Sources: AMD, IDN, FT, Reuters, PSB, MPN, BDN, MCN, AP, Bloomberg, MSNW, Electrek, electricmotorcycles. news, RideApart. com, Motor1. com, Cycle World, motorbikewriter. com

Billed as the best ' Rally-Race-Rock ' Motorcycle Festival in Europe, and host to an AMD Approved International Custom Bike Show, the 40th annual Biker Fest will be staged from May 14-17, 2026, at Lignano Sabbiadoro( Udine, Italy)- its regular destination resort north of Venice on Italy ' s Adriatic Coast. It is said that in 2025 the event attracted some 240,000 visitors, making it the largest rally outside of the United States; www. bikerfest. com

The MRF in the USA( Motorcycle Riders Foundation) has announced September 25-28 for its annual ' Meeting Of The Minds ' convention at Shreveport, Louisiana. Agenda items include topical presentations, 16 info-packed workshops and Capitol Hill updates. First time attendees between the ages of 18-35 receive a 35 % discount on event registrations. The venue is Sam ' s Town Hotel & Casino- which is poetic since expecting legislators to ever do anything helpful is always a crapshoot at best; www. mrf. org

Michael Ballard ' s Full Throttle at Sturgis is set to host an Industry Day and Exclusive party on Tuesday, August 5, 2025, during the 85th annual Pappy Hoel Motorcycle Rally( Sturgis Rally). " This event is designed to bring together top-tier brands, builders, and media for a day of connection, collaboration, and celebration at the world ' s largest biker bar." Highlights at the Full Throttle Expo Center on the 30-acre site include a Mama Tried custom motorcycle Sturgis Showcase, the Trask Performance Invitational Bike Show and a new venue for the Michael Lichter Photography Exhibition. This year, the exhibition includes never-before-seen works in celebration of Lichter ' s 2025 Arlen Ness Lifetime Achievement Award; www. fullthrottlesaloon. com

S & S Cycle has announced that builders have been selected for " an incredible event to take place at the 2025 Mooneyes Show in Japan- the response to the 2025 Vintage Tour in the United States has been incredible, and the Japanese market loves vintage V-twins, so a special tour has been created." On December 7, 2025 at the Mooneyes Show in Yokohama, Japan, three very special builders will compete in a one-day build off to become the S & S Cycle Vintage Tour Champion. Voting will be done at the show by attendees between 8:00 am and 3:00 pm, and the winner announced that day. " It has been many years since I attended Mooneyes on behalf of S & S

Masumi Tsuchino

Cycle for the first time," said S & S owner / director Brett Smith. " Howard and our friends in Japan have done a fantastic job paving the way us to

return and provide a special experience as an extension of our 2025 Vintage Tour. " I very much look forward to celebrating the creativity and ingenuity of the Japanese custom

Yusaku Sato The competitors are:

builder community. Many will recall the overall winner of the S & S Cycle 50th Anniversary Biker Build-Off was Keiji Kawakita of Hot Dock Custom Cycles. He set the bar high, and I cannot wait to see who will emerge as the new leader of custom building in Japan!" The competitors will be given awards that day by Brett Smith, grandson of George Smith, S & S Cycle founder, and those awards will be hand-built by Tom Smith also grandson of George Smith. Unlike the US-based Vintage Tour, this build-off will follow the competitors along on their social media and the S & S Cycle social media to help attendees get ready to vote. S & S Cycle wishes to extend special thanks to the team at Neo-Factory

Takuya Okubo

( www. neofactory. co. jp) for helping organize the build-off and getting the builders their S & S engines quickly to start the project. www. sscycle. com