 hris Rivas will ride the Drag Specialties S&S Cycle Proven Performance-powered Buell for G2 Motorsports in the 2008 NHRA POWERade Pro Stock Motorcycle drag-racing series. Rivas will represent Drag Specialties, the motorcycle parts distribution powerhouse, which returns for a third season as the primary sponsor of the G2 Motorsports team. According to George Smith, G2 Motorsports president and crew chief, the Fresno, Calif., resident was a natural choice to fill the empty seat on the team's motorcycle. “There were a number of good riders available for the coming campaign, but Chris was the most logical candidate for the Drag Specialties/S&S/G2 bike,” said Smith. “He was one of the best at getting off the starting line last season, and now on our bike, which we believe is one of the strongest in the class, he becomes a real threat for the championship this season.”
Rivas is anxious to get back in the saddle, especially with the organization which has been the source of the engines, parts and motorcycles he has raced throughout his career. “I am extremely excited to help celebrate the 50th Anniversary for S&S Cycle by having the chance to work with George Smith and (chief mechanic) Ken Johnson, as well as the rest of the Drag Specialties/G2 team,” said the 40-year-old who has been drag racing motorcycles for 13 years, the last four professionally. “S&S has always been a vital part of my racing career by supplying the parts needed for a competitive race bike. Their parts have been on every one of the bikes I have raced and now I am really pumped up with this chance to ride the bike directly connected to them.”
His experience includes riding motorcycles with more than just S&S parts; he has ridden S&S powered Buells prepared by G2 ever since the company offered them to customer teams. “No other customer rider has as much experience on G2 prepared/S&S powered Buell motorcycles, because Chris in 2005 became the first and continued on them through qualifying for last year’s Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals,” said Smith.
Both rider and crew chief expect good things right away. “I can’t wait to start the season and get back to Gainesville (site March 13-16 of the season kickoff 39th Annual ACDelco Gatornationals) because that is where I’ve had my best runs,” said Rivas, who finished the 2007 NHRA POWERADE Pro Stock Motorcycle season in 11th place. “Last year I turned a 6.947 second lap and a 191.84 mile-per hour run during qualifying at the Florida track. Like we do every year, we have been working through the off season to build on what we learned last year, to get even better performance from our bike,” explained Smith. “And with Chris’s experience and ability, we expect to go fast right away. He shouldn’t have any learning curve to overcome on our motorcycle.”
For more about Chris Rivas, see feature story in this issue on page 50.
 ance & Hines has announced that it has acquired the White Brothers off-road exhaust line of products and technology. The addition of the White Brothers line will enable Vance & Hines to serve a wider range of market segments and accelerate the development of new products by combining the resources and expertise of two leading companies that hail from opposite ends of the motorcycle aftermarket. Vance & Hines, primarily serving the on-road market and White Brothers, serving the off-road market, both trace their roots to motorcycle racing beginning in the 1970s and through their respective successes in competition have evolved into the most innovative manufacturers of high performance exhaust systems for motorcycle enthusiasts.
Both companies continue to apply this method of development and engineering, working with factory race teams in the top professional categories of motorsports. The value of joining the engineering expertise of these two arsenals will enable the Vance & Hines brand to deliver premium cutting-edge off road products to the many worldwide customers of the motorcycle industry. “This is an exciting time for the future growth of our company,” said Vance & Hines president, Terry Vance of the announcement. “Having focused our efforts on addressing the explosive demand in the on-road aftermarket, bringing the White Brothers off-road products under the Vance & Hines umbrella will allow us to provide leading off-road products as well. Further, it will open new avenues for the expansion of our fuel management technology under the Fuelpak brand.” Vance continued, “I want to assure all White Brothers customers and dealers that despite the name change, they will receive our full support. White Brothers technical and customer service staff will continue to serve all current and future business for the motocross and ATV markets, and now with the Vance & Hines name, you will continue to see growth and development of quality performance products that lead these enthusiast driven markets.”
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 AG, Inc. has announced that David Shirley is the new leader of Progressive Suspension, Inc. Shirley will serve as the Vice President and General Manager of PSI and be responsible for all aspects of the business. He has been a key member of and partner with PSI for over 10 years and was actively involved in the product development of the 440 series dampers and has pioneered the I.A.S technology.
Prior to joining Progressive Suspension, David held management roles in Operations and Engineering at Edelbrock Corporation and Ricor Racing and Development. David has a Bachelor of Science with Honors in Mechanical Engineering from CSU, Sacramento. David is an avid motorcyclist with more than 20 years of on and off-road riding experience.
 rag Specialties has announced Bill Pitt as a new Southeast Region sales representative. Before joining Drag Specialties, Bill was the General Manager for Thunder Road Harley in Danville, VA. Bill is an amateur Flat track racer and rides his 2003 Road King virtually every day. In his spare time, Bill likes to build custom bikes, work on Flat track bikes and keep up on routine maintenance on his Harleys. Kris “Burger T” Burgert has been named as a new West Region sales representative. While at Drag Specialties, Kris has spent two years working as a phone representative. When Kris isn’t riding his 2006 Night Train, he is adding new parts to it to better fit his style.
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Drag Specialties held a banquet at the V-Twin Expo in Cincinnati to honor of its powerhouse sales team. As they have done for many years, VP of Sales Greg Blackwell (seen at left) and National Sales Manager Jim Matchette (at right) organized a gala event including dinner and awards and recognition for all in attendance. Jeff Emde Photo.
 he American Motorcyclist Association has announced that its International Women & Motorcycling Conference (IWMC) will take place at the Keystone Resort & Conference Center in Keystone, Colorado, on August 19-22, 2009.
Located approximately 90 minutes west of Denver, Keystone’s state-of-the-art amenities and infrastructure, as well as its proximity to world-class motorcycling destinations within Colorado’s Rocky Mountain region, are expected to substantially increase the stature of what has become known internationally as the premier women’s motorcycling event. The selection of the Keystone site was the culmination of several months of research by the AMA and representatives of prominent women's motorcycling organizations.
The 2009 event will be the fifth AMA International Women & Motorcycling Conference. Previous conferences took place in 1997, 2000, 2002 and 2006. The AMA looks to continue to build upon the success of past conferences with the Keystone event, which will be the first IWMC held west of the Mississippi River.
The 2006 IWMC took place at the Classic Center in Athens, Georgia, and hosted more than 1,100 attendees who enjoyed a wide range activities including: seminars and panel discussions; demo rides from Harley-Davidson, BMW, Buell, Ducati, Honda, Kawasaki, Kymco, Ridley and Yamaha; a product vendor exposition; industry keynote speakers; motorcycle skills courses and workshops; guided rides; live entertainment; and catered meals. IWMC 2009 event pricing, reservation applications and lodging information will be available shortly. For updated information, please visit www.womenandmotorcycling.com.
For event sponsorship and product vendor opportunities, please call (800) AMA-JOIN, ext 1190. To learn more about the Keystone Resort & Conference Center, please visit www.keystoneconferences.com
With a record attendance of more than 90,000, the 2008 Bike Expo at Padua, Italy underlined its position as the European season opener. Motographer Horst Roesler was there and caught a few interesting V-Twins on display there.
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Parts Magazine
Volume 15 #3
Parts Magazine Index
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