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EICMA 2022 - Review

At this year's EICMA trade fair in Milan, we were once again able to discover exciting news on the subject of motorcycles/scooters and rider equipment. There is no question about it - the motorized two-wheeler industry is undergoing change. The strong trend is the electric mobility and many new, still unknown market participants, which come predominantly from the Asian area, present for this already the appropriate vehicles. As a visitor, one could get the impression that from now on only electric vehicles are (allowed to be) sold. This is not the case, of course. Emotionally, the topic of electro mobility is still being strongly discussed, and some areas of application seem to make more sense than others (e.g. urban mobility, cargo bikes).

Established manufacturers are strengthening their brand identity at the show and showing new variants of popular models, especially in the enduro and adventure segments. But why Harley-Davidson as well as BMW Motorrad were not represented with a booth at the show remains a mystery to us. As one of the Italian icons, Vespa showed new coloured models of their popular models. Also, a design. Collaboration with Justin Bieber, with whom we have rather little overlap in the industry, creates its own Vespa design.

Impressions from SHOEI, BELL, DMD & Co.

Our special focus at EICMA was of course on the subject of helmets and clothing, because after all, this is where we know our stuff. Our favourite brands like SHOEI, BELL, DMD, HEDON and NACA showed the new great helmet designs 2023. BELL showed the whole history of its helmets, with original models since the 50s/60s. After all, the company BELL HELMETS from the USA is considered the inventor of the first open jet helmet as well as the integral helmet. There is a lot of history to be discovered here, which is rightly remembered there. NACA from France exhibited its exclusive carbon helmets, which have a unique stiffness due to the carbon honeycomb structure. Very light, visually very small and extremely resistant to unwanted deformation in the event of an impact distinguishes NACA. As a carbon specialist, NACA works with many exclusive cooperation partners and builds, among other things, body parts for Aston Martin (car & motorcycle), as well as the tanks for the new Brough Superior motorcycles.

Motorcycle helmets - What does the new ECE 06 helmet standard bring us?

In the field of motorcycle helmets, the planned changeover to the new ECE 06 helmet standard is already showing its first effects. Until now, ECE 05 helmets had to withstand stress tests at uniformly defined points on the helmet shell. With the new ECE 06 standard, the helmet shell must withstand the loads at arbitrarily positioned points. The ECE 06 standard thus approximates the American DOT standard, which has stipulated this requirement for years. The shell of jet helmets with ECE 06 will tend to be larger in the future - sometimes even significantly. If up to now several shell sizes per helmet were used in order to obtain an optically appropriate shell size for each head size, the changeover to the 06 standard will lead to the elimination of small shell sizes in order to be able to install a larger proportion of the EPS inner shell in the larger shell. Jet helmets will therefore tend to be larger and somewhat thicker in their design. For full-face helmets, the new standard fortunately brings only minor changes. Note on our own behalf: At this point, we will spare ourselves an assessment of the need for a changeover to a new helmet standard, because the current 05 standard seems to us to be absolutely adequate.

Motorcycle clothing - change in personal protective equipment

At the fair we were also able to admire the new collection for next year in the clothing segment of our friends from JOHN DOE, KNOX and PANDO MOTO. The theme of "personal protective equipment" has already seen a positive change in recent years, which will now continue. Clothing is becoming more casual, comfortable and functional, while products are passing even higher safety tests. That's good - keep it up! The relevant test standards for us are A, AA and AAA (AAA corresponds to the highest safety standard in the motorcycle clothing sector). Our suppliers already meet these standards.

The EICMA takes place every year in November in Milan and is considered the world's leading motorcycle show. The first two days of the fair are reserved for trade visitors. On the following days, the fair opens to the public. Then a large supporting program is also offered.

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