Huge Parade Of 1500 Bikes Led By King Of The Baggers Champion, Tyler O’Hara
Exclusive Challenger RR and Cutaway PowerPlus Engine Display
American Motorcycle Dealer “Approved” Budweis Custom Indian Motorcycle Show
King of the Baggers Race Team Present Replica Indian Challenger to Prize Draw Winner

The 2023 edition of the Indian Riders Fest 2023 (IRF23), held in ÄŒeské BudÄ›jovice (Budweis), Czech Republic, June 9-11, proved to be the largest celebration of Indian Motorcycle owners in the world. With a record-breaking attendance of over 3000 people from 39 nationalities, this year’s event solidified its position as the most significant congregation of Indian Motorcycle enthusiasts globally.   

One of the highlights of the festival was the huge Saturday parade ride, led by King of the Baggers Champion, Tyler O’Hara, where 1500 motorcycles took to the beautiful South Bohemian roads to be welcomed by waving and smiling onlookers along the entire 39 km route. Even with the event open to riders of all makes, nearly 1350 of the participating motorcycles were Indian Motorcycle models, topping last year’s number of 1200.

Making the parade possible, the organisers were supported by the local authorities with nearly 120 Police personnel and 26 mobile units helping to close junctions and hold traffic along the route for the parade to pass smoothly. In addition, six bus routes were cancelled or re-routed for the day to allow the riders to make their way to the Přemysl Otakar II square at the end of the parade. The final gathering providing a spectacular photo opportunity as the Indian Motorcycle Riders groups laid their flags in the centre of the historic square surrounded by their motorcycles.

“A huge thank you to all the riders, visitors and partners who came to the Indian Riders Fest 2023. We hope everyone had a fantastic time and enjoyed the weekend festival. We would also like to express our gratitude to Indian Motorcycle and all the other IRF partners for their continued support, and a huge thank you to the IRF production team for making this event possible. We can’t wait to celebrate with you again next year at the very special 2024 ‘Back In Time’ Edition of the IRF,” said Jean-Marie Guyon, organiser of the IRF.

IRF23 created an unforgettable experience for attendees, showcasing the rich legacy of Indian Motorcycle and embracing the vibrant culture of motorcycling. The event witnessed an overwhelming response, with over 2000 tickets sold in advance, to fill festival grounds with energy as 2500 motorcycles, including 1800 Indian Motorcycles, gathered in a celebration of motorcycling and its vibrant culture.

“Jean-Marie and his team have done it again. The IRF just keeps on growing and really has become a major destination event for riders from all over the world. The parade was stunning, it’s really moving to see so many riders joining together to celebrate our motorcycles, and to see the joy and support from the locals along the route was infectious. I know that Tyler, Jeremy, and our guests from the US were blown away by the event and the enthusiasm from everyone who attended,” said Grant Bester, Vice President International for Indian Motorcycle.

Adding to the excitement, the exclusive Challenger RR, number three of just 29 produced, plus a cutaway of the PowerPlus engine at the heart of the Challenger, were prominently displayed at the Indian Motorcycle booth, providing an up-close look at the cutting-edge engineering and craftsmanship that makes it an unrivalled force on the road and track.

In addition, as part of the festival, the American Motorcycle Dealer “Approved” Budweis Custom Indian Motorcycle Show featured a display of 32 exhilarating customised Indian Motorcycles across six classes, showcasing the exceptional craftsmanship of European custom bike builders and standing in a unique position as the only custom show to be 100 percent dedicated to Indian Motorcycles, past and present.

During the Saturday evening entertainment, Tyler O’Hara and Jeremy McWilliams, renowned motorcycle Indian Challenger and FTR racers, joined with Grant Bester and Gary Gray, Vice President of Racing, Technology and Service, on the main stage to present the grand prize Indian Challenger to one lucky prize draw winner.

Selected randomly from all the attendees who had entered the draw, Noah from Illertissen in Germany, was stunned to be presented with the unique race replica Indian Challenger that O’Hara had ridden in the parade earlier that day. Arriving at the festival on his Indian Scout after an eventful journey, Noah was nearly speechless at winning the one-off Indian Challenger signed by O’Hara, McWilliams and Gray.

“You know, we nearly didn’t make it here due to a tyre failure on my father’s trailer on the way down. It’s still there, we had to abandon it,” laughed Noah. “And now we get to leave with this amazing bike. It’s so crazy, I’m so happy.”

Alongside a variety of food and retail stalls, the audience were thrilled with heart-stopping performances from the Wall of Death, fearless stunt riders showcasing their exceptional skills and precision, exhilarating rodeo performances capturing the essence of the American West, live concerts, the genuine Indian Motorcycle apparel shop, and the Indian Motorcycle Roadshow truck offering test rides on the latest models.

The Indian Riders Fest has become an essential date for Indian Motorcycle riders, welcoming everyone regardless of motorcycle brand, anyone interested in planning on attending next year should mark their calendars for a great IRF24 summer weekend over June 14-16, 2024.

The 21st annual BMW Motorrad Days, Berlin 7th to 9th July 2023, celebrates the marques centennial of having produced motorcycles since 1923.
 
Held close to Berlins famous landmark radio tower at the Heritage Area of the showground at Berlin Messe, guests at this year’s free to attend special three day celebration of all that is BMW Motorrad include Mark Wilsmore together with Ace Cafe London which, this year, celebrates the 85th anniversary of having originally opened in 1938.

From “classics” to “carbon”, and recalling the BMW Motorrad 90th and Ace Cafe London 75th collaborative celebrations of 2013, show us your Beemer together with a few details.

Fire it up and “Make Life A Ride”, see you in Berlin

 See you at the Ace!

The third-generation D-SKWAL boasts an ever-more aggressive look and exceptional new features as standard. Just like the brand new SKWAL i3 and RIDILL 2, it’s made from a high-impact LEXAN™ polycarbonate injection shell – and is available in two shell sizes. 

The D-SKWAL 3 benefits from SHARK’s new patented rapid, no-tool visor removal system, meaning the Optical Class 1 anti-scratch with Pinlock® 70 can be removed easily by simply manoeuvering it upwards and pushing two buttons – to replace simply line up the visor with the markers and push down. There are new Pinlock® tension adjustment pins and a visor locking system with air inlet position.  

The integrated sunvisor is both anti-scratch and anti-fog and riders can fit an intercom easily due to pre-made slots in the multi-density EPS padding – the new patented ergonomic textile fitting system means that the padding can be removed and replaced easily, whether for intercom fitment or washing.

The fit of the D-SKWAL 3 has been developed using SHARK’s new ‘Best Fit’ standard – following a campaign of 3D head shape scans. It fastens using an adjustable micrometric buckle.  

Available in two shell sizes and in XS-XXL, the D-SKWAL 3 has an RRP from £169.99 and is available in 10 colour options. As additional options, as well as clear there are six visors, including iridium colours and a variety of tints. The D-Skwal 3 is now available in UK dealers. 

BERNER, a German multinational company specialised in the Chemical sector and B2B hardware, is living a period of deep transformation following a rebranding process. The company, which offers chemical products as well as premium solutions for maintenance in the Mobility, handicraft and industrial sectors, has renewed its partnership with Team Gresini also for the year 2023. The relationship between these two institutions is a long-lasting one, with this season marking year 18 of history together. 

BERNER has changed its appearance with a new layout and colours, but the collaboration with Team Gresini remains a solid and decisive one. BERNER’s new Smart Rebel philosophy aims at pushing past boundaries, while being open to new challenges. This though is in line with Team Gresini’s core, a group that never settles and catches any opportunity to be number one.

APRILIA RS 660 RIDERS EARN VICTORY, PAIR OF PODIUM FINISHES IN MOTOAMERICA TWINS CUP RACES AT THE RIDGE MOTORSPORTS PARK

RODIO RACING – POWERED BY ROBEM ENGINEERING RIDERS LANDERS, RODIO, NOW SECOND, THIRD, IN POINTS STANDINGS

SHELTON, WA- It turned out to be a near-perfect weekend for Aprilia rider Rocco Landers at The Ridge Motorsports Park. The Rodio Racing -- Powered by Robem Engineering rider and three-time MotoAmerica class champion was the fastest rider in practice, qualifying and both races at the northwest Washington State circuit. Though a post-race penalty reduced a victory to a podium finish on Saturday, Landers and his teammate -- and fellow podium finisher at The Ridge -- Gus Rodio are now just 11 and 13 points out of the lead in the MotoAmerica Twins Cup standings.
The Ridge’s undulating and technical 2.5-mile road course also proved to be a good match for the Aprilia RS 660. Aprilia riders claimed four of the top 10 grid spots in qualifying, half of the podium finishes and nearly half of the top 10 places in the weekend’s two Twins Cup races.

Landers and Rodio showed immediate pace in the first on-track session of the weekend. Landers led the field in Friday morning practice with a 1:48.063 lap time -- which was 0.525 seconds faster than the next-fastest rider. Rodio finished the session in fourth place, and Luke Luciano of Zone 9 Racing/EDR Performance and Tyler Duffy of Duffy Racing gave Aprilia four riders in the session’s top 10. Later Friday, Landers ended the first of two qualifying sessions on provisional pole and improved his best lap time to 1:45.546. Rodio finished the session fifth-fastest, and Jacob Crossman of 3D Motorsports was the third Aprilia rider to end the session in the top 10.
Landers didn’t improve his blistering lap time from Qualifying 1 in Saturday morning’s Qualifying 2, but still clinched pole position. Rodio found some additional pace in Qualifying 2 and joined his teammate on the front row by qualifying third. Also qualifying in the top 10 was Agustin Sierra of Top Pro Motorsports, who secured 10th on the starting grid for the round’s two Twins Cup races.
Saturday’s Race 1 saw Landers put in a dominant performance that was partially undone by a late-race infraction. Landers briefly lost and then re-took the lead during the short run to the first corner and didn’t relinquish the lead after that. He crossed the finish line in first place by a margin of 4.8 seconds. However, Landers passed a lapped rider in a yellow flag zone at the start of the final lap, and as a result was reclassified in third place. Rodio got a good start and finished the first lap running in fourth. After falling as low as fifth in the running order at the end of Lap 2 and nearly crashing on Lap 3, he gradually got closer to the battle for the last two steps on the podium but had to settle for a fourth-place finish. Landers and Rodio were joined in the top 10 by three other Aprilia riders – Top Pro Motorsports’ Alex Arango in eighth, Duffy in ninth and Righteous Racing’s Ray Hoffman in 10th.

The start of Race 2 was a near-mirror image of Race 1, with Landers getting an OK jump off the line but still leading the field through the holeshot. Rodio also dropped one position in the running order like he did on Saturday and was running in a lonely fifth place for the first couple laps. As Landers gradually built a big lead at the front of the field, Rodio gained pace as the race went on. By the end of Lap 4, Rodio had moved up to third place and finished Laps 9-11 of the 12-lap contest in second place. Landers took the victory in commanding fashion -- crossing the finish line more than 11 seconds ahead of the runner-up -- while Rodio lost one position in the closing stages of the last lap and finished third. Two other Aprilia riders – Crossman and Arango – finished in ninth and 10th place, respectively. More than half of the riders registered for the Ridge round – 16 of 29 – were set to compete aboard Aprilia RS 660s.

The MotoAmerica Twins Cup has a one-weekend break before it’s back in action July 7-9 at the Laguna Seca circuit in Monterey, California. More information on that round and the series can be found on motoamerica.com
 
Rocco Landers / Rodio Racing - Powered by Robem Engineering
“The end to Race 1 was disappointing, but my Aprilia RS 660 is working amazing. My favorite thing about the bike is how easy it has been to set up. We found a solid base setup at the Road Atlanta round, and we haven’t had to make any big changes since then. We actually didn’t change anything from Friday’s Qualifying 1 to today’s Race 2. I don’t see why we can’t get a couple 1-2 finishes at the next round at Laguna Seca and keep this momentum rolling.”
 
Gus Rodio / Rodio Racing - Powered by Robem Engineering
“It was a good weekend on my Rodio Racing -- Powered by Robem Engineering Aprilia RS 660. It was a little bit of a learning curve for me, as I hadn’t raced here on a Twins Cup bike before. I think we did a pretty good job at figuring the bike setup out, and I’m happy to leave here with a podium finish after not scoring any points at the last round. I’m looking forward to racing at Laguna Seca and making more improvements there.”