American Motorcycle Dealer AMD 240 July 2019 | Page 21

Avon Tyres, the Melksham, UK based custom tire subsidiary of Cooper Tire & Rubber Company Europe Ltd., has announced Dominic Clifford as new Global Avon Motorcycle Sales Manager, responsible for worldwide sales, reporting to Jaap van Wessum, GM EMEA, Cooper Tire Europe. Clifford joins Cooper after eight years with Goodyear Dunlop Tyres Ltd., where he was responsible for motorcycle and motorsports tire sales for the U.K. and Ireland. Earlier in his career, Clifford was employed for nine years by Triumph Motorcycles with responsibility for their global motorcycle accessory business unit. Clifford is an avid motorcyclist who in recent years participated in the Tuareg Rally, a seven-day race in Africa, and the seven-day Hellas Rally in Greece. He is a regular competitor in two of the largest events in UK motorcycle racing - the Weston Beach race and Welsh two-day Enduro. www.avonmotorcycle.com Honda marks 50 years of Inline-Fours with Custom Specials at Wheels & Waves Honda had twelve customized CB1000Rs from Spain, France, Switzerland and Italy on display the Wheels & Waves festival at Biarritz, France in June to mark the 50th anniversary of the iconic CB750 - widely acknowledged as the world's first superbike. "In 1969, the Honda CB750 was a revelation. Pushing the boundaries at every level, not only was it the first mass produced inline-four 750 cc motorcycle, but it was also the first production motorcycle with an electric start and a disc brake as standard. "Originally developed for the American market, with an ultra- competitive price point of only $1,495, the CB750 set the tone for the next 50 years of motorcycling and is rightly heralded as the first 'Superbike'". The CB1000R was chosen as the basis of the tribute as it is the current is the flagship of Honda's 'Neo Sports Café' family. www.wheels-and-waves.com NEWS BRIEFS Lane Splitter H-D in San Jose, California, has been sold by Jeffrey Soffer to become the 6th Harley store owned by Rich Gargano and Cliff Chester; it will be rebranded as San Jose H-D. Soffer also owns Stinger H-D in Medina, Ohio, and Alligator Alley H-D in Sunrise, Florida. Soffer is best known as a major league real estate developer in Miami. Gargano and Chester own multiple Harley dealerships, secondary retail locations and alternative retail outlets in California. The deal was masterminded by George Chaconas' Performance Brokerage Services. Chester also owns Gold Rush H-D, Elko, NV., Oil City H-D, Casper, WY. and Snake H-D in Twin Falls, Idaho. Ducati won first place in the 'Concept Bikes: New Design and Prototypes by Manufacturers and Independents' category at the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este in Italy in May. They did so with the original and still much admired Hypermotard 950 Concept designed by Ducati's own Central Styling unit. This follows the Red Dot Award recently won by the Diavel 1260. First staged on the shores of Lake Como in 1929, the event is organized by BMW Group jointly with the Villa d'Este hotel. Dominic Clifford is New Global Motorcycle Sales Manager for Avon Tyres