AMD World Championship of Custom Bike Building

AMD 2020 World Championship Affiliate Program - Nine Shows in Eight Countries Worldwide

With ten months to go for entries to the 2020 AMD World Championship of Custom Bike Building at INTERMOT Customized in Germany (Cologne, October 6-11), news of four new additions to the World Championship's worldwide program of Official Affiliate events.
In what will be a busy year of existing events and newly joined custom bike shows, 2020 will see no less than nine affiliate custom bike shows, in eight countries worldwide, with two of them in the United States, all sending their winners, and sometimes multiple qualifying builders, to compete at 'AMD XIV'.

The 14th AMD World Championship will be staged at INTERMOT Customized,
Cologne, Germany, October 6-11, 2020

First up in 2020 (March 5-8) will be a return to the Czech Republic for AMD's Affiliate Program with a new show, The Czech Custom Grand Prix (in conjunction with MOTOSALON - the annual Czech motorcycle industry backed Expo) at Brno - the spiritual home of motorcycling in the Czech Republic (the annual Czech MotoGP is held at the Automotodrom Brno later in the year). Brno is in the south east of the country and is very close to, and easily accessible from, Poland, Slovakia, Austria and Hungary, making it an ideal central European Affiliate venue.
The same weekend, around 1,500 miles south, the World Championship Affiliate Program makes a return to Madrid for another new addition for 2020 - Motorama Madrid (March 6-8) at the 1960s all-glass designer loveliness of the Pabellon de Cristal with its spectacular views over the famous Madrid Royal Palace and cathedral.
April sees an Affiliate Program regular, the Moscow Custom and Tuning Show (April 3-4), where Russia's Dima Golubchikov (Zillers Garage) will no doubt be feted as a hero as Russia's, indeed eastern Europe's, first ever AMD World Champion following his 2018 win. Dima won through to the World Championship in 2018 from the Custom and Tuning Show.
Then it is on to Italy for an Affiliate Program stalwart - Biker Fest, north of Venice on Italy's Adriatic coast. A long-term AMD partner, 'Biker Fest' regularly provides the World Championship with multiple competitors - Italian customizers regularly score highly at the 'AMD', and it can't be long before the show hosts an Italian builder who goes on to be the World Champion, such are the high standards of the custom market in Italy.
The following weekend sees a first ever Affiliate show in Brazil - 'Bike & Art' Moto Brasil - in association with the Salao Moto Brasil, at the Parc Olimpico, Rio de Janeiro, on May 28-31. The program had an event in Mexico one year, and there have been two entries from an Argentine customizer before, but this is a South America first for the 'AMD' and a show we are very happy to welcome to the world stage.

Larry Moore scored 4th place with the much admired 'Kontrolled Kaos' at the 'AMD' in 2016

The same weekend sees a welcome return for the program to France for the Gérardmer Motordays at Gérardmer, near Nancy in North Eastern France on 29-31 May, located in the stunning Parc Naturel Régional des Ballons des Vosges with its exceptional riding.
France is another European market with superb standards of custom creativity and craftsmanship and one that is certain to provide an AMD World Champion before too long. Located very close to the German and Swiss borders, Gérardmer Motordays is ideally situated to also attract top builders from southern Germany and Switzerland.
The following weekend sees the 46th annual Custom Bike Show, Sweden, on June 6. Staged by Twin Club MC, in collaboration with the hugely supportive and motorcycle-friendly Norrtälje city authorities, this is the longest established AMD Affiliate show and is believed to be (by a few months) the oldest custom bike show in the world.
Twin Club celebrated its 50th anniversary last year, and located on the Swedish coast around an hour north east of the capital Stockholm, the event regularly attracts some 200 bikes entered in six classes, with competitors coming from all over Scandinavia and northern Europe for what is one of the world's primary showcases of custom motorcycle design and engineering - competitors from Custom Bike Show always do well at the AMD World Championship, and Sweden is one of only seven countries to have produced an AMD World Champion in the program's 13 year history.
The focus then shifts to the United States for the first of our two Affiliates there for 2020. First up is a second year for the always popular Republic of Texas Motorcycle Rally, at Austin, Texas, on June 11-14, followed by a third straight year for the fast growing Cherokee Blue Ridge Run in North Carolina, September 11-13.
Both U.S. shows already have winners slated to enjoy an expenses paid trip to compete in Germany in October 2020 from their 2019 and prior competitions - including a World Championship return for Larry Moore of Moore Customs (Witchita, KS) fame, who won in 2019, having scored 4th place with the much admired 'Kontrolled Kaos' at the 'AMD' in 2016, and Brian Buttera, Buttera's Metal Werx (Lakeland, FL), who won at the 2019 Blue Ridge Run.
They will be joined at the 'AMD' in 2020 by Tim Dixon, of Gas Axe Choppers, TN, who was a World Championship competitor in 2018 and will be another returnee in 2020, having won the 2018 Blue Ridge Run, and Paul Shadley of Shadley Brothers (Whitman, MA), who took second at the 2019 Blue Ridge Run to qualify as an Affiliate Program 'Wild Card' entrant at the World Championship and round out the 2020 'Team USA' to four competitors.
AMD World Championship Affiliate Program winners receive the necessary expenses paid by the show for them to compete at the 'AMD', and our thanks go to all those organizers for their investment in helping to build the future of our industry!

Harley's 'Battle of the Kings'

Laidlaw's H-D Scoops 'Battle of the Kings'

After the original field of over 300 entries from some 26 countries had been whittled down to a final five builds, EICMA saw one of California's oldest Harley dealers - Laidlaw's of Baldwin Park near Los Angeles - scoop the win in Harley's 2019 worldwide 'Battle of the Kings' custom competition for authorized Harley dealers. 

Winner - USA, Laidlaw's H-D Los Angeles: 'Coast Glide'

 
The winning entry, the stunning "FXGTS Coast Glide" is based on a Harley Sport Glide model that has been extensively customized to create a throwback to FXRT styling with a Southern California twist - paying tribute to the Pacific Coast Highway and the Southern California influence on modern performance cruisers. 

Finalist - Germany, Thunderbike H-D: 'Roar'

"As a concept, it covers a lot of ground. As a design, it's far more than the sum of its parts - the team wanted full functionality but with a strong California flair."
'Battle of the Kings' is the world's largest dealer custom build-off competition - in 2018, the Custom King crown was taken by debut-entrants Harley-Davidson Bangkok with Street Bob-based build "The Prince".

Finalist - United Kingdom, Warr's H-D: 'The Crook'

For 2019, any model in the Harley range could be selected as a base for the build (excluding Trike and CVO models), meaning dealers had more choice than ever before in order to create a title challenger.
Dealers had to choose from three style categories - Dirt, Chop and Race - for their build. The rules were simple - 50% of the parts used had to be genuine Harley-Davidson accessories and the customization budget was a maximum of 50% of the donor bike retail price.
 

Finalist - Mexico, H-D Queretaro: 'Joe Tracker'

Grand final runners-up were Warr's Harley-Davidson, The Crook (United Kingdom), Thunderbike Harley-Davidson, Roar (Germany), Calgary Harley-Davidson, Moonshine (Canada) and Harley-Davidson Queretaro, Joe Tracker (Mexico) - whose machines were all on display at EICMA for the tense final voting.
"Once again the global Harley-Davidson dealership community has excelled at demonstrating their custom leadership," said Steve Lambert, International Marketing Director, Harley-Davidson. "Huge congratulations to all of our over 300 entries, the regional winners and finalists - and especially to our 2019 champions Laidlaw's Harley-Davidson. A truly stunning build - and a worthy champion." 

Finalist - Canada, Calgary H-D: 'Moonshine’

The competition kicked off with a public vote to shortlist each country's favourite bike, then each country voted for its National Winner, with a shortlist of five bikes selected by public vote to compete in the Grand Finale at the EICMA Show.
Entries are open for the Modified American V-twin class at the 2020 AMD World Championship of Custom bike Building at INTERMOT, Germany, October 6-11 2020. www.AMDChampionship.com

News Briefs

Delaware, USA based Global Market Insights, Inc., has stated that the "worldwide battery electric vehicles market was valued at US $150 billion in 2018 and will surpass US $425 billion by 2025 - an annual growth rate of 16% from 2019 to 2025."

 

In further signs of the global corporate re-alignment taking place as the automotive industry eyes an electric future, fierce rivals BMW Group and Daimler AG (Mercedes-Benz) have embarked on a long-term development cooperation for automated driving. The initial goal is to "develop technologies for driver assistance systems, highly automated driving on highways, and automated parking (all up to SAE Level 4)" with market launch in series production vehicles scheduled for 2024.

Swedish apparel specialist Jofama has sold its Halvarssons and Lindstrands brands. They have been designing "versatile riding apparel for motorbike riding: jackets, trousers, underwear, footwear, bags and gloves" for 70 years.

 

Zero Motorcycles, the world's leading manufacturer of full-sized all-electric motorcycles, has beaten off stiff competition to win the title of 'Motorcycle News (MCN) Electric Bike of the Year' in the UK. Judges called the SR/F "the genesis of a new generation of electric bikes", adding "it is a real-life road bike that works, not some long-promised unicorn." The SR/F features the new Zero Z-Force motor that delivers 190 Nm of torque and a top speed of 124 mph from a 14.4 kWh battery.

Harley-Davidson is the latest Powered Two-Wheeler (PTW) manufacturer to join BMW, Ducati, Kawasaki, Kymco, Suzuki, Triumph and Yamaha as a participant in the MCIA SECURED anti-theft initiative in the UK. The scheme gives motorcycle buyers important information about standard fit security items by allowing them to make accurate comparisons between models of interest. Every Harley model has been given a four-star rating.

 

Marietta, GA. based Yamaha Motor Corp., USA, is pledging up to $500,000 in Yamaha Outdoor Access Initiative (OAI) grant funds for 2019 to support ventures protecting outdoor recreation. Yamaha is actively seeking organizations who can utilize the available funds and encourages interested parties to learn more about the program at YamahaOAI.com. As part of this effort, Yamaha has already awarded more than $130,000 in funding and equipment to 13 organizations in the current funding cycle.

 

British "luxury" helmet manufacturer Hedon is to supply BMW with classic and custom-inspired helmets. The London-based company is known for its eclectic mix of retro-styled open and full-face lids. Despite that retro aesthetic, Hedon says its helmets are made with modern materials and features, including fibreglass/carbon fibre shells, anti-bacterial fabrics and multi-channel ventilation systems.

Sources: AMD, IDN, FT, Reuters, PSB, MPN, B&B, BDN, MCN, AP, Bloomberg, MSNW, Electrek

NAMZ Custom Products

NAMZ 20th Anniversary Catalog

Celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, Oreland, Pennsylvania based NAMZ Custom Products' new catalog for 2020 is a veritable cornucopia of all things electrical - all the 'must haves' and all the 'you didn't know you needed'!

"I founded NAMZ in September 1999 with the idea of providing quality motorcycle products at an affordable price," says owner, CEO, motorcycle electrics guru and author Jeff Zielinski.
"I wanted to show people that electrical work really isn't that scary. Now in our 20th year, and as our company continues to grow in size, we feel we're doing just that, while learning something new every day!
"It's been a few years since we released a catalog, so our marketing team has been working long hours to bring you a new, updated version. The 2020 version is filled with many new products that we're sure you'll be thankful for! NAMZ has always tried to keep its customers' best interests at heart when creating new products - designs that cater to your customers' wants and needs.
"So from everyone here at NAMZ, thank you for your support over the past 20 years, and here's to 20 more."
www.namzccp.com

American Flat Track

AFT 2020 Schedule

American Flat Track has announced its 18-event schedule for the 2020 season, which once again launches anew at legendary Daytona International Speedway on March 14 with a Saturday of Speed: an epic season opener with the DAYTONA 200 and DAYTONA TT doubleheader. 

Photo: American Flat Track/Scott Hunter

The series sees a return of two fan favorites - the OKC Mile and Charlotte Half-Mile, at the Charlotte Motor Speedway in Charlotte, N.C. The fastest Mile in the world - the Springfield Mile - will run back-to-back as a doubleheader, making for a Labor Day weekend event unlike any other. It all wraps up next fall with the Meadowlands Mile finale at the most spectacular venue of the season: Meadowlands Racing & Entertainment in East Rutherford, N.J.
www.americanflattrack.com

J&P Cycles sponsored Ultimate Builder Custom Bike Show

Long Beach IMS - J&P Cycles Ultimate Builder Winners

The Progressive International Motorcycle Shows (IMS) is marking the 10th anniversary of its J&P Cycles sponsored Ultimate Builder Custom Bike Show (UBCBS) series at the 2019/2020 show series, with Long Beach, California, the first up (November 22-24), with the winners of the first seven rounds going forward to compete at the eighth and final round of the series at Chicago, February 7-9, 2020.
"UBCBS is the largest and one of the most sought-after touring custom bike competitions in the nation. The elite-level custom motorcycle builder competition features more than 300 motorcycles across the eight-city IMS tour, awarding more than $70,000 in cash and prizes. This year's categories include Custom Classic, Custom Street, Freestyle and People's Choice.
"Judged by a panel of industry experts, winners in each city along the IMS tour will be invited to compete in the championship round in Chicago for a chance to be crowned 'King of the Builders.'
"Custom building is one of the most creative outlets our industry has to offer, and the Progressive International Motorcycle Shows offer the ideal platform for builders to showcase their work on a national stage," said Bob Kay, Director of UBCBS. "Not only are the motorcycles strikingly ornate, but it's an incredible opportunity for the motorcycle enthusiast community to learn about and appreciate the unique story behind the creation of each build."

Winners of the UBCBS at IMS Long Beach 2019

Custom Classic

Winner: John Jessup with Team Dream Rides and painter Steven Turnbaugh won first place with a 1984 Harley-Davidson FXDG featuring a frame-up build with a fuel injected twin-cam engine.

Runner-up: Ava Wolff with Tobacco Motorwear Company and painter Mike Learn were selected as the runner-up with a 1984 Yamaha KT600 featuring a custom-fabricated seat pan and subframe, extended exhausted, a 1979 XS750 gas tank and a rebuilt motor.

Custom Street

Winner: Dana Buch with Screamer Motor Works and painter Drifter Garage won with a 2006 Yamaha custom Flat Track motorcycle valued at $65,000.
 

Runner-up: Mike T. with Dirtbags California was selected as the runner-up with a Harley-Davidson Rocker.

Freestyle

Winner: Anthony Robinson with Gasoline & Coffee won the Freestyle category with a 1973 Harley-Davidson Ironhead XL.
 

Runner-up: Niki Smart with A Bike Company was selected as the runner-up with a 2019 ABC 500, hosting custom work from front to back, featuring chromoly forks, frame and swingarm. The motorcycle also features carbon fiber spoked 26-inch handbuilt wheels, carbon dual tanks, fenders and seat, and is valued at $100,000.

People's Choice
 

As voted by IMS attendees, builder Krystal Hess and painter Real Deal took home the 
People's Choice award. The 1972 Honda CL350 is the result of the Motorcycle Mission's first all-female U.S. Veteran builder crew.

Lectron Fuel Systems

Lectron Fuel Systems - "Strong, Consistent Power"

Earlier this year Tucker Powersports announced the addition of Lectron fuel systems to its list of offered brands. Best known for making strong, consistent power in sports like two-stroke motocross, enduro and drag racing, Lectron is no stranger to the 4-stroke market, and H-D kits in particular.
The American company began in 1974 by developing what were then two carburetor firsts: the flat slide and the flat metering rod. "Today, Lectron continues to build upon these innovations and supplies both professional racers and weekend riders with technology that improves torque, horsepower and fuel economy while adjusting for atmospheric conditions." Under new ownership since 2010, the product line has been expanded and production processes refined.
Lectron carburetors are known for their simplicity, with no jets, and what is said to be the least parts of any carburettor. They compensate automatically for a wide range of elevation and temperature changes and have the only metering rod fuel system with two circuits.
Lectron says its technology achieves better fuel atomization as the fuel coming off the metering rod is in much finer particles than fuel coming out of a jet.
"This creates a much more efficient and even burn, which helps make more power, uses less fuel, decreases emissions and helps prevent fouling spark plugs." The smooth, tapered bore design creates the "fastest airspeeds of any carburetor, which means improved throttle response. Unlike a choked down keyhole design, Lectron products are designed to flow the most air at the highest velocity and are the only carburetors with the fuel pick-up tube always under vacuum (on the engine side of the slide) - it's always full of fuel, and adjusting float height for throttle response is a thing of the past."

Carburetors

Lectron fuel system Harley carburetors are said to provide superior throttle response and power delivery by utilizing Lectron's patented metering rod. Known for making huge power and being easy to tune, Lectron has won more championships in drag racing than any other carb manufacturer.
Recently, Lectron made its product more refined and user-friendly with the new Gen II 4-stroke kits. These are equipped with a dedicated, externally adjustable, idle circuit to help get that low Harley idle, as well as custom metering rods for extremely smooth power on the street. The metering rod and externally adjustable power jet still takes the place of jets, needles, accelerator pumps and other headaches.
These kits now come as bolt-on units that are a direct replacement for your existing carburetors. Each Lectron carburetor for H-D applications comes pre-tuned from the factory, and once set up for riding style and personal preference, they never need to be touched again thanks to Lectron's metering rod.

Gen 2 Metering Rod

The metering rod is similar to a needle in a traditional carburetor, but with the side facing the engine ground off. These are preset and do not get adjusted in Harley carburetors. It uses the vacuum from the engine to create a low-pressure signal behind the flat side of the rod (think about throwing a rock in a stream - the low-pressure area is directly behind the rock - then add vacuum to it).
Based on the density of the air, the proper amount of fuel will get pulled up the metering rod regardless of elevation, temperature or humidity. Atmospheric conditions constantly change, but the physics stay the same. As a result, you always have the right tune. If you plan to ride from Florida to Colorado, the only tuning you may have to do is adjust your idle.
Another advantage of the metering rod is its ability to finely atomize the fuel. Fuel coming off the metering rod is in much finer particles than those coming out of a jet. Combined with always having the right tune, the fuel itself is easier to burn. The result is better throttle response, fuel economy.

The Lectron Fuel Screw

The Lectron fuel screw is an externally adjustable circuit that works with the idle screw to achieve the proper AFR at, and immediately off, idle. It is the main adjustment for low and closed throttle positions, and the feature allows Harleys to idle low and consistently. The screw is also helpful when adding basic modifications like a higher flowing air filter or aftermarket pipes that could create a lean condition like popping on deceleration. If that happens, simply open the fuel screw.

Lectron Power Jet

The Lectron power jet is the externally adjustable screw on the top of the carburetor. It works like a faucet (tighten it to restrict flow - lean out; loosen to increase flow - richen up). Once the slide rises above the bottom of the nozzle (about half throttle), the power jet is your main adjustment. This adjustment is essential for fine-tuning, so that the top end can be independently adjusted without altering low throttle response.

TUCKER V-TWIN
www.tucker.com/v-twin

Biltwell

'Gringo' and 'Bonanza' Helmets

"Twenty colorways. Two styles. One brand." The 2020 Biltwell DOT Bonanza and DOT/ECE Gringo helmets line-up features twenty colorways each, with six new Gringo options (seen here) and four new Bonanza options.

"Better looking, more comfortable and more feature-packed than ever, these classic open- and full-face helmets boast yesterday's style with tomorrow's technology and are in stock to ship to dealers now!"

Options include standard cheek pad sets and liners for the Bonanza and ECE and standard sets for the Gringo helmets.

BILTWELL INC.
www.biltwellinc.com