SBS Friction

SBS off-road brake pins

Danish disc brake pad manufacturer SBS Friction has introduced a range of brake pins for the most popular makes and models of off-road motorcycles.
Made from high quality stainless steel and featuring 8 mm hex heads to enable quick and easy brake pad changes, they do not require any maintenance and contribute to extended lifetime of brake discs and pads.

“Brake pins are a logical add-on to our brake pad range”, says SBS Friction’s CSO Christel Munk Pedersen. “By introducing the pin range, we enable additional sales opportunities in the SBS brand for dealers and repair shops. We know what the quality reputation of the SBS brand means to dealers and riders, so therefore we have been very careful in selecting the right product in the best materials for the pins”.

The range comprises five complete sets of front and rear together; they are also available as model- specific single pack front or rear and will be sold in well-known SBS skin-packs.
The SBS pin range covers the most common MX and Enduro bikes on the market from the early 1990s until today.
SBS is one of the leading motorcycle brake pad brands in the global aftermarket and develop and manufacture their products at their own factory in Denmark.

SBS FRICTION
www.sbs-friction.dk

Matris

Fine-tuning the ride with Matris suspension upgrades

Founded in 1980, Italian suspension specialist Matris is known for its advanced manufacturing techniques and use of advanced, high strength, lightweight materials.

 Fully adjustable rear shocks and hydraulic front fork kits for
Honda’s CRF 1000 ‘Africa Twin’

Seen here are new model-specific applications, starting with a rear shock and fork kit for Honda’s CRF 1000L AfricaTwin. Their multi-adjustable M46K-X rear shock features tuneable compression, rebound, stroke and spring preload using a flex-knob system; their F12R fork kit is complete with a fully adjustable hydraulic cartridge that also allows tuning the compression, rebound and spring preload, meaning that the two upgrades together give the CRF 1000 rider the maximum possible range and combination of suspension management options.

 Triumph options include fully adjustable rear shocks and hydraulic front fork kits for the Bonneville T120, Thruxton 1200 and Street Twin 900

Also seen here are options for several of Triumph’s best sellers - the Bonneville T120, the Thruxton 1200 and the Street Twin 900. 

Alberto Turcato (seen here at EICMA) told IDN that "Matris is embarked on a dynamic programme of new product and application introductions"

Matris offers fully adjustable, model-matched rear shock absorber sets - Twin Series M40D and M40KC, available chromed or black; FKE and FSE fork kit series (spring set and preload adjustment), and their newest, fully adjustable F15K series (compression, rebound, spring preload multi-adjustable hydraulic cartridge) to convert the conventional non-adjustable Bonneville fork into a fully-adjustable set-up with dedicated settings and spring rates, based on the weight of the driver/load.

MATRIS S.r.l.
www.matrisdampers.com

Surflex

SURFLEX clutch disc kit for Panigale 1299

Italian clutch specialist Surflex is now offering an 11-disc OEM replacement clutch kit for the Ducati Panigale 1299. 

A leader in clutch friction plates for all kinds of road bikes and off road bikes, Surflex say that their materials and manufacturing quality “make this product ideally suitable for the 1299, improving clutch performance and durability”.

SURFLEX
www.surflex.it

Parts Europe

EC-approved vintage style open face

With Roadster, Scrambler and open helmets the current hot sellers, Parts Europe is offering an EC-approved open face helmet: the FX-76 Vintage by AFX. 

Made of fibreglass, the lightweight, durable shell has a protective clear coat, the chin strap is fitted with a rectangular DD-ring and hypoallergenic and antimicrobial nylon liner and cheek pads. It meets ECE 22.05 and DOT FMVSS-218 safety standards.

Despite its slim silhouette, the FX-76 is comfortable, with space for ear speakers. New snap on visors are available in a wide range of safe, practical retro style shapes and colours.

PARTS EUROPE
www.partseurope.eu

Nolan

Nolan augmented reality Sony collaboration

Italian helmet manufacturer Nolan will celebrate its 45th anniversary next year. Since 1972 the company says it has sold over 30 million helmets, collected 53 world titles and equipped over 1,000 riders in the most important competitions in the world.
These days the company remains one of the few European helmet manufacturers to still undertake most of its manufacturing operations here in Europe (in Italy, where it employs some 350 people at its 35,000 sq m Bergamo facility) and sells its internationally approved Nolan, X-Lite and Grex brands to more than 80 countries worldwide.
In addition to new helmet introductions, EICMA saw Nolan announce a collaboration with Japanese consumer electronics giant Sony to develop its N-Com ARX project – a prototype helmet with augmented reality technology.
Visitors were able to try a simulated augmented reality experience on the Nolan booth at EICMA by getting on a bike and wearing the prototype helmet fitted with the N-Com ARX system.

The company describes the N-Com ARX as a “technologically innovative project that incorporates Sony’s unique holographic waveguide technology provided in the form of an optical module that takes the light created in the optical engine, and projects a virtual image through the holographic optical elements to the eyes of the wearer.
“The interaction between the N-Com communication system integrated into the helmet with Sony’s optical module and the tailor-made Smartphone App allows the projection, via a heads-up display, of a hologram in the rider’s field of vision, thus supplying support information for safety and riding comfort”. 
Answering the concerns that have been expressed by some automotive consumer groups in Europe that the increasing use of technology could distract drivers, Nolan say that “the viewing of a range of useful and essential information on a see-through display, combined with audio indications, allows the rider to concentrate on driving.
“Through an open-source platform, N-Com ARX offers possibilities for the development of applications for the projection of various types of information on a heads-up display. This special prototype helmet is part of a development project for the N-Com brand for the near future. We cannot market this innovation immediately, but it highlights the innovation that distinguishes the N-Com brand”, stated Claudio Corollo, Nolan’s N-Com Division Manager. 

Corollo added: “Our prime objective remains the safety of our clients, but this kind of technology also represents the near future for motorcyclists, and we definitely do not want to find ourselves, our distributors, dealers and riders unprepared”.
Hiroshi Mukawa, who leads the development of hologram waveguide technology as General Manager of the SIG business department at Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corporation, said “it has been a pleasure to work with Nolan on building this Technology Demonstrator. At Sony we always aim to exceed market expectations, and we believe our hologram waveguide technology will bring about brand new experiences for motorcyclists”.
NOLAN GROUP
www.nolan.com

Kappa

Cafe Racer range

Kappa have introduced a new range of luggage for Cafe Racer style bikes "that takes inspiration from the glorious past of British bike manufacturers".

The three bags are in tone-on-tone black, made in UV-resistant polyester and Eco leather with an orange lining, sealed seams and metal detailing. 

The range includes a 10-l streamlined tank bag (CR600) with internal polypropylene reinforcements that is fixed with four magnets; features include a convenient transparent tablet holder that can be quickly fixed or removed from the bag with strap belts, a shoulder strap, front handle and reflective elements.

The side bags (CR601) are a pair of 23 litre backpacks with internal polypropylene reinforcements, a universal attach/release system that works with the TMT frame to fix to the bike's frame and is compatible with different bike models. 

The roll bag (CR602) is a classic 20 litre internally reinforced big carry bag for the back saddle or rack. Like the other bags in the range, it does not necessarily look like a motorcycle-specific accessory and Navy style roll-up closing allows compression of soft loads.

KAPPA S.r.l.
www.kappamoto.com

German motorcycle registrations

German motorcycle registrations +15% for 2016

The latest data released by the motorcycle trade association in Germany (IVM) shows new motorcycle registrations for 2016 up by +15.01 percent at 117,587 units – the best annual market performance in Germany since before 2008. 

As elsewhere, the December data is affected by OEs and their dealers pre-registering existing Euro 3 compliant inventory in advance of the new Euro 4 regulations becoming mandatory for all newly registered motorcycles in January 1st 2017 – something that has been seen in the data throughout Europe in the final weeks of 2016.
In total Powered Two-Wheeler terms (PTW) the German market was +14.81 percent for 2016 at 172,846 units – also the best German market performance since before 2008.
The top-selling motorcycle in Germany in 2016 was BMW’s all conquering R 1200 GS, with 6,932 units sold. Yamaha’s MT-07 was second (3,398 units), followed by the Kawasaki ER-6n (2,629 units), BMW’s R nineT (2,563 units), and Honda’s CRF 1000 ‘Africa Twin’ was the fifth most popular new motorcycle in Germany in 2016 (2,295).

BMW’s R 1200 GS was the top-selling motorcycle in Germany in 2016, with 6,932 units sold, helping power the Munich based company to leadership of their home motorcycle market

Yamaha’s MT-07 was the second best-selling bike in Germany in 2016 (3,398 units sold) as Yamaha took overall total PTW sales market leadership (14.06 percent share, 24,303 units sold)

With seven models in the list of the top-20 best sellers, it is no surprise that BMW is motorcycle market leader with 23,399 units sold there in 2016 for a 19.90 percent market share – although that is a tad down (in a growing market in Germany) from the 23.17 percent market share that sales of 23,690 units scored for them in 2015.
Yamaha is second with a 12.09 percent market share (14,217 units sold), but the really interesting news, especially where confirmation of the widespread and ongoing trend towards premium price larger displacement machines is concerned, is that Harley-Davidson have taken 3rd spot in the German motorcycle market with their sales of 13,096 units, earning an 11.14 percent market share – ahead of (in order) Honda, KTM, Kawasaki, Suzuki, Ducati and Triumph.
Harley’s success no doubt goes a long way to explaining why the ‘Chopper’ sector was Germany’s fastest growing motorcycle market sector by style of machine, being +29.36 percent over its 2015 importance to the market there with 16,175 units sold, in total accounting for 13.76 percent of the German market in 2016.

Harley-Davidson took third spot in Germany in motorcycle market share terms in 2016, with 13,096 units sold, scooping them an 11.14 percent share; their top seller was their
Softail Slim (1,643 units sold)

The largest market sector in Germany by machine style in 2016 were sportsbikes, 28.67 percent of the market (33,717 units), followed by Enduro bikes, 24.45 percent of the market (28,750 units), and so-called “Classical” bikes (traditional/naked) accounting for 21.40 percent of the German motorcycle market in 2016 (25,163 units).
In total market share terms (sales including all PTWs such as scooters and mopeds as well as motorcycles) Yamaha was “Top Dog” in Germany in 2016 taking a massively improved 14.06 percent market share (24,303 units sold), with BMW second (13.88 percent overall market share, 23,987 units sold) and Honda 3rd (11.64 percent, 20,113 units sold), followed by (in order) KTM, Harley-Davidson, Piaggio, Kawasaki, Suzuki, Ducati and Triumph.