Tariffs Who? New Chinese Bikes Coming to the States

CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE SQUID 🦑 🏍️ 📖

1. 🎤 Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday Honda Gold Wing, happy birthday to you! 🎤 Fifty years old and looking better than ever! Honda is celebrating 50 years of the Honda Gold Wing this year with some limited edition Anniversary edition color ways that harken back to the early days of the ‘Wing. I personally enjoy the Eternal Gold and Mahogany Brown paint option. It is like a wood paneled station wagon.

   Me: Hey Mom, can we get the Eternal Gold 50th Anniversary Gold Wing?

   My Mom: No sweetie, we have an Eternal Gold and Mahogany vehicle at home.

   The vehicle at home:

2. Honda has also commented on the V3 engine project they teased at EICMA. The Chief Officer of Honda’s Power Products Division, Minoru Kato, was asked about the prototype during a Q&A session that followed a press briefing at the end of last month. He said the “electric turbo” boosted V3 engine was in a rideable prototype at Honda's Kumamoto factory. Kato also confirmed that there will be more public information soon as they’re actively working towards a production model. Please, Honda, we need this. Like, for clicks. We need this bike to get clicks. The R9 is out now, what else are moto creator’s supposed to talk about?

3. BMW Motorrad sold the most bikes in a single year in 2024, totally over 200,000. Royal Enfield also had a record breaking year, though the were pushing closer to 1M units. Both BMW and Royal Enfield posing record vehicle sales, while representing opposite rider demographics, bolsters the theory that the motorcycling ‘middle class’ is disappearing and manufacturers cater to a bifurcated customer base, including either "entry level ie broke” customers or “premium ie wealthy” customers. Among BMW’s most popular motorcycles were the R1250GS, R1300GS, and S1000RR, go figure. Two of those S1000RR sales went to a single 18 year old kid in our Discord Server. Long story.

4. Hide your CFMotos, hide your Benellis, there is a new Chinese motorcycle coming to town. Benda Motorcycles are en route to land stateside soon by way of Benelli importer Keeway America. The Benda models slated for American soil are all cruisers, the Chinchilla 300, Chinchilla 500, and NapoleonBob 500. I know what you’re thinking, NapoleonBob sounds like a lost Spongebob episode where he and Patrick travel back in time to participate in the Napoleonic Wars. But I’m going to go out on a limb and say the name implies that the bike is small but powerful, like a certain French ruler who was determined to conquer Europe in the early 1800s? Controversial - should a Chinese motorcycle be anything but?

5. One of my favorite Yammie Noob videos of 2024 was the exposé on unsafe, knock-off riding jeans, specifically aimed at NBT (sorry not sorry). After seeing these jeans all over social media being shilled by paid influencers, many riders took the bait and got burned. Both figuratively (wasted money) and literally (road rash). Now it looks like there is a new crusade against unsafe riding gear, this time in the way of a UK petition to “implement a national strategy that protects motorcyclists from imports of unsafe clothing”. Motorcycle safety gear is designed to meet CE safety ratings. Many direct-to-consumer companies have circumvented these safety standards with little regard for the wearer’s well-being. This petition would prompt government action to reduce the amount of unsafe, misleading “motorcycle” garments making their way to riders in the UK. But don’t worry, us Americans can still wear flip flops and cargo shorts. Land of the free, baby.

“It started off innocently enough. Insta360 offered to send me free cameras to use while making content. What did I have to lose?

Before I knew it, I was enduring a 40 page powerpoint presentation outlining the differences in frame rate across the different shooting modes.

Midway through, something happened. The technical minutia was no longer excruciating, but elating. I was humming “March of the Volunteers” as I threw my GoPro in the trash.

A Docusign agreement opened automatically on my screen. I watched as my signature was dragged into place at the bottom of the document seemingly on its own. But I couldn’t stop it. I didn’t want to stop it.

Hidden within that innocuous presentation, was an activation phrase. Unknowingly, after years of TikTok consumption, I had been programmed as a sleeper agent. I had only one mission, shill as many action cameras as possible.

Now, as I watch Ace Pro 2 sleep in her mother’s arms, I realize I made the ultimate Faustian Bargain.”

THREE WEEKS LEFT TO WIN MY STREET TRIPLE!

Not feeling the Striple? Don’t worry, you can pool your entries and save ‘em for the next giveaway bike coming in March. Discord boys may or may not have already gotten a sneak peak. Become a member and you can get the inside scoop as well. 😎

BIG BRAIN SYMPOSIUM 👨‍🔬 🧠 🔬

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