This is a new weekly motorcycle industry news brief (please click the link and subscribe). It’s not a commitment (for you), not a hassle (for me), it’s just a few pieces of info a week that may open your riding experience up to what’s happening outside your favorite brand and around the world. Be aware that if you subscribe to this Substack and also listen to the podcast Chasing the Horizon, you’ll get some repeats between the two.
US v Canada: Trade war escalates
Canada’s dollar-for-dollar retaliatory 50% tariffs went into effect on Tuesday, 8 September. The new taxes affect a lot of products; what matters here are motorcycles with engines over 800cc displacement. As I said in last week’s Motorcycle Industry News, this primarily affects Harley-Davidson and Indian Motorcycle, as the USA is the country of origin for most HDs and all Indians. This matters because a 50% tariff can’t be absorbed with price bumps, lower margins and other common tactics—it has to be passed on to the consumer. Harley sold 6,434 motorcycles in Canada in 2025, about 5% of their global deliveries. Sales were down about 5% in the first half of 2026 (less than 200 bikes difference), but the tariff will no doubt bring sales to a screeching halt. | LINK
The Trump administration immediately retaliated the retaliation by banning the import of all products covered by Canada’s retaliatory tariffs. In the motorcycle world, this means Can-Am Spyders, Canyons and Rykers (except for the 900cc Rykers, which are not “of Canadian origin” as they are made in Mexico with engines made in Austria). It doesn’t cover electric motorcycles, but it might scoop up small-volume gas-powered builders like Campagna depending on which code they’re imported under. Bottom line—it’s essentially a Can-Am ban. | LINK | UPDATE: The ban is set to take effect on 29 September 2026. This item was also updated to correct the status of the Ryker 900cc model.
Brough Superior + Aston Martin
The AMB 002 Roadster is the first street-legal motorcycle from the Aston Martin–Brough Superior collaboration. Production is limited to 300 motorcycles, with deliveries planned for the third quarter of 2027. The collab says the clean-sheet 1083cc V-twin will produce 130 hp/81 lb-ft and feature a billet-machined titanium backbone frame. Aston Martin is primarily involved in making the bodywork. Think if this as brand extension for both marques and a collector’s item, not a bike you’re likely to see at the Sunday morning breakfast tire-kicking session…but imagine the hub-bub if you did! LINK
Honda earns 5-star FIA rating
Honda continues to rack up firsts in motorcycling, becoming the first company to receive 5 stars under the expanded FIA Road Safety Index’s products-and-services assessment. Honda says the review covered 17 countries and encompasses more than 90% of its global motorcycle and automobile sales. Measuring fatalities and injuries related to its products could have been a dangerous move, but it panned out in their favor, so yay Honda. This doesn’t mean every Honda motorcycle (plus their cars, they make cars too don’t forget) got a 5-star crash/safety rating and it doesn’t prove fewer riders die on Hondas than on other marques. It’s a measure of their corporate systems, planning, monitoring and overall safety culture—you know, bean-counter stuff. Still, it’s an achievement. | LINK
More pro riders choosing World Superbike
Jack Miller is the latest rider to jump from MotoGP to World SBK on purpose, rather than doing it as a form of soft retirement because he can’t hack the competition at the (allegedly) highest level of two-wheeled racing. While movement from WSBK to GP is far less common, it does happen and is almost always seen as a promotion (like with Toprak Razgatlioglu, who used to ride for BMW), while moving the other direction has until recently been seen as a demotion. Miller is joining big-time racers like Brad Binder, Andrea Locatelli, Miguel Oliveira (joining BMW’s team, as reported in MIN#1) and probably (yet to be announced) Franco Morbidelli. | LINK
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