American Motorcycle Dealer AMD 224 March 2018 | Page 64

NEWS

BRIEFS

On Feb 2 Harley approved a cash dividend of $ 0.37 per share for the first quarter of 2018 . The dividend is payable March 2 to the shareholders of record of the company ' s common stock as of Feb 14 .
Harley ’ s board additionally authorized the company to repurchase up to 15 million shares of Harley-Davidson common stock . The board authorization is in addition to the existing share repurchase authorization approved in February 2016 . As of the end of 2017 , 10.6 million shares remained on that share repurchase authorization .
Alta Motors has launched an R-spec machine for its motocross line - the 2018 Alta Motor Redshift MXR . Alta is quoting 50 hp and 42 lbs ft of torque with a wet weight of 259 lbs ready-to-ride . Recharge times have been reduced , to just 1.5 hours on a 220 V system . Features include improved thermal management for the battery pack .
Harley closed out 2017 with a 9.06 percent 6th spot market share in Germany , with 9,144 units sold . Its top-seller was the XL 1200X with 980 units sold ; followed by the Breakout ( 896 ), Dyna Street Bob ( 821 ) and XL ( 678 ).
Indian Motorcycle closed out 2017 in 14th spot in market share terms in Germany with a 0.66 percent share , with 661 units sold .

HardDrive grows its catalog for 2018

Boise , Idaho based distributor HardDrive has unveiled a biggest ever catalog for 2018 - at 1,352 pages it is increased by 100 pages and features some 1,200 added SKUs . New products for this year include the Tier 1 + CCT tuner ( see feature on pages 58 / 59 of this edition of AMD Magazine ) and new products and kits added to the HardDrive program , including many exclusives , from the likes of Bagger Nation , Fox Shocks for Harley applications , Arnott air suspension ,
Aquatic audio / AV , Patriot Suspension , Sawicki exhausts , Dragonfly Concepts , Torch Industries , Energy One , Flow Motorsports , Lyndall Wheels , Racing Brothers , Shinko Tire and West Eagle . Indeed , so prolific is HardDrive ’ s new product program that at their January vendor / sales team training symposium Product Specialist Gunnar Heinemeyer told AMD that this year will see additional quarterly catalog supplements being published online as further additions come into inventory . www . hdtwin . com

Harley-Davidson invests in Alta Motors

Harley-Davidson has announced that it has made an equity investment in San Francisco Bay area MX E-bike maker Alta Motors , “ a leader and innovator in lightweight electric vehicles ”. The two companies will collaborate on electric motorcycle technology and new product development . “ Earlier this year , as part of our 10-year strategy , we reiterated our commitment to build the next generation of Harley-Davidson riders , in part by aggressively investing in electric vehicle ( EV ) technology ,” said Harley-Davidson President and CEO Matt Levatich . “ Alta has demonstrated innovation and expertise in EV , and their objectives align closely with ours . We each have strengths and capabilities that will be mutually beneficial as we work together to develop cutting-edge electric motorcycles .” Harley-Davidson had already announced the planned launch of its first electric motorcycle , informed by Project LiveWire . That motorcycle is on track for release in 2019 . “ Since its inception , Alta Motors has
Marc Fenigstein , Alta Motors Chief Product Officer and co-founder
designed and commercialized some of the world ' s most advanced electric motorcycles , enabling everyone from pro riders to new riders to experience the future of fast . Riders are just beginning to understand the combined benefits of EV today , and our technology continues to progress ,” said Alta Motors Chief Product Officer and co-founder , Marc
Fenigstein . As reported elsewhere in this edition of AMD Magazine , ACEM , the Brussels based international motorcycle industry trade association for Europe , a market where E-bike acceptance and an understanding of issues such as urban mobility are at least a decade ahead of the United States , say that ( for the 28-member states of the European Union ) a mere 4,121 electric motorcycles were registered in the whole of 2017 ; plus 27,029 electric mopeds ( equivalent to 50cc and smaller units , including pedelecs ) and a further 3 , 242 electric “ quadricycles ”.
Alta ’ s 2018 Redshift MXR
64 AMERICAN MOTORCYCLE DEALER - MARCH 2018 www . AMDchampionship . com