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KTM Parent Pierer Mobility Group Removes Four Directors

In a shocking move, KTM’s parent company Pierer Mobility Group has removed four directors. As such, their board of directors with be downsized from six to only two members.

The decision will leave only CEO Stefan Pierer and Co-CEO Gottfried Neumeister to helm the company. The biggest name to be cut is Hubert Trunkenpolz, who is the grandson of one of KTM’s founders Hans Trunkenpolz – the “T” in the brand’s name. The other three directors are Alex Pierer, Florian Kecht, and Rudolf Wiesbeck.

The decision follows the group’s continued financial struggles which already saw two rounds employee downsizing. They had cited high costs of living in the United States and recession in Germany.

According to the company’s statement, “The European economy is stagnating, with the important German market in particular in recession.”

“In the USA, consumer purchasing power remains low due to the high cost of living and long peirod of expensive consumer credit.”

PMG has seen a -6.3% decline in registrations in the US from January to September 2024. September alone saw a decline of -14.3%. Such alarming figures had prompted PMG to claim that “rapid recovery cannot be expected.”

The company which owns KTM, Husqvarna, GasGas and MV Agusta announced earlier this year that they are planning for more growth in non-European markets in partnership with Bajaj Auto (India) and CFMoto (China).

The statement adds: “Despite the slight reduction in inventories, further destocking remains an important objective.”

“Pierer Mobility remains clearly committed to supporting dealers and suppliers as a strategic partner in these difficult times. As a result of measures taken in this regard, working capital and consequently the company’s net debt and interest expenses increased.”

Due to the worrying circumstances, PMG has landed itself in, it confirmed that it is also revoking its 2024 guidance.

The statement concludes: “As a result of these circumstances Pierer Mobility will fall short of expectations in terms of revenue and earnings, as well as with regard to the reduction in working capital and net debt in the current financial year, and is revoking its guidance for the 2024 financial year.”

“A new review of non-cash value adjustments will also be carried out by the end of the year.”

Berjaya Sompo Champions Safer Riding and Talent Development Through Motorsport Sponsorship

As part of its commitment to fostering safety education for motorcyclists, Berjaya Sompo Insurance is proud to support the development of future talent in motorcycle sport racing through its sponsorship of Hong Leong Yamaha Malaysia’s racing activities. (more…)

2025 Triumph Tiger Sport 800 Launched

The brand-new 2025 Triumph Tiger Sport 800 has been launched. It fills the gap left by the outgoing Tiger 850 Sport, between the Tiger Sport 660 and Tiger 900.

Unlike the Tiger 850 Sport which is based on the Tiger 900 dual-sport platform, the Tiger Sport 800 is based on the fully road-biased Tiger Sport 660. The 660 platform began with the Trident 660, before seeing the Tiger 660 Sport and Daytona 660 being added on.

As such, the Tiger Sport 800 will be more powerful than the Tiger 850 Sport, touting a 798cc, three-cylinder engine which produces 113hp and 84.1Nm of torque. Those figures put it in the range of the Yamaha Tracer 9 GT (117hp, 93Nm) and BMW F 900 XR (105hp, 92Nm). Although the Triumph’s peak torque output is lower than its competitors, do remember that all Triumph engines are tune to provide 90% of their peak torque over a wider rev range.

The bike’s chassis is shared with the 660’s, meaning that Triumph has somehow managed to squeeze the bigger engine into the frame. Yes, the 800’s frame and swingarm are shared with 660’s but the former’s suspension is higher in spec. Up front are fully-adjustable 41mm upside-down Showa forks, and a Showa monoshock at the back. Brakes consist of dual 310mm discs and four-piston calipers up front.

Electronics include a TFT display with smartphone connectivity via the My Triumph Connectivity System, allowing for turn-by-turn navigation, phones calls, music streaming.

There is a six-axis Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) which provides optimised cornering ABS and traction control. Riding modes are Road, Rain, and Sport. Cruise control and quickshifter are standard.

Triumph claims fuel consumption is a frugal 25.5 km/litre, giving a maximum of range of 402km when coupled to the 18.6 liter fuel tank.

The 2025 Triumph Tiger Sport 800 sells for £10,995 (RM61,865.91) in the UK.

Bimota KB998 WorldSBK 2025 Racer Revealed

The Bimota KB998 WorldSBK racer has finally been revealed.

Bimota had already voiced their interest in rejoining the superbike race series since Kawasaki took over the brand. Known as Bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team (BbKRT), Bimota will supply the chassis and Kawasaki provides the engine which is from the Ninja ZX-10RR.

Speaking about the new partnership, team manager Guim Roda said: “Of course, there has been much work to do behind the scenes to get us to the eve of unveiling the new bike and testing on track in public for the very first time.

“To have Alex Lowes and Axel Bassani onboard as riders – plus the associated pit crews and support staff – means we can concentrate on the core tasks at hand, testing our new KB998 racing machine and accumulating data across a testing schedule, inside the test limitation rules set by BWO and the FIM, reaching from tomorrow and across the Winter.

“This is a very new bike and will need our full commitment. We are very enthusiastic to be part of this fascinating project and honoured to take responsibility for making the new Bimota KB998 perform on top as soon as possible.

“We have updated all our social media accounts so we encourage fans to follow BbKRT and play their part in this exciting journey.”

One question remains, though: Will there be a Bimota KB998 homologation model for the public?

F1 Drivers who Get Their Kick on Motorcycles

It is well known that some F1 drivers also ride motorcycles.

Motorcycle riders can agree that motorcycles offer the most visceral enjoyment. There is no roof and huge windscreen to block the wind, the controls that require the entire body’s muscles. The most powerful street motorcycles may have “only” 200+hp compared to some supercars that sport 1000+hp, but the motorcycle accelerates harder and faster. And that feeling of dragging a knee through a corner… ah heaven.

Lewis Hamilton

Seven-time F1 World Champion Lewis Hamilton is visibly passionate about riding motorcycles, both on the road and track. The peak of this was swapping rides with Valentino Rossi (in Hamilton’s F1 car) at the Ricardo Tormo Circuit.

The Briton even has motorcycles dedicated to him, namely the MV Agusta F4 and Brutale LH44.

Now and again the MV is paraded in front of the world’s press as Hamilton takes the short commute to ‘work’ at the Monaco Grand Prix from his nearby home.

Fernando Alonso

Fernando Alonso tested Marc Marquez’s Honda RC213V MotoGP at the Motegi Ciruit bike in 2015.

Since then, after parting ways with the Honda days now way behind him, Alonso returned to F1 with the Alpine team part-managed by ex-Suzuki MotoGP boss Davide Brivio. The driver purchased an Aprilia RS 660 to get around.

Sebastian Vettel

The four-time World Champion prefers classic motorcycles. Although he keeps his collection away from public eyes, he had been spotted on a Kawasaki two-stroke triple in the past and a Suzuki GS550. There are also rumours that he regularly visits classic motorcycle shows. He has also been see several of KTM and BMW motorcycles.

The German says he loved motorcycles after buying a Cagiva Mito 125.

Charles Leclerc

Charles Leclerc’s Husqvarna 701 Vitpilen is a one-off special created by French custom house Bad Winners. The ‘Apex 2.0’ used a Vitpilen 701 as the base, and spec’ed it up with a unique frame and bodywork, a full system exhaust, and gorgeous looking DYMAG carbon fibre wheels. And oh, a KTM headlight.

Max Verstappen

Max Verstappen had been spotted riding motorcycles in his native Netherlands.

Like Leclerc, the current F1 World Championship leader has commissioned his own custom, but prefers a cruiser in the shape of a Montois-custom Harley-Davidson.

Kimi Raikkonen

The “King of One Liners” in F1 loves his motorcycles and owns a large collection of motorcycles in his native Finland.

However, his passion is primarily for ‘Choppers’ and Harley-style cruisers and even has a series of special customs made under his ‘Iceman’ nickname.

Having retired from F1 at the end of the 2021 season having started more grands prix than any other before him, Raikkonen spent approximately five minutes with his feet up before taking everyone by surprise by being announced as the new team manager for the factory Kawasaki team in MX1.

Nico Rosberg

Being an outspoken environmentalist, Rosberg has popped up now and again touting the advancements made in automotive technology and electric transport. That laid the way to collaborating with Italian manufacturer Energica. Rosberg was hired to launch the company’s latest generation Ego sportsbike in 2019.

Michael Schumacher

Unlike others in this list, seven-time F1 World Champion Michael Schumacher not only loved motorcycles, but he even raced them. It led to him bringing his megastar status to the comparatively modest German IDM Superbike Championship in 2008 aboard the factory Holzhauer Honda.

He wasn’t a front runner on a bike that his team-mate Martin Bauer was winning the title, but he didn’t disgrace himself either. Alas, a heavy crash led to a shoulder injury that not only ended his motorcycling aspirations but ruled him out of a planned return to F1 with Ferrari to replace the injured Felipe Massa.

Ayrton Senna

The Brazilian won devoted fans around the world for his passion for anything fast, including motorcycles.

He particularly loved Ducatis and would often arrive in the Monaco Grand Prix paddock riding a Ducati Monster. The Italian firm later created the Ducati 916 Senna.

Alas, the man himself never got to experience his dedication, being launched the year following his tragic and untimely death during the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix.

2025 BMW S 1000 R Revealed, More Aggressive Looking

The 2025 BMW S 1000 R naked sportbike is currently in the works and it looks extensively restyled.

The last update for the bike was in 2021, following BMW’s four-year model refresh schedule. The last redesign saw the headlight evolve into a rounder and smaller profile while the rest of the bike looked similar. The higher spec M 1000 R variant gained winglets similar to the M 1000 RR WSBK homologation model, as with the inline-four engine’s tuning.

Coming back to the 2025 model, it features a dual-headlight arrangement with what looks like a central air intake. If the air intake is a functioning part, it means that air will be fed through an opening in the upper part of the frame the same way as the S 1000 RR. In any case, we feel that this revamp makes the bike look more aggressive among its competitors namely the Aprilia Tuono V4, Ducati Streetfighter V4, Kawasaki Z H2, Yamaha MT-10, Triumph Speed Triple 1200 RS.

However, there is yet news regarding its engine and performance.