Feb. 11, 2008 – Motorcycle Digest

Harley Shows Off Two New Bikes At Winter Meeting

Harley-Davidson introduced two new models at its recent Winter Dealer Meeting, including a sport tourer for its Buell line-up and a new Softail model.
The latter, the FLSTSB Softail Cross Bones, has the retro look of a Springer front end and other post-war era bobber styling cues, like a sprung solo seat, half-round rider footboards, Gloss Black round air cleaner cover and chopped front fender. The new model also features a Black and Polished Twin Cam 96B powertrain, six-speed Cruise Drive transmission and what the company calls a unique Softail suspension.
The new Buell offering, the XB12XT, is second model in the Ulysses family of adventure sport bikes.
The XB12XT features a specially-tuned shorter travel suspension and lower standard seat height, standard tall windscreen, Pirelli Strada sport touring tires and standard lockable top box and side luggage cases.
Standard heated hand-grips warm the rider’s hands in colder climates. The grips are rated at 18 watts per side on the high setting and 11 watts per side on the low setting. The XB12XT has two 10 amp/12-volt accessory power outlets (on the dash and under the seat) and an integrated helmet lock for additional convenience.

Triumph Launches Program For 2007 Models To Support Its Dealer Network, Triumph

Motorcycles (America) has unveiled a financing program aimed at stimulating sales early in 2008, the company said in a statement Jan. 15.
Effective through March 31, Triumph is offering 3.9 percent APR for 60 months or $1,000 in retail clothing and accessories or $600 in dealer cash on the most popular Triumph models. Triumph Motorcycles will buy down the rates at no cost to the dealer.
The offer is valid on most new 2007 and prior year selected models, including Bonneville, Bonneville T100, Scrambler, America, Speedmaster, Tiger, Tiger ABS, Speed Triple and Rocket III Classic Tourer.
Triumph will support the campaign with a broad spread of marketing communication strategies, including a range of national print advertisements, regional ads, shop specific ads, radio spots, in-store POP displays, Web initiatives and direct mail pieces.

Johnny Campbell Begins Running Honda Race Team

American Honda Motor Co. announced that its 2008 off-road racing effort will take place through the support of a new independent off-road racing team, Johnny Campbell Racing.
Ten-time and current Baja 1000 Overall Champion, Johnny Campbell, is the president and CEO of Johnny Campbell Racing.
“American Honda is enthusiastically placing its full support behind the formation of this new team,” said Bob Gurga, assistant vice president, motorcycle marketing at American Honda.
American Honda and JCR have entered into a multi-year agreement focused on securing championships in the SCORE and WORCS racing series as well as continuation of the “Pay-for-Pit”?program that provides support for Honda customers in all three Baja SCORE events.
For more information regarding Johnny Campbell Racing, please contact Dan McGranahan at 949/207-6002 or Dan@Icon1Agency.com.

LS Motorsports Adds To Its Italjet Scooter Staff

LS Motorsports, the exclusive U.S. importer of Diamo, Fischer and Italjet brand vehicles, has appointed Steve Guzman as the national sales and marketing manager for Italjet products.
“As we prepare to receive our 2008 model products from Italy, we want to ensure that our dealers will receive the utmost support,” said Mathu Solo, president of LS Motorsports. “Therefore, we sought an experienced leader in the industry to manage the brand’s dealer network.”
Prior to joining LS Motorsports, Guzman developed and managed TheScooterScoop, an online resource for news on current, past and upcoming vehicles in the scooter industry.

Ducati North America Adds Staff to Support Growth

Ducati North America recently announced additions to its staff at its Cupertino, Calif., headquarters.
In the sales department, Tim McNeely has been hired as Southwest area sales manager and will be based out of the Bay area.
In the Southeast, Shawn Sundheim has been hired to oversee all sales activities and will be based in southern Florida. Both McNeely and Sundheim are experienced club racers and Ducatisti.
Veteran Ducati employee Jim McKenna has been promoted to the role of Canadian sales and marketing manager. McKenna will be overseeing all aspects of the Ducati business in Canada, which has proven to be one of Ducati’s fastest-growing markets worldwide during the past few years.
Ducati North America also has hired other new staff members. Brendan Walsh has been appointed to the position of Ducati performance accessories manager, where he will oversee accessory sales. psb