Cyril Huze Blog – World's Number One Source For Custom Motorcycle News

Las weekend, Jan 8-10, the Progressive International Motorcycle Show (IMS) was in Miami Beach for the 5th stop of their national show tour (next stop is Dallas Jan 22-24) The IMS experience is about checking out the new lineup of major manufacturers like Harley, Indian, Triumph, Kawasaki, BNW, Honda, Norton, Suzuki, etc and of course the custom parts f some of the most reputable aftermarket vendors.
I did a short visit, of course being mostly interested in discovering some of the new custom bikes that will be in March in Daytona for the 75th Anniversary of Bike Week. I was not there for the results of the J&P Cycles Bike Show but it looks to me like Bill Dodge of Blings Cycles and Todd Angolan of After-hours Bikes dominated the competition. I will feature in March the best 3 creations and just tease you with a few snapshots…on purpose without telling you with builder did what.
A few more bikes after the jump. Continue reading ‘Postcards From The Miami Beach Progressive International Motorcycle Show’

The award-winning custom motorcycle build and scholarship program coordinated by Keith Terry of Terry Components brings industrial education to Spearfish, South Dakota by turning local shops into classrooms for Black Hills students to learn cutting-edge motorcycle customization techniques.

Students will customize a 2015 Indian Chief Classic and a 2015 Victory Cross Country. Buffalo Chip President Rod Woodruff will award students $8500 in scholarship money.

Dakota V-Twin and Baggster, both in Spearfish, will serve as a real-life classroom for students to learn mechanics from Chris Malo and Nick Cramer. Rusty Jones of Rusty Jones Customs will be adding his signature look to the build with some of his newest and hottest parts. Returning champion John Shope from Dirty Bird Customs will provide the newest parts from his Indian product line with Randy & Nick Cramer as instructors.

Big and Powerful Motorcycles Are Not The Sole Driving Force In the Motorcycle World Anymore. Manufacturers are taking smaller motorcycles a lot more seriously. Harley-Davidson with the Street, Indian with the Scout Sixty, Ducati with the Scrambler, Triumph with the Bonneville, Thruxton & Scrambler models, Royal Enfield and many other brands are working hard at attracting new categories of riders into the market with less intimidating bikes. It includes hipsters, women, minorities and yes, even some baby boomers.

The common denominator shaping the way new models are conceived is a better riding experience through an approachable power, maneuverability and low seat height. Whatever their styles, lighter motorcycles for the road and the city with quick acceleration to pop in and out of traffic. The top-end motorcycle’s powerful appeal and aura is somewhat fading. (Even the new adventure tourers to be introduced this winter are getting physically smaller with also more control over combustion due to tightening emissions regulations)

Harley-Davidson. Checking In On Brand Allegiance. Fighting Hard To Gain Relevance with New Consumers. Thanks to the great recession, to eventually realizing that baby boomers are almost halfway through their retirement phase, to the arrival of a new competition (successful rebirth of Indian, maybe more than Harley expected…), and to the marketing efforts of foreign brands in the US to push their midsize models, the Milwaukee manufacturer had its aha moment: to be perceived as the granddaddy of motorcycling will not be enough to remain relevant with a new generation of bikers. Until the severe 2008 economic downturn, Harley-Davidson was essentially talking to its core clientele, soon-to-be or already baby-boomers. Almost completely ignoring younger adults, female riders, minorities…and competition from Indian, Triumph and Victory in the USA. The consequence has been a softening of Harley’s overall sales and a denting of their market shares on several motorcycle segments. Harley knows that the company must engage with those who have a motorcycle license but no past history and “proximity” with the brand. Either because they were too young or were not interested by its communication and/or models. Let’s not forget that some young people still think that the venerable hog is “a sound effect masquerading as a motorcycle”…

Harley is already offering the Street series, but it will probably take more than producing a couple of models stripped down to their mechanical essence to attract enough of these new consumers. In addition, in the short term, catering to budget-minded millennials does have its drawback, the profits being much less on midsize bikes than on traditional cruisers and tourers. Harley already announced a 65% global marketing budget increase to reach these new potential riders where they are. For sure online where they spend most of their time glued to a digital device screen and also where they are spectators or participants of some sport or musical events, like the X Games and the SXSW festival with which Harley was already involved this past year. In 2016, it will be very interesting to observe which marketing language Harley will adopt to stir youngsters’ quest for freedom and self expression and how convincing the company can be at making them pay a premium for its products, the company stating during the last quarter that they will not discount their models. Harley knows that they face some potholes on the road and that 2016 is a crucial year for its future.

The Dark Custom Movement Evolving Deeper Into The Heritage Revival Movement. The “Dark Movement” (black minimalist machines) originally inspired by pro-custom builders has already been embraced and overplayed by almost all motorcycle manufacturers. As a new way for bikers to state their rebel soul and motorcycling roots, the Dark Movement, thanks again to custom builders, has already evolved into something much richer. The “Heritage Revival Movement” where modern custom motorcycles are modeled after the bikes that filled their grandparents “good old days” or are drawing inspiration from the bikes Legends rode to victory in major races. New modern but vintage inspired motorcycles that tell a story in reaction to the fast pace of our times. These customs are in need of retro looking parts offering today’s quality and reliability. Hence a potentially big new market for this type of classically designed parts made to current performance standards.

In 2016, expect me to announce a lot more of these new retro bolt-on parts that will only require simple garage tools and minimal technical knowledge to install. With any of these vintage looking parts, the average rider will be able to customize his or her motorcycle in one or two weekends. A trend that will develop or reinforce the desire of many to work on their own motorcycle, fulfilling the desire for self-expression we all have inside us. A very positive trend,  benefiting the whole custom motorcycle industry and for sure influencing the way will be designed the new factory models to be released these coming years. On the pro custom building side, expect a new wave of young American builders working on common street motorcycles of all brands, and creating affordable retro styled bikes in all categories, from bobbers to trackers to desert sleds to resto mods, etc Continue reading ‘Trending In 2016’