26 • May 2025 • Powersports Business

Yamaha Motor Co. signed an agreement with German automotive parts manufacturer Brose to acquire its bicycle drive unit subsidiary, Yamaha says in a statement released March 31.

This acquisition is scheduled to be completed by June, barring any infringements on competition laws and other regulations. Financial details were not included in the release.

The acquisition also sets up the launch of Yamaha’ s Motor E-Bike Systems, which will begin operating in June. Located in Berlin, Yamaha’ s new operation will house 120 employees and will develop, manufacture and sell drive-units and electrical components for e-bikes.

This is just the latest move by Yamaha, as it continues to reposition itself within the e-bike market. In April 2024, the company commenced production of e-bike drive units in France. Then, later in November, the company announced it would stop production of e-bikes for its U. S. market. Yamaha first started producing e-bikes in 1993.

Brose is a German automotive parts manufacturer specializing in door systems, electric motors, and other devices. It has been manufacturing and selling bicycle drive units since 2014 and has developed components for Harley- Davidson’ s custom e-bikes.

Yamaha says it will leverage Brose’ s e-kit development capabilities to further strengthen the planning and development of new products. Additionally, by utilizing Brose’ s service network of more than 600 locations, Yamaha will strengthen its after-sales service capabilities for customers.

Yamaha says this acquisition is part of the company’ s efforts to establish a unique position for competitiveness and achieve the business growth outlined in its new mediumterm management plan.

There’ s a heck of a garage sale happening in Italy, according to New Atlas and other moto news outlets. That’ s because the recently bankrupt Energica, the Italian electric motorcycle manufacturer, is having all its assets auctioned off in court.

And, according to our news sources, Energica’ s assets are going for quite a deal. The question is: Who is willing to gamble on the electric segment right now after many electric OEMs have gone belly up in the past two years? Companies like Alta, Cake, Fuell, UBCO, and more have recently filed for bankruptcy, and others look to be on the brink of going under. However, some, like Zero Motorcycles, have been picking up steam.

Is there a legacy brand interested in taking a flyer on Energica’ s assets? The price is undoubtedly affordable in terms of what it costs to be an OEM. But then again, if Ener-

Energica, the Italian electric motorcycle manufacturer, was set to have all its assets auctioned off in court on March 20.

gica, once the darling of the electric world and a partner with MotoGP for its attempt into an electric class, can’ t make it work, who can?

The company is currently set to be auctioned off as a single lot( although the deadline was in March). The company’ s property will be sold, including unfinished and prototype motorcycles, intellectual property, name, branding, and virtually everything inside the Energica facility. A list of eighty pages of items that accompany the sale is included in the auction price. But you must translate it from Italian. ADVRider. com reports that even small items, such as coffee machines and metal hangars, are included in the auction lot.

Energica was 75 % controlled by the American fund Ideanomics Inc., which announced to its board on Oct. 14, 2024, that it resolved to enter into a bankruptcy judicial liquidation.

Officially founded in 2014, with a design phase that began in 2009, Energica established itself over 15 years as a benchmark for high-performance electric mobility, demonstrating resilience and innovation.

According to court documents, the total assessed liquidation value is $ 716,393 for

Yamaha says it will leverage Brose’ s e-kit development capabilities to further strengthen the planning and development of new products. Additionally, by utilizing Brose’ s service network of more than 600 locations, Yamaha will strengthen its after-sales service capabilities.

tangible assets, which is only part of the company’ s actual value. The rest of the value is in the company’ s intellectual property, certification and homologation, dealer network and distribution, market presence, and the potential turnaround of the brand.

The Italian government is starting the bidding at $ 3.5 million, which seems relatively inexpensive for essentially an OEM in a box. You’ d still need a staff of engineers, marketing and sales, and so forth … So, it may be more in play for an already established brand. Any takers? Although we’ ve been fooled before, this is probably not an April Fools joke.

Energica’ s website stated the submission deadline was March 19, with the public auction held on March 20, but we haven’ t heard of a sale being recorded yet. We will continue to follow this story.

LiveWire has revealed details of a new patrol version of its S2 Del Mar and Alpinista models( built in York, Pennsylvania), leveraging Harley-Davidson’ s long-standing fleet of law enforcement expertise.

S2 PATROL CUSTOMER With the launch of the dedicated S2 Patrol models for 2025, LiveWire notes in an April 14 press release that it has secured its first fleet deal for these dedicated models, providing the police department of St. Cloud, Florida, with S2 Patrol Del Mar models.

Harley has a long history of commercial / fleet motorcycles and law enforcement bikes, and has helped Livewire with its latest efforts.( Photo: Harley-Davidson)

PATROL OPTIONS Further augmenting the capabilities of the S2 motorcycle, all S2 Patrol models receive added protection, lighting, storage, and controls, based on the use case and mission, increasing the price accordingly. The standard Patrol kit includes tip-over protection, top case and side cases, 120dB sirens, 12 SpeedTech LED lights, AUX power supply, hand guards, and the requisite controls for additional functionality.

The standard Patrol kit includes tip-over protection, top case and side cases, 120dB sirens, 12 SpeedTech LED lights, AUX power supply, hand guards, and the requisite controls for additional functionality.

Priced from $ 15,999 to $ 16,249 for the standard S2 models, which include safety features such as cornering enhanced ABS( C-ABS), drag-torque slip control, and cornering enhanced traction control. These models are also covered under LiveWire’ s five-year unlimited mileage warranty on the high-voltage battery and two-year unlimited mileage warranty on the motorcycle.

USE CASES S2 Patrol models can offer many uses and benefits for patrol officers, security forces, and motorcade duty, in scenarios that allow the motorcycles to demonstrate the

Further augmenting the capabilities of the standard Livewire S2, all S2 Patrol models receive added protection, lighting, storage, and controls, based on the use case and mission, increasing the price according to the company’ s press release.( Photo: LiveWire)

best characteristics of this EV technology. The S2 Patrol offers twist-and-go operation, minimal vibration, and low-speed maneuverability, reducing rider fatigue and enhancing focus and concentration. Additionally, Livewire says the quiet operation offers benefits both on the street and indoors, where the S2 Patrol models have been identified as ideal for conventions, summits, and stadium use.

AVAILABILITY LiveWire says that the S2 Patrol models are available immediately at authorized dealers. Any departments, municipalities, or agencies interested in S2 Patrol models can learn more online at the company’ s website. The

company can coordinate law enforcement, security, or patrol-specific demos by contacting them directly.

Finally, the motor company used its police fleet cruisers to keep the company going in hard times. Perhaps that is what the LiveWire brand needs to pivot to as it struggles to find a broader customer base. Even during the Great Depression, Harley- Davidson weathered the tough times by aggressively marketing the Servi-Car as“ The Police Motorcycle” and supporting national campaigns for traffic safety. The three-wheel Servi-Car was introduced in 1931 and became popular with many police departments nationwide for traffic and parking enforcement.