Corona

Harley-Davidson cuts dividend, halts buybacks to preserve cash

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by Ankit Ajmera from https://www.reuters.com (Reuters) – Harley-Davidson Inc (HOG.N) slashed its dividend and halted share buybacks on Tuesday to boost its cash reserves as global lockdowns due to the coronavirus pandemic hit motorcycle demand in the first quarter. The company has $1.47 billion in cash and is in talks with big U.S. banks to get $1.30 billion in loan to ride out the crisis, it said, adding it would focus on its core U.S. market to prop up sales. Harley shares, which have lost nearly half of its value so far this year, jumped as much as 17% in morning trading after the company rolled out its cash preservation plan. “Harley continues to struggle with declining sales, but it continues to generate respectable free cash flow and we consider shares fairly valued at current levels,” said CFRA Research analyst Garrett Nelson. To boost sales, the company also said it will “de-emphasize” on some unprofitable international regions. The shift in strategy for the company that symbolized the counterculture movement of the 1960s comes as it struggles to woo the next generation of younger riders with its electric and more nimbler bikes in the United States. Sales have been declining for the past five years in its largest market as its baby-boomer fan base ages. To make matters worse, the pandemic has further dented demand as Americans stay at home to curb the spread of COVID-19. “We are at critical time in our history that requires significant changes to the company,” said acting Chief Executive Officer Jochen Zeitz, who took helm in February and is best known for turning around the Puma brand. Zeitz’s plan to move the launch of new models to early part of the first quarter from August to better align with the start of the riding season […]

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Ducati resumes motorcycle production at Bologna plant in Italy

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by Pradeep Shah from https://www.financialexpress.com Production at Ducati’s Bologna factory been reorganized. From an eight-hour shift, the working shifts have been converted to two seven-hour shifts in order to allow a minimum number of people. Premium bike maker Ducati has announced a steady resumption of production at its Borgo Panigale factory in Bologna, Italy starting today. With the Covid-19 outbreak, the Italian superbike manufacturer had temporarily suspended production at the said plant on 13th March to reorganize production schedules. The company said in a press statement that the gradual improvement in health conditions has allowed the government to enable companies, whose activity is primarily aimed at exports and for firms for which prolongation of the suspension would risk losing the country additional market shares, to resume production. Ducati says that masks will be mandatory for everyone working inside the factory, regardless of the social distancing. Ducati says that it will be an extremely difficult year but starting up again is still a beginning. The company says that it has a lot of orders for the Streetfighter V4, Multistrada GT and the Panigale V2. The brand adds that the first phase of return will only involve a portion of workers that work on the production lines. The workshop staff will begin first followed by engine assembly workers and starting tomorrow, motorcycle assembly workers will begin working. The brand also says that the use of smart working will remain mandatory for the employees and only for those who are not in a position to carry out their work from home will be allowed to enter the factory. That said, all resources employed in the commercial, marketing, IT, personnel management, finance, purchasing and logistics areas will be working remotely. Ducati has announced that the production at its Bologna factory been reorganized. From an

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Laconia Motorcycle Week mulls August back-up date due to COVID-19

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by Paula Tracy from https://www.seacoastonline.com LACONIA – On Monday night, Laconia City Councilors will be asked to approve the 97th Progressive Laconia Motorcycle Week for Aug. 22-30 if it cannot be held June 13-21 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Charlie St. Clair, executive director for the Laconia Motorcycle Week Association, said he is hopeful the request will be approved. “It’s too important an economic event for it to be canceled,” said St. Clair, who is also a Democratic state legislator. He said if the rally is postponed until August and the pandemic is not greatly improved in summer, he would look to find a date and hold it into the fall. “We would not expect the numbers to be what they normally are,” he said, estimating 300,000. “But who knows, maybe everyone will be chomping at the bit.” Gov. Chris Sununu is in the driver’s seat ultimately. He is concerned about health and safety as well as the economic consequences. Sununu said this week he wants to hold out as long as possible before deciding. He has held out, as well, on closing or modifying the use of campgrounds, which many bike week enthusiasts rent out from across the country, along with hotels, motels and house rentals. The visitors would require, gas, groceries, and restaurants, which currently allow for only take-out under the emergency orders due to the pandemic. Sununu said he spoke with Laconia Mayor Andrew Hosmer and discussed the matter on Thursday. Laconia Bike Week is the oldest and third largest motorcycle rally in the nation. The largest is in Sturgis, South Dakota, Aug. 7-16. The Sturgis City Council will vote June 15 on whether to hold the rally this year. Lake George, New York, which holds a motorcycle event the week before Laconia Bike Week, has decided

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Seattle’s motorcycle clubs ride free (but socially distanced)

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by Agueda Pacheco Flores from https://crosscut.com Coronavirus has scooter, moped and motorcycle enthusiasts rolling with caution. Long before he was president of the Cretins Motorcycle Club, Nick Ziehe was just a kid growing up in Renton, fascinated by his dad doing a complete overhaul of a Honda CB350. The bike was a vintage racer, but one his father heavily modified. Ziehe recalls his dad plopping him on the seat of this “odd” looking bike for short rides on backroads around Lake Washington. In high school, when his friends were getting their first cars, Ziehe got his first bike, which he rebuilt with his dad. Today, Ziehe, 48, works at Boeing as a manufacturing engineer, and for the past five years has led the Ballard-based Cretins Motorcycle Club (aka Cretins MC Seattle), which he joined 10 years ago. Among members, Ziehe is known as “Double Tap.” The club’s preferred bikes are vintage cafe racers, with an aesthetic hearkening to 1960s London. The glue that holds the Cretins together is the love of riding. Spring usually marks the beginning of the riding season, when members take group rides and share the feeling of the road rolling out under their feet. But this spring is different. The global coronavirus pandemic put the group’s planned March 28 spring opener ride on hold. The annual Taco Dash (a fundraiser involving minibikes, silly games and homemade tacos) scheduled for May 2, is up in the air. And the customary, rain or shine, Thursday night dive bar meet-ups (Cretin Nights) have gone virtual, from vroom-vroom to Zoom. Washington is home to an abundance of motorcycle, moped and scooter clubs. In addition to the Cretins there are dozens of groups, including Jewish riding club The Tribe, the Moped Army’s Seattle branch, Los Gatos Gordos and women-only riding groups.

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Wary of public transport, coronavirus-hit Americans turn to bikes

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from https://auto.economictimes.indiatimes.com The coronavirus pandemic has sparked a surge in bike sales across the United States, according to a major manufacturer and a half dozen retailers interviewed by Reuters. “I’m 51 and healthy, but I don’t want to get on the subway,” said John Donohue, a Brooklyn-based artist who bought a bike two weeks ago. Donohue, who doesn’t own a car, says he’s not sure when he’ll be comfortable on mass transit again. The coronavirus pandemic has sparked a surge in bike sales across the United States, according to a major manufacturer and a half dozen retailers interviewed by Reuters. Many of the purchases are by people looking for a way to get outside at a time of sweeping shutdowns and stay-at-home orders aimed at containing the virus: Even the worst affected states are allowing people out to exercise. Still, a portion of the sales, especially in urban areas, are to people like Donohue who also want to avoid the risk of contagion on buses or subways. He plans to use his new 24-gear hybrid for journeys such as regular visits to a printing shop across town that he normally travels to by subway. A key feature, he said, was the bright red panniers he added to carry his artwork. To be sure, bikes remain well down the list of U.S. commuting preferences. About 870,000 Americans, on average, commuted to work by bicycle in the five years through 2017, or about 0.6% of all workers, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The rate was higher in urban areas, at about 1.1%, and about 20 cities with at least 60,000 residents had rates of about 5% or more. A more recent survey, though, showed a higher percentage of U.S. workers using a bike to get to work. Private research firm Statista

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Harley-Davidson lays off staff, cuts salaries, amid coronavirus outbreak

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from https://www.reuters.com April 15 (Reuters) – Harley-Davidson Inc said on Wednesday it had temporarily laid off most of its global production employees and implemented salary cuts in a bid to lower costs as the coronavirus pandemic has hurt its business. The announcement comes weeks after the motorcycle maker withdrew its earnings forecast for this year, saying pandemic-induced disruptions could dent its ability to supply and sell motorcycles. Harley’s shares were down 6.9% at $18.02 in afternoon trading. As part of the cost cuts, its chief executive officer and board of directors will forgo their salaries, the company said, though it didn’t say for how long. Salaries of the executive leadership would be cut by 30%, while most other salaried employees would see a reduction of between 10%-20% in their paychecks. Outside the United States, it will take similar actions. Harley said salary reductions will be reassessed at the end of the second quarter. The company said it will also not hand out merit increases for 2020 and will freeze hiring. (Reporting by Rajesh Kumar Singh; Editing by Bernadette Baum)

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Is It Safe To Ride My Motorcycle During The Outbreak?

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by Sabrina Giacomini from https://www.rideapart.com The fun type of social distancing. UPDATE: Note that there could be lockdowns and “stay at home” orders in your city or your state as the situation evolves and we don’t recommend you overlook them because “riding is seemingly safe”. We’re not your mom, but we recommend you follow your local authorities’ recommendations. Some readers also pointed out that I didn’t discuss about the possibility of crashes since the question was focused on the virus but I thought it was a good point to touch on. Going for a ride has its risks, whether it’s coming in contact with the virus or getting into a crash. The streets are quieter but it doesn’t mean there’s no risk of making a mistake or of being hit by someone. Remember that medical facilities and staff are strained at the moment. While riding is relatively safe from a contagion perspective, there’s still the usual risk of an incident that could require you go to the hospital—and this is not a good time to go to the hospital. Keep that in mind. As we wrote already, the better we cooperate, the smarter we go about this,the sooner we’ll get to go back out there without restrictions. Stay safe everyone! Is it safe to ride during this outbreak? Are my full-face helmet, gloves, and other apparel able to protect me? Are motorcycle riders risk-free? Just question to exercise our riding knowledge. – Ancarlos Hi Ancarlos! Thank you for asking your question, I’m pretty sure you’re not the only one wondering about that. Please note, however, that though we like to think we know a lot of things at RideApart, we’re also not doctors. If you have any real concerns or are considered a potentially vulnerable patient, asking someone who is

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Coronavirus Delays Voxan Motors’ Electric Motorcycle Speed Record Attempt

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by Sebastian Blanco from https://www.forbes.com/ It’s a specific category, but the Venturi Group’s Voxan Motors is working to create the fastest electric motorcycle in the world. Well, the fastest electric motorcycle “propelled by the action of one wheel in contact with the ground, partially streamlined, under 300 kg,” according to the team website. That specific record is currently held by Jim Hoogerhyde, who rode a Lightning SB220 electric bike to 203.566 mph in 2013, according to Jalopnik. Voxan has set a target of 205 mph for its attempt but the date of the record attempt has been pushed back. The new world speed record attempt was supposed to happen in July 2020 at the Salar de Uyuni salt flats in Bolivia, but that has been indefinitely postponed due to the cornoavirus. The Venturi Group, which is based in Monaco, issued a statement today saying that it is following the health directives issued by the Monegasque Government and that: “The development teams responsible for the Voxan Wattman motorcycle, which has just completed its initial on-track testing, are now confined to their homes.” Without being able to get together to work on the bike, the team can’t fine-tune the machine on-track, leading to the postponement. “The health and safety of my teams is paramount. In view of the current health crisis, I have put in place the necessary measures. All of my staff, whether they are attached to Venturi North America (Columbus, Ohio) or to the headquarters in Monaco, are now working from home,” said Gildo Pastor, president of Venturi Group, in a statement. “We will establish a new calendar of operations as soon as the health situation allows it, and announce the new operational arrangements for this project, which is very important to me personally.” The bike Voxan was (is) going

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