Motion Pro: Founded in 1984 by 6-day ISDT gold medal winner Chris Carter, his Loomis, California based specialty tools and accessory enterprise marked the reboot of the AFT Twins Presented by Vance & Hines series this year by being the official cable, tool and controls vendor and brand for the series. Under the guidance of V-Twin Product Planner Joe Fratis, the company continues to grow its specialty V-twin program of tools, cables, throttles and accessories; www.motionpro.com
Cardo Systems: The “global market leader in communication systems for motorcyclists” recently launched the Q-solo – a Bluetooth headset for single riders who are primarily in the market for an easy-to-use and highly reliable communicator equipped with a high quality, noise-cancelling microphone for optimal phone communications; www.cardosystems.com
Cometic: The Concord, Ohio based manufacturer recently released new stock replacement and big bore gasket and cam change gasket kits for Harley’s M-8 touring engines. Because there are currently two very different cylinder head designs offered on the M-8, Cometic is releasing a number of different gasket designs. One version of the M-8, the one used in Touring models with no lower fairings, features oil cooled heads. A second M-8 cylinder head version, found in Touring bikes with lower fairings and with radiators behind them, has provision for that coolant to flow through the heads, and Cometic says they have gaskets for both, in sizes ranging from the stock 107 and 114 cubic inch displacements to a big 4.500 inch big bore size. All told, there are nine different cylinder head gaskets in the company’s M-8 line-up, along with new base gaskets and a full cam change kit; www.cometic.com
Maxima Racing Oils: The recent launch of an updated Oil-Change-In-A-Box edition specifically for 2017 M-8 Tourers now appears to have been prescient. The M-8 has a larger oil capacity than prior engine configurations and capacities, so an engine-specific kit makes complete sense. Now though, with the M-8s propagated to the 2018 Softails, Maxima’s move looks to have been a very smart bit of product marketing that puts the Californian specialist well ahead of the competition. The company’s kits include V-twin formula 20W-50 engine, transmission and primary oils, plus a K&N ‘Wrench-Off’ oil filter in choice of black or chrome; www.maximausa.com
JRI Shocks: Jeff Ryan’s race credentials as one of the world’s leading “go-to” suspension gurus needs little elaboration here. His company entered the V-twin suspension market earlier this year, most recently with fork cartridges that round out a Harley-Davidson suspension product line that includes standard and single adjustable rear shocks - the new fork cartridges are tuned to work in unison with JRI rear shocks; www.jrishocks.com
ASA Jensen: Recent new products from the Elkhart, Indiana based manufacturer include a follow-up to the award-winning HD1BT525 H-D replacement stereo package by adding “over an inch more of booming sound” with all-new 6.5-inch speakers; www.asaelectronics.com
Nitron Racing Systems: The British suspension manufacturer added to its fast-growing list of Harley and custom applications recently with a twin shock upgrade for the Street 750. Designed as a direct replacement for the factory fitted units, Nitron shocks are top-end, feature-rich designs offering a very wide range of damping settings and pre-load adjustment. They have a 35 mm large piston monotube design, 24-click combined compression and rebound damping adjustment, are Nitrogen gas pressurized, have adjustable length and pre-load settings, hard anodized titanium finish aluminum body, 14 mm induction hardened, super polished piston rod, progressive cellular bumpstop, Teflon lined ultimate low friction spherical bearings and ‘FLEXaLIGHT’ coated silicone steel springs; www.nitron.co.uk
Rekluse Motor Sports: Founded in 2002 by serial entrepreneur, investor and tech specialist Al Youngwerth, the Boise, Idaho based clutch manufacturer offers options for Harley-Davidson Big Twins, Sporsters and Indian Scout models, including its TorqDrive manual and RadiusX auto-clutch. The TorqDrive is engineered “to meet the demands of high performance motors, while also offering a lighter clutch action.” In order to achieve this, Rekluse says it has developed a clutch pack, which it calls ‘rEvolutionary’, taking a traditional eight steel plate and nine friction plate clutch pack configuration up to a 14 steel plate, 15 friction plate, with one being a specialized thick friction plate configuration. This increase is said to provide “more torque at the rear wheel – which is especially effective for highly tuned motors.” The company’s RadiusX auto-clutch is said to allow riders to come to a complete stop in gear and accelerate without touching the clutch lever. The manual action of the clutch lever is still fully functional at any time, if desired, for shifting and taking off. Though its roots are in the off-road market, Rekluse makes manual and automatic clutches, kits and components for most sectors of the industry; www.rekluse.com
