American Motorcycle Dealer AMD 221 December 2017 | Page 16

THE FUTURE OF MOTORCYCLING
Textron’s Off-Road division has
introduced a new line of Electric
Vehicles, the 72V battery system
powered Prowler EV and Prowler
EV iS - powered by 12V heavy-duty
deep-cycle batteries feeding AC
electric power to dual front and rear
motors. Both models feature
‘Intellibrake’ - an innovative,
automatic electric park brake that’s
activated when the driver removes
his/her foot from the accelerator
pedal.
The electric versions of KTM’s
Freeride 250R, the E-XC, will
be available in limited
quantities in North American
and European KTM dealerships
in 2018 and plans include a
“Ready to Race” pilot program
in the U.S.
Spanish manufacturer Torrot has
announced the ‘Velocipedo’ – a
three-wheeled, 100 % electric
vehicle with a range of around 100
miles. It features regenerative
braking, a carbon fiber structure
and new e-call technology.
Californian manufacturer Zero
has announced 2018 upgrades
that include a 10% increase in
its Z-Force battery capacity
and range, and a new on-board
high-speed charger option that
is said to be six times faster.
BRP is introducing a first Rotax
electric powerpack for the Karting
market – a high performance
2.5kwh lithium-ion battery with a
top performance of 20 kW and 46
Nm for a top speed of 130 km/h
and 0-100 km/h of 3.5 seconds.
ACEM (the Brussels based pan-
European motorcycle industry
trade association) has reported
that sales of electric mopeds,
motorcycles, and quadricycles
were up by +7.1% for the
period January to September
2017 (23,695 units).The largest
markets are France,
Netherlands, Belgium, Spain
and Italy. Electric motorcycle
registrations were down by -
13.4%.
Yamaha has announced that it will
start selling an all-new 4-model
"power assist" electric bicycle line-
up in the United States in 2018.
Known as "PedElecs" in Europe,
Yamaha launched the world's first
electrically power assisted bicycle in
1993 and has sold over 2m units
since then and provided drive units
to other manufacturers.
16
AFT Series confirms
2018 schedule
American Flat Track has announced its
18-race calendar for the 2018 season,
which begins with the DAYTONA TT at
Daytona International Speedway on
Thursday, March 15, 2018, and
finishes up just a stone’s throw from
downtown New York City with the
Meadowlands Mile – “an incredible
new event to be held on the mile-long
horse track at the famed
Meadowlands
Racing
&
Entertainment facility in East
Rutherford, New Jersey, to wrap up the
season on October 6, 2018.
Billed as “America’s original extreme
sport”, 2018 will be the 66th
consecutive year of competition. The
Daytona Bike Week series opener will
be on a “bigger, better and faster
Daytona TT circuit built inside the
legendary tri-oval at the “World
Center of Racing”. Seven-time Grand
National Champion Chris Carr has
redesigned the track to better
showcase the speed and ferocity of pro
flat track competition.”
Comprised of eight Mile races, five
Half-Miles, three TTs, and two Short
Track events, the 2018 series features
two new venues – the mile track at
New Jersey’s Meadowlands Racing &
Entertainment and the short track at
Weedsport Speedway in Weedsport,
New York – and one location returning
to the calendar, the mile track at
Canterbury Park in Shakopee,
Minnesota.
Both the Minnesota Mile and
Meadowlands Mile will take place at
high-end horse-racing facilities with
modern amenities, while Weedsport
Speedway, situated between
Rochester and Syracuse, New York,
recently received significant upgrades
and is now hailed as one of the
country’s finest dirt speedways.
American Flat Track enters its second
year of broadcast coverage on NBCSN
and fifth year of live streaming
coverage on FansChoice.tv. The
organizers say that the “American Flat
Track series concluded 2017 with
record-breaking TV and live streaming
numbers that resulted in the largest
viewing audience in the storied history
of the sport. An enhanced broadcast
package, featuring improved coverage
and exciting new broadcast airdates, is
planned for 2018 and will be
announced in the coming months.”
COMPLETE 2018 AMERICAN FLAT TRACK SCHEDULE:
1 March 15: DAYTONA TT – Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach, Florida
2 April 7: Atlanta Short Track – Dixie Speedway, Woodstock, Georgia
3 April 28: Texas Half-Mile – Texas Motor Speedway, Fort Worth, Texas
4 May 5: Calistoga Half-Mile – Calistoga Speedway, Calistoga, California
5 May 12: Arizona Mile – Turf Paradise, Phoenix, Arizona
6 May 19: Sacramento Mile – Cal Expo, Sacramento, California
7 May 27*: Springfield Mile I – Illinois State Fairgrounds, Springfield, Illinois
8 June 2: Red Mile – Red Mile, Lexington, Kentucky
9 June 16: OKC Mile – Remington Park, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
10 June 30: Lima Half-Mile – Allen County Fairgrounds, Lima, Ohio
11 July 7: New York Short Track – Weedsport Speedway, Weedsport, New York
12 August 5: Buffalo Chip TT – Buffalo Chip Campgrounds, Sturgis, South Dakota
13 August 7: Black Hills Half-Mile – Black Hills Speedway, Rapid City, South Dakota
14 August 18: Peoria TT – Peoria Motorcycle C lub, Peoria, Illinois
15 September 2*: Springfield Mile II – Illinois State Fairgrounds, Springfield, Illinois
16 September 8: Williams Grove Half-Mile – Williams Grove Speedway, Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania
17 September 29: Minnesota Mile – Canterbury Park, Shakopee, Minnesota
18 October 6: Meadowlands Mile – Meadowlands Racing & Entertainment, East Rutherford, New Jersey
*Note: As in 2017, AFT Singles will race a TT at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in conjunction with Springfield Mile I on
May 26 and a Short Track during the Labor Day Weekend as part of the Springfield Mile II event on September 1.
AMERICAN MOTORCYCLE DEALER - DECEMBER 2017
www.AMDchampionship.com