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NEWS
BRIEFS
Honda Motor Co ., Ltd . and GS Yuasa International Ltd . have announced a basic agreement toward collaboration for a high-capacity , high-output lithium-ion battery . The two companies will discuss specifics with the goal of establishing a joint venture company by the end of 2023 .
Working in partnership with MotoGP rights holder Dorna ( Madrid ), Triumph is testing sustainable fuels " for a greener and cleaner future ". This project has been set up to deliver a move to E40 fuel in the Moto2 World Championship by 2024 , with a focus on a transition to E100 by 2027 . Triumph is provider and manufacturer of the ' spec ' engine for all teams in the Moto2 series - " sustainable fuel testing to date has encompassed all dimensions of race engine performance development ".
Yamaha ' s bLU cRU programme has won the 2022 FIM ' Award for the Future ', recognising the programme " for its contribution to encouraging youngsters into the world of motorcycling ". The award was presented during the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme ( FIM ) awards ceremony in Rimini , Italy . Established in 2016 , in 2022 more than 400 young riders were part of the bLU cRU programme across both road and off-road disciplines , all benefiting from coaching , technical support , and an opportunity to further their racing careers .
IDN was saddened to learn of the death ( in November ) of Manfred Kochmann , the senior partner at long-established motorcycle boot manufacturer Karl Kochmann .
Fred Fox 1936-2023
We here at International Dealer News , and many thousands more , were greatly saddened to hear about the death of Fred Fox on Sunday , February 5 , 2023 . Our thanks to Parts / Drag Magazine publisher and race legend Don Emde for these words about his friend , and our thanks for permission to reproduce them here … Fred Fox passed away in Orange County , California , on Sunday February 5th , 2023 , due to natural cause , at the age of 86 years old . Fred was a motorcycle industry leader and pioneer of the modern era of aftermarket product distribution and promotion . He was the only employee when he started his Parts Unlimited distributing business at his house in Janesville , Wisconsin , in 1967 . In the years to come , the business grew quickly , and he incorporated as LeMans Corporation , which continues to this day as the largest privately owned motorcycle distributing company in the world . LeMans moved a couple of times into larger warehouses in Wisconsin , expanded into other areas around the United States and Canada , and many brands were added . Some became suppliers for Parts Unlimited and also for Drag Specialties , which he acquired in 1988 . Other brands and companies were bought outright , including THOR MX and Moose Racing . Fred was always a hands-on manager who oversaw every detail to make his organisation grow into the industry leader that it is today . He made the decisions to buy the land , designed the facilities for the additional warehouses throughout the United States and Canada , built a national sales rep force , secured leading brands to carry , and invested heavily in promotion of Parts Unlimited ' s " We Support the Sport " campaign , which has been active since the 1990s . He also served on the Board of Directors of the Motorcycle Industry Council from 1994 to 2007 . A multi-year personal project culminated in 2009 when LeMans opened the Parts Europe warehouse at Wasserliesch , near Trier , in Germany . An all-new warehouse was built there with state-of-the-art order filling technology for a level of dealer order fulfilment
speed never seen before in the motorcycle industry . In addition to the Parts Europe warehouse , LeMans Corporation currently has warehouses in Sparks , Nevada ; Ballston Spa , New York ; Flat Rock , North Carolina ; Grapevine , Texas ; and Janesville , Wisconsin , plus Calgary and London , Ontario , in Canada . Along the way , Fred has been recognised for his contributions to both the snowmobile and motorcycle sports and industries . In 2010 , Fred was inducted into the Snowmobile Hall of Fame . In 2002 , he was inducted into the
Sturgis Motorcycle Hall of Fame , as well as the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 2011 . He was also the recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2007 V-Twin Expo and a Sturgis Motorcycle Hall of Fame ' s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018 . His father and grandfather had a business in Janesville building custommade enclosed racks for trucks to transport cans of milk from dairy farms to the processing plants in Southern Wisconsin . After graduating with an Engineering Degree from the University of Wisconsin in 1958 , Fred went to work in the family business . The young college graduate saw a brighter future , however , for sport related vehicles , and when the go-kart craze exploded in America around 1960 , Fred built a prototype kart in his spare time with a chassis made from light , but strong , chromoly tubing . A friend in nearby Rockford , IL , was also into go-karts and when he saw Fred ' s creation , he offered to order ten of them . Fred convinced his father to take the order , thus opening a whole new product category for the company . Fox minibikes followed the go-karts , then Fred created the Fox Trac snowmobiles , which became nationally known when he drove one to victory at the first-ever Eagle River Snowmobile Derby in 1964 . Fred went on his own in 1967 and ran the business which grew into LeMans Corporation until he retired from fulltime business activities in the fall of 2021 . He then named industry veteran Paul Langley as Chairman / CEO of LeMans Corporation . Our condolences to Fred ' s wife Paula , sons Steven , Brian and Craig , daughters Teri and Lori , several grandchildren , nieces and nephews , everyone in the LeMans family , including here in Europe , and all of his many friends around the world .