American Motorcycle Dealer AMD 233 December 2018 | Page 10

NEWS Indian Motorcycle Racing Releases
BRIEFS AFT Rule Change Statement
Windscreen specialist National
Cycle (Maywood, Illinois) has
received ECE R43 L-Class
Certification for Quantum
Hardcoated Polycarbonate
with UV protective coating for
use on powersports vehicles
with windscreen wipers.
Thermoformed or injection
molded, Quantum Hardcoated
Polycarbonate is said to be
56% lighter than glass and is
widely acknowledged as the
most impact-resistant material
currently in use for motorcycle
windscreens. The test involved
wiper testing the material to
over one million cycles!
The Harley-Davidson, Inc. Board of
Directors has approved a cash
dividend of $0.37 per share for the
fourth quarter of 2018. The
dividend is payable December 28,
2018 to the shareholders of record
of the Company's common stock as
of December 14, 2018. H-DI is the
parent company of H-D Motor
Company and H-D Financial
Services.
Dutch energy storage and
battery company Lithium
Werks B.V.
(www.lithiumwerks.com) and
Chinese Zhejiang Jiashan
Economic and Technological
Development Zone Industry
Corporation have signed a
framework agreement with
the intention to construct a 60
hectare (150 acre) battery
Gigafactory in Chania’s
Yangtze river Delta. Total
investments required are
estimated at € 1.6 bn (USD
$1.8 bn). The facility will
produce battery cells for
lithium-ion batteries with
production capacity of 500
GWh per annum, expected to
have been commissioned by
2030.
Chicago based Genuine Scooter
Company has joined the battle for a
stake in the burgeoning
middleweight space with the launch
of its first motorcycle. The Genuine
G400C “offers a solid price point,
strong dealer margins, and a
distinctive classic look with
numerous accessorization options -
perfect sizing to appeal to a large
demographic of two-wheel
enthusiasts, including first time
motorcycle buyers.” MSRP will be
$4,599 for a fuel injected 26hp 5-
speed transmission with a claimed
80 mph top speed.
10
Indian Motorcycle is not happy
about the AMA’s recently
announced rule changes for the
2019 American Flat Track
season.
Said to be “designed to
increase the competitive
balance in the sport,” Indian
says that two of the three rule
changes “single out Indian
Motorcycle and the FTR750, and
one of the three unfairly
handicaps Indian Motorcycle’s
ability to compete.”
Gary Gray, Indian Motorcycles
Vice President for Racing,
Service & Technology, points to
its development of a “superior
purpose-built race bike that
conforms to AFT’s rules and
regulations” and says that
“while our efforts over the past
two years produced
unparalleled success on the
track, the result has also been a
competitive imbalance that
ultimately does not benefit the
sport.
“For this reason, we are fully
supportive of efforts by AFT to
restore competitive balance.
However, we believe the
changes for 2019 do not create
the competitive balance we all
desire and instead put Indian
Motorcycle Racing at a
competitive disadvantage.
“First is the change from
Sonoco Supreme fuel to Sonoco
GTX-260 fuel, a lower octane,
lead-free fuel that will force
reductions in compression ratios
and, ultimately, reduced power
output. This is something that
affects all teams equally, and
Indian Motorcycle is aligned
with this change.
“Second is the allowance of
street legal production engines
up to 900 cc. The change to
allow smaller displacement
engines to increase bore and
stroke past 750 cc to 900 cc will
produce broader torque curves
and higher peak power where
desired, which is a significant
advantage. “Production”
engines are also allowed to
change out all internal
components including
crankshafts, cams, pistons,
connecting rods and valves.
“Although this change puts
Indian Motorcycle at a
disadvantage, we support this
as part of AFT’s effort to create
competitive balance.”
AMERICAN MOTORCYCLE DEALER - DECEMBER 2018
Gary Gray, Indian Motorcycles Vice
President for Racing, Service &
Technology: “We believe the
changes for 2019 do not create the
competitive balance we all desire
and instead put Indian Motorcycle
Racing at a competitive
disadvantage”
However, it is with the third of
the three rule changes that
Indian takes “serious issue
with.” This is the change that
allows production engines to
increase from 38 mm throttle
bodies to 40 mm. Indian says
that this rule excludes Indian
Motorcycle Racing, because the
Scout FTR750 is not a street
legal production motorcycle.
“Not only does the rule
singularly handicap Indian
Motorcycle, it represents a
significant impairment of our
ability to compete on an equal
level with every other team in
the paddock, specifically on
mile tracks.
“We have done extensive
testing in this area, and our
results have shown that 40 mm
throttle bodies produce 20% to
22% more air flow than the 38
mm throttle body. In previous
years, larger throttle bodies
have been allowed, but limited
specifically to larger production
motors. This will be the first
time that smaller, lighter
production motors, similar in
dimension and weight to the
FTR750, will be able to increase
throttle body sizes, creating a
significant advantage over
larger, heavier motors, let alone
over the FTR750, for which this
allowance does not apply.
“This is extremely significant on
mile tracks where the increased
air intake is maximized over the
longer straights. Considering
that the mile tracks are the
predominant racing format in
the series, this puts us at a
drastic disadvantage and is
detrimental to our ability to
fairly compete at mile tracks.”
The company went on to say
that “it is critical to us that
American Flat Track fans
understand how these changes
exclusively impair Indian
Motorcycle Racing. Despite
these changes, we will attack
2019 with the same competitive
focus and determination that
resulted in back-to-back
championships over the past
two years.”
“We believe that allowing production engines to increase from 38 mm
throttle bodies to 40 mm puts us at a competitive disadvantage. The FTR
750 is not a street legal production motorcycle. We have done extensive
testing in this area and our results have shown that 40 mm throttle bodies
produce 20-22% more airflow than the 38 mm”
www.AMDchampionship.com