Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/485263
10 • April 6, 2015 • Powersports Business NEWS www.PowersportsBusiness.com will be a great benefit and value to our cli- ents," Henry Lonski said. DEALERSHIP CELEBRATES 15TH ANNIVERSARY WITH OPEN HOUSE Southern California Motorcycles invites rid- ers and enthusiasts of all ages as well as their family and friends to a Spring Open House and 15th anniversary celebration. The event will take place on Saturday, April 11, from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. The location is 515 W Lambert Road in Brea. Attendees will be able to take advantage of free raffles along with free food and drinks while enjoying live music and browsing ven- dor booths, including Helmet House, Ride for Kids, Law Tigers and more. There also will be a Best Bike contest with trophies, a bikini bike wash and great deals throughout the showroom. Demo rides will be offered for all brands. Southern California Motorcycles carries Triumph, Ducati, Suzuki, Victory, Slingshot and Royal Enfield. The dealership was named Triumph North America's No. 1 Dealer for the eighth year in a row earlier this year. KTM EXECUTIVE BOARD CONTRACTS EXTENDED EARLY Coming off its best financial year in the com- pany's history, KTM AG's Supervisory Board announced that the contracts of its Executive Board members have been extended until Feb. 29, 2020. The Executive Board of KTM AG con- sists of Stefan Pierer (chairman of the Executive Board), Harald Plöckinger, Friedrich Roithner, Viktor Sigl and Hubert Trunkenpolz. ANOTHER POWER 50 DEALERSHIP GROUP ADDS TO ITS LINEUP Logan Powersports Group, a 2013 and 2014 Powersports Business Power 50 winner, has added a Harley-Davidson dealership to its lineup of stores. Eddie and Angela Keefer and Mike Ratz of Logan Powersports Group recently pur- chased Mike's Harley-Davidson in Delbarton, W.V. Previous owners Mike and Libby Adkins are retiring after nearly four decades at the dealership. Plans for a future retirement party for Mike and Libby are in the works. Mike's Harley-Davidson was closed March 11-12 and reopened March 13 as Mountain State Harley-Davidson under the Logan Powersports Group. The Logan group also includes Logan Motorcycle Sales in Logan, W.V.; Keefer's Powersports, also in Logan; Route 119 Powersports in Danville, W.V.; and Hatfield McCoy Powersports in North Belfry, Ky. YAMAHA Y-TRACK APP FOR YZF-R1M NOW AVAILABLE FOR ANDROID Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A., has announced that its proprietary Y-TRAC Sys- tem smartphone and tablet applications, for use with the 2015 Yamaha YZF-R1M, are now available for Android devices via the Google Play Store. "The Yamaha-exclusive Y-TRAC applica- tions enable riders to connect with their R1M on a level that has never-before been avail- able outside of a factory race team's pitbox," said David Docktor, motorcycle marketing manager for Yamaha. Using the Y-TRAC smartphone and tablet application, the R1M rider can wirelessly com- municate with his or her bike's Yamaha Ride Control (YRC) system through the Communi- cation Control Unit (CCU). Running data can be recorded by the data logger, with course mapping and automatic lap timing managed by GPS. The recorded data can then be downloaded via onboard Wi-Fi to the Y-TRAC application where the rider can analyze information that is overlaid on the track map. The rider can then make motorcycle setting changes from within the application and upload those changes back to the motorcycle. Riders are able to access a wide range of data, including engine RPM, throttle position, front/rear wheel speed, gear position, lean angle, pitch (front-to-back), front/rear brake pressure, engine coolant temperature, ambient air temperature, fuel usage and acceleration (both forward/backward and side-to-side). The system also monitors and records YRC functions, including Traction Control, Slide Control, Lift Control, Launch Control and Front/Rear Anti-Lock Braking. The Y-TRAC application, along with the YRC Settings and CCU Configuration appli- cations, are available now for downloading to Android devices. The applications will be available for the Apple iOS platform later this summer. YZF-R1 owners will also be able to take advantage of the same Y-TRAC, YRC, and CCU capability (except for the suspension set- tings exclusive to the YZF-R1M) by installing the Yamaha CCU Accessory Kit, which will be available beginning in June. DUCATI GETS ISO 14001 CERTIFICATION AT BOLOGNA FACTORY Claudio Domenicali, CEO of Ducati Motor Holding, was presented with the ISO 14001 Environmental Management System certifi- cate during a ceremony held at the factory in Bologna last month. The certification approves the environmental impact of processes used at the Bologna factory, from the design and plan- ning stage to production and testing, and from on-road and racetrack testing to the finished motorcycle units. PSB HOT NEWS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3 Mike Ratz, shown accepting his 2014 Power 50 award from PSB managing editor Liz Keener, added to his stable of dealerships with the purchase of the newly- named Mountain State Harley-Davidson. Claudio Domenicali (right), CEO of Ducati Motor Hold- ing, receives the ISO 14001 certificate on behalf of the company's Bologna, Italy, plant. New gear bag company gets off to a strong start with Parts/Drag BY LIZ KEENER MANAGING EDITOR With less than a year of sales under its belt, American Kargo is certainly one of the new- est brands on the powersports scene. But the employees of the Pittsburgh-based gear bag company aren't strangers to the industry. "We have our street bike guys; we have our off-road guys; we have our flat track guys; we even have guys who ride mountain bikes," American Kargo product specialist Dylan Jones told Powersports Business at the Parts Unlimited/Drag Specialties Regional Showcase in Atlanta. American Kargo officially launched last fall, with Parts Unlimited and Drag Specialties as its sole distributor, but the company's gear bags had been in research and development for about two years prior. Though there are other gear bag companies on the market, what makes American Kargo unique is its goal to only make powersports- specific bags — those any rider would want to take along on the street, to a track day, or out in the dirt. "You've got to keep yourself organized, and you've got to get from point A to point B, and you've got to get your things there with you," Jones said. The full line includes performance back- packs, hydration bags, goggle bags, helmet bags and roller gear bags. Most are available in mul- tiple colors, and most integrate with each other. Many also have adjustable padded dividers and Velcro on the outside for placement of number patches, sold separately. "Being a rider, you want something that you can count on, you can trust," Jones said. "There's a ton of people out there that make bags. We're not a company that's just going to throw zippers on it with our logo. When you look at the quality of the product and the way that it's designed, nothing compares to it." Each bag comes with a lifetime warranty, so American Kargo has gone to great lengths to assure each bag can withstand the rigors of the powersports world. "We don't skimp on materials, and we're not taking any shortcuts when we produce this stuff. Everything that we sell has the minimum standard of a 600-denier fabric, which is low- end ballistic vest material. Everything's double- stitched, double-seamed, PVC-backed with a micro-weave construction," Jones reported. American Kargo has put each piece through rigorous testing, finding weak points and rein- forcing them, so the company can feel confi- dent in its warranty. "The larger roller bag was one of the big- gest pieces that was going to get beat up a lot, at airports, different things like that — that's why it was one of the last pieces that we launched because it took the longest to test it. We put cinder blocks in this thing and drug it behind us. We threw it off of balconies," Jones explained. "We just had to make sure to go over and above what the normal person would do to find your weak points and really define that area and just make sure that everything's just going to work the way you need it to. And if it doesn't, we're going to be here to make sure we take care of you." American Kargo employees also put the bags into use themselves. Jones says he's used the backpacks, loaded with 25-30 pounds of cargo, and barely felt the weight, even at high- way speeds. He's also used the smaller hydra- tion bags while mountain biking. "We went in and out of just trying to do everything we could to make the best product possible, and we constantly want to evolve and continue to come out with the next greatest thing," he said. Since the bags launched at the Parts Unlim- ited/Drag Specialties National Vendor Show- case in August, the dealers who have picked the line up have been impressed with the quality, the stylistic features and the company's cus- tomer service, Jones reported. "It's really bringing a new crowd in, and it's moving, and that just speaks volumes to deal- ers; that's what they like to see — sell-through," he said. With this spring representing the first on- road riding season for the company, American Kargo is making a big push with advertising and sponsored riders. Rob Carpenter from One Wheel Revolution, Supermoto racer Johnny Lewis and the Canadian Monster Supercross team are among American Kargo partners. With each of them on board, and more deal- ers learning about American Kargo at Parts Unlimited/Drag Specialties' recent Atlanta and Arlington Showcases, this year is expected to be big for the company. "2015 is going to be our year," Jones said. "We're coming out strong, making sure we're at every event possible, supporting the deal- ers, supporting the consumers, supporting the sport." PSB American Kargo looking to pack success in '15 Dylan Jones was on hand at the Parts Unlimited/Drag Specialties Regional Showcase in Atlanta, showing dealers American Kargo's new gear bags.