International Dealer News 156 August/September 202 IDN 156 Aug/Sept 2020 | Page 16

Sources: AMD, IDN, FT, Reuters, PSB, MPN, B&B, BDN, MCN, AP, Bloomberg, MNW. electricmotorcycles.news news ROOM NEWS BRIEFS Legendary American small engine manufacturer Briggs & Stratton has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Founded in 1908 and based near Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the small engine specialist has been acquired by New York based equity investor KPS Capital Partners in a stock and asset purchase agreement under a court-supervised voluntary reorganisation. The company has also obtained $677.5m in DIP financing, has a reported $1.8bn in revenue and is said to employ some 5,000 people. New EU standards will include 'crash testing' with helmets having to undergo impact tests at oblique angles. Testers will use 45-degree angle impacts to measure how add-ons such as helmet-mounted Bluetooth comms and action cameras affect energy absorption and rotational protection during a crash. The new requirements will co-exist with the current ECE 22.05, replacing them completely (as ECE.06) in 2023. Plans by Madrid based WSBK rights holder Dorna and the FIM to still be able to stage British, Dutch and Qatari WSBK rounds have been abandoned - dates had still be held in the revised schedule on a to be determined or confirmed basis. It will be the first time in WorldSBK history that there won’t be a round in the UK; the TT Circuit Assen has been a permanent fixture since 1992 - the longest continually serving venue in WorldSBK. Galfer - over 300 CUBIQ brake disc applications Spanish brake component manufacturer Galfer launched its new CUBIQ brake disc design at EICMA in November 2019 and, as the originators of the 'Disc Wave' design, they are well on the way to replicating its popularity with over 300 CUBIQ model applications already available - from Honda, Kawasaki and Suzuki to Yamaha, KTM and Triumph. The new CUBIQ brake disc concept features a unique braking track shape in the form of hexagons, similar to the crystalline structure of steel molecules. This enhances cooling and significantly reduces the weight. The reduced unsprung mass improves agility and motorcycle manoeuvrability (gyroscopic effect), reduces dynamic imbalance under breaking and contributes to reducing stopping distances. Galfer's Export Sales Manager Ivo Bristot, a veteran of the international motorcycle brakes industry, said that "by understanding the dynamic Safety conference moves online The ifz (German institute for twowheeler safety) is to move its 13th International Motorcycle Conference online on October 6 - with all industry professionals welcome to log in. It was slated to have been staged at the Congress Centre at Koelnmesse during INTERMOT. Themed "Future Mobility", with experts addressing the subject of "scooter and motorcycle safety", this will be the big final, main event of this year's sequence of symposia and paper presentations. "The 13th conference is taking place very differently this time than we know it so far," said Matthias Haasper, research director at the ifz. "This time, the latest findings on the safety of motorised two-wheelers are published and discussed from laptops and desks - innovative mobility also requires an innovative exchange." Almost 40 studies dealing with the improvement of two-wheeler safety can be presented to the public in this way. Starting on September 1 , 2020, the ifz will gradually publish the submitted contributions on its website at www.ifz.de - freely accessible to anyone who is interested, with 'delegates' able to submit questions about the topics. "The crowning glory will take place on October 6, 2020, when the ifz invites experts and interested parties from numerous nations to the online event", says André Lang, who is responsible for communication at the ifz. During the approximately three-hour live event, there will be an international round-table discussion on the subject of "motorcycle safety". In addition to questions for the discussion participants, the authors requirements of today’s motorcycles, and applying a simulation model using contemporary elements, we have designed a geometry that optimises the mass-heat dissipation ratio. "The increased convection perimeter provides a greater cooling surface, thus improving heat dissipation, and the CUBIQ design optimises the wear resistance of the brake pads." www.galfermoto.com will answer questions about their contributions as the event progresses. For Lang it is just as important that the international exchange for the benefit of motorcycle safety continues after the event. "For this purpose, the ifz will offer the opportunity to get in touch with the authors and to ask further questions and discuss further in a forum." As usual, the ifz is collaborating with the American Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF, USA), the European (ACEM), the German motorcycle industry association (IVM) and the German Road Safety Council (DVR).