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NEWS
BRIEFS
The controversy surrounding Harley ' s choices of Independent Board Directors shows no sign of abating. As campaigned for earlier this year by investor and Hedge Fund H Partners, Directors Sara Levinson and Tom Linebarger have now retired from the Board. Harley ' s first female Board Member, Levison was a successful former entertainment, media( MTV), sports( NFL) and technology industry executive has served on the Harley board since 1996. Linebarger, a former investment analyst and Chairman / CEO of Cummins( until 2002) joined in 2008. Both served on the Human Resources, Nominating and Corporate Governance and Sustainability and Safety Committees. Their replacements as independent directors are Daniel Nova, a General Partner of Highland Capital Partners, a venture capital fund; and Matt Reintjes, President and Chief Executive Officer at YETI Holdings, Inc.( NYSE: YETI)- a Texas based seller of YETI brand products for the outdoor and recreation market- FMCG( low price, high volume) products like ice chests, vacuuminsulated stainless-steel drinkware, soft coolers, dry bags and the like. In a release, Presiding Director Troy Alstead " talked both appointments up " of course, but neither has an engineering, manufacturing or motorcycle industry background or any discernible directly relevant segment experience.
Parts Unlimited has added a new sales rep for the South-Central region covering Georgia and Alabama- Ryan Kessinger. He comes to comes to Parts Unlimited with experience in parts sales at the dealer level. His experience comes from a stint at Stark Future based in Barcelona, Spain.
In its ' late-model ' annual, pre- Christmas incarnation, INTERMOT( Cologne, 4-7 December 2025) is promising " maximum visibility, highquality contacts, long-term customer relationships- in person ". The organizers( Koelnmesse and IVM) state that " this is where you can connect with your target groups- and bring even more industry success within your grasp. High purchasing power meets direct sales " with " an audience fully focused on new models, products and brands " backed by " unrivalled specialised trade, community and new target groups digital reach and powerful live experiences "; www. intermot-cologne. com
McBride Scores Big in Brainerd
The Pingel NHRA Top Fuel Motorcycles came to Brainerd International Raceway in Northen Minnesota on August 15-17, looking for a break from previous round Virginia ' s blazing heat. They eventually found it, but the first round of qualifying was unseasonably hot and humid for Brainerd. Larry ' Spiderman ' McBride and his tuner / builder / brother Steve thrived in the heat of their home state Virginia, setting an NHRA 1000 foot record of 242.93 mph there. Ditto on Friday in Brainerd, where they rolled off the trailer with a new NHRA 1000-foot ET record 4.812 at 242.67, once again delivering in the heat. That was considerably quicker than anyone else, with Elmeri Salakari in second with a 5.91 at 152. Bob Malloy had new tire blues and didn ' t post a representative time. Mitch Brown ' s team began what would be a weekend-long test of perseverance by pushing the head gasket out on all sides. Micah Fenwick started the round off by spinning the tire, but also getting no time when the NHRA apparently forgot to switch the timing system after the sleds ran. Q2 was postponed to Saturday and there would be no Q3. When the bikes got to the track that afternoon, Larry ran 4.84 at 239. Fenwick rebounded with a 5.21 at 183, and Malloy seemingly put his problems behind him with a 5.08 at 208, Salakari rani 5.17 at 204, and Brown made another slow pass with a Frankensteined backup head Malloy ' s weekend ended early in first round of eliminations when he apparently spun at the hit against Brown. His grip on second in points dropped to only 25 ahead of Mitch. As for Brown, his round win in the other lane was spectacular as his engine flashed brightly at the hit and pumped fuel out of one pipe and the
Elmeri Salakari
Larry ' Spiderman ' McBride
head as he stayed on it to the stripe. That was followed by a great race between Fenwick and Salakari. Micah took the tree. 128 to. 161 and both had identical 1.070 60 foot times. Fenwick was then quicker at the 330 and eighth mile before his bike wouldn ' t shift, leaving him at 5.19 at 196 to Elmeri ' s winning 5.12 at 222. McBride had the bye and ran another 4.84 at 242- the world ' s quickest, fastest bracket bike. Brown borrowed an engine from Sam Wills and had the bye in E2. But the result was another flash two and a half seconds into the run, another engine failure. Salakari then put up a good fight against McBride, who took the tree by. 007 and won with a 4.77 at 245 to 5.10 at 221-setting both ends of the record. With no motors left, Brown was unable to make the final. Running solo in the
Bob Malloy
Mitch Brown
Micah Fenwick
left lane, Larry flashed out a head gasket for his first mechanical failure in nearly two full seasons of racing. A cost worth the result of McBride ' s second straight Pingel NHRA Top Fuel Motorcycle championship-secured this year after only three of four races.
16 AMERICAN MOTORCYCLE DEALER- OCTOBER 2025 www. AMDmag. com