Kawasaki has just announced that it will be leaving the AMA Pro Racing series. Citing the economy as it core reason for leaving the American racing series, Kawasaki says it hopes to return to road racing when the economic conditions in the United States allow the company to do so. For the DMG & AMA, this is the second manufacturer that has withdrawn from the now beleaguered racing series, and just a continuation of the momentum that has become AMA Pro Racing’s downward spiral.
Honda has released its second quarter financials, with the highlight (if you can call it that) being a 56.2% drop in their net income. Honda attributes this loss primarily to decreased car sales, and the currency exchange. For its part though, Honda’s motorcycle sales were down only 16.8%, with 2.4 million units sold during Q2.
UPDATE: The bike has now been sold.
We don’t usually post up bikes for sale, but this one seemed like too much of a bargain not to comment on, and in a way it speaks to the current state of the used motorcycle market. A 2004 salvage title MV Agusta Brutale for $4,225, it sounds like one of those bad eBay scams, but reading through this thread on ADVrider, the deal seems not only legit, but also some buyer’s lucky day.
At this point it’s abundantly clear how hard the recession has hit the motorcycle industry, so it doesn’t come with too much surprise that some management types are having to take the fall for the down-turn in profits. For Yamaha Motors President, Takashi Kajikawa, the only silver-lining to the situation is that this isn’t feudal Japan, and no one is offering him a sword to fall on. Unfortunately though, Kajikawa will still have to resign from his position as company President, as Yamaha Motors prepares for a $2 billion loss.
The Piaggio Group has annouced that it has devised a new business plan for its subsidiary, Moto Guzzi. According to Roberto Colaninno, President of the Piaggio Group, the new business plan will ensure that Moto Guzzi releases a new line of motorcycles during the 2011-2012 model year.
Helping fuel this product line extension will be the investment of €12 million that the parent company plans to dump into Moto Guzzi’s coffers, but the money comes attached with some interesting strings from the European Investment Bank. More on this after the jump.
The latest data from the Motorcycle Industry Council (MIC), suggests that the end of cascading motorcycle sales may be near. According to the MIC, the combined new unit sales for motorcycles, scooters, and ATVS during the past 9 months were down 40% from last year’s numbers. While still frighteningly low, these results show a 2% rebound in sales when compared to the first 6 months of 2009.
Honda by most standards is the rock of the motorcycle industry, so take notice with the news that the Japanese manufacturer is preparing to cease its production lines in Santa Perpetua, Spain. While not an outright closure, 160 employees will be laid off, taking the Spanish Honda workforce from 340 employees to 180.
In conjunction with Harley-Davidson’s Q3 financial results, and shutting down of Buell Motorcycles, the Milwaukee motorcycle manufacturer is announcing that it will be selling Italian sportbike manufacturer MV Agusta.
Harley-Davidson bought MV Agusta just under a year ago, and assumed a substantial amount of debt from the beleaguered company. This past quarter, Harley-Davidson recorded a one-time fixed-asset impairment charge of $14.2 million related to Buell and a goodwill impairment charge of $18.9 million related to MV Agusta.
After releasing grim third-quarter financials today, Harley-Davidson has also announced that it is discontinuing Buell Motorcycles. In a somber video (posted after the jump), Erik Buell confirms the news, and praises the Buell team for taking on the industry giants with “this little American sportbike company.” Buell will continue to sell its motorcycle stock, and Harley-Davidson will continue to honor any warranties and part needs for Buell motorcycles.
After previously leaving 250GP racing and the Dakar Rally, KTM has announced its withdrawal from another race series: 125GP. Choosing instead to focus its 2010 racing efforts on the RC8‘s upcoming World Superbike debut, KTM cites financial difficulties as its reason for leaving the GP scene. KTM will continue to be involved with the Red Bull Rookies Cup, which features talented young riders racing around on spec KTM 125cc race bikes.
Italian manufacturer Moto Morini has entered into voluntary liquidation in an effort to get its business back on track. Voluntary liquidation is an Italian concocted form of quasi-bankruptcy, although we’re sure Italian businesses would be quick to point out the differences; however, the affect is essentially the same though, and the act will shield Moto Morini from the debts it owes its suppliers.
Moto Morini has been denying earlier reports that it hasn’t paid its 65 employees, although it admits it hasn’t paid its suppliers since last June. Despite this, Moto Morini has stated categorically that its own intention is to go straight ahead with all the company activities, and all actions to date have been made with this goal in mind.