American Motorcycle Dealer AMD 241 August 2019 | Page 64

Tim Buche To Step Down as MIC
BRIEFS CEO - Accepts Consultancy Role
NEWS
Indian Motorcycle has recalled
certain 2019 Indian Scout/Sixty
motorcycles equipped with anti-
lock brake systems for a brake
system air bleed problem due to
possible trapped air.
The Malaysia Bike Building
Championship, which in 2017
produced the bike and builder that
would go on to take 2nd place at the
2018 AMD World Championship at
INTERMOT Customized, Cologne,
Germany, will again be an AMD
Affiliate when it is staged in Kuala
Lumpur on October 25 - 27.
Produced by MotoNation, buoyed by
its success so far, after this year the
event will be annual.
Motorcycle sales in Germany
are +8.25% for the first six
months of the year in Germany,
with 105,080 total PTW vehicles
registered, of which 75,237
units were motorcycles
(+5.17%). The best seller in
Germany has been the BMW
R1250 GS.
Harley took 8.68% of the German
motorcycle market in the first sixth
months of 2019 (6,533 units -
slightly down on the first half of
2018). They placed sixth in market
share terms behind BMW, Kawasaki,
Honda, KTM and Yamaha, but ahead
of Suzuki, Triumph and Husqvarna.
Their top seller was the Street Bob
(the 21st most popular motorcycle in
Germany so far in 2019 - 716 units
sold), followed by the Sport Glide
(607 units sold), the Breakout 114
(478) and the XL 1200 X (472).
Tim Buche, the near 25-year veteran
CEO of the Motorcycle Industry
Council (MIC), is to step down from his
position to take up an institutional
memory-preserving consultancy role
effective November 1st.
In a succession plan that has been 18
months in the making, he will be
replaced by Erik Pritchard, currently
President of two of the resource-share
associations that are co-located with
the MIC at Irvine, California - the
Specialty Vehicle Institute of America
(SVIA), the Motorcycle Safety
Foundation (MSF), and the
Recreational Off-Highway Vehicle
Association of America (ROHVA).
Buche is currently CEO for all the
associations and President of MSF and
the MIC; Pritchard, currently President
of SVIA and ROHVA and general
counsel for all four associations, has
been selected by the respective boards
to be Chief Executive Officer and
President of all four associations
effective Nov. 1, 2019. A formal
announcement about Pritchard's new
role is slated for release in the fall.
"Even though I have the same passion
for the success of all our respective
association members as I did when I
assumed this role nearly 25 years ago,
this succession has been planned for
several years to ensure an orderly
transition. I'm excited to continue
serving the associations in a new way
as a consultant," Buche said. "Erik
has proven to be an effective leader
since he joined us in 2014 and
assumed the presidency of SVIA and
ROHVA two years ago. With exciting
new initiatives under way at the
associations, Erik is the right leader to
work with staff to continually improve
to achieve strategic plans and
priorities."
Since joining the MIC, MSF and SVIA
as President in September 1996 and
for the newly formed ROHVA in 2008,
Buche has worked with the respective
boards to set a course of improved
services to their respective members to
help them grow and manage their
businesses, including enhanced
market research and government
relations and market development
initiatives.
Some of these efforts include the
acquisition by the MIC of AIMExpo,
"the premier and only trade and
consumer powersports trade show in
the United States"; the annual
'Capitol Fly-In', the premier legislative
advocacy event of the year for
members; and the annual
Communications Symposium, now
entering its 21st year and always filled
to capacity with members who hear
and learn from elite financial, brand
and research experts.
Buche spearheaded the renowned
MSF 100 Motorcyclists Naturalistic
Research study with Virginia Tech
Transportation Institute, and he has
been a frequent advocate and speaker
on behalf of on- and off-highway
enthusiasts.
"Tim has worked tirelessly since his
very first day to make each of the
associations the pillar of their
respective industries, and on behalf of
the MIC board we will be forever
grateful for his commitment to
excellence," said Paul Vitrano, MIC
board chair and senior assistant
general counsel at Indian Motorcycle
and Polaris Industries.
"He has been sharply focused on
advancing the needs of our members
and fellow riders to the highest levels
of government and with blue ribbon
research institutions, and all our
members have greatly benefited from
his leadership and dedication."
AMD would like to congratulate
Tim Buche on his years of
dedicated service to the
motorcycle industry and
acknowledge the excellent
contribution he has made to
defending and promoting the
interests of our industry. We here
at AMD have had the pleasure of
seeing Tim representing the
interests of the United States
motorcycle industry domestically
and on the wider international
stage where he has garnered
considerable prestige and
effective influence for the MIC
and the other associations. He has
been a model of professionalism,
and always shown an instinctive
understanding and grasp of the
issues with an integrity that has
allowed him to produce results.
He has always listened carefully
to perspectives and shown great
patience and courtesy with many
irascible individuals at times of
pressure - not least with this
author!