INTERMOT Visitors are High Mileage, High Spending, Highly Motivated
This year’s INTERMOT Expo at Cologne, Germany, again pulled some 220,000 visitors (equalling the 2016 record) in a German market characterized by knowledgeable, high mileage riders who are motivated by quality, innovation and performance. With new motorcycle registrations said to be running at over +7 percent in ‘Europe’ for the first half of 2018, and total new PTWs at over +11 percent for Germany through August 2018, INTERMOT was packed with new models, new parts, new accessories and riding gear (1,041 vendors in total from 40 countries), and, crucially, more new riders and potential customers than ever before, with the organizers citing a +50 percent increase in visitors aged under 21. In all, INTERMOT again drew trade and public visitors from nearly 100 different countries …
Avon Tyres: The big news this year has been the launch of the Cobra Chrome tire for customs, cruisers and touring - an endeavor proudly supported by the AMD World Championship of Custom Bike Building, with the Freestyle Class and World Champion sponsored by the British manufacturer; www.avonmotorcycle.com
TecMate: The market-leading OptiMate range of battery testers, conditioners and chargers is as broad as it is deep, as versatile as it is reliable and as high-tech as it is ergonomic. The company’s USB accessories and charge into the Li-ion battery care sector have set them apart from their rivals in recent years, and with products such as their Solar Charger program, the company’s technology and grasp of the fundamentals of what dealers and riders need will continue to set them apart in the future too; www.tecmate.com
MIZU: The German parts and accessory specialist offers a wide range of parts for Harley applications through its RST brand, which it acquired in 2012: www.mizu.de
Central Wheel Components: For students of vendor longevity, raise a glass for Central Wheel Components of Birmingham, England. Founded in 1897, the company has celebrated 120 years of continuous operation. The company stocks more than 15,000 motorcycle wheel rims and 500,000 spokes and nipples at any one time, most manufactured in-house. Its SM Pro Platinum rim is widely recognized as the world’s strongest and lightest aftermarket MX/off-road rim. These days the company is based at Coleshill, England, near the UK’s National Motorcycle Museum;
www.central-wheel.co.uk
Marolo Test: The workshop lift of choice for authorized Harley dealers, the French manufacturer traces its origins back to 1958 - the workshop specialist celebrated its 60th anniversary this year, welcoming its worldwide distributors, partners and press to its Cholet headquarters near Nantes in July. Started by Paul Marrolaud, the company was established to design, produce and sell what is believed to have been one of the first dynamometers specifically for the PTW market - a test bench for mopeds - with one of the first motorcycle-specific test benches in the industry introduced in 1973. In 1987 the company developed the first in what would go on to become one of the best selling and technically advanced workshop lift programs in the industry with a complementary range of equipment for workshops and franchise dealers with turn-key service shop installations, in manufacturer colors if required. These days the company employs around 20 people at its 2,500 sq m facility, with annual sales in excess of 5m euro, more than 25 percent of which is from export sales. The company sells to 10,500 customer accounts in more than 60 countries; www.marolotest.com
D.I.D. Europe: The chain of choice for chain drive conversions, recent new technology from the Japanese specialist has included next generation “Anti-Shock Performance” chain that reduces the process of “Plastic Elongation” caused by the momentary excessive tension that causes the chain pin holes to deform over time - resistance to such deformation is said to be increased by up to 25 percent; www.dideu.it
Digades: Three years ago, the German manufacturer was the first to market with a retro-fit aftermarket E-Call system. Its award-winning ‘dguard’ automatic crash detection system with integrated theft alarm function detects an accident and automatically connects the driver with the emergency call center. If the driver is still able to speak, they can inform the call center about their injuries; in case the driver isn't responsive anymore, ‘dguard’ sends the GPS coordinates to the emergency call center, which will activate the appropriate measures; www.dguard.com