ONE INDUSTRY. ONE PURPOSE. ENDLESS POTENTIAL.
Bob Althoff Addresses The Industry
DEALER NEWS
RideNow Reports, Sonic Accelerates, PBS Dials In Bourbon Barrel Harley
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Godspeed Ray Blank
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News
Stars want to get discovered in Hollywood, but bike builders go to Born Free instead of a Los Angeles soda fountain like Lana Turner to make their mark.
Founded in Rimini, Italy in 1973, the Bimota brand has become synonymous with groundbreaking engineering, handcrafted quality and a relentless pursuit of performance.
Bimota was bought by Kawasaki in 2020, and this began a new phase in the brand’s history.
“It is with great pride and a touch of madness that, after almost five years of hard work and an investment of over 50 million euro, we are launching the new chapter in the life of Moto Guzzi,” says Piaggio Group CEO Michele Colaninno.
With 2 Old Guys Racing/Dealernews columnist Bill Little going down, Beta USA has officially signed Shane McElrath to a two-year contract to campaign the Factory Beta RX 450F in the highly competitive 450SX division.
Shifting Gears
With 2 Old Guys Racing/Dealernews columnist Bill Little going down, Beta USA has officially signed Shane McElrath to a two-year contract to campaign the Factory Beta RX 450F in the highly competitive 450SX division.
Extra! Extra! Read all about it. Veteran moto journalist joins the Motorcycle Industry Council. With the hiring of Greg Drevenstedt as Media Relations and Communications Specialist, MIC has added nearly two decades of motorcycle industry media experience to its Communications team.
Slingshotting from Polaris to Red Wing boots? “I’m happy to share that I’m starting a new position as Vice President Wholesale & Direct to Consumer at Red Wing Shoe Co.” says Joel Harmon.
American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) is “lawyering up” to better advocate on behalf of riders in the central states. Texas attorney Scott Jones joins the AMA’s Government Relations Department as Central States Representative.
Herohub has added industry hero Josh DeMoe to its leadership team as Director of Performance Groups & Strategic Partnerships.
EYES ON ITALY Stars want to get discovered in Hollywood, but bike builders go to Born Free motorcycle show instead of a Los Angeles soda fountain like Lana Turner to make their mark. Standing out at the bike show can be that big break for the next Arlen Ness or Indian Larry. Case in point were some Italian visitors coming to California on a mission. Following the success of the 2026 event — the biggest in MBE history — Motor Bike Expo is accelerating into the future. In fact co-founder Paola Somma and her son Federico were at Born Free talent scouting builders to invite to the 19th MBE scheduled at Veronafiere January 22-24, 2027. Subscribe To #Dealernews To See The Full Story: https://dealernews.com/Home/post/eyes-on-italy/
OEM UPDATE: BIMOTA BACK ON TRACK Founded in Rimini, Italy in 1973, the Bimota brand has become synonymous with groundbreaking engineering, handcrafted quality and a relentless pursuit of performance. Since 2020 we have seen exotic Bimotas under the Kawasaki USA umbrella at Eicma in Milan… However sightings of the Italian stallions in the United States have historically been limited to an occasional Cycle World cover back when the cycle world still had printed magazines. But now, with some help from Kawasaki USA and a dedicated dealer, Bimota is back on track. Subscribe To #Dealernews To See The Full Story: https://dealernews.com/Home/post/oem-update-bimota-back-on-track/
#DEALER NEWS: Bimota was bought by Kawasaki USA in 2020, and this began a new phase in the brand’s history. “We are pleased to announce that Bimota Spirit has again been appointed the official Bimota dealer for the USA, this time with the benefit of offering 50-state legal Bimotas homologated by Bimota USA," says Bob Steinbugler. "With this recognition for long-time service and increased responsibility, we have opened a showroom space in the ArtMoto complex in Raleigh, NC where all of the current Bimota motorcycles are on display.” Subscribe To #Dealernews To See The Full Story: https://dealernews.com/Home/post/dealer-news-13/
#ShiftingGears Extra! Extra! Read all about it. Veteran moto journalist joins the Motorcycle Industry Council. With the hiring of Greg Drevenstedt as Media Relations and Communications Specialist, MIC has added nearly two decades of motorcycle industry media experience to its Communications team. The former Rider magazine editor-in-chief, Drevenstedt will focus on media outreach and content development while supporting communications efforts across the association. Subscribe To #Dealernews To See The Full Story: https://dealernews.com/Home/post/shifting-gears-at-mic-3/
In Case You Missed It
Power to the people! At the same time Yamaha was announcing the shift from side-by-sides the wraps were taken off the 2027 RZR Pro R Boost at the Polaris dealer meeting.
The balance of power continues to shift, literally as well as figuratively as Kawasaki is set to let the good times roll with the 2027 250-horsepower supercharged Teryx two-seat H2 and the revamped Ridge — on the same day as the Polaris dealer meeting and Yamaha’s news from Newnan.
Concurrent with the 2P H2 launch, Kawasaki refined its ultimate utility platform as the Ridge gets a Platinum package and “Lifted Edition” — complete with arched A-Arms for greater ground clearance and 30-inch ITP mud tire mounted on 14-inch aluminum wheels.
U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy has appointed Andria Yu, VP of Communications for the Motorcycle Industry Council and Motorcycle Safety Foundation, to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Motorcyclist Advisory Council (MAC).
