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NEWS
BRIEFS
The AMA has announced the passing of Hall of Famer Tom Heininger at the age of 97 . As the co-founder of Webco , a popular motorcycle aftermarket and accessory company in the 1960s and 1970s , Heininger ' s impact on the motorcycle industry was immense . Heininger served as president of the MIC in 1972 and played an influential role in the formation of the Motorcycle Safety Foundation . After serving aboard a submarine during World War II , Heininger entered the auto industry and worked for Offenhauser , a major automobile racing parts business at the time . While there he met Bob Hughes and they became fast friends before forming Webco together in 1954 . In the early days of the company , Webco primarily focused on manufacturing high-quality racing engine parts for motorcycles , but the brand later expanded to include all forms of aftermarket accessories and apparel . Heininger and Hughes also opened a pair of Honda dealerships in Los Angeles during the 1960s and formed a nightly radio show during Daytona Bike Week with AMA announcer Roxy Rockwood . He also worked to further the motorcycle industry by serving on the board of the Motorcycle , Scooter and Allied Trades Association ( MS & ATA ) during the 1960s - a trade association that AMA formed out of in 1924 . MS & ATA merged with the California Motorcycle Safety Council to form the MIC in 1969 . Heininger was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 2003 .
A1R Racing has announced an augmented program for the upcoming AFT season featuring Aidan RoosEvans aboard Yamaha YZ450Fs in the Parts Unlimited AFT Singles presented by KICKER class , former racer and professional bodybuilder Joe RoosEvans on board as coach .
According to The Economist Group ' s global EIU City Liveability Survey for 2023 , the first four of the top ten North American Cities to score highest in the survey were Canadian . Vancouver is ' top dog ', followed by Calgary , Toronto and Montreal 4th - tied with best U . S . city Honolulu . Atlanta ( fifth ) was the leading continental U . S . city , followed by Pittsburgh and Seattle , with Miami and Chicago joint 10th . Austrian capital Vienna scored best in global terms , followed by Copenhagen ( Denmark ), Melbourne and Sydney ( Australia ) and Vancouver fifth . Bottom of the U . S . city list were Lexington , New York City , Detroit and Houston . However , be pleased you don ' t live in Damascus , Syria ( or what ' s left of it ) - the ancient and once great center of learning , advanced civilisation , oldest capital city in the world and revered architectural wonder of its time was the 2023 ' bottom feeder ' - which just shows what can happen !
Triumph 2024 Range Update
Continues By Ben Purvis
Triumph has stepped away from the old format of launching all its new models in a single shot and moved to a program of continual updates and new bike releases throughout the year - and the latest updates include changes for the Scrambler 1200 range . The big news here is that the old Scrambler 1200 XC model has been dropped for 2024 , replaced with a new Scrambler 1200 X that promises to open the door to more customers - lowering the price and increasing the gap between the lower-cost Scrambler 1200 X and the more upmarket Scrambler 1200 XE that remains available . The new 1200 X sacrifices some offroad ability in favor of a more accessible height , replacing the old XC ' s Showa front , Öhlins rear suspension combination with new Marzocchi parts at both ends . They ' re non-adjustable and lower , with 170 mm of travel instead of the XC ' s 200 mm . The brakes are also revised , with twin-piston Nissin front calipers instead of the old Brembo four-pots , backed up by a Continental ABS system . Unlike the old XC , the X ' s ABS works in corners thanks to an IMU . The changes help bring the seat height down to 820 mm . That ' s 20 mm lower than the old XC and a full 50 mm down from the XE version , and a low seat option can bring it down even more to 795 mm . On board , the Scrambler 1200 X gets new instruments with a white-onblack LCD display above a smaller color TFT dash , all housed in a single , circular pod . For riders who want real off-road capability , the updated 2024 Scrambler 1200 XE still has a large 250 mm of suspension travel and huge ground clearance , like its predecessor , but it also swaps to Marzocchi suspension in place of the old Showa and Öhlins parts . It also keeps the Brembo brakes , but uprated from the
Stealth 2024 edition family
Thruxton ' Final Edition ' model
2023 model ' s M50s to Stylema calipers , with cornering ABS as standard . Both the Scrambler 1200 X and the XE get engine revisions for 2024 , with a new 50 mm single throttle body ,
More updated models for next year
revised exhaust headers and new mapping that shifts the peak power and torque points to lower in the rev range . The exhaust changes also reduce the heat that reaches the rider , and both models have multiple riding modes and traction control settings . Peak power and torque figures are unchanged at 89 hp ( 66.2 kW ) and 81.1 lb-ft ( 110 Nm ). Elsewhere in Triumph ' s 2024 range , the company has introduced a new set of limited-edition models in the Modern Classics range with the one-year-only ' Stealth ' variants of the Bonneville , Speedmaster , Bobber , Speed Twin and Scrambler 900 . These are the follow-ups to 2022 ' s Gold Line bikes and 2023 ' s Chrome Collection , and like those previous models , numbers aren ' t restricted but the Stealth bikes will be sold for just one year to ensure exclusivity in the future , with a relatively small price premium over the standard variants . Each Stealth bike gets a fuel tank that fades from black at the front to a candy metallic color at the rear - with different colors for each model . It ' s a finish that ' s achieved with a silver base coat with the black fade sprayed on top , followed by several coats of colored lacquer to build up the
pigment . The Bobber gets ' Purple Stealth ', while the Speedmaster is finished in ' Red Stealth '. The Bonneville T100 and T120 come in ' Blue Stealth ' and the Bonneville Black Stealth Edition has a tank that fades from black to silver . The Speed Twin 1200 comes in ' Red Stealth ', the 900 version gets a ' Green Stealth ' finish , and the Scrambler 900 gets an ' Orange Stealth ' paint scheme . You ' ll notice that the Thruxton isn ' t included among the Modern Classic models in the Stealth range . That ' s because 2024 will be the last year
TF 250-X
of Thruxton production , and the occasion is being marked with a oneyear-only ' Final Edition ' model . Offered in the same spec as the Thruxton RS , with 105 hp , Showa forks , Öhlins shocks and Brembo M50 brakes , the ' Final Edition ' gets a ' Competition Green ' paint scheme with handapplied gold pinstripes and a certificate of authenticity signed by members of the Thruxton design team and by Triumph CEO Nick Bloor . In future , the Café Racer duties in Triumph ' s Modern Classics range will be covered by the Speed Twin . More 2024 news from Triumph comes in the form of the company ' s new 250 cc single-cylinder motocross bike , the
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18 AFTERMARKET MOTO DESIGN - FEBRUARY 2024 www . AMDmag . com