Fast Motorcycle Industry News

Triumph Motorcycles got the magic touch and attacts more and more buyers. Defying the recession, the company market share continued to increase in the US in 2009 and every year since 2005.  The company celebrates its 100,000th motorcycle since its return to North America in 1995 and just annouced at its Dealer Conference in Orlando that it will expand its linup from 16 to 23 models in 2010. Custom Builders and after-market part manufacturers, take notice and watch the British invasion! Harley-Davidson is now listing absenteeism as a major issue when it considered moving out of the Springettsbury Township plant. The company tries now to impose a new sick policy aimed at reducing unapproved and unplanned absences, which the company says brings down productivity. Harley states that last year it incurred 382,000 hours of missed work worth about $13 million but doesn’t say whether the number refers to local operations or the company as a whole.

Former American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) board Chairman Dal Smilie has been sentenced to 8 months in prison and 2 years probation for embezzling more than $100,000 through fraudulent travel reimbursement. Smilie pleaded guilty to felony counts of grand theft by deception and of receiving stolen property – In France, for many years, bikers were allowed to split lanes. Filtering, or lane splitting, is one of the main reason many ride a motorcycle in the city, since traffic anywhere is usually at a standstill. Now the French government is moving towards changing the law on this. “The Angry French Biker Association” is organizing protest rides on March the 13th. On that day, in all major cities of France, all bikers are asked to ride in traffic as if they were a car, that way creating major traffic jams –

6 Responses to “Fast Motorcycle Industry News”


  1. 1 Lyle Feb 25th, 2010 at 11:48 am

    Rumor has it that Triumph’s working on several new models that aren’t cruisers. Hopefully one of them will be a tourer similar to their discontinued Trophy.

  2. 2 Shifter Feb 25th, 2010 at 3:04 pm

    I agree that Triumph is going to get bigger and bigger in the US. Great name, new very interesting bikes with the flair of the past.

  3. 3 Fluke Feb 25th, 2010 at 3:52 pm

    Brits rock. Triumph makes some awesome bikes that people actually want to own.. HD can take a lesson from them

    As for French lane splitting protest, I will be part of it, just, round these country parts no one would notice. I pass by about 5 cars on my 10 mile commute to work. Around the Paris peripherique where lane splitting in the norm, no one will take any notice anyway, the same way they take little notice of other motoring laws.

  4. 4 ian Feb 25th, 2010 at 5:36 pm

    Go Triumph!
    I find it inconceivable the French will ban filtering – it would be like banning baguettes. In the UK if you don’t filter in your motorcycle test you fail! When I rented a bike in West Virginia last year the hirer warned me not to lane split as folks would shoot me – a little extreme maybe, but a compromise for the French.

  5. 5 Mike Kiwi Tomas, Kiwi Indian Motorcycles Feb 26th, 2010 at 9:27 am

    Triumph just keeps bringing out exciting new bikes that are awesome. Nice steady progress for the long haul. I’m impressed with their blending of classic styling with modern engineering while on the other hand building some very modern styled and well engineered bikes. They do it so well. Rock on Triumph.

  6. 6 MDSPHOTO Feb 26th, 2010 at 4:19 pm

    I’ve read just about everywhere that Triumph was one of the only manufacturers that showed an increase in units last year, but our local dealership folded due to the economy. Though, my local chopper shop is currently finishing up a Triumph chopper to be ridden to Daytona.

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Cyril Huze