The German manufacturer recorded a growth of 12.3% in 2010 over the previous year, but the 2011 Q1 numbers are even better. The brand significantly exceeded the previous year’s figures in the first three months of the year. Sales rose 10.9% to 23,109 units. BMW Motorcycles thus achieved the best quarterly result in its history. A total of 11,675 BMW motorcycles were delivered in March 2011 – an increase of 1.2%. Husqvarna Motorcycles delivered 1,940 motorcycles (+18.3%) to customers in the first quarter and 676 motorcycles (-17%) in the month of March. Read the full article »

The North American arm of Ducati announced its third consecutive quarter of motorcycle sales growth, beginning 2011 with a 68% Q1 retail sales increase over the same period in 2010. And what’s even more better, the success appears to be across the entire 2011 range of motorcycles. The coming month’s sales will be also fueled by the new Monster 1100 EVO and Multistrada 1200 Pikes Peak Special Edition. Read the full article »

Various websites reported earlier that Ducati registered the Multistrada S Corse name in the U.S., and motorcycle magazines suggested that there will be a more sportier version of the Multistrada, but the Italian manufacturer said the name was only registered as a back-up in case it couldn’t get the Pikes Peak name. „No, there is no Multistrada 1200 S Corse on the way, it is the Multistrada 1200 S Pikes Peak Special Edition,” said Diego Sgorbati, Director of Marketing at Ducati in Bologna. Read the full article »

Honda has announced that it will be restarting motorcycle production at its Kumamoto factory as of Monday, March 28th. Initially closing all its facilities in Japan after the devastation caused by the Sendai earthquake, Kumamoto will be one of Honda’s first facilities to re-open in almost two weeks’ time. Other factories, such as Sayama, Saitama, and Suzuka facilities will remain closed through April 3rd, and Honda will make a decision on when to restart production at those locations later. Read the full article »

Zero Motorcycles, the global leader in the electric motorcycle industry announced yesterday it has raised $26 million in additional financing from its investor group, led by Invus, LP. The financing closed on March 3rd, 2011 with $17 million invested and the potential for an additional $9 million over the coming months as the company continues to grow. Invus, LP has been the principal investor in Zero Motorcycles since its initial investment in April 2008. Read the full article »

To celebrate its 90th anniversary this year, Moto Guzzi created a new website. The company was founded March 15, 1921 on the shores of Lake Como in the village of Mandello del Lario, Italy, where modern Moto Guzzi motorcycles are still manufactured today. This site was created to honor Moto Guzzi’s heritage. Moto Guzzi is the world’s second oldest continuously operating motorcycle manufacturer. Read the full article »

Japanese sports industry is now facing hard times after last Friday’s earthquake and tsunami. Reports said that the 9.0-magnitude earthquake caused cracks on the track and also damaged spectator seats at the Motegi circuit (90 miles north of Tokyo), which has led to MotoGP World Championship being rearranged for October. The race was originally scheduled for April 24. The MotoGP season is due to get under way at Losail in Qatar. A domestic road race there next Sunday was also knocked off the circuit's calendar. Read the full article »

Suzuki Motor Corporation has announced that the Burgman Fuel-Cell Scooter has become the world’s first fuel-cell vehicle to earn Whole Vehicle Type Approval in the European Union. Since February 2010, Suzuki and British company Intelligent Energy, which developed the Burgman Fuel-Cell Scooter’s fuel-cell system, have been jointly participating in trials of the scooter on public roads under the aegis of the British government’s Technology Strategy Board. Read the full article »

Italian motorcycle magazine Motosprint made an exclusive interview with Claudio Domenicali, Ducati’s general director. Domenicali revealed that the board of directors is seriosly thinking of deveoping two new models. The first one is a scrambler style two-wheeler, while the second is a maxi scooter. The Italain company wants to extend its production to 60,000 units a year. To do this, they plan to open a new factory in South America. Read the full article »

Yamaha has reported its 2010 business results last week, and despite announcing a small profit, investors lost faith in the company. Yamaha Motor share price plunged 10.55% to 1,525 yesterday at the Tokyo stock exhange. For 2011, the company is expecting a rise of 9.3% in net profit to 20 billion yen and a 3.3% rise in operating profit to 53 billion yen, but investors were still disappointed. Although sales have been strong in Asia, weak sales numbers in the US and Europe have caused Yamaha’s concern. Read the full article »