After 23 years Parts Unlimited decided to end its formal sponsorship support for AMA Supercross effective the end of the 2018 season. “It’s time for Parts Unlimited to take a different direction to Support the Sport,” reported Hylton Beattie, Global Motorsport Director of LeMans Corporation, parent company of Parts Unlimited and Drag Specialties. The company will remain involved in Supercross through its team and rider sponsorships.
Days after the Parts Unlimited Supercross announcement, Boise, Idaho based distributor Western Powersports (WPS, owner of the fast growing HardDrive V-twin parts and accessory distribution program) revealed that it had stepped in to take over as the “official and exclusive Powersports parts and accessories distributor” of the 2019 Monster Energy Supercross series.
Indian conglomerate Mahindra signed an impressive 215 domestic U.S. dealers in just 4 months for the new ROXOR off-highway vehicle that they will be manufacturing at their new Auburn Hills, Michigan facility – headed up by Rick Haas as President and CEO, Mahindra Automotive North America – where, if all goes to plan, Mahindra will have revealed the ROXOR in early March.
Italian apparel major Dainese (owner of AGV helmets and itself 80 percent owned by Bharain’s Investcorp) has completed the redesign and re-location downtown of its Chicago flagstore. It re-opened in early March and in the hands of architect Renato Montagner is a minimalist “room within a room” homage to everything gorgeously Italian and Dainese, from its racing heritage to the latest iteration of its integrated D-Air race suit air bag technology.
In more Mahindra news, last year the company completed the acquisition of rights to the defunct JAWA and BSA motorcycle brands. The reports that new BSA models could be on sale in the United States as early as late 2018 are almost certainly overly optimistic, but stung by domestic Indian Rival Eicher Motors’ remarkable progress with their remarkable Royal Enfield 650s, they and other Indian manufacturers have an extra motivation where making a play on the northern hemisphere’s middleweight market is concerned (not least Triumph middleweight collaboration partner and 51 percent KTM/Husqvarna owner Bajaj Auto). Bring it on(RB)!
Parts Unlimited has added U.S. distribution of the popular and fast-growing U.K. based ‘Muc-Off’ three-stage “clean, protect lube” line of motorcycle detailing products.
After the demise of respected online news provider MotorcycleUSA four years ago, it looks like Motorcycle.com has now hit a bump in the road. Asphalt & Rubber reports that the services of kingpins Sean Alexander and Kevin Duke have been dispensed with recently.
Devin Battley has sold his Battley H-D/Battley Cycles (Ducati, BMW) dealership in Gaithersburg, Maryland, to Bayside H-D of Portsmouth, Virginia. It will be renamed District H-D. Battley founded Battley Cycles in Wheaton over 30 years ago and purchased Rockville H-D.