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NEWS
BRIEFS
Originally scheduled
for June, the 2020
iteration of the
Biarritz, France based
Wheels and Waves
celebration of all
things Moto Culture
and associated Flat Track Racing and
'Punks Peak' Hill Climb has been
cancelled for a second time. It had
been rearranged for September 3 to
6 this year, but the organizers have
now had to 'wave the white flag of
surrender' and hope to be able to
stage a 10th Edition in June 2021.
New EU standards will include
'crash testing' with helmets
having to undergo impact tests
at oblique angles. Testers will
use 45-degree angle impacts to
measure how add-ons such as
helmet-mounted Bluetooth
comms and action cameras
affect energy absorption and
rotational protection during a
crash. The new requirements
will co-exist with the current
ECE 22.05, replacing them
completely (as ECE.06) in 2023.
The AMA withdrew its three-man
United States team from the 2020
FIM Motocross of Nations just two
weeks before the event itself was
cancelled. The event had been slated
to be staged in the UK (September
25-27). Billed as the "Olympics of
Motocross," the MXoN has been
staged every year since 1947. The
'winningest' country in MXoN history
with 22 wins to its name, the USA
last brought the Chamberlain Trophy
back to home soil in 2011.
In the absence of being able to
race at Austin, Texas (or
elsewhere outside Europe in the
rescheduled season), the
spectacular, twisting, undulating
Autodromo Internacional do
Algarve, Portimao, Portugal, is
to make its MotoGP debut
hosting a 15th and season final
race on November 20-22nd. The
Autodromo has been the
reserve track for MotoGP since
2017; the venue has been on
the WSBK calendar for some
time. This will be the first
MotoGP in Portugal since Estoril
in 2012.
Fox Factory Holding Corp (the parent
company of FOX Shocks etc.) reports
"resilient" second quarter sales
down by -4.7% ($183.1m) with a
gross margin increase of 40 bp to
32.8%. Net income attributable to
FOX stockholders was $12.6m, or
6.9% of sales and $0.32 of earnings
per diluted share, compared to
$22.9m or 11.9% of sales and $0.59
of earnings per diluted share in the
same period last fiscal year.
MEC - KessTech and Cult-Werk
in Joint Venture
German exhaust sound specialists
KessTech and Austrian parts and
accessory designer Cult-Werk have
created a new joint venture company
called MEC GmbH - The Motorcycle
Equipment Company.
MEC will operate the KessTech and
Cult-Werk brands under one roof in a
merger that is described as creating
"an unparalleled combination of
strong and symbolic cult brands. The
new MEC is perfectly positioned to
enable bikers to realize their dream of
the perfect motorcycle."
Owners and Co-CEOs Mario
Altendorfer and Christian Schütte say
that they are "constantly thinking
outside the box to make riders' dream
bikes come true. The new partnership
with Cult-Werk creates the ideal mix
of bikers, engineers, technicians,
financiers, designers, Q-managers,
marketeers, buyers, web designers,
In another sign that recently appointed
CEO and President Jochen Zeitz is
intending to "push all the buttons"
when it comes to dragging Harley-
Davidson kicking and screaming into
the 21st century, the company has
announced the appointment of Jagdish
Krishnan as Chief Digital Officer.
In its release the company explains that
"a holistic, forward-focused consumer
experience will be central to Harley-
Davidson's long-term strategy. The new
role of Chief Digital Officer is responsible
for building relationships with existing
and new consumers by providing bestin-class
digital experiences connected to
the Harley-Davidson brand.
"In this role, Krishnan will lead the
development of a new digital strategy
that will enable the company to deliver
the most desirable customer retail
experience, whether online or in
dealerships, with innovative, direct-toconsumer
technology supporting
eCommerce and dealer digitization.
"This includes building seamless and
satisfying digital interfaces with
products, services, commerce and
Harley-Davidson's global dealer
network. To enable this strategy,
Krishnan will lead the modernization of
Harley-Davidson's global information
systems that support all business
operations.
"The creation of this new role and focus
is part of The Rewire, the company's
efforts to, among other things, overhaul
its operating model and provide a better
graphic designers, sales people,
technicians, warehouse staff, welders,
event managers and more - a broad
based team whose specialist skills
complement each other perfectly to
master new challenges.
"KessTech and Cult-Werk products
stand for optimal functionality,
increased performance, perfect
design, high quality and ergonomics.
The result is a unique company for
high-quality equipment parts such as
exhaust systems, fenders, rear ends
and license plate brackets to make
every motorcycle unique.
"The strength of KessTech in sales,
technology, homologation and
processing is combined with the fine
feeling for trends, design and
marketing of Cult-Werk. The combined
company will have its headquarters at
KessTech in Obertheres, Germany, and
an R&D Center at Cult-Werk in Aigen-
Schlägl, Austria.
www.the-mec.com
www.kesstech.de
Harley Announces Chief Digital Officer
starting point for the future. The Chief
Digital Officer is one of several roles and
functions created or elevated to report
directly to Chairman, President and CEO
Jochen Zeitz to build desirability for the
Harley-Davidson brand and products."
Zeitz is quoted as saying that "Harley-
Davidson is all about experiences, and
an enhanced digital experience is
absolutely critical for us to make our GIS
[Geographic Information System] and
digital capabilities more customercentric.
"We will take a completely different
approach to applying digital technology
across the company to fundamentally
change how we operate and create
value. To deliver on our objectives, we
must have an innovative and highperformance
IT function.
"We need to be a high-performing team
with cutting edge leadership to move us
forward. Jagdish is exactly the right
leader and he will ensure we connect
with our customers at all touch-points."
Krishnan is described as having more
than twenty years of experience leading
digital transformation and "brings
strength in partnering with business
stakeholders, leadership and customers
to identify needs and deliver solutions to
position organizations for advanced
growth."
Most recently, he served as Vice
President and Chief Digital Officer at
Bose Corporation, where he
championed the transformation of the
business model and the operating
model leveraging digital technologies.
Prior to Bose, he was with Deloitte &
Touche and Patni Computer Systems,
where he had a broad mix of
experiences including P&L
responsibility, information security,
enterprise software deployment,
programming and IT operations.
Krishnan earned a Bachelor of Science
with honors in computer engineering
from Pune University and a Master's
degree in data communication and
distributed systems from Oxford
University.
The Rewire is expected to continue
through the end of the year, leading to
a first look at the company's 2021-2025
strategic plan, The Hardwire, expected in
the fourth quarter.
16 AMERICAN MOTORCYCLE DEALER - SEPTEMBER 2020 www.AMDchampionship.com