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NEWS
BRIEFS
Harley was in 6th spot in market share terms in Germany for the first half of 2017 ( 6.8 %), selling 5,975 units there – down by some - 20 % on the 7,488 units it sold in Germany in the first six months of 2016 for a 7.48 % market share . Its top sellers so far this year are the XL 1200X ( 673 units ), Dyna Street Bob ( 654 units ) and the Breakout ( 652 units ).
Making their debut at AIMExpo next month , Blud Lubricants of Skippack , Pa ., is a division of American Synthol ( Medina , Ohio ) who will be introducing its HawgBlud V-twin formulated performance engine oil .
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2461
Bill Werner has been selected as the 2017 AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame Legend . Wernerbuilt Harley-Davidson XR750s have won more AMA Grand National Championships and more races than any other machine , including those that powered Hall of Famers Gary Scott , Jay Springsteen and Scott Parker to a total of 13 AMA Grand National Championships . Werner has garnered many honors over the years , including AMA Mechanic of the Year a remarkable 13 times , and he won the inaugural AMA Pro Racing Award of Mechanical Excellence in 1996 . Werner retired from Harley-Davidson in 2004 , but he continues to stay active in professional American Flat Track competition as owner and tuner of the Bill Werner Racing team , which has pioneered the development of the Kawasaki EX650 in AMA Grand National Championship competition .
Norton has struck a 20-year ‘ Design & Licence ’ agreement with Chinese manufacturer Zongshen over a new 650cc twin jointly engineered and developed by Norton and Ricardo . The Euro 4 compliant engine will allow Zongshen to “ fast track ” into larger displacement production . Although the value of the deal is to remain private , the initial consideration paid to Norton is described as being in the “ millions of dollars ” with an ongoing royalty on each engine produced ; last year Zongshen produced around 4 million engines .
Kawasaki and Indian share the honors at Sturgis
At the first of the two AFT Twins presented by Vance & Hines races at the Sturgis Rally , the inaugural Buffalo Chip TT presented by Indian Motorcycle ( Round 13 , Sunday August 6 ), the win was taken by Briar Bauman ( No . 14 Zanotti Racing Kawasaki Ninja 650 ), who secured his second victory of the season after a dramatic race in front of a huge crowd that featured three red flags , an all but certain winner who didn ' t win , and a crasher who did . Title leader Jared Mees ( No . 9 Indian Motorcycle Rogers Racing Scout FTR750 ) finished a strong second in sharp contrast to chief rival Bryan Smith ( No . 1 Indian Motorcycle Racing backed by Allstate Scout FTR750 ), who crashed in the early-going and could only salvage 12th place after remounting . Jake Johnson ( No . 5 Harley- Davidson Factory Flat Track Team XG750R ) came up big to score the first podium finish of the 2017 season for the works Harley-Davidson outfit . That success came much to the delight of the raucous Harley- Davidson fans who flooded the Buffalo Chip Campgrounds . The final spot in the top-five went to winner Briar Bauman ' s younger brother , Bronson Bauman ( No . 37 Bill Werner Racing Kawasaki Ninja 650 ), who equaled his career-best finish . Brad Baker came home sixth on the third of the factory Indians ; Robert Pearson , Kenny Coolbeth Jr and Danny Eslick came ninth , 11th and 13th respectively on Harley XG750Rs . Just 48 hours later at the Harley-Davidson Black Hills Half-Mile in Rapid City , S . D ., ( Round 14 , August 8 ) Jared Mees took another important step towards the 2017 American Flat Track championship with a victorious performance ( his 27th career win ) aboard the No . 9 Indian Motorcycle Rogers Racing Scout FTR750 that saw him rack up a crucial 45 points over two fruitful days at the 77th Annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally , and saw the Indian Wrecking Crew return to its early-season dominance with
Jared Mees won ( for the seventh time this year ) at the Harley-Davidson Black Hills Half-Mile at Rapid City during the Sturgis Rally . As the series was headed back to Illinois after 13 of the 18 AFT Twins presented by Vance & Hines series , he had established a 36 point lead over his Indian Wrecking Crew teammates Bryan Smith , second , and Brad Baker , third
another podium sweep . Mees ’ teammates Bryan Smith and Brad Baker ( No . 1 and No . 6 Indian Motorcycle Racing backed by Allstate Scout FTR750s ) came second and third respectively . Jeffrey Carver Jr . ( No . 23 Carver ’ s BBQ Kawasaki Ninja 650 ) notched up his fourth Half- Mile top-five of the season in Rapid City finishing fourth , just ahead of Sunday ' s TT standouts Briar Bauman ( No . 14 Zanotti Racing Kawasaki Ninja 650 ) and Henry Wiles ( No . 17 DPC Racing Kawasaki Ninja 650 ). The factory Harley-Davidson squad enjoyed a strong showing in front of the partisan Sturgis crowd at an event title sponsored by Harley - Brandon Robinson ( No . 44 Harley- Davidson Factory Flat Track Team XG750R ) came home with an encouraging seventh , one position better than teammate Kenny Coolbeth ( No . 2 Harley- Davidson Factory Flat Track Team XG750R ). The weekend before Sturgis , at the Harley-Davidson Calistoga , California Half-Mile ( Round 11 , July 29 ), Mees had taken another AFT presented by Vance & Hines win for Indian , with Sammy Halbert ( No . 69 Estenson Logistics Yamaha FZ-07 ) second following his impressive X Games gold medal performance a couple of weeks before , and Brad Baker ( No . 6 Indian Motorcycle Racing backed by Allstate Scout FTR750 ) third , with Bryan Smith ( No . 1 Indian Motorcycle Racing backed by
Allstate Scout FTR750 ) fourth . Lima Half-Mile winner Briar Bauman ( No . 14 Zanotti Racing Kawasaki Ninja 650 ) was fifth ; Jeffrey Carver Jr . ( No . 23 Carver ’ s BBQ Kawasaki Ninja 650 ) sixth . Factory Harley-Davidson riders Brandon Robinson ( No . 44 Harley-Davidson Factory Flat Track Team XG750R ), Kenny Coolbeth , Jr . ( No . 2 Harley- Davidson Factory Flat Track Team XG750R ), and Jake Johnson ( No . 5 Harley-Davidson Factory Flat Track Team XG750R ) all qualified for the final , finishing ninth , 12th and 15th , respectively . As this edition of AMD Magazine went to press , the series was headed back to Illinois to complete a run of four races in 15 days at the fabled Peoria TT on Sunday ( Round 14 ), August 13 . After another threeweek break battle will be resumed at the second Springfield , Illinois Mile of the season ( Round 15 , September 3 ), followed a week later by the Harley-Davidson Williams Grove Half-Mile ( Round 16 , September 9 ) at Mechanicsburg , PA . After the Indian Motorcycle presented by Lone Star Half- Mile at Fort Worth Texas ( Round 17 , September 23 ) the AFT Twins presented by Vance & Hines series will reach its crescendo at the AFT Finals presented by Indian Motorcycle at Perris , southern California ( inland from Los Angeles ), on October 7 .
www . americanflattrack . com
8 AMERICAN MOTORCYCLE DEALER - AUGUST 2017 www . AMDchampionship . com