NOW
IN OUR
™
28 EA t R h
Y
T H E L E A D I N G B U S I N E S S M A G A Z I N E F O R T H E I N T E R N AT I O N A L C U S T O M M O T O R C Y C L E A N D PA RT S I N D U S T RY
Daytona TT and 200 Postponed
as Pandemic Panic Infects
Global Motorcycle Industry
At the time of press it is still
difficult to discern just how much
of the global response to the new
Coronavirus pandemic and the
COVID-19 disease it can spawn in
vulnerable victims is hype and
how much is realistic - but by any
measure, it's not looking trivial.
Even if the virus itself turns out to be less
pernicious than feared, the impacts of
the panic it is creating are locked-in and
will color and shape the global
motorcycle industry business ecosystem
for months or maybe years to come -
regardless of whether it turns out to just
be a short, sharp shock or to be the
trigger for a long-term economic
downturn.
At this point in the news cycle, the latest
news was of the AMA's decision (just 24
hours out from race day) to postpone
the much-anticipated Daytona 200 and
AFT TT double header slated for 14
March. The Daytona 200 will instead be
staged during Biketoberfest, with the
Daytona TT delayed to an as yet
unspecified date.
It is highly likely that there will be further
AFT casualties, with the Atlanta ST
(March 28) and Charlotte HM (April 04)
looking particularly vulnerable.
The impact has already been felt on
national and international race series
around the world, with the Qatar
(second) round of the World Superbike
series postponed (currently the next
planned round is in the Netherlands on
Europe likely
-3% for 2020
April 19) and the first three rounds of
MotoGP canceled or postponed (Qatar,
Thailand and Austin, Texas) - the series
is presently scheduled to get underway
in Argentina on April 19.
Neither has the motorcycle show
calendar been immune. Expos in Japan,
Taiwan and Indonesia have already
been either canceled for 2020 or
(tentatively) re-arranged for later in the
year. In Europe, while we here at AMD
have been lucky so far with the first two
of our 2020 World Championship
Affiliate events being staged in the
Czech Republic and Spain just before
those countries effectively went into
lock-down, industry events such as the
Madrid International Motorcycle Fair
(Vive la Moto, Madrid, Spain) and Roma
MotoDays (Rome, Italy, in April) are
either canceled or postponed.
In the United States, Mama Tried and
Flat Out Friday (Milwaukee, March) and
Revival Cycles' Handbuilt Motorcycle
Show at Austin, Texas, planned for the
MotoGP weekend are both postponed.
The market's major distributors (Drag
Specialties, Tucker V-Twin and
HardDrive/WPS) got their shows away
just in time in January and February, as
did popular shows such as Motor Bike
Expo (Verona, Italy), The One Show
(Portland, Oregon), Swiss Moto/Custom
(Zurich), Motorraeder Dortmund
(Germany) and the Progressive
International Motorcycle Shows series
with its J&P sponsored Ultimate Builder
shows in January and February.
SCOUT BOBBER SIXTY
Has Indian hit the sweet-spot with
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lightweight, "minimalistic and raw"
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APR 2020
ISSUE #249
JORDAN DICKINSON
WINS UBCBS TOUR
PM 50TH
ANNIVERSARY -
ROAD TOUR
VANCE & HINES 2020
AFT SINGLES
CONTINGENCY
PROGRAM