AMD 252 July 2020 American Motorcycle Dealer 252 July 2020 | Page 18

Sources: AMD, IDN, FT, Reuters, PSB, MPN, B&B, BDN, MCN, AP, Bloomberg, MSNW, Electrek, electricmotorcycles.news
NEWS
BRIEFS
BRP has announced closure of
Evinrude outboard engine
production. Q1 results (period
to end of April 2020) show
revenues down by -7.8% to
CAN$1,229.8m; North American
retail sales decreased by -1%;
gross profit decreased by
-21.8% to CAN $235.1m.
PSB reports that BRP has followed
the route taken by Polaris and
Harley-Davidson to strengthen its
balance sheet and liquidity - with an
incremental CA$600m term loan
maturing in May 2027. This adds to
the CA$700m it has available under
its revolving credit facility.
Avon Tyres has been hit by a
recall (on both sides of the
Atlantic) for 655 of its new in
2018 Cobra Chrome custom
tires. The problem appears to be
a potential rapid loss of
pressure caused by a
manufacturing error.
Some interesting 'Factoids' in a
release announcing Pro Italia Motors
(Bill Nation) of Glendale Ca. as
Italian electric sport bike
manufacturer Energica's latest new
dealer in USA. Some 10% of all US
motorcyclists are in California; six out
of ten electric vehicles in the U.S. are
driven by Californians, which today
are 5.5% of all registered passenger
vehicles in the state, versus less than
2% for the country overall; 2019 US
EV sales dropped -9% but grew in
California by +5% in 2019;
California has 26,000 EV charging
outlets – a third of all those in the US
and is investing $2.1bn to expand
that network to support the
ambitious goal of replacing 5 million
ICE vehicles in Ca. with electric
by 2050.
MotoAmerica has announced
that Öhlins has signed on as a
sponsorship partner for the
rescheduled 2020 Series. "I
have a long history with
Öhlins," said MotoAmerica
President Wayne Rainey. "I
raced with them throughout my
GP career and won all three of
my World Championships using
their suspension. I've always
had a great relationship with
them, and I'm really pleased to
have Öhlins on board as a
sponsorship partner of
MotoAmerica."
The Final King?
Unless we have misinterpreted
news released in Europe,
Harley-Davidson appears to
have decided to retire its Battle
of the Kings dealer-build
custom competition and has
done so with an online shootout
between 15 (or was it 18?)
prior winners.
The nominated platform was
the Sportster, and some 50,000
votes have given the 'King of
Kings' #1 plate to Harley-
Davidson Querétaro, Mexico,
with their stunning 'Apex
Predator' - described as "their
vision of the ultimate Sportster
XR1200."
"The Querétaro team's mantra
for the design was "Born to
attack without a challenge -
born to live without rival" -
with styling highlights including
a handcrafted 2-1-2 under seat
upswept exhaust, combined
with a vented, handbuilt tail
unit to accommodate it,
"creating a flowing line from
the wave brake disc rotors and
upside-down Showa big piston
forks at the front."
"The clean, uncluttered front
end uses the LED Daymaker
headlamp from a Harley-
Davidson Breakout; the bike's
lines and design are
uninterrupted by the TFT flat
panel dash taking nothing away
from the design. The bike also
boasts a collection of custom
hand and foot controls, paired
with the hand-finished
Alcantara seat unit. Additional
bespoke bodywork
incorporates the twin air
intakes complementing the
stance of the bike."
The grand final runner-up was
Harley-Davidson Athens,
Greece, with a Roadster-based
submission 'Gryps', followed in
third place by the UK's Sykes
Harley-Davidson with a 'Choo
Choo' build.
Special commendation was
given to Harley-Davidson
Thunderbike, who were
awarded the H-D Styling Team
Pick by Brad Richards, VP of
Styling and Design at Harley-
Davidson Motor Company, for
'Emperor'.
Special commendation was given
to Thunderbike Harley-Davidson
in Germany, awarded the H-D
Styling Team Pick for 'Emperor'
by Brad Richards, VP of Styling
and Design at H-D.
Harley-Davidson Querétaro, Mexico, won with its stunning 'Apex Predator'.
Second place, Harley-Davidson Athens, Greece - 'Gryps'
Third place, Sykes Harley-Davidson, UK - 'Choo Choo'
18 AMERICAN MOTORCYCLE DEALER - JULY 2020