American Motorcycle Dealer AMD 237 April 2019 | Page 18

Swiss-Moto, 21 to 24 February 2019, Zurich
An impressive 70,289 bike fans
flocked to Switzerland's largest city
for the 16th edition of the country's
biggest celebration of life on two
wheels. In addition to highlights from
more than 400 top brands, the biggest
visitor draws in 2019 were the special
"Switzerland: Bikers' Paradise"
exhibition featuring augmented
reality technology, a visit from
Hollywood star Keanu Reeves and
legendary Builder Gard Hollinger, a
tribute to Switzerland's greatest
motorsport hero Luigi Taveri, the
world's most expensive motorbike
and, of course, Swiss-Custom.
Among this year's trends were the rise
of electronic systems such as eCall
emergency call systems and bending
lights, technology for connecting
smartphones with motorbikes, and
the entry of two major brands –
Harley-Davidson and Vespa – into the
electromobility segment.
Organizer Yves Vollenweider was
delighted with how the event turned
out. "The number of bike fans who
travelled here, the positive feedback
from exhibitors and the huge level of
media interest once again shows that
Swiss-Moto is an important platform
for the motorcycle industry in
Switzerland."
Star of 'The Matrix' Keanu Reeves and
custom motorbike guru Gard
Hollinger added a touch of Hollywood
Mid Cycle "Stripper"
Timed, in early March, as a news
initiative just before Daytona
Bike Week, Harley-Davidson has
introduced an additional 2019
model - an Electra Glide
Standard that it describes as a
"dressed down Dresser."
"Powered by the muscular
Milwaukee-Eight 107 engine,
the new Electra Glide Standard
provides a raw, fundamental
riding experience inspired by
Harley-Davidson's Grand
American Touring roots.
Designed for the traditional
touring customer, the Electra
Glide Standard is for the rider
seeking to disconnect from all
the noise of the day-to-day
through riding. No screens [well,
actually, there is a mini screen],
simply a motorcycle that
provides and heightens the
experience of the journey, this
fundamental experience is a key
element in the design and
engineering of the Electra Glide
Standard."
Described as featuring
"essential Harley-Davidson
styling elements such as the
18
iconic batwing fairing, chrome
trim, standard saddlebags and
cast aluminum wheels," chrome
accents are added in "high-
impact design areas and
complemented by polished
rocker, cam and derby covers
and select blacked out
components - a blend of
traditional elements and
modern trends."
Perhaps not quite so stripped-
down then after all. It would
appear that Harley are
genetically incapable of really
doing "standard", of doing
minimalism - they could do
worse than to take a look at the
Epic 'Naked Series' tourer kits
that Chris Eder in Texas is
selling through Tucker V-Twin to
get an idea of where the
market's 'zeitgeist' is at.
"To express the
stripped-back essence
of the Electra Glide
Standard we focused
on finishes that
were simple,
timeless and
fundamental to the
AMERICAN MOTORCYCLE DEALER - APRIL 2019
The Rat's Hole Award was won by Dorin Racz of Romania with his
completely handcrafted custom bike 'Rise of Anarchy'
glamour as they unveiled their ARCH
Motorcycle brand with Swiss
motorbike specialists Speedbox.
The Swiss-Custom Customizing &
Tuning Show, which is integrated into
Swiss-Moto, saw some 60 bikes from
six countries in a competition, with
A M D Wo r l d C h a m p i o n s h i p
photographer and Brand Ambassador
Frank Sander heading up the judging,
class structure and selection of
entrants with a specially designed
app used to judge the bikes on show,
with jurors from the USA and United
Arab Emirates joining the judging process.
One of three primary prizes, the Rat's
Hole Award, was won by Dorin Racz
of Romania with his completely
handcrafted custom bike 'Rise of
Anarchy' with which he scooped 9th
place in the Avon Freestyle Class of
the 2018 AMD World Championship
as a follow-up to his 2016 6th place.
The Emirates Pick was won by
Stephane Grand of Switzerland, with
'Best in Show' scooped by American
Brian Buttera's Shovelhead. Swiss-
Moto 2020: February 20-23, Zurich.
www.swiss-moto.ch
Harley-Davidson's touring line.
Chrome was added [ it's the
word "added" that doesn't sit
well with "stripped-down"] to
key components and
complemented by polished and
blacked-out parts," said Harley-
Davidson's Vice President of
Styling & Design Brad Richards.
"The rocker, cam and derby
covers are finished with chrome
to emphasize the V-Twin shape
of the Milwaukee-Eight 107
engine. In addition, they add a
dose of nostalgia that draws a
through-line all the way back to
the first Electra Glide." [Really?]
No doubt it is another box
ticked en route to the 100 new
bikes in 10 years ambition, but
since Harley is currently
struggling to sell enough
tourers, as a mid-cycle addition
this isn't going to set showroom doors swinging.
That said, a genuinely
"stripped-down", highly
customizable, price-point entry
level Touring platform would
have been a great idea and
probably should have been in
the model range from the
moment the M-8 Tourers made
their debut for MY2017.
Features of the EGS include
electronic cruise control, hand-
adjustable emulsion-technology
rear shock absorbers, 49 mm
front forks with Showa dual
bending valve suspension, and
Brembo brakes
with optional
Reflex Linked
and ABS
features.
Electra Glide Standard - not exactly the
purist's definition of "stripped down"
www.AMDchampionship.com