American Motorcycle Dealer AMD 229 August 2018 | Page 8

NEWS
BRIEFS
The NICB reports that U.S. motorcycle
thefts decreased in 2017 by -5%
(44,268 motorcycles reported
stolen); this follows increases against
trend in 2015 and 2016. The top
three states for theft were California,
Florida and Texas; the top three cities
were New York, San Diego and Los
Angeles. The three most stolen
brands were Honda, Yamaha and
Suzuki (Harley the fourth). July and
August were peak months.
Skip Eaken (who died in 2012)
joins Terry Cunningham, Gary
Davis, Nicky Hayden, Clifford
“Corky” Keener and Mary
McGee as an AMA Motorcycle
Hall of Fame inductee for 2018.
A motorcycle racing tuner from
Lodi, Ohio, he began building
competitive and reliable flat
track racers in the 1970s. He
notched his first Grand National
victory in 1983 with Ted Boody
riding an Eaken-prepped H-D.
He is best known as the
mechanic who worked on Hall
of Famer Bubba Shobert’s
factory Honda motorcycles in
the 1980s.
Valerie Thompson, the world’s fastest
female motorcycle racer, was among
those inducted into the Sturgis
Motorcycle Museum Hall of Fame at
this year’s 78th annual Rally,
alongside Jeff Decker, Jack Hoel,
Armondo “Mondo” Porras, Marilyn
Stemp and Hamsters USA. Thompson
set a new land speed record of
328.467 mph (528.616 km/h) during
the DRLA Speed Week competition at
Lake Gairdner, Australia, earlier this
year - surviving a huge 363 mph
crash during the World Speed Trials.
< motorcycles that spans three distinct
product spaces and four
displacements - starting with the
company’s first Adventure Touring
motorcycle, the Harley-Davidson Pan
America 1250; a 1250 cc Custom
model, and a 975 cc Streetfighter
model, all of which are planned to
launch at the beginning of 2020.
Additional models to broaden
coverage in these product spaces will
follow through 2022.”
Harley also states that it is to develop
“a more accessible, small
displacement (250 cc to 500 cc)
motorcycle for Asian emerging
markets through a planned strategic
alliance with a manufacturer in Asia.
This new product and broader
distribution is intended to fuel Harley-
Davidson’s customer access and
growth in India, one of the largest,
fastest growing markets in the world,
and other Asian markets.”
Ambitiously, Harley also states that it
intends to lead the electric motorcycle
market by “launching Harley-
Davidson’s first electric motorcycle,
LiveWire, in 2019 - the first in a broad,
no-clutch “twist and go” portfolio of
electric two-wheelers designed to
establish the company as the leader in
the electrification of the sport.
LiveWire will be followed by additional
models through 2022 to broaden the
portfolio with lighter, smaller and even
more accessible product options to
inspire new riders with new ways to
ride.” It is thought that these will
include electric scooters and mopeds,
‘PedElecs and bicycles.
In terms of its “broader access”
pledge, Harley-Davidson will “advance
its market delivery approach and meet
today’s customer needs by creating
‘the company’s first Adventure
Touring motorcycle’
Harley’s 1250 cc “all-new custom
motorcycle with a muscular stance
and aggressive, stripped down
styling” is planned for 2021
This 975 cc ‘Streetfighter’
style model is slated to be
part of Harley’s new modular
500-1250 cc “middleweight”
platform range - planned for
2020 launch
high-engagement
customer
experiences across all retail channels –
including improving and expanding
the company’s global digital
capabilities by evolving the Harley-
Davidson.com experience to integrate
with and enhance the dealership retail
experience for existing and new
LiveWire - “the first in a broad, no clutch ‘twist and
go’ portfolio of electric two wheelers designed to
establish the company as the leader in
electrification of the sport” - 2019 launch
Vanson Leathers has opened a
riding gear studio at the
Fillipachi Action Sports Store in
Soho, NYC, where it will offer
custom riding leathers fitting in
addition to its respected ‘off-
the-peg’ program.
The Irvine, California based
Motorcycle Safety Foundation has
issued its Motorcycle Operator
Manual (MOM) in Chinese
(Mandarin) as the organization seeks
to promote safety to an expanding
segment of the riding audience.
MSF’s MOM is used by motor vehicle
agencies in 44 U.S. states as a study
guide for motorcycle license
applicants and has been a part of
MSF’s inventory of reference
materials on motorcycle operation for
the past four decades.
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‘new modular 500 cc to 1250 cc
middleweight platform’
AMERICAN MOTORCYCLE DEALER - AUGUST 2018
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