Fast Motorcycle Industry News

Harley-Davidson, Inc. Will Cease Operations At Its Australian Subsidiary Producer Wheels and Wheel Hubs.  The facility of ” “New Castalloy” produces the majority of cast wheels for Harley-Davidson motorcycles and has a workforce of 212, including 183 employees and 29 contract worker.The decision to close comes as part of an overall strategy Harley-Davidson embarked on in 2009 to develop world-class manufacturing capability throughout the company by restructuring and consolidating operations for greater competitiveness, efficiency and flexibility. The sourcing of the New Castalloy production to other existing suppliers is expected to generate about $9 million in annual ongoing savings beginning in 2014.  

The Sturgis City Council Gives Checks To The Community. The Sturgis Council held on Monday their annual “big check” presentation of contributions to various community entities, a presentation to reflect and show the benefit of the rally to the local citizens. SMRi received $50,291, the Sturgis Rally Charities Foundation received $22,669, the Sturgis Volunteer Fire Department received $11,000, Sturgis Police Reserves received $2,000 and the national Fallen Firefighters Foundation received $1,000. The annual check presentations is a contractual obligation through an agreement with SMRi! SMRI receives and doesn’t give? I thought it was supposed to be the opposite. I must miss something. Please, somebody to help me understand?

Harley-Davidson New Dividend. Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE: HOG) announced that its Board of Directors approved a cash dividend of $0.125 per share for the fourth quarter of 2011. The dividend is payable December 30, 2011 to the holders of record of the Company’s common stock on December 20, 2011.

Motorcycle Industry Council Offering Tire Guide: Developed in conjunction with leading motorcycle tire manufacturers, this extensive, 20-page street tire guide is designed to assist motorcyclists with tire selection, inspection, maintenance and more. The MIC Tire Guide also helps riders better understand and utilize sidewall information, and includes color photos, technical diagrams and charts outlining speed and load ratings. Also included are tire-mounting suggestions and tips for dealing with a tire failure. Finally, a Tire Replacement Log and a Load Limit Calculator are added for convenience. Order at Motorcycle Industry Council

Two Sturgis Iconic Bars On Main Street Have Been Sold At Auction. Local businessman Rick Schmid bought Gunner’s Lounge for $480,000 last Thursday. The Fireside Oasis Lounge went for $850,000 to the PSI Trust. The holders of the trust were not revealed. Deals on the two bars sold by the local Chaffee family are to close by the end of the year.

Harley-Davidson Trying To Sell Milwaukee Tosa And Franklin Buildings, Factory in Wauwatosa. Milwaukee-based Harley-Davidson is seeking $7.9 million for the 394,840-square-foot structure at 11700 W. Capitol Drive. The Wauwatosa plant, until a recent restructuring, was housing the heavyweight motorcycle manufacturer’s powertrain production.

11 Responses to “Fast Motorcycle Industry News”


  1. 1 Boss Hawg Dec 9th, 2011 at 8:52 am

    Cyril…isn’t known that SMRI receives and does not give?

    Boss Hawg

  2. 2 Toby Dec 9th, 2011 at 11:28 am

    “The sourcing of the New Castalloy production to other existing suppliers is expected to generate about $9 million in annual ongoing savings beginning in 2014.”

    What does this mean? Where are they going to manufacture them?

  3. 3 bigitch Dec 9th, 2011 at 3:24 pm

    toby

    can you say… india???

  4. 4 morpion Dec 9th, 2011 at 3:42 pm

    toby,,,china,,taiwan or india were cheap labor is

  5. 5 BIG DOUG Dec 9th, 2011 at 6:08 pm

    I have to say I never seen any problem’s with castalloy wheels,as above to make them cheaper now where will they be made? oh yea and another 212 people out of work.

  6. 6 Doug Dec 9th, 2011 at 7:08 pm

    Are you surprised? After spending all that $ fighting . Any body thought SMRI was doing charity work needs medication !

  7. 7 Mike Dec 9th, 2011 at 10:34 pm

    Yeah the wheels will go to China, India or some other scab labor country.
    Nothing like supporting our friends.
    Uh with friends like American Businesses , who wants socialism?
    Without a job you can’t be a capitolist.

    Glad I bought a Victory

    Lets sell Wisconsin to China and get it over with.

  8. 8 Calif Phil Dec 10th, 2011 at 9:12 am

    Harley should be ashamed of themselves for moving wheel production to China or India. Their custom wheels have been Chinese for a few years and that is why I tell my customers to buy Performance Machine, RC or pick wheels from any other great USA wheel manufacturer.

  9. 9 Sue Dec 10th, 2011 at 10:14 am

    I am being layed-off from a job i’ve been doing for 30 years, due to “restructuring and consolidating operations for greater competitiveness”. My boss said our labor costs were too high, funny thing is, we always thought we were underpaid. Hey, no middle class, NO MONEY, NO BUYEE PRODUCTS!!!

  10. 10 BlueStrada Dec 10th, 2011 at 10:17 am

    From the sound of the story in US Rider News…. it looks like all SMRI does is collect fees for something that was free for 60 years…. how typical is that… even in SD.
    http://usridernews.com/2011/07/28/sturgis-motorcycle-rally-trademarked-should-you-care/
    Blue Strada

  11. 11 Stephen Dec 10th, 2011 at 8:23 pm

    So HD are going to put more than 200 people out of work here in Australia and make the wheels who knows where but probably China. You have to ask why would you pay Au $ 35K for a softail made mostly of Asian parts. Victory look better every day if you want to buy a made in USA bike. Corporate greed gone to far, time to sell your Harleys and buy a Honda, at least Honda don’t pretend to be American. I’ve never regretted buying a Honda Fury and now it looks even better. Us Aussies should ban HD now, they deserve it.

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Cyril Huze