Harley’s AMA Pro Flat Track Contingency – $96KHarley-Davidson and Flat track racing are two things that have become synonymous with one another. Harley-Davidson Motor Company and AMA Pro Racing have just announced that the very same generous contingency and bonus structure for riders in the Harley-Davidson GNC1 presented by Vance & Hines class will now be available during the entire 2016 AMA Pro Flat Track season.Harley-Davidson has set up a per-race contingency payout, which equals $96,000 throughout the course of the entire 2016 Flat Track season. The top-five competitors who have competed in the AMA Pro Flat Track’s premier division will be awarded a payout based on their placement. The unique part? The payout stands regardless of what brand of bike they compete on. But Harley has also upped the ante for any rider who does happen to succeed aboard a H-D twin by offering a $25,000 year-end bonus to the Harley rider with the highest point total.
The brand continues to up the ante and support the series based on history; beginning in 1954, the Grand National Championship has always been a home for Harley-Davidson powered machines. Besides this, the Harley-Davidson Museum is hosting an exhibit exclusively dedicated to the history of flat track and HD’s involvement with renown flat track photographer, Dave Hoenig.“Race Day: Photos from the Flat Track” will be on display at the attraction in Milwaukee, Wis. From Jan. 22 – Sept. 5. One of Flat Track’s most noted photographers allows the uninitiated to walk down pit row, with the hands that turn the wrenches, seeing the world from the eye of a racer. Hoenig has dedicated his life to capturing the sport on film and the exhibit will be one to remember.Running alongside is, “Racing Machines from KR to XR,” a fine homage to the engineering and problem solving that helped push motorcycling to where it is today. The Harley-Davidson Museum’s Design Lab, after a complete renovation, has reopened with a focus on Harley-Davidson’s hardscrabble engineering team played in creating the legendary bikes that would dominate the race tracks of the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s. In total, 10 legendary bikes from that era will be on display for the public. Nobody can argue HD’s involvement in AMA Pro Flat Track or their impact on American motorcycle culture. From racing to the streets, HD has created quite the living dynasty for us to appreciate. Jared Mees, the 2015 Harley-Davidson GNC1 presented by Vance & Hines Champion is one of those proud few who have been touched by that heritage directly.“Harley-Davidson has been a part of Flat Track for as long as I can remember,” Mees said. “I’ve been riding the Harley-Davidson XR750 since I started in 2002, and I’ve been fortunate enough to gain their support throughout my career. A lot of what I’ve been able to accomplish has to do with the Harley-Davidson. I’m proud that I ride a Harley.”For more, visit Harley-Davidson Museum.
Honda CRF-E2 Electric + Dale Schmidtchen and the $50M V-Rod
byMotos and Friends by Ultimate Motorcycle
Hello everyone and welcome to Ultimate Motorcycling’s podcast, Motos and Friends. My name is Arthur Coldwells.
This week’s episode is brought to you by Yamaha YZF-R7. The R7 lives up to its legendary name, as a high-performance supersport machine. Check it out at at your local Yamaha dealer, or of course at YamahaMotorsports.com.
In this week’s first segment, Editor Don Williams and I chat about electric bikes and the electric bike revolution that is likely the future of motorcycling. Actually this episode is specifically about Honda’s new CRF-E2… an electric dirt-bike for kids. We asked our tester, 8-year old Avery Bart to put the E2 through its paces and according to Don, she loved it. Honda has stated that the company goal is for 50% of its sales to be electric by 2030—an ambitious goal for sure, and the CRF-E2 is the first step in that direction.
In the second segment, I chat with one of my Aussie motorcycle industry friends—Dale Schmidtchen. Dale has worked for most of the major moto factories globally during his career, and his take on his CF Moto ADV bike is interesting. Beyond that, one his many projects is currently helping to sell the world’s most expensive motorcycle—a Harley V-Rod worth around 50 million dollars. Yes, that’s 50 million with an ‘M’.
Dale also owned a race team in the 1990s and helped bring several well-known Aussie racers to the world stage. He’s a very modest, matter-of-fact guy, but I always really enjoy chatting with him; I hope you enjoy listening.
Incidentally, if you’ve got around fifty mill burning a hole in your pocket and you fancy owning the so-called ‘Mona Lisa of motorbikes’—contact us at producer@ultimatemotorcycling.com and we’ll put you in touch with Dale.
From all of us here at Ultimate Motorcycling, we hope you enjoy this episode!