Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/183375
40 • October 7, 2013 • Powersports Business CONTINUED FROM PAGE 38 BMW MOTORCYCLE SALES DOWN 4.6 PERCENT IN AUGUST BMW Motorrad USA reported sales of 1,171 motorcycles in August, a decrease of 4.6 percent from the total of 1,227 motorcycles sold in August 2012. With 160 customer deliveries, the new R 1200 GSW was once again the top selling model, followed by the S 1000 RR (147 units) and the K 1600 GTL (119 units). The middleweight F 700 GS (68 percent growth) and F 800 GS (22 percent growth) helped drive a 90 percent increase in F-Series models with 321 units compared to 169 units in August 2012. BMW's leadership of the maxi scooter segment was further emphasized with 51 C 650 GT retails while another 26 C 600 Sport models were delivered to customers in August. With year-on-year growth of 17.5 percent in a negative market, BMW Motorrad is confident that the arrival of model year 2014 machines will continue to build on a positive The 2014 BMW F800GS Adventure will likely provide a sales boost from dirt riders. P36x40-PSB13-Cycle.indd 40 MOTORCYCLE www.PowersportsBusiness.com DIGEST performance after eight months. BMW retails its motorcycles at 139 U.S. dealerships. KAWASAKI ADDS THREE NEW MANAGERS TO MARKETING TEAM Kawasaki Motors Corp., U.S.A. announced the addition of three new managers to its marketing communications team. Marketing director Chris Brull said the group's structure will allow for greater crossproduct category representation and will continue to assure that all outreach disciplines are well coordinated. Brull said KMC has hired Sian Goad as brand strategy manager, Katrina Fraze as brand communications manager and Kevin Allen as PR and experiential brand manager. All three have assumed their roles at the company's Irvine headquarters. Goad, a longtime powersports enthusiast who has ridden more than 100,000 miles on her motorcycles, was at one time a marketing manager with Ducati. The new brand communications manager, Fraze also is a powersports enthusiast with experience off-road on two- and four-wheel machines and on the water with personal watercraft. A career-long advertising professional, she worked at Mazda's advertising agency and also with a strategic consulting firm during Fisker Automotive's formative period. Her primary role at KMC will be in the conception, development and execution of Kawasaki's brand and product advertising. Most recently with Pirelli Tire, Kevin Allen has broad experience working with media in the U.S. and in Europe, where he was responsible for both event management and public relations duties. His motorcycling experience includes street and off-road riding, and in addition to PR he will also assume responsibility for the company's Consumer and Corporate Events groups, which are being melded into a cohesive unit. U.S., GERMAN SAFETY GROUPS TEAM UP FOR AIMEXPO The Motorcycle Safety Foundation will be welcoming David Strickland, administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, as the keynote speaker for the 2013 MSF/ifz International Motorcycle Safety Conference. Co-sponsored by MSF and the Germanybased Institute for Motorcycle Safety, the two-day event is scheduled for Oct. 16-17 and will be held in conjunction with the inaugural American International Motorcycle Expo in Orlando. "MSF is honored to have David Strickland deliver the keynote speech at the MSF/ifz International Motorcycle Safety Conference," said MSF president Tim Buche. "And we wish to extend our deepest gratitude to the ifz and its director Achim Kuschefski for helping making this conference possible, as well as to the motorcycle safety community for their enthusiastic participation. Everyone at MSF is eagerly anticipating the first international safety conference on U.S. soil since 2006." In addition to Strickland's address, MSF-specific presentations will include initial observations from the groundbreaking MSF 100 Motorcyclists Naturalistic Study, data from the MSF/NHTSA Discovery Project and details on the updated MSF Basic RiderCourse. Additional topics to be addressed include safety technology and initiatives, rider characteristics, crash analysis and personal protective equipment. Panel discussions will accompany the presentations. MSF expects approximately 300 attendees at the conference, mostly consisting of the international traffic safety research community, representatives from traffic safety schools, as well as executives and engineers from the major motorcycle manufacturers, other academics, plus the trade and enthusiast motorcycle industry press. EVS SPORTS NAMES NEW BRAND MANAGER EVS Sports has named Taz Sobotka brand manager. Sobotka is based out of the company's central office in Walworth, Wis. "I am excited and truly grateful to find a new home at EVS," he said. "To link up with a brand so established and recognized in our sport that also shares such a deep passion for the industry is just amazing. We have a great product line that I have always been a fan of and an even greater group of people to work with. I look forward to the future and am stoked to be a part of the EVS Sports team." "We are extremely excited to have Taz join the EVS team," said Kevin Hinyub, owner of EVS Sports. PSB 9/25/13 11:58 AM