Tag

United State of America

Browsing

Hoping to pressure Harley-Davidson into keeping its production in the United States, President Trump this weekend tweeted words of encouragement to riders who planned to boycott the American motorcycle brand.

This shouldn’t be too surprising, considering that Harley-Davidson has increasingly found itself at odds with the White House, primarily over President Trump’s trade negotiations and agreements.

The tension started with the United States withdrawing from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement, and reached a boiling point when President Trump imposed tariffs on aluminum and steel.

Now with Harley-Davidson signaling its plans to move into new segments and create a new business plan for the 21st century, the Trump Administration is increasing the pressure for Harley-Davidson to maintain the status quo.

*For reals this time.

For those looking for more protection from their racing leathers, Dainese D-Air Racing suits are finally coming to the USA. Already bringing the technology in Europe last year, Dainese is set finally to bring the D-Air Racing technology to the USA, in September 2015.

Riders interested in the airbag-equipped leather suit have two options: 1) the top-of-the-line off-the-rack Misano D-Air cow leather suit ($2,499), or 2) the made-to-measure Mugello D-Air custom kangaroo leather suit (Price TBD).

This announcement represents the first airbag-equipped motorcycle race suits to go on sale in the USA (Alpinestars Tech-Air system is still not available, though the rival Italian brand is close to coming to market), and offers track riders the same level of protection as Dainese’s MotoGP riders, like Valentino Rossi.

Yamaha Motor USA has confirmed to Asphalt & Rubber that the Yamaha MT-07, the twin-cylinder cousin to the MT-09, will be coming to the United States after all, and like its three-cylinder counterpart, the budget-conscious naked bike will get a renaming, known henceforth as the Yamaha FZ-07.

Yamaha has a real trend going with its MT/FZ line, with its three similarly styled bikes (don’t forget about the Yamaha MT-125) bringing some serious bang-for-the-buck to new and seasoned riders alike. For the American market, the Yamaha FZ-07 comes with an MSRP of $6,990, and will be available in July of this year.