International Dealer News IDN 149 June/July 2019 | Page 14
news ROOM
RST partners with
BRIEFS In&motion in new
integrated airbag project
NEWS
Held at the Rauschenberg, Germany
headquarters of SW-Motech, at the two-
day annual meeting of the IVM (the
motorcycle industry trade association
Germany) former Vice President Henning
Putzke, BMW Motorrad, was elected to a
two-year term as President, replacing Ralf
Keller (Yamaha Motor Germany), who has
retired after 10 years in the role. Jan
Breckwoldt, Peugeot Motocycles, and
Jürgen Höpker-Seibert, Kawasaki Motor
Germany, were newly elected 1st and
2nd Vice Presidents. Ronald Kabella of
Bucher AG in Switzerland (MOTOREX oils)
was re-elected as the aftermarket
resentative to the management board.
BMW Motorrad increased deliveries
of its motorcycles and maxi-
scooters by 7.7% to
38,606 units (2018:
35,858 units) in the
United States, setting a
new Q1 record for the eighth year
in succession. Revenues grew by
+11.8% to € 586 million (2018: €
524 million). EBIT also improved
significantly, rising to € 89 million
for the three-month period under
report (2018: € 77 million; +15.6%).
The first-quarter EBIT margin came
in at 15.2% (2018: 14.7%).
Brembo has concluded a € 100m
investment in a new 67 production line,
40,000 sq m aluminium brake caliper
production hub in Nanjing, near
Shanghai, China. The facility will supply
parts to European, Asian and American
customers operating in China. The hub
integrates a foundry with production lines
in a facility that stands next to the plant
that was inaugurated in 2012 for the
production of brake discs. The combined
facilities offer a production capacity of
more than two million pieces per year.
The Isle of Man TT saw British RST
clothing brand owner MotoDirect and
French specialist In&motion announce
a collaborative partnership to develop
a range of apparel that will have the
In&motion wearable airbag
technology integrated into the product.
In what RST is describing as the "first
integrated airbag garment riding
apparel that combines comfort,
discretion and high-end safety
protection", RST says that "safety is at
the core of everything we do. Where
possible, we integrate CE back
protectors into the garments, and we
are the first British brand to have our
entire range tested and CE PREN
17092 certified.
"The next step for RST is to introduce
a range of RST garments offering
enhanced rider protection. The solution
is to use airbag technology, and we are
therefore very pleased to announce our
partnership with In&motion - the
experts in engineering wearable airbag
systems. Just as armour is integrated
into garments, the best way to improve
rider safety is to fully integrate
In&motion’s airbag technology into
RST garments.
"We have been working together to
bring a special “Road Racing”
algorithm dedicated to the Isle of Man
TT. RST is the Official Safety Partner of
the Isle of Man TT, and thanks to our
partnerships with leading riders such
Ian Hutchinson and the travelling
Marshals, as well as ongoing work with
the likes of Alex Lowes in the World
Superbike and Kenny Foray in the
French Superbike series, this has all
been successful."
Testing and development will continue
throughout 2019, and the new
products are due for launch in March
2020, for more information contact
[email protected].
www.moto-direct.com
www.rst-moto.com
www.inemotion.com
From left: David Johnson (Australia), Ian Hutchinson (16 times IoM TT winner), Jonny Towers (RST founder), Pierre-
François Tissot (In&motion co-founder), Conor Cummins (9 IoM TT podiums), Valentin Honoré (In&motion co-founder)
and Tony Duncan (TT Race Marshal)