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Harley was in sixth place in market share terms in the German market for the eight months to August 2023 with 8,606 units sold for a 5.66 % share . This compares to 5,821 units sold YTD 2022 for a 6.57 % share . The German market is growing well this year with new motorcycle registrations
+ 16.36 % to August . The 103,077 units sold in the first eight months in Germany makes it the strongest German market performance for the first eight months since our sister magazine International Dealer News started keeping comparable records in 2008 . Unsurprisingly , BMW had retained its market share leadership with 20,030 units sold for a 19.43 % share . Interestingly though , while its unit sales were up , that market share was lower than the 21.56 % it had by August 2022 as the market grows faster than they are . There is currently no Harley ( or Indian Motorcycle ) model showing up in the Top-50 best sellers YTD in Germany . No surprise , the topseller is the BMW R 1250 GS ( 6,557 units for a 6.36 % share despite its well-publicised upcoming replacement with a heavily updated 1300 cc iteration .
The National Powersports Dealer Association ( NPDA ) has expanded its Board of Directors to 15 with the addition of Donald Meyers Jr . ( the owner of Baltimore Powersports , Inc ., MD .) and Brett Tekavec ( owner of Queen City H-D of West Chester , Ohio , and H-D of Washington D . C .). NPDA has also announced the appointment of Tigra Tsujikawa as Membership Marketing Manager . Tigra has a 25- year powersports industry career under her belt , having had stints with MotoAmerica , Sturgis Motorcycle Museum , Why We Ride Films , Women ' s Motorcycle Tours , Dealernews and Iron Lilly . NPDA has now reached nearly 400 members ; www . npda . org
Harley is recalling 2023 FLHXSE and FLTRXSE motorcycles due to a rear brake line that may not be secured properly , allowing it to chafe against the exhaust pipe , which could result in a brake fluid leak .
Turn 14 Distribution Appoints President of Owned Brands
Horsham , Pennsylvania based Turn 14 Distribution , buyers of selected Tucker Powersports assets , has announced the appointment of Robert Schuetz as President of Owned Brands .
Electric motors need to be prevented from overheating , and just like combustion engines , there ' s a clear choice for their designers between aircooling and liquid-cooling . Zero - undeniably a leader in electric motorcycles - has been in the aircooled school so far , but a new patent shows the company is considering a switch to liquid-cooling in the future . As with combustion engines , there are pros and cons to both technologies . The benefits of air-cooled designs are that they ' re lighter and simpler , with fewer
components and potential points of failure . But when it comes to outright performance , liquid-cooled electric vehicles tend to have the edge because it ' s easier to keep components within the small temperature range that
" Bob is an established leader within the performance aftermarket and OE industries ," says Jon Pulli , CEO of Turn 14 Distribution . " His resume includes world-renowned companies like Warn Industries Inc , Öhlins USA and KW Automotive , NA , where he held executive leadership positions of Vice President and President within these organizations . " Bob will oversee the establishment , structure , development and daily operations of our owned brands team with its headquarters in the Dallas , Fort
Zero Patent Points to Liquid Cooled Future By Ben Purvis
maximizes their performance . For example , the Ducati MotoE race bikes used in the series that supports MotoGP have not one but two liquidcooling systems , with completely separate pumps and radiators for the cooling of the batteries and the motor . Why ? Because their optimum operating temperatures are different - the batteries need to be kept cooler than the motor - and with two cooling systems , those temperatures can both be maintained . So far , Zero has stuck with air-cooling
for both its batteries and motors , but the company has filed a patent application for a liquid-cooled motor that could be the next step up for its bikes ' performance . The design uses a series of layers for its motor housing ,
Worth area . He will lead the product development , R & D , brand management and marketing of the manufacturing brands Turn 14 Distribution acquired through the Tucker Powersports assets purchase ." Schuetz is quoted as saying : " I ' m excited to be a part of the rebirth of the brands we ' ve acquired from Tucker Powersports , and I look forward to earning the trust of our longstanding partners and internal team as we seek to maximize our potential in each respective marketplace ."
with a water-filled cooling jacket sandwiched between the stator and an outer housing . The cooling jacked features manifolds that allow hot water to be pumped out to a radiator and cooler water to come in to replace it . Inside the cooling jacket , the patent illustrates a pattern of bumps that are used to increase its surface area -
" Water-cooled motors for future Zero electric bikes "
ensuring better transfer of heat - and to create turbulence in the water that ' s running through the jacket , improving the heat transfer from the motor to the coolant . Outside , the system is much like that of a liquid-cooled combustion engine bike , with a radiator mounted behind the front wheel and a water pump - electrically powered , of course - to keep the fluid flowing between the radiator and the motor . As the patent says , " the amount of work that an electric motor may perform may be proportional to the amount of heat that can be removed " - suggesting that by shifting to a liquidcooled motor , Zero hopes to be able to make a bike that ' s more powerful than its current range-toppers .
16 AFTERMARKET MOTO DESIGN - NOVEMBER 2023 www . AMDmag . com