IDN 101 May 2012

COMMENT: Mixed messages from Europe’s first quarter motorcycle sales statistics ........................Page 3

Germany returns to growth as other major European markets continue to see sales decline in first quarter ..................Page 48, 6-8

MAY 2012 ISSUE #101

Volkswagen Audi Group confirms purchase of Ducati

PRODUCTS

FTER the speculation generated by their reported period of exclusive due diligence, the Volkswagen Audi Group in Germany (VAG) has confirmed its decision to buy Ducati Motor Holding S.p.A. The deal is said to involve VAG paying Ducati’s parent company International Motorcycle S.p.A., a subsidiary of the Investindustrial Group, some 860 m euro for Ducati, which includes taking on responsibility for 200 m of Ducati debt.

Given the recent and current sales and profits performance of the legendary Bologna based manufacturer, some are seeing it as a piece of shrewd dealing by the German car giant.

However, other analysts, ones who are possibly closer to the factory and the realities of the balance sheets involved, believe it is as much a brand vanity acquisition as a piece of smart business. This school of thought believes that VAG are paying a

A

financial premium to complete an acquisition that has been haunting group Chairman Ferdinand Piech (a self-confessed Ducatista) ever since he failed to buy Ducati when the Italian Government put it up for sale in 1984.

Net of debt, VAG is paying around seven times 2011 EBITDA to buy Ducati.

Either way, it is thought that Audi AG is being put up-front and centre in the deal by VAG as a signal to closest luxury car rival BMW, who, of course, also has a (increasingly strong) position in the motorcycle market.

Ducati now takes its place in a lineup of leading brands that includes Bentley, Bugatti and Lamborghini; a line-up that will also, no doubt, see VAG’s 49.9 percent stake in Porsche converted to complete ownership at some stage in the coming years, unless postponement of the merger announced in September 2011 due to legal risks, including a criminal probe, the legal risks prove permanent.

This is not VAG’s first foray into the contemporary motorcycle market though, as it has owned a 19.9 percent stake in

Suzuki since the beginning of 2010.

IDN reported that the Bonomi family, the major stakeholders in Investindustrial, were poised of offload Ducati, and in an April 18th press release Andrea C. Bonomi, Chairman of Investindustrial, is quoted as saying “the management team, led by Gabriel Del Torchio, and Ducati’s skilled and passionate workforce have been a key element in turning the company into a global brand with some of the most exciting motorcycle models currently on the market.

“I am convinced Audi will be a responsible new owner, preserving the Italian workforce’s technology skills for a bright future for the company.”

Interestingly, in addition to profits and brand strength, the press release issued simultaneously by Audi AG also highlighted Ducati’s technology and manufacturing skills as a major motive for the deal.

Rupert Stadler, Chairman of the Board of Management of AUDI AG, is quoted as saying “Ducati is known

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Pages 35-43

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NEws ROOM 6-12, 48 TRADEZONE 44-45

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INDEX 46

•

CONTENTS • CONTENTS • CONTENTS • CONTENTS • CONTENTS • CONTENTS •

IDN 2012 (#101)

PUBLISHERS ROBIN BRADLEY

News ..............................................................................6-12, 48

robin@dealer-world.com

European Statistics ......................................48-6,8 SONJA WALLACE

Germany, the UK and the Netherlands see March and first quarter growth, while the rest of Europe’s primary markets are still seeing sales fall…

sonja@dealer-world.com ADVERTISING SALES CHRIS GOTHARD chris@dealer-world.com

Cathcart Report: Claudio Domenicali: ........16-19

DESIGN & PRODUCTION MANAGER

With Ducati’s owners and VAG locked in due diligence, Alan Cathcart finds Ducati Director General Claudio Domenicali in a positive and combative frame of mind

BEN OAG ben@dealer-world.com DESIGN & PRODUCTION EDITOR TOM JACKSON

Products ............................................................................18, 28

tom@dealer-world.com STAFF WRITER DUNCAN MOORE duncan@dealer-world.com PUBLISHING MANAGER BEN BRADLEY benb@dealer-world.com

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p.23

p.28

Cathcart Report: BMW Maxi-Scooters:........30-33

SHOW & DATA MANAGER NEIL BLABER

Not someone immediately associated with test riding scooters, Alan Cathcart reports that BMW’s engineers may have re-defined the maxi-scooter market’s ‘sweet-spot’

neil@dealer-world.com PROJECT MANAGER SARA VINEY sara@dealer-world.com

Motorcycle Fashion ............................................................35, 43

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MESSE ESSEN, Germany May 10-12, 2013 The European ‘Headquarters’ Expo for the International motorcycle parts, accessory, performance, workshop, service and tuning industry INTERNATIONAL

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w w w. b i g b i k e e u r o p e . c o m INTERNATIONAL DEALER NEWS - MAY 2012

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•

COMMENT • COMMENT • COMMENT • COMMENT • COMMENT • COMMENT •

Mixed messages from Europe’s first quarter motorcycle sales statistics HE primary hope that motorcycle manufacturers have for sales in Europe this year appears to be signs that some kind of stability will be achieved, that the decline in sales will slow down or maybe even level off, and that the bottom of what will no doubt be a very broad U-curve will be reached.

There are some positive signs to be seen in some European markets.

In Germany for example, the dip in sales in February 2012 that followed 13 months of positive overall results appears to have been just exactly that, a dip, with March showing improvements over March 2011.

In the UK and the Netherlands overall sales are growing by low single digit percentages, but elsewhere the best that can be said is that there is some sign, statistically at least, that the rate of decline is slowing down.

In markets where so much of the volume of the industry has been lost, it is tough to argue that these are positive signs yet, because while the percentage declines being seen appear to represent a levellingoff, so much of the critical mass has been lost in markets such as Italy, France and Spain that ‘low news’ cannot convincingly be interpreted as goodnews.

With cost management and production realignments having been the primary routes through which manufacturers (with certain startling exceptions) have kept the doors open, it is encouraging to see that all the ‘majors’ and many of the more innovative new or smaller specialist motorcycle manufacturers are all now signed up for the primary shows such as INTERMOT this year. he signal that sends is that they are either successfully locked into a cycle of growth, albeit at the expense of other brands (I’m thinking of the likes of the new four here, Harley, BMW, Ducati and Triumph principally, but others too), or, where sales are still soft (in historic volume terms the Japanese manufacturers and Europe’s small cc specialists mainly), the expectations at least are that from 2013 onwards things won’t be getting substantially worse and that there are going to be sales to compete for and a level, stable market in which to plan production numbers and costs.

As ever, in any downturn, it is interesting to note that those who have maintained or grown their investments in innovation, research, design and brand profiles and values are those whose boats are already, clearly, going to be the ones to float first and highest as the tide of economic cycle returns.

Sure, there are those who will emerge as having been permanently beached by the experience, manufacturers who prove unable to convincingly recover from the trauma either ever or at best very, very slowly over a period of decades.

But just as downturn R&D and branding investments have always been the

T

litmus test of post downturn prospects, it has always been this way – there have always been winners and losers in every recession, in every commercial sector.

There can never be a return to ‘the way we were’ after recessions, and it is especially inappropriate to think there can be after one that has been borderline depression – one that has certainly been the worst in living memory and probably the worst since the 1930’s.

With so many formerly prosperous and respected brand names making a comeback, the lesson that the motorcycle market and parts, accessory, performance, service and apparel industries have to internalise is that it is impossible to underestimate the long-term game-changing impacts that a recessionary cycle of the kind we are still living with has on the landscape.

In motorcycle sales terms it is possible to argue that the recession of the past four years simply added to an eight year cycle of decline that was already shaping the industry. f the next 12 to 24 months are to emerge as the bottom of the U-curve, then to think that there can be rapid recovery to past sales numbers after what will, in effect, have been some 12 years of decline is naive.

It is likely that this kind of timescale will mean that regulatory and cultural, social and demographic issues will make it impossible for the market of the past to re-emerge – certainly not in terms of the product offer and brands that are doing best because something in the region of a 20 to 25 year cycle doesn’t only represent a long-term recession, but actually represents an entire generation missed in brand loyalty and consumer experience expectation terms.

With ‘Urban Mobility’ now the new mantra, the lingua-franca that has replaced freedom of the open road and wind in the hair as the primary social and cultural hot-buttons available to be pushed, and generations ahead of consumers who didn’t simply witness the birth of the digital age, but were actually born into it being the consumers whose discretionary leisure spend budgets have to be exploited, how can the motorcycle market at the far-side of the U-curve possibly be the same as the one that saw us slide into the abyss?

“an entire generation of brand loyalty I and consumer experience missed”

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4

INTERNATIONAL DEALER NEWS - MAY 2012

Robin Bradley Publisher robin@dealer-world.com

news ROOM <<< Continued from Page 48

barriers such as non-availability of consumer credit and prohibitive insurance rates”.

For the first quarter of the year so far total PTW registrations in Italy fell by 15 percent to 50,161, of which 32,339 were scooters – down 8.9 percent overall for the first quarter.

The top selling motorcycles in Italy for the first quarter this year were the BMW R 1200 GS and GS Adventure, followed by the Honda NC700X, Kawasaki ER-6n, and the Suzuki DL 650 V-Strom. BMW have six models in the top twenty best sellers in Italy, and Ducati four. The top selling Scooter in Italy in the first quarter of the year so far has been Yamaha’s TMax 500. n Spain March saw road-going motorcycle sales decline by a further 40 percent (to 1,966, with the country’s largest PTW sector, scooters, down 8 percent to 5,672, with the total PTW market worth 8,788 units. Off-road models were down 40 percent to 1,061 units.

For the first quarter overall PTW sales are down 17.25 percent to 20,796 units compared to 25,131 last year, with road-going motorcycles down nearly 35 percent (4,730 units), off-road models down 18 percent (2,879 units) and scooters down 8 percent (12,930 units).

Meanwhile there are some signs of market improvement in the Netherlands and the UK. In the Netherlands motorcycle sales were up 3.9 percent for the first quarter (to 3,195 units from 3,074 in 2011). The top selling manufacturer on the Dutch market is BMW (with 18 percent of the market), followed

by Honda (14.8 percent) and Suzuki (11.3 percent).

I

Total European Sales January and February 2012 While many countries had released March, and therefore full first quarter sales data, by the time this edition of IDN went to press (April 20th 2012) the most up-to-date figures available for European markets as a whole were for the first two months of the year.

Issued by ACEM in Brussels, and ranked here by total PTW sales, these figures show Germany in arrears for the year-to-date due to what everybody will be hoping was a one-off special-factors 'blip' in February, being so far the only negative month of German market growth since January 2011.

Overall, motorcycle sales appear to be down less than 'other' PTW units, with the UK as the only one of Europe's major markets to show any growth after the first two months of the year.

Country

Motorcycle Sales 2011 2012

+/-

Total PTWs 2011 2012

+/-

France Italy Germany Spain United Kingdom The Netherlands Belgium Greece Czech Republic Portugal Austria Denmark Finland Norway Sweden Ireland Luxembourg Slovakia Latvia Romania Estonia Lithuania

21623 31097 9504 13910 6655 1264 2824 5763 2515 2184 729 130 247 206 432 145 138 126 18 39 11 8

20715 23624 9115 11874 7101 1332 2854 3148 2068 1908 736 140 192 237 403 143 99 88 25 30 23 7

-4.20 -24.03 -4.09 -14.64 6.70 5.38 1.06 -45.38 -17.77 -12.64 0.96 7.69 -22.27 15.05 -6.71 -1.38 -28.26 -30.16 38.89 -23.08 109.09 -12.50

38589 39147 16017 17078 8236 9928 5538 5769 3387 2666 2366 1472 957 491 433 177 303 190 83 54 11 27

34273 29810 15628 14439 8566 8472 5568 3153 2901 2323 1836 1171 1010 638 403 174 166 163 88 88 31 17

-11.18 -23.85 -2.43 -15.45 4.01 -14.67 0.54 -45.35 -14.35 -12.87 -22.40 -20.45 5.54 29.94 -6.93 -1.69 -45.21 -14.21 6.02 62.96 181.82 -37.04

TOTAL

99568

85862

-13.77

152919

130918

-14.39

Continues on page 8 >>>

news ROOM

30,000 2011

January

-36.11%

11,401

10,000

-8.92%

26,532

15,000

27,764

20,000

5,000

BMW R1200 GS

-4.4%

2012

25,000

17,845

BMW’s R1200 GT and its variants are among the top sellers in most of Europe’s motorcycle markets

Italy first quarter 2011/2012 total PTW sales

12,228

largest market sector, grew by 16.1 percent to 4,789 units in the first three months of the year, Adventure Sports models up 38.6 percent, while other sectors saw declines - tourers -18.9 percent, custom bikes -8.3 percent, naked bikes -5.2 percent, sport/tourer models – 19.4 percent and Supersport machines down 2.1 percent.

Honda was market leader in the UK in March, with Yamaha second, followed by Triumph, BMW, Kawasaki, Suzuki and Harley-Davidson. •

13,426

Following 6.3 percent growth in January, and 1.4 percent growth in February, total PTW registrations in the UK grew by 1.9 percent in March 2012 to take first quarter growth to 2.7 percent (22,409 units compared to 21,814 in the first three months of 2011).

While moped sales declined slightly in the first three months (-1.7 percent), motorcycle and scooter sales grew by 3.6 percent to 19,516. Scooters, the

Total PTWs

<<< Continued from page 6

February

March

SOURCES: ACEM - Brussels MCI - UK IVM - Germany ANCMA - ITALY RAI - the Netherlands ANESDOR - Spain

news ROOM

VAG buys Ducati <<< Continued from cover

worldwide as a premium brand among motorcycle manufacturers with a long tradition of building sporty motorcycles.

“It has great expertise in highperformance engines and lightweight construction, and is one of the world’s most profitable motorcycle manufacturers. That makes Ducati an excellent fit for Audi.” The company went on to acknowledge the “progressive control systems and special combustion chamber process of Ducati engines, their resulting sporty

character, and Ducati’s extensive know-how in lightweight construction” as offering great potential for Audi AG and the Volkswagen Group.”

While capital resources and production expertise clearly are among the benefits that Ducati have to gain from becoming a part of VAG, many had doubted what could lie beyond brand prestige and profits from Audi’s point of view. However, the fuel economy and performance benefits of desmodronic valvetrain could end up featuring in several of VAG’s future engine developments and platforms. Porsche powered by Ducati anyone? •

Arai appoints MotoDirect as new UK distributor FOLLOWING the news that former Belstaff owner James Halstead’s Phoenix Distribution is to close its doors, Arai Helmet Europe have moved quickly to appoint a new UK distributor.

Respected UK apparel specialist MotoDirect will complete the transition to servicing Arai’s UK dealer network in May.

Ingmar Stroeven, Managing Director of Arai Helmet Europe, said “the individual, personalised approach of MotoDirect immediately appealed to us. We strongly believe in the ability of MotoDirect to move Arai forward. As a highly respected distributor in the UK,

MotoDirect will add value to the Arai brand in the important UK market.”

Commenting on the capture of one of the most sought after distribution opportunities in Europe, MotoDirect Managing Director Debbie Bullock said “we are extremely proud that Arai has chosen our business.

We are sure that our experience and passion will ensure that this new relationship will strengthen Arai’s and MotoDirect’s reputation for quality and service”.

www.moto-direct.com

news ROOM

K-Tech ISO 9001 accreditation THE latest accolade for award-winning British motorcycle suspension specialist K-Tech is granting of BSEN ISO 9001 accreditation - a coveted accolade that certifies the quality of KTech's design, manufacture, parts back-up, workshop service and race

support operations.

Managing Director Chris Taylor said "we are proud to have achieved ISO 9001 accreditation as it confirms to our customers that we care about the quality of product and service they receive from us, and are best-practice

equipped to deliver them quality, time after time".

With several international race successes to their name, K-Tech offer dealers access to a constantly growing programme of street, off-road and race shock absorbers, front-end suspension

and suspension service, maintenance and repair products

www.k-tech.uk.com

Brembo announces revenue and profits growth as investment programme continues THE Brembo group has announced a 16.7 percent increase in revenues and a 33.1 percent increase in net profits (to 43 million euro) for 2011.

The company is reporting sharp increases in all the countries and market sectors in which the group operates, and despite investing 165 million euro in expansion projects, expects to see 2012 results show further growth.

Motorcycle industry sales rose by 18.8 percent, ahead of the performance of its automotive sector, with race industry revenues growing 23.8 percent.

On a geographical basis, Germany in particular grew strongly for the group compared to 2010, and confirmed its position as their number one market accounting for 21.8 percent of revenues.

Sales also performed well in the United Kingdom (plus 28.1

percent), France (plus 23.8 percent) and Italy (plus 12.7 percent), which remains the group’s third largest market.

North American revenues (USA, Canada and Mexico) rose by 15.5 percent.

Commenting on the group’s

success, chairman Alberto Bombassei said that “internationalisation, innovation and the courage to invest to do business are the reasons for the group’s rapid growth in 2011. They are also the company’s guidelines for its

Headquartered near Bergamo, Italy, Brembo saw motorcycle industry sales revenues jump by nearly 20 percent in 2011 with sales in Germany being their largest market, accounting for nearly 22 percent of total sales revenues

Brembo Chairman Alberto Bombassei: “internationalisation, innovation and the courage to invest” are the reasons for Brembo’s growth

future development. The order backlog for the first half of the year makes us look towards 2012 with confidence”.

The group’s net financial debt increased by 68.7 million euro in 2011 due to investments in the new industrial plants that are currently under construction in the Czech Republic, Poland and China. www.brembo.com

news ROOM

Motad buys French exhaust factory BRITISH exhaust manufacturer Motad has bought a majority interest in PRD Industries, France. Now re-branded as Ex-Po Industries SAS, Exhaust Power manufacture a range of scooter, 50cc, maxi-scooter and motorcycle exhausts under the Ninja, X-Run, Profil and Progun brands.

Commenting on the deal, Motad owner and Managing Director John Atherton said that he was “delighted to be associated with a company with such an illustrious history. PRD were an OE supplier to Peugeot Scooters, as

well as supplying Karting exhausts, and are a sub-contractor to a number of well-known established aftermarket exhaust manufacturers.

“Whilst there is very little overlap between the ranges of the two companies, the synergy of the deal will bring many benefits to both.”

Business partner Michel Cazal said he was “excited by the opportunity to develop the range of brands throughout Europe”. www.motad.co.uk

Forcefield unveil new instore POS unit FORCEFIELD Body Armour have unveiled a new POS unit for the 2012 season.

Designed to hold up to eight back protectors or a mixture of clothing and back protectors, the unit is lightweight for easy positioning and occupies a footprint of just 50 cm x 30 cm.

“We wanted to create a quality POS unit, but knew it had to be light and portable to allow staff to reposition it when in store, and we are really pleased with the new unit, which is visually striking and really easy to use, said Forcefield Director of Marketing Matthew Dawson.

info@forcefieldbodyarmour.com www.forcefieldbodyarmour.com

New Galfer catalogue 2012/13 ON 400 pages the new Galfer catalogue includes the company’s new lightened disc wave Fly-Fry and new colour combinations for braided steel hoses (orange tube and black fittings).

It is published in four languages (Spanish, Italian, English and French) and is said to have improved product information and more intuitive visualisation.

Also included are new references for brake clutch lines, and new merchandising material is now also available.

INDUSTRIA GALFER Barcelona, SPAIN Tel. +34 93 5689 090 galfer@galfer.es www.galfer.es

INTERNATIONAL DEALER NEWS - MAY 2012

13

Words by Alan Cathcart - cathcart@dealer-world.com • P h o t o s b y : M a rc o C a m p e l l i

Ducati’s Claudio Domenicali: “We can do without racing” While Ducati owner Investindustrial was preparing to enter pre-deal due diligence with VAG, Alan Cathcart interviewed Ducati Director General Claudio Domenicali, the man behind much of their new model success and racing achievements, and found him in combative mood about the firms’ future, and prepared to bank the benefits of their race success so far and quit the track altogether, rather than compromise further on World Superbike rule changes that appear to be aimed at protecting other manufacturers from Ducati’s success UCATI is riding high right now, with its new 1199 Panigale earning rave reviews from the world’s press for the radically engineered new 2012-model V-twin Superbike.

With Carlos Checa winning the 2011 World Superbike Championship title on the 1198, the outgoing model the all-new bike is replacing, it can be no surprise that the Italian sportbike brand’s 2011 balance sheet already shows sales to be at near-record levels, denoting the company’s strong recovery from the global downturn.

D

our market has more than doubled This gives Ducati’s Direttore Generale, Claudio Domenicali – the Ducati board member charged with driving the development of new models like the Panigale (as well as the boss of the Ducati Corse race operation) plenty to celebrate while looking forward to a still more successful year in 2012; one which hopefully will include a better showing in MotoGP by the company’s star acquisition, Valentino Rossi, who’s been shipwrecked so far since signing for Ducati.

The chance to quiz Domenicali about the secret of this success, as well as Ducati’s plans to build on it for the future, came during the recent press launch test session of the new Panigale at the Yas Marina F1 circuit in Abu Dhabi.

16

AC: Claudio, it seems Ducati had a record year in 2011. How good, exactly?

CD: 2011 was the best year in the company’s history in financial terms, because we made a record turnover and posted record profits, so Ducati is financially very safe now, after many years of ups and downs. During that period, Ducati North America saw a 43% percent growth in motorcycle sales compared to 2010, with a record market share in all three of its territories, the USA, Canada and Mexico, making it Ducati’s No.1 market for the first time ever.

With our products now sold through 860 dealers in 84 different countries, other export markets did well, too, with sales in Germany up 31% over 2010, in the UK by 17%, and in France by 12%. But our Italian home market, which has traditionally been our biggest lately, actually declined 3% last year - although motorcycle sales in Italy dropped by 19% overall, so we increased our market share.

AC: How many bikes did you build in total last year?

CD: We sold 42,233 bikes worldwide, a 17.5% increase over the 36,050 units we sold in 2010, and turnover was up 22% from €392 million the previous year, to €480 million in 2011, our best-ever. The product mix has been much better, too, because we are selling more Multistradas and Diavels, and fewer small Monsters, so that’s why the turnover per unit and profit margin is improved.

AC: What drove this - was it the Diavel?

INTERNATIONAL DEALER NEWS - MAY 2012

CD: I think it’s a combination of the whole product range, but the Diavel especially was a very big success, with 7,550 bikes sold in the ten months following its launch last spring. I admit this considerably exceeded our expectations, because it’s quite different from a typical Ducati product in not being a sportsbike – at least, not being what people normally consider a sportsbike to be, because it looks more like a cruiser or a musclebike, and it’s opening up a completely new set of customers for us. It did very well in Germany and the USA, as well as the UK, France, and many other markets.

Our range of products, of which the Diavel is the latest model, is a very fresh one because since 2007, we have revamped the entire model range. So the oldest product which is in the range now is the Monster 696, which came out in 2008, so we have a very fresh range of products, and on top of this we are expanding into growing markets such as Asia, which are contributing to the growth of the company.

AC: So even during the economic downturn, Ducati continued to invest in new products…

CD: Yes. While the total global annual sales of bikes over 500cc has never stopped declining since the drop began, and in 2011 the market was at its lowest value since 1998, still we kept increasing our market share. Our 2011 sales are just a couple of hundred less than the record sales figure from 2008 [when 42,669 bikes were sold], just before the financial crisis. This means that while Ducati had

our product strategy is a tolling five year plan the same sales volume as in 2008, in a market that is less than half the size it was back then, our market share has more than doubled.

AC: I presume you’re continuing to develop new models, so can you give me an idea of what sectors you’ll be looking at? Are you looking at attacking other completely new segments, as you did with the Diavel?

CD: Yes, we have a product strategy which is a rolling five-year plan - so here we are in 2012, and we have scheduled what will happen up until 2016. It’s a mix of revamping existing products, which we call the brand focus strategy, and extending the spread of the range. We alternate brand focus years with brand extension years, because you have to reassure your core customers, who are very important, that the brand is still what it was known for, whilst in every other year opening the company up to new, different customers. This year, with the Panigale, it is a core year of brand focus, while last year the Diavel was brand extension, targeting a completely different customer. This is the nature of the rolling strategy on a moving forward basis.

CATHCART REPORT AC: Will the Panigale design concept, and even its engine, be used to make a smaller 848sector version?

CD: That’s not our intention in the foreseeable future.

AC: Do you plan to make other models using the Panigale’s 1199 engine?

CD: For sure not in the long term with the engine as it is now, which is very much catered towards sportsbike use in terms of the specific bore and stroke.

AC: So does this mean that the Testastretta motor will remain in production for some time, since that’s the core of the rest of the existing high-performance Ducati model range?

CD: Not only will it remain, but it will continue to be developed. There are many areas of potential improvement.

I think that we have to continue our desire to get a more mature sports riding experience in road use. We want to be increasingly able to deliver good performance with easy access for the customer, in a safe way. So, in the case of engines for example, we want to keep the engine performance at the level we have for, say, the Multistrada, but we are working more and more on improving the rideability. There’s a lot of development done in the area of improving combustion and its stability at low speed and low rpm, in order to have an easier experience in using the engine. It’s kind of different steps of the 11 degrees overlap concept - this was one step, and there will be more

we’re looking very hard at India like that in order to have an engine that even when going very slowly will be very pleasant to use, regular and steady without any vibration or transmission snatch.

AC: Will you make different versions of the Diavel? Right now, you have just a single sportcruiser model, but as part of this expansion of the concept of easy riding, will you make a more ‘chilled-out’ version of the Diavel? Or maybe a different kind of performance model, like a Diavel Dragster, or a flat-track version?

CD: No, we’re working more on developing a different range of accessories for the existing Diavel platform, in order to change the character of the bike according to the owner’s desire – so each customer can personalise it the way he wants.

AC: What about the air-cooled desmodue motor – can you make it Euro 4 compliant with aircooling, or will you have to liquid-cool it? Does Ducati plan to continue to have a low-tech engine in its range?

CD: I think that this engine will not have a problem with homologation in the future for noise or pollution reasons, so we will keep it in the range

Domenicali chasing Alan Cathcart on 1199 Panigales

- but it’ll be in a slightly different format than it is now.

We will keep it air-cooled. However, there will be some changes, but it’s too early to be specific. Let’s just say that we will absolutely not stop producing the air-cooled engine, but we will do so in a slightly different manner, with different models than we have now.

AC: BMW is now obviously one of your main competitors in the performance segment of the market, and yet BMW has now gone into the scooter business. Is Ducati going to follow them?

CD: I think it’s been a good move for them, but we are not planning a product like this in the near future. Our dimension is different from theirs, and we need to be careful when we define which products we really need to make, and what investment we can bring to doing so. We cannot have the same wide range of models that BMW has, simply because they are bigger than we are, and have better resources.

We have examined it, and it’s not out of the question. But it has to be managed in terms of the size of our company, and the investment needed.

Also Electric is something that we follow with interest even if, as a

MotoGP is a very particular kind of activity

general guideline, we try to focus on not doing too many things and risk diluting what we are already doing.

AC: How many people work in the R&D department at Ducati, out of the total workforce?

CD: More than 200, out of the 1,000 employees that are in Bologna.

AC: The offroad sector is another that I know you’ve looked at in the past, and I’m aware that Ducati considered buying Husqvarna, and then later GasGas, but didn’t. Is Ducati still interested in entering the offroad market?

CD: I think that offroad is indeed an interesting segment that should be attractive for our brand, but once again, it’s a matter of balancing the size of the company with the available investment. It’s certainly one of the things we might take into consideration at some point in time if the company keeps doing well.

AC: Would you envisage Ducati just buying a specialist manufacturer out of the two or three smaller ones that could potentially be available - or would you as the product development boss prefer you did it yourselves in-house?

CD: My personal opinion is that buying a manufacturer may be quicker in the short term, but in the long-term I think that the culture of a brand, and the internal procedure you have for developing things, has a superior value. So I would prefer to hire some

CATHCART REPORT people with specific offroad expertise, and to create a team to develop a product over a reasonable duration.

AC: What’s happening with the plans that were disclosed a couple of years ago for Ducati to move to a new factory, still in Bologna. Is that still going ahead?

CD: Yes, it is going ahead, but it’s an up-and-down process because it’s very much linked to getting various

we’re practically hoping that the bike isn’t too fast permissions from official bodies, and a number of agreements with local authorities. I know they want us to stay in Bologna very much, and that’s why the plan is going ahead. But it’s just that it’s a slow process. Maybe we’ll have a start date in a few weeks.

AC: You’ve opened a factory in Thailand for assembly of bikes for the Asian market, as Triumph has demonstrated by expanding their own Thai operation into manufacturing complete bikes.

Does Ducati plan to follow this strategy, or will the Thai factory only be an assembly plant for the

Asian market?

CD: Ducati’s Thai factory has only ever been considered as an assembly plant for the Asian market – we produced 500 bikes there last year, all made in Bologna, then shipped from there for assembly with the engines already tested. And so, in our industrial plan for the foreseeable future, there is no Triumph-type strategy.

AC: How about Brazil and South America, another major developing market?

CD: We are moving into Brazil quickly.

We are already selling into Brazil with bikes imported from Bologna, and this year we sold around 700 bikes, which isn’t bad for models with a very high price because of the import duty. To get around this, we are in the planning of building a CKD [complete disassembled kits] plant in Manaus which will begin operations in 2012.

AC: The other key developing market is India, where KTM is now selling bikes built there by Bajaj, and both Triumph and Harley-Davidson have their own CKD assembly plants. Is Ducati going to follow suit?

CD: We’re looking very hard at India as the most promising market in Asia in the future, and this is one of our main reasons for investing in the Thai plant. This was created to also serve India, because thanks to the free-trade agreement between Thailand and India, you can produce there for export

to India with very low duty, and from 2014 onwards with zero duty.

Producing in Thailand will be the equivalent of producing in India, provided we have at least 40% of local content – and that includes staff costs, factory overheads, etc.. So for the Monster 795 we build there, we buy the frame, wheels and other minor parts locally, but the rest comes from Italy, then the whole bike is assembled in Thailand. So this is why we have the manufacturing hub in Thailand from which we’ll serve Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Korea, India and also China.

AC: 2011 was a great year for Ducati commercially, in which you also regained the World Superbike Championship.

However, in spite of having a very expensive and illustrious new recruit as a rider, you had a disastrous year in MotoGP, for various reasons. Does this mean that since Ducati had its record sales year in 2011, success in MotoGP is not really so important commercially for you, but success in Superbike is?!

CD: I don’t think that our fortunes in either of them really have any bearing on the excellent commercial result for the year. Racing is a long-term investment: you build the image of the brand, you build the credibility of the brand, you build a loyal relationship between the fans and the brand – but

really the sales are more related to the actual product. Either you have a good product in the showroom, or you will not have a good sales year, no matter what you’re doing with the racing. It’s very clear that racing is a kind of amplifier, but people only buy something if the product is a good one.

2011 was a very good year because we had a great range of products on offer at a price that was right for the value of the product. OK, we didn’t

they unilaterally changed the rule and applied it anyway have a fantastic year in MotoGP - but we had a lot of coverage anyway, because Valentino put a lot of people in contact with the brand, both the good and the bad sides, but still in contact with Ducati.

AC: So are you saying it’s only important for people to just be talking about Ducati, irrespective of how successful its bikes are on the racetrack?

CD: It’s much better to be talking about a very good racing Ducati, and that’s what we’re here for. But I’m just

CATHCART REPORT saying that our sales numbers and commercial results prove that if you have a good range of products, and you are talking loyally with your customers saying that I’m racing, and I’m trying to do the best that I can, unfortunately we are not delivering but we will keep on trying, and this is our product, go down to our store and have a look – this all works.

AC: However, you had already begun designing the 1199 Panigale’s monocoque chassis, based on your then existing MotoGP bike’s design, at the stage when the world’s greatest rider said it didn’t work!

CD: We’d almost finished it!

AC: So doesn’t this present you with a commercial problem at Ducati, in that you have to sell something to the public which you have to convince the customer does actually work well, even though Valentino Rossi says that it isn’t any good in a Moto GP context? How difficult is that?!

CD: Of course, it’s something that you would have preferred not to have to deal with, but – look, that’s life. MotoGP is a very particular kind of activity, and we’re trying to understand why something is not working in MotoGP which we have proved from many tests does work very well in the Panigale – a fact which the experienced journalists like yourself who have ridden the bike, have all confirmed.

AC: The Panigale’s o.e. Pirelli tyres have a much more compliant and friendly feel to a racer as well as a street rider, which may be the reason this monocoque chassis concept works on the Panigale, but not on the current MotoGP bike. That being the case, why are you not racing the Panigale in World Superbike this year, only in Superstock?

CD: It’s a decision we made at a certain point last year, and have stuck to. Development of the Superbike engine is a long and complex process, because there’s so much development you can do on the engine itself within the Superbike rules, whereas the Superstock version is easier, since you race with a standard engine. We had a long discussion with [World Superbike promoter] Paolo Flammini about the applicable rules and penalties, because everyone is very much scared of the Panigale, and that’s why they started talking about imposing very big weight penalties, and very small restrictors for it, as early as the middle of last year. So we decided it was better to postpone racing the Superbike version for one year, so we have more time to develop the bike, and it would be clearer after racing it in Superstock

Ducati is not under any obligation to race that this is a good bike, but not a rocketship on the track which everyone else needs to be protected from! It’s kind of funny for us, because we’re practically hoping that the bike isn’t too fast! Anyway, because of the previous 1198 still being such a very competitive product, we thought it was better not to rush ahead with the new bike, and hope that maybe our competitors would keep on improving during this year, so with stronger competition maybe it will be easier to enter with an all-new bike without getting too many penalties because of its excellent performance!.

AC: Was one of the problems last year for your rivals that only one Ducati rider went consistently fast, so the potential extra weight penalties under the socalled PBCAS/performance balance control activation system, weren’t applied because only Carlos Checa was winning races on a Ducati, and you needed two fast riders to activate the system?

CD: Yes, but now a 6kg extra weight penalty has been imposed on us anyway for 2012, through a kind of manoeuvre which is frankly unpleasant, and unsporting. We agreed the PBCAS rule, and how it should be applied to balance out the 1000cc fours and 1200cc twins, and on that basis adding the extra 6kg to the weight limit should not have happened – but then they unilaterally changed the rule, and applied it anyway. If such strategies continue beyond a certain point, I think it’s much better that a manufacturer like us, which is unfairly targeted in this way, just concentrates on building good road bikes, and stops racing. It’s simply not worthwhile – Ducati is not under any obligation to race. We have seen very clearly that if the road bikes we manufacture are good products, then we can do very well without racing. I believe that Ducati has built a solid reputation over the past 20 years as a major sportbike manufacturer, so much so that we can be away from racing for 10 years or more without any big effect on our brand’s image, and our sales. So there is a definite limit to how much we’re prepared to put up with, and our line in the sand is very close indeed to what we’ve already accepted in maintaining a twin-cylinder presence on the Superbike grid. •

INTERNATIONAL DEALER NEWS - MAY 2012

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TRK52N top case for two helmets THE Trekker family of luggage, developed by Givi for maxi enduro road bikes, is growing, and now includes the new TRK52N top case (the number indicates the capacity in litres), which allows storing of two full-face or two modular helmets, and offers as standard a new security lock.

The two versions available on the market since last year, the TRK46N and TKR33N, which can be used as a side or back case, did not allow to store two fullface helmets.

To increase protection against lock forcing, Givi developed a new type of lock with key called “security lock”, that complies with the standards of the automotive sector. Like the two other Trekker cases, TRK52N has a strong structure with an anodised aluminium finish that can be completed with a backrest, a metal rack and rings for an elastic net anchor. A new soft inner bag is currently being developed.

Given its size, this new Trekker can only be mounted as a back case. Materials used are polymer reinforced with fibreglass and the outside shell is anodised aluminium. Dimensions are 600 x 460 x 315 (l x h x d). It has a Monokey fixing system and the maximum load is 10 kg.

GIVI SRL Flero (BS), ITALY Tel. +39 030 358 1253 info@givi.it www.givi.it

Fly-Fry Wave disc GALFER says it has managed to integrate technological development into a daring and innovative design with a significant weight reduction with this new brake disc, thanks to the optimal improvement of the braking loads on the structure of the disc.

The new Wave disc for off-road applications called FLY-FRY is the result of continuous and intensive research combined with a long experience in brake production.

Main advantages are said to be the reduction of the overall weight by 25% compared to other aluminium carrier discs, and the improvement of the braking effort through the structural core being made of high strength aluminium 7076T6.

The track brake is made of high carbon content stainless steel, and the thermal cutting between track and carrier has also been improved compared with other standard floating discs, Galfer says.

To obtain greater braking power, the outer diameter of the disc is 270 mm and a bracket is required to adapt it to the brake caliper. The new disc is available for the front wheel of the main off-road models from Honda, HM, Kawasaki, KTM, Yamaha, Suzuki etc.

Several times Supercross champion American rider James “Bubba” Stewart (Team JGRMX) currently uses these discs in the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship.

INDUSTRIAS GALFER Barcelona, SPAIN Tel. +34 93 568 9090 info@galfer.es www.galfer.es

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INTERNATIONAL DEALER NEWS - MAY 2012

PRODUCT NEWS

Motioncam01 action camera INTERPHONE Cellular Line has a small, compact action camera with advanced features, which is said to be completely impermeable in bad weather and also allows high quality underwater filming as deep as 20 meters.

A high luminosity double LED is integrated in the device to allow night filming along with a laser pointer to optimise focusing.

Said to be among the lightest on the market, Motioncam01 guarantees excellent video quality thanks to the full HD sensor and its 5.0 Megapixels.

With its ultra compact size and quick attachment/detachment system, it can be located on the helmet, the handlebars or any other part of the motorcycle using the accessories in the kit.

Features include CMOS sensor 1 / 2.5 5 MP, 120 degree HD wide angle lens, antivibration sensor, various optional video resolutions, photo resolution 12 Megapixels, JPG format, high-capacity, integrated lithium battery for up to 2.5 hours of filming, HDMI and TV-out, audio recording, flashlight function for up to 10 hours, Micro SD card up to 32 GB, USB 2.0 high speed.

The operated supporting systems are Microsoft Windows 2000/XP/Vista,WIN 7/ Mac OS 10.4 or higher. Comes with various length mounting belts.

Also available is the new Powerbank6000, an ultra-compact travel battery charger that incorporates a lithium polymer battery with a capacity of 6000 mAh and an overcharge protection circuit. Said to be compatible with most devices on the market, and due to its large power capacity able to load up to two cell phones at the same time.

CELLULAR ITALIA Reggio Emilia, ITALY Tel. +39 0522 334002 international.interphone@cellularline.com www.cellularline.com

PRODUCT NEWS

SHAD Kawasaki Z750 accessories SHAD offers numerous accessories for this bike (07-11) for increasing its functional space and comfort.

The SH48 top case has a pressure lock system with automatic rectractible handle and its 48l capacity allows space for two full-face helmets. An optional new accessory is a double, ergonomic backrest for maximum comfort, dimensions being 31.1 cm high, 61 cm wide and 46 cm deep, including a standard plate and screws. Can also include the brake light,

Shad Style comfort seat

Sport Rack

SB11 small tank bag

SH48 top case

adaptable to the lower part of the rack, which can then be customised.

The Shad Style comfort seat is said to enhance ergonomics and comfort, and technical features include an increase of 20% of the contact surface for rider and passenger. Use is made of the new 3D technology Bielastic Foam, which absorbs vibrations and dampens the rebound, offers more elasticity and

resistance and does not deform with time and is not sensitive to temperature changes, the company says.

The seat is also claimed to be waterproof (including the seams).

Several colour options are available including black with orange seams, black and grey with red seams, black with dark grey seams and black with green seams.

It also includes the Sport Rack, an innovative system to turn a touring bike into a racing bike

through a simple click and taking the passenger seat out.

Also available for the Kawasaki Z1000 (07-09), Yamaha Fazer FZ8 (09-11) and the Honda CB100R. Lastly the SB11 small tank bag with a 2-litre capacity to carry items like wallet, mobile phone etc. which has a magnetic attachment.

NAD SL/SHAD Barcelona, SPAIN Tel.+34 935 795866 www.shad.es

PRODUCT NEWS

Screens, crash posts and fork protectors BRITISH manufacturer Powerbronze has several new screens for various models, as well as crash posts and fork protectors for the Kawasaki Versys 1000 12.

The crash posts are CNC-machined from high impact plastic or aluminium and hand-polished where appropriate to give a mirror finish.

Each crash post kit is supplied with all necessary compression spacers and high-tensile bolts to suit each model. The fork protectors are injectionmoulded from high-impact plastic, and each set also comes with the necessary high tensile studs, washers, nuts and compression sleeves for each model. Both are available in a range of colours.

Crash posts for Kawasaki Versys 1000 12

Fork protectors for Kawasaki Versys 1000 12

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INTERNATIONAL DEALER NEWS - MAY 2012

Suzuki V-Strom 650 Aug 11-12 flip screen

The screen for the Ducati Multistrada 1200 10-12 is a flip screen designed for touring, to fit the original fairing and provide better wind deflection than standard screens. They re-direct the flow of air up and over the bike, cutting down the wind blast. This screen is 515 mm tall and available in clear, light tint or dark tint.

Flip screen for the Ducati Multistrada 1200 10-12

The Suzuki V-Strom 650 Aug 11-12 flip screen is 495 mm tall and comes in a range of colours. The standard screen for this bike is 410 mm tall, and all Powerbronze screens have TĂ&#x153;V and ABE type approval and are manufactured in their UK factory, using state-of-the-art CNC laser-cutting equipment.

The Honda CRB 1000RR 2012 Airflow (double bubble) screen has an aggressive upward sweep that pushes air higher without creating the turbulence normally associated with flip-up type touring screens fitted to sportsbikes. These are based on race-proven designs and carry the 'Ride Recommended' tag.

POWERBRONZE Littlehampton, UK Tel. +44 (0)1903 783222 sales@powerbronze.co.uk www.powerbronze.co.uk

Honda CRB 1000RR 2012 Airflow (double bubble) screen

PRODUCT NEWS

Domino XM2 double super soft grips PRESENTED at EICMA last year, the Domino XM2 double super soft grips were developed on the tracks of the MotoGP world championship in cooperation with San Carlo Honda Gresini Team and are produced by using an advanced mix of thermoplastic materials.

They are said to have extraordinary softness and a very high ergonomic and comfortable hand grip. The grips have a specific knurling near the flange to increase the hand grip and diagonal lines.

The grips are 126 mm long, but can easily be

fitted to 3 mm shorter throttle controls by removing the front flange.

For competition use they are provided with some seats for the safety fastening iron wire.

These grips can also be fitted to Maxi scooters like Yamaha T-Max. The supplied manual and instructions are easy to follow and make fitment quick and easy.

Available in the following colour combinations: blue/white, black/red, black/green, black/orange, black/yellow, black/blue and black/grey. Made in Italy.

DOMINO TOMMASELLI Sirtori (LC), ITALY Tel: +39 0399 211286 domino@domino-group.com www.domino-group.com www.tommaselli.com

Ventura â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Mistralâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Bike-Pack THE New Zealand Ventura luggage manufacturer has developed a brand new bike pack for their luggage system. Manufactured with five semi-rigid moulded sections, the 'Mistral' is said to maintain its aerodynamic profile even when empty.

Providing 47-litres in capacity, it fits onto Ventura's Bike-Pack System, sliding over the Pack-Rack, and is secured with a quick-release bucklestrap system for stability.

Constructed from rugged PVC laminated 1680-denier ballistic nylon fabric (for water resistance)

Ventura Mistral bike pack

Ventura Mistral bike pack fitted to Honda Fireblade 2012

and then moulded to shape, Ventura luggage is available through distributors in Europe including Motohaus in the UK.

MOTOHAUS POWERSPORTS LTD Odiham, Hants, UK Tel +44 (0)1256 704 909 info@motohaus.com www.motohaus.com www.ventura-bike.co.uk INTERNATIONAL DEALER NEWS - MAY 2012

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PRODUCT NEWS

Hi-Speed variator and crankshaft kit THE new, patented Maxi Hi-Speed variators for Kymco Downtown 200i and 300i, People GTi 200 and GTi 300 are all equipped with the G5 engine.

The bush is made of special casehardened chrome-nickel steel, tempered and ground. It has a big internal pocket that contains the grease, inside of which is a special spring that allows a constant grease distribution on the pin even during the hardest conditions of use.

Thanks to this new technology the performance is constant and, compared to the previous models, it isn't necessary anymore to modify the rollers' calibration to find the best engine efficiency. It is available with a compression spring which is 25% harder than the original one, increasing the engine revolution rate when starting, Polini says.

The inside areas of the rollers' sliding surfaces have had a new polishing treatment to improve sliding. The rollers have a coating made of a new mixture of nylon and aramidic fibers, which combines to give the best performance and less servicing costs.

Also available from the company is a crankshaft replacement kit for the most popular Vespa scooters and moped models.

The Polini kit includes the oil seals and bearings, which are interchangeable with the original ones. The crankshaft bearings are made from C4 riveted steel and the oil seals are made of FKM (Fluorocarbon rubber) to better resist the high thermic stress.

The seal lip is made of PTFE (Polytetrafluoroethylene), which is said to make them more durable than the original, giving them a smaller friction coefficient, thus granting less heat dipersions caused by the friction and at the same time maintaining lower temperatures.

Polini says the crankshaft replacement kits will fit the original engines, but can also be used on the tuned-up versions.

POLINI MOTORI Alzano Lombardo (BG), ITALY Tel. +39 035 2275 111 news@polini.com www.polini.com Crankshaft replacement kit

Maxi Hi-Speed variator

INTERNATIONAL DEALER NEWS - MAY 2012

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PRODUCT NEWS

Highway Hawk saddlebags THE Highway Hawk luggage product line was introduced several years ago and has now been updated with different models, finishes, materials, sizes and qualities with options including full grain leather, tek leather, studded and plain finishes.

The Economy line of saddlebags is made from tek leather, and the new Camouflage line of bags comes in three styles, Slim line, Single side and Camouflage.

All bags can be fitted to any kind of bike using Highway Hawk and bike-specific supports and brackets.

HIGHWAY HAWK Barneveld, NETHERLANDS Tel. +31 (0)342 490208 info@highwayhawk.com www.highwayhawk.com

Racing Batteries THESE effective, weight-saving batteries are used by racers around the world in MotoGP, British Superbike, British Supersport and beyond.

Made, designed, assembled and load-tested in the UK, using the latest CAD systems and CNC machining, customer support is excellent, the company says. Racing Batteries lithium batteries are said to provide a more concentrated source of energy than lead acid, making them a perfect choice for racing motorcycles, and are often lighter than other lithium batteries.

The company says it will find the very lightest application for any purpose.

Contact Colm Watling for further information.

RACING BATTERIES Melton Mowbray, UK Tel. +44 (0)2476 715780 colm@racingbatteries.co.uk www.racingbatteries.co.uk

Carbon fiber parts for KTM 250 EXC-F 2012 Frame guards

KEY elements of the specially produced carbon components by LeoVince for the new KTM 250 EXC-F 2012 are protection and style.

LeoVince offer all the components necessary to protect exposed parts of the bike including frame guards, glide plate with engine case guards, front sprocket cover and front/rear disc guard, all beautifully crafted and functional.

The items are made entirely of carbon fiber to give structural resistance, lightness, quality and a great look.

LeoVince carbon products are developed entirely at their factory, are part-holed and come with all necessary accessories for easy fitting.

Also available for the KTM is the Enduro Sport full system in stainless steel/titanium.

SITO GRUPPO/LEOVINCE Monticello d'Alba (CN), ITALY Tel. +39 0173 465111 info@leovince.com www.leovince.com

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INTERNATIONAL DEALER NEWS - MAY 2012

Glide plate with engine case guards

Rear disc guard

Words by Alan Cathcart - cathcart@dealer-world.com • Action photographs by Arnold Debus; static pictures courtesy of BMW Motorrad

Are BMW’s new Maxi-Scooters a class game changer? I think so...

MW Motorrad achieved record sales of 104,286 motorcycles in 2011, more than in any other year since the German manufacturer began two-wheeled production in 1923. They recorded growth in each calendar month on their way to a 6.4% increase over 2010, when 98,047 units were delivered.

More to the point, the figures reflect the fact that deliveries have now returned to pre-recessionary levels, with sales volume in their previous best-selling year (2007 - 102,467) finally overtaken after a three-year downturn.

As Europe’s largest motorcycle manufacturer, BMW increased its global market share to 13% of the over-500cc model segment in 2011, and has almost doubled it over the past four years, from 7% in 2007.

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BMW is now the No.1 best-selling brand in 16 different countries, including Italy, where it sold better than 50% more motorcycles in 2011 than its closest Italian competitor, Ducati. In its German home market it is not only No.1, with a 25% market share, but also sold more bikes in 2011 than all its European competitors combined.

But the German manufacturer – by some way, Europe’s largest – has started the new year still building momentum, with 5,237 motorcycles sold during January 2012, an 11% increase on the 4,714 delivered in 2011, already a record during the quietest month in its sales cycle. his is with the promise still in store of increased volume on the back of BMW’s imminent entry into the scooter market for the first time, with deliveries having begun in April of the C600 Sport and C650 GT (being

manufactured in the company’s Spandau factory in Berlin). BMW Motorrad boss Hendrik von Kuenheim has revealed he’s targeting an additional 10,000 units to BMW’s record 2011 production figures this year through scooter sales alone.

BMW’s diversification into the crucial new “Urban Mobility” market segment is described by company boss Hendrik von Kuenheim as “the first of several BMW Motorrad products targeting this important emerging sector”.

With the launch of its two new maxi-scooters, BMW is targeting the 50% of the world’s population which

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Left, right and below; C650 GT

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INTERNATIONAL DEALER NEWS - MAY 2012

CATHCART REPORT researchers say are living in cities, with that figure expected to increase to as high as 70% over the next 25 years.

BMW believes that urban crowding, increased traffic density, rising energy costs, and tougher noise and emissions regulations will combine to drive demand for PTW/powered twowheeler personal transportation steeply upwards, and is taking steps to position itself at the forefront of this trend, starting at the top end of the market with these two ‘über-scooters’. hese twist ‘n’ go twins were first shown at the Milan EICMA Show last November, are powered by engines built in Taiwan by its established partner Kymco, and are not only being targeted at markets such as Italy (where an amazing 115,000 examples have now been sold of Yamaha’s TMAX, still the class benchmark after it invented the maxiscooter sector with its debut back in 2000), but in others that have so far been immune to mass-market ‘scooterdom’, especially Englishspeaking countries like the UK, USA, Australasia and South Africa.

BMW is betting on the power of the

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badge for its new PTW products to help its 1,000 dealers around the world grab at least a foothold in what’s perceived as a growing global market, even if in many of those countries, they’re going to have to do a good bit of pioneering work in attracting customers from the ranks of car owners and persuading existing bike riders to embrace the convenience of twist ‘n’ go riding through classleading performance.

“In the maxi-scooter segment, one thing matters above all else – that you’re first away from the traffic lights!”, states Hendrik von Kuenheim matter-of-factly, with a glint in his eye.

“Riders of a BMW scooter can be sure of doing that! I personally made 80 to 100 test starts against other scooters, and always came out ahead. It’s a BMW – how can it not dominate this crucial aspect of the marketplace?!” t’s worth noting that these twincylinder scooter twins are the first project brought to market entirely under von Kuenheim’s governance, after he assumed the top job at BMW Motorrad on January 1st, 2008, and got approval and the budget to move BMW into the PTW segment from the main BMW AG board on December 9th that year.

Three years from clean sheet to press launch is a pretty impressive rate of development for a 100% new product range – but other BMW models launched since then up till now, especially the S1000RR and K1600GT/GTL duo, kicked off their development cycle under HvK’s predecessor, Herbert Diess, even though it was von Kuenheim’s drive that brought them to market as such class-leading products.

He’ll be hoping to achieve the same bullseye with his first two clean-sheet

I

C 600 Sport

products, in the form of the C600/650 for which he says he’s targeting a 10% slice of the global maxi-scooter market in the first year. “We’re looking to match the explosive entry of the S1000RR to the sportbike market three years ago,” he declares. “We expect these first Urban Mobility models to drive BMW Motorrad’s volume upwards by 10% in the coming year.

“All of BMW’s competence and accumulated experience in developing class-leading motorcycles has been invested in the creation of these two scooters, which were entirely produced in-house, not by any outside supplier. So these are scooters developed by motorcycle engineers, and we believe they set new class standards as a result.”

The two contrasting variants are targeted at different kinds of customer and alternative types of use, with the more stripped-down Sport aimed at a younger owner and primarily for use in cities, and the classier-looking GT positioned at a more mature customer,

and especially one converted to two wheels from four. he chance to join the first press group of German journalists to become one of the very first outside the company to sample the BMW maxi-scooter duo on the streets of Madrid, followed by a full-day 180km ride out into the countryside surrounding the Spanish capital, put that claim to the test, and resulted in some surprises.

Coming exactly two months after I’d spent a full Southern Californian day riding the latest uprated version of the Yamaha TMAX 530, the new German scooters’ arch-rival, I had a good basis to judge them by, athough the most immediate thing you notice when swapping back and forth between the two models is how totally different they are from one another.

With identical mechanical platforms, the key difference between the C600 Sport and C650 GT is in the ergonomics, with the more stripped down Sport (that’s really pitched hard against the TMAX) carrying a lowermounted, flatter handlebar matched to a taller, firmer, 810mm-high seat than on the GT, resulting in a more aggressive but still upright riding position.

The bike 600c Sport handles like a motorcycle, and is much more minimalist than the GT, which is positively luxurious by comparison, and is more of a full-auto motorcycle than a scooter. t has a lower, more relaxed 780mm seat height matched to a higher handlebar with more pulled back grips (which still delivers a comfortable, upright, less tiring stance for the long haul than on many motorcycles) and a distinctly plusher, more comfy seat with lots more space for a passenger (who has his/her own floorboards, rather than the pair of short footrests on the Sport), as well as a larger, more effective three-way adjustable rider’s backrest. Both models have generous knee space and leg room, though the

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INTERNATIONAL DEALER NEWS - MAY 2012

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CATHCART REPORT Sport has slightly smaller foot boards.

However, quite apart from the GT’s many detail improvements versus the Sport, such as the front turn indicators integrated into the mirrors, the considerably better view behind you from those (they’re quite possibly the best mirrors I’ve ever used on a powered two-wheeler), the extra bodywork giving greater dynamic protection, and above all the much larger 60-litre storage space that’s there all the time (and doesn’t have to be extended to hold a couple of helmets), the real clincher for the GT is the electrically adjustable windscreen, which can be altered while riding via your thumb and has a very large range of adjustment.

The Sport has a much smaller, manually adjusted screen with three pre-set positions that require you to stop. On this, there was too much wind noise, and as a tall rider I was looking over it rather than through it, but at full height noise was reduced and there wasn’t too much turbulence.

The GT’s screen is electric, and adjusts while riding over a range of 10cm to give the right protection for every circumstance. nce you’ve made up your mind to buy a BMW scooter, the extra Euro 350 to buy the superior-equipped GT (even for the electric screen on its own), is going to be money well spent.

BMW expects sales to be 60/40% in favour of the Sport, but I’m prepared to bet them it’ll be the other way around, once customers realize what a relative bargain the GT represents.

Plus the GT’s distinctive, classy styling makes it more of a true BMW than the Sport, which is more like a German version of a ‘traditional’ Japanese maxi-scooter, but with additional performance.

It does indeed have significantly more performance than the TMAX 530, as you’d expect from the comparative tech-stats. The engine performance is much ‘beefier’, with

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zero vibration, significantly more torque and an absolutely stellar throttle response, showing that the Bosch EFI has been ideally mapped.

Not that the TMAX is exactly lacking in performance. In spite of their significant extra weight compared to the lighter Yamaha, both of the BMW (even the 12kg heavier GT) have much more grunt from the bigger, more highly tuned engine.

Like the TMAX (which also has the separate bike-type chassis set-up adopted by BMW) neither German scooter is a true step-thru, thanks to the width and especially the height of the central tunnel shrouding the engine. t’s easier to throw a leg over the seat, though best of all (since otherwise you’re likely to end up brushing the backrest with your foot) is to stand on the left running board and then move your right leg over. It’s extremely easy to find the side stand when you come to a rest, and the way pulling this out activates the parking brake is a great safety convenience.

Rolling it on and off the centre stand (which comes as standard) is harder than I thought it would be though.

BMW needs to fit a properly substantial fold-out handle to help you do this.

The only slight disappointment I had on the BMWs was the braking, which is mis-matched between front and rear. Surprisingly, you must squeeze very hard on both brakes to stop either model from high speed - it’s very easy to get the ABS kicking in on the rear, but impossible on the front.

With electronic governance of the braking system meaning it’s impossible to lock either wheel, I’d have liked to have the same level of bite from the twin front discs as I had from the single rear!

Probably this is a question of pad choice or some such – but you shouldn’t have a single-disc brake setup out-stopping a twin-disc one,

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C650 GT

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INTERNATIONAL DEALER NEWS - MAY 2012

with the same calipers and same-size discs at either end! As it is, I can’t see the point of the extra expense and unsprung weight entailed in fitting twin front discs if you’re then going to detune their effectiveness so much – better to fit a larger single disc for the same effect.

Though both BMWs are extremely well balanced, with the ease of conducting feet-up low speed U-turns confirming their controllability (a key point in urban riding warfare!) there’s no getting away from the Yamaha TMAX being a little lighter-handling and more intuitive to ride through twists and turns than the new German scooters, even if the ground clearance isn’t as good as on the two BMWs. Where the TMAX scraped the side of the footboards at enthusiastic cornering speeds, even with the good grip from their Supersport-profile Metzeler rubber, I barely succeeded in decking the centre stand on the BMWs. he GT doesn’t feel as bulky as you think it’s going to be when you ride it, and in fact handles just as well as its skinnier 600 CE sister in tight turns, where the bike-type Marzocchi forks did a great job. Its extra weight sat the bike down well over bumps, even better at the rear than the leaner, meaner Sport, in that it seemed to have better suspension compliance.

Both models have a typically high BMW build quality, with no rattles of any kind over the worst bumps. But the GT just feels a more substantial package, and whereas I was expecting to much prefer riding the stripped down Sport, in fact it was the other way round. And just Euro 350 between them? No contest.

The Sport cruises comfortably at 140kph in the fast lane, with no sense of stress or undue twitchiness from the steering on those 15-inch wheels - the feel firmly planted. When rolling on the power after braking, there is real purpose in the pickup from the engine

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at anything under 5,000rpm, and wide open you get a flat-out 180kph indicated on the dash just as the hardaction 8,500rpm revlimiter stuttered in (actually a 175kph homologated top speed, according to BMW, the rock solid steering made the scooter stay stable - no weaves, no wobbles, and especially no wipeouts in a high-speed run that saw a 5.2lt per 100km fuel consumption (53mpg) in spite of the wide-open running. s far as I am concerned, the maxiscooter market just got a new class leader - BMW’s first ‘proper’ scooter design is indeed a gamechanger.

But what’s next? Will BMW only focus on high-performance maxiscooters, or will it also make smaller capacity ones, maybe a 250cc like Yamaha did with the X-Max? “We will not do a 50cc or 125cc scooter, it’s not BMW’s way,” declares Hendrik von Kuenheim. “I could envisage maybe a 125cc scooter for Husqvarna, but not for BMW. However, let’s put it this way, I will give the world more than two BMW scooters, I will give the world more than three BMW scooters - but, one step at a time!

“Some of them will be revolutionary, some more conventional, but I believe BMW Motorrad will be a major player in the Urban Mobility market in the future, although I believe that market will be quite different from what it is today.

“I believe that the ‘classic’ motorcycle market as we know it today will always exist, and we must remain a leader in that, but in the future I believe Urban Commuter products will be a substantial part of our business, be it two wheels, three wheels, with a roll-cage, without a roll-cage, maybe with some other protection, with or without doors, etc. So, from that standpoint, BMW is now entering the market of commuter products, starting with the maxi-scooter segment – and we have more to come!” •

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C600 Sport

CATHCART REPORT

“Scooter convenience with motorcycling handling qualities,” say BMW’s engineers ONTRARY to belief in some quarters, BMW’s new C600 Sport and C650 GT aren’t the first twist ‘n’ go scooters its engineers ever created. In 1954 they developed the R10 (a prototype 197cc scooter now displayed in BMW’s Munich museum) as a potential answer to the success of Italy’s Vespa; but this never reached production.

Fast forward to 2001, and BMW did come to market with a twist ‘n’ go product, the innovative C1 scooter-with-a-roof (manufactured for it by Italian car stylist Bertone). Powered by a somewhat weak Rotax-built 125cc four-stroke motor with CVT (continuously variable transmission), 12,600 examples of the C1 were built in 2001 and early 2002, before sales ended in October that year.

It’s now a collectors item, and BMW Motorrad boss Hendrik von Kuenheim is one of its many fans. “I love the C1 - I actually have one myself. Fundamentally, it was a great product, ten years ahead of its time - but I think we should leave the C1 to rest, and look not to the past, but to the future.” o instead, in developing the C600/C650 maxi-scooter duo, BMW took a close look at the existing class benchmark, the Yamaha TMAX, and set about creating a better and conventional product.

In spite of the designations, both models actually have an identical mechanical platform (BMW did this once before, with the F800GS and F650GS using

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an identical 798cc parallel-twin motor), and are powered by the same 647cc eight-valve paralleltwin four-stroke engine designed by BMW, and manufactured for them by Kymco in Taiwan (who already make the G450X single-cylinder motor powering many Husqvarnas, and before that the short-lived BMW branded offroad models).

This liquid-cooled dry sump dohc engine has its cylinders inclined forward by 70º - or maybe more accurately, the bank of cylinders is raised just 20º from horizontal, for packaging reasons, and the engine is horizontally split along the centre line of the crankshaft, with the open deck cylinder block integrated in the top half of the crankcases. easuring 79 x 66 mm, its two crankpins are offset by 90°, which, coupled with the 270° ignition spacing, the twin balance shafts above and below the plain-bearing crankshaft, driven directly off it via spur gears, minimises vibration levels and improves traction, as well as producing a distinctive engine note not unlike a V-twin.

The 3.1-litre oil tank is integrated directly into the crankcases for compact packaging, with a duplex oil pump driven off the lower counterbalancer via another spur gear.

Producing 44kW/60bhp at 7,500rpm, the motor delivers peak torque of 66Nm at 6,000 rpm, transmitted via a chain primary drive through a CVT transmission with centrifugal

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clutch, to a chain final drive housed in an oil bath for prolonged life, and low maintenance.

The ultra-compact cylinder head features four paired valves per cylinder - 31.5mm inlets and 27.1mm exhausts – set at a total included angle of 26º, operated via bucket tappets and shims by twin overhead camshafts chaindriven off the crank.

Compression ratio is 11.6:1. win 38mm throttle bodies each carry a single injector controlled by the Bosch BMS-E engine management system, with fuel supplied from the 16litre fuel tank. The stainless steel exhaust features a closed loop catalyst and an oxygen sensor, so permitting both models already meet the upcoming Euro 4 emission limits. The whole powertrain weighs just 81 kg.

BMW is eager to underline that its new pair of scooters were designed by motorcycle engineers, and as such are claimed to combine scooter convenience with motorcycle handling qualities - including high-speed directional stability, sharp handling, and good rider feedback.

To achieve this, the C600 Sport and C650 GT feature an identical tubular steel twin-spar chassis with a 1591mm wheelbase, incorporating a bolted-on diecast aluminium subframe in which the cast-alloy single-sided swingarm pivots coaxially with the transmission’s output shaft, to minimise chain stretch and torque reaction.

The fact that the swingarm

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pivots in the chassis, as on most motorcycles, rather than in the engine casing as on other scooters, is key to the stable handling, claims BMW. Thanks to the reduced vibration obtained by the twin counterbalancers and 90º crank offsets, the parallel-twin engine is rigidly mounted in the frame, rather than on rubber silentblocks as in many other scooters, and thus also functions as a stressed chassis member for maximum rigidity. uspension is provided up front by a non-adjustable 40mm Marzocchi upside down fork set at a 25.4º rake with 92mm of trail, with at the rear a Sachs monoshock offset to the left that’s adjustable for spring preload. Each delivers 115 mm of wheel movement, comparable to that of a motorcycle, and the Metzeler tyres carried on the 15-inch diecast five-spoke aluminium wheels, also have profiles worthy of a Supersport bike, with the 120/70 cover mounted on the 3.50in front wheel matched by a 160/60 rear fitted to a 4.50in rim.

The twin Nissin 270mm front discs and same-size single rear brake are each gripped by twinpiston floating calipers from the same firm, with Bosch 9M dual channel ABS fitted as standard, developed in conjunction with BMW. A rear parking brake is automatically actuated when the side stand is down.

The BMW duo’s 647cc motor produces 44kW/60bhp at 7,500rpm, with peak torque of 66Nm at 6,000 rpm.

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INTERNATIONAL DEALER NEWS - MAY 2012

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MOTORCYCLE FASHION

Superstorm and Gradius Lady overpants THE H2Out range from Spidi consists of waterproof, breathable and windproof products and is extended further with the Superstorm Gradius Lady and Gradius Lady overpants.

Both models have lateral zip openings over the entire length of the leg in Superstorm order to allow easy on/off (test result 14.0 kN) on the over casual trousers. knees (optional on Superstorm).

They are made from double Volume adjustments can be layer polyurethane coated Tenax material and thermally insulated made by high strength Velcro. with a quilted lining of hollow SPIDI SPORT fiber in 50gr/mq for the Sarego (VI), ITALY Superstorm and 100gr/mq for Tel. +39 0444 436 411 the Gradius Lady. The pants also info@spidi.it have EN 1621-1 certified heightwww.spidi.com adjustable Multitech protectors

Aragon motorcycle boot THE Aragon, named after the European MotoGP track, is a new high performance, high quality road racing boot from AXO. Tested at over 300 km/h, AXO says the boots are comfortable, yet safe, at high speeds and that it is the only road racing boot in the world with no zipper, no buckles and only one steel lace thanks to BOA's patented closure system.

The frontal steel lacing pattern was developed to ensure the foot stays in place at high deceleration. The boot is equipped with a lateral/back antitorsion brace system, a microfiber upper with front and back antiabrasion inserts, and polyurethane shin, calf and heel guards with a metal anti-shock heel insert. The Aragon has removable and interchangeable plastic shin and toe sliders, ankle support hinge system, and AXO's own

ISSN 1476-8747

MAY 2012

â&#x201E;˘

Voyager jacket and Air gloves sleeves and back, THE Voyager jacket reinforcing back pads, from Prexport is a storm cuffs, waist black touring jacket zipper to join with made from 600D pants, fitting Polyester and adjusters on waist, PU coated. bottom, biceps and It has a forearms, zipper and detachable, Air glove press studs on the waterproof wrist and fastened by and zipper and Velcro, in breathable sizes S to 4XL, X-Prex complete the line-up of membrane and a features.

3-layer The Air gloves are black construction. city/road gloves and Removable CE feature breathable certified protectors on stretch fabric as well as shoulders and shock-absorbing pads on the elbows/forearms ensure safety, knuckles. and it also comes with a They have a Neoprene cuff and removable thermic layer. silicon printing on the palm for Interchangeable waterproof a better grip. Sizes XS to 3XL. membrane and thermal padding, outer shock-absorbing PREXPORT reinforcements on shoulders Caerano di San Marco (TV), and an inner pocket for a back ITALY protector are further plus Tel. +39 0423 650100 points. sales@prexport.com A soft, padded collar strap, www.prexport.com waterproof pockets inside and outside, reflective strips on sleeves and back, air vent zippers on chest, Voyager jacket

rubber racing sole.

French rider Sylvain Guintoli wore the Aragon in the first 2012 World SBK Championship at Philip Island, Australia, where he took home a third place finish, and also Zach Herrin gave the Aragon its American debut at the Daytona 200.

AXO SPORT Istrana (TV), ITALY Tel. +39 0422 832300 info@axosport.it www.axosport.com MOTORCYCLE FASHION - MAY 2012

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MOTORCYCLE FASHION

Kappa makes debut in technical clothing sector THE Kappa brand makes its debut in the technical clothing sector with a specific line for riders and scooters.

It includes a weatherproof jacket and pants, shoe, hand and leg covers, as well as bike and saddle covers.

Other items will be added in the coming months.

Kappa, previously known for soft bags, cases, trunk cases and accessories for motorcycles, has been reviewing its products and is now offering new products for riders, which

started with a helmet range for men, women and children.

The new waterproof jacket and trousers, both made from PVC laminated polyester 190T, have heatsealed seams.

The jacket has a front zipper protected by a double waterproof flyfront closing, a lining, double wrist closure with elastic and Velcro, an internal waterproof pocket, and the trousers have a double ankle closure.

The shoe/boot covers are also made from polyester 190T and feature heat-sealed seams and an internal coating to offer maximum protection from water. They are said to be easy to wear with the back zipper protected by a flap.

It has a rubber sole reinforced on

the area where the foot comes into contact with the gear lever.

To protect gloves when it rains, the cover has a 3-finger design that makes for easy use. Elastic at the wrists and at the forearms ensures perfect rain protection. Comes with a waterproof bag.

The bike cover's fabric has a 210D thickness that makes the product 100% waterproof, Kappa says. The cover can be fixed to the motorcycle with two belts on the base and the rings through which the anti-theft chain passes.

Available in two sizes: L for scooters, naked and sportsbikes, and XL for maxi scooters and bikes with a windscreen and topcase.

Other available items are a universal waterproof leg cover developed for maxi scooters and a saddle cover.

KAPPA Flero (BS), ITALY Tel. +39 030 2686 976 info@kappamoto.com www.kappamoto.com

MOTORCYCLE FASHION

Tenacy Man and Lady touring jacket from Spyke THIS short city/touring jacket for both men and women is made from Soft-Touch 0.9/1mm thick full-grain cow leather with inside fixed mesh lining.

It has removable interior padding in polyester and polyamide and removable CE

Tenacy ladies GP jacket

approved protectors, plus a pocket for CE approved soft back protector size 2.

Features include inserts in perforated leather, four external and four internal pockets, button collar closure, zip and button wrist closure as well as adjustable waist with strap and double buttons.

SPYKE Bassano del Grappa (VI), ITALY Tel. +39 0424 513 052 info@spyke.it www.spyke.it

MX-22 Boy motocross outfit and Mixage goggles DESIGNED with adults in mind but specifically developed for children, the new MX-22 outfit incorporates the same comfort and safety features as the adult version.

The top is made of polyester and has cushioning shock padding at the elbows and a wide lateral area with Airnet insert to improve breathability.

Silicon patches on the back of the shirt ensure a greater adherence to the pants, and the pants are made from nylon and polyester, highly abrasion resistant, and, to maximise comfort, have large Spandex inserts at the rear, and from the groin to knees is a new lumbar insert for a better fit.

The new Mixage goggles are available in five colours and have CEcertification. They are said to be extremely light and compact and offer an elastic frame to adjust better to

Tenacy man GP jacket

the face. The standard version comes with a clear tear-off lense, however, also available are smoke coloured replacement lenses. The goggles are equipped with a special three-layer anti-sweat foam, and two new accessories are the longer nose extension to reduce the exposure to mud and dirt and the special support/upper spacer to increase air flow in the upper part of the helmet.

UFO PLAST Bientina (PI), ITALY Tel. +39 0587 488012 info@ufoplast.it www.ufoplast.com

MOTORCYCLE FASHION - MAY 2012

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MOTORCYCLE FASHION

Ivory ladies boots Drenaline Atlas 2 suit THIS year's Forma collection has three models especially for women, and one of them is the Ivory.

It's an attractive and elegant boot specifically designed for a woman's foot/calf shape, incorporating all necessary comfort and safety features.

The upper is full grain leather with ornamental buckles and an internal waterproof side elastic panel which accommodates all calf sizes while providing added comfort. The Velcro and zip closure is said to allow easy and quick fitting, and the personalised Drytex tubular lining is waterproof and breathable, with the internal TPU plastic protections being moulded in the ankle and shin area.

Forma says the boot is extremely

comfortable due to the soft polymer padding with memory foam, customising the fit.

The anti-bacterial, replaceable footbed features APS (Air Pump System) which provides excellent ventilation starting from the center of the insole; when pressure is applied during walking or riding, the channels within the insole expel air uniformly, providing the wearer air cushioning that absorbs body weight.

The Ivory boot features the TPU Dual Flex midsole with VA anti-shock covering, with a softer and flexible toe area for elevated gear sensibility and a stiff mid/back for heel protection and a secure and stable foot contact with the bike pedal and comfort when walking.

The lady/touring high-heeled Forma outsole is made from a special doubledensity rubber compound, and like all models in the 2012 collection, Ivory is CE approved and available in black only.

SDE MOTORSPORT/FORMA Altivole (TV), ITALY Tel. +39 0423 915335 info@formaboots.com www.formaboots.com

THIS new four-season jacket and matching pants from Masac in Portugal is said to provide every comfort and safety for riders.

The jacket features an internal pocket for a Hydrapack, the collar closure is by magnet and spring button, it has a gadjet pocket, the collar is finished in Neoprene and it has a Softshell liner with an Eyedry membrane, that can also be used separately.

Comes in grey/black in sizes M to XXL. MASAC S.A. Cantanhede, PORTUGAL Tel.. +351 231 410 766 www.masac.pt

MOTORCYCLE FASHION

R-S2 racing boot WITH the introduction of the Precise Air Fit System (P.A.F.S.), the R-S2 boot from TCX sets new standards, not only in terms of protection, but also in terms of comfort, according to the company.

The outsole is made from microfibre, transparent and abrasion resistant, and the "Race Performance" anatomical insole from expanded polyurethane, making it particularly light and breathable. The insole is enhanced with a gel insert in the heel area that absorbes vibrations and deadens impacts. The special shape of the insole follows the anatomy of the foot with different thicknesses on the arch of the foot,

the forefoot or the heel.

The Lycra lining is directly injected onto the padding, and the aluminium sliders fitted on the outer side of the PU tibia protection and the T.C.S.

system (Torsion Control System) are brand new, as is the rear slider in the heel area, which is interchangeable and fitted to click.

This is said to be essential as it encourages sliding in the event of the rider falling. The boot is CE-certified.

Other technical features include a microfibre upper with micro-injection inserts and padded front articulation, breathable Air Tech lining and nonslip heel insert in suede, shin protection with two metallic mesh air vents and polyurethane shifter pad.

Colours are black, white, blue and red.

NOVATION SPA/TCX Montebelluna (TV), ITALY Tel. +39 0423 292211 tcx@novation.it www.tcxboots.com

El'Met from Tucano Urbano THIS is the new helmet from Tucano Urbano, made from fibreglass because it's lighter, more comfortable and better

able to absorb shock when compared to polycarbonate by dissipating impact forces, the company says.

The chin strap has micrometric closure, and padded inserts provide precise adjustment for size. Nine different sizes are catered for from XXS to XXL, incorporating three different shell sizes.

The helmet is equipped with an effective but removable visor.

Using specially developed matching covers for the visor pivots, the helmet can also be transformed into a perfect visorless model.

For safety reasons reflective graphics have also been

included.

A choice of 12 colours is on offer, including matt black, pastel pink, signal orange, light turquoise, deep blue, matt green, ice white, dark grey, twotone green, two-tone red, lacquer red and pastel green.

TUCANO URBANO Peschiera Borromeo (MI), ITALY Tel. +39 02 553 052 03 tucanourbano@tucanourbano.it www.tucanourbano.com

Furygan Titan jacket THE Titan is the new top of the range textile jacket from Furygan and is said to offer evrything a rider would expect from a multi-purpose textile jacket.

The main external material is Hitena polyamide, which is claimed to be robust, breathable, waterproof and dirt resistant.

It features Furygan Skin Protect lining, which is approved by Furygan's R&D Motion Lab to reinforce textile products for tearing and resistance.

Also included are D3O homologated protectors for elbows, shoulders and back, which offer full protection without restricting comfort and freedom of movement. The back protector pocket is compatible with the "Full Back" type D3O back protector, available as an added option.

Shoulders are thermo-formed external shells featuring Furygan EXO technology. EXO is already used in all Furygan racing gloves for better impact absorption and ergonomics.

All areas exposed to tearing in a crash situation are reinforced with triple stitching, and Titan is also CE homologated.

Further benefits are thermal padded lining with aluminium inserts, the back and chest feature an internal 3D honeycomb lining, which improves the strength of Hitena, offers increased comfort and better thermo-regulation in all weathers, and it has zippable flap fasteners underneath the main zipper to create the perfect barrier against wind and rain.

The Furygan AFS system, which are vents with water repellent zips on the chest and back, can be opened in order to crate air flow. Seven pockets, as well as adjustable waist, neck and arms, two connecting zips, stretch panels in the elbows for increased flexibility and a neckband with Neoprene insert

ensure maximum comfort.

Comes in black/white and black/red in sizes S to 4XL. FURYGAN Nimes, FRANCE Tel. +33 (04) 66 38 85 85 accueil@furygan.com www.furygan.com

MOTORCYCLE FASHION - MAY 2012

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MOTORCYCLE FASHION

Phoenix from Germas THIS high quality Cordura jacket is wind- and watertight and has a breathable HYMAX membrane with detachable Sas-Tec protectors, as well as a detachable thermal lining.

A short connecting zipper, AirControl system at chest and back and adjustment possibilities at hips, waist and arms as well as Scotchlite reflectors all round ensure improved passive safety.

YKK zips, many pockets and stretch zones for more freedom of movement as well as a soft, lined collar further enhance the w e a r quality.

It also has a detachable

back protection which can be replaced with CE back protectors. The outer material is a mix of DuPont Cordura 500D and DuPont Cordura 1000D.

GERMAS Schwabach-Wolkersdorf, GERMANY Tel. +49 (0)911 635 008 info@germas.de www.germas.de

MX FREVO Revolution TO celebrate the return of champion Steve Frossard, Acerbis has introduced a new MX gear line, FREVO being an acronym of FRossard REVOlution, because it combines the look of a young champion with revolutionary gear for his sport.

The Revolution jersey is made from Polyester 165D and has Lycra cuffs and is designed for use with protections and body armour. It has a new Acerbis neck with front and rear stretch fabric inserts and edge piping for added comfort. It also features sublimated graphics and a new sweat-absorbing inner collar and a new soft Acerbis icon in TPR patch on rear. It is said to be

extremely light at only 210g in size M. The Revolution pants' outer material is 600D polyester, with the seat being reinforced with 500D nylon inserts and the inner knee area with aramid fiber, which is said to be abrasion resistant and very elastic. The inner material is polyester mesh at the knees for perfect ventilation. It is designed for use with protections in the hip area and legs and also an orthopedic knee brace.

Closure is with an extremely ligh but strong zip, and the the top panel can be closed with clip and Velcro. It has an ergonomic pre-curved construction for a perfect fit in the riding position, a triple layer fabric above the knees for better comfort and stretch fabric inserts in key areas like inside/backside knees and calves for major mobility and is also water-repellent.

ACERBIS ITALIA Albino (BG), ITALY Tel. +39 035 773577 infomoto@acerbis.it www.acerbis.com

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MOTORCYCLE FASHION

Hugo Boss motorcycle helmet HB.02 look of the visor, and the material, unbreakable PC Lexan from G.E. with anti-scratch treatment, fulfils highest security standards, according to NexxPro. The chin-strap contains a buckle with a micrometric system that allows quick, easy and safe adjustment and release of the strap. On the inside the helmet has premium piping with Hugo Boss letters, as well as a personalised note from the designer.

NEW from Portuguese helmet manufacturer NexxPro is the second generation of the Hugo Boss motorcycle helmet.

Inspired by the retro design of the Italian 1950's it features a fusion of materials like stainless steel, nylon and leather that blend glamour and vintage styling.

It has an ATR shell (Advanced Thermo Resin) with a special anti-UV varnish and contains CoolMax fabrics that keep the interior cool, dry and comfortable. The cheek pads are also fully removable, washable

and include antiallergenic properties.

The leather applications on the top and on the sides underline the bold

NEXXPRO Anadia, PORTUGAL Tel. +351 231 596 860 nexx@nexxpro.com www.nexx-helmets.com

Companero Black Edition suit from Touratech THE Companero textile suit is a special exclusive version of this high-tech motorcycle suit that comes equipped with extra ingenious details.

On the upper arm of the inner jacket, a sunglass pocket with a dustproof closure is designed to hold even the curviest pair of sports sunglasses.

A transparent mobile phone pocket features a special bellows design and Companero Black all weather suit

covered zip, and at 15 x 11 cm can comfortably accommodate a large smartphone. On the right lower arm is another pocket, also expandable, for storing other essential small items.

Inner and outer trousers have cargo pockets.

The complete suit comprises the Summer for sunny days and the All Weather Add for cold and wet weather. The Companero Summer is made from extremely resilient Cordura 500 fabric.

Special AFT (Air Flow Technology) Cordura is used for breathability over large areas of the front and back of the jacket and on the trouser legs. In addition, Cordura 2000 is used on vulnerable areas for optimum protection. All protectors are fitted to the Summer suit and are detachable.

At cooler times of the year and in the rain the two suits can be combined. The All Weather Add is made from Gore-Tex Pro Shell threelayer laminate (inner lining, climate membrane and Cordura). All three materials are bonded into one fabric

and tailored to match the cut of the Companero Summer. The suits zip together. Thanks to its Pro Shell material, the outer suit is wind- and waterproof and breathable. The airy summer suit keeps a layer of air inside to act as a thermal lining.

The Companero Black Edition was designed in partnership with German clothing manufacturer Stadler and is available in a wide range of more than 30 sizes and special men's and women's cuts.

Optional accessories include a storm collar system, a hood, braces and crotch strap.

TOURATECH Niedereschach, GERMANY Tel. +49 (0)7728 9279-0 info@touratech.de www.touratech.com

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MOTORCYCLE FASHION - MAY 2012

Companero Summer

MOTORCYCLE FASHION

Kalifornia and Kalimus travel partners from Rukka THE Kalifornia jacket and Kalimus trousers are very flexible, have plenty of features and a great sporty off-road look, according to Rukka.

This latest outfit for riders of dualsport or adventure sportsbikes comes fully equipped to be able to brave even the worst weather conditions, as it can be gradually adjusted to changing riding conditions. The storm collar made of elastic Gore-Tex three-layer laminate can be removed; waterproof ventilation zippers on the thighs and in the back allow to control the entry of fresh air; an inner jacket and inner trousers with water- and windproof, breathable Gore-Tex Performance Shell and a temperature regulating Outlast lining can be removed; even the sleeves have zippers that allow to take them off and wear the jacket as a vest.

Numerous pockets, some of them waterproof, offer plenty of storage space, while adjusters on the sleeves, waist and hips ensure a perfect fit. In the seat area, the trousers have the climate regulating Rukka AirCushion

system as well as Antiglide-Keprotec to prevent slippage on the seat. Long zippers on the legs allow wearing the trousers inside or outside, even over huge off-road boots. Leather on the inside of the legs protects the trousers from the heat of high exhaust pipes.

Certified according to the latest CE standards, the new, air-permeable and highly comfortable Rukka D3O-Air protectors on the joints and in the back ensure high levels of safety by multiplying their impact protection if an impact occurs.

The Kalifornia jacket is available in black/grey and black/mud as well as in black only in various sizes. The Kalimus trousers come in black in many leg length sizes.

L-FASHION GROUP/RUKKA Lahti, FINLAND Tel. +358 (0)3 822 5227 info@rukka.com www.rukka.com

MOTORCYCLE FASHION - MAY 2012

43

TRADEZONE TRADEZONE TRADEZONE TRADEZONE TRADEZONE

44

INTERNATIONAL DEALER NEWS - MAY 2012

TRADEZONE TRADEZONE TRADEZONE TRADEZONE TRADEZONE

Distributors of TECMATE retail chargers AUSTRALIA - A1 ACCESSORY IMPORTS T. (61) 7 3806 1800 sales@a1accessory.com.au AUSTRIA -SCHUMOTO KG T. (43)(732)757080 office@schumoto.at BELGIUM - BIKE DESIGN BVBA T. (052) 453361 info@bike-design.be CROATIA - PICCILO RACING D.O.O. T. (385)(21)325677 piccilo-racing@st.t-com.hr CYPRUS - J.L. MOTORACE LTD (MOTORCYCLE) T. (357)(22)752234 motorace@cytanet.com.cy CZECH REP. - MAREK BRANDT T. (420)606 460 579 brandt@techbase-cz.cz

Dealers only!

DENMARK - CARL ANDERSEN MOTORCYKLER T. (45)(86) 946177 hjn@ca-mc.dk ESTONIA - OÜ HELADORA LLC T. (372) 5285672 rain@motopood.ee FINLAND - OY BRANDT A/B T. (358)(9)895501 ulf.bjorklund@brandt.fi FRANCE - MORACO SAS T. (33)(3)85 51 45 30 info@moraco.fr GERMANY - ECON WERKST.-AUSRÜSTUNGS T. (49)(2689) 928747 info@econ-wa.de GERMANY - HERMANN HARTJE GMBH T. (49)(42) 51 811 273 info@hartje.de GERMANY - HS-MOTORRADTEILE GMBH T. (49)(621) 105 200 info@hs-motoparts.de

The European ‘Headquarters’ Expo

GERMANY - NIEMANN+FREY GMBH T. (49)(2151)55 54 20 zentrale@niemann-frey.de

for the International motorcycle

GERMANY - PAASCHBURG & WUNDERLICH T. (49)(40)248 277 0 info@pwonline.de

parts, accessory, performance,

GERMANY - SCHÜLLER MOTORRADTEILE T. (49)(6245)994 79 10 info@enuma.de

workshop, service and

GREAT BRITAIN - PROBIKE SHADOWFAX T. (44)(1604)660555 sales@probike.co.uk

tuning industry

GREAT BRITAIN - MOTOHAUS POWERSPORTS T. (44)(1256)704909 sales@motohaus.com

IN 2013

GREECE - TECNOPNEUMATIC A.E T. (30)(210)34 67 000 avieris@tecnopneumatic.gr HOLLAND - HOCOPARTS B.V. T. (31)(342) 412290 info@hocoparts.com HUNGARY - DOVER KFT T. (36)(1)2392202 csaba@doverkft.hu ICELAND - BILANAUST NITRO N1 T. (354)-535-9000 agust@n1.is IRELAND INTERCONTINENTAL DISTRIBUTORS LIMITED T. (353)(1)8344 289 andy@idl-dublin.ie

JAPAN - OKADA CORPORATION T. (81)(3)5473-0371 k.iwabuchi@okada-corp.com KUWAIT -TRISTAR MOTORCYCLES T. (965)2405194 shams@tristarkw.com LATVIA - MOTOSPORTS LTD T. (371)-7802351 lauris.ermanis@motosports.lv LIECHSTENSTEIN - RÄTIKONBATTERIEN AG T. (423) 3738010 mgraf@raetikonbatterien.li MOROCCO - SHENO T. (212) (0)5 22 35 97 16 larichimed@sheno.ma NEW ZEALAND - NORTHERN ACCESSORIES T. (64)(9)276-6453 steven@northacc.co.nz NORWAY - SPARE PARTS SERVICE AS T. (47)(64)837500 jang@sps.no PHILIPPINES - STRONGHAND INC. T. (632) 373-2311 open@stronghandinc.com POLAND - OLEK MOTOCYKLE T. (48) (33) 810 19 05 import@olekmotocykle.pl PORTUGAL - JMP EQUIPAMENTOS T. (351)(232)961841 geral@jmpequipamentos.com RUSSIA - EXLAND LTD T. (7)(812)380-3072 exlandyura@mail.ru SERBIA - MOTO-BIKE T. (99)(381)641289979 motobike@ptt.rs SINGAPORE - DWA LUBRICANTS PTE LTD T. (65) 6515-6282 dwa@pacific.net.sg SLOVAKIA - MICRONIX S.R.O. T. (421)(48) 4123779 info@micronix.eu CENTRAL & SOUTH AFRICA, OCEANIA TECMATE SOUTH AFRICA T. (27)(21)5316087 tecmate@netactive.co.za SPAIN - HESPERIA S.A. T. (34)(91)5088830 fsoria@hesperiainternacional.com

www.barnettclutches.com USA Parts Unlimited (608) 758-1111 Hap Jones (408) 432-1918 TEC Dist. (800) 356-0043 Newcomb Southeast (803) 732-5135 M.A.P. Ent. (727) 381-1151 KK Motorcycle Supply (800) 543-9638 Suncoast Cycle Ent. (727) 725-3664

Canada Parts Canada (403) 250-6611 Motovan Motorsport (450) 449-3903 Kimpex Action (519) 659-0508

Germany Grossewaechter 0049 (0)5225859256

SWEDEN - MOTOSPEED AB T. (46)(21)351925 klarkner@motospeed.se

UK

SWITZERLAND - TECHNOPOLYMER AG T. (41)(91) 683-0333 robert.maier@technopolymer.ch

P.D.Q. Motorcycle 0044 1628667644

SWITZERLAND - HOSTETTLER AG T. (41)(41) 926-6111 claudia.shumacher@hostettler.com TAIWAN - PROMO-TEC INTERNATIONAL T. (886)(2)2562-7770 pro.motec@msa.hinet.net TURKEY - VELOMOTO T. (90)(212)6061707 info@velomoto.com.tr UAE - TRISTAR MOTORCYCLES DUBAI T. (971) 4-3330659 floyd@tristaruae.com USA, CANADA, CENTRAL & SOUTH AMERICA TECMATE NORTH AMERICA T. 905 337 2095 sales@tecmate.com TecMate (International) SA BELGIUM

Australia Serco 07 38232833

Netherlands Motorcycle Storehouse BV 0031 (0)50 303 9771 MotoPro Sport 0031 (0)599 633 000

Japan Wellington Moto

www.tecmate-int.com

France

TEL: 0032 (0)16 805440 FAX: 0032 (0)16 805441

Bihr Racing 0033 389673639

www.dealer-world.com

ITALY - SOCIETÀ GENERALE RICAMBI T. (39)(051)722557 DelucaR@sgr-it.com

FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT ADVERTISING IN IDN VISIT...

ISRAEL - A.E. MOTORCYCLE T. (972)(50)271923 ae_motor@netvision.net.il

-101112-5-2013 - BIGBIKEEUROPE

Featuring ...

The first annual International Motorcycle Industry Conference

The first annual International Motorcycle Industry Awards

The European Championship of Custom Bike Building

Friday 10th - Industry Day Saturday 11th - Public Day Sunday 12th - Public Day

INTERNATIONAL DEALER NEWS - MAY 2012

45

ISSUE INDEX THIS MONTH’S EDITORIAL Acerbis Italia (IT) MX FREVO Revolution ..................................................................41 Arai Helmet (NL) Appoints MotoDirect as new UK distributor......................................9 This INTERNATIONAL DEALER NEWS 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 IDN.

Axo Sport (IT) Aragon motorcycle boot ....................................................................35

THIS MONTH’S ADVERTISERS

Brembo (IT) Announces revenue and profits growth..................................................10

ABM (DE) Parts & accessories ....................................................................................4

Cellular Italia (IT) Motioncam01 action camera ........................................................22

Barnett Performance Products (US) Clutch kits, distributor network........................8,45

Davies Odell (GB) Forcefield unveil new instore POS unit ..........................................13

Big Bike Europe (DE) 2013 show information ............................................................7

BMW Motorrad (DE) Cathcart Report - Maxi-Scooters ........................................30-33

Domino (IT) XM2 double super soft grips ................................................................25

Calzaturificio Antis (IT) Stylmartin boots ..................................................................41 Carat (IT) Wheels, sprockets and chains ....................................................................23 Cellular Italia (IT) Interphone F5, Conference multi-user system ................................11

Ducati Motorcycles (IT) Cathcart Report - Claudio Domenicali interview ..............16-19 Galfer (ES) New 2012/13 catalogue ........................................................................13

DID Europe (IT) 520DZ2 motocross chain ..................................................................5

Galfer (ES) Fly-Fry Wave disc ....................................................................................20

DNA Filters (GR) Air filters ........................................................................................21

Germas (DE) Phoenix jacket ....................................................................................41

DP Brakes & Clutches (US) Brakes & clutches............................................................22

GIVI (IT) TRK52N top case for two helmets ..............................................................20

Fehling (DE) Parts & accessories ..............................................................................44 Free Spirits (IT) New EFI controller for Triumph..........................................................25

Grupo Masac (PT) Drenaline Atlas 2 suit ..................................................................38

GIVI (IT) Soft bags range ..........................................................................................36

K-Tech Suspension (GB) ISO 9001 accreditation ......................................................10

Grossewaechter Racing Parts (DE) Tornado cams ......................................................45

Kappa (IT) Makes debut in technical clothing sector ................................................36

GSG-Mototechnik (DE) Parts & accessories ..............................................................44 Ilmberger Carbon Parts (DE) Carbonparts & exhausts ..............................................24

L-Fashion Group (FI) Rukka Kalifornia jacket and Kalimus trousers............................43 Motad (GB) Buys French exhaust factory ..................................................................13

Kappa (IT) K47 Manta top case................................................................................27 Kibblewhite Precision Machining (US) Valvetrain components, distributor network ....44

Motohaus Powersports (GB) Ventura ‘Mistral’ Bike-Pack ..........................................25

Koelnmesse (DE) INTERMOT Cologne 2012..............................................................47

Motolux Specialties (NL) Highway Hawk saddlebags ................................................28

Küryakyn (US) Parts & accessories ......................................................................14-15

NAD (ES) SHAD Kawasaki Z750 accessories ............................................................23

MAG Europe (GB) Progressive Suspension Goldwing monotube fork tube ..................2

Nexxpro (PT) Hugo Boss motorcycle helmet HB.02 ..................................................42

Motoplastic (ES) Puig Hi-Tech products ......................................................................6 Polini Motori (IT) Hi-Speed variator and crankshaft kit ..............................................27 Mustang Motorcycle Products (US) Two-piece Wide Touring seat ..............................45 National Cycle (US) Windshields and accessories ......................................................26

Powerbronze (GB) Screens, crash posts and fork protectors ......................................24

Premier Helmets (IT) Jet Touring 4 Allroad helmet ....................................................38

Prexport (IT) Voyager jacket and Air gloves ..............................................................35

Project (IT) Helmets..................................................................................................37

Racing Batteries (GB) Racing Batteries ....................................................................28

Rick’s Motorsport Electrics (US) Starters, chargers & ignitions....................................48

SAS Jacques’S (FR) Furygan Titan jacket....................................................................39

Scandinavian Brake Systems (DK) SBS brake pads ....................................................29 SDE Motorsport (IT) Forma Ivory ladies boots............................................................38 SDE Motorsport (IT) Forma racing boots ..................................................................43 SENA Technologies (US) Motorcycle Bluetooth headset & intercom ..........................34

Sito Gruppo Industriale (IT) Carbon fiber parts for KTM 250 EXC-F 2012 ..................28

Sito Gruppo Industriale (IT) Leovince exhausts & Carbon fiber parts ............................9

Spidi Sport (IT) Superstorm and Gradius Lady overpants ..........................................35

Spectro Oils of America (US) Premium-quality lubricants ..........................................26

Spyke (IT) Tenacy Man and Lady touring jackets........................................................37

Stylmartin (IT) See Calzaturificio Antis ......................................................................41

TCX (IT) R-S2 racing boot ........................................................................................39

Surflex (IT )Husqvarna 900 Nuda, BMW 800 R and GS model replacement kits ........10 TecMate (BE) Optimate range, distributor network ................................................5,45

Touratech (DE) Companero Black Edition suit ..........................................................42

Vrooam Powersports Lubricants International (NL) Lubricants ..................................13

Tucano Urbano (IT) El’Met helmet ............................................................................39

Wunderlich (DE) BMW motorcycle accessories..........................................................19

UFO Plast (IT) MX-22 Boy moto-cross outfit ad Mixage goggles..............................37a

46

INTERNATIONAL DEALER NEWS - MAY 2012

news ROOM

Germany returns to growth as other major European markets continue to see sales decline in first quarter Elsewhere in Europe the Italian motorcycle market continues to see sales decline.

Total PTW sales in Italy in March (excluding trikes and ATV’s) were 4.44 percent down on March 2011 at 26,532, but the scooter market did grow by 5.6 percent to 17,297.

For the year-to-date motorcycle sales in Italy are running at 24.2 percent down on the first quarter of 2011 (17,822 units from 23,511), with the market’s two most popular

Germany, March 2012 43,000

+ 4.78%

2012 2011

32,000

15,000

34,467

24,927

24,000

36,116

+5.76%

26,364

T

In motorcycle terms BMW’s share jumps to 26.10 percent of the market, with Honda and Kawasaki nearly level at just under 12 percent each, and Harley-Davidson jumping above Suzuki, Yamaha and all other manufacturers, taking nearly 10 percent of the market in Germany.

The best selling model in Germany in March was BMW’s R1200 GS, far outstripping Kawasaki’s ER-6n, with the S 1000 RR and R 1200 R third and fourth respectively.

UNITS

HE European motorcycle market continues to soften so far this year, with the positive March figures in some markets unable to yet be interpreted as anything other than a possible slowing of the rate of overall market decline.

The best news for March has emerged from Germany where, after a weather-hit February saw the first dip in month-on-month sales since January 2011, sales continued what is now a long-term growth trend with a 4.78 percent increase in total PTW (Powered-Two-Wheeler) sales compared to March 2011.

Indeed at 34,467 total PTW’s, this was Germany’s best March since 2009 (35,860) and the encouraging news is that March motorcycle sales outperformed scooters and small cc machines with 5.67 percent growth.

The market mix in Germany is one where Sports models are by far the largest PTW sector, worth nearly 36 percent of the total PTW market, seeing 11.15 percent growth over March 2011; Enduro bikes (27 percent of the German market) were up by 27.46 percent and ‘Choppers’ (the third largest sector in Germany, in March at 14 percent) were up 11.22 percent; however, SuperSport models saw around 1,000 less sales compared to 2011 (2,318 against 3,331 a year ago – a drop from 13 percent of the market last year to just under 9 percent this year).

Not surprisingly BMW is market leader in Germany with just under 20 percent of the total PTW market in March, with Honda second on 13.29 percent, followed by Kawasaki, Yamaha, Suzuki and Harley-Davidson.

3,000

LARGE MOTORCYCLES

TOTAL PTWS

ANCMA President Corrado Capelli: “The growth in scooter sales gives us a bit of hope after several months of heavy losses in volume terms.”

styles of motorcycle, ‘Naked’ and Enduro (worth nearly 60 percent of the Italian motorcycle market between them) down 34.59 and 21.11 percent respectively. Sportbike model sales in Italy are down nearly 30 percent for the first quarter.

Corrado Capelli, the President of Italian trade association ANCMA, said “one cannot yet talk of a real change in trend, but the growth in scooter sales gives a bit of hope after several months of heavy losses in volume terms.

“The results in March confirm that scooters represent the ideal vehicle to meet the needs of sustainable mobility at relatively affordable cost.”

Addressing the impact that Italy’s financial situation is clearly having on motorcycle sales, Capelli went on to say that although the rate of sales decline appears to be slowing, the negative effects of the economic crisis mean that a motorcycle purchase “is a challenge, and passion is not always sufficient to overcome financial Continued on page 6 >>>

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