorcycle – as an homage to luxury electric tech that sported a debatably high price (though in-line with H-D’s price point). Now, with the American manufacturer in full swing on the creation of their new, more budget-friendly middleweight Arrow …
KTM: Brabus 1300 R’s 154-unit Fleet Sold Out In Under 2 Minutes
When KTM revealed that they would be partnering with Prime Automotive Tuning brand Brabus to bring a souped-up bike to the masses, we were just a tad excited. After all, with Brabus being known for their uprated machines in collab with big names like Mercedes, you couldn’t go wrong fitting out a bike for a …
Harley-Davidson: Sportster S Is the First Motorcycle in India To Attempt 24-Hour Endurance Feat
Harley-Davidson’s new XL boy has just been labeled as the first bike in India to attempt a 24-hour endurance feat – and with H-D’s Twitter update reporting that the Sportster S gunned a full 3,141 kilometres with an average speed of 130.9km/h, we’ve a new level of respect for the American manufacturer’s nod to the new …
Gear Grind: Airbag Pants From Swedish Brand MO’CYCLE
I was going to start off with a long list of pear-shaped jokes, but I think I’m going to hold my silence for the people that could benefit from this invention – because there’s huge potential here. A Swedish company – Airbag Inside Sweden AB – has just created their first airbag collection under the …
JetPack Aviation: Flying Motorcycle Tests Reach Round Two
Well, it seems that 2022 will be an interesting year if the blistering paces of the economies’ companies are any indicator – and JetPack Aviation (JA)is no exception. The company made headlines with their first prototype, a jetpack capable of range and endurance, back in 2017 with more recent-gen variants popping up in the past …
Electric Everything: KTM e-Duke Electric Motorcycle Confirmed
When KTM launched their electric off-road machines (the Freeride E-SM, E-SX and E-XC), we kind of got the picture that parent company Pierer Group would eventually go ham on the clean green initiative – and thanks to “a leaked document from a model planning meeting,” that initiative has just made room for an E-Duke from …
KTM: ‘Ride Orange’ Street Demo Announced for 2022
The schedule for KTM’s ‘Ride Orange’ street demo has been officially released for this season, with the series kicking off tomorrow, Saturday, February 26 at KTM’s North American Headquarters in Murrieta, California. The street demo will be stopping at some of the biggest motorcycle events in the country, with riders slotted to enjoy a boatload …
KTM: Brabus 1300 R Revealed as Stunning Example of German Auto Performance
An Auto Performance Shop Partnership Shouldn’t Look This Good If you’ve ever wanted a bike with supercar genetics, you’re looking at the newest eye candy to grace the good web – and we can’t get enough of the aesthetics. World, meet the Brabus 1300 R – a bike sporting DNA from KTM’s range-topping Super Duke …
The Track Tick: Aprilia Racer Days Are Back!
Featuring Partnerships with Pirelli, Dainese, and AGV We’ve just had word that Aprilia’s Racer Days are back – and the premium motorcycle experience just might get you rubbing shoulders in the box with 13-time Premier Class race winner Massimiliano “Max” Biaggi. The experience is second to none; with riders flocking from all over the world …
EICMA: Statement from Super Soco on Violated Appearance Patents
Super Soco Wasn’t At EICMA…But Their Bikes Were If you were at this year’s EICMA, you would have seen models from the brilliant minds of Yamaha, Brembo, Royal Enfield, Kawasaki and Ducati, with KTM and a few other brands deciding to wait a year given the unprecedented times. One of the brands to show up …
A CALL TO ARMS: Everything We Know about the New BSA Gold Star
Nothing gives you street cred faster than riding on the historical coattails of a famous brand. From China’s new MG Motor to the rebirth of Norton and Brough, the branding ‘leg up’ you get by attaching an old and well-respected name to your new-born moto manufacturing enterprise is as undeniable as it is valuable. In …
Brough Superior: Beautifully Restored Superbikes to Front Bonhams Spring Stafford Sale
If there’s one thing we love here at wBW, it’s moto-inspired eye candy – and what better place to take a gander than the Bonhams Spring Stafford Sale? The most recent press release to hunker down in our inbox tells us that the brace of bikes highlighting the sale are restoration projects, with a nice …
Pirelli Reveals All-New Diablo Rosso IV Corsa Slicks
Our favorite Italy-based tyre manufacturer has just released their hot-off-the-block Diablo Rosso IV Corsa slicks – the sportiest tire in the current range of the brand. Pirelli’s press release tells us that these rubbers feature a higher grip in dry conditions, sport enhanced ‘fast’ handling thanks to the composition adhering better to micro-oroughness of asphalt, …
SWMotech Releases Pan America Accessories
When Harley-Davidson gave the world their contribution to the adventure segment, many were taken aback at the manufacturer’s goals to beeline for the top-shelf of the genre. After all, it isn’t often that a motorcycle manufacturer creates a bike to give the competition a run for their money right off the hop (especially if it’s …
MotoGP: Aprilia Racing Reveals Their Season Colours and Goals for 2022
In line with the livery reveals of Ducati’s Desmosedici and Honda’s Repsol (and Yamaha’s WithU RNF Team and Monster Energy Team) is today’s unveiling of Aprilia Racing’s colors for 2022 – better late than never, with this season being the first time in 15 years that the brand will be a standalone factory entrant. Last …
Honda: CB500 Range Confirmed for U.S. Debut
We’ve just had word that Honda’s CB500X, CB500F, and CBR500R have been updated for this year – and with a U.S. debut slotted for 2022, we’re excited to see the machines drop into the colonies proper. It’s long been known that Honda occupies a unique niche in the motorcycle segment; with the Japanese manufacturer being nearly …
Gear Grind: Muc-Off to add Exhaust Bung to Powersports Range
Muc-Off, a retail store dedicated to “being active – whether it’s on a mountain, trail or at the skate park,” has just added a new unit to their lineup of motorbike accessories – and the Muc-Off Exhaust Bung is sure to be a colourful addition to your drawer of bike necessities. Muc-Off’s press release states …
AFT: Vance & Hines To Sponsor Two Riders for 2022 Season
We’ve just had a recent press release from Vance & Hines stating that the aftermarket exhausts and electronic fuel management product supplier will be footing two riders to complete in this season’s American Flat Track (AFT) – and racers Jessie Janisch and Brandon Kitchen are excited for the season to begin. The press release states that …
Triumph Reveals TE-1 Electric Prototype in Final Phase 4
Yesterday, we covered the basics on what we knew about Project Triumph TE-1 – an electric motorcycle prototype created in collaboration with four companies: Triumph, Williams Advanced Engineering (WAM), Integral Powertrain Ltd., and WMG (University of Warwick), with the project itself being funded by the government for Zero-Emission Vehicles through Innovate UK. We promised updates, …
Switzerland To Consider Removing 1955 Racing Ban
We’ve just had word that Switzerland might finally remove the country’s ban on petrol motorsports – and if the revision is passed, Swiss will be able to experience fossil fuel races the like of which haven’t been present in the country since the mid ‘50’s. There’s a reason for the ban, and it’s a good …
Electric Everything: Tesla Releases Universal Supercharger Network for EU
Well, it’s finally happening. After years of being a client-exclusive brand, Tesla has unveiled a universal supercharger network that will be made available and compatible with all current electric cars. The pilot program is being released in late 2021, so we’re expecting the full deal to be soon available on the EU market, with high …
MotoGP: Desmosedici GP Livery Revealed for 2022 Season
In line with the livery reveals of Honda Repsol and the WithU Yamaha RNF team reveals, Ducati’s Desmosedici team has now added their gauntlets to the proverbial pile with the unveiling of their new livery – by all appearances unchanged, bar the new sponsor logos. However, if you look a tad closer (and take our …
MotoGP: 2022 Livery Revealed for Honda Repsol
The Honda Repsol Team has pulled the wraps on their new livery for the 2022 season – and with Marc Marquez and Pol Espargaro behind the proverbial wheel, we’re anticipating a circuit loaded with a helluva view. The report from MCN shows this year’s color scheme to be sporting the usual colors courtesy of the Spanish …
Harley-Davidson: Quarterly Revenue Beats Analyst’s Predictions
Harley-Davidson’s current work in rebranding the company is, in a word, impressive. Having been present at the installation of their Hardwire Strategy (and the rollercoaster ride that was the following two years), factoring in restrictions, the economic about-face of 2020/2021, and the cause-and-effect of the brand’s new objectives, it’s safe to say that few have …
KTM: Spy Shots Show Next-Gen 890 Bikes
KTM’s been working on the testing phase of their next-gen Adventure range – and judging by the spy shots taken recently in Austria, it looks like there will be a third machine to join the 890 lineups. The report from MCN states that the third machine in question appears to be a new KTM 890 …
