July 16, 2009
News
Harley earnings drop 91% for 2nd quarter 2009
Photo: Harley-Davidson ArchivesHarley-Davidson's earnings for the second quarter of 2009 are down 91% compared to the same period last year. Most of this is down to the obvious: with the market already saturated with identikit products and their ability to buy expensive, unnecessary lifestyle accessories with home equity loans vanished, baby boomers are no longer buying Harleys. But, The Motor Com...
16 July 2009
News
Batman motorcycle suit: the suit bikers deserve, not the suit they need
Remember the fat, worthless Batmen at the beginning of "The Dark Knight?" Well now you be just like them and pretend to be a superhero too. This replica Batsuit is built from a heavy-duty Cordura base with four-way stretch inserts to accommodate Batbellies. Onto that are sewn molded leather and Kevlar plates, complete with wrist spikes if not nipples. Impact protection is provided by internal CE b...
16 July 2009
News
Vectrix to file for bankruptcy
"It's just such a shame, because it was a really good idea and a decent product but lacked the appropriate price point and follow-up development," a Vectrix insider told DealerNews. "My whole thing was dealer health -- if the dealers are healthy everybody wins -- and they just didn't understand that." Vectrix is on the verge of filing for bankruptcy after failing to find the investment, loan or go...
16 July 2009
News
Kawasaki patents 90° cylinder engine
Kawasaki is still developing the horizontal-cylinder engine, this time filing patents for a 90° cylinder as opposed to the 60° cylinder that we wrote about last year. This revision adds a stacked gearbox, which adds increased swingarm length to the long list of benefits such an arrangement would bring. >Performance advantages of this engine layout include reduced weight and reduced size thanks t...
16 July 2009