International Dealer News IDN 155 June/July 2020 | Page 10

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BRIEFS
The headbutting between Alpinestars
and Dainese continues, with the former
set to rival the latter in the autonomous
airbag space with its Tech-Air 5 airbag
vest going up against the Dainese Smart
Jacket. The Tech-Air vest will reportedly
be able to be worn under any suitably
designed or equipped textile or leather
riding jacket. Alpinestars says that the
Tech-Air 5 vest "provides the most
comprehensive coverage of any airbag
currently available", covering the rider's
shoulders, chest, ribs and back. The tech
solutions developed include six sensors,
three gyroscopes and three
accelerometers.
Akrapovic won the Best Brand
award in the exhaust systems
category for motorcycles in PS
Magazine's annual vote, giving the
Slovenian exhaust specialist its
thirteenth such honour in this
annual German poll.
Ducati has signed a deal with MT
Distribution that sees the third-party
logistics provider become a licensee and
commercial partner for a new line of
folding e-bikes and electric scooters for
urban mobility. The new range will
consist of four electric scooters and
three folding e-bikes under the Ducati,
Ducati Corse and Ducati Scrambler
brands. Design has been curated by the
Ducati Design Centre in collaboration
with Italdesign for the folding e-bikes.
The scooters that come from the
partnership between Ducati and MT
Distribution have motors from 250W to
500W, while the e-bikes are equipped
with 250W motors (the maximum value
stipulated by law for this type of
vehicle). The first two electric scooters to
be presented on the market are called
Cross-E and Pro II, which will launch
respectively on June 20 and July 6,
2020.
CC Racing Garage, Italy, won the
third edition of Ducati's Custom
Rumble contest. The Scrambler
1100 FT by Marco Graziani was
chosen by "an exceptional jury
made up of actor Nicholas Hoult,
riders Chaz Davies and Andrea
Dovizioso, the founder of BikeShed
Dutch Van Someren and Filippo
Barbacane, elected the winning
motorcycle from among five
finalists - the live streaming award
ceremony, presented by Scrambler
Ducati Ambassador Dominika
Grnova, was attended by 16,000
users.
Kawasaki
For its full year ended March 31st 2020,
Kawasaki Heavy Industries has posted
gross profit of 270,526m yen on net
sales of 1,641,335m yen (down from
1,594,743m yen) for an operating
profit of 62,063m yen and earnings per
share (EPS) of 111.72m yen.
Motorcycle (and engine) sector sales
totalled 338,529m yen for an operating
loss of 1,948m yen (down from a
2018/2019 operating profit of
14,366m yen on sector sales of
357,566m yen).
In unit sales terms, Kawasaki reports
162,000 units sold in 'developed
markets' (down from 165,000 in
2018/2019), 337,000 units sold in
'emerging markets' (down from
385,000) and 70,000 UTV/ATV/PWC
(approximately the same as the year
ago) for a worldwide total of 569,000
units sold (down from 620,000).
In other news, and like all PTW
manufacturers, Kawasaki has taken a
wide range of measures to protect its
employees, and, like many, it has sought
out ways of supporting its existing
customers and those it hopes will be
buying as soon as possible, including
extending its standard warranties to
mitigate for the time that owners
couldn't use their machines.
Hans Sipkema, Deputy Senior Manager
of KME's Technical Service Department,
The Z 900 has been one of the models leading Kawasaki's climb up the sales
lists in Europe in recent years. It is proving to be a versatile platform, as
shown by the Gilles Tooling customised Z900RS/Café seen in IDN last month
(rearsets, risers, oversized bars, protectors, engine brackets etc). Dealers and
consumers alike are appreciating the wide range of aftermarket parts and
accessory upgrade options available from screens and luggage to suspension
and exhausts, such as the LeoVince LV10 slip-on seen here.
Galfer - #BACKTOBRAKE
Spanish brakes specialist Galfer says it is
in production, shipping and ready to
return to the track just as soon as
possible.
"The difficult historical and economic
moment we find ourselves in as a result
of COVID-19 is forcing the international
two-wheel vehicle industry to take on
the most difficult challenge in its history.
It also compels us to deploy all the
resources possible to make people
aware of the vital importance of twowheel
vehicles at this time.
"Our restart anthem is #BACKTOBRAKE
- it reflects our determination to return
to pre-pandemic times just as soon as
we can do so safely. All of those in the
motorcycle industry who live on the
passion and adrenaline that only our
sport can provide us with are eager to
get back on our two-wheelers (whether
engine-driven, electric or pedalpowered)
and we want this to make a
difference both ethically, by ensuring
compliance with the most basic rules of
social distancing, and ecologically, by
using a healthier and more sustainable
way of getting around.
"The use of two-wheel vehicles
(motorcycles and bicycles) has many
advantages over four-wheelers and
public transport, including:
1. Safer and more hygienic means of
transport in terms of virus spread, since
it is easier to maintain a safe distance
between people and you avoid the mass
use of public transport.
said: "Many Kawasaki owners in
Europe have been, and may still be, in
a position whereby they cannot use
their machines or have very restricted
use. We will automatically extend all
applicable warranties during the period
of the lockdown and then review this in
future to decide if further extensions are
applicable."
Dick van Honk, Manager of KME's
Logistics Section, went on to explain:
"We have still been picking parts orders
in the warehouse according to the
recommended social distancing and
health guidelines as well as dealing
with parts returns from various dealers
and locations.
"New motorcycles and other stock are
still arriving from Japan, and our aim is
to operate at this level for the
foreseeable future. We will be ready to
return to maximum capacity as soon as
restrictions are lifted, and it is safe to do
so."
With customer support being offered as
normal by Kawasaki branch technical
teams via web and phone, customer
and technical support continues,
including planning for new models.
Dale Lockyear, Manager of the
Technical Information Section, said:
"While many staff work from home, we
are in regular contact and working
within regulations and guidelines on
new model training for dealer staff and
information updates. The flow of
information continues even at these
difficult times and customers can be
sure that dealers will have the latest
specs and information ready for when
they are able to fully reopen for sales
and servicing right across Europe in the
future."
2. Less traffic congestion in big cities and
reduced CO2 emissions.
3. More efficient means of transport
thanks to shorter travel times, low
energy consumption and less space
required for parking.
"In a market such as Europe, the world
leader in the manufacture of mopeds,
motorcycles and accessories for twowheeled
vehicles, the aim of our
#BACKTOBRAKE campaign is to spread
a message of positivity and to invite
people to put their two-wheelers to use
again.
"The campaign is aimed at the large
audience of user enthusiasts, fans,
professional racers and our brand
ambassadors. Today the world of cycling
and motorcycling can, and must,
become a collective symbol of the
international restart. It is a challenge
that we here at Galfer are ready to take
on to play our part in".
www.galfermoto.com
10 INTERNATIONAL DEALER NEWS - JUNE/JULY 2020
www.idnmag.com