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OVER 5,000 CUSTOM BIKE PHOTOS ONLINE AT WWW.AMDCHAMPIONSHIP.COM
Advance visitor registrations for V-Twin Expo running ahead of 2010 statistically according to organizer S the market eyes 2011, and its established annual primary trade show with nervousness, V-Twin Expo Sales Manager Jim Betlach has told AMD Magazine that on a comparable basis advance visitor registrations for 2011 are running “substantially ahead of those we had this time last year”. Betlach told AMD that “it looks like dealers are intending to come to the show in increased numbers compared to February 2010, but it is interesting that the increase in advance registrations is not reflected in Cincinnati hotel take-up. “My hunch is that many more dealers are deciding to make the trip, but for a day only, to save themselves the costs of overnight accommodation”. Always a bellwether of the state of the market, V-Twin Expo will again be at its usual downtown Cincinnati venue, on February 5, 6 and 7th 2011. In 2010, as in 2009, the parts and accessory vendor community left the show somewhat reassured that here was still business to be done. Many commented that the reduced
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overall attendance actually improved the quality of the booth encounters that vendors had, with a much higher percentage of visitors being dealership owners or employees with real buying influence and responsibility. As has been the case worldwide, the performance and service sectors have emerged at V-Twin Expo as signposting where dealership revenues remain strongest, and Betlach says he expects that to be seen again in 2011. “There’s no doubt in my mind that part of the market change we are seeing is the re-emergence of workshop revenues as the most important aspect of custom dealership activity. There’s no rocket science to such an observation, but from our point of view, as show managers, it is graphically apparent in the increased percentage of exhibit space taken up by performance and workshop revenue focused vendors. “Along with the trend back to bolton customizing of stock or near stock Harleys, and the continuing popularity of so-called retro-styling in parts and accessory design, these are the primary trends we continue to see.”
Commenting on the size of what will be the 11th annual V-Twin Expo, Betlach is characteristically candid. “Yes, the number of booths sold this year will be down on 2010, but the decline is nothing like as dramatic in number or percentage terms as it had been since the show maxed out on available space four years ago. “While everybody had hoped that 2010 would have seen a bottomingout of market conditions, that didn’t happen; but the signs we are seeing and the feedback we are getting from the exhibitor community suggest that it may well be the case in 2011. “There are some businesses that have continued to grow in 2010, no question. Market leaders continue to increase their share of the declining market, and in some cases have actually increased sales revenues as well. V-Twin Expo will again feature an extensive program of relevant and expertly moderated seminars and vendor education sessions, and if Betlach is right about attendee numbers, it is to be hoped that in addition to taking reassurance home, the industry will also be able to leave Cincinnati with orders, too.
JAN 2011 ISSUE #138
2011 MODELS
PRODUCTS
‘Walton’ Blech & Drüber travelled from Austria to Sturgis for the World Championship of Custom Bike Building to enter this traditionally, styled Chopper called ‘Walton’ and were rewarded with 6th place. Full story on pages 67-68
MILAN SHOW HOSTS ‘CUSTOM CITY’
AMD •• AMD •• AMD
JANUARY 2011 (#138)
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF ROBIN BRADLEY robin@dealer-world.com
News ..............................................................................6-14, 80
PUBLISHER
Big Dog Motorcycles ....................................12-13
SONJA WALLACE sonja@dealer-world.com
Big Dog has nine models in production for 2011 in a
ADVERTISING ASSOCIATE MARY BETH CROWE
range which includes Touring models alongside the
marybeth@dealer-world.com
Choppers the company is well known for manufacturing
EDITOR
Big Twin Bikeshow and Dealer Expo ..............17-19
DUNCAN MOORE duncan@dealer-world.com
The 19th annual Big Twin Bikeshow and Dealer Expo in The Netherlands
INTERNATIONAL EDITORS HORST RÖSLER
saw an increased attendance and a World Championship
motographer@t-online.de
program affiliate event win for Gareth Ruddy from the UK
FRANK SANDER frankthunder1@aol.com
Products: The new, the best and the must-haves ....................................22-49
AL FRANCK al@dealer-world.com DESIGN & PRODUCTION MANAGER BEN OAG ben@dealer-world.com DESIGN & PRODUCTION EDITOR TOM JACKSON tom@dealer-world.com INFORMATION MANAGER NEIL BLABER
Paughco p.22
P&W p.28
Custom Chrome p.33
Exile Cycles p.40
Headwinds p.46
Bikers Choice p.29
neil@dealer-world.com PUBLISHING MANAGER BEN BRADLEY benb@dealer-world.com ACCOUNTS MANAGER EMMANUEL DI BONA emmanuel@dealer-world.com
Chapman House, Chapman Way, Tunbridge Wells Kent TN2 3EF, GB TEL: 0044 (0)1892 511516 FAX: 0044 (0)1892 511517
DISCLAIMERS No part of AMD may be reproduced or used in any way without permission. The views contained in AMD are not necessarily the views of the publishers. Every effort is made to ensure that all material included is as accurate as possible, however the publishers cannot be held responsible for any erroneous statements, facts, figures or mistakes. All trademarks, brand names and other key words are used purely for descriptive purposes. No approval, endorsement of, or involvement in the contents of AMD is implied by the use of these or any other words, names or marks associated with all or any companies. All trademarks acknowledged.
‘World Championship of Custom Bike Building’ is a registered trademark of Robin A. Bradley, Dealer-World.com
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AMERICAN AMERICAN MOTORCYCLE MOTORCYCLE DESIGN DESIGN
AMERICAN MOTORCYCLE DESIGN
AMERICAN MOTORCYCLE DESIGN
AMERICAN MOTORCYCLE DESIGN
AMERICAN MOTORCYCLE DESIGN
Industry Profile: The Virtual bike builder ............55-56 Drawing bikes was simply a hobby for Mark van der Kwaak as a youngster, now with the aid of CAD software he continues to draw bikes and has made a business from his design skills
Bike review: ‘Walton’, by Blech & Drueber ..........67-68 Austrian-based custom shop Blech & Drueber took a Norton-engined Chopper to the World Championship and were rewarded with 6th place
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If for any reason you can’t connect via our toll free numbers then dial TEL: 01144 1892 511516 - Fax: 01144 1892 511517 AMERICAN MOTORCYCLE DEALER - JANUARY 2011
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COMMENT
Save us from our politicians! HEY say that confession is good for the soul. Following my confession last month, about having been over-optimistic about business prospects for 2010, I do feel somehow refreshed and renewed. Having purged myself of my sin of not having called it right, I now feel somehow more optimistic and less fatalistic about our prospects for 2011. However, before rolling eyeballs anticipate an ‘oh no, here he goes again’ launch into a paean of overzealous forecasting, allow me to reassure. I, and everyone I speak to, remains realistic about prospects, but having, like so many businesses, worked hard to keep costs and income in best possible balance, businesses in our industry are now at least better able to cope with the reduced market size and ongoing uncertainty than we all were 36 months ago. While this may be a bit of a hollow victory,it is a better place to be than the over-leveraged over-supply that the unsustainable growth of the decade to 2006 left us with. Market uncertainty still revolves around consumer confidence; one factor that we can’t control and one that smart business house-keeping must assume will remain soft until the case for a return to growth is proven beyond doubt. If, as Jim Betlach suggested recently, 2011 may well deliver market stability in a way that 2010 failed to, then beyond that not insignificant mile-post it will remain anybody’s guess as to how long it will be before there is a return to any kind of real underlying and sustainable growth. he occasion of my dialog with Betlach was to discuss with him prospects for the upcoming V-Twin Expo at Cincinnati (see this month’s cover story).His view is that the dramatic decline of the past three of four years is showing signs of “stemming” as he put it, and if that proves to be the case, and it is one that I’d go along with at this time, then it is still likely to be at least some 36 months more (namely into 2015) before that growth is truly apparent. As I said last month, that will mean that our decade of boom will have been followed by a full decade of decline and stability before growth returns. A sobering timescale to think about – it will have taken us twenty years to have gotten nowhere! The time for hand-wringing is over, and the time for taking responsibility for the prospects that our businesses have in the altered reality of NOW is well beyond due. Successive administrations have proven through decades of incompetence that government involvement in business is a liability; a trainwreck waiting to happen. It has nothing to do with the personalities or polictical allegiances involved - once in power politicians’ ability to benefit business are circumscribed by the competing needs of public and private sector. The first rule of governments should be the same as of that time-honored creed of the medical profession. First and foremost, do no harm. Beyond that keep out of the way and let market forces deliver the employment that keeps the wheels turning, and, I suppose, the taxation that politicians and public servants can’t help but to squander.
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It would be nice if we could believe that public spending really did impact beneficially on the poor, the young, the ill and the old, and that successive administrations followed a play-book that genuinely oiled the engine of free enterprise. Regrettably though, such idealism has no place in our world any longer, and it is the so-called political elite and their slavish, toothless media-lackies who have shown us that to be true. Sharp scissors, never mind billions and billions of Dollars of public money are not safe in the hands of our over-bloated and out of control governmental administrations and public sectors. We have a serious competency deficit in our political machinery, and have had for nearly sixty years. o amount of voting, protesting, tea-partying or hopeless expectation is going to have any beneficial impact on the mess that governments of all hues,shapes and flavors continue to exacerbate. For so long as the ballot-box remains the godchild of the campaign contributions that ever worsening grades of candidates can generate and the play-thing of an equally ever worsening low-grade media industry,the best thing their cash could buy is a seat in the bleachers to watch and applaud appreciatively from a safe distance as business is allowed to get on with “doing the business”sans their interference. In which connection,and by way of one final thought-on-a-theme,congratulations to MAG – the Motorsports Aftermarket Group. In what, hopefully, will become a classic case study of “physician heal thyself”, their acquisition of the Cycle News brand is exactly the kind of responsibility-taking from which good things flow. ome have greeted the news with scepticism, most have greeted it with surprise, but all should welcome it because effective communication between vendors, dealers and consumers, effective promotion of our sport and lifestyle, and effective generation of excitement for motorcycling as a leisure Dollar spend option really is the oil in the engine of our sector’s recovery. To achieve that, our industry, like so many, needs many things – quality products that meet and exceed consumer expectations, quality vendors who keep consumers wanting to come back for more, and a quality ownership experience that enhances consumers enjoyment of their lives.These are of course all fundamentally important. But in order to prevent all that being a well kept secret, our industry also needs quality media,shows and events,as well as much else besides.Cycle News had served successive generations of enthusiasts well, and it would have been a retrograde step indeed if such a respected brand had become a permanent real-world casualty of a downturn whose origins lie in such an unreal world.
our money is not safe in their hands
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AMERICAN MOTORCYCLE DEALER - JANUARY 2011
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Robin Bradley Co-owner/Editor-in-Chief robin@dealer-world.com
NEWS
Travertson launch V-REX-2 TRAVERTSON Motorcycles has followed up the V-REX bike, which it launched in 2007, with a second model – the V-REX-2. Like its predecessor, the V-REX-2 is based around a HarleyDavidson VRSC 1250cc motor from a V-Rod with a Travertson built air intake assembly and a custom exhaust. The gas tank or ‘backbone’ of the bike is a large
central casting, manufactured from aluminum that connects the cast single-sided rear swingarm to the motor and the sub-frame which supports the steering arm and front fork. Both the steering arm and front
fork are also cast aluminum parts, with the front fork assembly being more similar to a regular bike’s rear swingarm than a regular front end. Changes from the previous version include the use of a new steel seat sub-frame, which allows the bike to now carry a passenger. The driver’s seat has
also been redesigned to make it longer to allow space for the passenger. Optional pieces fitted to the bike pictured include custom clear acrylic centered wheels, iPod/iPhone docking station, CD player and neon and LED lighting that responds to audio input. TRAVERTSON MOTORCYCLES Ormond Beach, Florida, USA Tel: 386 676 7602 E-mail: sales@travertson.com www.travertson.com
CCI Dealer Show expands in 2011 CUSTOM Chrome International has announced plans to move its Dealer Show to a larger venue for 2011. The event, which is held over the weekend of March 19 and 20, will be held at the 302,000 sq ft Santa Clara Convention Center. “In bringing back the Custom Chrome Dealer Show in 2010, we wanted to keep the return of the Dealer Show a bit more intimate,” says CCI President and CEO Holger Mohr. “The response and attendance was so overwhelmingly positive that we completely stuffed last year’s location in terms of vending space, hotel rooms and overall facilities. For 2011, we had to look for a location that could handle not only vendor booths and meeting rooms, but also provide even higher levels of service that our dealers, vendors and visitors demand.” Alongside the change of location another difference in 2011 will be the
opening of the show to the public on the Sunday. “We have seen first hand the tremendous value of having a ‘public day’ at our Custom Chrome Europe Dealer Show,“ says VP of Sales and Marketing Steve Veltri. “For years, it has been the most attended and most popular Dealer Show in Europe from a vendor and dealer perspective. Our vendors have asked for something similar here in California and we have responded in kind. At the end of the day, motorcycle owners buy the products we all sell, and letting them see an early sneak peek at 2011 new products will get them excited and buying more, earlier in the season.” The Santa Clara Convention Center will also see Custom Chrome International host the final of the company’s International Bike Show Series with the North American Championship Bike Show taking place over the same weekend as the
The Santa Clara Convention Center is the venue chosen to host the expanded Custom Chrome International Dealer Show in 2011
Dealer Show. In Europe, the Custom Chrome Europe 2011 Dealer Show will take place over March 26th and 27th, with, as is now traditional for this event, the Sunday being open to the general public attendance.
CUSTOM CHROME INTERNATIONAL Morgan Hill, California, USA Tel: 408 825 5000 Fax: 408 778 7001 info@customchrome.com www.customchrome.com
NEWS
ATK plan electric police bikes ATK Motorcycles, the only US-based manufacturer of off-road motorcycles, is now planning to expand its range with a duo of electric motorcycles for use by law enforcement agencies. The company has already supplied gas powered motorcycles to the Los Angeles Police Dept., San Francisco Police Dept., the San Diego Sheriff’s Dept., and many other agencies worldwide. The two proposed new electric models are the Stealth Metro and Stealth Dual Sport. The Metro is described as ‘an around-the-town law enforcement motorcycle’. It is a lightweight motorcycle with high ground clearance and long travel
The Metro Dual Sport runs a 21in front wheel and has 12in of suspension travel at both ends
A range of 100 miles or three hours continuous running is claimed as possible from the ATK Stealth Metro
suspension that is said to offer advantages over traditional street cruisers. The Dual Sport model is designed for both on and off-road use. Over the years ATK has sold many gas
powered dual sport versions to a variety of local, state and federal law enforcement agencies, which require a versatile product that can maneuver over a wide variety of terrain.An added
HTP America Racing museum planned for Bonneville relocates HTP America, a welding supplies specialist, has moved to larger premises in Elk Grove Village, Illinois. The company states that the new premises will double the space it has available for its warehouse operations, product development and customer service teams. The new facility will also enable HTP America to provide a dedicated training area for its MIG and TIG school classes. HTP AMERICA, INC. Elk Grove Village, Illinois, USA Tel: 847 357 0700 Fax: 847 357 0744 E-mail: sales@htpweld.com www.usaweld.com
PLANS are moving forward for a dedicated museum to the history of
racing on the Bonneville Salt Flats. A building has been acquired at
claimed benefit of the electric motors used in the two bikes is that they are stealthier than comparable gas powered motorcycles. Standard features on both machines are black and white two-tone color schemes, integrated GPS capabilities, LED pursuit lamps and computer/ radar 12v plug-in. Additional options that will be offered are siren systems (two tones, wail and yelp), digital camera with audio capabilities and removable storage packs. ATK MOTORCYCLES Centreville, Utah, USA Tel: 801 298 8288 Fax: 801 299 0710 E-mail: sales@atkusa.com www.atkusa.com
Wendover Airfield in Wendover, Utah, to house the museum.A 99-year lease has been agreed on the building, which is 150ft. x 60ft., however, it needs work doing on it before it is suitable for use as a museum. A 501c3 nonprofit corporation has been established and a committee is being formed. In the meantime ‘Charter’ donations are being accepted and are being placed in escrow pending completion of the committee process. All donations should be accompanied with a name, address, e-mail and phone number, which will then be placed on a database that will allow the organizers to update donors on all museum updates. The mailing address for interested parties is: Bonneville Salt Flats Museum, 345 Airport Apron, P.O. Box 159, Wendover, Utah, 84083, USA.
NEWS
Brough Superior breaks sale record H&H Classics Ltd., a specialist auction house in the UK, recently sold a 1929 Brough Superior for £286,000. The price reached during the auction makes it the most expensive motorcycle ever sold. The spring framed SS100, commonly known as the ‘Rolls Royce of motorcycles’ was sold to a private buyer during the auction held at the Haynes International Motor Museum.
The previous record for the most expensive motorcycle sold was £278,400, when a 1915 overhead camshaft Cyclone boardtrack racer was auctioned in 2008. H&H CLASSICS LIMITED Warrington, Cheshire, UK Tel: +44 (0)1925 210035 Fax: +44 (0) 8458 334433 www.handh.co.uk
MCS end-of-year catalog update MOTORCYCLE Storehouse used the Custombike Show in Bad Salzuflen, Germany, to launch its 200-page end-of-year catalog update. The full color update includes 7,000 plus parts including 4,500 new products from Vance & Hines, Arlen Ness, Roland Sands, the full LePera seat collection, All Balls starters, Easyriders, Weall, Marlins & Marshall instruments, Motogadget, DMD helmets, Biltwell, the full Crane
collection, King Kerosine apparel, Altmann ignitions, National Cycle windshields, Cobra exhausts and many more. Additionally, model year applications are updated too, and include, the 2011 Harley-Davidson models. MOTORCYCLE STOREHOUSE Bedum, NETHERLANDS Tel: +31 (0)50 303 9775 Fax: +31 (0)50 303 9777 E-mail: info@mcseurope.nl www.mcseurope.nl
NEWS
W&W launch online catalog W&W Cycles launched an online version of its parts and accessory catalog at the beginning of December 2010. The new project sees the company’s entire line of 24,669 parts available and searchable via the website www.wwag.com. The site includes secure log-ins for dealers, with availability checks
and ordering options. W&W CYCLES AG Wuerzburg, GERMANY Tel: +49 (0)931 250 61 16 Fax: +49 (0)931 250 61 20 E-mail: sales@wwag.com www.wwag.com
MAG takes on Cycle News MOTORSPORT Aftermarket Group (MAG), the parent company of motorcycle parts and accessories brands including Performance Machine and Küryakyn among others, has moved into a new area of business with announcement of its acquisition of the Cycle News brand. The magazine, which was published weekly for 40 years until its closure in August 2010, is now available online at cyclenews.com. Not only has MAG acquired the Cycle News brand, it has also recruited the title’s former Editor
Paul Carruthers, who headed the magazine from 1994 until just prior to its closure. “Cycle News has a rich history and has always been there for both the industry and enthusiasts,” said MAG President and CEO Brian Etter. “Many of us grew up reading Cycle News, and its name has meant a tremendous amount to all of us who love the sport. We are committed to the Cycle News brand and to its readership, and we will work diligently to take it to the next level. “In his 25 years with Cycle News, Paul earned the respect and
confidence of the industry and its enthusiasts and we are thrilled that he will return,” Etter continued. “We are looking forward to working
with Paul and his team to move the brand forward.” “I am confident we can put together a quality team to bring Cycle News back to where it belongs – at the forefront of motorcycle media,” Carruthers said. “Having a company like MAG behind us will ensure its success.” MOTORSPORT AFTERMARKET GROUP Irvine, California, USA Tel: 949 440 5500 Fax: 949 440 5501 www.maggroup.com
NEWS
Big Dog release 2011 model range BIG Dog Motorcycles’ 2011 year model range of nine bikes is headed by the Bulldog, which the company first produced in 2009, when it entered the Bagger market for the first time. The bike combines the styling of a Pro Street bike with the capabilities of a Touring model. The bike’s 6ft wheelbase is created by the use of 1in under 41mm forks raked to 34 degrees at the frame with an additional three degrees in the trees. The 111ci S&S supplied motor uses a square configuration of 4.125in bore and 4.125in stroke and is electronically fuel-injected. A Baker six-speed RSD transmission is coupled to the motor via a proprietary Balance Drive primary. Adding to the custom styling is the use of a 21 x 3.25in front and 18 x 8.5in rear wheel, with a 250scetion tire used at the back. Alongside the fiberglass hard bags the bike’s touring capabilities are enhanced by the fork-mounted fairing, which also carries the bike’s premium audio system. New for 2011 is a variant of the Bulldog – the Bulldog Sport. The new model shares many of the Bulldog’s features but forgoes the fairing for a more stripped down look. This in turn leads to a lighter weight for the bike and a matching increase in performance. The pro street styling is taken further with the Big Dog Motorcycles’ Coyote with the use of 2in over forks raked 39 degrees at the frame with an additional three degrees in the trees.
To match the more radical styling the engine also increases in size to 117ci, thanks to an increased stroke 4.375in and is fueled by a carburetor. In the 2011 model line-up two versions of the Chopper inspired K-9 are being produced by Big Dog. Alongside the established model there will be the new K-9 250. The original K-9 takes styling to the extreme with a 12in over front end, raked 39 degrees in the frame and three degrees in the trees. The 117ci motor The Bulldog Sport strips away is fuel injected and the sixthe fairing of the Bulldog but has speed transmission the practicality of hardbags for touring use delivers power to an 18 x 10.5in rear wheel wrapped in a 300-section tire. As the name suggests, the K-9 250 carries a 250section tire on its 18 x 8.50in rear wheel. Other areas where the bike differs are the shorter forks, 10in over with 37 degrees of rake in the frame and five in the trees and a carbureted 111ci motor. The pro street range of and 20in rear wheel with the rear bikes is continued with the 300tire being a 280 section. The section rear-tired Mastiff, which runs a 117ci engine in its 6in over 117ci motor is teamed up with a Balance Drive primary and RSD length backboned frame and the six-speed transmission. bike can be ordered with a With 12in over forks, a rigid choice of a carb or electronic frame with a 4in backbone fuel-injection and the optional stretch and 8in downtube stretch chrome package. and 330-section rear tire the The Pitbull is the only rigid Ridgeback Chopper is the most framed model in the pro street extreme bike in the 2011 range range and it rolls on a 23in front
A 117ci motor is used to power the pro street styled Coyote
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AMERICAN MOTORCYCLE DEALER - JANUARY 2011
A new model from Big Dog for 2011 is the K-9 250, a slimmed down version of the existing K-9 bike
The Touring model in the Big Dog line, The Bulldog, features a fork mounted fairing and hard bags
from Big Dog. A 121ci X-Wedge motor from S&S Cycle, with a square 4.25 bore and stroke configuration, is used in the Wolf for 2011. The bike rolls on 23 front and 20in rear wheels, with the rear carrying a drive-side brake and a 220-section tire. The company’s chrome package is also included >>> as standard on the Wolf.
NEWS The Big Dog K-9 carries a 12in over front end and a 300 rear tire to give it its Chopper styling
23in and 20in wheels are used on the rigid framed pro street Pitbull
BIG DOG MOTORCYCLES Wichita, Kansas, USA Tel: 316 267 9121 dealers@bigdogmotorcycles.com www.bigdogmotorcycles.com LEGEND MOTORCYCLE GROUP/BIG DOG EUROPE Belgium Tel: +32 (0)495 127565 info@bigdogmotorcycles.eu www.bigdogmotorcycles.eu
The 117ci motor in the Mastiff is offered with a choice of carb or electronic fuel injection
The Ridgeback features a rigid frame and 12in over forks to give it the classic Chopper look
A 121ci S&S Cycle X-Wedge motor is used in the Wolf with a Big Dog balanced primary and six-speed transmission
SHOWZONE
The 19th annual Big Twin Show (formerly known as MotorSale) at the Autotron, Rosmalen in The Netherlands, saw an upturn in public attendance this year, as vendors remained cautious about Dutch custom market prospects for the year ahead ...
1st place Murray Kustoms/ Gareth Ruddy (UK)
Photo credit Onno "Berserk" Wiering
NE of Europe’s longest established specialty custom bike shows, this was the 19th annual Big Twin Bikeshow and Dealer Expo, and the 4th year that the event has been affiliated to the World Championship of Custom Bike Building. The win this year was taken by Gareth Ruddy, of the United Kingdom, with his restoration of a Murray Kustoms 1980 Yamaha XS 650. He wins a 5,000.00
O
RESULTS
FREESTYLE 1. Murray Kustoms / Gareth Ruddy (UK) 2. Hans Prost (Netherlands) 3. Revatu Customs (Netherlands) 4. Bike Farm (Germany) 5. Destiny Cycles (UK)
MODIFIED HARLEY 1. Koen Gezels - (Belgium) 2. Destiny Cycles (UK) 3. Bike Farm (Germany)
euro expenses contribution towards the costs of competing at the 8thh annual AMD World Championship of Custom Bike Building (August 7 to 10th) at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in 2011. Show highlights included the annual Zodiac International Dealer Show (see feature in February’s AMD), an all new seminar series featuring the likes of S&S Cycle, National Cycle, Dynojet, PM/RSD, Wiseco, ACCEL and Spectro Oils, and a second year for the show’s now annual ‘Master Technician of the Year’ competition to promote mechanic training. Overall, market sentiment among dealers and vendors in the Netherlands is that while 2010 was a little down on 2009, it has been workshop revenues that have kept the lights on, and although customizing has diminished to a trickle in the second half of the year, there were more custom builds around than had been expected leading up to the summer riding season. However, the general consensus appears to be that 2011 should see a levelling-off of business for most shops, with authorized dealers anticipating quite strong demand for 2011 model year HarleyDavidsons in a market where Harley is the number two best-selling motorcycle brand in the 651 cc plus market sector. Next year will see the Big Twin Bikeshow and Dealer Expo celebrating its 20th anniversary, on November 4, 5 and 6th 2011. www.bigtwinshow.nl
2nd place Hans Prost (Netherlands)
3rd place Revatu Customs (Netherlands)
Zodiac International and Vocor Tools sponsored the second annual ‘Technician of the Year’ competition - an event organized and scrutinized by the 'Tweewieler Academy' in The Netherlands and designed to reward and promote workshop practice training and standards AMERICAN MOTORCYCLE DEALER - JANUARY 2011
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SHOWZONE SPS/Samurai Choppers: Erick Martens (left), seen here with European importer/distributor Paul Beamish (of Krazy Horse fame in the UK) signing up his SPS (Special Parts Supply) custom shop as the Dutch market dealer for Zero Engineering of Japan's respected and popular Samurai Chopper program earlier this year; www.specialpartssupply.nl, www.zeroengineeringeu.com
Harley-Davidson: Motor Saloon (Amersfoort) and OIT (Breda) were two of three Dutch authorized Harley dealers to bring 'Bar 'n Shield' backing back to the Big Twin Bikeshow Custom Chrome: with their 40th anniversary celebrations behind them, Custom Chrome continues to add new product lines to their offer, one of the latest being the noted conversion and bodywork styling product line from Fat Baggers Inc (FBI); www.custom-chrome-europe.com
SHOWZONE Big Bear Choppers/EXMO Parts: Erwin Riegel (left), Dealer Development Manager for Swiss based European Big Bear importer Midland Choppers, is seen here with Henk Claessen of EXMO Parts in the Netherlands, the Big Bear Choppers dealer for the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg. Henk has invested heavily in his Big Bear showroom and service facility and told AMD "we are excited about the opportunity that Big Bear represents for us, and market reaction to availability of the line has been excellent!"; www.exmoparts.com; www.bigbearchoppers.ch
Torq Distribution: headed up by Sales Manager Rick Rijkhoff, Torq is the new 'metric' parts and accessory distribution business set up by Iwan Vollebregt of Motorcycle Storehouse; www.torqdistribution.com Iron Pit: Ronnie Breuer is no stranger to the World Championship program, having been placed 7th at the European Championship in 2008 with "Speed Pan", an SPS deisgn that featured Iron Pit's popular 1400cc Panhead style engine, a proprietary engine design featuring their own-made Super Pan cylinder heads; www.ironpit.nl
Motorcycle Storehouse: the Dutch based distributor with sales offices around Europe has just released a 192-page catalog update with 4,500 new products added for 2011; www.mcseurope.nl
Central Harley-Davidson: the Veghel, Netherlands, authorized dealer's customized Fat Boy features Vance & Hines staggered duals, an RSD air filter, indicators by Kellermann of Germany, a Le Pera seat, Dutch-made CPV forward controls and side mount and an EFI Race Tuner; www.centralharley-davidson.nl
AMERICAN MOTORCYCLE DEALER - JANUARY 2011
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PRODUCTS
PRODUCTS
Captain America parts available from Paughco PAUGHCO is now offering a range of parts to help builders recreate what is perhaps the most famous chopper of all times – Captain America, as featured in Easy Rider and ridden by Pete Fonda. The wishbone style frame is fully chromed, has a stock length backbone and 3in of stretch in the downtubes.The rake is set at 37 degrees. The Mustang gas tank is supplied ready finished with stars and stripes paint, ready to be installed. A Captain America style button tuffed seat has been designed as a direct bolt-on fit for the Paughco frame and a chrome cross tube for the risers is also available. An additional option being offered by Paughco is a fivespeed version of the frame which accepts a Softail drivetrain with an electric start.
PAUGHCO Carson City, Nevada, USA Tel: 775 246 5738 Fax: 775 246 0372 E-mail: info@paughco.com www.paughco.com
Wire Plus Big Dog replacement speedo super bright display for daylight readability with a light sensor for autodimming at night.
WIRE Plus Powersports Electronics’ newest product is a digital instrument panel, which is a direct replacement for the original Big Dog Motorcycle speedometer. The replacement speedo has been developed in response to requests from owners of Big Dog models. The Big Dog replacement speedo features a digital speedometer and trip odometer and has a
WIRE PLUS Winfield, Kansas, USA Tel: 620 221 2417 Fax: 620 221 2925 E-mail: sales@wire-plus.com www.wire-plus.com
Seven wheel from PM ‘Seven’ chrome wheel
PERFORMANCE Machine has taken a low-key approach to the design of its latest wheel.The new ‘Seven’ is, as the name suggests, a seven-spoke design, with three machined accent cuts on each spoke that run from the hub to the outer edge of the rim lip. The ‘Seven’ wheels are available in polished, Contrast Cut and chrome finishes with matching discs, belt sprockets, and Super Gas air cleaners.
‘Seven’ Contrast Cut wheel
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AMERICAN MOTORCYCLE DEALER - JANUARY 2011
PERFORMANCE MACHINE La Palma, California, USA Tel: 714 523 3000 Fax: 714 523 3007 E-mail: sales@performancemachine.com www.performancemachine.com
PRODUCTS
Victory pop-up gas cap and light brackets KEWLMETAL, the company which claims to be the Victory owners number one source for aftermarket accessories, has now introduced two new Victoryspecific parts to its product range. The first piece is a bolt-in pop-up gas cap to fit the
KewlMetal has developed a pop-up gas cap for use on Victory motorcycles
Victory Jackpot, Vegas, Kingpin and Hammer and requires no tank modifications to fit. The caps are made in the USA from 6061-T6 aluminum and can be painted to match the bike’s original paint. They are also available in chrome or black finishes. KewlMetal’s ‘Low Down’ light brackets are designed for use on the Victory Vegas, Jackpot, 8Ball, Kingpin and Hammer models and allow auxiliary lights to be mounted below the stock foot controls.
KEWLMETAL Prescott, Arizona, USA Tel: 623 298 7181 Fax: 623 298 7754 E-mail: sales@kewlmetal.com www.kewlmetalstore.com
The ‘Low Down’ light brackets mount auxiliary lights on selected Victory models
Free Spirits expands XR1200 product line FREE Spirits already produces a replacement slip-on for the H-D XR1200 and has now expanded its exhaust program to include a full exhaust system. The RS-417 system is handmade and features 45mm stainless steel 2-into-1 headers, a billet muffler and the company’s own unique baffle design. Designed for race use, the system is not approved for road use. Installation of the system requires the use of Free Spirits’ suspension riser blocks (code 209001)
A complete system for the XR1200 has now been added to the range of exhaust options offered by Free Spirits
Free Spirits’ engine pulley weighs 680g less than the stock pulley
The 27-tooth drive pulley by Free Spirits is a red anodized unit that replaces the stock piece and features a surface hardened, galvanized steel inner part. The complete pulley is claimed to weigh 680g less than the stock pulley.
FREE SPIRITS Carrè (VI), ITALY Tel: +39 0445 390437 Fax: +39 0445 395539 E-mail: info@freespirits.it www.freespirits.it AMERICAN MOTORCYCLE DEALER - JANUARY 2011
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PRODUCTS
SuperTrapp slip-ons and full systems for 2011 Softail models SUPERTRAPP has a range of exhaust systems and slip-on mufflers that are available to fit the 2011 line of Softail models from Harley-Davidson. The range of complete systems comprises the Paul Yaffe designed Road Legends Phantom Pipe, which is a 2-into-1 drag pipe featuring a pre-installed fourpiece stylized chrome-plated heatshield. The pipes can be ordered in brushed silver or black finishes. A second Road Legend design by Yaffe are the
The Road Legends Phantom Pipes have been designed for SuperTrapp by Paul Yaffe
X Pipes, an over-and-under shotgun pipe.The X Pipes are supplied with removable louvered baffles preinstalled and optional end caps and heatshields are available. SuperTrapp’s Mean Mothers drag pipes are said
A second exhaust system designed by Paul Yaffe for SuperTrapp are the Road Legends X Pipes
The Silent Series is offered as a tunable megaphone design (shown) or a non-tunable straight body
diameter 2-into-2 head pipes with 2.25in heatshields and a 4in diameter, flared-out muffler. The system is also tunable through the use of SuperTrapp’s tuning discs. A second 2-into-2 system are the non-tunable Fat
The FatShots are a tunable 2-into-2 system from SuperTrapp
to offer a 33 percent weight saving and an eight percent horsepower gain over stock. Four different pipe lengths and three different end cap options are available and the pre-installed baffles and heatshields are also replaceable. Both the SuperTrapp and Kerker 2-into-1
Duals.They are claimed to weigh 10 percent less than stock and there are 16 compatible end cap choices available to use with them. The Road Legends, Mean Mothers, SuperMegs
SuperTrapp offers 16 designs of end caps for the Fat Duals
The Short Mean Mothers are one of four length options available on this design of pipe
SuperMegs work with OEM forward- and midcontrols, and both are available in chrome or black. Both systems feature a rebuildable core and packing. The SuperTrapp 2-into-1 is tunable and is said to provide a 15 percent bolt-on horsepower gain. The Silent Series 2-into-1 is described by The SuperMegs are offered in version by both SuperTrapp and Kerker
SuperTrapp as a neighborhood-friendly pipe available in a tunable megaphone or a non-tunable straight body. Both options feature a rebuildable core and packing. The SuperTrapp FatShots system features 2in
and Silent Series systems are not compatible with the FLSTC Heritage Softail Classic.
SUPERTRTAPP INDUSTRIES Cleveland, Ohio, USA Tel: 216 265 8400 Fax: 216 265 0130 E-mail: sales@supertrapp.com www.supertrapp.com AMERICAN MOTORCYCLE DEALER - JANUARY 2011
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PRODUCTS
Scala Rider TeamSet PRO CARDO System’s new Scala Rider TeamSet PRO features two pre-paired identical headsets, which allow both users to make and receive individual cell phone calls and independently listen to their own MP3 player or GPS units. The driver’s headset features the ability to speak via intercom to the passenger (full duplex), initiate and receive own mobile calls by voice command, listen to own Bluetooth enabled MP3 player (wirelessly or using wired connection with cable provided) and listen
to own Bluetooth enabled GPS device. These same options are available to the passenger too. Additional driver and passenger headset features include the use of VOX Technology to receive, initiate and reject cell phone calls by voice control, AGC Technology, whereby the headsets automatically adjusts the volume based on ambient noise and a noise canceling microphone.
LED taillights PAASCHBURG & Wunderlich in Germany has a new range of LED taillights available for a range of Harley-Davidson models.
CARDO SYSTEMS Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA Tel: 412 788 4533 Fax: 412 788 0270 E-mail: sales@cardosystems.com www.cardosystems.com
The LED taillight with a smoked lens is available for several H-D models from ’73-’98
An LED taillight with a smoked lens over a chrome reflector is available for several H-D models from ’73-’98 and is E-marked for use in Europe. The same format of light is also offered for use on ’02-’08 V-Rods.
V-Rods built between ’02-’08 can be fitted with an E-marked, smoked lens LED taillight
The universal LED taillight from Paaschburg & Wunderlich uses an ABS housing
The aluminum bodied LED taillight from Paaschburg & Wunderlich is E-marked for use in Europe
A second universal LED taillight, also E-marked, is offered with either a black ABS plastic or black anodized aluminum housing.
PAASCHBURG & WUNDERLICH Hamburg, GERMANY Tel: 01149 40 248 2770 E-mail: sales@pwonline.de www.pwonline.de
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PRODUCTS
Valiant Evolution bike from South Side Kustoms’ SOUTH Side Kustoms’ line of production bikes includes the Valiant Evolution, which was designed for the company by Custom
Eyes Concepts. Standard features on the hardtail bike include a Kraft Tech frame, American Suspension Dragon Springer fork, S&S 113ci motor with S&S Super G carb and custom exhaust, Tauer Machine primary, Baker sixspeed transmission and Ride Wright wheels. SOUTH SIDE KUSTOMS Buffalo, New York, USA Tel: 716 823 6279 Fax: 716 823 6279 E-mail: info@south-side-kustoms.com www.south-side-kustoms.com
Improved Bonanza bars at CCE CUSTOM Chrome Europe has worked with German master builder and parts designer to create a new and improved version of his original Bonanza handlebars. Now known as the Bonanza II bars, they feature thicker walled tubing and mandrel bent lower sections. Manufactured by Santee, the bars are available in Flat, Medium, High and Touring versions in either chrome or black finishes.They are dimpled and drilled for internal wiring for use with ‘96-‘10 style bar controls. The Touring design has been created to work with FLH and FLHT models and will work with throttle-bywire controls. They are 38in wide, have 15in rise, 14.5in center, and 8.5in pullback. Two options are being offered on the High Bonanza II bars; the Wide is 37in across with 12in centers and 15in rise; the Narrow has a width of
34in, the rise is 15in and the centers are 9in. Both versions have 51⁄2in pullback. Also available in two widths are the Medium Bonanza Bars II. Both options feature a 13in rise and 51⁄2in pullback.The Wide has 12in centers and is 37in wide, while the 34in wide Narrow has 9in centers. The final option, the Flat, is 29in wide, with 5in of pullback and 1in built-in risers and can be ordered without dimples and holes.
CUSTOM CHROME EUROPE Tel: +49 (0)671 88888 0 www.custom-chrome-europe.com
CUSTOM CHROME INTERNATIONAL Tel: 408 825 5000 www.customchrome.com
Touring bikes, and in particular the FLH and FLHT models, are catered for with the ‘Touring’ Bonanza handlebars
Bonanza II ‘Medium’ bars are available in both wide and narrow sizes
Built-in 1in risers are a feature of the ‘Flat’ Bonanza II bars AMERICAN MOTORCYCLE DEALER - JANUARY 2011
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PRODUCTS
Latest additions at W&W W&W has a new line of wheel covers designed for builders looking to recreate the look of show bikes built in the ‘40s and ‘50s. The company’s new wheel
W&W’s bolt-on fender kit gives Sportsters the Nightster chopped fender look
covers are reproductions of the period parts, made from stainless steel that can be polished, chromed or painted. The covers fit 16in wheels with star hubs. Slight modification of axle spacers may be necessary but they come with the correct small parts to mount them. For use on more contemporary looking bikes W&W is offering a bolt-on fender kit which includes everything needed to convert a ’04 or onward Sportster model to look like a Nightster with a chopped rear fender. The kit includes a fender, finished in-primer, which needs no frame modification to mount it. Also included with the kit are ‘stop-turn-tail’ lights, which replace the stock tail lamp and turn signals. The replacement lights have red US lenses and are not EC-approved. A European
The Ness-Tech grips feature the ‘Roller Grip System’ where an internal roller bearing supports the throttle sleeve
W&W’s wheel covers reproduce a style popular in the late ‘40s and early ‘50s
The Burly Narrow Apehangers, carried by W&W, have been designed to work with Narrow Glide front ends
version with amber lenses will be available shortly. Designed for use on Narrow Glide front ends, such as those fitted to Sportsters and Dyna models, the Burly Brand ‘Narrow Apehangers’ available from W&W, are supplied ready drilled and dimpled. Offered in a choice of black or chrome finishes, the 1in diameter bars are 30.5cm high and have 13cm centers. To accompany the handlebars it stocks, W&W is carrying the complete line of Ness-Tech grip sets, designed by Arlen Ness and machined from 6061-T6 aluminum. The grips are available to fit all single or dual throttle cable systems from ‘73 to present. A feature of the grips is the Ness-Tech ‘Roller Grip System’, where the grips have an internal roller bearing to support the throttle sleeve. Two different adapters are included to mount bearing center inside handlebar. To fit 1/2in needs cutting from right side of handlebar.
W&W CYCLES AG Würzburg, GERMANY Tel: +49 (0)931 250 61 16 Fax: +49 (0)931 250 61 20 E-mail: sales@wwag.com www.wwag.com
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PRODUCTS
Knucklehead rocker shaft nuts KUSTOM Tech has expanded its line of vintage inspired parts with the addition of a range of rocker shaft nuts for use on Knucklehead motors. The forged brass nuts are offered in two designs; finned or grooved. The finned style needs a 1in wrench for fitting and removal,
and the groove style a 7⁄16in Allen wrench. Available in polished brass, satin brass, chrome or satin chrome, the nuts fit all Knucklehead models from ‘36 to ’47 and are supplied in pairs with O-ring seal to prevent oil leaks. KUSTOM TECH Florence, ITALY Tel: +39 055 259 1773 Fax: +39 055 259 2091 From USA Tel: 01139 055 259 1773 E-mail: info@kustomtech.eu www.kustomtech.eu
Stand-Up trailer accessory from Kendon KENDON Industries has introduced a new accessory for its Stand-Up motorcycle trailer – a crank-down swivel jack stand. It has been designed to allow users to detach a fully loaded Kendon trailer from the tow vehicle and move it around while still fully loaded. The jack is a bolt-on install with no welding necessary and is retrofitable to any Kendon StandUp trailer model. “For Kendon owners the question ‘How strong is this thing and can I trust it to hold my trailer up if I have two heavyweight cruisers loaded?’ inevitably arises, so let me address that right now,” says Kendon President Frank Esposito. “Our crank-down swivel jack is strong enough, more than strong enough, because everything we sell has to meet Kendon’s industrial strength quality test.
“It just plain works,” adds Esposito. “High mechanical leverage makes it easy to use, so very little cranking effort is required to elevate the trailer off the hitch of the tow vehicle. This is the perfect addition to any Kendon trailer.”
KENDON INDUSTRIES, INC Anaheim, California, USA Tel: 714 630 7144 Fax: 714 630 7132 E-mail: info@kendonusa.com www.kendonusa.com AMERICAN MOTORCYCLE DEALER - JANUARY 2011
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PRODUCTS
Matt black Brute IV Extreme RIVERA Primo is now able to offer its Brute IV Extreme open belt drives in a matt black powdercoat finish. The company chose powdercoat in favor of anodizing due to its ability to withstand severe usage and weather related trauma. Such conditions can lead anodizing to fade over time. Versions of the Brute IV Extreme are available for ‘06 Dyna models and ‘07 and later Softail and Dyna models and ‘07 and later Touring models.
RIVERA PRIMO Whittier, California, USA Tel: 562 907 2600 Fax: 562 907 2606 E-mail: info1@riveraprimoinc.com www.riveraprimoinc.com
CCCS T-Bar handlebars with integrated hand controls CUSTOM Cycle Control Systems (CCCS) has expanded its handlebar range with the introduction of a new T-Bar handlebar system complete with integrated Climax hand controls. The T-Bars are 31in wide and 9in high and feature internal wiring, cables and hoses. The lines included with the bars are left over-length so that they can be trimmed to size. Both the brake and clutch fluid reservoirs are hidden and push pin accessibility to the internal throttle and reservoirs (no special tools needed) is standard. Seven micro switches are fitted to maintain all stock control functions and LED marker lights in the hand levers are available as an option. Six styles of hand grip are offered by CCCS and the company
can also modify grips from Accutronix and Xoprodox to work with the controls. The install kit supplied with the bars includes hydraulic fittings, relay, bleeder bolt, fill funnel, throttle cables/ends and ferrules.
CUSTOM CYCLE CONTROL SYSTEMS Henderson, Nevada, USA Tel: 702 438 2129 Fax: 702 438 4276 E-mail: info@customcyclecontrols.com www.customcyclecontrols.com
PRODUCTS
Perse Performance ‘New School Vintage’ Classic front end ROOSTER Custom Cycles has followed-up its reintroduction of Perse Performance parts with the launch of its Classic front end under the New School Vintage line. The front end is centered around a Penske shock, which after consultation with Penske’s engineering department was decided upon as the best choice by RoosteR.Two options of shock are being offered; the
entry level PS-8900 or the PS-8970, which separates high- and low-speed compression adjustment. The fork itself can be ordered in polished stainless steel, powder-coated DOM steel tubing, or raw DOM tubing. All three versions use stainless steel fittings. The 1in diameter steering stem is cut from 17-4 precipitation hardened stainless and it has been designed to ensure that all of the turning torque from the handlebars is transmitted through it and not through the suspension. RoosteR achieved this solution by splining the steering stem shaft where it passes through the upper triple tree. For the lower end, a 3⁄4in shaft is threaded into each side of the lower tree and pins into the steering stem. The same grade of heavy-duty stainless steel is used for the axle, which features left-hand threads and is secured by a set screw to prevent unintentional back-out. RoosteR’s New School Vintage Classic front end is available to fit all Sportsters as a bolt-on kit and can be ordered to suit any frame combination for custom applications. ROOSTER CUSTOM CYCLES Spokane, Washington, USA Tel: 509 244 3704 Fax: 509 244 1962 E-mail: juston@roostercustomcycles.com www.roostercustomcycles.com
PRODUCTS
New additions to Drag Specialties inventory DRAG Specialties is now carrying the Battistinis’ line of billet shifter levers, which are available in extended lengths. The levers are offered as a full heel-toe set that’s extended 1-1⁄2in or just a heel lever that can be used to convert the standard length heeltoe set to an extended version. Standard length levers are also available.
Vance & Hines ‘Naked’ VO2 air cleaner works with the bike’s stock cover
Battistinis’ shift lever options include a version extended by 1-1⁄2in
The shift levers, which include pegs, are CNC-machined from billet aluminum with either a chrome or black anodized finish and available to fit ’86 – ‘11 FLST, ’84 – ‘11 FLT, FLHT, FLHR, FLTR and H-D FL Trikes. Joker Machine’s high-performance air cleaner assemblies, which are available through Drag Specialties, are constructed from CNCmachined aluminum and feature K&N 4in diameter high-flow filters. The air cleaners utilize Joker Machine’s ‘baffle plate’ crankcase breathing system that’s held together using high-strength 12-point alloy mounting bolts. The air cleaners are said to increase leg clearance compared to stock air cleaners due to the compact design.
Joker Machine’s air cleaner assemblies include a 4in K&N high-flow filter
The assemblies can be ordered in smooth, finned or Joker Racing styles with chrome or black anodized finishes. A second air intake option now available through Drag Specialties is the Vance & Hines Naked VO2, which has been designed to work with the bike’s stock air cleaner cover on ’08 – ‘11 Dyna and ’04 – ‘11 XL models. The all-aluminum venturi design used in the air cleaner is claimed to help shape the air to increase the flow and, therefore, the power of the motor. Each intake includes a high-flow washable filter element and larger inlet backing plate. A new part from long-time Drag Specialties collaborator, Russ Wernimont Design, is a convex mirror.The convex design is claimed to increase the rider’s wide-angle view. The mirrors are being offered with contoured and diamond designs with either chrome or matt black powder-coat finishes. These universal-fit designs include mounting hardware and the mirror stems measure 5-1⁄4in horizontal by 4in vertical and carry 5in x 3-1⁄4in mirror heads.
Exile parts EXILE Cycles’ line of Twin Cam bolt-on parts includes a set of plates that allow forward controls with Evo-era mountinghole pattern to be fitted to Softail frames. The plates are machined from billet aluminum and finished with black powdercoat. A second Softail product from Exile Cycles is a selection of knurled finish parts, which includes rear axle covers, front axle covers, swingarm pivot covers, oil-pressure switch cover, motor bolt covers, footpegs, and oil cap and gas cap covers. All are available in chrome, black or satin finishes.
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EXILE CYCLES North Hollywood, California, USA Tel: 818 255 3330 Fax: 818 255 3331 E-mail: sales@exilecycles.com www.exilecycles.com
AMERICAN MOTORCYCLE DEALER - JANUARY 2011
The Russ Wernimont Design convex mirrors are a universal fitment
DRAG SPECIALITIES Janesville, Wisconsin, USA Tel: 608 758 1111 Fax: 608 758 4677 E-mail: drag@dragspecialties.com www.dragspecialties.com
PRODUCTS
News products at Motorcycle Storehouse MOTORCYCLE Storehouse is now carrying All Balls starter motors for ’08 – ‘11 XR1200 models, all ’81 – ‘11 Sportsters and ’89 – ‘11 Big Twins. The 1.4kW starter motors made by All Balls feature an internal gear reduction system which creates greater efficiency, allowing for powerful starting while drawing close to the current a stock starter uses. Due to this design the starters are said to be compatible with stock batteries and work well in large engines with compression releases. They are
Six different designs of cover are available for the Küryakyn High Five Mach II air cleaner for fuel injected Sportsters
Biltwell’s solo sprung seat hinge kit is available in either stainless steel or chromoly
Küryakyn’s Velociraptor velocity stack features an internal K&N filter element All Balls 1.4kW starter motor features an internal gear reduction system for improved efficiency
Bitubo’s pre-load adjustable shock is a direct replacement for the stock unit on the XR1200
A second version of Bitubo’s XR1200 shock has the addition of adjustable rebound damping
The top-of-the-range XR1200 shock from Bitubo features a piggyback air tank and adjustable compression damping
available in black or chrome finishes. A second option for the XR1200 is a line of Bitubo shocks. The Italian made, highperformance shocks, available in three versions, are the stock 365mm length, and come with progressive springs and are pressurized with nitrogen gas. The basic version comes with adjustable pre-load, the second with adjustable rebound damping and the top of the range ones with all of the above and the addition of adjustable compression damping and a piggyback air tank. The range of Sportster parts and accessory options available at Motorcycle Storehouse continues with the introduction of modelspecific air cleaners by Küryakyn for ’07 – ’11 bikes, which run fuel injection. The Küryakyn High Five Mach II is an open filter, filtering from the side and front through K&N filters. It also features the option of six separately available decorative medallion covers. The other new air cleaner from Küryakyn is the Velociraptor velocity stack, which has the looks of a velocity stack but offers the engine’s internals the protection of a genuine internal K&N filter element. In addition to the Sports parts, Motorcycle Storehouse is also stocking Biltwell solo seat hinge kits. The kits include a weld-on frame pivot bracket and a seat bracket which bolts on with an Allen cap bolt. Kits are available in polished or black stainless or chrome or black chromoly steel versions.
MOTORCYCLE STOREHOUSE Bedum, NETHERLANDS Tel: +31 (0)50 303 9775 Fax: +31 (0)50 303 9777 E-mail: info@mcseurope.nl www.mcseurope.nl AMERICAN MOTORCYCLE DEALER - DECEMBER 2011
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PRODUCTS
Factor-X rearsets for XR1200 GILLES Tooling has used the experience it has gained in World Super Bike racing and applied it to the Factor-X rearsets, which it has developed for use on Harley-Davidson’s XR1200. The CNC machined aluminum rearsets can be mounted up to 30mm higher than stock with a choice of three positions in 10mm increments. The clutch case cover is also machined form a single piece of aluminum, which Gilles says will reduce crash damage. Both the gear and brake lever run on double row ball bearings and feature adjustable toe pieces. The shifter can be run with a regular or GP shift pattern. The TÜV approved controls are available in raw aluminum with an option of black anodizing. Other options include a carbon heel guard on the right to replace the regular aluminum item, factory racing foot pegs and a rolling toe piece.
GILLES TOOLING Wecker, LUXEMBOURG Tel: 011352 267 89345 E-mail: c.mosbach@gillestooling.com www.gillestooling.com
Headwinds light bar kit HEADWINDS has created a new light bar for use on Harley-Davidson Springer models. The kit is available individually or as a spotlight/turn signal kit. The machined aluminum light bar carries 4-1⁄2in spotlights, and 2in turn signals. The bar is available in chrome, black or polished finishes. HEADWINDS Monrovia, California, USA Tel: 626 359 8044 Fax: 626 359 6544 E-mail: headwinds@headwinds.com www.headwinds.com
Lick’s café clip-on bars LICK’S Cycles is the latest manufacturer to recognize the increased interest in café racer styling in the custom scene and has responded with the introduction of a line of clip-on bars. The design of the bars is the same as those used on the company’s show bike ‘LC Fuelie’ and are machined from aluminum stock. The clip-ons slide over and clamp on stock 39mm fork tubes and are completely adjustable. They can be mounted low, under the top tree, or high above the tree using slightly longer fork tubes. Each kit is supplied complete with 1 x 12in adjustable bars, billet bar clamps and mounting hardware. LICK’S CUSTOM CYCLES Clarksburg, Massachusetts, USA Tel: 413 663 9050 Fax: 413 663 9050 E-mail: lickscycles@gmail.com www.lickscycles.com
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PRODUCTS
Sumax powder coating SUMAX, which claims to be the first company to have exclusively offered powder-coating on motorcycles, has used its 25 years of experience to create a range of special effect finishes. Among the options are special powders made specifically to dissipate engine heat. When Sumax uses these finishes on an engine all gasket surfaces are properly masked and cleaned
Stretched tank covers VICIOUS Cycle has a new option for builders who want the long stretched tank on a Bagger, but who do not want the cost and expense of a new tank or of modifying the existing one. The company’s fiberglass tank covers fit over the stock tanks using an automotive panel bonding epoxy. They are made in two halves and are shipped extra long so they can be trimmed to follow the seat lines with or without a traditional gap. VICIOUS CYCLE Atascadero, California, USA Tel: 805 466 3500 Fax: 805 466 9161 E-mail: bvicious1@sbcglobal.net www.viciouscustomchoppers.com
for ease in reassembly. In addition to motors and transmissions, Sumax powdercoats frames, sheet metal and wheels. SUMAX Oriskany, New York, USA Tel: 315 768 058 - Fax: 315 768 1046 E-mail: info@sumax.com www.sumax.com
PRODUCTS
Turn signal eliminator
Freedom Performance American Outlaw
COVINGTONS Customs has extended its line of finned parts and accessories with the introduction of its new turn signal eliminators.The eliminators cover the space left when the stock turn signals are removed. The covers, CNC machined in the US from 6061 T-6 billet aluminum,are available in chrome,black with machined edges, or black with diamond cut edges.
BIKER’S Choice is carrying the latest Freedom Performance exhaust; the American Outlaw dual system. The system is made up of triple-stepped headers, which are claimed to offer increased horsepower, torque and heat reduction, and dual megaphone mufflers that run along each side of the bike and end with 4.5in outlets. Each muffler features a 220-degree coverage heat shield and the systems can be ordered in a choice of chrome or black ceramic finishes. The exhaust ships complete with stainless steel hardware and a one-year warranty.
COVINGTONS CUSTOMS Woodward, Oklahoma, USA Tel: 580 256 2939 Fax: 580 256 2296 E-mail: info@covingtonscyclecity.com www.covingtonscustoms.com
BIKER’S CHOICE Fort Worth, Texas, USA Tel: 817 258 9000 Fax: 817 258 9055 swall@bikerschoice.com www.bikerschoice.com
California Dreamin’ Expo Bournemouth International Centre Bournemouth, United Kingdom - May 28th and 29th 2011 AMONG the new visitor initiatives announced by the first annual Battistinis Custom Cycles’ sponsored California Dreamin’ Expo at the Bournemouth International Centre in the UK (May 28/29 2011), will be the first UK appearance of the ‘True Evel’ Exhibition tour of original and genuine Evel Knievel bikes, memorabilia and artefacts, and an Ace Café London display of original flat trackers. Making its debut as a World Championship of Custom Bike Building Official Affiliate event, California Dreamin’ Expo will be sending a winning custom bike builder to compete at the 8th annual World Championship at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, August 7-10th 2011. The show is being organized by Ocean Events with Mark Battistini’s Battistini Custom Cycles distribution and bike building operation as the title sponsor.
Following its lead role in helping to get the 2010 ‘Ally Pally’ Custom Show off the ground, Ace Café London is continuing its commitment to the custom scene by setting up its own ‘Ace Corner’ at the show, and bringing valuable profile and diversity to the impressive line-up of buttons that Mark Battistini and Ocean Events owner Lorne Cheatham are pushing in order to establish the new event. Anybody interested in entering the AMD Affiliate custom bike show at California Dreamin’ should contact Lorne Cheetham at Ocean Events (lorne@rwrw.co.uk) or enter through the event website. For information about exhibitor opportunities, contact Chris Gothard at Event Support Network (chris@esnevents.co.uk) www.californiadreaminexpo.com
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AMERICAN MOTORCYCLE DESIGN
The Virtual bike builder Mark van der Kwaak may not have the highest of profiles in the custom bike scene, but many people will have seen his work when they visited his website www.dbbp.com. Mark, otherwise known as ‘Duckman’, is the man responsible for all of the CAD bikes seen on the site, with each machine carefully created by him in anticipation of being built in the future
ANY people when they were younger may have had ideas for wild rides; some of them may even have drawn them. Some of those people may even have gone on to build some of those bikes when they got older and acquired the skills and money needed to create them. One man, however, has continued to keep doing those sketches and has now become world famous for his work – that man is Mark ‘Duckman’ van der Kwaak. Mark is the person responsible for all the ‘Cadbike’ virtual bikes seen on the website www.bddp.com,where he now creates them with computer aided design (CAD) tools. Since the site was first launched in 1996 people have admired his work, and some of them have been so impressed that they took a commercial interest and asked him to create designs specifically for them,which led to him establishing DBBP Design and making his hobby into a business. Mark’s interest in bikes began when he was growing up in Australia.“I loved bikes and cars and was always drawing stuff like that,” he says. However, getting his first bike would prove to take some time. When his parents’ marriage broke up his mother returned to her native Netherlands and took the eight-year-old Mark with her.This led to the problem that in the Netherlands youngsters can only get on to powered two wheels aged 16, when they are allowed to ride a moped and a motorcycle license is not an option until aged 18. Mark decided to wait and save up to buy a ‘real’ motorcycle. By the time he had his license he also had two motorcycles, albeit neither the Harley he really wanted.What he did have was a Honda 350F as a daily ride, and a ’51 BMW purchased as a basket case and slowly rebuilt into a complete bike. hat BMW, when finished, was traded for another basket case bike,this time a ’69 Norton Commando. Once again he carried out a complete rebuild,and once completed it was sold and Mark, as a 20-year-old, had the money to buy his first Harley – a ’42 WLC Flathead. This machine was followed a year later by a ’78 Shovelhead FLH that he still has after 25 years of ownership and which later became known as the Cadbike 1. The number of Cadbikes listed on dbbp.com has now reached 50, but Mark had no idea that his early childhood sketches would lead to this level of work. He explains: “I had been drawing a lot since I was a little kid, and had no idea how to use a computer. I would
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The CAD rendering of Aad Heemskerk's European Championship top ten bike
Cadbike 31, which was designed by Mark and then built by him and the bike's owner Aad Heemskerk, went on to take 7th position at the 2007 European Championship of Custom BIke Building
make accurate scale drawings of engines, frames etc. and photocopy these parts, cut them out, and draw on top of that to make bike designs.When I was about 30 I went back to school, and one of the classes was CAD drawing. It was as if everything fell into place, this was the tool I had been waiting for all my life! Within two months I had surpassed the CAD teacher and was asked to teach the CAD class there. I started with Autocad and after school got a job working with Pro/Engineer, a high-end 3D CAD program.” Unfortunately, due to the high cost of the Pro/Engineer software Mark was initially restricted to using the package to design bikes and parts outside of his regular work hours. That all changed once Mark began publishing his work online, when the company behind Pro/Engineer saw his work and offered him a deal.“The makers of the CAD program I use (PTC) saw my work and asked me to design a Cadbike to use in an advertising campaign and to show what their software could do,” says Mark. “In exchange I got a full license for Pro/Engineer so I could work at home instead of in the lunch break at my day job.” eing able to work from home allowed Mark to spend more time on his designs, not only the virtual Cadbikes but also designing and creating actual parts for his own motorcycles too. It was when the Cadbike images reached an audience in the USA that Mark realized he had a potential business opportunity in front of him.“Roland Sands asked me to design a board tracker with him, and a Dutch company also wanted a complete bike, both wanted invoices, so I decided the time had come to start a company,” explains Mark, and so in November of 2003 DBBP Design was founded. Following on from those early collaborations Mark has gone on to design parts for Joe McGlynn at Crime Scene Choppers and Gard Hollinger of LA County ChopRods and worked with the Belgian company Qtec-Engineering, which builds Harley based quads and trikes. For them he produced the CAD drawings used to obtain TÜV approval. While creating designs for parts for other businesses Mark continued to pursue his ideas for virtual bikes,
and some of those Cadbike designs have been made into real motorcycles. One such example is the BMW with which he placed 10th at the 2008 European Championship of Custom Bike Building. The whole design build was done on a computer before any cutting or welding was done. However, this was not Mark’s highest placing in the European Championship. That honor goes to a Harley Mark built in conjunction with his friend and occasional colleague and the bike’s owner Aad Heemskerk, known as Cadbike 31. ollowing on from the bike’s success at the show Mark was contacted by German distributor and parts specialist W&W to design and develop an inlet manifold to allow a Weber carb to be used on a Twin
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Mark's custom BMW was completely designed using CAD software before any changes were made to the actual bike
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Mark van der Kwaak (left) and Aad Heemskerk with Mark's custom BMW designed with CAD software before being built by the pair and placing 10th at the 2008 European Championship of Custom Bike Building
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Cadbike 22 Project Wildfire, was designed for the company that supplies Mark with his CAD software and was later built by Freddie 'Krugger' Bertrand
Cam motor, which the company now retails. The success of this project has now led to further work being commissioned by W&W, and Mark has gone on to create oil filters, manifold clamps,Weber carburetor kits and many other pieces for the company. The Cadbike designs which Mark has created have not only been built by him though. Cadbike 22, Project Wildfire, the bike designed for PTC, was seen online by custom bike builder Fred ‘Krugger’ Bertrand, who went on to create a working version of it. However, this was not the first time the two industry professionals worked together, as Mark explains: “I knew Fred because we had been e-mailing each other since 2003 as we liked each others work. Fred was not famous then, and working on a tight budget. He told me he needed a drawing of a bike he wanted to build to show to potential sponsors, and get the necessary parts/money to build it. He described this bike to me by telephone, and I made a CAD drawing for him. Thanks to the drawing he got the necessary parts, built the bike and ended up winning free bike freight to the AMD World Championship in 2004. I went with him and Fred took third place. That bike was ‘Hot Climbing’. “When we were at the Championship we met Roger Goldammer, and his bike turned out to be inspired by the Cadbike 14 I designed for/with Roland Sands!” ark continues:“In 2005 I went to the AMD World Championship with Krugger again, this time in Las Vegas.The bike he had that year had 23in tires front and rear, and because there were no wheels commercially available in that size back then, Fred asked me to design some four-spoke wheels for him that ‘looked like something from a racing bicycle’, so I did the wheels and the brake rotors, and these parts were machined directly from the CAD files I made.That year Fred won third place again...” When Mark and Freddie worked together again it was on another World Championship entry bike. Peter Toftner,the owner of Veon Motorcycles,had an idea for a motorcycle that could function as both a cruiser and a sportsbike and contracted Mark to do the CAD work on the frame and linkage system that allows the bike’s geometry to change, and Krugger to build the bike.The finished machine then went on to take top honors at the 2010 World Championship of Custom Bike Building. ther builders have increasingly been turning to Mark for his help when it comes to complex engineering issues, having him create 3D designs on screen to test-fit parts before committing to expensive machine time and parts purchases. Among those builders are Paul Funk who, with Hogtech in Sweden, has been building Mad Man’s Blower,David Guido and his Motorepubblica bike with David Guido, and an Indian project with Kiwi Indian. As a result of the work Mark has done designing
Cadbikes, he now has a library of CAD parts that he plans to offer for sale to others in the custom market to use as a design tool. He explains: “More and more professionals are realizing it makes sense to have a good design before they start building. Not only was the Veon done in CAD before the build started, the Metric World Champion, Yuri Shif’s double-engined
The initial sketch of Freddie Krugger's ‘Hot Climbing’ bike, the first bike he entered into the World Championship
BMW, was also done in CAD first.” It is not only designs that Mark is now selling, as he also has his own parts line, which began with his cat bronze ‘Flanders’ style handlebar risers, now sold not only through his website but also by W&W and Motorcycle Storehouse. While many builders may not have the equipment or the skills to create parts and bikes in a virtual world, they can still benefit from the advances in computer technology as Mark is willing to take on commissions producing both production drawings and photorealistic images of Harley based bikes, as well as production drawings of frames or other parts, trail calculations and any other related projects. DBBP DESIGN Leiden, NETHERLANDS Tel: +31 (0)715 321 337 From USA Tel: 01131 715 321 337 E-mail: info@dbbp.com www.dbbp.com
‘Hot Climbing’ was built by Freddie Krugger for the 2004 World Championship of Custom Bike Building after Mark van der Kwaak created a CAD design of the bike
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The final CAD rendering of ‘Hot Climbing’ Freddie used to show potential sponsors on what he was planning on building
AMERICAN MOTORCYCLE DESIGN
Milan Show hosts ‘Custom City’ Milan, Italy, November 3rd – 7th 2010 HE annual Milan Show (EICMA) in Italy every November traces its origins back to the early days of the 20th century, when the motorcycle still shared much of its vendor footprint with the bicycle industry in Italy that it had grown from. Traditionally it has been a street and dirt show, focused primarily on metric sport bikes and the like. There has always been a handful of custom industry exhibitors, not least Harley-Davidson, but with the custom market growing fast in Italy (Northern Italy especially), and Italian customizers making an increasing impact on the international stage, the timing of the new ‘Custom City’ feature that made its debut at the show in November 2010 couldn’t have been better. In recent years INTERMOT, the biennial show held in Cologne, Germany, has also taken initiatives to embrace the custom market, and, as a reflection that the custom industry is reaching beyond its core footprint, both initiatives are to be welcomed. From the perspective of the trade associations who own both shows (IVM in Germany and ANCMA in Italy) the value lies not only in additional exhibitor
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National Cycle: in Europe the Maywood, Illinoisbased screen manufacturer does exceptional business in the metric sport, street and tourer market, as well as in the custom and cruiser sector; www.nationalcycle.com MAG Europe: Vance and Hines continue to sell strongly in Europe, and the European end of the Motorsport Aftermarket Group line-up of brands is doing well across the board. It continues to offer dealers and distributors one of the most impressive brand portfolios from a single source; www.mageurope.net
and visitor revenue streams, but also in the fact that the boom years for the V-twin industry have raised its profile to the extent that it is now a poster-child for motorcycling in general. November’s Milan Show attracted an increased attendance of over 500,000 visitors in five days, with around half of one of the halls (out of six halls in total) given over to the ‘Custom City’ feature and custom market related vendors.
IMCO Motorcycle Parts: Italian designer and manufacturer of a wide range of parts and accessories, from fenders and instruments, to triple trees, pegs, grips and brackets; www.motoimco.it
Continued on page 60 >>>
Headbanger Motorcycles: The Milan-based designer and manufacturer of custom V-twins is the brainchild of Georgio Sandi, and has Luciano Andreoli as the firm’s custom builder. The market looks forward to seeing the next custom they unveil to capitalize on the international success and widespread acclaim that greeted ‘Morning Sunrise’ when it was unveiled at Motor Bike Expo in Verona, Italy in January 2010; www.goodvibrationsmilano.it
The ‘Custom City’ presentation at EICMA was put together by Mareno Persello and his son Micke, publishers of Bikers Life magazine in Italy, and organizers of the popular Biker Fest Rally at Udine each summer; www.bikerslife.com
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Saxon Motorcycles Europe: Rinke Andringa (left) and Frank Vermuelen have made dramatic progress in establishing a European dealer network for Saxon in the past 18 months; www.saxonmotorcycles.eu
Rizoma: best known to AMD readers as a stylish designer and manufacturer of parts and accessories for Harley-Davidsons, the company now has a US office (Rizoma USA, James Eiland, usa@rizoma.com, Tel 1- 305 627 9849), and offers dealers access to a comprehensive range of makeover solutions for most popular street and sport bikes, including the new BMW S1000RR as seen here; www.rizoma.com
Spectro Oils: Seen here exhibiting at Milan with their Italian distributor, the New England-based company recently hired powersports oil industry veteran JJ Handfield as International Sales & Marketing Manager; www.spectro-oils.com
CR&S: the hot news from former Italian HarleyDavidson importer and dealer network operator Roberto Crepaldi centers on the exceptional reaction in Italy and beyond to his new 117 inch S&S X-Wedge-engined 'Duu' concept bike since it was formally unveiled at Milan 12 months ago. With over 130 orders already placed, according to Crepaldi, the 'Duu' has now entered production; www.crs-motorcycles.com
Free Spirits: the Italian Buell, Harley and sport bike parts and accessories designer and manufacturer Marcello Fontana's fast growing product line includes race parts and more; www.freespirits.it OMT Garage: the Origgio, Varese-based specialist is a noted vintage Harley restorer and customizer; www.omtgarage.com <<< Continued from page 59
The feature consisted of a display of custom bikes from leading Italian and European customizers, along with cultural, lifestyle and related content that sold custom riding on the basis of its unique motorcycling references, icons and experiences. Organized for the show (at very short notice!) by Moreno Persello and his son Micke, who are best known as the publishers of Bikers Life magazine and organizers of the annual Biker Fest Rally at Udine in North-Eastern Italy every summer, the display proved to be a popular attraction with visitors and one that we here at AMD hope will become a regular and growing annual feature at the Milan Show.
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W r i t t e n b y A l a n C a t h c a r t - c a t h c a r t @ d e a l e r- w o r l d . c o m
Hyde Harrier Bonneville road test RIUMPH’S Bonneville model became a byword for performance upon entering production in ‘59. Now, as the, Hinckley-built Bonneville clocked up its tenth birthday in 2010, the company still shows no sign of delivering a powerful, version of its slightly soporific T100 base-model that the name demands. Fortunately, Britain’s leading Triumph aftermarket specialist Norman Hyde has built just such a bike, just as he did years ago when he made a Harrier chassis kit for the classic Triumphs, once again teaming up with chassis specialists Harris Performance. “Last year was the 21st birthday of our Harrier frame kit but it was also the 50th anniversary of the start of Bonneville production,” says Hyde. “So I decided to ask Lester and Steve Harris to help us produce a kind of Jubilee edition that’d let our customers start using the considerable extra performance that’s locked up in the Hinckley Bonneville motor”. esigned to utilize any pre-EFI Bonneville built between ‘00 and ‘07 as a donor, the basic Hyde Harrier frame kit consists of a Harris chromemoly tubular steel chassis and swingarm, a 16-liter aluminum fuel tank, a seat unit with rear light, rearsets, rear fender, engine plates, battery box and sidestand. Besides the engine, this means the only major items retained from the donor are the headlight and instruments, suspension, wheels, oil cooler and exhaust system. But that’s only the starting point, as demonstrated by this test bike. Engine first, and the Harrier has a substantial 60-percent improvement in power compared to stock. This comes courtesy of the revised engine package Hyde has created by boring the twin out to 902cc via Wiseco pistons delivering a higher 10.5:1 compression. Additional power comes courtesy of the stainless steel exhaust system which, while carrying Harris labels, was in fact manufactured by Richard Bushell’s Urbane Exhausts. In order to feed the bored-out motor, a pair of 35mm Keihin CR smoothbore carbs have been fitted, matched to a ported and gas-flowed
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cylinder head with larger stainless steel valves, stronger springs, and Hyde Performance camshafts. The resulting engine package isn’t just inevitably a whole lot faster compared to the stock Bonneville, but thanks to a massive increase in torque also features a noticeable improvement in acceleration. That’s even with the higher 19T gearbox sprocket,compared to the standard Bonneville’s 17T, which prevents it peaking out too early en route to a claimed top speed in excess of 145mph. Sling a leg over the low seat, and you find a close-coupled but surprisingly comfortable stance with clip-ons. The high footrests mean there’s not much room to move your feet around, thanks to the high-swept exhaust silencers under your heels. This means you’re encouraged to ride the bike in the classic way as it asks to be ridden, parking your posterior on the hard padded seat platform and leaning with the Harrier as you hustle it round a turn. o that, and you’ll surprise yourself how much turn speed you can carry, with the fully adjustable 43mm Öhlins forks eating up the bumps in the road and gluing the Avon Viper front tire to the tarmac. The Harris frame is peerless in delivering a great sense of confidence. No shaking of the ‘bars in your hands, no speed wobbles, just planted. And also under braking, when the AP Racing radial calipers clamp the 320mm Brembo discs, with a fair bit of feel, too. There’s noticeable power all through the rev range on the Harrier compared to other Triumph twins as detailed by the bar code readout on the minuscule electronic Vapor LCD dash parked above the upper triple tree. Get back on the gas exiting a turn after trail braking into it with the throttle closed, and pickup is clean. With 85-percent of peak torque already on tap at 2,000rpm, the Harrier will pull hard and strong from practically off idle. And because of that torque, you never notice the absence of a sixth ratio in the stock five-speed box. The
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you’re encouraged to ride the bike in the classic way as it asks to be ridden
spread of power and torque is so wide, you don’t end up using the five-speed gearbox nearly as much as you might expect, although you can feel power building in totally linear mode all the way to the 8,000rpm limiter. The very conservative steering geometry, of the Harris chassis, with the Öhlins forks set at a 26.5-degree rake with 110-117mm of trail that’s adjustable via the triple trees, means that the Harrier is stable rather than slick-steering. he Hyde Harrier recreates one of the most distinctive, most traditional Brit bike themes, but in a 21st century idiom - the single-seat café racer, a genre which epitomizes biking’s visceral appeal, through a
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combination of hard-edged styling and mechanical appeal. It’s important to be able to see the engine, but you need the practicality and looks of a half-fairing. “You must remember that the original Thruxton Bonneville was indeed the Honda Fireblade of its day,” says Norman Hyde. “It appealed to young lads who wanted the fastest, sexiest, most desirable bike around, and it was not only fast by the standards of back then, it was also beautifully styled. The aim of this bike, the Hyde Harrier, is to create a modern reference to that. NORMAN HYDE Warwick, Warwickshire, UK Tel: +44 1926 497 375 From USA: 01144 1926 497 375 sales@normanhyde.co.uk www.normanhyde.co.uk
AMERICAN MOTORCYCLE DESIGN
Walton – the time warp Norton Words by Duncan Moore: duncan@dealer-world.com; Photos by Horst Rösler - motographer@t-online.de
It has been said that style never goes out of fashion. In the case of custom bike building, when the style in question is Choppers, then it is definitely never out of fashion. Reinforcing this belief is Walton – a Norton-engined Chopper that took fifth place at the European Championship of Custom Bike Building in Germany and 6th at the Sturgis World Championship NE of the defining features of the 2010 European Championship of Custom Bike Building was the diversity of powerplants around with which the bikes competing in the show were built. While it is true that American V-twins are still the most popular choice of engine, many European builders are looking to other manufacturers for a starting point, and one such example is the Austrian bike shop ‘Blech & Drueber’. Bernhard Naumann and Martin Lagler,the two men who are the creative force at Blech & Drueber, have built a diverse range of custom machines which includes café racers and sportsbikes before taking on the traditional styling of a late ’60s Chopper.Not being traditional custom builders, Bernhard and Martin did not feel confined to begin the build of Walton, the bike with which they took fifth place at the European Championship of Custom Bike Building and 6th at the World Championship, with a Harley motor.
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Instead they started with an 850cc parallel twin from a 1972 Norton Commando. For the sake of simplicity the matching Norton four-speed transmission was also used. Modifications to the drivetrain package where kept to a minimum; an aluminum manifold to carry the twin Amal carbs, all the oil lines replaced with copper hard lines and a custom fabricated exhaust.The header pipe from the left cylinder runs out and around the front of the downtube of the frame before bending under the engine and then emerging again behind the gear box. The right pipe, however, runs down the outside of the other downtube and then bends around to match the contours of the engine casing and transmission before joining the other pipe. The choice of Norton for the powerplant dictated that an off-the-shelf frame was not available, which led Bernhard and Martin to fabricate their own highnecked frame, which features 43 degrees of rake and twin downtubes. The frame is compliemented by a one-off Girder fork built in the Blech & Drueber
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workshop, too. The linkage plates have been machined from aluminum and the legs have been produced in stainless steel. The upper triple tree on the forks also incorporates the risers for the bars, the bars themselves being sleeved into the risers. However, it is the detailing on the front end that sets the forks apart. The front brake is operated by a reverse action lever with an internal cable, as is the throttle. Both of the cables exit at a bend in the bars and the exposed cables then run over a brass roller to direct them down to the front of the bike. Below the lower fork linkage the brake cable meets a second brass roller, which is bolted to a sliding mount that allows the single cable from the lever to pull the twin cable of the Grimeca twin leading shoe drum brake laced into the front wheel. In order to keep the cable running parallel to the fork leg a further brass roller is mounted on each side of the hub, on custom brackets, to guide the cable. he unusual detailing continues through the rest of the bike. One such example is the rear brake. The Blech & Drueber forward controls pull a cable, which then runs through a rocker system hidden on the inside of the frame that pushes on a hydraulic master cylinder that in turn operates the caliper on the rear wheel’s combination sprocket and rotor. The caliper itself is then hidden behind the mount for the bike’s taillight. The wheels, onto which the brakes are mounted, are both 21in diameter 2.75 rims carrying Avon 3.0in tires.
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The remaining controls on the bike are taken care of by a suicide shifter made by Bernhard and Martin, which also carries the cable clutch lever.The detailing on Walton is such that the pivot for the shifter is an extension of the motor’s top mount and the linkage for the shifter is routed down between the two carbs. Continuing the theme of parts having more than one function is the rear fender,which is also the bike’s oil tank and is supplemented by a second tank below the seat. The seat itself is suspended on a one-off cantilever system that pushes a horizontally mounted shock above the transmission. More one-off parts found on the bike include the aluminum battery box at the base of the frame’s downtubes and the hand-beaten aluminum gas tank. The gas tank does not bolt to the bike, rather at the front small brackets hook onto pegs on the frame, and then it is held firmly in place by leather straps at the rear. It is this level of detailing that can be found throughout the entire bike that led to Walton placing so highly at the European Championship.
BLECH & DRUEBER Rohr im Burgenland, AUSTRIA Tel: +43 (0)676 708 9267 E-mail: info@blechunddrueber.at www.blechunddrueber.at
Bernard Naumann (left) and Martin Lager (center) with “Walton”
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‘V4’
AUSTRALIA East Coast Custom www.eastcoastcustoms.com.au
CANADA Mongoose Machine & Engineering
www.mongoosemachine.com Motovan Corporation
www.motovan.com Parts Canada
www.partscanada.ca Winnerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Circle www.winnerscirclecanada.com
NEW ZEALAND Performance Cycle Wholesale
www.performancecycle.co.nz
SWEDEN Moto Speed AB
www.motospeed.se
THE NETHERLANDS Zodiac International B.V.
www.zodiac.nl
USA Baisley Hi-Performance
baisleyhp@aol.com Bikers Choice
www.bikerschoice.com Custom Chrome, Inc.
www.customchrome.com Drag Specialties
www.dragspecialties.com Engine Dynamics LLC
www.enginedynamics.com Mid USA Motorcycle Parts
www.mid-usa.com Midwest Motorcycle Supply
www.midwestmc.net Newcomb Dist. www.newcombdistribtors.com Rivera Engineering www.riveraengineering.com Star Racing
www.starracing.com TEC Distributing
www.tecdist.com www.blackdiamondvalves.com
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INTERNATIONAL HEAD OFFICE THE NETHERLANDS ZODIAC INTERNATIONAL B.V.
DISTRIBUTOR NETWORK Canada
Tel: 0031(0)297 288621
Parts Canada
Fax: 0031(0)297 288226
Tel: (403) 250 6247
Email: sales@zodiac.nl www.zodiac.nl
AUSTRALIA CASSONS PTY. LTD.
Tel: 2 9684 1210 Fax: 2 9684 2091 Email: cassons@cassons.com.au
FRANCE ZODIAC FRANCE
Tel: 01 45 93 10 75 Fax: 01 45 93 18 41
New Zealand Australia Performance Cycle Wholesale-NZ Tel:006493081634
East Coast Custom Distributing Pty. Ltd.-AU Tel: 0061732524633
Japan Neo Factory
DISTRIBUTORS Australia East Coast Customs www.eastcoastcustom.com.au
Rollies Speed Shop www.rollies.com.au
Japan Neo Factory www.neofactory.co.jp
Sundance www.sundance.co.jp
The Netherlands Zodiac International www.zodiac.nl
USA Biker’s Choice www.bikerschoice.com
Custom Chrome www.customchrome.com
Email: zodiac-france@zodiac.nl
Tel: 0081432128082
FC PARTS
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www.dragspecialties.com
Tel: 03 27 85 57 15
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Email: fcparts@wanadoo.fr
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Australia
If not, then you need to stock and sell the U.S.A’s fastest growing line of custom helmets
East Coast Custom
Contact: Al Sobel
Tel: 07 3252 4633
HELMET CITY Delray Beach. Florida. USA
Tel. TOLL FREE: 1-888 550 3731 Tel. Intnl: 1-561 330 3700 Fax: 1-561 330 2501
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Tel: 0049 (0)931 2506115
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NETHERLANDS Bad Boy Helmets Tel: 0031 (0)653 119 597 e-mail: info@badboy.nl www.badboy.nl
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GZM/Accessories Unlimited Tel: 0034 96 6758000 Fax: 0034 96 6758015 e-mail: gzm@gzm.es
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Custom Chrome Inc.
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AMERICAN BIKE SHOP
Tel: 071 761 2678 Fax: 071 761 0678 Email: abs-zodiac@rheintal.ch
AMERICAN MOTORCYCLE DEALER - JANUARY 2010
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Motorcycle Storehouse B.V. Industrieweg 22, 9781 AC Bedum, The Netherlands Tel: +31 (0)50-3039775 - Fax: +31 (0)50-3039777
DISTRIBUTOR
MCS French agent Bruno Sell Tel: +33 (0)4 90 67 76 33 - Fax: +33 (0)4 90 67 92 11 E-mail: bruno@mcseurope.nl MCS German agent Rasi Bayazid Tel: +49 (0)211 289 0538 - Fax: +49 (0)211 289 0532 E-mail: rasi@mcseurope.nl MCS Italian agent Marcello Fontana Tel: +39 0445 390437 - Fax: +39 0445 395539 E-mail marcello@mcseurope.nl MCS UK agent Simon Letts Tel: +44 (0)1892 668844 - Fax: +44 (0)1892 667722 E-mail: simon@mcseurope.nl
Australia East Coast Custom Tel: 07 3252 4633 Rollies Speed Shop Tel: 07 3252 2129 Canada Preston Cycle Products Tel:(800) 265 2298 Parts Canada/Drag Specialties
Tel:(877) 717 2858 Europe Custom Chrome Europe Tel: 0049 (0)671 88888 0 DĂ&#x153;X Industries Tel: 0049 (0)40 434037 Motorcycle Storehouse Tel: 0031 (0)50 3039775 Zodiac International Tel: 0031 (0)297 288 621
NETWORK USA Bikers Choice Tel: (800) 347 8080 Custom Chrome Tel: (800) 729 3332 Drag Specialties Tel: (800) 222 3400 Kustomwerks Tel: (800) 498 4711 Midwest Tel: (800) 325 3914 MID-USA Tel: (800) 527 0501 Tedd Cycle Tel: (914) 565 2806 Win Starwest Tel: (805) 531 1000
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AMERICAN MOTORCYCLE DEALER - JANUARY 2010
INDEX
This INDEX is a complete listing of all the items in this edition. It includes all our advertisers and the product, feature and news items published this month. The INDEX will act as a quick reference guide, and will be useful when searching this and other editions either for contact details for a particular company, or for a specific item that has appeared. The INDEX appears in every edition of AMD .
A THIS MONTH’S ADVERTISERS
TecMate International (BE) Optimate4 & Accumate Pro-5..........................................51
45 Restoration Co (US) Old style parts ......................................................................75 5 Ball Inc (bikernet.com) (US) Bikers website ............................................................76 ACCEL Motorcycle Products (US) Self Learning Module ............................................57 Advanstar (US) Ultimate Builder Custom Bike Show series ........................................72 AIM Corp (US) Clutches & gear kits ............................................................................4 Arlen Ness Enterprises (US) Trike Project....................................................................32 Associacion Llunatica Benicassim (ES) Llunatica 2011 Bike Show ..............................62 Avon Grips (US) Air cushioned grips..........................................................................15 Bad Dad Custom Finishes (US) Bagger parts ............................................................34 Barnett Performance Products (US) Scorpion belt drives, distributor network ..........15,75 Battistinis Custom Cycles (US) Parts & accessories ....................................................74 Belt Drives Ltd (US) GMA brakes, clutches & kits, distributor network ..............30,54,76 Big Bear Choppers (US) Bear Bones & Athena ProStreet bikes ....................................5 Biker’s Choice (US) Bagger parts & accessories..........................................................52 Classicshows (GB) London International Custom Show 2011 ....................................18 Clearview Shields (US) Windshields ..........................................................................63 Colony Machine (US) Hardware ................................................................................74 Commerciale (IT) Motor Bike Expo Verona 2011........................................................65 Custom Chrome International (US) RevTech engines ................................................47 CV Performance (US) Carburetor & intake parts ........................................................74 Daytona Twin Tec (US) Tec Talk, Upgrade from Crane HI-4 to Model 1005....................9 Designs By Novello (US) 2-tone covers......................................................................74 DNA Specialty (US) Stealth Trike................................................................................42 DP Brakes & Clutches (US) Brakes & clutches ............................................................30 Drag Specialties (US) 2011 Fatbook & Oldbook ........................................................36 Easyriders Events (US) V-Twin Expo 2011 ..................................................................79 Energy One Clutches (US) Performance clutches..........................................................8 Fehling (DE) Parts & accessories................................................................................74 Feuling Oil Pump Corporation (US) Reaper camshafts, distributor network............65,75 Free Spirits (IT) Street and race parts ........................................................................43 Goodridge (US) Fluid Transfer Systems ......................................................................76 GZM Europe/Accessories Unlimited (ES) Parts & accessories, distributors ..................75 Harley-Davidson (US) World Championship Modified Harley class sponsor ................66 Harley-Davidson of UAE (AE) Gulf Bike Week 2011 ..................................................62 Heartland USA (US) Conversion kits ....................................................................20-21 Helmet City Inc (US) D.O.T. & novelty helmets, distributor network........................75,77 Hogtunes Inc/Metrix Audio (CA) ‘Hogpod’ high performance tweeter pod ................45 JayBrake (US) Brakes & controls ................................................................................13 Jims USA (US) 131” race engine, cylinders, piston kits ....................................63,75,76 Joker Machine (US) Parts & accessories ....................................................................37 K&N Engineering (US) Becomes an authorized K&N dealer, air intake assemblies ..24,61 Kibblewhite (US) Valvetrain components, distributor network ..........................50-51,74 Kustom Tech (IT) Parts & accessories ........................................................................80 Kustomwerks (US) Wild Card parts range & 2010 catalog ....................................35,54 Le Pera Enterprises (US) Seats ..................................................................................29 MAG Connection (FR) Online distribution..................................................................16 MAG Europe (GB) Vance & Hines type-approved touring slip-ons ..............................31 Mid-USA Motorcycle Parts (US) 2011 Parts and accessories ......................................28 Milwaukee Bagger (US) Saddlebags..........................................................................63 Motorcycle Storehouse (NL) Distributor, International Sales Offices ......38-39,44-45,48-49,76 Mr Luckys (US) Brass and copper Old School finishes ................................................10 Mustang Motorcycle Products (US) Nostalgic luggage ..............................................76 NAMZ Custom Cycle Products (US) Wiring harnesses & fluid lines ............................65 Ocean Events (GB) California Dreamin’ Expo ............................................................73 Paul Yaffe Originals (US) Bagger products ................................................................14 PB Germany (DE) AGM Motorcycle Bags & Accessories..............................................19 Renegade Wheels (US) New wheel models..................................................................7 Ride Wright Wheels (US) Wheel manufacturer ..........................................................25 Rivera Primo (US) Parts & accessories, Distributor network ........................24,35,46,75 RoosteR Custom Cycles (US) Perse Performance products..........................................11 Rowe USA (US) Valves & guides, parts & tools ..........................................................74 Rush Racing Products (US) Exhaust systems ..............................................................23 S&S Cycle (US) High performance products, Crane Cams ......................................50,61 SDL Exhibitions (IE) 2011 Irish Motorbike & Scooter Show ........................................58 Sumax Cycle Products (US) Bags ..............................................................................27 Swiss Performance (CH) German & Swiss Performance shows 2011 ..........................58 Tech Cycle Performance Products (US) Belt drives & starters ......................................57
The Leatherworks (US) Custom saddlebags & luggage ..............................................57
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AMERICAN MOTORCYCLE DEALER - JANUARY 2011
Trask Performance (US) Bolt-on exhaust kits..............................................................41 Truett & Osborn Cycle (US) Reproduction 45 flywheels ..............................................76 TTS Motorcycles (DE) Rims & wheels ........................................................................33 Van Bergen & Greener (US) Harley Spragg drives ......................................................76 Vance & Hines (US) Exhausts ....................................................................................26 Wiseco Piston (US) Controllers for EFI engines ..........................................................78 Zipper’s Performance Products (US) ThunderMax EFI Module ......................................6 Zodiac International (NL) Parts & accessories, Issue 38 Bikers Book, European offices ....2,75
THIS MONTH’S EDITORIAL ITEMS Advanstar (US) Ultimate Builder Custom Bike Shows 2010 & 2011 dates..................80 ATK Motorcycles (US) Plan electric police bikes............................................................8 Big Dog Motorcycles (US) Releases 2011 model range ........................................12,14 Biker’s Choice (US) Freedom Performance American Outlaw dual system ..................49 Blech & Drueber (AT) Walton bike feature ............................................................67-68 BMW (DE) BMW says LoRider concept “still of interest” ..........................................80 Cardo Systems (US) TeamSet PRO comms system ......................................................28 Covingtons Customs (US) Turn signal eliminator........................................................49 Custom Chrome International (US) Expands Dealer Show in 2011 ..............................6 Custom Chrome International (US) Santee Bonanza II bars........................................33 Custom Cycle Control Systems (US) T-Bar handlebars with integrated controls ..........38 DBBP Design (NL) Company feature ....................................................................55-56 Drag Specialties (US) Shifter levers, air cleaners, Naked VO2, convex mirror................40 Easyriders Events (US) Advance visitor registrations running ahead of 2010 ................1 EICMA (IT) Milan show hosts ‘Custom City’ ........................................................59-60 Exile Cycles (US) Forward control mounting plates & knurled finish parts ..................40 Free Spirits (IT) Full race exhaust & drive pulley for XR1200 ......................................25 Gilles Tooling (LU) Factor-X rearsets for XR1200........................................................46 Headwinds (US) Light bar kit for Springer models......................................................46 HTP America (US) Relocates to larger premises............................................................8 Kendon Industries (US) Crank-down swivel jack stand for Stand-Up trailer ................37 Kewlmetal (US) Victory pop-up gas cap and light brackets ........................................25 Kustom Tech (IT) Rocker shaft nuts for Knuckleheads ................................................37 Licks Custom Cycles (US) Cafe racer clip-on bars ......................................................46 MAG (US) Acquires Cycle News brand ......................................................................11 Motive Media (NL) Bigtwin Bikeshow & Expo 2010 review ..................................17-19 Motorcycle Storehouse (NL) End-of-year catalog update launched ............................10 Motorcycle Storehouse (NL) Starter motors, shocks for XR1200, air cleaners..............43 Norman Hyde (GB) Cathcart Report: Hyde Harrier Bonneville road test ......................64 Ocean Events (GB) California Dreamin’ Expo preview................................................53 Paaschburg & Wunderlich (DE) LED taillights ............................................................28 Paughco (US) Captain America parts ........................................................................22 Performance Machine (US) ‘Seven’ wheel..................................................................22 Rivera Primo (US) Matt black Brute IV Extreme open belt drive..................................38 RoosteR Custom Cycles (US) Perse Performance ‘New School Vintage’ front end........39 South Side Kustoms (US) Valiant Evolution model......................................................33 Sumax Cycle Products (US) Powdercoating services ..................................................48 SuperTrapp Industries (US) Slip-ons & full systems for 2011 Softail models ................27 Travertson Motorcycles (US) Launches V-REX-2 model ................................................6 Vicious Cycle (US) Stretched tank covers ..................................................................48 W&W Cycles (DE) Online catalog launched ..............................................................11 W&W Cycles (DE) Wheel covers, bolt-on fender kit, handlebars, grips ........................34 Wire Plus (US) Big Dog replacement speedo..............................................................22
NEWS
Ultimate Builder Series AS this edition of AMD went to press, the first three of Advanstar’s IMS series Ultimate Builder Custom Bike Shows had taken place. Affiliated to AMD’s Official World Championship of Custom Bike Building, the series concludes with the American Championship at Daytona Bike Week in early March, and involves a total cash prize purse of over $90,000. Glasgow Kiss
The series opened up in Dallas, TX, where the FreeStyle class win was taken by Christian Dotson, who is no stranger to World Championship success having scooped two top ten finishes in the past. The Modified Harley-Davidson class win was taken by Michael ‘Lobo’ Daniel, with the new Performance Custom class won by Mark Adams. At San Mateo, CA, the FreeStyle win was taken by two-time Metric World Champion Jim Giuffra of AFT Customs with ‘Er Hed’, the customized Yamaha with which he won at Sturgis in 2008. The Modified HarleyDavidson class win went to Morgan Hill, CA, authorized dealer House of Thunder (Dan Stern), with Gregg’s Customs (Gregg DesJardins) of Campbell, CA taking first prize in the
January 7-9 January 14-16 January 21-23 January 28-30 February 4-6 February 11-13 February 25-27 March 9-12
Novi, MI Washington DC Manhattan, NY Cleveland, OH Minneapolis, MN Chicago, IL Greenville, SC American Championship @ Daytona, FL
Performance Custom class. The third show in this year’s IMS series was at Seattle, WA, where Robbie Kerr of Kootenay Motorcycle Art of Nelson, BC, Canada, took the FreeStyle win with ‘Glasgow Kiss’, recipient of the Ness Enterprises Partner Pick of Excellence award at the 2010 World Championship. The Modified Harley class win was taken by another authorized dealer, Eastside H-D of Bellevue, WA (Sebastian Bulare), and the Performance Custom Class taken by Carl Harris of Premium Custom Cycles of Lakewood, WA. The series then moved onto
Long Beach, CA, and news of the results there and at all AMD’s affiliate events will be sent out on AMD’s ‘e-Club’ electronic news service (are you signed up?) as well as appearing in regular AMD Magazine editions. In the New Year, the series moves on to Novi in Michigan followed by Washington DC, New York City, Cleveland, Minneapolis, Chicago and Greenville, before the finals at Daytona Bike Week, March 9th to 12th. www.motorcycleshows.com /customs
BMW says LoRider concept “still of interest” UNVEILED as a concept bike at the ‘Milan Show’ in 2008, the BMW modular concept custom cruiser, provisionally called the ‘LoRider’ is a project that “is still very much of interest to us at this time” according to BMW design chief David Robb. Speaking exclusively to AMD Magazine at the recent Milan Show in November 2010, Robb said that “reaction to the prospect of our entering the cruiser market has been very positive. It is a concept that is still very much of interest to us”. Asked whether or not the downturn had affected their thinking about a launch date, Robb said: “aside from the extent to which the downturn has caused everybody to evaluate ongoing plans very
carefully, no, not really. It is a matter of public record that BMW has fared well in the past couple of years and that is testimony to the direction we have been taking for several years now. “Entry into the cruiser segment would sit well with our aims of offering our customers access to the widest possible ranges of model choices and ways of enjoying the BMW ownership experience. Part of the positive reaction we got when we showed the LoRider was excitement at the prospect that BMW riding and quality values would be available in the cruiser sector for the first time.” Commenting on the process of evaluating the reaction to the Boxer 1200-engined design concept since
2008, Robb told AMD: “Part of our evaluation has been whether it offers us the business opportunities we hoped for, and market research is helping us to understand that business model. “What has been really interesting is that the concept is attracting a lot of different kinds of people, and for lots of different kinds of reasons.That has been a very exciting part of what we are finding out about the potential there may be in this segment for us. “It may be that we are not talking about one model with its modular approach to individualization, but many different products, each one able to speak to the riding values of different kinds of cruiser rider.”
Seen here at the unveiling of the Boxer 1200 engined LoRider concept at the Milan Show in 2008, two years on, BMW VP of Motorcycle Design David Robb told AMD: “It may be that we are not talking about one model … but many different products”