American Motorcycle Dealer AMD 247 February 2020 | Page 8

NEWS
BRIEFS
HardDrive dealers will now be able
to buy Dunlop tires from the Boise,
Idaho based distributor after WPS
inked a distribution agreement with
the largest motorcycle tire maker in
the United States. "We are genuinely
excited to begin this new relationship
with WPS," explained Dunlop's Sr. VP
of Sales and Marketing Mike Buckley.
WPS/HardDrive distribute through
warehouses in Idaho, California,
Pennsylvania, Indiana, Texas and its
newly opened purpose-built 240,000
sq ft facility near Savannah, Georgia.
Harley's Chinese collaborator of
choice, Geely Automobile
Holding, is in talks to take a
stake in troubled 107-year old
British luxury car maker Aston
Martin. Geely already owns the
formerly British Lotus brand,
Volvo (Sweden), Benelli (Italy),
and has a 9.69% stake in
Germany's Daimler - parent of
Mercedes Benz. Famously the
maker of fine automobiles for
British Secret agent James '007'
Bond, Aston Martin isn't the
only iconic British marque Geely
has rescued - being the owner
and manufacturer of the equally
iconic black London Taxi.
Ducati has scooped up another Good
Design Award ('Red Dot Award' -
assigned by Chicago Athenaeum,
Museum of Architecture and Design,
the European Centre for Architecture
Art Design and Urban Studies
German 'Red Dot' Award) for the
Diavel 1260 S. "A true style icon, the
Diavel 1260 continues its winning
streak in international design
competitions," says Ducati.
"Powerful and beefy, this motorcycle
combines maxi-naked performance
with muscle cruiser ergonomics."
Powered by the internationally
respected 59 hp Testastretta DVT
1262 engine, this is the kind of air
that Harley will hope its 975 cc 60-
degree V-twin 'Bronx' streetfighter
will breathe.
Polaris has issued a recall of
certain 2019 Slingshot
motorcycles. Some 1,903 units
are affected - a 10A circuit
breaker may be defective,
tripping unexpectedly and
causing a sudden loss of power
and an engine stall.
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Kenny Tolbert and mechanics Bubba
Bentley and Jimmy Wood. S&S's Dean
Young continues his ongoing role as
the Wrecking Crew Team Manager.
In addition to S&S, Indian will benefit
significantly from the support of its
valued sponsors, including presenting
sponsor Progressive Motorcycle
Insurance, Parts Unlimited, Drag
Specialities, Indian Motorcycle Oil,
Alpinestars, J&P Cycles and Bell
Helmets.
"Every team in the paddock
understands how invaluable the
support of sponsors is to the success
of a team, and for us, it's no
exception," said Gray. "You can't
underestimate the advantage it brings
to have the resources and support of
companies like these that are so
heavily invested in our success, and the
success and growth of our sport
overall."
After capturing the top three spots in
the 2019 standings, Indian Motorcycle
Racing enters the 2020 series with its
sights set on capturing its fourth
consecutive Grand National
Championship and Manufacturer's
Championship.
In 2019 Briar Bauman won the
Daytona TT season opener and never
looked back for the rest of the season
on the way to his first Grand National
Championship. His older brother
Bronson captured five victories and
earned podium finishes in 17 of 20
events. Meanwhile, 2019 was a
season of extremes for Mees -
capturing a series-best eight victories,
only to come up a mere seven points
short of his seventh Grand National
Championship.
25 Years into the Future
It has been 25 years since leading
battery charger, maintenance and
diagnostics manufacturer TecMate
brought the first OptiMate brand
charger to market as a result of
technology developed when working
on a problem-solving project for
Honda.
Since those early days TecMate has
stayed at the forefront of technology
and riders' needs, responding to the
ever-changing demands being made
on motorcycle batteries - including
introducing one of the first ever
Lithium-specific chargers (2010).
For founding partner, CEO and Chief
Technology Officer Martin Human it
has always been "all about the ride,"
and as he told AMD at EICMA, "ours
is a fast-evolving landscape. The
proliferation of consumer devices has
brought new demands and
opportunities, and the proliferation of
battery platforms has brought
challenges and ever more complex
problems to be solved.
"Riders depend on OptiMate to be
there for them, to be solving those
problems before they even realize
what problems may lie ahead - and
that is just exactly what we are going
to keep on doing for the next 25 years.
"We have saved millions of batteries
since 1994 and have always
recognized that energy is precious.
"In 2014 we decided that we needed
to design products that use less
energy. The result was the OptiMate 7
- the first fully efficient battery charger
AMERICAN MOTORCYCLE DEALER - FEBRUARY 2020
with modern, efficient dual converter
technology that uses 50% less energy
compared to other chargers.
"But we aren't stopping there. The
next 25 years in our story will be a
'Green Story' - energy efficient, ECO
friendly products that can enhance the
ownership and riding experience."
To mark its anniversary, TecMate has
launched a new user-friendly, feature-
rich website to help its dealers help
their customers to choose the right
charger for them. Loaded with videos,
instruction guides and advice,
"dealers and riders will come to know
our new online tool as the industry's
premier 'Go To' problem-solving
resource - if there is a solution, that is
where they will find it."
"OptiMate's energy-saving, plug-in-
anywhere (100-240V) electronics
deliver more charge for less," says
Martin. "If AC power is a problem, we
also have SOLAR and DC charging
options, and our OptiMate accessories
range includes battery testers and
monitors, USB chargers and premium
cables and connectors - all of the kind
of premium quality and reliability that
has gained the trust of over fifteen
major vehicle and performance battery
OEMs and millions of happy owners
worldwide."
www.tecmate.com
www.AMDchampionship.com