Daimler/MV Agusta deal confirmed
THE German sportscar and performance brand Mercedes-AMG, part of the Daimler Group, and motorcycle manufacturer MV Agusta have signed a long-term sales and marketing cooperation agreement.
At the same time, Mercedes-AMG GmbH will acquire a 25% interest in MV Agusta Motor S.p.A. - no details have been disclosed about the price to be paid for the stake in MV Agusta Motor.
At a time when Harley-Davidson itself continues to be the subject of takeover rumors, Daimler's investment in the former Harley subsidiary will benefit from the hundreds of millions of dollars that Milwaukee spent on buying MV Agusta and then funding new production and new model investment before selling it on for a fraction of its spend in 2010.
Harley bought MV Agusta in July 2011 for a reported $109 million in a deal that included $70 million in assumed debt.
Harley announced its intention to sell MV Agusta at the same time that it decided to close its Buell subsidiary, in October 2009, with the recession taking its toll on investor sentiment Harley-Davidson ended up selling MV Agusta back to the Italian owners it had bought it from for a notional €3/$4 deal - and in fact paid the prior owners to take it off their hands by putting $26 million on escrow to provide the Italian company with access to operating capital for 12 months.
Although the creativity of the Motor Company's accounting practices are adept at camouflaging negative financial impact whilst still maximizing write-down benefits, making it difficult to be certain how much the total net cost of MV Agusta ownership has been for Harley, it is widely thought to have had an impact well north of $200 million, with some estimates putting it as high as $350 million.
Mercedes-AMG will appoint one member of MV Agusta’s Board of Directors; regulatory approval for the deal is expected to be granted in late November.
Giovanni Castiglioni, President and CEO of MV Agusta Motor S.p.A., commented: “MV Agusta and Mercedes-AMG are a perfect brand fit: two complementary companies that stand for design, high performance and excellence. Mercedes-AMG will help MV Agusta to further expand globally and to accelerate our growth. The uniqueness of MV Agusta will further enhance Mercedes-AMG’s leadership in the high-performance segment."
Wilko Stark, Vice President Daimler Strategy & Mercedes-Benz Cars Product Strategy and Planning said: “The positioning of Mercedes-AMG as the performance brand in the Mercedes-Benz product portfolio will be further strengthened through the strategic partnership with MV Agusta. Through sales and marketing cooperation and demographic synergies, we will be able to attract new target groups for both companies all over the world."
BMW Motorrad achieves another new all-time high in the third quarter of 2014
BMW Motorrad has again announced strong retail results in September 2014, supplying a total of 9,991 vehicles, which is up 7.8 percent on September 2013. This has taken the company over the 100,000 mark for the nine months to September for the first time.
BMW Motorrad say they "recorded retail growth in almost all sales regions during the first nine months of the year". Germany remains their most important single market, where they are once again the market leader, with 17,068 vehicles sold and a market share of just under 25%. It is followed by the USA, Italy, France and the UK in the ranking list of sales figures.
BMW Motorrad say they intend to remain "on course for growth in the upcoming season with new models. At INTERMOT three new and innovative vehicles were unveiled - the R 1200 R, the R 1200 RS and the S 1000 RR". The two water-cooled Boxer models and the new Supersport bike were said to have been "a success with show visitors", and BMW said that they would unveil two more new models at the EICMA 'Milan Show' in November.
UPDATE - Results for October show BMW Motorrad sales reaching another new all-time high of 109,052 units in the first ten months of the year. This marks an increase of 7.4% compared to the previous year (101,530). In October, 8,835 motorcycles and maxi scooters were delivered to customers - up by +5.5 percent compared to the 8,376 units sold in October 2013.
AIMExpo sees year two attendance growth
MARKETPLACE Events, the company behind the American International Motorcycle Expo, at Orlando, Florida, AIMExpo have announced a total attendance or this year's second annual event of 18,145, with visitors reported to have come from 51 different countries.
Headed up by former Cycle World publisher and MIC Chairman Larry Little and ex-Advanstar Dealer Expo man Mike Webster, AIMExpo is described as "America's first combined Powersports show" and that at "over 800,000 square feet (approx 74,300 square meters) of indoor exhibit and outdoor demo space, AIMExpo is the largest show of its kind".
In fact, it is the only show of its kind in the United States, and as the first Powersports Industry expo to seek to attract trade and consumer visitors, its mission has been to bring the kind of combined all-sector industry thinking that has been de rigueur at the much larger INTERMOT (Cologne, Germany) and EICMA (Milan, Italy) shows in Europe for decades.
Broadly speaking, the mainstream motorcycle industry in the United States has welcomed the AIMExpo initiative as an alternative to the date, venue and attendance formula seen at Advanstar's Indianapolis Dealer Expo for many years.
AIMExpo says that its 18,000+ attendance was broken down into some 11,000 consumers, 3,000 dealers and other industry professionals and nearly 250 media representatives, with the rest being exhibitors and staff.
In total there were 501 exhibitors, mostly representing 'mainstream' vehicle manufacturers and aftermarket parts, accessory and apparel vendors.
So far, AIMExpo has not yet managed to secure a foothold with the custom v-twin exhibitor community. The annual V-Twin Expo at Cincinnati each February remains the dealer show opportunity of choice for them, but Marketplace Events' appointment of industry legend Bob Kay as V-twin Director could boost the Harley-Davidson aftermarket appeal of AIMExpo.
Kay himself is keen to point out that the mission is not to try to compete with, or replicate, the strictly trade-only Easyriders event, but instead to exploit the consumer opportunity that the venue and date offer.
arketplace Events have announced next year's AIMExpo date to be 15th-18th October.
www.aimexpousa.com
EU new motorcycle registrations up by +6.1 percent for first eight months of the year
THE latest new motorcycle and PTW (Powered Two-Wheeler) registration statistics released by ACEM (Association des Constructeurs Europeens de Motocycles), the motorcycle industry trade association for Europe, reveal that a total of 864,104 PTWs were registered during the first eight months of 2014 in the EU.
This represents an increase of 0.86% compared to the 856,727 units registered between January and August 2013.
The Spanish and the UK markets have performed well so far this year, with registrations increasing by 15.9% and 11.2% respectively. Registrations are slightly up for the year-to-date in Germany, with +1.2%, but went down in France and Italy
(-1.6% and -1.5% respectively).
Within the total PTW figures the motorcycle segment did much better, growing by 6.1% compared to the same period in the previous year. A total of 614,651 motorcycles were registered against 579,119 for the first eight months of 2013.
Year-on-year motorcycle registrations increased in key European markets, including Spain (+19.6%), UK (+12.8%), Germany (+6.8%), France (+3.6%) and Italy (+1.5%).
Between January and August 2014, a total of 249,453 mopeds were registered in the EU, which was -10.1 percent compared to the 277,608 that had been registered in the same period of 2013.
Moped registrations fell by -18.6% in Germany, -16.5% in Italy,-9.7% in France, -6% in Spain and -2.3% in the UK.
This ACEM data is based on information for the period from January 1st to August 31st 2014 that was available on 1st October 2014. At that time registration data for some countries (Bulgaria, Cyprus, Malta and Greece) was not yet available.
www.acem.eu
Ducati announces Variable Timing engine - new models unveiled at EICMA
Ducati Testastretta DVT (Desmodromic Variable Timing)
DUCATI has announced what it says is the first ever motorcycle engine with variable timing of both the intake and exhaust camshafts.
Named the Testastretta DVT (Desmodromic Variable Timing), Ducati say that this new Desmodromic engine will "lead the way for a whole new generation of such engines" and that "the innovative new design overcomes an engineering gap in current production motorcycle engines and underlines Ducati's strength in developing ground-breaking engine and motorcycle technologies".
The variable timing system is able to continuously adjust valve timing by acting independently on both the intake and exhaust camshafts. The system is said to optimise engine performance throughout the rev range, in any operating condition, to guarantee the highest power, smooth delivery, reduced fuel consumption and "muscular torque at low rpm".
With full Euro 4 compliance, Ducati say that DVT "sets a new standard in the combination of power, delivery and usability of motorcycle engines". With a bore of 106 mm, 67.9 mm stroke and the 1,198 cm³, the engine is said to be good for maximum power of 160 hp at 9,500 rpm and maximum torque of 136 Nm at 7,500 rpm
With "Desmodromic distribution", Dual Spark (DS) ignition and anti-knock sensor, this new generation of Euro 4 compliant engineering "independently adjusts both the timing of the camshaft controlling the intake valves, and the timing of the camshaft controlling the exhaust valves, optimising high rpm performance for maximum power, while, at medium and low rpm, it ensures smooth operation, fluid power delivery and high torque. "This means that the vehicle's engine will adapt its characteristics according to rpm values, while always ensuring compliance with exhaust emission standards and keeping fuel consumption low".
Ducati go on to say that "when any new engine is designed, one of the most critical parameters to determining its 'character' is the amount of intake and exhaust valve overlap. The overlap angle is defined as the interval of crankshaft rotation (expressed in degrees) during which both the intake and exhaust valves are open at the same time.
"This overlap occurs between the end of the exhaust stroke and the start of the intake stroke, and is normally a single value that does not change. However, the Testastretta DVT is not limited by a fixed valve overlap angle.
"Instead, the Ducati Testastretta DVT’s overlap angles can change, thanks to the introduction of the DVT (Desmodromic Variable Timing) system - a valve timing adjuster fitted to the end of each of the two camshafts per cylinder head.
"The DVT system consists of an external housing, rigidly connected to the cam belt pulley, and an internal mechanism, which is connected to the camshaft, and can independently rotate inside the housing. This rotation of the internal mechanism, either in advance or in delay with regard to the housing, is precisely controlled by varying the oil pressure in special chambers of the mechanism. The oil pressure is adjusted by dedicated valves and the timing of each cam is dynamically controlled by a sensor located in the cam covers".
Ducati say that the engine "uses the unique valve train that made the Bologna-based Italian manufacturer a world famous name. Thanks to this unique system, the intake and exhaust valves are closed mechanically and with the same level of accuracy as they are opened. The term Desmodromic derives from the Greek words “desmos = link” and “dromos = stroke, travel” - in mechanical engineering terms it refers to mechanisms designed to actuate valves both in the opening direction and in the closing direction".
This system is used in all Ducati models, and has been extremely successful in World
Superbike MotoGP motorcycles. Ducati say that "in the development of the DVT, the Desmodromic valve train represents a major advantage over a traditional spring based timing system - the actuation of the valves at low engine speed requires less force, not having to compress the valve springs, which allowed us to limit the size of each cam phaser with obvious benefits in terms of lightweight construction and compactness for a perfect engine integration".
Despite the increase in power Ducati say that the DVT system "has a positive impact on fuel efficiency, with an average 8% reduction in fuel consumption compared to the previous non-variable configuration". Ducati has repositioned the fuel injectors to target their spray directly onto the rear of the hot intake valve, instead of the colder surface of the intake port wall. The resulting enhanced fuel vaporisation is said to improve combustion efficiency and ensure a smoother delivery.
The two spark plugs per cylinder head system provide a twin flame front that ensures complete combustion across a very short period of time. Each spark plug is managed independently, to optimise efficiency throughout the rev range and in all conditions of use. An anti-knock sensor ensures safe engine operation even while using lower octane fuel, or in situations potentially detrimental to combustion efficiency, e.g. at high altitude.
In order to achieve a smoother cycle-to-cycle engine operation, Ducati say they have used a secondary air system, similar to that developed for extremely high-performance engines. This optimises combustion without increasing emissions, by completing the oxidisation of unburnt hydrocarbons to reduce HC and CO levels.
Ducati say that the DVT system does not affect the valve clearance adjustment schedule, and, in fact, only requires major services at the same 30,000 km intervals as their existing designs
www.ducati.com
Stella T-GP Plus R textile jacket and S-MX 3 boot
The Stella T-GP Plus R textile jacket is constructed from a highly durable and abrasion resistant 450/600 Denier poly-fabric main shell featuring zippered air intake to provide ventilation. It has a convenient full circumference waist zipper to allow for a safe and secure attachment to Alpinestars pants.
Strategically positioned zippered air intakes on upper sleeves provide adjustable levels of ventilation along with removable interior thermal full-sleeve jacket lining with pockets. Full mesh lining boosts garment's all-round airflow capabilities and breathability.
Lightweight CE certified Bio Armor elbow and shoulder protectors give the jacket a sleek fit and all protectors are perforated and securely housed in mesh compartments to significantly increase the jacket's air flow performance.
It has a sporty fit with pre-curved sleeve construction for reduced fatigue and accordion microfibre stretch inserts on shoulders for a flex fit. Lower rear profile design offers lumbar coverage and prevents the jacket from riding up over pants.
The S-MX 3 lightweight, CE certified boot has clean and contemporary design lines, advanced anatomic profiling and excellent comfort features, according to the company.
Conceived by Alpinestars' performance footwear department to incorporate an innovative buckle closure system which makes for a lighter, ergonomic boot that securely fastens across the instep via a single pump-ratchet micro closure buckle.
Alpinestars say that their exclusive compound rubber sole promotes improved feel and grip, water dispersion and durability. Breathable textile interior lining features anti-sliding suede reinforcement on the heel area to help keep the foot in position while riding.
ALPINESTARS
Asolo, ITALY
Tel. +39 0423 5286
alpinestars@alpinestars.com
www.alpinestars.com
Touring clothing by Germas
THIS first jacket from Germas is said to be well equipped with various adjustment possibilities and plenty of watertight pockets.
During warmer weather conditions the detachable membrane and the AIR-VENT-SYSTEM ensure cooling, and original DuPont-Cordura and YF protectors guarantee safety. In the back pocket the jacket also has a reflex body belt, which can easily be accessed.
Also this perfectly equipped Ladies touring jacket in combination with matching trousers is suitable for all weather conditions thanks to a climate membrane.
During summer temperatures the AIR-VENT-SYSTEM ensures cooling, supported by the highly porous PU-membrane, and original DuPont Cordura ensures safety. Available in three different designs.
GERMAS
Schwabach, GERMANY
Tel. +49 (0)911 635008
info@germas.de
www.germas.de
