American Motorcycle Dealer AMD 249 April 2020 | Page 64
NEWS Royal Enfield, Moto Anatomy Partner
BRIEFS for Production Twins Effort with New
S&S, Harris Flat Track 650
Having
dropped by
-45% in five
years (to a
worst of
$30.47), the
Harley share
price jumped by almost +5% in
afterhours trading when news
of Matt Levatich's "mutual"
decision to leave Harley was
released (28 February).
However, within two further
days of trading it had dropped
back, at one point touching a
near 10-year low of just $29.00
on 3 March; then came the
Coronavirus run - it closed at
$23.72 on March 13, having
kissed the pavement at $19.23
the day before.
The Sturgis Motorcycle Museum Hall
of Fame has announced its 2020
inductees - with Allen Alvarez, Jody
Perewitz, Arlin Fatland, Skeeter Todd,
Dave Mackie and Micah McCloskey
and Vicki Sanfelipo among its Class
of 2020. Don Hotop is to receive the
Arlen Ness Lifetime Achievement
Award, and Rushmore Chapter
A.B.A.T.E. Group luminaries Wayne
and Susan Lettau are to be
recognized with the 2020 Freedom
Fighters Award.
The Coronavirus panic has
already claimed international
motorcycle show calendar
casualties. The Tokyo
Motorcycle Show (slated for
the end of March) was
cancelled, Motorcycle Taiwan
(April 15-18) has been
postponed to October 21-24,
2020, with the 10th INABIKE in
Indonesia rescheduled to March
24-26, 2021. At this stage, the
biennial IMOS, described as the
"biggest motorcycle show in
Indonesia" is still scheduled to
go ahead on 11-15 November
2020 at the Jakarta Convention
Center (JCC).
In addition to its partnership
with AFT as the Official OEM
Partner, Milwaukee-based Royal
Enfield North America (RENA) is
to back the Moto Anatomy
campaign in the Production
Twins class, with decorated flat
track racer Johnny Lewis
developing and racing a new
Harris Performance built Royal
Enfield Flat Track (FT) machine.
As the chassis engineers behind
the Royal Enfield 650 parallel
twins, Harris, which is owned by
Royal Enfield and has an
impeccable motorcycle race
frame pedigree going back more
than 30 years, is the ideal
partner to build the Interceptor
650 based special edition with
support from Royal Enfield and
S&S Cycle.
"This racing effort is
unprecedented in Royal Enfield's
North American history," said
RENA's Breeann Poland. "Johnny
Lewis is a legitimate contender
anytime he's on the track, and
we couldn't have picked a better
partner in his organization,
Moto Anatomy.
"Flat Track continues to garner
attention from both a
professional and grassroots
level and we feel strongly about
our extended partnership with
AFT and now Moto Anatomy. We
are thrilled to bring the Royal
Enfield brand to more
enthusiasts, and this is a great
opportunity to do that on a
major scale."
Lewis has risen through the
ranks of AFT and enjoyed
success at both the amateur and
professional levels. The concept
Twins FT was first seen at the
2019 EICMA Show and was
slated to make its media debut
at the Daytona TT in March.
Lewis will then compete with
the motorcycle for the first time
at the Laconia short track event
on June 13 and will run all AFT
short track events for the
remainder of the season in the
Production Twins class. The
Royal Enfield FT will also run the
Sturgis Buffalo Chip TT and
Peoria TT as a wildcard entry in
the Super Twins class.
"I'm excited to lead the
development of the Royal
Enfield Flat Track Twin program
in 2020," said Lewis, owner of
Moto Anatomy. "Being involved
at such an early stage in a
brand's racing efforts has been a
fantastic opportunity. While our
focus is on development, there
is great potential in the platform
and it's encouraging to see a
manufacturer with as much
history as Royal Enfield entering
AFT.
"It's also great to see Royal
Enfield helping grow the sport
of motorcycling in North
America with its new rider
initiatives."
Besides racing, Moto Anatomy
will also use the Royal Enfield
FT411, a modified variation of
the Royal Enfield Himalayan set-
up exclusively for flat track use,
as part of Royal Enfield Slide
School Presented by Moto
Anatomy.
This flat track riding clinic will
be available to the public at
select events during 2020,
giving riders the opportunity to
learn the basics of flat track in a
controlled environment.
www.moto-anatomy.com
www.americanflattrack.com