02/02/2011 by info.

Last weekend saw Cleveland host the latest of the World Championship program Ultimate Builder affiliate events at the Progressive Insurance sponsored IMS series.

The Freestyle class win was taken by Jesse Bassett of The Gasbox (who collaborated with Huey Schwebs of Cleveland Motorcycle Manufacturing Co on their 2007 World Championship entry) with his 1965 BSA Lightning, with Bill Steele of Steele Kustoms second and fourth.

Bill took his second place with ‘Fascinator’, a stunning automatic transmissioned billet springer high-tech meets old-style lowrider with which he scooped fifth place in the World Championship in 2006.

Cleveland Motorcycle Manufacturing Co took third with ‘Sicpup’ their World Championship Modified Harley class fourth place bike from 2009, and were also awarded fifth place for Huey Schwebs’ board tracker.

The Harley-Davidson sponsored Modified Harley class win was taken by Bob McAreavey with his daily rider, a customized 2001 FatBoy; he denied Jason Bochniak a third successive Ultimate Builder class win for his Freedom Cycle customized 2006 H-D Deluxe ‘Phoenix’, which finished runner-up.

In the Performance Custom Class, the win went to Jamie Luczak, Luczak Enterprises and Motioncraft, with a 2006 Hayabusa; second and third were taken by Perry Paugh with a pair of Dougherty Motorcycles customised Kawasakis - a Z1 in second place, a ZX11 in third.

The ‘Ultimate Builder’ series now moves on to Minneapolis this coming weekend (February 4-6), followed by Chicago (February 11-13) and then Greenville Sc. (February 25-27) before the finals at Daytona Bike Week, March 9-12.

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01/02/2011 by info.

Motor Bike Expo
Verona, Italy,
January 21-23, 2011

Enthusiasm for motorcycling in general, the custom market in particular, is in robust shape going into the new year in Europe, if attendance at this year’s Motor Bike Expo is anything to go by.

Attendance this year is said to have been some 20 percent up on 2010, at over 120,000 visitors, reflecting the upward trend at motorcycle shows seen in Italy a couple of months earlier when the ‘Milan’ Show in November also saw its best crowds in a decade.

In particular, the custom market in Italy has grown very quickly through the past five or seven years. It is growth that has continued throughout the downturn, and that has found expression in a number of ways, not least the increasing international custom bike show success that Italian custom bike builders such as Luciano Andreoli, Marco Cinquini, Gigi Esposito, Aldo Querio Gianetto, Gerardo Chillico, Sam Reali, Marco Scaccabarozzi and others have had in recent years.

The Italian market is also proving to be home to a number of exciting volume production projects, such as Headbanger Motorcycles and Roberto Crepaldi’s CR&S programs in Milan, and the parts, accessory and performance engineering sector is also booming.

Whereas once the stylish output of OMP was the single best known such manufacturer in Italy, the market now also boasts businesses such as Kustom Tech, Rebuffini, Gray Indian’s, MCJ, Free Spirits, Double Fire and Asso Special Bike.

There were many great bikes at ‘Verona’ this year, not least the remarkable new aluminium framed ASB 199R by Carlo Colombo of Asso Special Bike, which was second in the LowRide Magazine awards, and ‘Apocalypsis’ by Emiliano Damia’s E-D Special in Rome, which won the Freeway Bike Magazine custom show.

In the AMD Official World Championship affiliate event awards, which were centered on the LowRide Magazine custom show this year, the ‘Sturgis’ prize for the best International Custom went to Kenji Nagai of Ken’s Factory/Cycle Craft for his Harley-engined 1978 Shovelhead rigid called ‘Unchangeable’.

The ‘Sturgis’ prize for the best Italian built custom bike went to Marco Cinquini’s Garage65 for the second year running with their ‘Kcosmodrive’ follow-up, the remarkable ‘Stargate’ - a high-tech, hand-crafted lowrider that everyone will be seeing much more of in the months ahead.

Both winners receive a 5.000,00 euro expenses contribution towards going forward to compete at this year’s 8th annual Official World Championship courtesy of Motor Bike Expo organizers Francesco Agnoletto and Paola Somma.

This was the sixth year that their show (formerly staged at Padua in northern Italy) has been a World Championship affiliate event, and on behalf of the program we’d like to express our thanks for their support and for the investment they continue to make into the development of the custom motorcycle industry in Italy.

www.motorbikeexpo.it

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01/02/2011 by info.

Dockgate 20 Motorcycles Ltd, the parent company of the Dockgate 20 Harley-Davidson and Thames Valley Harley-Davidson dealerships located respectively in Southampton and Slough, has definitely gone belly-up.

Richard Hawes and Julia Branson, of leading acountancy group and insolvency specialist Deloitte, were appointed as joint administrators of the company on 23 December 2010.

In addition to the above, following the recent closure of its London Harley outlet in Walthamstow, the Pendragon automotive group’s bike division is consolidating in the West Midlands.

The company is adding a Stoke-on-Trent Harley store to its pair of Stratstone Harley operations in Birmingham and Wolverhampton and Stratstone Triumph dealerships in Leicester and Wolverhampton.

Pendragon’s Walthamstow branch was folded after the opening of a Harley-Davidson franchise adjacent to the Lakeside shopping mall at Thurrock in Essex, which pinched much of its business. The Lakeside Harley dealership is owned by another competing automotive chain, the Jardine group.

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01/02/2011 by info.

US-based Victory motorcycle and Polaris ATV manufacturer Polaris Industries has plenty to boast about in its 2010 fourth-quarter and full-year financial results. Dollar-sterling forex translations were made at the rates applicable on 31 January.

In the final quarter, Polaris achieved record sales, up by 31 per cent year-on-year to £386.1m. Operating profit rose by 13 per cent to £48.8m and net profit for the quarter increased by 24 per cent to £34m - also both records.

For the full 12 months of 2010, yet another record revenue figure was up by 27 per cent on 2009, at £1.24bn. Allied to rigorous cost-cutting, this yielded a 34 per cent boost to operating profit at £137.8m and a 46 per cent increase in net profit to £91.8m.

Although by far the biggest slice of the Polaris business is side-by-side and quad-style ATVs, its Victory motorcycle arm also did well. Victory sales were up by eight per cent in the fourth quarter to £12.9m and put on 55 per cent to £50.9m over the full year - despite the US heavyweight cruiser market still being in retreat.

For 2011, Polaris is forecasting a year-on-year sales increase of up to 11 per cent, with net profit potentially up by as much as 20 per cent.

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27/01/2011 by info.

This past weekend saw the latest in the World Championship of Custom Bike Building program ‘Ultimate Builder’ affiliate events staged at the Progressive International Motorcycle Show at the Jacob J Javits Exhibition Center in New York.

The Freestyle win was taken by George Stinsman of Chaos Cycle with ‘Lot Lizard’, a rigid with a re-engineered former drag raced panhead style engine that was bored out to 103 inches.

The Harley heads have been ported and polished; the STD cases given S&S flywheels and pushrods; the S&S cylinders given Wiseco big bore pistons - and the whole package given a dual carb set-up to breathe through.

George also took third place in the FreeStyle class with ‘Coco’, with second place going to 2010 World Championship Modified Harley-Davidson class runner-up Joe Cooper, of Cooper Smithing Co, with “The Jefferson”, based on a 1999 Harley.

Next was Roman Levin, who formerly owned Redline Cycles in New Jersey. These days operating FOH Cycle Fabrication (”Full of Hate”), Roman is passionate about streetfighter styling, and about hand-crafting all his own work, as he did on the SV650 engined Cagiva Raptor that he took fourth place with. Fifth was Eric Schroeder of Tribal Iron Choppers in New Jersey.

In the Harley-Davidson sponsored Modified Harley Class Jason Bochniak backed-up his win of the weekend before at Washington DC. by winning again with his ProCharger supercharged T-Max fuel-injection managed, Ride Wright ‘Fat Daddy’ spoked wheel 2006 Softail Deluxe called ‘Phoenix’. Second in the Modified Harley class was taken by Tribal Iron Choppers with a 2007 Harley-Davidson Fat Boy.

The Performance Custom Class was won by a streetfighter styled bike for the first time, a 2001 955i Triumph Speed Triple entered by John Laughlin. The project is another Roman Levin, FOH Cycle Fabrication masterpiece of bespoke custom work, with a single sided swingarm conversion and sculpted carbon fiber bodywork.

Second in the Performance Custom Class was Shwan Page, of Coleman Powersports, with a 2007 Hayabusa; Edgar Rumph took third with a 2006 Hayabusa; Mark Klein, a former winner of the Production Manufacturer class at the Official World Championship (2008), took fourth with a 2007 DAM/Delaware American Motorcycle ‘Tech Twin’; fifth was George Fanelli of MPS Racing with a 2007 Honda CRF450.

The ‘Ultimate Builder’ series now moves on to Cleveland this coming weekend (Jan 28-30), followed by Minneapolis (February 4-6), Chicago (February 11-13) and then Greenville Sc. (February 25-27) before the finals at Daytona Bike Week, March 9-12

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25/01/2011 by info.

Harley say they “feel good” about 2010 results that confirm shipment target met as retail sales and losses continue to stabilize
In their financial reporting for the final quarter and full year of 2010 Harley-Davidson say that retail sales of new Harley-Davidson motorcycles in the fourth quarter were nearly level with the year-ago period, decreasing 1.0 percent worldwide and 0.2 percent in the U.S.

For the full year, worldwide retail sales of Harley-Davidson motorcycles decreased 8.5 percent overall compared to 2009, with domestic U.S. retail sales of Harley-Davidson motorcycles down 11.7 percent against a heavyweight motorcycle market that was off 14.6 percent. In international markets, retail sales of new Harley-Davidson motorcycles decreased 1.9 percent for the full year compared to 2009, with dealers selling 222,110 new Harleys in total, 143,391 of which were sold in the U.S.

“We feel good about our 2010 results,” said Keith Wandell, President and Chief Executive Officer of Harley-Davidson, Inc. “Through the hard work of a lot of very dedicated and talented employees and dealers, we have made strong progress at transforming our business to be leaner, more agile and even more effective at delivering great products and customer experiences.

“In 2010, we expanded our international footprint, saw improvement in our motorcycle segment results driven by the restructuring of our operations and returned Harley-Davidson Financial Services to solid profitability. A strong, financially sound Harley-Davidson is key to our ability to invest in the business and grow. While there is still hard work ahead and we remain cautious in our outlook, I am confident that we are positioning Harley-Davidson to succeed and deliver value,” Wandell said.
Commenting on the firm’s brand performance in relation to its ability to develop future-facing customer demographics, Wandell went on to say that “in the U.S., we are the market share leader in new on-road motorcycle sales, not only to Boomers but to young adults, women, African-American and Hispanic riders. In Europe, we moved into the number two market share spot for heavyweight motorcycles in 2010 [behind only BMW]. For 2011, we plan to build on our position as one of the strongest brands in the world”.

The underlying trends in Harley’s performance show that the company strengthened its position continuously throughout 2010, suggesting that, with losses diminishing and sales declines stabilizing, the company should emerge into a modest return to profitable growth in the first half of this year (subject to amortizations).

The fourth quarter 0.2 percent domestic US decline in retail sales occurred against a 14.8 percent drop in industry-wide U.S. heavyweight motorcycle (651cc-plus) retail unit sales.

Revenue from Harley-Davidson motorcycles in the fourth quarter of 2010 was $697.8 million, up 26.4 percent compared to the year-ago period, the Company shipping 44,481 Harley-Davidson motorcycles to dealers and distributors worldwide, compared to 35,938 motorcycles in the fourth quarter of 2009. Revenue from Parts and Accessories totaled $149.4 million during the quarter, up 3.3 percent.

The Company’s financial services unit (HDFS) was a key contributor to 2010 earnings, with operating income from financial services of $181.9 million for the full year, including $43.5 million in the fourth quarter. Operating income from motorcycles and related products was $378.8 million for the full year. The operating loss of $6.8 million for the fourth quarter was a substantial improvement from the $221.8 million quarterly loss reported a year earlier.

For 2010 as a whole the Company shipped 210,494 Harley-Davidson motorcycles, in line with its target range of 207,000 to 212,000 motorcycles. Full-year 2010 shipments were 5.6 percent lower than 2009, when the Company shipped 223,023 units. Revenue from Harley-Davidson motorcycles for the full year was $3.14 billion, a 1.2 percent decrease compared to 2009. Full-year P&A revenue was $749.2 million, a 2.4 percent decrease from the year-ago period.

www.harley-davidson.com

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25/01/2011 by info.

MILWAUKEE (January 21, 2011) - Lean as wire, hard as iron and dark as a tar road at midnight, the new Blackline motorcycle is a Harley-Davidson Softail model pared to the bone. A rebellious creation of the Dark Custom movement, the Blackline celebrates three fundamental elements of motorcycling: mechanical beauty, internal combustion, and the long black line of the road ahead.

The Blackline balances allegiance with rebellion, discarding previous conventions of color and chrome for a Dark Custom look that’s honest, functional and attainable. Visual elements of the original bobber movement are combined with the raw, hand-hewn style embraced by today’s young builders. The Blackline throws new fuel on a fire that burns across generations, an unquenchable desire to ride.

Lean and Tight
The rear fender is bobbed high-and-tight over a slim, 144mm tire that emphasizes an authentic hardtail profile. The compact headlight and speedometer are tucked low into the wide, FX front end, and there’s just enough shine to make the black parts look blacker. Black-rimmed laced wheels complete a look that’s tough, tempered and undeniably Harley-Davidson.

The styling spotlight shines on a Big Twin engine dressed in black and silver, and on a fuel tank shaved smooth and low. Aboard the Blackline, the rider hugs the frame on the lowest two-up seat ever offered by Harley-Davidson, and reaches high for new Split Dragª handlebars that bolt right to the top triple-clamp.

The Softail chassis utilizes rear suspension control provided by coil-over shock absorbers mounted horizontally along the frame rails below the powertrain, where they are out of sight. So while the swingarm section replicates the lines of a vintage hardtail frame, the Blackline delivers suspension performance and handling that are thoroughly modern. The internally counter-balanced Twin Cam 96Bª engine is rigid-mounted within the frame, creating a solid connection between rider and the power that moves the motorcycle to enhance the emotional experience of riding.

Key features of the 2011 Blackline include:

* NEW Powertrain styling - Powertrain is finished in gloss black powdercoat on the rocker box covers, the crankcase, the     outer primary cover, and the transmission side cover. The cylinders are silver powdercoat with machined highlights. The     derby cover and timing covers are chromed.

Rigid-mounted, counter-balanced Twin Cam 96B™ V-Twin engine with Electronic Sequential Port Fuel Injection (ESPFI), rated     at 89 ft. lbs. peak torque at 3250 rpm.

* 6-Speed Cruise Drive® Transmission.

* NEW Round air cleaner cover in brilliant chrome.

* NEW Black Denim powdercoat frame and swingarm.

* NEW Profile Laced Aluminum wheels with black anodized rims. Front wheel is 21 x 2.15 inches; rear wheel is 16 x 3 inches.     Dunlop® D402 tires are MH90-21 front and MU85B16 rear.

* NEW FX front end with black powdercoat triple clamps and black painted fork lowers.

* NEW Split Drag™ internally-wired handlebars mount directly to the top triple clamp.

* NEW Asymmetric five-gallon Softail fuel tank is clean on the left side, with a low-profile fuel fill on the right. Die     cast “Blackline” trim panel flowing down the center of the tank is just high enough to cover the fuel pump hardware.

* NEW Analog speedometer on a triple-clamp mount that also holds indicator lights. LCD screen on the speedometer includes     low-fuel warning and “miles to empty” display function.

* NEW Bobbed rear fender with combination stop/tail/turn lights in black housings, and a new composite license plate holder     and light module that mounts on the lower edge of the fender.

* NEW Raw forged rear fender supports are finished in Black Denim powdercoat.

* NEW One-piece, two-up seat and passenger pillion. Laden rider seat height is 24 inches, the lowest two-up seat offered by         Harley-Davidson. Gap between the nose of seat and fuel tank exposes the top of the frame.

* NEW 5.75-inch diameter headlamp in gloss black shell.

* Polished forward foot controls.

* Over/under chrome shotgun exhaust.

* Optional Security Package with Anti-lock Braking System and Smart Security System

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19/01/2011 by info.

This past weekend saw the latest in the World Championship of Custom Bike Building program ‘Ultimate Builder’ affiliate events staged at the Progressive International Motorcycle Show at Washington DC.

The Freestyle win was taken by Washington local Alex Lucas with ‘Snake’, an Ultima engined pro street style daily rider by WEM. Second went to Frank Rutigliano of Two Wheel Mafia with a custom XS 650 bobber, with Roy Chamberlin of C&C Cycle third. Fourth was taken by Jason Nieman of SS Trike, with fifth going to Norman Washington with a customized American Ironhorse chopper.

The win in the Harley-Davidson sponsored Modified Harley class was taken by Jason Bochniak’s ‘Phoenix’, a 2006 Softail Deluxe, fitted with a Pro Charger supercharger, D&D ‘Boarzilla’ exhaust and Ride Wright ‘Fat Daddy’ 50-spoke wheels.

Second went to Margaret Nicastri of C&C Cycle, with Bobby Reed of Eastside Chop Shop third with a 2007 Street Glide. Fourth went to Jeff Geisbert of Old Glory Speed Shop with a 2011 Street Glide.

In the Performance Custom class, the win was taken by William Ray with a 2006 Hayabusa; second went to Krystos Efanti of MSP Motorsports with a 2008 Yamaha R1; third was Mike Joines with a 2006 Hayabusa; fourth was Shwan Page with a 2007 Hayabusa, and fifth was Lloyd Hardy with a 2004 Hayabusa.

The ‘Ultimate Builder’ series now moves on to New York this coming weekend (January 21-23), followed by Cleveland (Jan 28-30), Minneapolis (February 4-6), Chicago (February 11-13) and then Greenville Sc. (February 25-27) before the finals at Daytona Bike Week, March 9-12

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19/01/2011 by info.

ROOSTER Custom Cycles has followed-up its re-introduction of Perse Performance parts with the launch of its Classic front end under the New School Vintage line.

The front end is centered around a Penske shock, which after consultation with Penske’s engineering department was decided upon as the best choice by RoosteR. Two options of shock are being offered; the entry level PS-8900 or the PS-8970, which separates high- and low-speed compression adjustment.

The fork itself can be ordered in polished stainless steel, powder-coated DOM steel tubing, or raw DOM tubing. All three versions use stainless steel fittings. The 1in diameter steering stem is cut from 17-4 precipitation hardened stainless and it has been designed to ensure that all of the turning torque from the handlebars is transmitted through it and not through the suspension. RoosteR achieved this solution by splining the steering stem shaft where it passes through the upper triple tree. For the lower end, a 3⁄4in shaft is threaded into each side of the lower tree and pins into the steering stem.

The same grade of heavy-duty stainless steel is used for the axle, which features left-hand threads and is secured by a set screw to prevent unintentional back-out.

RoosteR’s New School Vintage Classic front end is available to fit all Sportsters as a bolt-on kit and can be ordered to suit any frame combination for custom applications.

ROOSTER CUSTOM CYCLES
Spokane, Washington, USA
Tel: 509 244 3704
Fax: 509 244 1962

E-mail: juston@roostercustomcycles.com
www.roostercustomcycles.com

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11/01/2011 by info.

This past weekend saw the latest in the World Championship of custom Bike Building program ‘Ultimate Builder’ affiliate events staged at the Progressive International Motorcycle Show at Novi, near Detroit, Michigan.

The win was taken by former World Championship competitor Gary Maurer, of Kustoms Inc and Evil Engineering (www.evil-engineering.com), the Michigan based belt drive manufacturer noted for their use of ‘herringbone’ style helical offset tooth belts in their primaries.

The winning bike, ‘No Reservation’, was a collaboration with Ron Finch that was put together in just eight weeks last year as an homage to 1930’s style Indian board trackers for Michael Lichter’s ‘Eternal Combustion’ exhibition at the Sturgis Motorcycle rally.

It features the 100 hp Crazy Horse V-Plus engine, in a rigid frame, with a leaf-spring front end, modified Evil Engineering belt drive and Baker transmission, with Ride Wright spoke wheels.

Second place in the FreeStyle class went to Don Weimer, Weimer Original Designs, for ‘Revelation’ (Don also scooped fifth place with ‘Hustler’) with another former World Championship competitor, Steve Broyles of Stevenson’s Cycle fame, third with ‘Duce’s Wild’.

The win in the Harley-Davidson sponsored Modified Harley class was taken by Huck Hemphill, of Radical Baggers Inc, with a heavily customized 2007 Road Glide that he unveiled at Laughlin last year. The engine work is by T-Man Performance, with a Wimmer air cleaner and Wiseco 103 inch pistons; brakes and foot controls are by Hawg Halters; wheels by Renegade; seven-speed transmission by Baker; exhaust by Rinehart; primary and clutch by BDL; swingarm from Rolling Thunder, and a host of parts and accessories from additional build sponsors such as Cycle Visions, Bad Dad, Paul Yaffe, Burly, PM, Joker Machine, and Arnott.
Second place went to Brian Ratkos, of BRC Creations, with third going to Jerry Motz at Detroit Harley-Davidson.

In the Performance Custom class, the win was taken by Jody Jendon of Reflections Polishing, with second going to Jack McCoy of M43 Powersports.

The ‘Ultimate Builder’ series now moves on to Washington D.C. this coming weekend, followed by New York (January 21-23), Cleveland (Jan 28-30), Minneapolis (February 4-6), Chicago (February 11-13) and then Greenville Sc. (February 25-27) before the finals at Daytona Bike Week, March 9-12.

For full details of classes, prizes and entry contact Bob Kay or Jeff Najar at Biker Pros, Tel: 919 383 0500

www.motorcycleshows.com/custom

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