American Motorcycle Dealer AMD 246 January 2020 | Page 8

NEWS
BRIEFS
Harley has issued a recall in the USA
of certain 2019-2020 FLHTCUTG and
FLRT Trike models on the basis of
possible unintended rear brake
activation. The potential number of
units affected is up to 12,624.
The BMW sponsored Concorso
d`Eleganza Villa d´Este (on the
shore of Lake Como -
Cernobbio, Northern Italy) will
be staged from 22 to 24 May
2020. Registration is now open,
and this signals the start of the
selection procedure when
decisions are taken on which
vehicles will be on show.
Honda R&D Co., Ltd., a research and
development subsidiary of Honda,
has announced that it has acquired
all of the outstanding shares of the
California-based Drivemode, Inc. in
order to further strengthen "new
value creation" in the areas of digital
and connected mobility products.
Drivemode is a start-up that develops
and operates smartphone-based
connected services. Honda R&D and
Drivemode have been collaborating
and conducting joint development
activities since 2015 through the
Honda Xcelerator program, an open
innovation program Honda has been
pursuing on a global basis.
Dainese has announced the
grand opening of its latest
flagship retail location in Las
Vegas. Featuring an "innovative
retail concept that creates a
journey through moto history
with memorabilia, including one
of Valentino Rossi's suits, all
surrounded by the world's most
advanced protective apparel.
Designed by Renato Montagner,
the retail environment
immerses visitors in the rich
heritage of the Dainese and
AGV brands while profiling all
riding styles including racing,
touring, street and urban".
Ford is to transfer most of its
operations in India to Mahindra &
Mahindra as part of a joint venture
with the Indian carmaker, BSA and
JAWA brand owner, and 51% owner
of Peugeot scooters. Mahindra will
own 51% of the joint venture, valued
at $275m. Both firms will continue to
own their own brands and sell them
through their own separate dealer
networks.
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manufacturer).
The Retro/Modified class is for any
modified motorcycle with any
drivetrain on any chassis configuration
that is based on a pre-1984 engine,
styled to have the appearance of a
motorcycle manufactured prior to
1984. Use of some contemporary
parts/design elements is permitted.
Entirely new for 2020, the Modified
Street Custom class is for all
manufacturers/brands with a 1984 or
later major OEM volume production
engine and frame as the start-point.
The neck may be cut to rake or stretch
the frame, and hard tail sections and
wide tire alterations are acceptable,
but the bike must be a two- or three-
wheel motorcycle configuration.
Previously two separate classes, Café
and Street Performance have been
combined as a class designed to
Dmitry Golubchikov of Zillers Garage was the first Russian winner of the
AMD World Championship of Custom Bike Building in 2018 with 'Insomnia', a
Yamaha SR 400 based masterpiece.
showcase customs where the primary
intention of the customizer is to
improve the street use performance of
a motorcycle, and showcase the
customizer's streetable performance
engineering, tuning and handling
skills and techniques. This class is open
to all or any kind of motorcycles, of any
platform or drivetrain, air-cooled or
liquid-cooled (or even alternative
energy) - 'metric', Whitworth/AF and
SAE measure motorcycles, all kinds of
performance engineering and
enhancement/tuning techniques,
including
supercharging,
turbocharging, NOS, fuel injection etc.,
with vintage or modern café racer,
drag or sport bike styles among those
permitted.
Also new for 2020 are a series of
'Cross Class' Awards - including the
Detlev Louis sponsored Public
Choice (as selected by public ballot)
and New Energy Vehicles (NEV) -
to be chosen from entries utilizing
electric, hybrid, hydrogen or fuel cell
power, or any other energy sources
considered to qualify.
INTERMOT Customized fills Hall 10,
one of the largest at the Cologne
Exhibition Center complex, and one of
the six halls in use for INTERMOT this
year, with the 'AMD World
Championship' as the center piece.
Set-up day is Monday October 5th;
Press Day is Tuesday 6th; Trade and
Preview Day is Wednesday 7th; Public
days are 8th - 11th October, with the
live streamed awards ceremony at
3:00 pm on Sunday 11th.
AHDRA Schedule, Sponsors Coming
Together
Following the news that the
AHDRA series is to make a
comeback in 2020 (Kudos Bill
Rowe!), a schedule and class
line-up has been published.
The season opens at the
traditional nitro Harley
headquarters of Rockingham
Dragway in North Carolina in
May, then moves north to
Numidia, Pennsylvania, before
hitting the Midwest at Cordova,
Illinois.
Then it is on to the Sturgis
Dragway (August 10-11) and
into Canada for the end of
August at the Napierville
Dragway in Quebec. After a
four-week break, racing
resumes at the Atlanta
Dragway, Commerce, Georgia,
and stops at the Orlando Speed
World Dragway in Florida
before the season wraps up at
Gainesville, Florida, at the end
of October.
"Thank you everyone for the
amazing outpouring of
AMERICAN MOTORCYCLE DEALER - JANUARY 2020
support," said Rowe. "I really
didn't know what to expect
when we got into this, but the
response has been amazing. Stay
tuned for more news to come."
AHDRA is owned by Pulse
Marketing, the Hellertown,
Pennsylvania-based motorsports
promotion company run by
veteran drag racer Rowe and his
family.
www.raceahdra.com
2020 AHDRA SCHEDULE
May 15-17
May 30-31
July 3-5
August 10-11
August 29-30
October 2-4
October 15-17
Rockingham Dragway, Rockingham, North Carolina, USA
presented by Cox Double Eagle Harley-Davidson
Numidia Dragway, Numidia, Pennsylvania, USA
presented by Vreeland's Harley-Davidson
Cordova International Raceway, Cordova, Illinois, USA
Sturgis Dragway, Sturgis, South Dakota, USA
Napierville Dragway, Napierville, Quebec, Canada
Nitro by invitation
Atlanta Dragway, Commerce, Georgia, USA
Orlando Speed World, Bithlo, Florida, USA
presented by MTC Engineering
November 6-8 World Finals at Gainesville Raceway, Gainesville, Florida,
USA including a $5000 All-Star race on Saturday night and the AHDRA
banquet in Gainesville on November 9th
www.AMDchampionship.com