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While there have been endless attempts to overthrow the telescopic fork as the standard front suspension system for motorcycles , none have come as close to success as the girderstyle ' Hossack ' front end . It has been used on mainstream BMWs from the K1200 to the K1600 , and most recently on the current generation of Honda Gold Wing , and now a patent filing shows Honda is working on a variation of the idea specifically for a highperformance naked bike .

Honda has been working on steering-assist systems for bikes for several years as it pursues a goal of zero motorcycle fatalities by 2050 - but a new patent suggests the same technology could also be used to help prevent much less severe crashes , and specifically the sort of embarrassing ' drops ' that can happen when parking a bike . Illustrated on a Gold Wing , the system is essentially a steeringassistance servo that ' s connected to tilt sensors on the bike .

Zero Motorcycles has scooped the Gold Award in the transportation category at the prestigious 2023 IDSA International Design Excellence Awards Ceremony for the Zero SR-X .

The Energica Experia , the company ' s zero emissions electric touring model , has won the prestigious Motorcycle News ( MCN ) 2023 Best

Electric Motorcycle award in the United Kingdom . Based near Bologna in Italy , and these days owned by Wall Street listed Ideanomics , Energica is no stranger to the MCN award having picked it up in 2016 and 2017 , respectively , with the Ego and EsseEsse9 models .

Triumph Motorcycle has announced no less than eight Bonneville Stealth Editions for 2024 . Featuring what Triumph claims is an " innovative new custom-style paint finish technique from Triumph ' s worldclass paint team ," these editions will be available for one year only .

Bagger Racing League ' s ' Fall Brawl ' in Daytona " was an absolute barn burner !" The thrilling race saw Arnie Wells of Team SLYFOX Performance and Suburban Harley-Davidson take the # 1 plate , with Bryan Shields and Craig Braymiller rounding out the podium . The American Sportbike Racing Association ( ASRA ) hosted the special AMA Championship class at the iconic Daytona International Speedway on October 20th and 21st . " The Harley-Davidson dominated class fielded 11 racers who were ready to bring an intense bagger brawl to the historic high banks of Daytona , and it didn ' t disappoint . Wells started out fast and secured the lead on Bryan Shields out of the gate . Yet Bryan put on a show and battled back to make a pass going into turn one on the final lap . Arnie , knowing it was now or never , put his head down and battled back to make the pass by Bryan on the last lap , the last bank to take the win ." Joe Houpt , team owner of Suburban Harley-Davidson said : " I ' m so proud of Arnie and our entire team . We are grateful to both the AMA and Bagger Racing League for offering an opportunity to race for a historic # 1 plate at the iconic Daytona

International Speedway ." Special thanks to Alex at SLYFOX Performance , as well as the rest of the sponsors , including NAMZ Custom Cycle , Alloy Art , Hayes , Performance Machine , Regina Chain , G2 and BST . At the time of writing , the next stop for the BRL is the championship race at Willow Springs International Raceway , on Nov 18th and 19th , 2023 . " We are excited to see what our teams and racers bring to our championship race in Willow Springs ," said Rob Buydos , BRL founder and president . " With the great success of the 2023 BRL ' Fall Brawl ' in Daytona , fans of the BRL are going to be treated to epic amounts of championship racing action ."

The MIC is reporting that among leading brands , sales of new motorcycles and scooters increased by + 4.4 % through the third quarter of 2023 , compared to the same period the previous year . ATVs decreased - 7.1 % among leading brands . Through September , off-highway motorcycles were up + 14.7 %, and the dual-sport segment went up by + 6.6 %. " The popularity of dual-sport motorcycles [ the Adventure Touring / ADV segment ] is the highest it ' s ever been and off-road is steadily increasing ," said Buckner Nesheim , MIC Director of Research and Statistics . " The third quarter of 2023 has marked the highest ever recorded quarterly sales for these types of bikes , and the year-to-date figures also reflect the highest year-to-date sales in the history of the segment . If the current trajectory persists , 2023 is poised to exceed 2022 in becoming the year with the highest recorded sales of dual-sport motorcycles . Additionally , the year-to-date sales for off-road motorcycles in 2023 have reached their highest point since 2007 , indicating the resurgence in off-road riding is continuing to grow ."

' Dual-sport popularity highest it ' s ever been '

Motorcycles and scooters accounted for 77.2 % of total new-unit sales through Q3 and ATVs represented 22.8 %. The MIC is defining dual-sport models

as motorcycles certified by their manufacturers to be in compliance with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards , designed primarily for offhighway recreational use with the capability for legal use on public roads . The association is defining adventure models as motorcycles designed primarily for on-highway use and capable of light-duty off-highway riding . These machines incorporate features such as small windscreens , long-travel suspension , engine guards , and are generally designed with either a rally-style front fender or a high front fender design .

Quarterly Retail Sales Report - January to September 2023

18 AFTERMARKET MOTO DESIGN - DECEMBER 2023 www . AMDmag . com