Sources : AMD , IDN , FT , Reuters , PSB , MPN , BDN , MCN , AP , Bloomberg , MSNW , Electrek , electricmotorcycles . news , RideApart . com , Motor1 . com , Cycle World , motorbikewriter . com
NEWS
BRIEFS
MIC Events has announced January 19 to 21 as the dates for AIMExpo in 2022 . There is no confirmation of venue yet , but the postponed January 2021 event was due to be held at Columbus , Ohio , in collaboration with Tucker Powersports . The Fort Worth , Texas based distributor had been slated to co-stage its 2021 Dealer Show with AIMExpo in January this year , but has since opted for a spring Road Show series - which itself has been postponed to the second half of 2021 .
Italian exhaust brand LeoVince has extended its sponsorship agreement with Moto3 World Champion Team Leopard Racing for the fourth consecutive year . A new rider line-up for 2021 features Italian Dennis Foggia and Spaniard Xavi Artigas . Roberto Morone , LeoVince CEO : " Despite the difficult start to the 2020 championship , we have achieved excellent results with the Leopard Racing Team and we are proud to have won a very important title ."
Acquired by TVS Motor Company in April 2020 , Norton Motorcycles ( Birmingham , England ) has announced former Jaguar Land Rover ( JLR ) CEO Sir Ralf Speth as Chairman of the Board of Directors at TVS , effective January 2023 . Owned by TATA , another Indian conglomerate , Speth is widely credited for the transformation of the British brands . The outgoing TVS Chairman , Mr . Venu Srinivasan , will become Chairman Emeritus of TVS Motor Company from January 2023 . As far as we here at IDN know , it is unprecedented for one of India ' s transport industry ' Big Five ' to appoint a European as its Chairman and signals its determination to consolidate a position as a global player in the reshaped transport industry of the future .
Honda has won a prestigious Red Dot Design Award for the new 2021 Forza 750 . Judges for the Red Dot Design Institute ( Essen , Germany ) celebrate excellence in product , brand and communication design and recognised the " elegant design lines , sporty performance and outstanding versatility " of Honda ' s new luxury scooter . This award follows a 2020 Red Dot Award win for the CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP .
D . I . D appoints Valentino Rossi as Global Brand Ambassador
D . I . D has announced that it has appointed Valentino Rossi , the ninetime World Champion and the only road racer to have competed in more than 400 Grand Prix races , as its global brand ambassador . The three-year partnership will see Rossi promoting the D . I . D brand and D . I . D products worldwide . The agreement also includes collaboration on future product lines , as well as codeveloping and co-branding special product lines . This year will see D . I . D launch two chain series , D . I . D X VR46 and ' The Doctor ' - a new chain application designed and test-approved by Rossi . " The Doctor series , deriving directly from the D . I . D chain supplied for MotoGP competition , will be particularly prized by the most demanding riders and by refined collectors too - being produced in a very limited edition ." Hirofumi Araya , President of DAIDO KOGYO CO ., LTD ., commented : " We are extremely pleased to have Valentino Rossi become D . I . D ' s world brand ambassador . We will use the most innovative materials and technologies to develop chains that can contribute to the performance of a globally recognised and respected sports person like Rossi . " At the same time , DAIDO will incorporate the latest materials and technologies to co-develop with him the ultimate chains that can be safely used and enjoyed by riders all over the world , so to increase the joy of motorcycle riding ." Araya added : " D . I . D and Valentino share a common , mutual desire to improve riders ' performance and contribute to foster the future talents in two-wheel motorsports . For this reason , D . I . D will become a technical partner of the VR46 Academy by supporting all their different racetraining activities with the very wide selection of applications available in the D . I . D range ." The collaboration between D . I . D and Rossi will also involve the technical support to SKY Racing Team VR46 for the 2021 and 2022 Moto2 World Championships . " Fun is a strong driving force in D . I . D . Together with the search for adrenaline , fun is also the essential element for Valentino . This further common mindset has motivated D . I . D to include the VR46 ranch activities into our technical support programme , thus building an all-round global D . I . D and Valentino Rossi collaboration ." Commenting on the announcement , Valentino Rossi said : " I have been using D . I . D on the track with Yamaha for many years , so I am very happy to be able to start this partnership with D . I . D as their expertise and great technology can support me and our VR46 Academy riders on the track and during our training activities ." www . dideu . it
All Ferodo street pads now R90 accredited
Ferodo has announced that all its road use motorcycle brake pads have now received ECE R90 certification . This regulation is a legal requirement for brake pads that are fitted to L1-L2- L3-L4-L5 vehicles ( two and three wheels ). The R90 requirement applies to all such vehicles that were homologated since the Euro 4 specification ( October 2016 ) that are used on European Union public highways . For Ferodo this is the final stage in a journey that began with R90 certification for its ' EF ' scooter brake pad compound . R90 is a state-of-theart regulatory assurance of quality and safety for dealers and riders . It requires brake pads to be tested in a dynamometer that is instrumented for continuous recording of rotative speed , brake torque , brake line pressure , braking time and brake rotor temperature . The brake pads are divided into three categories - A , B and C - depending on the area of the friction
material , and all compounds are tested individually . All vehicles recommended for the specific brake pad compound must be calculated according to the kinetic energy to find the most severe vehicle for testing . This way all compounds and vehicles are checked , and the most severe combinations tested on track for the consumer to get a very safe and secure product . The tests required by R90 include bedding , performance check , brake tests , cold performance equivalence and speed
sensitivity tests . Under R90 , replacement brake pads and brake shoes are permitted to deviate from the frictional characteristics of their original equipment counterparts by not more than 15 %. ECE R90 requires correct marking of the products and sealed , tamper-evident packaging . Factory and test equipment approval are also part of the R90 homologation . It involves engineers accrediting the factory . Seen here , the new Ferodo / Champion Moto Racing catalogue details all the current Ferodo and Champion products available for circuit , Motard , Off-Road and Trials applications . www . ferodoracing . com
8 INTERNATIONAL DEALER NEWS - APRIL / MAY 2021 www . idnmag . com