V&H Announces New Proving Grounds Facility in Mojave Desert
Santa Fe Springs, California based Vance & Hines is making a major play on the fast growing off-road and, specifically at this stage, ADV/Dual-Sport exhausts market.
Parallel with its announcement of a new Adventure Hi-Output 450 slip-on for Harley's Pan America (see separate report in the ProGuide section of this edition of AMD) and Hi-Output 500 slip-ons for the BMW R 1250 GS and GS Adventure motorcycles, the company has also announced the opening of a new Off-Road Proving Ground (ORPG) in the Mojave Desert.
Slated to open towards the end of 2021, the V&H ORPG is being created at the well-known Zakar Overland Terrain Park and Event Center in the Mojave Desert, about two hours from the company's Santa Fe Springs, California headquarters.
The ORPG will be the company's private test site for off-road products, and will include a test lab and service facility, where company R&D staff will develop and evaluate future Vance & Hines off-road products.
"We are focused on bringing Vance & Hines exhilaration to all types of off-road riders. Our new proving grounds is an example of our commitment to create a steady flow of great products for off-road fans," said company president Mike Kennedy.
"This is a robust, strategic and timely move. It will enable V&H to develop a range of product offerings for a wide range of applications - dirt bikes, MX, enduro, supermotard and scramblers as well as Dual-Sports or 'Cross-Over' models, as they are also known."
In ADV terms, BMW and now Harley, aren't the only volume unit sellers in that space. Honda, especially, Yamaha, Triumph, Suzuki and even Ducati all have convincing ADV platforms. Other brands such as Indian, Moto Guzzi, Benelli, MV Agusta (even) and a slew of Chinese manufacturers, who are now getting into the large displacement market, are likely to follow - as seen at the recent CIMA Show in China.
Additionally, Triumph's recent announcement that it is about to enter (in fact re-enter) the dirt bike market will not have escaped Vance & Hines' attention.
www.vanceandhines.com
