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In the USA , the AMA has joined 24 other organisations in support of the Right to Equitable and Professional Auto Industry Repair Act ( REPAIR Act ), which aims to protect the right to repair one ' s own vehicles . A piece of bipartisan legislation - with 56 co-sponsors evenly divided between Republicans and Democrats - the REPAIR Act would protect consumer and independent business access to affordable vehicle repair and equal access to the necessary parts , maintenance tools , components and data to complete repairs .

The International Motorcycle Safety Conference will be co-staged with INTERMOT at Cologne , Germany , when that show is held on an annual basis for the first time in December this year ( Dec 5-6 ). INTERMOT itself will be December 5-8 , 2024 ; www . ifz . de ; www . intermotcologne . com

Bloomberg reports U . S . NCHS data that shows the number of Americans of all ages without health insurance dropping by a quarter from 32.2 million in 2019 to 25 million in 2023 . More than 64 % of people under the age of 65 were covered by private health insurance last year . Children without health insurance also declined from 5.1 % in 2019 to 3.9 % last year .

Harley has decided to return to exhibit at EICMA ( the ' Milan Show ') in November 2024 after a five-year absence . However , according to reports , it would appear that the company will not be announcing any new motorcycle models there .

Castrol is to make a $ 50m investment in a moto batteryswapping company , stating that is sees a " huge opportunity for diversification " with Taiwanese e-mobility company Gogoro - a pioneer of swappable battery technology that has built a massive presence in Asia .

Yamaha is to build a new verification testing facility equipped with a melting furnace and heat treatment furnace using hydrogen gas at its Morimachi Factory . " From 2025 , we will begin development and verification of technologies and techniques for melting aluminium alloy using hydrogen gas , along with a comprehensive verification testing capability . We plan to complete the development of technologies for melting aluminium alloy and heattreating cast parts using hydrogen gas and to gradually implement them at our domestic and international casting factories from 2027 onward ".

The manual gearbox is rapidly disappearing from modern cars as manufacturers find customers increasingly opt for autos , and now there are the first indications that the motorcycle market could be heading in the same direction , with multiple manufacturers launching self-shifting bikes for 2025 . Yamaha is the latest , revealing its Y- AMT ' automated manual transmission '. It debuts on the latest version of the MT-09 triple , but is expected to be adopted across multiple bikes over the next few months . It joins BMW , which has already unveiled the ' ASA ' ( Automated Shift Assistant ) for the 2025 R 1300 GS and R 1300 GS Adventure , and KTM , which has teased a prototype of its upcoming automatic 1390 Super Adventure . Other companies , including CFMoto and QJMotor in China , are also working on semi-auto bikes , and Kawasaki already uses such a transmission on its Ninja 7 Hybrid and Z7 Hybrid models . All of these bikes are coming as a reaction to two developments from Honda . First , there ' s the DCT dualclutch transmission , offered on multiple bikes since 2009 , but now really hitting its stride in terms of sales - with DCTs at least matching the sales of manual models on bikes like the Africa Twin - despite a weight and price penalty for the automated transmission . Second is the new Honda E-Clutch , currently offered on the CB650R and CBR650R , but expected to come to many more models soon . It doesn ' t automate gearshifts , but does eliminate the need to use the clutch lever . Unlike DCT , E- Clutch has a minimal impact on cost and complexity and should be relatively easy for Honda to add to almost any bike with a conventional gearbox . Like BMW ' s ASA and KTM ' s upcoming semi-auto transmission , Yamaha ' s Y- AMT is an automated version of a normal six-speed manual . Two electromechanical actuators are added externally , one to control the clutch and the other operating the input spline where the shift lever would normally attach , and there ' s a standalone control unit that plugs into them , taking inputs from existing sensors on the bike , including the throttle position and the IMU to control the gear shifts . The system offers three modes . Two are fully automatic , with the bike controlling the shifts itself . ' D ' mode is for normal riding , while ' D +' lets the engine rev higher before shifting up .

' MT ' mode , meanwhile , gives the rider control over shifts via a see-saw paddle on the left bar . You can either use your forefinger for both up and downshifts via a trigger-like paddle - pull it to change up , push it to change down - or use the trigger for upshifts and a thumb button to change down . These controls also override the computer when the bike is in either of its fully-automatic ' D ' modes . Transmission aside , the MT-09 Y-AMT is identical to the manual version , with the same 87.5 kW , 889 cc triple and no changes to the chassis , styling or suspension . The automated transmission system adds only 3 kg of weight and should be relatively affordable . Yamaha has already said that the Y-AMT transmission will be added to multiple models in the future , across several segments of the market , so expect to see other bikes - starting with MT-09 derivatives like the Tracer 9 , XSR900 and Niken - with semiauto gearboxes in the near future .

BMW Motorrad reports that " a slight increase in deliveries is forecast for the Motorcycles segment " for the first six months of 2024 ( the period to June 30 ), with a segment EBIT margin " within the target range of 8-10 %". BMW delivered 66,638 units in Q2 2024 , up by + 2.6 % over the 64,936 deliveries in Q2 2023 . At € 989m sales revenue , it was essentially flat over Q2 2023 (+ 0.1 %), but with Motorcycles segment profit before financial result ( EBIT ) down by -30.4 % at € 110m . For the six months to June 30 , 2024 , BMW Motorrad delivered 113,072 units , which was marginally up on the

112,871 delivered in the first six months of 2023 by + 0.2 %. For the full year 2024 , the company is forecasting a " slight increase " on the 209,066 units delivered for the 12- month period in 2023 .

20 INTERNATIONAL DEALER NEWS - SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2024 www . idnmag . com