BMW 6-cylinder K 1600 B ‘ Bagger ’
There has been much debate about whether or not the withdrawal of the Victory brand would benefit Harley , and now the dust has settled from Polaris ’ January announcement , the general consensus is that the impact will be neutral . However , maybe it is an altogether different picture for BMW . Their longmooted entry into the domestic U . S . ‘ Bagger ’ market is now upon us , and with the Victory ‘ Vision ’ gone from the market , there is now a clear niche available to the K 1600 B . BMW has long trailed their domestic U . S . ambitions , not least targeting custom buyer opportunities with their increasingly popular R nineT variants , but with the ‘ B ’ they have tuned their existing K 1600 GT / GTL touring offer “ specifically with American riders and great open American roads in mind ”. With an entry level MSRP of $ 19,995.00 , the company says that it “ features a spectacular backward sloping linear design with a specifically engineered rear section to reflect the
characteristics of a grand American tourer . This not only makes the Bagger appear low-lying and slender , but also , thanks to the new rear frame , significantly reduces the height of the passenger seat .” For the record , it has a 1,649 cc in-line six-cylinder engine that produces 160 hp and 129 lb-ft of torque . The bike comes as standard with a level of technology , rider assist and creature comforts that Milwaukee can only dream of - three riding modes ( Rain , Road and Dynamic ), Dynamic Traction Control , cornering-optimized integral
Harley # 3 of 50 ?
ABS Pro , heated seats and hand grips , power-adjustable windshield , cruise control , multifunction display with onboard computer , Dynamic Electronic Suspension Adjustment ( D-ESAR ) with “ Road ” and “ Cruise ” damping modes . Available options include Gear Shift Assist Pro , Reverse Assist , Hill Start Control , adaptive headlight , tire pressure monitoring , floorboards , central locking system , anti-theft alarm , Keyless Ride , LED auxiliary lights , GPS preparation , audio system with radio , Sirius XM , Bluetooth and more .
Working on the assumption that Matt Levatich wasn ’ t counting paint scheme variants , then the new Revolution X750 engine ‘ Street Rod ’ will be number three in his 50 new models in five years blitz - that ’ s if you give Harley the benefit of the doubt and start counting from January ’ s XG750R announcement ( the engine is available as a “ Crate Motor ”, even though the bike itself isn ’ t a production model ), and include February ’ s Road King Special as # 2 in the plan for global domination . Ever since the ‘ Street Rod ’ was announced , we have been trying to remember who it was at
Harley that went on the record at the time of the V-Rod launch , swearing that there would never be any “ baby rods ” ...
Klock designed Indian / JD Special # 2
Following the popularity of last year ’ s Brian Klock designed Indian Motorcycle and Jack Daniels limited edition Chieftain , the three have collaborated again this year on a second custom-inspired Chieftain . As this edition of AMD Magazine went to press , reports were circulating that the planned limited edition production run of only 100 of these individually numbered specials had sold out within 10 minutes at an MSRP of $ 34,999 . The first and only unsold 2016 Limited Edition Chief Vintage sold at auction for $ 150,000 in October last year – 149 of the 2016 run of 150 specials had initially been offered at $ 29,999 in March last year .
NEWS
BRIEFS
The United States has seen a continued decline in ATV deaths and injuries with a recent government department report citing fatalities for the period 2007 to 2012 as -31 percent , with deaths of children in ATV related accidents -50 percent .
Portuguese Enduro machine manufacturer AJP has reported a third straight year of record growth in the United States , with 2016 sales + 62 percent , 17 new dealerships added and two further new models taking their U . S . range up to five offroaders . AJP has launched a new 600cc adventure bike ( the PR7 ) in Europe for 2017 .
The acquisition of Minneapolis based ATV , side-by-side and snowmobile manufacturer Arctic Cat ( AC ) by Textron Inc . for $ 247m in cash is being investigated by a New York law firm that specializes in mergers and acquisitions . They contend that the basis that the Board of Arctic Cat may have “ breached their fiduciary duties ” by failing to make sure they got the best possible price for the business . AC is to join Textron ’ s Specialized Vehicles business , which also owns E-Z-GO , Cushman , Jacobsen , Dixie Chopper , Bad Boy , Ransomes and Douglas . Textron owns Bell Helicopter , Cessna , Beechcraft and Hawker , among others .
Stefan Pierer ’ s Austria based investment vehicle Pierer Industrie AG , the company behind KTM , Husqvarna , WP Suspension , and others , has made a $ 9m strategic investment in heads-up display ( HUD ) company NUVIZ . The San Diego , California based technology start-up hopes to have a heads-up display unit and connected rider system available in the first half of 2017 .
Arctic Cat has finally won a patent infringement action first brought against it in 2011 in the Canadian courts by Bombardier Recreational Products ( BRP ). Designs used on some 44,000 Arctic Cat snowmobiles , covering model years 2007 through 2015 , were found not to have infringed 56 of BRP ’ s patents and patent claims .
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