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Just as the prospect of a new tariff war appears over the horizon , the sun has only just set on Harley ' s attempts to contest the fall-out from the last batch of EU / USA bitching . The EU had charged Harley with moving production of its bikes for sale in its markets to Thailand purely as an attempt to side-step the EU ' s retaliatory tariffs . The arising legal dispute that has been rumbling away ever since has only just been resolved - with Harley losing . Harley ' s appeal against the tariff imposition has now been dismissed by the EU ' s Court of Justice , finding that Harley " failed to provide sufficient evidence showing that its move [ of production intended for sale in the EU ] was driven primarily by [ wider ] economic efficiency rather than [ being driven entirely by ] regulatory avoidance . While businesses are free to make decisions optimizing their operations , relocations timed to align with EU measures face additional scrutiny ." The move of production to Thailand has been adjudged by the court to have been " aimed primarily to avoid these duties " and deemed it as " economically unjustified " under Article 33 of the EU ' s Delegated Regulation 2015 / 2446 .

Michelin and Brembo have signed an ' Intelligent Solutions ' Combination Agreement that will see the French tire manufacturer and Italian brakes powerhouse ( and , as of recently , the Swedish Öhlins Suspension owner ) collaborating to " exploit the full potential of their intelligent solutions to revolutionize vehicle performance and offer drivers the highest safety and comfort standards ." Primarily aimed at the automotive market ( the motorcycle market is at best only around 10 % of the action for both manufacturers ), there could well be applications and implications for motorcycle technology . The innovation relies on the continuous exchange of real-time data between Michelin ’ s connected solutions software , which provides tire grip data to Brembo ' s innovative SENSIFY braking system . " These unique tire insights enable engineers to fine-tune the braking system with exceptional precision , further enhancing SENSIFY ’ s characteristics ." There ' s one thing that is certain though , if it does bleed into the PTW industry then it will likely be another nail in the coffin of the parts aftermarket and , in practical terms , the freedom of riders to cut the service department umbilical cord with authorized dealers .

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their Pingel Enterprise performance motorcycle parts business mean to the class and motorcycle drag racing as a whole . " They really support Top Fuel Motorcycle and drag racing in general . They are one of the few companies that are all in with drag racing . They go all the way back to when it was IHRA , NMRA , Prostar and others . What they do for the sport is absolutely incredible . They ' ve supported the sport from the grassroots level on up . " I would like to thank Pingel Enterprise , Drag Specialties , Vance & Hines Motorsports , Bill Miller Engineering , Trim-Tex , Web Cam , Worldwide Bearings , A . P . E ., Final Swipe , Mickey Thompson Tires , Red Line Oil , Torrence Racing , Simpson Race Products , Goodridge Hose and Fitting , Belt Drives Ltd ., B & J Transmission , Beringer Brakes , Boninfante Friction , Brock ' s Performance , BST Wheels , Cometic Gaskets , D . M . E ., Ferrea Valves , Kibblewhite , LA Sleeve , MPS , PR

arry " Spiderman " McBride

Factory Store , Valco , Dave Dunigan and Jimmy Brantley . " Also , my crew chief and brother Steve McBride , Chuck Stuart , Roland Stuart , Charley Lynch , and Braylon Rooker ." A few years ago , the McBrides were considering another one step back , to take five steps forward , by switching to a FuelTech system . The weight savings alone on a nitro bike are considerable . But at their ages ( Larry is 66 and Steve 68 ) with a sizable performance advantage already in hand , the brothers decided to shelve that plan and stick with tried and true . " We can already go faster than what we need to go and want to go with what we have ," noted Larry . Though a major change for McBride , it wouldn ' t have been move into entirely uncharted territory . Like Brown and Bob Malloy already race a Sam Wills chassis with a FuelTech ECU . Malloy is the current record holder for NHRA Top Fuel Harley , a class that thrives at AMRA these days , but petered away at NHRA when sponsor Mickey

Juha " Sushi " Hintukainen

Thompson was acquired by Goodyear and funding dried up . Despite ECU differences , the bikes in this NHRA Pingel Top Fuel iteration are all the traditional Suzuki GS-based , supercharged inline 4s that have dominated the class since the days of the late , great Elmer Trett . The other two bikes that saw action in ' 24 are clean sheet designs . The rules for 2024 stipulated nitro and superchargers , but the class wants full 8-bike fields in ' 25 , so normally aspirated Top Fuel Harleys are under consideration ; but there are several blown V-Twins available that also fit the original rules structure . Frustrated with the pace of development of his ProCharged traditional 45-degree Harley , Jay Turner is building a bike centered around two cylinders cut off the end of a Top Fuel car Hemi block and heads . Tak Shigematsu is said to be shipping his ProCharged bike - built by the late , great Don " DJ " Johnson - back to the US . And then there ' s the ProCharged bike of Finnish racer Juha " Sushi " Hintukainen . So , there are lots of available contestants that just need to make themselves available . Thanks to the Pingels , the class is available again for 2025 , with the NHRA repeating the 2024 schedule . " The 2024 NHRA Top Fuel motorcycle class was a great success ," said Donna Pingel . " The race teams worked very hard to be the winner , with the Larry McBride Team taking first place . We are very pleased with all the racers performance and look forward to the 2025 season . www . nhra . com www . pingelonline . com