American Motorcycle Dealer AMD 245 December 2019 | Page 18

NEWS JE Pistons Partners with Parts Unlimited
BRIEFS and Drag Specialties
After almost 40 Years, ABC
Harley-Davidson of Waterford,
Michigan, has been sold by
owners Edwin Alder and Dennis
Atherton to Dwane and Kari
Cannady and Larry and Mary
Clark. Dwane Cannady, a first-
time buyer, was GM for a Pacific
Northwest H-D store for over 10
years and has wanted to move
back to the Midwest and own
and operate his own dealership,
which will remain at its current
location, but will be renamed as
Arsenal H-D.
Indian Motorcycle is up to 14th place
in market share terms in Germany for
the first ten months of 2019 with
1,179 units sold YTD for a modest
but growing 1.09% share (+12.72%
in market share terms over the same
period of 2018).
AMA has announced its 2020
AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days
for July 10-12 at the Mid-Ohio
Sports Car Course in Lexington
for the 26th year. Features will
include vintage motorcycle
racing, a "massive swap meet",
vendors, entertainment,
seminars and more. A fundraiser
for the AMA Motorcycle Hall of
Fame, AMA Vintage Motorcycle
Days showcases classic
motorcycles of all makes and
styles, and honors the riders
who made them famous.
H-D was in sixth place in motorcycle
market share terms in Austria for the
first nine months of 2019, with
6.06% (807 units sold). Indian
Motorcycle was in 15th place with
0.66% (88 motorcycles sold) of a
market worth 13,309 units in total
YTD. Royal Enfield is in 13th spot,
with a 0.95% share (126 sales).
Unsurprisingly, KTM is market leader
in Austria (24.31% share, 3,236
units sold YTD), with BMW second
(12.84%).
Residents of Wisconsin can now
operate the three-wheeled
Polaris Slingshot with a
standard driver's license, rather
than the previously required
motorcycle license or
endorsement. The reclassification
of the vehicle as an 'Autocycle'
takes immediate effect.
Cycle World has named the Ducati
Diavel 1260 S as its best cruiser of
2019, with the BMW R 1250 GS
ADV as the best Touring model. Its
best lightweight street bike is the
Kawasaki Z400; best middleweight is
the Triumph Street Triple R, and best
'Open-Class' street bike the much
admired KTM 1290 Super Duke GT.
18
Cypress, California based
high-performance
powersports forged
racing pistons specialist
JE Pistons has entered
into a new distribution
partnership with Parts
Unlimited and Drag
Specialties.
With a history in racing
dating back to 1947, JE
Pistons "engineers,
forges and machines
precision racing pistons
that improve
performance over OEM parts
while standing up to the tests
of professional powersports
competition."
A "seasoned veteran" in four-
stroke piston design with a
decorated trophy wall of Pro
Motocross and AMA Supercross
championships and motorcycle
drag racing titles and records, JE
has "established a sought-after
status among factory-level
racing teams, not just off-road,
but on asphalt too. From
nitrous-huffing and turbo-
motivated Pro Street drag bikes
to performance-built V-twin
engines, JE pistons have proved
to be incredibly durable pass
after pass and mile after mile."
Parts Unlimited and Drag
Specialties will be stocking JE’s
full range of off-the-shelf piston
offerings. "Drag Specialties will
become a source of JE’s line of
proven V-twin pistons from
classic to modern engine
platforms, offering forged
pistons for a wide range of
displacement and compression
combinations."
www.jepistons.com
www.dragspecialties.com
Change in Management at
Custom Chrome Europe
Effective January 1st, 2020, Thomas
Noetzel will take over leadership of
Custom Chrome Europe, with
respected current Managing Director
Andreas Scholz leaving his post after
14 years.
The Grolsheim, Germany based
specialist V-twin parts, accessory and
G&A distributor says: "Noetzel has a
diploma in business engineering and
has been heading up CCE's buying
and IT operations since 2017.
Noetzel guidance of CCE's IT
deployment was a major factor in the
successful move to its new warehouse
with its focus on optimized access,
usability for dealers and customers,
plus maintaining the high standards of
CCE's internet security".
Scholz took over the leadership at CCE
in 2005 and has run the business
through the worst economic
conditions the Harley-Davidson
aftermarket parts industry has ever
had to endure, with changes in
ownership and problems at its U.S.
sister company.
The development and building of the
new CCE HQ and warehouse is
among, but far from the only of
Scholz's achievements. Numerous
campaigns and initiatives have not just
AMERICAN MOTORCYCLE DEALER - DECEMBER 2019
promoted CCE, but contributed to the
growth and, importantly, ease of
access pathway for riders to discover
and enjoy everything that custom
motorcycling has to offer.
The "Bolt On And Ride" campaign,
now running in its 12th year, has
defied market trends and CCE's
international bike show series has
inspired and showcased thousands of
builders.
"As Custom Chrome now enters the
50th year since the founding of a then
small custom shop behind a two-car
garage on West San Carlos Street in
San Jose/California in 1970, Thomas
Noetzel and the experienced team at
Custom Chrome Europe will continue
Scholz's successful work".
Thomas Noetzel (lleft) will take the "handlebars" at Custom Chrome Europe
from Andreas Scholz, Managing Director of CCE.
www.AMDchampionship.com