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volume 8 | issue 4
MAY 2017
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INDUSTRY NEWS
Harley-Davidson Q1 2017 earnings “First quarter U.S. retail sales were in line with our projections and we remain confident in our full-year plan despite international retail sales being down in the first quarter,” said Matt Levatich, CEO, Harley-Davidson. “We are very pleased with our continued growth in U.S. market share and the progress our U.S. dealers made in reducing their inventory of 2016 motorcycles in the quarter.” First quarter worldwide Harley-Davidson retail motorcycle sales were down 4.2 percent compared to the same period in 2016. In line with the company’s expectations, Harley-Davidson retail motorcycle sales in the U.S. were down 5.7 percent compared to the year-ago quarter, with the overall U.S. industry down for the same period. Harley-Davidson’s U.S. market share for the quarter was 51.3 percent in the 601cc-plus segment, up compared to the first quarter in 2016. Harley-Davidson’s international retail sales decreased 1.8 percent compared to the same quarter in 2016. “We recently announced our plan to build the next generation of Harley-Davidson riders globally. We are energized by our focused strategy, and we believe our powerful brand and commitment to excellence will position us to drive demand for our products and grow our sport,” concluded Levatich.
Quote of the Month “Sometimes you find yourself in the middle of nowhere and sometimes in the middle of nowhere you find yourself.”
2017 Ducati Scrambler Cafe Racer Ducati had no plans to create a café racer. But then, you asked for it. The Icon flew off dealer floors (it’s Ducati’s best selling model by far), and many of you used it as a base model to create café racers in droves. Forums and Pinterest boards are full of them. Instagram accounts are dedicated to them. The trend has lost some steam, but people sure do love to ride them. The Café Racer is an interesting move for the Scrambler brand, and part of the difficulty with understanding the brand
comes from the Italian to English translation. Ducati say the Café Racer is an extension of the Ducati Scrambler Classic, and that it’s more of a new bike than an accessorized version of the base Icon because of the new wheel size, rubber, and geometry. Ducati also consider the Desert Sled a new model that comes as an extension of the Scrambler Urban Enduro, which Ducati is discontinuing. Which leads me to wonder why it calls the Café Racer an extension of the Scrambler Classic in-
stead of the Scrambler Full Throttle, and if that decision is leaving room for something it’s yet to unveil. When looking to create a café racer, Ducati had to look no further than its own history for the blueprint. The 1980 900SS, with its black-and-gold paint scheme is a bike so beautiful, even our own Peter Egan owns one and says it takes his breath away every time the lights in his garage come on. Ducati scramblers have some racing history as well. Bruno Spaggiari used a continued on PG. 03