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The FIM has made the decision to condemn publicly the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and as a result of that condemnation, Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials will no longer be able to participate in FIM-sanctioned motorcycle events.

The FIM is also canceling any FIM events, meetings, or races taking place in Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine, and if applicable, relocating them to another country.

Lastly, the FIM is also recommending that all of its affiliated members and continental unions, like MotoAmerica, take similar measures in barring Russian and Belarusian riders from racing at their events.

If you haven’t heard of the Trump administration’s plan to impose sizable tariffs on steel and aluminum (25% and 10%, respectively), then you have done a remarkably good job of ignoring current political events.

Trump’s plan caught many by surprise, and the details of the tariffs are still forming, but one thing is clear: it doesn’t bode well for Harley-Davidson.

Like most manufacturers, an increase on raw steel and aluminum will mean an increase in costs, but Harley-Davidson also has the dubious honor of being part of the European Union’s focus for retaliation.

This is because the EU says it will tax motorcycle imports from the United States, in retaliation for Trump’s tariffs on steel and aluminum.

Surprisingly, Harley-Davidson has been quiet about all these maneuvers in the political space…until now, that is.

The motorcycle industry has found more allies on Capital Hill this week, with the creation of the first “motorcycle caucus” in the United States Senate.

Established so motorcycle manufacturers and motorcyclists would have a greater voice in the upper chamber of the American legislature, the Senate Motorcycle Caucus is the work of Senators Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) and Gary Peters (D-Michigan).

Motorcyclists typically aren’t single-issue voter – not for issues pertaining to motorcycles, at least – but with several important political issues currently affecting the motorcycle industry, the formation of the Senate Motorcycle Caucus comes at an advantageous time.

Summer is coming to an end in Two Enthusiasts Podcast land, and as such Episode 32 starts with some talk of the final track days of the season, before we head off into a discussion about the American Motorcyclist Association.

The prompt for this discussion is the recent kerfuffle over four-gallon minimum fill-ups from blended nozzles (if you don’t know what that means; don’t worry, we get you up to speed on it in the show), and the AMA’s response to this recent business recommendation from the corn lobby.

We examine this issue, and then turn to talk about the AMA as an organization, and whether it is representing the best interests of mainstream motorcyclists.

It’s a pretty interesting conversation, which quite frankly, every motorcycle-owner should examine for themselves, and decide where they fall in terms of how this industry should be lead in the coming years.

As always, you can listen to the show via the embedded SoundCloud player, after the jump, or you can find the show on iTunes (please leave a review) or this RSS feed. Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter as well. Enjoy the show!

No matter your political leanings, you cannot deny that the upcoming presidential election is grabbing a lot of headlines, and dominating our social discourse – and that is perhaps the way it should be, as electing the leader of the free world is no trivial matter.

Whoever leads the United States of America after January 20th will have a dramatic affect, not only on the American public sector, but also on the American private sector. The daily business and life of America are intrinsically linked to this country’s politics.

It is therefore not that uncommon to hear of American business leaders voicing their opinions, and endorsing political candidates for office – sometimes they themselves even run for office – so, maybe we shouldn’t be that surprised to hear that Harley-Davidson CEO Matthew Levatich weighed in on the 2016 election cycle.

It is a bit surprising to hear what he has to say though…

Episode 12 of the Two Enthusiasts Podcast finds us going down the dark road of talking about politics at the dinner table. Accordingly, Quentin and I have a wandering conversation in the show, which touches on lane-splitting, helmet laws, ABATE, the AMA, and even guns.

The conversation makes some interesting comparisons to other enthusiast niches and markets, and touches deeply on the political landscape within the motorcycle industry. We think the show is pretty interesting, and it is sure to fuel some conversations with you and your moto-buddies.

As always, you can listen to the show via the embedded SoundCloud player, after the jump, or you can find the show on iTunes (please leave a review) or this RSS feed. Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter as well. Enjoy the show!

Bad news from the World Superbike Championship paddock, as the Russian round, which was scheduled to be held at Moscow Raceway on September 21st 2014, has been cancelled because of concerns stemming from the Russian/Ukrainian situation along the Crimean peninsula.

Promoters DWO and YMS Promotion declared that, “the current political situation affects the capabilities of a number of key partner companies essential to run the event. Parties regret the decision, but are confident that the strong partnership between DWO and YMS Promotion will prevail.”

Talking to a European colleague the other day, I had to remind him that the United States is just as big and diverse as the European Union, with our country’s states being as unique as the sovereigns involved in the EU. The same goes for motorcycling in the US, with our sport and passion taking different shapes depending on your geography of this Great Union.

It tickled my fancy then, when today I saw a breakdown of motorcyclists by state in the United States, especially when the results were displayed on a per capita basis. Of the 8,410,255 motorcycles registered in the United States (D.O.T. figure, as of 2011), which states have the most motorcyclists by volume? The answer shouldn’t surprise you as California, Texas, and Florida take the top honors, likely due to their mild winters and coastal routes.

But which states have the highest concentrations of motorcyclists? Now that is where things get more interesting: South Dakota, New Hampshire, and Iowa. You’re a no good dirty liar if you say you predicted those three states to be at top of the list — with each stating sporting 12, 17, 18 and people per bike, respectively.

Since the inception of the European Union in 1993, politicians in the EU have been spouting off about the advantages of a “unified Europe,” claiming that it would bring all of its member states under one economic system with one currency, allowing them to act cooperatively for the “greater good.”

Of the many advantages touted to be included in the EU was the ability to travel freely between member states with no passports, unfortunately one crucial system that was not unified was the toll system.

Because the member states of the EU have been left to implement their own system to collect toll fares, this has left traveling between countries difficult and often expensive, which is why EU is planning to implement the European Electronic Toll Service.

The Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme General Assembly met in Monte-Carlo this past weekend, where 76 of 107 of the member federations were in attendance. Conducting a bit of FIM business, one of the more interesting points to note from the meeting was the FIM General Assembly’s acceptance of two new applications to join the FIM. One of the applications came from Fédération Motocycliste de Côte d’Ivoire (FMCI), which replaces the Ivory Coast’s previous federation, the FISAM.

The second application though is a bit more interesting, as the FIM General Assembly accepted the Palestinian Motor Sport and Motorcycle Federation (PMSMF) as the FIM’s 108th member federation. Able to accomplish what the United Nations has been unable to do in the past 25 years, the FIM acceptance is a growing trend in international politics, and it adds recognition to the the eight-year-old PMSMF, which has already be granted member status in the car realm with the FIA.

Along with its third iteration of the 2013 MotoGP Championship’s provisional calendar, Dorna has issued a statement regarding the removal of the Argentinian round from the racing schedule for next year. In its brief statement about the “non-inclusion,” Dorna cites the Spanish government’s recommendation in June of this year, which said that Repsol teams and riders should not travel to Argentina for safety reasons.

Dorna also states that on November 20th, the Spanish government rescinded this “no travel” recommendation; however, because the deadline for the calendar was November 18th, the MotoGP rights holder had no choice but to cancel of the Argentinian GP. Read in between the lines as you will, the press release is after the jump.