INDUSTRY INFOBITES

OWN A PIECE OF HISTORY AND HELP CURE PEDIATRIC BRAIN CANCER

To celebrate its 30th year as presenting sponsor of the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation’s Ride for Kids, American Honda is donating three Repsol-edition CBR1000RR sport bikes from its private collection, to be auctioned through Iconic Motorbikes. The auction will run September 3-10, with all proceeds going to the PBTF. The amount raised will be announced during Ride for Kids, which takes place September 12.

In selected model years, American Honda has imported the CBR1000RR in special Repsol graphics as a tribute to the factory Honda MotoGP team, for whom the global multi-energy company has been the title sponsor since 1994. That relationship has produced 15 MotoGP Rider World Championships, via Mick Doohan, Alex Criville, Valentino Rossi, Nicky Hayden, Casey Stoner and Marc Marquez.

The CBR1000RR was initially offered in 2004, replacing the CBR954RR, and the inaugural special-edition Repsol version came the following year. The 2007 Repsol Honda CBR1000RR came just after Nicky Hayden’s 2006 MotoGP title. The 2009 special edition of the CBR1000RR is the only gen. 2 version, following the model’s 2008 overhaul.

All three motorcycles being auctioned have 0 miles, and while the trio would make for an incredible collection, the units will be auctioned individually. Bids may be placed through Iconic Motorbikes:

iconicmotorbikeauctions.com

“Partnering with the PBTF on Ride for Kids is an honor, and we’re pleased to celebrate the relationship by offering these special-edition Repsol Honda CBR1000RR sport bikes for auction,” said Bill Savino, Senior Manager of Customer Engagement at American Honda. “For the past 30 years, the American motorcycling community has always come through to help PBTF families, and we know we can once again count on riders to bid on these beautiful bikes and participate in a local Ride for Kids.”

As the nation’s longest running charitable motorcycle ride, Ride for Kids has raised millions of dollars to support research and family programs for children battling brain tumors. Since 1991, Ride for Kids supporters and Honda have provided a thriving community of support to tens of thousands of kids across the United States and helped the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation fund nearly $50 million in research, accelerating the path to a cure.

On September 12, riders across the nation will join forces on a single day to support the 28,000 children and teens living in the United States with a brain tumor or central nervous system tumor. Across the country, local ride communities can rally together and fundraise for lifesaving research and family support programs. This year, some rides are in person and some virtual, through a national partnership with the Rever motorcycle app. The event offers special incentives for top fundraisers. For the full list of rides, and to register, visit www.rideforkids.org.

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GET PACKING – EDELWEISS BIKE TRAVEL’S 2022 CATALOGUE IS HERE

With a loud thud it falls on your doormat, the brand new and especially thick travel brochure full of motorcycle travel from Edelweiss Bike Travel. With over 40 years of experience in motorcycle travel, Edelweiss knows how to offer you the best routes and destinations. The 198-page brochure gives extensive information about the tours on all continents, details about the level of dif culty, average riding time and average time for sightseeing. In addition to guided tours, they also offer self-guided tours and scooter tours. Do you have tons of time? Then you can join the world tour completely guided, which goes from Munich to Bali, for example. For the off roaders there is also a category with unpaved tours on 3 different continents. And if you book before October 31, 2021, you get a $250 discount on one of the tours from the standard program for 2022. The discount code is EBB2022. If you haven`t ordered one yet, the brochure can be ordered completely free of charge or downloaded on the Edelweiss Bike Travel website. www.edelweissbike.com

MORE COUNTRIES BANNING GAS-POWERED MOTORCYCLES

It seems that more and more nations are beginning to adopt a policy of allowing only brand-new electric-powered vehicles to be sold in their jurisdictions in the near future, and now Indonesia, Southeast Asia’s largest motorcycle market with more than 112-million motorcycles on its busy streets, has declared that no more new internal combustion engine (ICE) motorcycles should be sold in the country by 2050.

Singapore also adopted a similar policy by banning motorcycles they consider “old” from their streets by 2028. India, as well as some European nations, had already enacted similar measures earlier. Now, Canada is the newest country that’s taking on drastic measures to signi cantly cut greenhouse gas emissions.

In a recent announcement from the Canadian government agency, Transport Canada (TC), they are accelerating the complete eradication of ICE-powered vehicles by outlawing them by 2035 -- which is 5-years earlier than the original 2040 plan.

Like other countries initiating combustion vehicle sales bans, the plan is to end new vehicle sales, and does not mention plans for older vehicles. Most such plans rely on older vehicles eventually phasing themselves out as they become impractical to repair and own over time.

TIME TO SPEAK OUT ON CONGESTION PRICING IN NEW YORK

Cheryl Stewart, advocate with Riders Against Congestion, has provided us with the following information:

The MTA has moved on Congestion Pricing, a/k/a the Central Business District Tolling Program, and it’s nally time for us to act. There will be a series of 10 regional public hearings and the MTA must hear from us! The Traf c Mobility Review Board, controlled by the MTA, will soon set toll rates and decide who, if any, will be exempt from congestion-based tolling. This is a crucial moment for us to advocate for a 100% exemption from congestion pricing for our fuel-ef cient, congestion-reducing vehicles. Our goal will be to have as many motorcyclists as we can muster speaking at every single hearing. Now is the moment to act.

Sign up to participate in public meetings here: new.mta.info/project/CBDTP/upcoming-meetings

These hearings will be virtual, via Zoom, which will mean easy access for all. If you’re unable to speak at a hearing you can submit written comments on the MTA website: mta-nyc.custhelp.com/app/cbd_tolling

You’ll receive a con rmation via email once you register to speak at a hearing. The hearings are each geared towards individual affected regions, but anyone can participate in any hearing that ts your schedule. I ask that you PLEASE let me know if you’ve signed up to speak.

Speak from your heart and your personal experiences, but please be

BACKROADS • OCTOBER 2021 polite and respectful above all. Here’s a brief synopsis of some of our talking points:

Our vehicles demonstrably reduce traf c congestion, motorcycles are impressively fuel ef cient, our vehicles are lightweight, which reduces wear on roads and infrastructure, two-wheeled vehicles take up a small fraction of the space of an auto when parked, and virtually every municipality around the world where Congestion Pricing has been imposed has exempted motorbikes from congestion pricing charges.

No one else can do this for us. At this moment we must act for ourselves, and for motorcyclists everywhere. NYC will be the rst in the US to implement Congestion Pricing. City planners around the country are watching us closely as they prepare their own congestion mitigation strategies. Let’s make sure we get this right.

Feel free to contact me via text, phone or email. I’ll be happy to provide more detailed information, links to supportive studies and any other supporting information to help you make your point. And please remember to let me know if you’ve signed up to speak at a hearing.

Cheryl Stewart • Riders Against Congestion (917) 796-9392 • cstewart@byway.net , Page 11 FREE WHEELIN’ Continued from Page 4

The high-end sports car driver is probably more in line with their thinking as the high-end sports bike rider.

Perhaps the touring rider has a touch in common with the RV driver. But, you do not see Gold Wingers waving to the RV driver as they pass.

When you consider how many types of machines are on the road and how differently many of these riding generally think, ride and act, although we might all be riders we are not from the same family.

I am not here to sow seeds of discord, rather simply point out just how big and diverse our world of riding is and that although we all ride two wheels the Jones family is far different than the Smith family. ,

WHATCHATHINKIN’ Continued from Page 5 from these outings, the places found and pictures capturing the happiness are irreplaceable. You are the family who we choose to spend time with rather than ‘have’ to.

Wherever things go in the future, the times that are in our mirrors do matter and have shaped our memories and experiences and will propel us forward to more great times in front of us. That nasty curve that may have thrown me off track will only strengthen my sight and help me take a better line for the next one. Thank you all and I look forward to spending many more miles and smiles with you all. ,