NEWS
BRIEFS
On Feb 2 Harley approved a cash dividend of $ 0.37 per share for the first quarter of 2018. The dividend is payable March 2 to the shareholders of record of the company ' s common stock as of Feb 14.
Harley’ s board additionally authorized the company to repurchase up to 15 million shares of Harley-Davidson common stock. The board authorization is in addition to the existing share repurchase authorization approved in February 2016. As of the end of 2017, 10.6 million shares remained on that share repurchase authorization.
Alta Motors has launched an R-spec machine for its motocross line- the 2018 Alta Motor Redshift MXR. Alta is quoting 50 hp and 42 lbs ft of torque with a wet weight of 259 lbs ready-to-ride. Recharge times have been reduced, to just 1.5 hours on a 220 V system. Features include improved thermal management for the battery pack.
Harley closed out 2017 with a 9.06 percent 6th spot market share in Germany, with 9,144 units sold. Its top-seller was the XL 1200X with 980 units sold; followed by the Breakout( 896), Dyna Street Bob( 821) and XL( 678).
Indian Motorcycle closed out 2017 in 14th spot in market share terms in Germany with a 0.66 percent share, with 661 units sold.
HardDrive grows its catalog for 2018
Boise, Idaho based distributor HardDrive has unveiled a biggest ever catalog for 2018- at 1,352 pages it is increased by 100 pages and features some 1,200 added SKUs. New products for this year include the Tier 1 + CCT tuner( see feature on pages 58 / 59 of this edition of AMD Magazine) and new products and kits added to the HardDrive program, including many exclusives, from the likes of Bagger Nation, Fox Shocks for Harley applications, Arnott air suspension,
Aquatic audio / AV, Patriot Suspension, Sawicki exhausts, Dragonfly Concepts, Torch Industries, Energy One, Flow Motorsports, Lyndall Wheels, Racing Brothers, Shinko Tire and West Eagle. Indeed, so prolific is HardDrive’ s new product program that at their January vendor / sales team training symposium Product Specialist Gunnar Heinemeyer told AMD that this year will see additional quarterly catalog supplements being published online as further additions come into inventory. www. hdtwin. com
Harley-Davidson invests in Alta Motors
Harley-Davidson has announced that it has made an equity investment in San Francisco Bay area MX E-bike maker Alta Motors,“ a leader and innovator in lightweight electric vehicles”. The two companies will collaborate on electric motorcycle technology and new product development.“ Earlier this year, as part of our 10-year strategy, we reiterated our commitment to build the next generation of Harley-Davidson riders, in part by aggressively investing in electric vehicle( EV) technology,” said Harley-Davidson President and CEO Matt Levatich.“ Alta has demonstrated innovation and expertise in EV, and their objectives align closely with ours. We each have strengths and capabilities that will be mutually beneficial as we work together to develop cutting-edge electric motorcycles.” Harley-Davidson had already announced the planned launch of its first electric motorcycle, informed by Project LiveWire. That motorcycle is on track for release in 2019.“ Since its inception, Alta Motors has
Marc Fenigstein, Alta Motors Chief Product Officer and co-founder
designed and commercialized some of the world ' s most advanced electric motorcycles, enabling everyone from pro riders to new riders to experience the future of fast. Riders are just beginning to understand the combined benefits of EV today, and our technology continues to progress,” said Alta Motors Chief Product Officer and co-founder, Marc
Fenigstein. As reported elsewhere in this edition of AMD Magazine, ACEM, the Brussels based international motorcycle industry trade association for Europe, a market where E-bike acceptance and an understanding of issues such as urban mobility are at least a decade ahead of the United States, say that( for the 28-member states of the European Union) a mere 4,121 electric motorcycles were registered in the whole of 2017; plus 27,029 electric mopeds( equivalent to 50cc and smaller units, including pedelecs) and a further 3, 242 electric“ quadricycles”.
Alta’ s 2018 Redshift MXR
64 AMERICAN MOTORCYCLE DEALER- MARCH 2018 www. AMDchampionship. com