coronavirus
Ducati Reports Best Third Quarter Ever
What COVID-19? Ducati managed to do the best third quarter ever despite the pandemic. The company managed to deliver 14,694 motorcycles worldwide in Q3 of 2020. that’s more than ever before. Of those, 4,468 were delivered in September. They included Panigale, Scrambler, and Multistrada as the highest sellers, which should come as little surprise to …
2020 Daytona 200 Cancelled
COVID-19 Strikes Again The 79th Daytona 200 presented by Comoto has officially been canceled for 2020. The reason? The COVID-19 pandemic. The event was originally postponed from its original date of March 14. It was supposed to occur on October 17th, but now, the announcement has come through and the event is canceled. “The DAYTONA …
A Study Links the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally to 250,000 COVID Cases, SD Officials Dispute This
How Bad Are the Numbers? The scientific community warned us that large gatherings—like the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally—could be super spreader events of the COVID-19 virus. According to a new study by the IZA Institute of Labor Economics, more than 250,000 cases of COVID-19 can be connected to the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. That not only puts …
New Motorcycle Sales Surge in the UK
Keep the Good Sales Rolling There was a 31.2 percent boost in two-wheeled vehicle sales in August in the UK according to MoreBikes. This follows strong sales in June and July, which I previously reported on. The boost in sales for August suggests that the sales surges of June and July are part of a …
Piaggio’s Sales Take a Dive
At Least the Company Is Still Selling Plenty of Scooters Piaggio Group owns many brands from Piaggio and Vespa to Aprilia and Moto Guzzi, and that means it sells a lot of two-wheeled machines over the course of the year. All of the mid-year sales numbers have come out recently, and it looks like Piaggio’s …
Royal Enfield Plans for Sales Surge
Here Comes the Wave Royal Enfield’s sales have been strong outside of India, but they’ve been down in its home country. That may be about the change and the company is planning for it. The sales outside of the Indian market are expected to stay high and even increase but with the Indian society at …
BMW Motorrad Posts Record June Sales
Moving Past COVID-19 Despite the pandemic, sales of powersports equipment have been strong. I reported on this the other day. The case in point is BMW Motorrad. The company posted strong sales numbers in June and that has led to a nearly 10 percent rise in sales year-over-year, according to RideApart. When the pandemic first …
2020 Americade Rally Is Canceled
Hopefully, It Will Return Next Year The Americade Rally isn’t postponed in 2020, it simply isn’t going to happen this year. The reason for this is that the COVID-19 pandemic is still an issue and is causing many events to be postponed or canceled. The original date for the Americade Rally was June 2-6 in …
Benelli Museum Reopens to the Public
Coming Out of the Pandemic In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, a lot of businesses were forced to shut down. In Italy, these shutdowns were pretty much everything. The devastating effects of the virus were felt worse there than many other places. Now the country is coming out of the worst of the pandemic …
Piaggio Group Secures $60 Million Loan
Keeping Things Rolling Piaggio Group is a massive organization. The group is comprised of Aprilia, Moto Guzzi, Vespa, and other brands, and rakes in a lot of money, so I was a bit surprised to learn that the company secured a $60 million loan in the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic. Piaggio Group isn’t in …
The Biker Badgers Start Website to Support Biker-Owned Businesses
Supporting Other Bikers In times like these with Coronavirus screwing up all sorts of motorcycle-related business, it’s nice to see some folks work on a solution. Sonny “Badger” and his wife Angie of The Badgers, successful Vloggers and influencers in the motorcycling world decided to build a website for biker owned businesses. The goal? To …
Goodwood Festival of Speed and Goodwood Revival Postponed Until 2021
Two Iconic Events Pushed Out As the year wears on, more and more motorcycle events get canned or pushed out due to Coronavirus. The latest to succumb to COVID-19’s effects is the Goodwood Festival of Speed and the Goodwood Revival. According to MoreBikes, the two events usually take place in July and September, but this …
Intermot 2020 Officially Canceled, Replaced With an Online Event
Another Event Canceled Today, the Koelnmesse and the German Motorcycle Industry Association announced Intermot is canceled. The organizers stated that manufacturers and others in the industry are struggling now due to the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and it wouldn’t be right to ask them to put money and resources towards the event. “An …
KTM CEO Says Sales Have Stayed Strong Since COVID-19 Pandemic Began
A Surprising Result for KTM In a recent interview with Le Repaire des Motards, Pierer Mobility Group’s CEO Stefan Pierer said that KTM reacted early on to the pandemic and actually has not seen much of an issue with its sales since reopening. He said that his company has actually hired more people since the …
Royal Enfield’s May Sales Look Better Than April Sales But They’re Still Low
Getting Better-ish Royal Enfield didn’t have a super great May in terms of sales numbers in its home market. It actually saw a 69 percent decrease year-over-year in India and sold only 18,429 bikes. According to RideApart, the sales numbers are still way better than April’s. In April in India, Royal Enfield only sold 91 …
Stafford International Classic Motorcycle Show Postponed Until October
Playing it Safe In the UK, the International Stafford Classic Motorcycle Show is an important show, but it is being postponed due to COVID-19. The new date for the show is in October. It will be from October 10 and October 11, 2020. The bike show will join the sister event, the Carole Nash Classic …
Triumph Is Set to Cut 240 of UK Staff Members Due to COVID-19
Worldwide the Number Could be 400 The COVID-19 pandemic has had horrible effects on economies around the world. Triumph revealed that it is set to cut 240 UK staff members due to the pandemic. The number of people who could lose their jobs worldwide is expected to be “circa 400,” according to Motorcycle News. Those …
Motorcycle Industry Council Says Sales Stayed Strong Despite COVID-19
Some Good News The Motorcycle Industry Council held a webinar yesterday and in that webinar, the MIC leadership told attendees that powersports sales managed to stay high despite the fact that COVID-19 has caused all sorts of disruptions. This should come as a surprise to many due to the fact that the economy around the …
MV Agusta Collaborates With eXor to Donate PPE to Varese Circolo Hospital
Continuing Its Support MV Agusta supported Varese Circolo Hospital when the COVID-19 pandemic was at its peak in the area. I reported on the company’s efforts to donate testing equipment. Well, now it seems MV Agusta is continuing to support the hospital. Recently the motorcycle company partnered with eXor to provide Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) …
Harley-Davidson Restarted Production, but it’s Limited
Wisconsin and Pennsylvania Get Rolling Harley-Davidson has been hurting, and the COVID-19 Pandemic didn’t help. There is hope. The company has a new CEO and it now has opened the production facilities in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania on a limited schedule. Obviously, Harley won’t be producing nearly the same number of motorcycles as they did pre-COVID-19, …
Ducati Is About to Begin Superleggera V4 Production
Ready to Go In case you haven’t heard, Ducati is back in action and working to get back to full capacity. Claudio Domenicali, the company’s CEO tweeted that it has been three weeks since the company restarted production and general facility activities, and in that tweet, he also showcased a pre-production Superleggera and said it’s …
Ural Extends Warranties for New Bike Sales in the U.S.
Another Company Offering Warranty Extensions The other day I reported on the fact that Royal Enfield, Yamaha, and MV Agusta all started offering extensions on their warranties. Now it seems Ural is doing the same for U.S. sales. The company offers a standard two-year warranty, but it will offer a 90-day extension if you bought …
Triumph Launches an Online Shop for Gear and Clothing in the U.K.
No Need to Visit the Dealer Triumph is now selling gear and clothing online in the U.K. The company just recently launched a new online store. Right now this online store just services the U.K., but I wouldn’t be surprised to see Triumph expand it to other markets. This is a smart move both because …
Royal Enfield, Yamaha, and MV Agusta Offer Warranty Extensions
Due to COVID-19 If you can’t get your motorcycle properly serviced then keeping up with the requirements of your warranty can be tough. Also, the fact that many places have bans on non-essential travel means time on warranties for the folks who can’t ride is running out. To help combat this some manufacturers—Royal Enfield, Yamaha, …
REV’IT! Wants to Celebrate Your Hometown Heroes With Gear
Nominate the People Making a Difference In this interesting time in the world with the COVID-19 pandemic going, REV’IT! wants to recognize and reward the hometown heroes out there who are helping others in a time of dire need. The company is asking for people to nominate their “hometown or unsung heroes” and the company …
Ducati’s COVID-19 Programs Provide Good April Results
It Also Sets Ducati Up for Success Post-Lockdown Ducati was able to institute a couple of programs during the COVID-19 pandemic, and those programs have helped the company see good sales results in April and should set the company up for success later on, according to an email I was sent. The Ducati Delivers program …
Harley Will Auction Off a LiveWire for a Good Cause
To Fight COVID-19 Say what you will about Harley-Davidson, but any company that will auction off one of its bikes to raise money to fight a worldwide pandemic gets a thumbs up from me. Harley is auctioning off a unique, one-off LiveWire motorcycle to raise funds to fight COVID-19. The company is working with Bonhams …
Honda Is Offering Home Delivery
Joining the Others American Honda has just announced the company is now offering home delivery of all its Honda Powersports products during the COVID-19 pandemic. This comes after several other brands have decided to do so, including Yamaha, Indian, and Kawasaki. Honda’s program is a limited-time offering and it will not continue after the pandemic …
MV Agusta Superveloce 800 Serie Oro Enters Production
A Long Wait MV Agusta recently resumed production after the worst of the COVID-19 outbreak in Italy. With the company back to work, production begins on the Superveloce 800 Serie Oro. The bike was confirmed for production roughly this time last year, and it has taken this long for MV Agusta to get around to …
Harley-Davidson Begins “The Rewire”
A Big Mistake? Harley-Davidson is feeling the full brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent economic crisis. The company is to put it plainly doing really poorly (big surprise, huh?). Because of this, Harley decided to restructure its strategy from the “More Roads to Harley-Davidson” plan that was put in place by the former …
Cake Ösa+ and Ösa Lite Deliveries Begin
The Bikes Will be Delivered Several Markets The innovative electric motorcycle company Cake has some interesting machines. The workhorse of the lineup is the Ösa model. Cake sells an Ösa+ and Ösa Lite, and I recently received word from the Cake team that the new model will now be delivered to United States customers. Europe, …
Indian Motorcycle’s Sales are Actually up in Q1 of 2020
A Feat in Today’s World Yesterday I reported that Harley-Davidson is struggling pretty hard to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the economy. It seems Indian Motorcycle is much better suited to weather the storm. Indian’s sales were actually up seven percent when compared with Q1 of last year. Polaris owns Indian, …
Harley-Davidson’s Business Is Hurting Due to Coronavirus
COIVD-19 Takes Its Toll The COVID-19 pandemic has been hard on every industry. The market has dipped considerably, and Harley-Davidson wasn’t able to escape it. Like other motorcycle company’s Harley is struggling to cope. The company saw sales drop by 18 percent in Q1 of 2020 when compared with 2019’s Q1 sales results. In terms …
Energica Resumes Production
Getting Back In the Swing of Things I reported that Italy’s motorcycle manufacturers are starting production again since the COVID-19 outbreak. One of them kicking things back in gear, so to speak, is Energica. The company resumed production yesterday and will continue to ramp up production from there. Soon the company will be back to …
Brembo Makes Million Euro Donation to Fight COVID-19
Trying to Stop the Coronavirus With some companies beginning to return to work after the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, you might think we’re out of the woods. Well, that’s not the case yet. It will be many months before the pandemic is under control. Brembo is here to help. The company recently made a …
Ducati Is Back to Work, Others Will Follow
Getting Back on Track COVID-19 threw a giant wrench in the inner workings of the motorcycle industry. Bike manufacturers from all over were temporarily shutting down, and now it looks like things might start to reopen. According to OmniMoto, Ducati is easing back into production again. A number of Ducati employees are back in the …
MotoGP Could Race With Minimal Crew and No Race Fans
COVID-19 Racing MotoGP, like all other forms of sporting events, hasn’t been able to continue in the wake of COVID-19. Races have been postponed or canceled, and people are looking for a solution. One of the solutions being considered according to an email shared by Asphalt & Rubber is that races could be held behind …
Ducati, Piaggio, and Other Motorcycle Manufacturers Looking to Reopen
Getting Back on the Throttle In the Before COVID-19 (BC) days motorcycle manufacturers were churning out bikes developing new ones and things were chugging along rather well. After COVID-19 (AC), motorcycle manufacturers were forced to temporarily shut down and put all things on hold. Now companies are trying to return to the good ole BC …
Powersports Employees Are Now Essential Workers
Newly Revised Federal Guidelines The U.S. federal government recently revised the guidelines around essential workers. Now included among the list of essential workers are powersports employees. Also included are manufacturing, distribution, sales, rentals, and maintenance. This clarifies some of the ambiguity around the powersports industry. Previously, automotive repair and service workers were included in the …
Motorcycle Sales Take a Hard Downward Turn Due to COVID-19
Is It Really Surprising? Motorcycle sales had been slowing down, and then the Coronavirus pandemic hit, and they really took a nosedive. According to news reports, India, the world’s biggest motorcycle market has seen some serious drops. Some as high as 62 percent, according to The Hindu Business Line. Hero MotoCorp was down 43 percent, …
