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June 4, 2007 – Tucker Rocky will extend its ATV offerings

Tucker Rocky will unveil four new companies to its ATV lineup at its upcoming off-road presentation.
The Texas-based distributor will host a presentation of its off-road product offerings on June 7-10 in Fort Worth, Texas. Among the event’s highlights will be the announcement of the four companies offering new ATV products to the Tucker Rocky catalog, including:

  • Motoworks, a relatively new company that has made exhaust systems for other companies for years but has decided to sell its own labeled product;
  • Tire Balls, a company started by a father and son team that came up with a tire inflation system that uses an air cell system rather than traditional inner tubes;
  • Vision Wheels, a company that will help Tucker Rocky start a custom wheel program that will allow dealers to pick from at least four tire options;
  • TJD Fabrications, a track system manufacturer that was previously distributed through Kimpex but will now be exclusively distributed through Tucker.
    “I installed a set over the weekend on a quad that’s on loan to us from an OE,” Glen Urquhart, director of Tucker Rocky’s ATV segment, said of the system, which replaces the traditional tire and wheel with an individual set of tracks.
    “It’s really easy to put on,” Urquhart said of the track system, which raises the ATV by about 5 inches. TJD Fabrication’s XGEN system also includes a suspension on it.
    “It’s kind of like an Army tank,” he said. “When you’re watching an Army tank go on uneven terrain, the tracks are moving and following the terrain, but the tank stays in one position. And that’s what this thing does.”
    Urquhart believes the TJD tracks are the only ones on the market that are advertised as four season, meaning they can operate in sand, dirt, mud and snow. The latter is especially important as some consumers could equate the cost of the system — they’re expected to retail for around $4,000 — as less than a new snowmobile.
    Whereas the TJD system could appeal to a wide variety of quad users, the Motoworks products are likely to be aimed more at the sport side.
    Motoworks, a Lake Elsinore, Calif,-based company, offers exhaust systems and an ECU Bypass and Fuel Management Interface, which works to optimize fuel deliver.
    “They’re adding stuff all the time, so we’ll be continuing to grow that line as the year goes on,” Urquhart said of Motoworks’ products.
    The company’s exhaust systems, according to its Web site, are dyno and track-tested , made of aircraft-quality stainless steel and aluminum and carry a one-year limited warranty.
    Tire Balls is another company that has products aimed at the entire ATV crowd. Its inflation system replaces inner tubes with a series of tubes or air cells that’s shape is based on the size and type of tire. Urquhart said it’s not uncommon for a single tire to contain 10-14 of these cells. “If you have a puncture, you’re only going to puncture one of those chambers, so you can keep on truckin’,” he said.
    The father and son team of Wade and Scott Summers designed the product and their Web site says the product improves traction and suspension performance.
    Before signing on with Tucker, Tire Balls had been dealer direct. Urquhart does not know of any other distributors that Tire Ball is working with.
    Another tire option new to Tucker Rocky is Vision Wheels, a tire and wheel manufacturer that operates out of offices in Decatur, Ala., and Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.
    Through Vision Wheels, Tucker Rocky will offer a custom ATV wheel program that will provide a wheel with two finishes — either a matte black finish or a machine finish — and with four different tires that dealers can choose from (Maxxis Big Horn, Cheng Shin Lightfoot, Kenda Executioner and Goodyear MTR).
    “This is the tip of the iceberg,” Urquhart said. “If we identify another pattern here and another pattern there that dealers want, we can easily add them into the system.”
    Besides the addition of the four new companies to the ATV lineup, Tucker Rocky also will announce other new offerings at its upcoming event. One of those will involve Elka Suspension, which in January began distributing its custom quad suspensions through Tucker Rocky. That system will be now extended to sport bike consumers.
    Expect other news in the July 2 edition of Powersports Business from the event, including information on possible new off-road and street motorcycle offerings. psb

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