American

San Francisco International showcases early American motorcycles

by Colleen Morgan from https://www.moodiedavittreport.com An exhibition exploring the history and development of motorcycling has opened at San Francisco International Airport (SFO). The SFO Museum exhibition, in the International Terminal Departures, started on 11 February and will run through 19 September 2021. According to exhibition organisers, early American motorcycles “reflect a bygone era of mechanical innovation and bold industrial design”. They are prized by collectors around the world and displayed on vintage rides, endurance runs, and at special events. The exhibition presents fourteen ‘exceptional’ examples made prior to 1916, along with a collection of rare engines and photographs from the pioneering era of motorcycling. It follows the development of the motorcycle – “one of the earliest and most exciting applications of another new invention, the gasoline-powered internal combustion engine” – from the 1890s until 1915. The exhibition highlights the progress of motorcycle technology during that period and the evolvement of riding “from a novelty, to a hobby, sport and a reliable source of transportation”. As the presentation points out, “motorcycling in the early twentieth century was always an adventure”. “Road conditions were generally poor and hitting a pothole or other hazard on a motorcycle supported by a primitive, stiffly sprung suspension could easily throw a rider off the bike”. It also underlines the need for “athletic ability” to start and ride these machines and that motorcyclists had to be mechanically minded to keep them in working condition. Early American Motorcycles is one of several exhibitions which are running for limited periods at the SFO Museum. Others include Hair Style, Instrumental Rock ‘n’ Roll, Paula Riff, Amelia Konow   and Alternative Process by the San Francisco University School of Art. The airport also offers a strong line-up of permanent exhibitions which include Pan American Airways, Harvey Milk ‘Messenger of Hope’ and Spirogyrate, […]

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Indian Motorcycle debuts new 100th anniversary Chief lineup

by Carter Jones from https://www.bizjournals.com Indian Motorcycle is commemorating the 100th anniversary of its influential Indian Chief models with three reimagined bikes for its 2022 lineup. Indian is the vintage motorcycle brand owned by Medina, Minnesota-based motorsports company Polaris Inc. (NYSE: PII), which revived and positioned the brand as a direct competitor to Milwaukee-based Harley-Davidson Inc. (NYSE: HOG). Indian introduces the 2022 Chief models three weeks after Harley-Davidson introduced its lineup for 2021. Indian’s 2021 model rollout came back in September. According to the motorcycle maker, Indian’s new Chief, Chief Bobber and Super Chief were designed with a simplistic and mechanical aesthetic that harkens back to the glory days of American motorcycles with a timeless, simplistic steel-tube frame. “The Indian Chief is a truly iconic motorcycle and what better way to celebrate its 100th birthday than unleashing an entirely new Indian Chief lineup,” said Mike Dougherty, president of motorcycles. “These bikes capture the mechanical simplicity and attitude of classic American V-twins, yet bring it all forward with modern sophistication and features. We could not be more thrilled to bring this new platform into our lineup.” The lineup features dual exhaust, LED lighting, keyless ignition, cruise control and adjustable ride modes: sport, standard or tour. The Chief starts at $14,499 and provides a stripped-down riding experience, due to analog gauges and the option to not have ABS. The Chief Bobber has bulky tires on spoke wheels, a larger front end and a solo bobber seat that pay homage to post-war bikes. Meanwhile, the Super Chief includes a saddlebags and a windshield for more versatility on longer rides. “We wanted to capture a timeless look that never goes out of style, and looks beautiful whether naked or fully dressed,” said Ola Stenegard, director, industrial design for Indian. “We also wanted to keep

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Freestyle Harley-Davidson Blue Flames Is What’s Wrong with Series Custom Frames

by Daniel Patrascu from https://www.autoevolution.com Take a good long look at any custom motorcycle made in the U.S. No matter in what state they were made, or when, they tend to have that certain unique feel about them. And a big reason for that is the custom frame that underpin them. You see, Americans love to make one-offd, and that is why the garages there usually don’t make a frame and then turn series production on it. This results in truly unique two-wheelers, each with its story to tell. Not the same can be said about Europe though. First off, there are far fewer custom motorcycle garages there. Secondly, the ones that do exist have been forced to turn to mass production, including of custom frames, and that takes its toll on the originality of this build. Take the bike in the gallery above. It comes from Europe, and is the work of a very busy garage there called Thunderbike. It looks very much like all the other custom-framed Thunderbikes we’ve discussed over the past few months, regardless of when they were made. This one comes from 2008, and it is the result of pairing a custom Thunderbike frame by the name Freestyle with the usual Harley-Davidson Screamin’ Eagle engine. It appears to be exactly what you would expect from a custom European bike, with nothing particularly exciting about it. And the blue color sprayed on it, the work of Thunderbike’s usual partner in this area, Kruse Design, does not seem to help either. The fact the bike will probably not be remembered down the ages (we uncovered it while digging for machines worthy of our Custom Builds Month coverage) does not diminish the merits of the frame tough. Made from large diameter cold-rolled ST52 steel tubing, it comes complete

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How Harley-Davidson Came to Make Beer

by Elena Gorgan from https://www.autoevolution.com/ Throughout its 117-year history, Harley-Davidson often turned to merchandising to boost sales, expand its reach and draw in new segments of the public. Some novelty items were hits and misses, while others fared decently – but not a single one was as successful as the Harley-Davidson Beer. We’ve already discussed some of the most surprising items Harley sold that you (probably) didn’t know about, and mentioned beer as well. Indeed, one of the most iconic motorcycle makers in the world once sold beers by the four- or six-pack as an official product. In fact, it did so for many years, between 1984 and 2000, and then again in 2018, as a limited-edition for the 5-year anniversary known as the Ride Home. The association between bikes and beer isn’t surprising. After all, it’s a known fact that bikers prefer beer over wine or even hard liquor, and a can of beer seems more at home in the hand of a biker than anywhere else. As for how Harley itself came up with the idea of stamping the HD name on it, it turns out it went beyond the desire to make some extra cash. Sure, when it was first launched in 1984, at the Daytona Bike Week, it was a novelty item meant to draw on the Harley name for a boost in profit. The cans were made to resemble oil cans, painted in the colors of a chopper (silver and black), but the beer inside was of the generic type. It was a pure marketing move: take a bland, generic beverage and repackage it in order to sell it as a novelty for more money. By 1987, though, Harley bosses had understood that, even if their beer would sell either way, it would sell even

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Royal Enfield Backs Moto Anatomy American Flat Track Campaign

Royal Enfield Backs Moto Anatomy American Flat Track Campaign Decorated flat track racer, Johnny Lewis will develop & race Harris Performance built Twins FT during the 2020 AFT Season MILWAUKEE (March 4, 2020) — Royal Enfield North America has partnered with American Flat Track (AFT) racer Johnny Lewis and his team Moto Anatomy for 2020. Lewis will develop the all-new Royal Enfield FT, built by Harris Performance, in the Production Twins class at select AFT rounds this year. Based on the INT650 motorcycle, Moto Anatomy will race the FT with support from Royal Enfield, Harris Performance and S&S Cycle. “This racing effort is unprecedented in Royal Enfield’s North American history,” said Breeann Poland, Marketing Lead – Americas. “Johnny Lewis is a legitimate contender anytime he’s on the track and we couldn’t have picked a better partner in his organization, Moto Anatomy. Flat track continues to garner attention from both a professional and grassroots level and we feel strongly about our extended partnership with AFT and now Moto Anatomy. We are thrilled to bring the Royal Enfield brand to more enthusiasts and this is a great opportunity to do that on a major scale.” Lewis has risen through the ranks of American Flat Track and enjoyed success at both the amateur and professional levels. Lewis will debut the concept Twins FT, first revealed at the 2019 EICMA Show, at the Daytona TT on March 14, 2020, as a part of the media team. Lewis will then compete with the motorcycle for the first time at the Laconia short track event on June 13 and will run all AFT short track events for the remainder of the season in the Production Twins class. The Royal Enfield FT will also run the Sturgis Buffalo Chip TT and Peoria TT as a wildcard entry

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Harley-Davidson’s stock tanks as motorcycle sales continue to slide

by Paul R. La Monica from https://edition.cnn.com/ New York (CNN Business)Harley-Davidson has a big problem. Americans aren’t riding its trademark hogs nearly as much as they used to do. Shares of Harley-Davidson (HOG) fell 3% in early trading Tuesday after the company reported sales and earnings that missed Wall Street’s forecasts. The stock is now down more than 10% this year. Most alarming: Demand for Harley’s bikes continued to fall in the United States — even as they rebounded overseas. Harley’s retail sales in America were down 3% in the fourth quarter. That’s the 12th consecutive decline. US sales fell more than 5% for the full year. Sales were up slightly internationally, led by a more-than 6% jump in Asia. But that wasn’t enough to lift Harley’s worldwide motorcycle sales, which fell 1.4%. The weakness in Harley’s home market is particularly disappointing given that the United States and China have now reached a “phase one” trade truce. Harley has been complaining about tariffs put into place by the Trump administration for the past few years. President Donald Trump has also been critical of the fact that Harley — based in Milwaukee — had shifted some of its production outside of America to avoid tariffs in Europe that were put into place on the company in response to US tariffs on steel and aluminum. Trump even supported a boycott of Harley by US consumers in 2018. But Harley clearly has bigger problems than global trade policy. The company is trying to revitalize its sales with the launch of its LiveWire electric motorcycle. Harley CEO and president Matt Levatich struck a hopeful tone in the company’s earnings release. “We see 2020 as the pivotal year in the transformation of Harley-Davidson. This year we will broaden the reach of our brand and build

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Rod Copes quits as Royal Enfield North America President

Before joining Royal Enfield in 2014, Copes worked with Harley Davidson for 20 years. Former Harley executive Rod Copes has quit from his role of President of Royal Enfield North America, where he was heading the North and Latin America for last 5 years, reveals a LiveMint report. Copes has previously worked with Harley Davidson for 20 years till August 2014, before joining Royal Enfield. An alumni of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Copes was a key figure in setting up Royal Enfield’s operations in the USA and Canada. Later in May 2019, he also took over the responsibility of the Latin American market, including Brazil, Colombia and Argentina. The report claims that Rod Copes will continue his work until the end of February. It quotes a person from the company who said that Copes’ exit could be a blow to Royal Enfield in terms of further expansion of the brand’s presence in North American market. This is the second big exit among the key persons of the company, after Pierre Terblanche resigned in July 2016. Pierre Terblanche is a famous motorcycle designer, who joined Royal Enfield in November 2014. In North America, RE has around 100 dealers. The company is aiming to scale up the sales volumes to around 10,000-15,000 units by mid-2020. It is banking on the 650cc models for that goal.

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Chinese Startup NIU Reveals U.S-Bound Electric Motorcycle, Three-Wheeled Scooter

by Mircea Panait from https://www.autoevolution.com Harley-Davidson isn’t trailblazing the industry with the LiveWire electric motorcycle. Two-wheeled vehicles with e-propulsion are huge in China and a few other places around the world, but the Middle Kingdom takes the lion’s share in terms of volume. More than 30 million units are sold in the People’s Republic each year, and this causes a little bit of chaos in the urban jungle. Major cities such as Beijing and Taiwan have banned e-scooters in 2016 along with segways, but nevertheless, business is good. So good in fact, a startup called NIU decided to showcase two models at the CES 2020 for the U.S. market. Not to be confused with Chinese automaker NIO, the company plans to roll out the RQi-GT electric motorcycle and TQi-GT covered three-wheeler to places like San Francisco, San Diego, Austin, Chicago, Washington, D.C., and even Honolulu. NIU first landed in the United States with a fleet of 1,000 mopeds in Brooklyn as part of a partnership with Revel. The mopeds in question feature 60 and 80 miles or range, respectively, Panasonic batteries, and up to 3,800 watts of get-up-and-go from the e-motor. Billed as an urban performance motorcycle, the RQi-GT is capable of 160 km/h (100 miles per hour) from 30 kW and two removable batteries with a total capacity of 6.5 kWh. In other words, riders can expect up to 130 kilometers (80 miles) in one go. Thanks to that kind of range, the RQi-GT has the makings of an interesting commuter mobile. Next up, the TQi-GT is a little more special because it’s the manufacturer’s first self-balancing electric three-wheeler. As if that kind of technological wizardry wasn’t enough, look forward to autonomous driving (or riding?) functionalities such as self parking. The TQi-GT comes in second in terms of top

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E-bikes to rule the US EV market in next decade

In the last couple of years, e-bike sales have been growing steadily in the US, but they still represent a small part of the overall segment in the country. Electric vehicle market in the US in the next decade will be dominated by e-bikes, claims a media report. It forecasts a total of 113 million e-bikes will be sold in the country between 2020-2023. Sales of the electric bikes in the US have grown more than eight-fold since 2014, claims the report further. In the last couple of years, sales of e-bikes have been growing steadily in the US, but they still represent a small part of the overall bike segment in the country. As the report claims, e-bike sales jumped by an incredible 91 per cent from 2016 to 2017. Also, it grew 72 per cent from 2017 to 2018 to reach $143.4 million, as revealed by market research firm NPD Group. Between 2006 and 2012, e-bikes represented less than 1 per cent of total annual bike sales. In 2013, US customers bought 1.85 lakh e-bikes, while across all of Europe, 1.8 million units were retailed. The media report quotes Jeff Loucks, executive director of Deloitte’s Technology, Media, and Telecommunications centre, who said that e-bike sales will not increase evenly across the US. He forecasts cities, in particular, will see the biggest adoption rates. As he said, “We’re seeing more people move into the urban core of cities throughout the United States. And it’s just going to put a huge load on the roadways and on public transportation systems if some of that isn’t taking place by bike.” from https://auto.economictimes.indiatimes.com/

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Harley Davidson bikers enjoy Jaber Causeway morning ride

by Ben Garcia from https://news.kuwaittimes.net As part of US Embassy’s ‘Discover America’ activities KUWAIT: US Charge d’Affairs and Deputy Chief of Mission Larry L Memmott flagged off on Friday a Harley Davidson motorcycle ride on one of the longest bridges in the world – Sheikh Jaber Causeway. It was part of the activities of 11-day Discover America 2019 event being held in Kuwait. “I am happy to be here to inaugurate this event. It’s a 10-day demonstration of our culture, tradition, musical, food, restaurants, business, cars, education and today, motorbikes,” said Memmott. “Harley Davidson is a proudly American brand; in fact, it’s very iconic. It’s part of our cultural heritage and we are very proud of their achievements. If we talk about Harley Davidson, it’s about tradition and history, because they are in existence for the last 116 years and counting and will be there perhaps forever,” he said. Riders from various nationalities participated in the event, which started from the Harley Davidson showroom in the Free Trade Zone in Shuwaikh down to Subiya via Jaber Causeway and back. “We are happy to host this major as event part of Discover America. We have participants from all over Kuwait; they hail from various nationalities and backgrounds. I think we have more than 100 bikers. They are here to support us,” Memmott said. Prior to the motorcycle ride, bikers gathered at the Harley Davidson showroom for breakfast and a briefing. Harley Davidson is also offering a 25 percent discount on all its merchandise displayed at the showroom. “Please visit and be there in the remaining days of event as we want to demonstrate mostly American brands; participating outlets normally give major discounts to everyone. Just like Sultan Center – they have more than 4,000 products on display and they are all

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