“Four US senators urged the Bush administration to raise pressure on China to open its market to US motorcycle maker Harley-Davidson, Inc., which has struggled with sluggish sales this year,” stated the Washington Post. The paper explained, Democratic senators Charles Schumer (NY), Robert Casey (PA), Herb Kohl (WI) and Claire McCaskill (MO) have all spoken out against the country’s unfair trade practices that have hurt Harley sales in China. “Fair trade must be a two-way street,” said Casey, who added, “China’s roadblock to Harley-Davidson is unacceptable. There will always be a demand for a classic like Harley-Davidson motorcycles, but artificial barriers are threatening US jobs.” The four senators have joined together in urging US Trade Representative Susan Schwab and Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez to press China on municipal regulations that would limit or ban heavy duty motorcycle use in urban areas, the Post said. Harley-Davidson has reportedly been in China for two years, but has made almost no sales in that time and the company is said to contribute to employment in each of the four senators’ states. “Opening the Chinese market to Harley-Davidson motorcycles would create growth opportunities and help secure American jobs,” the Post concluded.

The Fulton Montgomery Schoharie (NY) newspaper reported Schoharie residents Paul Di Novo and Renee Levan were awarded over $1.4 million in damages after a Schenectady County jury found manufacturer defects caused their motorcycle to crash, leaving both injured. The two reportedly sued American Made Suspension, the maker of part of Di Novo’s Titan Phoenix motorcycle, arguing that the front fork was defective and the company knew but did not do enough to tell customers about it. “Di Novo and Levan were riding the motorcycle on Aug. 19, 2000, in Gilboa when Di Novo lost control and crashed,” the paper explained, adding, he learned of the front fork defect a month after the accident and his attorney, George Sarachan said the company issued a recall in May 2000, but didn’t get the word out properly. “The trial jury in state Supreme Court in Schenectady County found the assembly defective and that it was a substantial factor in causing the accident,” the paper stated.

Wiley X Eyewear spokesperson JoLee Sturgell announced the company has won a decisive court victory in a patent infringement suit brought against it by Panoptx, Inc. Stugell explained, “In its initial lawsuit, filed Dec. 12, 2006, Panoptx alleged that certain Wiley X Eyewear products infringe Panoptx’s US Patent No. 7,083,276 (the ‘276 Patent’). Wiley X denied the allegations and filed counterclaims against Panoptx, seeking a declaration that the ‘276 Patent’ is not infringed and is invalid.” The Court reportedly ruled in favor of Wiley X on Nov. 9, 2007, finding that Panoptx’s patent is invalid and never should have been issued. Stugell added, “The court decision is a major vindication for Wiley X, whose cutting-edge technology provides critical eye protection for the FBI, DEA, Army Rangers, Navy SEALS and other elite Special Forces Units around the globe, as well as consumers in the outdoor, marine, NASCAR, motorcycle and ophthalmic industries.”

The 8th annual V-Twin Expo will be at the Duke Energy Center in Cincinnati, OH, Feb. 2-4, 2008 and attending dealers will enjoy displays from over 500 exhibitors, as well as special seminars catered specifically to the V-Twin market, informed spokesperson Darcy Betlach. She told us the first seminar, Survival of the Fittest, will feature a panel of dealers who will be responding to dealers’ concerns and questions about how to be growth oriented in 2008. The second seminar, Exhaust Systems: What You Need To Know, will feature a panel of industry experts who will discuss exhaust related issues, Betlach explained, adding, a third panel, Motors-Motors-Motors, is “a fast paced, total audience, question and answer format presented by the world’s top motor experts to help you increase not only your knowledge of motors but help raise the profit margin in both your parts and service departments.” Finally, Combating Counterfeits and Knock-Offs in the Motorcycle World, “will explore some of the means of protecting novel designs and inventions and some of the remedies that are available when someone else imitates a product without proper permission,” she concluded.

Muth Company CEO Michael Muth passed away unexpectedly from a series of heart attacks on November 14, stated spokesperson Kristi Lawrence. Muth, 64, was a lifelong automotive enthusiast and, since 1965, he served as the head of the company his father founded in 1947, Lawrence told us. She added, “Under Mike’s leadership, the company focused on automotive safety products. Mike was instrumental in bringing the Signal® Mirror safety system to market and oversaw the engineering, patenting process and current production for both the original equipment and aftermarket industries.” Company President Dan Todd stated, “His commitment to the automotive industry is what will motivate us to continue daily operations which is exactly as he would have wanted us to do.”

“Evel Knievel, the daredevil motorcycle stuntman who made sensational jumps over cars and double-decker buses in the 1970s and broke dozens of bones in even more sensational crashes, has died,” stated the Bloomberg Web site. Knievel, 69, had been in poor health for several years, suffering from diabetes and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, an incurable lung condition, the site explained, adding, he also underwent a liver transplant in 1999 after he almost died from hepatitis C, which he likely got through a blood transfusion. “Knievel’s most famous stunts included an attempted jump on a jet powered ‘Skycycle’ over the Snake River Canyon in Idaho on Sept. 8, 1974; the New Year’s Day 1968 jump across fountains in front of Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, which left him in a coma for a month; and a jump over 13 double-decker buses at London’s Wembley Stadium in 1975, when he broke his pelvis,” Bloomberg described. Knievel is reportedly survived by his four children and 11 grandchildren.