K&N Engineering: The Californian filter specialist’s European operation SRM showcased the firm’s popular ‘Street Metal’ stylish custom air cleaner program, side draft intake systems, high flow M-8 replacement filters, bolt-on ‘Aircharger’ and generally basked in the reflected glory of the success of its AFT Twins sponsorship; www.knfilters.com
Koso Europe: The instrument specialist offers one of the largest OE replacement and upgrade ranges in the powersports industry. For Harleys the company’s HD-02 set is a full plug & play solution replacing the OEM parts - nothing needs to be drilled or rewired, you just plug the instruments into the existing connectors and insert them into the panel and choose between a blue or red display on the all black devices. The 6-piece set includes a 4” speedometer, a 4” tachometer with gear indicator, a 2” oil pressure gauge, a 2” outside temperature gauge, a 2” gas gauge and a 2” voltmeter for FLHT, FLHX and FLTR from 2004 to 2013; www.kosoeurope.com
Brixton Motorcycles: Owned by the Austrian based KSR Group (formerly known as Generic and owned by Christian and Michael Kirschenhofer, KSR is owner or distributor of several motorcycle once-famous and increasingly well-known E-bike brands, including Lambretta). Brixton is a contemporary/retro range of (currently) five 125 and two 250 cc motorcycles powered by 4-stroke air-cooled singles. Described as offering “throwback style” with “streetwise edge” and sitting right in the sweet spot of lightweight value and convincing, youth rider styling and price-points, features include CBS and EFi on the 125 range with EFi and ABS on the 250s; www.brixton-motorcycles.com
MACNA: Designed and distributed by Dutch apparel specialist Splash Design, the award-winning MACNA riding apparel range is a feature-rich, high-tech program with some notable firsts to its name - not least the innovative ‘Night Eye’ technology - a patented approach to night riding visibility that sees a normal, grey motorcycle jacket light up in the headlights without the use of conventional high-visibility materials or vests. Instead, microscopic glass beads in the Night Eye fabric work like small mirrors and reflect the light right back where it came from - lighting the rider up from a long distance; www.macna.com
Parts Europe: The Germany based distributor hosted some 20 or so vendors at its huge booth, including Drag Specialties staples such as S&S Cycle, Rinehart Exhausts, ICON apparel, Moose and Thor - this year has seen Drag Specialties and Thor celebrating their 50th anniversaries; www.dragspecialties.eu
Galfer: Through its US subsidiary and distributed by Zodiac in Europe, the Spanish brake component manufacturer is a leading rotor as well as brake pad manufacturer - if you haven’t seen the company’s unique ‘Skull’ design rotors, check them out! www.galfer.es
Royal Enfield: First revealed a year ago, the new 650 Twins from the Indian manufacturer are among the most eagerly anticipated additions to the burgeoning middleweights sector - a sector that Harley-Davidson finally announced this year it will enter in the next 24-36 months. The Continental GT and Interceptor INT are slated to finally be in U.S. dealerships by spring of 2019 and their engineering pedigree (with heavy Anglo-American pre-production development influences) and the ‘Retro’ nature of a brand that can trace its origins back to 1901 (it claims to be oldest motorcycle brand in continuous production), combined with ‘sweet-spot’ value pricing for what is widely being touted as a very, very good machine, should have a dramatic effect in an all-important 18-30 youth sector that is largely priced out of anything above 400 cc. An all new steel cradle chassis and SOHC air-oil-cooled parallel twin engine with a claimed 47 hp means they can sell to the entry level A2 licence holders. Much of the development work was undertaken at Royal Enfield’s 'UK Technical Centre', which is to be used as a global headquarters for product development, at the Bruntingthorpe Proving Grounds in England. In 2015 Royal Enfield parent company Eicher Motors bought Harris Performance in the UK, a long-standing collaborator; www.royalenfield.com
Motoz: Australian tire manufacturer Motoz isn’t in the mainstream cruiser tire market, but if you are after the best dual-sport, Enduro or MX tires money can buy, listen to the “paddock chat” and get some seriously top-end knobbies from the company’s new German warehouse inventory; www.motoz.com.au