An update to our Team and Guests, After tuning into the Panama City Beach City Hall special meeting this afternoon, we have been informed that The City of PCB has canceled all events until May 1, for the safety and welfare of their community. Unfortunately, this will include the Spring Thunder Beach Rally. We respect the decisions that the city has made, and will follow guidelines to keep our dealership safe and healthy. In addition to this, all H-D Florida Group events (both onsite and offsite) will be either postponed to a later date or cancelled, through the end of April. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. We are individually reaching out to our vendors & event partners, but if you have an event coming up with our Tampa, Brandon, New Port Richey or Panama City Beach H-D dealerships in the next 45 days, please send an email to our Marketing Director, Maggie, at Margaret.Snyder@Ferman.com and she will do her best to get your event or ride rescheduled as soon as our current situation allows. For your safety, our complementary food & snacks in the lounge and weekend Grill N Chills will remain discontinued until further notice. We are stocking up on more sanitizing products, and committed to keeping our dealerships a clean and safe environment for our Guests to visit, relax and shop! Our Riding Academy Course will remain open at this time; our RA Coaches and Students will have their own supply of cleaning and sanitizing products for the training room, supplies and bikes on the range. If you are in need of assistance with your bike, or any other department, but are uncomfortable with coming into the dealership, give us a call and we will serve you over the phone or schedule a time for pick up/delivery of your motorcycle. As this situation evolves, and the CDC & Governor announce changes to guidelines, we will continue to update our Guests weekly. We want riding your motorcycle to be the easiest thing you get to do all week! So please let us know if there is anything we can do to help make that happen. Thank you, H-D Florida Group This Bikernet Blog is Virus Free–Bandit

The upcoming Ducati Multistrada V4 is expected to make global debut at the coming EICMA 2020 motorcycle show that is slated to take place towards the end of this year.

Ducati Multistrada V4 has been snapped testing and the latest set of images issued by Morebikes.co.uk gives a clear idea of what the upcoming ADV will be like. The upcoming Ducati Multistrada V4 can be seen wrapped in camouflage and hence, the exact visual details are not visible entirely. The test mule has been spotted somewhere in Europe. Take a look at the pictures and you will notice without any mistake that the test mule is that of a Multistrada. However, there are a few changes that make you believe that this one is a V4. In terms of visuals, the new Ducati Multistrada V4 can be seen with a new all-LED headlamp set up and the front fairing has also been revised. Moreover, the rear view mirrors also look new.

Take a deeper look and you will also notice the radar units placed between the two headlamps and these are a part of the company’s radar-assisted Advanced Rider Assistance System (ARAS). As the name suggests, these units will monitor the distance with other vehicles and will give the rider a warning when a vehicle comes too closer to the bike. Apart from these changes, the upcoming Ducati Multistrada V4 will also get a new subframe along with a double-sided swingarm.

You can see that the subframe is trellis type and is painted in red. Coming to the engine, this is the same motor that powers the Ducati Panigale V4 and the streetfighter V4. However, don’t expect the power figures to be as much astonishing as the engine might be detuned to order to suit the characteristics of an adventure tourer. The upcoming Ducati Multistrada V4 is expected to make global debut at the coming EICMA 2020 motorcycle show that is slated to take place towards the end of this year.

In August 2020, 43 years will have passed since Elvis Presley, the king of rock ‘n’ roll, or simply The King, died of an overdose on prescription drugs. To this day, he remains one of the most iconic figures in pop culture.

Even after all these years, Elvis is still considered a top artist in music. He made dozens of movies as well and, while they’re all popular in their own right, they do not speak of his artistry but rather of his desire to capitalize on his music career. In short, he made too many of them, of too questionable quality.

Even in death, The King is still a top-selling artist, which drives up the price to every item that he owned, ranging from his clothes (the flamboyant outfits from his final years, in particular), to his guns, letters and photographs, and last but not least, his impressive car and motorcycle collection. As you probably know, the richer Elvis got, the more he liked to splurge on fancy riders, be they on two or four wheels, and occasionally on three.

Another thing that Elvis was famous for where his car and bikes collection is concerned is the fact that he hardly kept any item around for too long. He would often buy stuff in the spur of the moment, enjoy it for some time and then pass it along, either by gifting it to friends and associates, or reselling it.

This brief introduction is necessary when talking about the last motorcycle he ever bought, which is also the Harley-Davidson mentioned in the headline: a 1976 FLH 1200 Electra Glide that aimed to set a new record for the world’s most expensive bike sold, back in August 2019. It failed.

In the summer of 2019, Kruse GWS Auctions’ Artifacts of Hollywood announced the upcoming auction of a new lot, containing, among others, Presley’s last bike. It was a Harley-Davidson Electra Glide that was still functional and with all the original parts from the moment of purchase, having been stored in a glass museum-quality display at the Pioneer Auto Museum in Murdo, South Dakota, for 30 years. Visitors were never allowed to touch it, so it remained in pristine condition.

In the listing, the auction house highlighted the bike’s impressive pedigree: Elvis himself had bought on August 11, 1976, after visiting a Harley-Davidson dealership to buy a Sportster 1000 for a friend – as a gift, of course. With the Electra Glide, he was very specific about what he wanted: a two-tone paintwork in black and baby blue, hand-stitched leather seat and chrome accents.

He had the bike delivered to his home, Graceland and, in true Elvis form, would pass it on after a while, when he grew bored with it. He sold it to a local Harley-Davidson dealership only days before his death, with just 126 miles on the clock. From there, it passed to the museum, where it would remain until 2019.

This impressive history, and the fact that the Harley was in top condition and with all-original parts prompted the auction house to estimate it would fetch between $1.75 million and $2 million. Which, if you think about it, is not too far-fetched for a piece of Elvis history.

Had it been able to meet this mark, it would have become the world’s most expensive bike ever sold, beating previous record holder 1951 Vincent Black Lightning used by Jake Ehret to set a speed record on in 1954, which went for $929,000 in 2018.

Surprisingly though, Elvis’ Harley not only failed to meet the lowest estimate but fell short by it by a several hundreds thousands: it went to an unknown bidder for a “mere” $800,000.

This still makes it the world’s third most expensive bike sold, but it also shows that, even when it comes to The King, there are some things you can put a price on. And it’s much lower than you think, especially if the butt of said King hardly ever touched it.

WESTON – It’s a gleaming, curvy, sport-style motorcycle with a distinct Art Deco look, and there’s no other bike like it on Earth.

Mark Ecklund of Weston took two years of painstaking, detail-oriented work to build it, hand-fabricating most of its body work from thin aluminum. For just the tail section, the 53-year-old machinist took two weeks to patiently and gently tap — using a hand-held, hammer-like metal molding tool — a piece of aluminum into the shape he wanted.

The project represents the ability to save lives. Mark created the motorcycle to honor and promote Be The Match, a worldwide organization that works to match donors of life-saving bone marrow and stem cells to people suffering from blood cancers such a leukemia and lymphoma. In 2012, Mark donated stem cells that were used to save the life of a 53-year-old Pennsylvania man, who is a husband, father and grandfather.

Mark is a serial inventor who has built and designed things such as a one-person hovercraft, a safety faucet that prevents scalding and an improved version of a compound bow, and it’s his habit to enthusiastically and compulsively throw himself into projects. But even for his standards, this motorcycle, once a brand-new Indian cruiser, is special.

A year after the transplant, Ecklund and the stem cell recipient, Todd Euen of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, met and became instant friends. The experience was so gratifying that Ecklund can’t even begin to explain it. All he can say is that the motorcycle is a physical manifestation of those feelings, and a vehicle to promote Be The Match. He and his wife, Chris Ecklund, are doing anything they can to encourage people to register for Be The Match donations.

“We want to bring that awareness to people, to have more people register,” Chris said.

The motorcycle is a work of art, Mark said, “that is more of a campaign.”

‘Forever grateful’

Todd, a controller at a Ford dealership, was diagnosed with leukemia in July 2012. In order to save his life, doctors rushed him to Pittsburgh, located about 66 miles west of Johnstown. If Todd hadn’t gotten treatment, he likely would have died within two weeks, doctors told him.

“I was in shock,” Todd said.

He received Mark’s donation in a procedure done on Christmas Eve of 2012.

Be The Match requires that donors and recipients wait a year after procedures before connecting with each other. After that year passed, Todd contacted Mark to get to know him and thank him.

“I didn’t know what to expect when I met him. He basically saved my life,” Todd said. “It was real emotional when we met. … Our family is forever grateful to him.”

‘I knew exactly what I was going to do’

Chris and Mark decided to become donors when Mark turned 35. They both regularly give blood, and it was Mark’s idea to do more.

“We just wanted to help people,” Mark said.

They found Be The Match, did a little research, and then, almost on a whim, drove to the Appleton office of Be The Match to register. Chris still hasn’t been matched with a recipient.

“I’m really jealous of Mark,” she said.

After meeting Todd , Mark came up with the idea to design and build the Be The Match motorcycle. He talked about his plans with Chris, and she agreed that they should purchase the 2015 Indian Scout to convert. Chris didn’t quite grasp what her husband had in mind; she thought it would be a light modification of the new Indian model.

As Mark started to the project, “I thought, ‘We spent all this money to tear it apart,'” Chris said.

Mark visualized his motorcycle from the start. “I knew exactly what I wanted. I knew exactly what I was going to do,” he said.

He wanted something that would be magnetic to other motorcycle enthusiasts. And even though Chris didn’t know the details, she’s been married to Mark for 29 years. So she wasn’t surprised when he spend nearly all his free time working on the bike. Nor was she surprised at the result.

They take the motorcycle to races and shows. First riders come see the bike, then Chris and Mark go into their Be The Match spiel, and often Chris will get people to register for donations on the spot. (It requires filling out a form and doing some cheek swabs to get DNA samples.)

Jess Klingberg, the Be The Match community engagement specialist based in Appleton, said the motorcycle is magnet for potential donors, helping sign up potential donors by the dozen. She attended a motorcycle rally with the Ecklunds. “That motorcycle turns a lot of heads,” she said.

Todd accompanied Mark and Chris to one show near Pittsburgh, and even though he’s gotten to know Mark and his all-in attitude, he was still surprised at how much gusto both Mark and Chris display when promoting Be The Match.

“They have jumped all in,” Todd said with a laugh.

Be the Match Radiothon

A live, over-the-air Radiothon for Be the Match will be held from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. March 19 on the Wausau rock radio station WIFC-FM 95.5 Jess Klingberg, the Be The Match community engagement specialist who works in the organization’s Appleton office, will be on air to explain details about the program and tell stories about what Be The Match can mean for individuals dealing with cancer.

The 2020 season marks the 50th year since the debut of the XR750, a motorcycle raced, wrenched on, and beloved among the American Flat Track (AFT) paddock to this day.

To celebrate the anniversary, Harley-Davidson Super Twins and Production Twins bikes along with the Harley-Davidson Screamin’ Eagle/Vance & Hines NHRA Pro Stock motorcycles will feature the historic colour of Harley-Davidson competition motorcycles, Jet Fire Orange, along with team haulers, uniforms, and branded accessories.

“The XR750 is the winningest motorcycle in AMA Pro Racing motorcycle history,” said Jon Bekefy, general manager of brand marketing at Harley-Davidson, Inc.

“Harley-Davidson is taking its 50th anniversary as a moment to reflect on the legacy and individuals who have designed, engineered, tuned, and raced the XR750 during its years of competition, and to celebrate Harley-Davidson’s 2020 racing efforts.”

Born in 1970 with the advent of the new AMA Racing equivalency formula, the XR750 was created by Harley-Davidson’s race team manager Dick O’Brian and team to replace the highly successful outgoing KR750.

Using a Harley-Davidson Sportster-based engine, the XR750 utilised modified cast-iron heads and cylinders, a magneto instead of generator, and improved oiling. In 1972 a new, more powerful all-aluminum alloy XR750 engine was introduced.

The perfected machine dominated flat track racing for decades to come. Between 1972 and 2008, the XR750 would go on to win 28 of 37 AMA Grand National Championships. The XR750 racked up more wins than any other motorcycle in AMA racing history and earned the description of being the “most successful race bike of all time.”

In addition, the XR750 became a cultural icon with legendary stuntman Evel Knievel at the handlebars. Evel Knievel began jumping an XR750 at the height of his career from 1970 to 1976, and alongside the exploits of the racing versions of the XR750 inspired a generation to ride.

For 2020, the Harley-Davidson Factory Flat Track team will continue to field Harley-Davidson’s production-based tradition for factory flat track campaigns. The updated Harley-Davidson XG750R flat tracker, powered by the liquid-cooled, fuel-injected and race-tuned 750cc Harley-Davidson Revolution X V-Twin is based on the production engine originally designed for the Harley-Davidson Street 750 motorcycle.

Applications Now Being Accepted for Funding Public Land Access Projects In 2020

/EIN News/ — MARIETTA, Ga., March 17, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Yamaha Motor Corp., USA, announces it awarded more than $127,000 to eight organizations in the fourth quarter grant cycle of the Yamaha Outdoor Access Initiative (OAI) for 2019, bringing the annual grant total to over $400,000. Projects receiving OAI grants often have a strong stewardship component, as well as an inclusive community of users working together to ensure all types of outdoor recreationists can access and enjoy public land sustainably and safely.

To date, the Yamaha OAI has contributed over $4 million in aid to more than 360 projects across the nation. Grant recipient projects support diverse communities including motorized recreation, biking, hunting, fishing, camping, and other outdoor recreationists – all of whom rely on access to public land. Yamaha continues to encourage outdoor recreation groups and land stewardship associations to get involved in land access projects, knowing support from the Yamaha OAI program is available to nonprofit and tax-exempt groups.

“Everyone who enjoys the outdoors can play a role in protecting, improving, and even expanding access to public lands,” said Steve Nessl, Yamaha’s Motorsports marketing manager. “The Outdoor Access Initiative has achieved some milestones around helping key stakeholders – those who actually do the work on the ground – secure the funding they require. It’s those making a difference in the field who we should be celebrating while we encourage all to contribute to the sustainability and responsible use of public spaces. Yamaha is proud and primed to continue to support land stewardship efforts in 2020 and beyond to benefit outdoors recreation.”

Recent recipients received Yamaha OAI grants for trail maintenance, safety signage, land stewardship programs, and efforts aiding in protecting access to motorized recreation areas. The Q4 2019 beneficiaries include:

• Crested Butte Avalanche Center – Crested Butte, Colorado
• Desert Group Search & Rescue Volunteers – Boron, California
• Patriots All Terrain Club – Pittsfield, Massachusetts
• Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship – Quincy, California
• St. Germain ATV Club – St. Germain, Wisconsin
• Tonto Recreation Alliance – Tempe, Arizona
• Texas Trails Education and Motorized Management – College Park, Texas
• Western Trails Conservancy – Henderson, Nevada

The 2020 Yamaha OAI application schedule, submission guidelines, and application forms are available at YamahaOAI.com. View Yamaha’s Proven Off-Road ATV and Side-by-Side lineup by visiting YamahaOutdoors.com. Connect with Yamaha on social media via @YamahaOutdoors or search the following hashtags on all platforms:  #Yamaha #YamahaOAI #REALizeYourAdventure #ProvenOffRoad #AssembledInUSA #Yamaha10YearBelt

About the Yamaha Outdoor Access Initiative

For more than a decade, the Yamaha Outdoor Access Initiative has led the Powersports industry in guaranteeing responsible access to our nation’s land for outdoor enthusiasts. Through this program, Yamaha has directly and indirectly supported thousands of miles of motorized recreation trails, maintained and rehabilitated riding and hunting areas, improved staging areas, supplied agricultural organizations with essential OHV safety education, built bridges over fish-bearing streams and partnered with local outdoor enthusiast communities across the country to improve access to public lands. Each quarter, Yamaha accepts applications from nonprofit or tax-exempt organizations including OHV riding clubs and associations, national, state and local public land use agencies, outdoor enthusiast associations and land conservation groups with an interest in protecting, improving, expanding and/or maintaining access for safe, responsible and sustainable public use. A committee then reviews each application and awards grants to deserving projects. Examples of appropriate projects for grants include, but are not limited to:

• Trail development, restoration and maintenance
• Trail signage and map production
• Staging area construction, renovation and maintenance
• Land stewardship, safety and education

Updated guidelines, application form, information and news about the Outdoor Access Initiative are available at YamahaOAI.com. For specific questions about the Yamaha Outdoor Access Initiative, call the dedicated hotline at 1-877-OHV-TRAIL (877-648-8724), email OHVAccess@Yamaha-Motor.com, or write to:

New front wheel and disc brake

With the help of Paughco and Black Bike Wheels

Okay, so the classic 19-inch spoked wheel rolled in from Black Bike Wheels, in Van Nuys. They have grown to build spoked wheels for every make and model in virtually every size. Too cool. If you need a spoked wheel give them a call and speak to Elliot or Eric. Tell them Bikernet sent you.

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Last weekend in the USA during the Daytona Bike Week, the New York-Rzeszów motorcycle built by the Polish company Game Over Cycles took first place in the “Over 1000 cc Custom” category in the Rat’s Hole Custom Bike Show. The competition was held in Florida as part of Daytona Bike Week 2020, one of the largest motorcycle events in the world, which annually gathers about 500 000 people. Rats Hole is a very prestigious and the longest (since 1952) organized custom bike show in the world. The prize awarded to the Polish machine was received by Bobbi and Lucy Wawrzaszek, Poles living in the USA, who own the motorcycle and on whose order GOC made the vehicle.

The New York – Rzeszów Motorcycle, as it is fully named, is an extraordinary custom Harley-Davidson Street Bob inspired by New York and Polish city of Rzeszów. The bike was made for a Polish couple born in the Rzeszów region and currently living in New York. The machine is intended to express local patriotism of both homelands of the vehicle owners. This is manifested in the unique design of the motorcycle, which contains characteristics of the architecture of given city. These parts are not only elements of ornamentation, but also fully functional components of the motorcycle. The main elements of the construction containing the architecture of given city are:

New York:
– wheels with Manhattan buildings engraved in metal. The wheel contains such buildings as the Empire State Building, 1 World Trade Center, Flatiron, Chrysler Building, old WTC towers
– exhaust pipe looking like the Chrysler Building (covered with 24-carat gold)
– ignition coil cover looking like The Oculus
– front plow in the shape of old WTC ruins with the “9/11 Never Forget” inscription
– timing cover with NY Yankees logo (covered with 24-carat gold)
– fuel tank cap made form brass and imitating a $ 1 coin with Rzeszów-New York inscription
– tank painting containing the Brooklyn Bridge and the Manhattan skyline

Rzeszów:
– Revolutionary Act Monument – the most famous monument of the city placed in the middle of wheel among Manhattan buildings (covered with 24-carat gold)
– seat in the form of the Tadeusz Mazowiecki bridge – the largest bridge in the city. The bridge is imitated together with brass ropes attached to the fender while motorcycle’s direction indicators look like the warning lights located on the bridge
– air filter cover in the shape of city’s most known and characteristic footbridge with Rzeszów’s coat of arms in the center (covered with 24-carat gold)
– rear brake light and position light in the shape of the Rzeszów coat of arms
– tank paitning containing Rzeszów skyline

All construction elements are made of brass, steel and aluminum, while the wheels, exhaust pipe, clutch cover, timing cover, the front brake holder and wheels are additionally gold-plated.

The unveiling of the motorcycle took place in May 2019 in New York, in the premises of Harley-Davidson of New York City.

 

Did you know that the ownership of motorcycles in America has increased by 2.5 million since 2009? This isn’t all that surprising since motorcycles are a fast and fun way to commute.

Maybe you already know the joys of owning a motorcycle, or perhaps you’re looking to buy your first. Below, we’ll give you a list of what we believe are the top three best motorcycles brands in 2020.

By the end of this post, you’ll be headed to your nearest dealership to test-ride one of these 2020 motorcycles yourself.

1.) Harley-Davidson

When you think of top motorcycles, Harley-Davidson most likely comes to mind.

This iconic brand is the Mustang of motorcycles and has been a top brand in the industry since 1903. They are one of the only motorcycle brands (along with Indian) to have survived the Great Depression, which has got to say something, right?

Harley-Davidson is recognized for being an all-American brand that produces high-quality motorcycles that are ideal for long rides across the country.

Their motorcycles redefined the industry with their heavy-weight chopper-style bike, and their smooth, durable engines.

2.) Yamaha

Yamaha Corporation has been around since 1887, making it one of the oldest brands in the world. Although they originally started as a piano and reed manufacturer, they now offer a variety of automotive products and services.

These Japanese motorcycles are one of the leading and most recognizable brands in the industry and are widely known in international racing for their rugged sportbikes.

Unlike Harley-Davidson, who is notorious for long-distance riding, Yamaha motorcycles are built for speed performance and are great for riding on trails and technical terrain. In fact, they were the first motorcycle brand to introduce a trail bike in 1968 and have been the best in the business since.

If you’re looking for a sporty, off-road bike, take one for a test spin at a Yamaha dealer.

3.) Honda

Honda is another Japanese brand best-known for its automobiles. However, they’re also one of the best motorcycles in 2020.

This brand started selling motorcycles in 1955 and quickly became one of the largest mass-produced motorcycle brands in the world. In 1987, Honda was the first company to produce 50 million motorcycles.

If you’re looking for a motorcycle brand that produces a mix of both off-road and street bikes, this is the brand for you. Honda sells a variety of bikes that can go the distance like Harley-Davidson, while still maintaining a sporty and responsive feel like their competitor, Yamaha.

How to Choose One of These 2020 Motorcycles

Choosing the right motorcycle can be tough, but if you stick to top-selling 2020 motorcycles like Harley-Davison, Yamaha, and Honda, you’re sure to pick a good one.

Once you have a better idea of what you’re looking for, whether it be a street or trail bike, you can narrow down which one of these brands is right for you.

Be sure to state your favorite motorcycle brand below in the comments.