PowerSports Business

PowerSports Business - June 15, 2015

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www.PowersportsBusiness.com NEWS Powersports Business • June 15, 2015 • 3 HOTNEWS CONTINUED FROM COVER Motorcycle helmets that meet DOT safety standards help save more than a thousand lives every year, according to NHTSA estimates. Novelty helmets do not meet those standards. A study of motorcyclists injured in crashes and trans- ported to a shock trauma centers showed that 56 percent of those wearing a novelty helmet had serious head injuries, compared to 19 percent of riders who were wearing a DOT-certified helmet. "Wearing a helmet that meets DOT standards can literally mean the difference between life and death," said NHTSA administrator Mark Rosekind. "Our proposal ensures that when motorcyclists put on a helmet it offers that life- saving protection." NHTSA's proposal would add to current regulations a definition of what products are considered motorcycle helmets and intro- duces criteria that can be used to identify helmets that do not com- ply with the federal standard. The proposal establishes pre- liminary screening criteria to help law enforcement agencies quickly identify helmets that are inca- pable of meeting the minimum performance requirements. The preliminary screening involves examining the thickness of the inner liner and the outer shell, and of the liner's ability to resist deformation, which indicates its ability to absorb crash energy. The public comment period is open for 60 days and feedback can be submitted online via www.regulations.gov. POWERSPORTS PRICING ADDED TO NADAGUIDES MOBILE SITE NADAguides.com, the lead- ing website for new and used vehicle pricing and car shop- ping information, in late May announced the launch of motor- cycle, RV and boat pricing, specs and tools into its mobile site. With the addition of this vehicle information to the exist- ing NADAguides mobile site, consumers now have unlimited access to suggested list price, low retail price, average retail price and pricing with options from their smartphones for the following vehicles: Motorcycles, ATVs, UTVs, side cars, snowmobiles (snow- mobiles back to 1985) and trail- ers (1996–2016) Textron Specialized Vehicles Inc. announces that John Collins has been named vice president, Consumer. Collins will lead marketing and sales operations for Textron Specialized Vehicles' consumer business, including the Bad Boy Buggies brand and product lines as well as E-Z-GO's Terrain and Express lines of utility vehicles, the Freedom line of personal golf cars, and the 2Five line of street-legal low-speed vehicles. Collins will lead all customer-facing functions, including strategy devel- opment and execution, worldwide sales, marketing, product development and channel development. Textron Specialized Vehicles, a Textron Inc. company, designs and manufactures vehicles for commercial and consumer applications under the E-Z-GO, Cushman, Bad Boy Buggies, TUG and Douglas Equip- ment brands. Collins joined the company in 2000 as a quality engineer and has since served in numerous leadership roles and functions, including plant manager; director, Strate- gic Sourcing; vice president, Integrated Supply Chain; and most recently vice president, Parts & Service. "John is exactly the type of dynamic, transformative leader that we need to grow our consumer business," said Kevin Holle- ran, president of Textron Specialized Vehicles. "John's breadth of experience in his many roles has left him uniquely suited to lead this fast-growing segment of our company." "John will help us develop stronger relationships with our existing dealers and accelerate the growth of our distribution channels, launch innovative, differentiated new products and build our E-Z-GO and Bad Boy Buggies brands' prominence in a crowded consumer marketplace," Holleran said. Collins holds a bachelor's degree from Clayton State Univer- sity and a Master of Science from Southern Polytechnic State University. He also completed Textron's Senior Executive Lead- ership Training at Duke University. "I look forward to working with our dealers and partners to make E-Z-GO and Bad Boy Buggies vehicles a staple of neigh- borhood paths, riding trails and anywhere else where people need to move around quickly and have fun doing it," Collins said. "Meeting our customers and building new relationships are passions of mine." BAD BOY ANNOUNCES NEW VP OF CONSUMER BUSINESS NEWS 6 ... GHSA forecasts fewer deaths in '14 9 ... Arctic Cat invests in Minnesota FINANCIAL NEWS 10 ... Steve Dodds 11 ... Leatt Corp. earnings rise in Q1 OPINION 14 ... From the Editor 14 ... Online at PowersportsBusiness.com PSB: FOCUS Tire & Wheel 16 ... CDK offers inside look at tire data 20 ... CST spreads brand awareness 20 ... Moose Racing sees continued growth 21 ... Metzeler unveils road racing plans 24 ... Pirelli showered in honors ATV/UTV 29 ... Student represents Polaris at DARPA 30 ... Kubota expands U.S. operations SOLUTIONS 26 ... Sam Dantzler 27 ... Neil Pascale MOTORCYCLE 33 ... Gart Sutton reviews Zero Motorcycles 34 ... Barney's One Image grants wishes SNOWMOBILE 38 ... Highlands Yamaha goes to Big East 38 ... Camoplast facility featured on PBS AFTERMARKET 40 ... Hot Products INSIDE SBS opens U.S. office with industry veteran After seeing significant growth in the North American market throughout 2014 and the start of 2015, SBS is upgrading its presence in the U.S. powersports market. The Scandinavian- based manufacturer is proud to announce the addition of Chris Jensen as SBS brand manager for the U.S. He will be touring the country to support dealers, reps and SBS partners alike growing SBS' common business and raising the overall awareness of its great products and trusted performance brand. Jensen formerly held a position with Eric Buell Racing where he worked to support EBR dealers worldwide. Before joining EBR, Jensen used to run his own performance parts shop and is recognized for his many years in the powersports industry, working for perfor- mance leaders like Pirelli, Öhlins and SBS. Based in the Chicago area, SBS believes that Jensen will bring an even higher value to its American customers and partners, through a closer and stronger market presence. PSB Triumph offers $35 voucher as part of test ride promotion For a limited time, Triumph Motorcycles America is offering con- sumers a $35 voucher for test riding select Triumph cruiser models. The Triumph cruisers included in this promotion are the Thun- derbird Commander, Thunderbird LT, Thunderbird Storm, Rocket Touring, Rocket Roadster, America, America LT and Speedmaster. "Triumph is well known for its market-leading modern classic and adventure motorcycles. Consumers are generally less aware of the great models in our cruiser segment," said Matt Sheahan, COO of Triumph Motorcycles America. "As riding season is upon us in North America, we're inviting people to give our cruisers a ride and take home some Triumph gear. In addition to the cruisers test ride promotion, Triumph is also expanding its EXTRA program to include more complimentary accessories with the purchase of any Tiger 800, Tiger Explorer and Trophy models. Furthermore, buyers of a model-year 2014 and prior Bonneville or Bonneville T100 will have the option of a special 1.99 percent APR financing with $0 down for 36 months or enjoy a complimentary first service. All promotions are effective immediately and will run through June 30. Boats, sailboats, personal watercraft, outboard motors and boat trailers (1960–2015) Travel trailers/5th wheels, motorhomes, camping trailers, truck campers, park models, tow vehicles (1966–2016) NADAguides.com has estab- lished itself as the leader with the breadth of useful information available on specialty vehicles. With the addition of this rich vehicle data to the existing easy- to-navigate mobile site, consum- ers now have quick, direct access to data on any vehicle for which they may be shopping. Troy Snyder, COO at NADA- guides, said, "By adding compre- hensive motorcycle, RV and boat pricing, specs and shopping tools to NADAguides' already robust mobile site, we are equipping consumers with the research and knowledge they need to make informed buying, selling and trading decisions. Whether on a desktop computer, tablet and now smartphone, the trusted and market-reflective vehicle infor- mation consumers rely on every day is now available anywhere, anytime it's needed from any device. It's a natural enhance- ment to the NADAguides.com mobile site as we know mobile devices are the tool consumers rely on most for quick, easy-to- access information." SCOTT FISCHER PROMOTES TWO ON ITS MANAGMENT TEAM Scott Fischer Enterprises, with six Harley-Davidson dealer- ships, has announced two new appointments on its management team. Sean Delaney has been promoted to president of Scott Fischer Enterprises, and Ryan Raleigh has been named general manager of Rocket Harley- Davidson in Huntsville, Ala. Delaney will assume the role of president in position effective July 1. An employee of Scott Fischer Enterprises for 12 years, he previously served as general manager of Naples Harley-Davidson before mov- ing to Albuquerque, N.M. where he most recently worked as the general manager of both Thun- derbird Harley-Davidson and Duke City Harley-Davidson. Delaney was selected for the position based on his proven track record of meeting or exceeding sales and growth goals, his commitment to orga- nizational health and his ability to develop future leaders within the company. "Sean epitomizes the type of leadership we want for Scott Fischer Enterprises," commented Fischer. "Sean will bring an oper- ational intensity that we haven't had for some time and skills developed at the store-level that can now be applied on a broader scale, companywide." Fischer will continue his role as CEO, providing direction on company growth and leading the company's strategic philanthropy efforts, including the Scott Fischer Enterprises Fund. John Greene, a partner in the business, will still serve as chief branding officer and sales director. Scott Fischer Enterprises is a motorsports industry leader and leader within the Harley-David- son Motor Company. Its See Hot News, Page 4 Triumph is offering consumers $35 vouchers for demo rides until June 30. JOHN COLLINS CHRIS JENSEN

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