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Royal Enfield aims to roll out uniquely differentiated electric bikes: CEO

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with inputs by PTI and https://economictimes.indiatimes.com Iconic motorcycle manufacturer Royal Enfield is investing for development of differentiated electric motorcycles in India, said CEO B Govindarajan. Interestingly, the company is also creating a supplier ecosystem around its Chennai-based plant, funded by a capital expenditure of INR 10 billion in the current fiscal year. Royal Enfield has commissioned a very capable team and has started commitment of very deep investments in terms of product development, product strategy and in the product testing and development area, he added. Further, the CEO noted that the company has made a strategic investment in electric Stark Future EV company and now teams from both companies are working well. “Currently, we have laid a robust long-term product and technology roadmap on electric vehicles and towards developing the supplier ecosystem – its our focus as of now,” Govindarajan noted. When asked about network expansion in the domestic market, Govindarajan said the company currently has about 2,100 retail outlets across India, a mix of studio stores and dealership outlets. * * * * * * * * * * * * Stay updated, stay ahead of the curve. Sign up for the Weekly Newsletter from Bikernet Blog for free.

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ABATE call to action

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The California Air Resources Board’s (CARB) just released their proposed changes to On-Road emissions standards and test procedures. These regulations and standards amendments are aimed at motorcycles and motorcycle engines manufactured on or after January 1, 1978 through 2025. This points to a desire to force the adoption of electric motorcycles beginning in 2026 which is seven years ahead of the EPA’s new emission standards for motor vehicles model-years 2027 to 2032. Below are highlights and commentary on these proposed changes… The US. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed new federal emissions standards for motor vehicles model-years ’27 to ’32, intended to dramatically increase sales of electric vehicles (EVs) in the coming years. While these rules are not yet finalized and subject to approval, the agency’s target is clear: two-thirds of new passenger vehicles sold in the United States should be EVs by 2032. California is already pursuing stricter greenhouse gas standards with a goal that 70% of new vehicles sold in the state will be zero-emissions vehicles by 2030. The Golden State is also seeking to completely ban the sale of new gasoline-powered cars by 2035. This is significant, as 17 other states have followed all or part of California’s previous clean-car rules. It has also eliminated an exemption provided to low-volume car manufacturers (those that produce fewer than 5,000 vehicles a year). – The proposal, as drafted, is essentially the knock-out punch to the internal combustion engine (ICE) technologies the specialty automotive aftermarket has built its industry around. – The Biden Administration estimates this proposal will result in two out of three new vehicles sold in the United States being electric by 2032. The proposal is not technology neutral, as the EPA and White House suggest. – Ultimately, if these regulations are implemented, it will likely lead to

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Bikers and the VA

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They Deserve Better Treatment by Rogue, Senior Editor Bikernet.com, Founder Biker Lives Matter “I am a Biker and A Disabled Veteran. There are a lot of people who are as well, including Bandit, and most of us deal with the Veterans Administration for our medical treatment. This was promised to us when we enlisted and or drafted into the military. I have a close friend who is a Navy Veteran and he told me he was not allowed to sign up for VA because his wife makes too much money. Some people say they are happy with the way they are treated, but most I have talked to are Not and the reasons vary.” CLICK HERE and Read It and Support it !!! * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * To Stay updated on all Motorcycle News and Events … – simply Click & Subscribe to Bikernet’s FREE Weekly Newsletter

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Yamaha’s Record Support of Public Land for Recreation in 2021

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Yamaha Caps 2021 with Record Support of Public Land for Recreation Yamaha Outdoor Access Initiative Surpasses $5 Million in Conservation Funding MARIETTA, Ga., – March 21, 2022 – Yamaha Motor Corp., USA, announces the Yamaha Outdoor Access Initiative’s (OAI) 2021 third- and fourth-quarter grants totaled in excess of $250,000, bringing last year’s funding to more than $600,000. Since 2008, Yamaha OAI has been steadfast in serving the motorized and outdoor recreation community, contributing over $5 million in essential support for local and national organizations working to preserve and improve access to public land, fostering productive partnerships between recreationists and land managers, and delivering much-needed funds for safe, responsible recreation. “The surge in outdoor recreation is both gratifying and daunting. While we love to see families enjoying time spent outside, it amplifies the need to work together to preserve and protect the land so we can appreciate it today and in the future,” said Steve Nessl, Yamaha’s Motorsports marketing manager. “Considering the uptick in use and resulting attention and resources our nation’s public spaces require, we are proud to approve thirty new Yamaha Outdoor Access Initiative grants in 2021 – the most we’ve awarded in one year since 2009.” From inception, Yamaha OAI has selected projects with the highest potential of providing recreationists with increased and improved opportunities to enjoy the United States’ outdoor public spaces. In the latest funding rounds, the organizations awarded for support include both national and local footprints with diverse communities and interests to create a comprehensive approach to advocacy for access to public land for outdoor recreation. “We’ve worked with Yamaha and their Outdoor Access Initiative for more than a decade. Together in that timeframe, we’ve launched our One Voice program and matched numerous riding groups with public land managers to establish formal partnerships mutually benefitting

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MRF Update: Transportation Funding Unlocked

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This week the House and Senate are tackling a self-imposed deadline to pass funding legislation before government departments and agencies run out of money. To avoid a government shutdown, a large omnibus spending bill is being voted on that will fund government operations through the end of September. Importantly for transportation related projects and programs, the omnibus bill unlocks billions of dollars in funding that Washington red tape has delayed. Lawmakers and transportation officials have been warning for months that full implementation of the $1.5 trillion infrastructure law, which was enacted in November, isn’t possible because government funding is constrained at 2021 levels. So, while the money is actually in the accounts and ready to be spent, transportation agencies are locked out of using a large percentage of the money until this second piece of legislation is enacted. Only in Washington, D.C. does it take two bills, five months apart, to achieve your policy objectives! Lawmakers Focus on Tesla Recently Tesla has come under criticism for its Autopilot and Full-Self Driving (FSD) features, which critics say give the impression to drivers that the vehicles are capable of hands-off operation. The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has opened two investigations into Tesla’s autopilot system and the automaker has launched nearly a dozen recalls in the U.S. Many of those recalls are related to over-the-air updates which allows Tesla to tweak and change its software remotely. Last month, Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) sent a letter to Tesla seeking answers to a series of questions regarding its technology. Included in the letter were questions regarding safety programming, issues related to phantom braking and driver monitoring capabilities. Tesla responded to the letter last week saying in part, “Tesla’s Autopilot and FSD Capability features enhance the ability of our

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New FIM Supercross World Championship planned

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MUBADALA CAPITAL BACKS SX GLOBAL TO LAUNCH NEW FIM SUPERCROSS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP Queensland, Australia (March 1st, 2022) — Mubadala Capital, the asset management subsidiary of Mubadala Investment Company, one of the world’s leading sovereign investors with US$243 billion of assets under management, today announced its investment in SX Global, an Australian company established to develop, promote, and commercialize the FIM Supercross World Championship. Mubadala Capital has established a track record of successfully investing in category leaders across sports, media, and entertainment—including EMI Music Publishing, Endeavor Group Holdings, Reigning Champs, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and the Yankees Entertainment and Sports Network (YES Network), among others—and this investment continues its history of backing world-class management teams in building differentiated global sports, media and entertainment businesses. Mubadala Capital’s investment will support SX Global’s expansion plans for supercross and its efforts to capitalize on the exclusive rights it has secured from the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) to manage and promote the new FIM Supercross World Championship, bringing the exciting sport of off-road motorbike racing to fans across the globe in a new competitive format. “Our commitment to SX Global and the FIM Supercross World Championship builds on our strategy and track record of selectively investing in premier content properties with strong global appeal,” said Adib Martin Mattar, Head of Private Equity at Mubadala Capital. “We expect that our investment in SX Global will introduce the exciting sport of professional supercross to a global audience and build lasting value by delivering an authentic, exciting and fan-centric experience.” SX Global’s President, Tony Cochrane, added, “We’re proud to partner with Mubadala Capital, a company that shares our vision and global aspirations for the FIM Supercross World Championship. With the international reach, resources, and business building experience of Mubadala Capital alongside us, we’re looking forward to establishing FIM

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National Roadway Safety Strategy Announced

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Thursday afternoon, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg announced a new national road safety campaign. The plan, known as the “National Roadway Safety Strategy,” comes in response to increased year over year fatalities on our nation’s roadways. In 2020, an estimated 38,680 people died as a result of a motor vehicle crash. Of those, approximately 9% were motorcyclists’ fatalities. What is most alarming about the increase in fatalities, is that the total number of miles traveled on our roads decreased during the pandemic. Americans traveled 13.2% less miles in 2020 than we did in 2019, but we saw a 7.2% increase in deaths. The preliminary numbers for the first 6 months of 2021 are also troublesome. From January through the end of June 2021 an estimated 20,160 people died in crashes. That is the largest number of projected deaths in that time frame since 2006. To combat this trend the plan outlines five key objectives: Safer People: Encourage safe, responsible behavior by people who use our roads and create conditions that prioritize their ability to reach their destination unharmed. Safer Roads: Design roadway environments to mitigate human mistakes and account for injury tolerances, to encourage safer behaviors, and to facilitate safe travel by the most users. Safer Vehicles: Expand the availability of vehicle systems and features that help to prevent crashes and minimize the impact of crashes on both occupants and non-occupants. Safer Speeds: Promote safer speeds in all roadway environments through a combination of thoughtful, context-appropriate roadway design, targeted education, and outreach campaigns, and enforcement. Post-Crash Care: Enhance the survivability of crashes through expedient access to emergency medical care, while creating a safe working environment for vital first responders and preventing secondary crashes through robust traffic incident management practices. The recently passed infrastructure bill has components and funding to

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Climate Dogma Killed Biden’s “Build Back Better”

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by Michael Shellenberger A half trillion dollars to subsidize renewables would have raised energy prices, worsened inflation, and undermined decarbonization. But what do we do now? The centerpiece of President Joe Biden’s legislative agenda is dead. Senator Joe Manchin today announced that he could not support Biden’s “Build Back Better” legislation which consisted of $1.7 trillion in new spending and would have added $158 billion to the national debt over the next decade, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. The largest component of spending, $570 billion, was for renewables, electric cars, and other climate change investments. Progressives, environmentalists, and Democrats are furious with Sen. Manchin, but it was their own climate and renewables dogmatism that doomed the legislation. Democratic Senators could have written legislation that expanded nuclear energy and natural gas, the two main drivers of decarbonization, which are strongly supported by Manchin, and Republicans, but instead investments went overwhelmingly to solar panels, wind turbines, and electric cars. It’s true that there were good things in Build Back Better, and that one of the worst climate provisions, the Clean Energy Performance Program, was already removed. Build Back Better included a tax credit for existing nuclear power plants, funding for advanced nuclear fuels, funding for fusion R&D, and financial support for communities hurt by the transition to renewables. But the money for nuclear would not have made much if any difference to the operating of nuclear plans. Nuclear plants in California, Massachusetts and New York are being shut down, despite already being profitable, for ideological reasons. Legislatures in less anti-nuclear states like Illinois, New Jersey, and Connecticult step in to save their plants when they need to. And higher electricity prices due to natural gas shortages are making nuclear plants in other states even more profitable. Of Build Back Better’s

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MRF update: Highway Bill Passes – a Year Late

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November 5, 2021 Highway Bill Passes… a Year Late After a 13-month delay and enactment of three separate extensions, Congress finally passed a surface transportation reauthorization bill. This bill, sometimes called the highway bill or the infrastructure bill, has been a hotly debated topic in D.C. for several years. Once signed by the President, the bill will reauthorize many highway programs, provide funding for road and bridge construction and replace the previous highway bill passed in 2015, known as the FAST Act. Just a week ago, Congress gave itself a third extension running into December. Yet election victories by Republican candidates, especially a win by the GOP in the Virginia governor’s race, seems to have spooked Democrats, and motivated passage of a bill that has been awaiting a vote since the summer. For the last two years, the House of Representatives and Senate have battled over transportation priorities and funding levels. In both 2020 and 2021, the House of Representatives passed versions of their highway bill, only to be rebuffed by the Senate. Under pressure from President Biden, the Senate finally acted, passing in August a $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill. This action by the Senate, effectively forced the House to accept the Senate version of the bill or continue to pass short term extensions of current law. However, pressure from the left wing of the Democratic party delayed a vote on the Senate’s infrastructure bill until an unconnected piece of legislation, referred to as the “human infrastructure bill,” was agreed to. That bill, called “Build Back Better,” had an original price tag of $3.5 trillion and effectively held the infrastructure bill hostage. After months of debate, and Tuesday’s election results, House Democrats agreed to vote on a smaller Build Back Better bill later in the month, opening the door to

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Congress extends deadline for highway funding – 3rd time in 13 months

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October 28th, 2021 Same Old Story… For the 3rd time in 13 months, Congress will extend the deadline to reauthorize highway funding programs. The original deadline of September 30, 2020 was extended for a full year last fall. Last month, Congress kicked the can down the road, giving itself a 1-month extension that expires on October 31st. Facing yet another self-imposed deadline, Thursday night, Congress gave itself ANOTHER extension, this time running through December 3rd, 2021. President Biden now must sign the bill before the first of November to avoid a lapse in funding. Over 3,700 employees in the Federal Highway Administration and Federal Transit Administration would be furloughed without these stop gap funding extensions. Passage of a long-term infrastructure and highway bill remains blocked because of an inter-party fight between progressive and moderate Democrats on a host of issues. The Motorcycle Riders Foundation (MRF) believes long term and stable funding for our nation’s transportation and infrastructure programs should not be continually deferred. The MRF remains committed to seeking long term solutions that advance the priorities of the nearly 10 million bikers in this country. About Motorcycle Riders Foundation The Motorcycle Riders Foundation (MRF) provides leadership at the federal level for states’ motorcyclists’ rights organizations as well as motorcycle clubs and individual riders. Visit MRF Website at: https://mrf.org/join/

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