International Dealer News IDN 147 February/March 2019 | Page 12

news ROOM
Newfren - one of Europe’s
BRIEFS clutch aftermarket leaders
NEWS
ODI Grips (Riverside, California)
has signed a product distribution
agreement with Technical Touch
BvbA of Belgium to serve as the
exclusive ODI Powersports
Distribution warehouse and
fulfilment centre for Europe.
“Our goal for ODI is to infiltrate
the European market through
digital channels, while
maintaining the personal, high
quality after sales service that
our customers are used to,” said
Diego Claessens of TT.
Completely new B2B and B2C E-
Commerce platforms are to be
established to support sales to
premium dealers throughout the
EU.
Majority Peugeot Scooter stakeholder
Mahindra (the Indian conglomerate
bought a 51% stake in 2014) looks
set to take the French brand back into
the motorcycle market, and not via its
upcoming BSA and Jawa plans.
Instead the company showed a pair of
USD fork concepts - a Cafe Racer and
a Roadster - at EICMA that will be
powered by the 300 cc liquid-cooled
single it uses in its Mahindra Mojo in
India or a new jointly Peugeot and
Mahindra developed 125.
BMW may have turned its back
on the concept of the helmet-
free enclosed two-wheel scooter
when it cancelled it C1
programme, but German
manufacturer Govecs says it
wants to revive the idea as an e-
scooter, with belt, roof and roll
cage, meaning it falls outside of
the requirements for the driver
to wear a motorcycle helmet,
with launch scheduled for 2021.
Italian brakes and clutch specialist
Newfren says that “no other
aftermarket spare parts company can
boast such a large catalogue of
applications and such long experience
in the production and sale of clutch
sets for motorcycles and mopeds”.
IDN was speaking with company CEO
Valter Barbero on the company’s
booth at EICMA in November and he
told us that “the range of Newfren
clutches has grown both technically
and in terms of the spread of
applications we offer - we have grown
in parallel with the development of the
OEM model ranges and are always one
of the first to have updated
applications available for the new
models of motorcycles and scooters
each year.”
Barbero explained that participating
with leading race teams at the highest
levels of moto sport has been the
driver for Newfren’s ability to
constantly be developing ever more
reliable, durable and better performing
clutch plates.
“Teams such as Ducati have entrusted
the development of their clutch plates
to Newfren, so having the fate of the
SBK World Championship dependent
on your R&D and being able to help
Carlos Checa take the top of the
podium is a fantastic spur to
excellence.”
Newfren has been the clutch plate
technical partner for Moto3 ever since
The motorcycle industry trade
association in Austria (Arge 2Rad)
says that one in every nine Austrians
aged 15 or older has a motorcycle,
and that the motorcycle industry there
is worth 2.9 billion euro in total added
value to the Austrian economy.
FK Motors Europe is a newly
established Germany based
import subsidiary for Chinese
‘Major’ Fekon. Initial offers will
include three new 125 cc units
developed specifically for the
western market, including the FK
12 SF Street Fighter – all,
initially, being sold in the
German market. Fekon has four
factories in China with a
production capacity of up to
500,000 machines a year.
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INTERNATIONAL DEALER NEWS - FEBRUARY/MARCH 2019
the series made its debut, and Barbero
said that “the technical challenges in
a new series are intense, but we here
at Newfren were able to ensure
drivetrain reliability thanks to our deep
understanding of friction materials
and the dynamics of power transfer -
understanding that is based on
decades of experience”.
The company was founded in the
1950s by Alessandro Barbero, and in
recent years Valter has invested heavily
in new manufacturing technology at
the 65,000 sq ft facilty/100,000 sq ft
site near Turin.
Ahead of industry requirements where
environmental manufacturing and
compound formula requirements are
concerned, Newfren has been granted
UNI EN ISO 9001-2000 certification
for its quality control systems and ABE
certification from the German KBA for
many of its products. As part of a
continuing process, they are on the
way to obtaining environmental
certification ISO 14000.
The company made its start in the
brake shoe market and Valter says it
still offers “the most complete
catalogue of motorcycle and scooter
brake shoes in Europe.”
Specialists in the world of clutch
systems, such as STM, have found
Newfren to be a unique partner in
Europe, allowing them to create
cutting edge, high-tech complete
clutch systems for the most
demanding high-performance
applications.
“But we are also a partner for the
passionate street and off-road biker
who wants a great product at the right
price,” says Valter.
The current range includes three
product lines - standard OE
replacement, performance upgrades
and the top-of-the-line ProRace high
performance programme - meaning
they have all three of the primary
sectors of clutch plate demand
researched, designed and in
production.
“For passionate BMW owners, for
example, we offer a high-quality dry
single-disc clutch that is already a top-
seller - very popular with BMW
owners, dealers and independent
specialists.
“For the specialised needs of Vespa
enthusiasts, we have been producing
and distributing model- specific clutch
designs since the '60s - from standard
replacements up to performance
upgrades for the high demands of
urban riding and special designs and
formulations for racing.”
www.newfren.com
www.idnmag.com