NEWS
BRIEFS
BRP has announced it is to build a new North American HQ at Plano , Texas . The move is designed to situate them “ closer and better connected to our largest market ,” according to BRP GM Sandy Scullion .
Windy City Motorcycle Company is set to open its 15th dealership – Windy City Harley-Davidson at Rosemont , Illinois .
Ducati will stage its biennial ‘ World Ducati Week ’ at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli from July 20-22 , 2018 .
With it widely expected ( indeed hoped ) that the remaining 83 new bike models to be launched by Harley in the next nine years will include Off- Road and / or Adventure Tourer platforms , it might be timely for Harley to look again at what ATK Motorcycles , the USA ’ s only off-road motorcycle brand , could bring to the party ?
Motorcycle Industry Council Government Relations staff met with Department of Agriculture and U . S . Forest Service officials in November to highlight the importance of OHV recreation in national forests . The MIC says it urged department officials to prioritize recreational access , stating that OHV recreation in national forests is vital to the industry and that it is a local and national economic engine .
Metzeler has introduced a new 18 ″ tire for classic racers . With rim sizes of classics often outside the sizing parameters of modern stickies , they now offer the Racetec RR DOT range K1 ( softest ) compound in 110 / 80- ZR18 ( 58W ) front , and 150 / 65-ZR18 ( 69W ) and 160 / 60- ZR18 ( 70W ) rears .
The reported death of Bimota may have been exaggerated . Originally created by Valerio Bianchi ( BI ), Giuseppe Morri ( MO ) and Massimo Tamburini ( TA ), there can never have been a motorcycle brand whose potency has seen it survive so many near death experiences . The latest came in the form of an article that appeared in Cycle World in the United States that the Rimini based “ boutique ” high- performance marque vehemently denies . There is no secret that relocation ( s ) and the recent state of the market have made it tough for Bimota , but the Last Rites may still be a tad premature .
Lowbrow Customs founder recaptures Land Speed Record
Tyler Malinky , founder and CEO of Lowbrow Customs , has successfully reclaimed a land speed record on his 1955 Triumph motorcycle . Starting his land speed racing career in 2010 , he has set record speeds in five different classes , including the A-VG 750 record back in 2011 . “ It feels great to set a goal and then accomplish it , especially when that goal is difficult to achieve , such as a land speed record ,” said Malinky . The new record is 124.593 mph on his 1955 Triumph , which was originally only 33 horsepower at the crankshaft . Malinky ’ s custom-built race bike ‘ Poison Ivy ’ touts almost double the power and torque of the original . “ Going fast is fun no matter what , but taking something slow and making it go faster than it should is what I enjoy ,” said Malinky , “ especially when I built it in my home garage out of swap meet junk , tubing and sheet metal .” The prior record , just over 1 mph slower , was set at Bonneville Speed Week in 2016 by the Cheetah race team out of Switzerland on a 1950s Triumph motorcycle with a speed of 123.534 mph . They had increased the record from the 117.108 mph speed set on ‘ Poison Ivy ’ by Malinky back in 2011 . “ We ’ ll be back on the Salt in 2018 with ‘ Poison Ivy ’ to bump up the speeds on this new gas record and try and take the fuel record as well ,” said Malinky , not missing a beat , “ the real competition is between myself , my bike and the salt flats . The trouble with speed is that once you get going , you always want more .”
www . lowbrowcustoms . com
W & W : “ Go Fast , Go West ” for 2018
The W & W Cycles catalog is always a highlight from the Würzburg , Germany based distributor , and never short of adventurous spirit and creativity , this year said that “ our 2018 motto is ‘ Go West !’ Our constant urge to go riding and explore new roads saw Paul and our 1915 Model 11F undertaking an epic jaunt across the USA with the Motorcycle Cannonball . “ We shipped two specially built bikes , a Pan and a Knucklehead , to the States , to follow in the tracks of steam trains , wagon trails and wild horses in the wide-open spaces of North America . “ Wrenching on your Harley is the last frontier of motorcycle tuning and customizing , and our all-new 2018 catalog shows the trail to endless horizons of boss hardware to turn your hoss into
the best Harley the world has ever seen . “ With more than 1,100 pages , featuring over 20,000 broncin ’ parts , we rounded up herds of pictures from the old times and everything but the beans for maintenance , restoration ,
customizing , tuning and hopping up your ride , plus some stylish apparel for when yer riding to town .” www . wwag . com
14 AMERICAN MOTORCYCLE DEALER - DECEMBER 2017 www . AMDchampionship . com