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Invasion of the Small Capacity Engines

By General Posts

Small is Big: Motorcycles with less power, more styling, high sales volumes

Just as the world was recognising the perks of weekend motorcycle getaways and big V-Twin engines, there was also economic collapse, trade tariff wars and then the curse of the climate. Everyone complained about the weather and then somebody actually did something about it. Like all solutions, the proposal was a ban.

In this Article we dive into the world of small things making big waves in motorcycle industry

Click Here to Read this Comprehensive Overview of All Things Big About Small

Polaris Launches Online Marketplace for New and Used Vehicles

By General Posts

with inputs by Dennis Chung from https://www.motorcycle.com/

You Can Now Buy and Sell Indian Motorcycles on Polaris Xchange

Polaris has launched an online marketplace for buying and selling Indian motorcycles as well as other Polaris products. The all new Polaris Xchange portal allows customers to shop for a range of Polaris products online. It gives users access to thousands of powersports vehicles across a network of participating dealerships.

Visit Website at: https://polarisxchange.com/

The Xchange also includes products from across the company’s powersports portfolio, including Indian, plus Polaris’ ATVs, side-by-sides, snowmobiles, and Slingshot auto-cycles.

Customers can buy both pre-owned vehicles as well as brand new vehicles on Polaris Xchange.

Polaris also offers a three-day return program on pre-owned vehicles.

Customers can search for complete details and history of the vehicle.

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Bike-Farm Melle wins European Biker Build-Off 2022

By General Posts

Indian Motorcycle Dealer Bike-Farm Melle wins top spot with a nearly 3:1 voting ratio

Last weekend, during the Custom Bike Show in Bad Salzuflen, Germany, the finals of the European Biker Build-Off saw Indian Motorcycle Dealer Bike-Farm Melle gain nearly three times the votes with their Indian Chief based Longfork Chopper “Purple Haze” over Harley-Davidson Bielefeld to take the title.

First held in 2007 and the highlight of the famous Custom Bike show, the European Biker Build-Off sees two teams competing to complete their custom bike in just three days, live, under the eyes of the trade show visitors. This year’s title fight was even more exciting as both finalists come from the region, just 30km from each other: Bike-Farm, the Indian Motorcycle dealer from Melle and Reibchen + Stegemann the Harley Davidson dealer from Bielefeld.

From Friday to Sunday at noon, the creation of two extraordinary custom bikes could be followed on the show stage and by 1 pm on the Sunday, the time had come: Judgement Day. With 529 to 179 votes, nearly a 3:1 ratio, the audience chose Bike-Farm’s ‘Purple Haze’ Indian Chief chopper as the clear winner.

“A classic long fork chopper based on the 2022 Indian Chief! It’s absolutely stunning what the Bike-Farm crew has created here. This bike radically brings to flower the seeds that are at the core of the current Chief lineup: The spirit of the past combined with the technology of today.” said Ola Stenegärd, Director of Industrial Design at Indian Motorcycle. “We always had the builders in mind during development and we worked really hard to make the reimagined Indian Chief a delight to work on. So, it’s such a pleasure to see this great canvas to create motorcycle art.”

Not only has ‘Purple Haze’ been completely designed around the current air-cooled Thunderstroke 116 engine, it also still features all the electronic amenities of the original Chief Dark Horse from which it evolved: from ABS to GPS navigation, via the touchscreen of the original gauge now cantered in the revised Chieftain tank.

Other core components have also been adopted and adapted from the original bike such as the footrests and brake systems. The frame, with a full 48° rake, was manufactured by the Dutch experts VG Motorcycle Specials, and all other components are custom-made by the Bike-Farm crew: Sheet metal parts such as the tank cover with integrated gauge and GPS transmitter to the fender were created in-house just like the sissy bar, seat, wheels, handlebars, final drive, intake and exhaust system. Even the seal-less, oil-free fork with its Teflon-lubricated sliding tubes incorporating Progressive Suspension Cartridges. Finally, Lange Metallveredelung took care of the chrome surfaces, while Vossi Lackcenter Melle traditionally handled the finishing of the paint.

“The entire bike was created within just eight weeks,” as workshop manager Tristan Frische recounts. “With four men, we wrenched, shaped and turned day and night. All the more we are delighted with this title. Not only have all the electronic features been retained, but also the fully road legal, including remaining Euro 5. So, this dream bike will soon be seen quite regularly on public roads.”

In case anyone feels inspired to build their own Longfork Chief Chopper: the VG frame is available for order at Indian Motorcycle Melle, the Indian Chief, of course, at any official Indian Motorcycle dealer.

More information about the ‘Purple Haze’ and Bike Farm/Indian Motorcycle Melle can be found on www.indian-melle.de and on their social profiles at Facebook and Instagram.

For more information on Indian Motorcycle visit IndianMotorcycle.eu and follow along on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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ABOUT BIKE-FARM MELLE: What started in 1987 in a barn with a few friends has grown into a large company with highly specialized employees. Official Indian Motorcycle dealer since 2019, the 2,000-square-meter Bike-Farm is all about American V-twins. A constantly changing exhibition showcases custom bikes created on site, which regularly receive top marks in international competitions.

Photos by Ben Ott (@benottfilm) and Fabrian Friese (@fabfri)

eBay Motors Sand Sports Super Show this Weekend in Costa Mesa

By General Posts

  • The eBay Motors Sand Sports Super Show is this weekend
  • at the OC Fair & Events Center in Costa Mesa, Calif.,
  • Friday, September 16 through Sunday, September 18.

The Sand Sports Super Show brings hundreds of exhibitors to Southern California for the biggest and most exciting dune and sand sports expo in the world. Attendees can get up close to the latest UTVs/ATVs, Side x Sides, Sand Rails, Toy Haulers, accessories, apparel and a whole lot more, during a full weekend of festivities.

New this year, Fox Factory’s Proving Grounds in partnership with Hammerking Productions, will provide a unique and memorable experience for all participants and spectators. Guests will see a lineup of professional drivers in purpose-built race vehicles – ripping it up. The high-horsepower, earth-shaking King of the Hammers Ultra4 Class will be showcased, along with UTV and Pre-Runners. Driver autograph sessions will follow each round of demos.

The Sand Sports Super Show offers something for everyone who enjoys the sand sports, dunes and off-road lifestyles. During the show, manufacturers will launch new products and show off their innovations to the passionate and engaged crowd of enthusiast attendees. Many vendors will be offering special show exclusive deals and pricing.

Within the sand sports community, the Sand Sports Super Show plays a pivotal role in uniting and mobilizing enthusiasts, cultivating growth, and fostering safety awareness.

  • The American Sand Association (ASA), in partnership with Polaris will raffle off a Polaris RZR XP 4 Turbo S
  • and also a Genesis Overnighter Trailer.
  • The winning tickets will be drawn Sunday, September 18.
  • Tickets can be purchased at the ASA Booth and the winner does not have to be present to win.

The Sand Sports Super Show will take place on Friday, September 16, from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m., Saturday, September 17 from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday, September 18 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

For more information on the Sand Sports Super Show and to purchase discount tickets in advance online,
visit www.sandsportssupershow.com.
Follow on Facebook and Instagram @SandSportsSuperShow.

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Alt-Rock Cruisers: BMW targets American brand’s market

By General Posts

by Jack Baruth from Hagerty.com

BMW R18 meets Indian Challenger and Harley Heritage Classic

The slightly ridiculous 1800cc, two-cylinder, leather-saddlebag, CHiPs-windshielded cruiser I’m trying to force through six stopped lanes of Los Angeles traffic can’t be taken as anything but an admission on the part of the Bayerische Motoren Werke that Harley-Davidson knows

a) what boys like;
b) what men want …

in America, anyway.

CLICK HERE To Read a comprehensive Road Test & Review of the cruiser models from the 3 motorcycle brands.

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Gevin Fax Blazes Her Own Trail

By General Posts

by Emily Chavous from russbrown.com

Whether riding a motorcycle or challenging norms, Gevin Fax is no stranger to blazing trails.

She says, “I think this is the best, most wonderful country in the world, but we are not flawless. I want women to not sell themselves short. We are stronger than we give ourselves credit for. We are more possible than we could ever imagine.”

“Everybody kept telling me my life was going to change after I bought the Harley. Let me tell you something: Everything changed.”

CLICK HERE To Read this Feature Article on Bikernet.com

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Polaris factory decisions controlled by Supply Chain Bottlenecks

By General Posts

By Bob Tita from https://www.wsj.com

Supply Chain Bottlenecks Drive Factory Decisions at This Maker of Boats, Motorcycles, ATVs.

Polaris is changing manufacturing processes on the fly to adapt to parts shortages; ATVs missing seats, snowmobiles without shocks.

Polaris is juggling 30 or so supply-chain constraints for its ATVs, motorcycles, snowmobiles, boats and utility terrain vehicles.

Like other manufacturers struggling with wobbly supply chains, sports-vehicle maker Polaris Inc. is deciding what to produce based on what parts it has on hand.

Polaris is changing its manufacturing and sales strategies on the fly to cope with shortages of materials and parts and an unreliable global transportation system that has disrupted precise production planning.

The company said it is juggling 30 or so supply-chain constraints for its all-terrain vehicles, motorcycles, snowmobiles, boats and off-road utility vehicles. Polaris changes its plans sometimes daily for what it produces. The company switches models for a while as supply-and-logistics managers scrounge for parts and materials for other models it is unable to build.

When there aren’t enough seats in the supply pipeline to produce four-seat versions of utility terrain vehicles because of a shortage of foam padding, for example, Polaris shifts production to two-seat or three-seat models. When more seats become available, factories circle back to four-seat models or add the missing seats to vehicles that have already been assembled.

“If you’re mixing and matching, eventually you’ll attain a good product mix,” said Kenneth Pucel, operations chief for the Medina, Minn.-based company.

Companies spent decades conditioning their supply chains to deliver just enough components and materials to match production schedules to hold down costs for storing parts. The absence of backup stocks of parts left manufacturers more exposed if a few large suppliers couldn’t deliver on time.

Tight markets typically provide opportunities for some companies to siphon customers away from competitors. But retail dealers say the supply-chain disruptions, transportation bottlenecks and labor shortages for manufacturers are now so pervasive that it is hard for anyone to capitalize. Polaris dealers sold out and the company couldn’t resupply them at their normal levels; instead, customers are now placing deposits on orders sent to factories.

Polaris shipped out some snowmobiles to dealers without shock absorbers and had dealers install them later when supplies recovered.

Chris Watts, owner of America’s Motor Sports dealership in Nashville, Tenn., said he carries Polaris and other brands. But his stocks of those brands are mostly depleted as well. “Customers are buying whatever they can get their hands on,” Mr. Watts said.

Like many manufacturers, Polaris had an unexpected surge in sales during the Covid-19 pandemic. When restaurants, movie theaters and fitness centers closed, consumers shifted their spending to boats, motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles and other outdoor vehicles. Polaris’s retail sales in North America last year grew by 25% from 2019 and increased by 70% in the first quarter from last year.

Polaris, which last year had sales of $7 billion, has a leading share in off-road vehicles with about 40% of the North American market, according to industry analysts.

Before the pandemic, Polaris could increase orders to its parts suppliers when needed. But this time, suppliers were less responsive. After a weekslong shutdown of factories last spring to slow the spread of the Covid-19 virus, stocks on hand were depleted. Making matters worse were clogged ocean ports, the freak winter storm that struck Texas in February and a ship blocking the Suez Canal that delayed vessels hauling shipping containers with Polaris’s parts and products from Asia.

Polaris said it devised workarounds to ease the company’s reliance on the hardest-to-get components, including semiconductor chips used in vehicle gauges. The company said its engineers redesigned the gauges on the fly to operate with different chip sets that are more readily available than the chips the company had been using.

When the supply of foam for seats tightened following the storm in Texas in February, Polaris built vehicles without seats for weeks and installed them later when resin for making plastic foam became available again.

About one-third of the vehicles coming off the company’s assembly lines are being held back until missing parts arrive, the company said. That is about twice the volume of new vehicles that typically need to be reworked.

The availability of shock absorbers has been particularly erratic. When shocks for snowmobiles ran out during the fall production season, Polaris shipped some snowmobiles to dealers without them and sent the shocks later for the dealers to install.

“It wasn’t efficient from a cost standpoint, but it bought us time,” Chief Executive Michael Speetzen said.

Shock absorbers for single-seat all-terrain vehicles became so scarce late last year that production managers at the Roseau, Minn., plant switched to a two-seat variant of the four-wheel motorcycles instead that used different but available suspension components. The production lines at the factory that welded metal frames and produced plastic moldings for ATVs were reset overnight to allow production of the two-seat models to begin the following morning.

“You pivot away from parts shortages. Our team is good at building what we can,” said Mr. Pucel.

Mr. Pucel said at least 10% of the company’s suppliers have been under stress since the pandemic, often struggling to obtain enough materials from their own suppliers or to come up with the money needed to purchase additional equipment to increase production. He said the number of suppliers struggling would be greater if Polaris hadn’t culled underperforming companies from its supplier base a couple of years before the pandemic.

Polaris has intervened to purchase equipment and materials for some suppliers in exchange for reduced prices. When production of plastic resin in Texas stopped because of the February storm, Polaris allocated some of its own resin to its suppliers.

In anticipation of extended higher demand, Polaris is expanding its Monterrey, Mexico, plant where some of its most popular utility terrain vehicle are assembled. The company is increasing boat production at its Elkhart, Ind., plant and reopening another in Syracuse, Ind. It has hired about 1,000 more employees in the past year, a 7% increase in the workforce.

Maintenance on equipment and rush jobs to realign assembly lines to produce different models often happen overnight or on weekends. Disruptions in production and the social-distancing procedures in plants because of Covid-19 have been rough on employees.

“The whole organization has been on high alert,” CEO Speetzen said. “It’s one of the things I worry about.”

Which Three-Wheeler Fits Your Style?

By General Posts

We offer a brief history of the Three-wheeled vehicle, and take a guess at the lifestyle each fits best.

In 2007, BRP put its three-wheeled Can-Am Spyder on the market and sold 2500 units in the U.S. By 2015, it had sold 1 million units globally. In 2017, it estimated the U.S. three-wheel industry to be good for approximately 40,000 sales a year, and that industry includes competition from historic names like Harley-Davidson and Morgan. Some bikers scoff at the three-legged mechanical portmanteau called an autocycle, but they’re here to stay; in 2020, BRP more than doubled its 2019 volume in the U.S.

Maybe you’re considering joining the growing crowd but aren’t sure which saddle to throw a leg over, here is a brief history of three-wheelers and the people who love them.

Click Here to Read this Photo Feature Article on Bikernet.

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CEO Scott Wine to leave Polaris Inc to lead CNH Industrial

By General Posts

from https://auto.economictimes.indiatimes.com

Wine joined Polaris in 2008 as CEO and was elected as Chairman of the Board in 2013.

Polaris Inc on Wednesday announced that Chairman and CEO Scott Wine will leave the company to assume the CEO role at CNH Industrial, the maker of Case and New Holland agricultural equipment.

Wine joined Polaris in 2008 as CEO and was elected as Chairman of the Board in 2013. He will remain in his current role at Polaris through the end of the year. Transition plans will be announced at a later date.

During his time as CEO, Polaris grew from a $1.9 billion organization to a nearly $7 billion global Powersports company, the company said in a statement.

“For the last 12 years, I have had the extraordinary honor of leading the best team in Powersports, and it is incredibly rewarding to reflect on all that we have accomplished together,” said Wine.

“I leave with complete confidence that Polaris’ future is bright. I also want to offer my sincere thanks to my incredibly talented colleagues and to the Polaris Board for their guidance and leadership during my tenure.”

“Scott has been an exceptional leader for Polaris. During his tenure, Polaris grew from a strong Minnesota company into a global leader in the Powersports market—more than tripling sales and vaulting Polaris into the Fortune 500,” said Polaris’ Lead Independent Director John Wiehoff.

In the announcement of Wine’s departure, Polaris reaffirmed financial guidance for 2020 and said sales were on track to increase 2 to 3%. Adjusted net income for 2020 is expected to be in the range of $7.15 to $7.30 share, up from $6.32 a share in 2019, the company said.

Polaris Announces Partnership with Zero Motorcycles to Co-Develop Electric Vehicles

By General Posts

by Daniel Patrascu from https://www.autoevolution.com

Zero Motorcycles Taps Polaris to Make Electric Off-Road Vehicles and Snowmobiles

The electric motorcycle industry is far from being as lucrative as the automobile one. Despite the efforts made by startups to make electric two-wheelers popular, established bike makers are still a long way from joining the fun, with Harley-Davidson being so far the only one risking to go down this path.

Zero Motorcycles is one of the startups we mentioned, one of the oldest and arguably the most successful. On the market since 2006, Zero made a name for itself by selling affordable (when compared to what else is out there in this segment), high-performance electric motorcycles – yet the 9 or so models currently available are just the beginning.

How would you feel about some incredible machines, powersports-destined ones, that could make use of electricity?

Starting 2021, that’s exactly what we’ll get – Zero is joining the electric off-road vehicles and snowmobiles game. It won’t do it alone, but together with Polaris, after the two announced the signing of a 10-year agreement.

More to the point, Zero will develop the powertrain technology (hardware and the electronic software), while Polaris will handle the development and manufacture of the rest of the vehicles.

“This revolutionary partnership is bringing together two incredibly talented teams aimed at dramatically expanding the electric options in powersports,” said in a statement Zero Motorcycles CEO Sam Paschel.

“Our EV expertise and millions of miles of real-world, rubber-meets-the-road EV experience, coupled with Polaris’ broad product portfolio, scale, supply chain and market leadership, makes this a game-changer for every powersports enthusiast.”

For now, there are virtually no details on how many vehicles we’re talking about here, let alone their capabilities. We do know the first jointly-developed product should surface by the end of 2021, and it will be followed by an electric vehicle option within each of Polaris’ core product segments by the middle of the decade.

Polaris teaming with Zero Motorcycles on electric snowmobiles and off-road vehicles

by Gary Gastelu from https://www.foxbusiness.com

Powersports giant to buy batteries and motors from the California company

Polaris has signed an exclusive 10-year agreement with Zero Motorcycles to use its battery powertrain technology on a line of electric snowmobiles and off-road vehicles.

The deal with the Santa Cruz, Calif.-based motorcycle company will manifest with a new vehicle scheduled to go on sale late next year.

Polaris currently markets GEM neighborhood electric vehicles and an electric version of its Ranger utility task vehicle (UTV), but the new vehicles will expand into performance segments.

“We’ve sold over a billion dollars worth of electric vehicles in the last 10 years, but none of it’s been high-performance powersports vehicles,” Polaris CEO Scott Wine told FOX Business.

“They’ve been more in our adjacent markets business to really as we embarked on this ramped-up strategy concept. We looked in across the globe and who could be the best partner for us.”

Wine said he was confident Polaris, which makes most of the internal combustion engines it uses, could have developed the new electric drivetrains, but that he decided it wasn’t worth the investment when Zero already had proven tech that offered high power motors and power-dense battery packs that are perfect for the space constraints of the vehicles Polaris specializes in.

Zero sells between 2,000 and 10,000 motorcycles in annual sales, according to company CEO Sam Paschel, and has a lineup of off-road and street bikes with up to 223 miles of range per charge.

Polaris isn’t taking an equity stake in Zero, which will be acting as a supplier under the arrangement. Wine didn’t reveal what the first vehicle would be, but said it will be a unique electric model to kick off the arrangement, which will be followed by electric versions of its other vehicles.

“Over time, we expect the vision to be that we’ll be able to offer our customers and dealers the choice of an electric or internal combustion engine powertrain,” he said.

Wine added that he used to be a naysayer about electric vehicles in this segment, due to power, price and range limitations – the 30 hp Ranger EV sells for $12,000 and can only go 50 miles between charges, for instance – but that the Zero powertrains address all these concerns. However, he doesn’t see Polaris becoming a primarily electric brand anytime soon.

“I think there’s a very good chance that it’s a material and meaningful part of our business, but I doubt it’ll be a majority of our business,” Wine said.

Along with the snowmobiles and off-road vehicles, Polaris-owned Indian is working on an electric street motorcycle. Wine can’t say for sure when it will go on sale, but that it’s still a few years out and not yet part of the agreement with Zero motorcycles, although the relationship could evolve to include it in the coming years.

Indian has introduced an electric motorcycle for kids with a 15 mph top speed through a collaboration with Razor that’s modeled after its flat-track race bike and sells for $749.99