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On March 5th, the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) announced its condemnation of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and in that announcement, it suspended the Motorcycle Federation of Russia (MFR) and the Belarusian Federation of Motorcycle Sport (BFMS) from FIM-sanctioned events.

This action also banned Russian and Belarusian from FIM-sanctioned events, and recommended that affiliated members of the FIM and FIM Continental Unions take similar action.

The FIM North America is going to heed that request, which means that Russian and Belarusian riders are banned from events that are operated by the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) and Canadian Motorcycle Association (CMA).

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.

From time to time, when I stray from talking about motorcycle racing to share something political on Twitter, I am told by some random Twitter user to “stick to bikes”.

What they mean, of course, is that I should not share political opinions or articles they do not agree with, but that’s a different question.

Talking about politics is, of course, still “sticking to bikes.” Circuits have to be built somewhere.

In the mainstream news, we have seen no shortage of companies pulling out of business operations in Russia and with Russian-aligned firms, as a reaction to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

That growing economic and financial influence is also coming from the motorcycle industry, as we can count Harley-Davidson and Polaris as joining that list of brands who have made a stand against Russia’s hostilities.

Before there was an Asphalt & Rubber, I spent some time working for the United Nations, prosecuting war criminals from the Balkan and Rwandan conflicts. These we massively devastating events, where neighbors found ways to dehumanize each other and through that process, commit acts that rose to the level of genocide and crimes against humanity.

While those crimes unfolded, the world stood by and watched, and in the case of the massacre done in Srebrenica, forces of good were forced to stand idly by and watch evil perpetrated right in front of them.

My work then at The Hague was part of an effort to correct the wrongs of indifferent nations, who suffered the guilt of not doing more – not interceding, largely because their toolbox of remedies was so limited and complicated at the time.

For the past weeks, I have found myself watching once again as neighbors attack neighbors, and heinous acts are perpetrated against the innocent. It is as deeply troubling this time around as it was before, but it is also different.

The past few days have seen a new front against evil emerge, one that spans outside the realm of politics and non-governmental organizations. In Thomas Friedman’s flat world, economics and business have just as much influence as armies and politicians.

Companies that are willing to draw a line in the sand between profits and people are showing that they can influence the world in new ways, and that we have shared goals of prospering together. This is a new kind of modern warfare.

So, it is warming to see that those in the motorcycle industry who have a voice and influence over the events surrounding them are using that platform, and I am sincerely thankful to see in my inbox today the following open letter from MV Agusta CEO Timur Sardarov, himself a Russian national.

What you are looking at here is a Ducati Hypermotard 1100. Well…it started life as a giant Italian supermoto, but after finding itself in the workshop of Russian outfit Balamutti, this Bologna Bullet is leading a very different life as a three-wheeled ice machine.

If you look closely, you can still see the Hypermotard’s steel trellis frame, single-sided swingarm, and its air-cooled v-twin engine. But, you will also notice the extra wheel at the front of the leaning reverse-trike, as well as a supercharger, studded tires, and controls that look like they belong on a Star Wars speeder.

This is because Balamutti’s Vitaliy Selyukov intends to race the machine, which he calls “Yondu” (after the Guardians of the Galaxy character), at the Baikal Mile – an ice speed festival that takes place each year in Siberia, near the Mongolian border…and Selyukov intends on making his ice runs in style.

Last week, I was ready to start polishing the obituary for MV Agusta – the Italian company seemingly in an impossibly terminal state.

Italy’s Guardia di Finanza had found that the Italian company had been using the social security contributions of its workers to pay down the money owed to parts suppliers (something MV Agusta disputes is the case), and earlier this year MV Agusta CEO Giovanni Castiglioni was investigated for irregularities on his tax return.

All of this is on top of the ever precarious financial situation MV Agusta has been in for the past year, which has resulted in the company looking to restructure its €50 million debt in the Italian court system, furlough a good portion of its workforce, and reduce its production volume to roughly 9,000 units per year.

Now it seems MV Agusta’s fortunes are changing, with the Italian motorcycle maker signing an agreement with the Black Ocean investment group to recapitalize MV Agusta.

Details of the pending transaction haven’t been released, but we can assume that the increase in capital will help ease MV Agusta’s relationship with suppliers, get workers back on the assembly line, and continue the development of new models.

I don’t really get the people who obsess about riding a Ural – a Russian knock-off of a German sidecar just doesn’t strike me as an enjoyable time on a motorcycle.

Of course, my saddle time on a Ural has been relegated to around-town and highway riding, which isn’t really the Ural’s domain of choice. These Cossack bikes really shine off-road, where their funky WWII-era 2WD design becomes an asset, not a hinderance.

Add to the fact that Urals are bone-simple to work on — owning a Ural means you will be wrenching on it, a lot, by the way — and you’ve got a motorcycle that’s well-suited to the rough-and-tumble lifestyle of where the road ends…especially when the road ends in a river.

Attempting to ford the river, Oregon Trail style, these Ural owners are experiencing all that the Russian marque has to offer. Seeing is believing, after the jump.

The World Superbike calendar has been reduced to 13 events. The Russian round of WSBK, scheduled to be held at the Moscow Raceway on July 5th has been canceled, after the event organizer, YMS Promotion, failed to provide the contract guarantees required by the contract.

As a further consequence, the Yakhnich Motorsport Team have also lost their slot on the 2015 World Supersport grid, which was tied in with the Russian round.

The cancellation of the Russian round did not come as a surprise. The Russian WSBK round is a legacy of the last years of Infront running the series.

The FIM have finally released the provisional calendar for the World Superbike series for next year. The 2015 season will see WSBK travel to 14 rounds, returning to all of the venues which hosted races in 2014, and two more overseas rounds added, in Russia and Thailand.

The chances of this being the definitive calendar appears to be slim, however. Three rounds are marked as still subject to contract: Portimao, Moscow, and Qatar. Both Portimao and Qatar look likely to go ahead, but whether WSBK will actually return to Moscow remains to be seen.

The 2014 round was canceled due to the political instability in the Russian Federation and the overflow of conflict in Ukraine, which affected various partners of the series. The political situation has only deteriorated since then, with the EU and US imposing sanctions on Russia, making the race there almost impossible.

The teams and riders will be hoping for the round to be canceled: the race was a logistical nightmare to get equipment to and from, and for both the fans and riders to attend and find accommodation for.