NEWS
BRIEFS
Following his European ' Grand Tour ' earlier this year, Harley-Davidson CEO Artie Starrs continues to take a broom to the management ranks he inherited. He has now swept away EMEA manager Kolja Rebstock, who had been his host in Europe in January- maybe that hadn ' t gone as well as it appeared! Having joined Harley in 2021, the ex-Daimler and Mitsubishi man was widely thought to have been doing a reasonable job, given the circumstances in which he found himself- declining sales, declining dealer confidence and numbers, economic uncertainties and C-suite instability back home at the mother ship. Fellow German Jochen Zeitz could hardly have made his tenure more difficult, but maybe that wasn ' t enough to save Harley ' s Senior VP International from ' taint '?
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" Through the acquisition of the Off- Road Business Association( ORBA), SEMA has strengthened its presence in Washington, D. C., and Sacramento, California, to fight for land-use protection and motorized recreation access- issues that are critical to the survival of the powersports industry. The new section allows the entire
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ecosystem to gather and unite to solve opportunities and challenges facing |
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the powersports marketplace." semashow. com / powersports |
Sources: AMD, IDN, FT, Reuters, PSB, MPN, BDN, MCN, AP, Bloomberg, MSNW, Electrek, electricmotorcycles. news, RideApart. com, Motor1. com, Cycle World, motorbikewriter. com
Reigning Mission AFT SuperTwins king Dallas Daniels( No. 1 Estenson Racing Yamaha MT-07) put the H-D XG750Rs Bauman, Kopp and Robinson to the sword. He successfully defended Yamaha ' s home turf, completing a clean sweep of victories for the brand in the Yamaha Atlanta Short Track, round 3 of the 2026 Progressive American Flat Track in March.
British wheels specialist Talon Engineering has gone out of business. Based in Yoevil in England ' s rural southwest, Talon was founded in 1972 by George Sartin, an aircraft industry engineer. It quickly became established as a leading European MX wheels specialist with a global reputation for manufacturing, materials and quality excellence. In 2021 Talon was acquired by Sprit Motorcycles, a British GP2 championship-winning team headed up by Rod McDonagh. Investment, expansion and diversification followed, but so did financial issues. Ultimately, a perfect storm of ambition crashing into the economic realities of the current motorcycle industry appears to have been too much for the wheel maker.
Wall Street bonuses jumped to a record in 2025 as profits soared, with the total pool for payouts rising to $ 49.2bn. The average annual bonus rose 6 % to $ 246,900, the New York state comptroller estimated.
Jet City H-D of Renton, Wa. has been merged with Destination Harley- Davidson in Tacoma, Wa., with the newly consolidated store rebadged as Grit City H-D, in owner Michael Veracka ' s MOD Enterprises group.
BRL Europe- Round 1, Cremona, Italy, May 23-24
The four event / eight-race Bagger Racing League season in Europe gets underway in May, with the popular Cremona Circuit in Italy( between Milan and Bologna) going " Made in USA " to mark the arrival of the Racing Road Glides. " They produce spectacular races, but above all, they are bikes that capture the imagination of enthusiasts. Machines born for American highways, now able to perform on track, drawing everyone ' s attention with their sheer size and unmistakable sound. Around these bikes, BRL Europe will be creating a festive atmosphere... just as the traditional European passion for all things American dictates." Season 2 of Bagger Racing League Europe, the continental version of the American independent BRL series, will be ' live ' n loud ', with Round-1 roaring into life on May 23 / 24 at the Cremona Circuit. An entire paddock area will be dedicated to these custom bikes, and spectators will also be able to enter with their own motorcycles and enjoy a village featuring music, food and drink, and more in riders ' hospitality tents that are always open to the public. Among the stars for Season 2 are some big names- such as former Superbike and MotoGP riders Rubén Xaus and David Checa, Japanese Takeshi, Irish rider Emmet O ' Grady, Swiss rider Marco Attanasio and Italian riders Andrea Tomio and Nazzareno Lumina- with more TBC soon. The Bagger Racing League will be the
main event of a race weekend offering something for everyone, from the small 250 cc bikes all the way up to the 1,000 cc classes, as well as the Endurance formats- in the wide range of categories that make up the Italian ' Trofei Motoestate '. www. baggereurope. com
8 AMERICAN MOTORCYCLE DEALER- MAY 2026 www. AMDmag. com