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BRIEFS
LiveWire Chief Technical Officer Vance Strader has announced that he is retiring from Harley-Davidson and LiveWire . An important figure in the development of the S2 ' Arrow ' platform , the modular , scalable architecture that was developed from the ground up , without yet being sure of any specifics , he also said that he is " not done ". Speaking to the achievements on his watch he said that " designing and owning all the hardware and software , fully understanding how it all works , and being able to change anything anytime should be a real competitive advantage . And though I ' m admittedly biased , having ridden hundreds of different ICE and EV motorcycles over the years , I ' m especially proud of the ' secret sauce ' we put into every LiveWire that I believe enables them to deliver some of the best riding experiences on two wheels ."
Respected Cycle Source Magazine and Grease & Gears TV publishers and owners Chris and Heather Callan have moved their business from Pittsburgh to drop anchor further west , with Brian and Vanessa Klock at their Mitchell , SD Klock Werks ' campus '.
For the first ten months of 2024 , the Benelli TRK 702 / X is the top-selling motorcycle in Italy with 6,226 units sold in a market that was + 6.13 %. The BMW R 1300 GS was second with Honda ' s Africa Twin in third . Total scooter sales were 167,539 units (+ 4.34 %).
For the YTD through October 2024 , H-D sat in 7th spot with a 4.94 % market share in Germany , having sold 6,085 units . The topselling model was the Street Bob 114 in 49th spot with some 663 units sold for a 0.54 % German market share . LiveWire was the fifth best-selling electric motorcycle with just 44 units sold ( 3.36 % of a very small market ) - less than one each week in what is supposed to be progressive , environmentally conscious market . In order to boost international profitability , four years ago Harley reduced the number of international markets it sells into , including the number of markets the HDMEA subsidiary operates in . A recent financial report in Europe estimated that their HDMEA subsidiary is losing money for the Milwaukee balance sheet .
S & S Cycle - Howard Kelly Returns
Just a few months after S & S Cycle announced that Charlie Hadayia had returned as Director of Business Development after a 14-year ' walkabout ' that had included a spell at Tucker , the band continues to get back together with the return of Howard Kelly as Senior Director of Marketing . Kelly steps back into the marketing department at S & S Cycle from MiTek , a Berkshire Hathaway Company , where he spent the last six and a half years serving the commercial construction industry in the USA , EU and APAC markets . Kelly was last with S & S from 2004 – 2009 working on marketing and communications efforts leading up to the S & S 50th Anniversary and a series of engine service manuals . " We are excited to have Howard back home at S & S Cycle ," said Mark Platt , S & S Board Chair . " Howard brings uniquely valuable experience , passion , and excitement to the S & S Team and he is set to play a key role in delivering on our promise of Made-in-America Proven Performance for our customers - keeping them at the center of
Leading Sweden based powersports industry suspension specialist Öhlins has been acquired by Brembo in a first major strategic buy into an ' adjacent ' business sector for the Bergamo , Italy based global brakes products manufacturer and brand owner . The deal is primarily being touted by Brembo as an automotive market play , with the October 11 announcement saying that with this acquisition " Brembo expands its offerings for the automotive market ". Brembo stated that " this deal marks the largest acquisition in Brembo ' s history and further strengthens the Group ' s brand portfolio . Öhlins has a strong racing heritage and presence in major championships as a renowned supplier for MotoGP , Formula 1 , Superbike , NASCAR and others ". The deal ( for a 100 % stake in Öhlins everything we do ." Kelly commented : " I left S & S saying I wanted a break from the powersports industry , during a season when worldwide economic pressure was impacting our industry ' s spirit and Comradery . With the next few projects we have lined up , I hope to see that come back . I must thank S & S Board Members Brett Smith and Mark Platt for showing me what I was missing and encouraging me to get back to my real passion ."
Brembo announces acquisition of Öhlins Suspension
Racing ) was with U . S . conglomerate Tenneco , which only acquired Öhlins in late 2018 from founder Kenth Öhlin some months after Tenneco ' s $ 5.4bn acquisition of Ferodo brake pads owner Federal Mogul earlier that year . Tenneco folded Öhlins into ' Driv ' - a then newly formed division with Ferodo and other brands . In turn , Tenneco ( described as a " portfolio company of funds ") is managed by " affiliates " of New York based ' alternate ' asset manager Apollo Global Management , Inc . Tenneco is also the owner of Monroe Shocks and former owner of Italian suspension manufacturer Marzocchi . Matteo Tiraboschi , Brembo Executive Chairman , said : " Öhlins is a strong fit for Brembo . It is a world-renowned brand , with a solid business and an unrivalled reputation - both on the
Kelly ' s return to S & S Cycle , along with other recent organizational changes , " further bolsters the company plans to continue its legacy of creating industry leading marketing programs for insiders and customers . New products and core products that have driven the success seen over the last six decades will get plenty of attention and there may just be a few events that remind the industry just how much reach S & S brings ." www . sscycle . com
racetrack and the road . " We welcome Öhlins to our Group as a great opportunity to expand our offerings for the automotive market . With this addition , we take another step forward in our strategy to provide integrated intelligent solutions to our customers , leveraging synergies across key technologies in the vehicle ' s corner ." Founded by Kenth Öhlin in Upplands Väsby ( Stockholm ) in 1976 , Öhlins Racing has a strong international footprint . It employs approximately 500 people across two production facilities and R & D centres located in Sweden and Thailand and four distribution and testing branches in the U . S ., Germany , Thailand and Sweden . Founded in 1961 in Italy , Brembo cites over 600 motorsport championship title wins in its history , presently employing 16,000 people across 15 countries , 32 production and business sites and nine R & D centres . The company ' s turnover was € 3,849m in 2023 . The two-wheeler business is said to be worth approximately 13 % of total Brembo revenues . www . brembo . com www . ohlins . com
10 AMD - DECEMBER 2024 www . AMDmag . com