27/08/2010 by info.

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12/08/2010 by info.

Freddie ‘Krugger’ Bertrand is now wearing the World Champions’ ring after being named the 2010 AMD World Championship of Custom Bike Building.

The bike with which he claimed the title was built for Veon Motorcycle’s owner Peer Toftner and features a unique electronically adjustable frame system developed by Peer (pictured, left, with World Champion ‘Freddie’ Krugger). At the flick of a switch the V-Rod engined bike can be transformed from a low-riding cruiser with long rake to sport bike mode with a shorter wheelbase and steeper rake. The radical machine even has two sets of foot controls to match each style of riding.

Krugger’s win in the Championship follows on from third places in both 2004 and 2005, a 13th place in 2008 and another third last year.

The highest placed domestic builder for 2010 is second placed Mark Daley of Thunder Struck Cycles. His placing reflects the level of engineering involved in the building of the engine in his entry - Sniper. The Indian Powerplus motor used in the bike has had the inlet and outlet ports reversed with the heads welded and machined to allow the correct sized valves to be operated by the reverse grind cam.

For the first time in the Championship’s history a builder from Belarus brought a bike to Sturgis and was duly rewarded with third place for his efforts. Yuri Shif, the proprietor of Yuri Shif Customs took inspiration from German ’30s race cars for the styling of his long, low bike and then took the German influence even further by joining two early BMW Boxer engines at the cranks. Not satisfied with the engineering needed to achieve that feat he then reversed the rear pair of heads to allow him to feed all four inlet ports via a supercharger.

Having already placed in the top three in the Freestyle Class at the 2010 World Championship of Custom Bike Building it became a double celebration for Yuri Shif when he was called to the stage to receive the Metric World Champion’s trophy too, having won the class by a clear margin.

The European domination of the results sheet continued with Sergio Bayarri, of Sbay Motor Company claiming the win in the Production Manufacturer class with his race inspired Flying, The bike, which replicates Ducati geometry has been developed and tested on European race track and the tires show the strain of hard riding on the track.

With support from Harley-Davidson and a Screamin’ Eagle motor being awarded to the winner, the competition in the Modified Harley class was the stiffest ever seen in the events history, and once again it was a European builder that triumphed. Shaw Harley-Davidson’s Strike True II polled the votes in the judging and saw the trophy heading to the UK, another first in the show’s seven-year history.

More pictures of some of the winning bikes will follow later…..

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10/08/2010 by info.

TAXPOINT

Machined from billet aluminium then polished to a mirror finish. Polished stainless steel fitments.  Replaces all Big Twin, Twin Cam or Sportster points covers.  Choice of either Allen Bolts or Button Head Bolts for Bezel fitment.  For non UK Harley owners,  this cover is ideal for featuring your very own image design or photograph.

FITMENT: 1999 - 2010 Twin Cam (5 hole cover).

FITMENT:  1970-1998 Harley Big Twin & ALL Harley XL Sportster models (2 hole cover).

For more information, contact Pro-Street Cycles.

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21/07/2010 by info.

Harley-Davidson second quarter motorcycle sales revenue is reported up 2.8 percent compared to the second quarter last year at $831.6 million, with dealer retail sales of motorcycles reported down 8.4 percent (on second quarter shipments of 59,046 motorcycles) in a domestic US 651+ cc market that was down 10.1 percent.

At 59,046 second quarter motorcycle shipments to dealers were up compared to the second quarter of 2009 (58,179), and Harley is sticking by its total 2010 expectation to ship between 201,000 and 210,000 motorcycles.

International markets continue to perform well for the Motor Company compared to the pressure that the industry is under domestically, with retail sales in international markets down just 0.2 percent for the second quarter, and 1.1 percent (against 15.3 percent down domestically) for the first six months of the year.

In Harley’s quarterly fiscals press release CEO Keith Wandell is quoted as saying that the company is “making steady progress at executing its strategy to deliver results through focus. We are seeing the benefits of our restructuring and continuous improvement activities reflected in… the continued moderation in the rate of decline of retail new Harley-Davidson motorcycle sales again in the second quarter”.

However, although the firm’s second quarter results are definitely indicative that the business may now be stabilizing at the bottom of its decline cycle, the headline-grabbing statements coming out of Milwaukee continue to concern the future of the business as a Wisconsin icon.

As Wandell continues to “fix on the fix” (as one analyst put it) no options to further improve Harley’s business performance are being left off of his agenda.

With the company and its Wisconsin production employee unions embarking on negotiations for new labor agreements that would take effect in April 2012, Harley has issued the starkest warning yet that it could ‘think the unthinkable’ by setting a mid September 2010 deadline for new agreements that allow it to “close large cost gaps in its Milwaukee and Tomahawk production operations and improve flexibility to meet seasonal and other customer-driven production needs”.

The company says that if it “is unable to achieve those objectives through agreement with the unions… it will move Wisconsin production operations to another U.S. location”.

The cultural implications for the Harley brand are such that most analysts are assuming that it is unlikely to come to that, and that Wandell is tone-setting for the best possible deal.

However, given the strident moves that Wandell has led the company through already, nobody is betting on his negotiators being prepared to blink until they have math that meets their baseline.

www.harley-davidson.com

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27/05/2010 by info.

DESIGNS By Novello has introduced a new line of parts decorated with designs inspired by Masonic emblems.

The range includes derby, points and inspection covers, ratcheting gas caps that center to the tank and OEM grip end caps. The parts, machined from billet aluminum and CNC engraved before being chrome plated, fit Big Twins from ‘84-’08 and ‘99-’10 Twin Cams, and the points and derby covers also fit ‘04-’10 XL models.

DESIGNS BY NOVELLO
Port Chester, New York, USA
Tel: 914 934 7711
Fax: 914 934 7827
E-mail: novello@att.net

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26/05/2010 by info.

KURYAKYN has developed ‘The Perfect Storm’ range of parts as a complete bolt-on tuning package for Harley-Davidsons.

Each kit is made up of a Kuryakyn high flow air cleaner, Kuryakyn true dual head pipes, Kuryakyn Crusher mufflers and a TTS Master Tune engine management system.

Talking to AMD about the idea of creating a package of performance products that makes up The Perfect Storm, Mike Roland of Kuryakyn said: “It started out when we had the idea to enable any shop to fit our air cleaner and exhaust to a bike and send it out the door running. The missing link was having something to tune the bike with once the upgraded parts had been fitted.
“However, that issue was resolved when we started distributing TTS products and we got access to the Master Tune, which is part of the TTS product range. All I then had to do was build the calibrations for our combinations of air cleaners and exhausts and put them up on the website for people to be able to download into the Master Tune, so now people can have the whole package – The Perfect Storm.”

The high flow air cleaner and Crusher exhaust system included in The Perfect Storm are the components that help to free up the motor and allow it to breathe, with the fuel injection being revised and controlled by the TTS Master Tune. The TTS Master Tune recalibrates the bike’s ECU rather than trick it to simply add fuel. This reprogramming of the ECU can be done with or without a dyno, and due to the data logger and tune generator functions included with the Master Tune any user can tune a bike using a laptop computer.

KURYAKYN USA
www.kuryakyn.com

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26/05/2010 by info.

Staged at the port city of Norrtelje, an hour North East of the Swedish capital Stockholm, Custom Bike Show is set to again be the Scandinavian Affiliate event for the World Championship of Custom Bike Building; the sixth time that the event has been a part of the program.

Organized by Twin Club MC, and believed to be one of the oldest established custom bike shows in the world, the one-day ride-in event will be staged in its usual Societets Park in Norrtelje on Saturday June 5th.

The event draws large crowds, on what is Sweden’s National Holiday weekend, with competitors from all over Scandinavia, Finland and elsewhere in Europe.

Prior winners have included Stellan Egeland, whose June 2007 win with ‘Hulster 8 Valve’ came just two months before Stellan went on the become Europe’s still one and only Official World Champion.

Traditionally Custom Bike Show sees one of the highest standards of custom bikes at Europe’s shows, and other prior winners such as Hogtech, Mr. Moore Custom Craft, Chemical Chopper, Anders Göth and Flying Choppers have all gone on to do well at the European or World Championship.

Custom Bike Show is operated by the members of Twin Club MC on a volunteer basis, and gets generous support from aftermarket vendors such as Motorcycle Storehouse, Custom Chrome Europe, MotoSpeed and others who put up several thousands of Euro of parts and accessory prizes.

Twin Club MC provides the winner with a 5.000 Euro ‘bike freight prize’ to compete at the World Championship, and prize money for second and third to compete at the European Championship.

This year, Harley-Davidson Sweden is to sponsor the Modified Harley class in the latest international extension to Harley-Davidson’s partnership with the World Championship program.

www.custombikeshow.se

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21/05/2010 by info.

Press release below:

MINNEAPOLIS (May 20, 2010) – In an effort to improve its long-term competitive positioning, increase operational efficiencies and position the company for future growth, Polaris Industries Inc. (NYSE: PII) today announced plans to realign its operations and refocus on its core strategic manufacturing processes. The Company will create manufacturing centers of excellence for Polaris Products by enhancing the existing Roseau, Minn. and Spirit Lake, Iowa, production facilities and establishing a new facility in Mexico.

The Company is currently evaluating several possible locations in the Monterrey/Saltillo area of Mexico for the new facility. The realignment will lead to the eventual sale or closure of Polaris’ Osceola, Wisconsin manufacturing operations over time. The realignment allows the Company to dedicate capital for strategic investments in painting, welding and assembly operations by outsourcing certain non-strategic component manufacturing processes. The Mexico facility is expected to maintain Polaris’ industry leading quality while improving the Company’s on-time delivery to customers and provide significant savings in logistical and production costs.

“While this was a difficult decision for us, given the impact on our employees at the Osceola facility, we believe the creation of these manufacturing centers of excellence will strengthen our company over the long-term and enable us to maintain our lead in a competitive market,” said Scott Wine, CEO, Polaris Industries Inc. “Pursuing opportunities in new markets outside the United States, while concurrently evaluating our cost structure to improve our long-term competitive positioning are key components to our growth strategy. This decision was based on a thorough review of our worldwide operations and will allow us to improve our ability to meet the quality, delivery and cost standards desired by our dealers and customers.”

The realignment of Polaris’ manufacturing footprint will strengthen the Company’s position in the powersports industry, as it will enable Polaris to have production facilities closer to customers in the southern United States and global markets the Company currently serves or expects to serve in the future. When the manufacturing realignment is completed the Company will have capabilities to manufacture ORVs (both ATVs and side-by-side vehicles), which represents more than two-thirds of the Company’s sales, in multiple locations depending on customer demand.

Snowmobile assembly will remain in the Roseau facility and Victory motorcycle assembly will remain in the Company’s Spirit Lake facility. As part of the manufacturing realignment, certain Osceola manufacturing processes will be moved into the Roseau, Spirit Lake and Mexico facilities to more effectively utilize Company resources. In addition, certain manufacturing processes and equipment are intended to be sold to suppliers whom will continue to supply components to Polaris. Other non-strategic component manufacturing operations currently performed in the Osceola facility will be outsourced. The realignment will begin immediately and is scheduled to be complete in 2012. The Company will look to have the new production facility in Mexico operational beginning in the first half of 2011.

Polaris is currently in negotiations with several suppliers to sell certain non-strategic component manufacturing processes and equipment in the Osceola facility. If successful, Polaris’ intent is that the suppliers will continue to manufacture these components in the current Osceola location. Polaris will operate the Osceola manufacturing facilities during the transition period. Upon completion of the transition, Polaris will provide the affected employees severance benefits and work closely with the Wisconsin Department of Labor and other state and local agencies to offer employment assistance and other services.

The Company expects to record pretax transition charges to its income statement in the range of $20 million to $25 million and incur capital expenditures up to $35 million over the next few years related to the implementation of the manufacturing realignment. The Company expects the Osceola facility exit costs, comprising largely of one-time employee termination benefits, to amount to approximately a third of the total transition charges, while the start-up costs related to the new Mexico facility and other centers of excellence will comprise the balance. Transition charges to be incurred in calendar year 2010 are expected to be in the range of $8 to $10 million. The Company’s current earnings guidance of earnings per share of $3.48 to $3.60 for the full year 2010 will not change as a result of this announcement. The realignment is expected to generate pre-tax costs and expense savings in excess of $30 million on an annual basis when the transition has been completed. The Company expects to begin realizing some of the cost savings as early as 2011.

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20/05/2010 by info.

BAGGER Werx used the V-Twin Expo to launch its new ‘Bay Area’ drop seat conversion kits for use on FL Touring equipped models.

The kits, which are available with a solo or two-up seat, lower the seat height on ‘09-’10 FL bikes with ABS brakes (excluding FL Softails) by 3in.

Each kit includes a custom designed Corbin seat, formed side cover sub frame rails and all necessary mounting hardware.

BAGGER WERX
Gilroy, California, USA
Tel: 408 848 8444
Fax: 408 848 8443
E-mail: npanzica@revengecycle.com

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19/05/2010 by info.

RIVERA Primo is re-establishing ART as a brand synonymous with performance motorcycle parts with the introduction of its new hydraulic transmission end cover.

The new ART polished billet aluminum cover has been designed for use on four-speed transmissions with a hydraulic clutch and a kick start. The 6061 aluminum piece requires the use of a 5/8in master cylinder.

RIVERA PRIMO
Whittier, California, USA
Tel: 562 907 2600
Fax: 562 907 2606

E-mail: info1@riveraprimoinc.com

www.riveraprimoinc.com

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