Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/551693
FOCUS PSB Adventure Bikes 20 • August 17, 2015 • Powersports Business www.PowersportsBusiness.com Oregon company becomes North American importer of new Rally Raid parts BY LIZ KEENER MANAGING EDITOR When accomplished rally racer and former Dakar Rally participant Jenny Morgan asked Giant Loop co-founder Harold Olaf Cecil who would be a good North American importer for Rally Raid's new Honda CB500 suite of prod- ucts, Cecil thought hard about his answer. And then he landed on an obvious solution. "The more I thought about it, the more I thought it made perfect sense for Giant Loop," he recalled about the match between Rally Raid and Giant Loop, a Bend, Ore.-based company that creates soft luggage for adventure bikes. United Kingdom-based Rally Raid Products had developed its first lineup for the CB500 bikes, and the company needed a North Ameri- can distributor, as the product didn't align with the U.S. companies it already partners with, such as KTM Twins. Cecil said this new part- nership worked perfectly for Giant Loop for a number of reasons, one of which is that Rally Raid already makes luggage racks designed to pair with Giant Loop bags. Cecil had also seen the kits Rally Raid already makes for the Triumph Tiger and KTM 690 Enduro, so he was familiar with the quality that Rally Raid brought to the table. And the Rally Raid CB500 products were a solid addi- tion to Giant Loop's new retail store in Bend. Cecil also liked the idea of importing prod- ucts for the CB500, which is an adventure bike that fits perfectly within Giant Loop's "Go Light, Go Fast, Go Far" slogan. "I think there's a niche that's not really being addressed by the market right now by any of the OEM manufacturers. You have the single- cylinder enduro or dual-sport bikes, and then you have the big twin-cylinder adventure tour- ing bikes on the other end of the spectrum, so KTM has the 1190 Adventure, for exam- ple, and the BMW GS line. But there's nobody addressing that middle ground, so it was very appealing to me to offer our core customer, the adventure touring rider what, to me, is the best of both worlds in that respect," Cecil said about the Honda CB500. From what he's learned about the bike, it has a strong motor, long service intervals, a lower seat height and parts that are easy to source and inexpensive nearly anywhere on the planet. "I think it becomes a very logical option for somebody who's looking at doing a long-haul around-the-world trip," Cecil said. With a starting retail price of $6,299 in the U.S., the CB500X can be equipped with $3,000 in Rally Raid parts and be ready for a worldwide ride for under $10,000, he pointed out. IMPORTING RALLY RAID Giant Loop will be importing the full suite of Rally Raid's CB500 aftermarket parts, includ- ing an engine guard, brake reservoir protec- tor, shorty aluminum brake and clutch levers and more. Many of the parts not only fit the CB500X, but the CB500F and CB500R as well. Highlighting the Rally Raid CB500 lineup is the company's suspension kits. The Level 1 kit includes improved suspension components when compared to the stock parts, but it does not change the ride or seat height of the bike. The Level 2 suspension kit offers a suspen- sion package that provides two extra inches of suspension travel and clearance. The Level 3 kit includes the same suspension components as the Level 2 kit, with the two-inch travel and clearance increase, but it also comes with custom-built spoke wheels, which increase the front wheel from 17 inches to 19 inches. By mid-July, the first four of the Level 3 kits had been delivered to Giant Loop, which in turn had shipped them to customers that had pre-ordered them. "All the parts are basically in production now," Cecil said in mid-July. "We're bringing them in from the U.K., and we're getting all our ducks in a row to get them up on our website. The response has been pretty enthusiastic right out of the gate." GRASSROOTS MARKETING Though the Rally Raid Honda CB500 products are just hitting the U.S. now, Rally Raid and Giant Loop have been building up suspense for the product for some time. Just as Giant Loop did with its initial launch in 2008, both companies went to the well-used Giant Loop preps the Honda CB500 for adventure riding Giant Loop will be distributing Rally Raid's full suite of Honda CB500 parts, including three levels of suspen- sion upgrades.