Suzuki reported an operating loss of 11.9 billion yen (US$117.1 million) from its motorcycle business for its fiscal year ended March 31, 2013. The loss stems from a 10.7% decrease in motorcycles sales and a 9.6% decline in motorcycle revenue from its 2012-2013 fiscal year.

According to Suzuki‘s year-end report, motorcycles accounted for 230.3 billion yen in sales revenue, down 254.8 billion yen reported the previous year. The drop in sales contributed to the 11.9 billion yen operating loss, compared to a loss of 2.4 billion yen reported in the 2011-2012 fiscal year.

Suzuki sold 2.312 million motorcycles in its fiscal year, a year-on-year decrease of 10.7% from 2.589 million motorcycles. North American sales were down 8.6%, decreasing to 44,000 units from 49,000 units the previous year.Sales were also down 8.6% in Asia, 3.0% in Japan and 28.7% in Europe where the overall economy continues to struggle. Continue Reading »

American motocross pioneer, race team manager and motorcycle industry executive Mark Blackwell is getting another honor: being recognized as an AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame Legend. Blackwell, who was inducted to the Hall of Fame in 2000, will be feted alongside the 2013 induction class during AMA Legends Weekend, Oct. 18-19 at the Green Valley Ranch Resort, Spa and Casino in Las Vegas.

Blackwell will be honored alongside Torsten Hallman, another member of the of 2000 class, who will be recognized as a Legend for helping introduce motocross to America and for founding gear maker Thor. Like Hallman, Blackwell excelled at several different facets of the motorcycle industry.

As a racer, Blackwell was one of America’s first motocross racing stars, competing in the late ’60s and early ’70s. In 1970, Blackwell was hired to ride for Husqvarna and traveled to Sweden to train with the factory riders. He came back to the U.S. the following year and raced in the Trans-AMA series, winning the American class title by beating Brad Lackey by a single point. In 1972, Blackwell won the prestigious Daytona Motocross before returning to international racing in Europe. Continue Reading »

Harley-Davidson dealers outscored dealers from other brands to take the top spot in the Pied Piper Prospect Satisfaction Index U.S. Motorcycle Industry Study for the second consecutive year.

The annual study measures the effectiveness of motorcycle dealerships, rating them on how they perform in different categories, such as inviting customers to sit on a floor model, offering demo rides and asking for a customer’s contact information. The study was conducted from July 2012 to April 2013 with data collected by 2,503 hired “mystery shoppers”.

We’ve included the full scores below as well as the scores from past years. One caveat however: Pied Piper PSI has rejigged its study questions and adjusted the weighting and scoring for the 2013 study to achieve an average score of 100. This resulted in a significant scoring changes compared to last year’s study and a wider range between the highest and the lowest scores.

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Former Grand Prix World Champion Kevin Schwantz has been making the headlines a lot recently, and not necessarily for good reasons. But finally there’s some good news: Schwantz is  coming out of retirement to race in the 2013 Suzuka 8 Hours endurance race.

Schwantz is joining Yukio Kagayama‘s team for the July 28 race, riding a Japanese Superbike-spec Suzuki GSX-R1000. Schwantz will be Team Kagayama‘s third rider, behind Kagayama and former World Superbike star Noriyuki Haga.

The last month and a half had been a trying period for Schwantz when it should have been a positive experience with the first ever MotoGP race to be held in his home state of Texas. In a perfect world, Schwantz would have been the event’s promoter, playing the welcome host to the Grand Prix circus. Instead, Schwantz has been surrounded by controversy. Continue Reading »

Tom Sykes earned his first win of the 2013 season and came a hair short of a double victory at the World Superbike Championship round at Assen in the Netherlands.

Traditionally a fast starter and qualifier, Sykes started on the pole once again at Assen and had strong starts in both races. But unlike the first two rounds where he started strong before fading, the Kawasaki factory rider was able to remain at the front in both races at Assen and earn some valuable championship points. Continue Reading »

Monster Energy Kawasaki racer Ryan Villopoto demonstrated once again he is a the top of his sport, clinching his third-consecutive AMA Supercross championship. Villopoto cemented his title with a win in front of 43,149 fans at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City, Utah, his ninth main event victory of the season and 33rd in his career.

Though he led every lap, Villopoto didn’t have as easy a time in Salt Lake City as he has had in some races this season. He spent most of the race trailed by Rockstar Energy Suzuki‘s Davi Millsaps and Red Bull KTM‘s Ryan Dungey but withstood the pressure for the full 20 laps. Continue Reading »

Suzuki is providing 10 million yen (US$100,500) in aid to the Red Cross Society to provide support for those affected by the April 20 earthquake in China’s Sichuan province. Suzuki‘s pledge is in addition to 1 million RMB (US$161,000) donated by Chongqing Changan Suzuki Automobile Co., a Suzuki joint venture with China’s Changan Group.

The region in southwestern China was hit by a major tremor at about 8 o’clock in the morning, local time. The U.S. Geological Survey estimates the earthquake had a magnitude of 6.6, with aftershocks registering magnitudes up to 5.1. As of this writing, the earthquake resulted in the death of 186 people. Another 11,000 people were injured and nearly two dozen in rural communities remain unaccounted for. Continue Reading »

Hometown hero Ryan Dungey put a stop to Ryan Villopoto‘s winning streak, taking the victory before 48,846 supportive fans at the Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minn.

The Red Bull KTM rider from nearby Belle Plaine, Minn., stalked Monster Energy Kawasaki‘s Villopoto for most of the race before taking the lead and winning the 20-lap race by just 0.903 seconds. The win put Dungey into second place in the standings ahead of Rockstar Suzuki‘s Davi Millsaps and perhaps more importantly, cut away at Villopoto’s points lead.

The main event started with holeshot specialist Mike Alessi of MotoConcepts Suzuki first around the first turn. It didn’t take long however before Villopoto with an inside pass to take over the lead. The Monster Energy Kawasaki rider won five straight races heading into Minneapolis and took aim at his sixth in a row but Dungey remained close behind ready to strike. Continue Reading »

It’s been a little over two years since the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and its ensuing tsunamis devastated the eastern coast of Japan, and the country is still struggling to rebuild from the tragedy that claimed thousands of lives and displaced countless families.

Some areas such as Hamamatsu, an industrial city home to several companies including Suzuki, were not as badly affected as places on the east coast, but they are making efforts to develop anti-tsunami measures to prevent or lessen the damage from future disasters.

Chamber of Commerce and Industry for Hamamatsu raising 5 billion yen (US$50.2 million) from member companies including 500 million yen (US$5 million) from Suzuki. The money will go to the development of a new seawall to protect Hamamatsu from tsunamis. Continue Reading »

Ryan Villopoto captured his fifth-consecutive AMA Supercross win and sixth in seven rounds with a victory in the main event at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas.

The Monster Energy Kawasaki rider passed holeshot-taker Mike Alessi on the opening lap and led the rest of the way for the win. Alessi, riding the Motoconcepts Racing Suzuki RM-Z450, remained in the hunt for the first few laps but soon gave way to a group including Team Honda Muscle Milk’s Trey Canard, Red Bull KTM‘s Ryan Dungey and Yoshimura Suzuki’s James Stewart.

With Villopoto uncatcheable, it was up to that trio to provide the drama. Canard sat in second for most of the first seven laps until a Dungey pass on Lap 7. A couple of laps later, Stewart made a challenge on Dungey but crashed in the attempt, damaging his front wheel. Continue Reading »