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BRIEFS
Polaris has confirmed further donations of more than $ 80,000 to off-road and allterrain vehicles ( ATV ) organizations across the United States as a part of its ongoing T . R . A . I . L . S . Grant Program . Nine non-profit organizations were awarded spring 2021 T . R . A . I . L . S . grants ranging from $ 6,000 to $ 10,000 . Since its inception in 2006 , the program has supported 324 ATV , offroad and snowmobiling organizations with more than $ 2.7m in grants .
Industry veteran Greg Blackwell has been hired by Texas based UTV manufacturer HISUN Motor Corp ., USA to help develop its dealer network . His 30-year career has included senior roles with Metzeler Tires , LeMans Corporation , KTM North America , Tucker Powersports and more . At HISUN , colleagues will include ex-Cardo Systems man Jamie Cheek , who he knew as a vendor in his distributor days , business development manager Tyler Houghton and former distributor Tim Calhoun as Director of Parts and Accessories .
Jörg Bucher , the newly elected President of Motosuisse , the motorcycle industry trade association in Switzerland , has announced that the Swiss Moto trade fair is to be rebranded and moved from its long-time home in Zurich to new facilities at the Swiss capital , Bern . The first edition of the new iteration of the show will take place at Bernexpo in February or March 2022 . Motosuisse says that " in the future , the festival character is to be strengthened , making the event relevant for a younger target audience ."
Loveland , Colorado based Thunder Mountain H-D , one of the largest destination H-D stores in USA , has a new ownership team : long-time senior employees Justin Lynch and Nick Hill , and their backers , Steve and Laura Tuchschmidt ( former owners of Mid America H-D ), their daughter Katie Tillitt as COO ( a former H-D Field Sales Manager and F & I Consultant for HDFS ), and longtime Tuchschmidt family friends Andrew and Tonya Lear . New ownership was sought after the former owner pleaded guilty to a misdemeanour sexual-assault charge last summer .
18 AMERICAN MOTORCYCLE DEALER - JUNE 2021
Euro 5 Triumph Scrambler 1200
I know that , in theory , there are plenty of reasons and explanations as to why Harley hasn ' t got into the Scrambler market - or its kissing-cousin Street Tracker market - but with the lights likely to be about to go dark on the venerable Sportster ( according to all the reports we ' ve been seeing for the past nine months or more ), is Harley ' s failure to update rather than abandon its XL niche as clever as it thinks ? With the likes of Biltwell and others having shown just what could be done with Sportsters , it does beg a question when you see what can be achieved by a low-volume , low cost ( Thailand ) production run in the hands of someone like Triumph - to say nothing of the Ducati Scramblers and no end of Chinese manufacturers , including QJ ' s Benelli Scrambler-esque badged output . Triumph ' s Scrambler 1200 XC and XE may not have delivered quite the " category-dominating specification and style , incredible torque delivery and signature soundtrack " that the company is claiming it has , but stimulated by the need to be Euro 5 compliant , the new 2022 update shows what can be done , delivering lower emissions " whilst retaining all the thrilling performance , high power and torque that they are renowned for ." Alongside the 2022 generation
As expected , Polaris Inc . has moved to confirm interim CEO and former CFO Michael Speetzen as Scott Wine ' s permanent successor , with Bob Mack as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer . Speetzen is also appointed to the board of directors . John Wiehoff , chair of the Polaris Board , is quoted as saying : " Mike is a proven and highly respected leader within Polaris and across the powersports industry . His strong vision and deep understanding of the business gives us great confidence in his ability to further build on Polaris ' legacy of innovation and growth . " In his six years with the Company and as interim CEO , Mike has consistently demonstrated his ability to inspire our team , build strong stakeholder relationships and drive strategic execution . We are excited about Polaris ' next chapter of success and value creation under Mike ' s leadership ." Speetzen had publicly stated that his name was ' in the ring ' for the job and that he hoped to succeed Scott Wine ,
The ' Steve McQueen ' Scrambler special edition
Scramblers comes " a new , beautiful and unique limited edition that celebrates the most famous movie star , stunt and motorcycle in history - the Scrambler 1200 Steve McQueen Edition ." The new engine update is matched to an updated exhaust system with improved heat distribution , a high power 1200 cc Bonneville twin engine with dedicated Scrambler tune ( 81 lbft at a low 4,500 rpm and 89 hp at 7,250 rpm ), Öhlins long travel , fully adjustable RSUs and long travel Showa forks , up to six riding modes , including Off-Road Pro , optimized cornering ABS and optimized cornering traction control - " a dualpurpose Classic and Adventure
and in response to confirmation of his permanent appointment , he is quoted as saying " Polaris is an incredible organization , and one that I have been privileged to be a part of for the last six years . " As our results over the past year show , Polaris has tremendous opportunities as the undisputed leader in the powersports industry . I look forward to the continued partnership with Polaris ' talented senior leadership team , including Bob in his role as CFO , as we continue building on our momentum and fully cross-over ." Given the ability to compete that Harley ' s engineers have demonstrated with the Pan America , surely it is only a matter of time before Milwaukee becomes tri-lingual and learns to talk ' Alt Moto ' as well as Big Twin and ADV ? With Triumph ' s MSRP for its Euro 5 compliant Scrambler 1200 XC quoted at USD $ 14,000 , rising to $ 16,400 for the ' McQueen ', it is not as if it ’ s a niche that couldn ' t have balance sheet juice in it , and it certainly wouldn ' t do the Bar ' n Shield brand any harm at all with the next generation of mid-life buyers . It is still a shame that nothing ever came of the contacts between Harley and ATK .
Speetzen Confirmed as Polaris CEO
Michael Speetzen has been confirmed as Polaris ' CEO
capitalizing on the booming interest in outdoor recreation ." Speetzen continued : " Bob is a resultsdriven leader who was integral in expanding Polaris ' role as an industry leader through strategic M & A activity and his leadership of our Global Adjacent Markets and Boats operations . While serving as interim CFO , Bob has been a trusted advisor and partner whose financial acumen and breadth of experience make him well suited to continue advancing our financial strategy as CFO ." Mack will continue to oversee Polaris ' Corporate Development and Global Adjacent Markets teams .
Bob Mack , Polaris ' Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
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