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NEWS
BRIEFS
Plano, Texas based Cardo Systems has been awarded a prestigious‘ Red Dot’ Award for Product Design in 2026- for its new smart helmet, the integrated comms Cardo Beyond GTS.
The MIC joined outdoor recreation industry leaders and partners in July to celebrate the first anniversary of the bipartisan Public Lands Caucus. During the event, House members from both parties highlighted the caucus ' s efforts over the past year to oppose proposals to sell millions of acres of federal public lands through budget reconciliation and tax legislation while reaffirming their commitment to protecting public access and conserving America ' s public lands.
Ahead of the planned retirement of chief commercial officer Paul Stroud, Triumph Motorcycles has appointed David George as Chief Sales Officer and Nick Bell as Head of Global Marketing Operations. Stroud ' s time at Triumph saw annual global motorcycle sales grow from around 45,000 motorcycles to more than 140,000 last year. George has held senior leadership positions with Volkswagen Group, Audi, Mercedes- Benz, MINI and BMW in the UK and Canada. Bell has worked closely with Triumph for more than a decade while at strategy consultancy OC & C.
The Outdoor Power Equipment Institute( OPEI) is pushing back against California ' s latest emissions requirements for small off-road engines( SORE) as Congress considers whether to overturn the federal waiver that allows the California Air Resources Board( CARB) to enforce the rules / PSB
Level 3 DC fast charging is coming to Zero Motorcycles, delivering 20 % to 80 % charging in under 30 minutes for motorcycles with a battery capacity of up to 17.3 kWh. The new CCS port and fast charging module will be available for new Zero Street and Dual Sport / ADV motorcycles later in 2027. The system will also be offered as a retrofit accessory for Street and Dual Sport / ADV models from 2022 and up.
Honda has opened a new motorcycle production factory in Turkey. The new facility( at Aliaga, Izmir) is operated by Honda Türkiye A. S and is Honda ' s 38th factory worldwide and has an initial annual production capacity set at 100,000 units, with the opportunity to expand to up to 200,000. Production started in April 2026. Turkey has become one of Honda ' s key growth markets. In 2025 Honda took the number one position in the market for the 11th consecutive year.
BrakeTech USA- New Ownership and Website
Reidsville, N. C., based BrakeTech USA, the American manufacturer of AXIS floating motorcycle brake rotors and Caliper Racing Pistons, has announced that the company has been acquired by Brock and Rhonda Davidson of Brock ' s Performance fame at Dayton, Ohio. BrakeTech founder Jeff Gehrs has taken a step-back from day-today company operations but will continue as Senior Technical Advisor, supporting product development and technical matters on an ongoing basis. Brock ' s will continue to operate the as BrakeTech USA, LLC, with manufacturing remaining at the existing Reidsville, North Carolina BrakeTech facility. BrakeTech ' s manufactured product lines are continuing without interruption, including the AXIS floating rotor system, Cobra SS street and road rotors, AXIS / RR round-race series rotors, CobraMX offroad rotors, SuperAxe rotors, BigBrake oversized kits, BT-HD Harley- Davidson rotors, and Caliper Racing Pistons. " Our Harley Big-Brake kits bring real performance braking to Big Twins. Each kit is built around our patented AXIS full-floating rotor in the Cobra SS stainless petal design, oversized to 320mm( 12.6 ") or 330mm( 13 ") depending on application. They are
Brock Davidson( right) and his wife Rhonda has acquired BrakeTech USA. Founder Jeff Gehrs will continue as Senior Technical Consultant.
paired with a billet machined caliper relocation adapter finished in Black Diamond hard anodize to fit Brembo 4- piston twin-pin calipers. " These kits are designed for the serious performance rider who wants a genuine boost in stopping power, not just a styling upgrade. Rotors and kits are available in both full-circle and halfmoon mounting hole patterns, and in hub-mount or spoke-mount configurations depending on the model." The company has also launched a rebuilt braketech. com today, developed to serve retail customers and dealers through the same storefront. Product, fitment, and technical content will continue to be added to the site on an
NAMZ Consolidates Motorcycle Lighting Under the NAMZ Brand
From October 1st, 2026, Oreland, Pa. based NAMZ Custom Cycle Products is to retire the Letric Lighting Co. brand and consolidate its continuing LED lighting program under the NAMZ Custom Cycle Products name. " The idea and name behind Letric Lighting Co. were originally developed under the direction provided by a former distributor, with a focus on building an expansive LED offering supported by an exclusive distribution agreement," said Jeff Zielinski, Founder and President of NAMZ Custom Cycle Products. " While we understood the vision, it was ultimately not the direction we would have chosen for the brand or our company. As we look ahead, we believe that moving on from Letric Lighting Co. is the right decision and will allow us to pursue a path that is more closely aligned with our longterm vision and goals." The change simplifies a lineup that has been split across two brand names since 2018 and places every lamp, taillight, turn signal and lighting accessory NAMZ continues to build behind the single brand that dealers and riders have known and trusted since 1999. The consolidation clears the way for ongoing basis. Phase two of the rebuild will take the catalog to approximately 350 rotor SKUs. " I have tested these rotors against everything else on the market, and nothing comes close," said Brock Davidson, Operating Manager of BrakeTech USA, LLC and owner of Brock ' s Performance. " It would have been a genuine loss to the industry if one of the best components you can put on a motorcycle had gone away. We are not changing BrakeTech— we are putting Brock ' s Performance ' s organization, marketing, and graphics team behind it, and giving riders and dealers a website that does the products justice." www. braketech. com
the next generation of the product line. NAMZ has several one-of-a-kind lighting products in research and development now – " all engineered in house and unlike anything currently offered for the applications they serve," said Jeff. " Releases are planned in the near term and announcing them under a single brand means dealers and riders will find them in one catalog, at one source, with no confusion about which name to look for." Technical support is unchanged and available Monday through Friday, 10:00 a. m. to 6:00 p. m. Eastern at 610-265-7100 ext. 206. Badlands Motorcycle Products, the industry leading lighting module brand NAMZ has owned since 1990, is not affected by this announcement and continues under its own name. www. namzccp. com
12 AMERICAN MOTORCYCLE DEALER- OCTOBER 2026 www. AMDmag. com