When news came that American Suzuki Motor Corporation was to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the news was pitched that it would benefit the company’s motorcycle interests, as Suzuki would no longer be tied-down with its ailing automotive division in the USA, and instead would be left to focus on its powersports offerings.

While that general statement may remain true, Powersports Business has learned that the Japanese OEM plans on closing 100 to 200 of its roughly 930 powersports dealerships. This would mean a roughly 10% to 20% reduction in Suzuki dealerships nationwide — a decision that has more than a few dealers feeling a bitter taste in their mouths.

Withstanding two earthquakes in just over a week’s time, Ducati has announced the closure of its Borgo Panigale factory, after today’s 5.8 magnitude shaker, whose epicenter was just 25 miles away from Bologna.

Remaining open after Northern Italy’s 6.0 earthquake on May 20th, this latest quake has caused enough damage in the area to warrant the Italian motorcycle manufacturer giving its workforce time to address the damage caused, and to see to loved ones who were more extensively affected by the quake that has so far accounted for 15 deaths.

As Japan continues to battle with the aftermath from its 9.0 earthquake, the Japanese motorcycle industry has been placed into a holding pattern while the country handles more pressing issues. With news that the Honda, Suzuki, and Yamaha factories would be temporarily shutting down last week, more news has been released updating us on the status with these companies. Issuing current statements are: Bridgestone, Honda, Kawasaki, and Suzuki. Check their statuses after the jump.

After we posted yesterday that Moto Morini had shut down its production line, amid the Italian company’s financial problems, other publications began covering the company’s complete closure. This caught the folks at Moto Morini off-guard, who while on an extended day-off, insist they are still keeping the production line functioning, if admittedly at a significantly reduced capacity.

Harley-Davidson announced this week that it was able to come to an agreement with its York, Pennsylvania plant employees and union members, thus allowing the plant to remain open and producing motorcycles. The move wasn’t easy though as half of the plant’s employees will lose their jobs in order to keep the Shield & Bar in the Springettsbury Township area.

The last Buell rolled off the East Troy, Wisconsin assembly line this past November 12th, thus closing the final chapter for the American street bike company. After creating 136,923 motorcycles over the last 26 years, it is a Buell Lightning XB12Scg that will be the last motorcycle to bear Erik Buell’s name.

It’s been a few weeks since Harley-Davidson announced the immediate closure of its subsidiary Buell, where dealers began slashing prices both to liquidate stock and to cash-in on Harley’s $5,000 sale incentive. Basic economics dictates that any time a price is raised or lowered it has repercussions to the product’s resale value, and in the case of Buell’s sudden price drop and dumping of basically new bikes into the market, the consequences for current Buell owners seem dreary. Or are they?

In order to find an answer to that question, we asked Joshua Minix, former government think-tank Economist, and current John M. Olin Fellow in Law and Economics at Harvard Law School, to wade through the implications of Buell’s closure, and how it affects the used Buell motorcycle market. Click past the jump for his analysis.

Buell Motorcycle will be idling its East Troy plant during the months of November and December. During that time, employees will receive 8 days of paid vacation (and be essentially unemployed the rest of the time), but will retain their full medical benefits. The move by Buell isn’t all that uncommon for manufacturers who are experiencing a slow down in production, but surely sucks that “Happy Holidays” cheer out of the non-unionized shop.

Los Angeles County riders may be sad to hear that the famed Angeles Crest Highway will be closed for an unforeseeable duration because of recent fire damage to the roadway.

Because of the Station Fire, more than 40 miles of twisty asphalt heaven have been closed indefinitely because of  burned off road stripping, destroyed guard rails, and charred signs, making the road too hazardous to drivers according to Caltrans officials.