AMD265 August 2021 Aftermarket Moto Design 265 August 2021 | Page 64

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As at early July there was still no word yet from H-D or the United States Motorcycle Manufacturers Association ( which also includes Indian Motorcycle ) about the apparent five-year postponement of the punitive retaliatory tariffs of up to 56 % on US motorcycles imported proposed by the EU . Tariffs on billions of dollars worth of goods , including Harley-Davidson motorcycles , were said to have been suspended for five years following a deal struck in June by the Biden administration with the EU , to bring an end to the Boeing / Airbus subsidies row . The apparent outcome of the US / EU talks included a five-year moratorium on the increased tariffs that the EU was planning to impose , rather than the short-term delays that had been agreed so far at that stage . Those delays had already been agreed between the Office of The United States Trade Representative and the EU in advance of the planned summit between the EU and President Biden in Brussels on June 15th . That temporary suspension was designed to pave the way for a longer term deal to end the 17-year old spat over alleged aircraft manufacturing subsidies by both parties - a spat that started to spin out of control in 2018 . The five-year moratorium reported to have been agreed in June involved both sides pledging not to create trade inequalities between Boeing and Airbus ( through subsidies or other measures deemed as unfair practice ) for five years in order to allow both sides to subsequently negotiate a permanent face-saving end to the dispute by 2026 .

Team AMD USA Qualifier - Get On ! Moto Fest Texas Motor Speedway , May 20 - 23 , 2021

With the world tentatively headed towards a post-pandemic reboot , industry veteran Bob Kay and custom bike builder and show organizer Kevin Dunworth operated the first in their program of ' TEAM AMD USA ' world Championship of Custom Bike Building qualifiers - hosted by the Get On ! Moto Fest in Texas in May . Builders from all over the USA headed for the Texas Motor Speedway at Fort Worth just a week after the U . S . CDC lifted its travel restrictions and mask mandates - all hopeful to qualify for an expenses paid trip to represent the United States custom bike building community at the next AMD World Championship . The next ' AMD ' (' AMD ' XIV - postponed from 2020 ) is presently slated for INTERMOT ,
Cologne , Germany , in October 2022 . The structure of this competition was ' winner takes all ' prizing with trophies for second to fifth places . " As usual , we had some heavy U . S . hitters bringing some amazing builds ," says
Kevin . " The first thing we did was to have everyone meet for a morning ride on the Friday of set-up . This was a 22- mile ride through the Texas countryside with a medallion handed to each builder for completion of the route .
" There is a handicap for any bike that does not complete the ride under its own power - come the judging , it can ' t get the same full points as the bikes that do complete the ride . So , compared to display only shows , the heat was on and you could feel the tension as many negotiated their custom starting procedures , or kicked
Winner : Rick Bray / RKB Kustom Speed , ' King Solomon ', 1981 Shovelhead 76 ci Continues on page 12 >>>