JOB: REGIONAL SALES EXECUTIVE

CONTACT DETAILS: mark sawyer, mark.sawyer@tranam.co.uk

North of England & North Wales. The UK’s leading distributor of premium motorcycle apparel is recruiting a regional sales executive.

North of England & North Wales. The UK’s leading distributor of premium motorcycle apparel is recruiting a regional sales executive. The successful candidate will service a network of established dealer accounts and develop new business opportunities within the territory. Applicants will demonstrate the ability to present, promote, support and sell from an extensive range of technical premium brands. Previous successful experience in a field sales role within the motorcycle
trade preferred.

Please forward your CV by email to: mark.sawyer@tranam.co.uk
Remuneration consists of the following - Basic pay plus uncapped commission (OTE typically in the range of £25,000 - £35,000+) - Company car - Generous staff discount scheme.

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JOB: Global Dealer Manager, Norton

Global Dealer Manager, Norton Motorcycles

 CONTACT DETAILS: Kay Johnson, Kay.johnson@nortonmotorcycles.com

Derbyshire based Norton Motorcycles is the oldest motorcycle brand in the world with a rich heritage stretching back to the 1890’s.

Historic British brand Norton Motorcycles seeks a Global Sales Manager to be based at their new headquarters at Donington Hall. Managing the overall relationship between the manufacturer and the dealer network, this is a vital role at a genuinely exciting time of growth. The successful candidate will have overall responsibility for the development and management of the Company’s worldwide sales to all appointed territories and the generation of all new dealer/distributor appointments.

The Role

•     Co-ordination of the Norton Dealer and Distributor Agreements
•     Responsible for ongoing Norton Dealer/Distributor Development
•     Manager the overall relationship between Norton and the dealer/distributor network which will involve regular dealer visits

The Person

•     A professional approach with good communication skills and attention to detail
•     A good motorcycle industry all rounder with dealer/distributor and or manufacturer experience
•     A proven background in sales dealer/distributor development with marketing experience would be advantageous
•     Initiative and a desire to succeed

To register your interest please contact Kay Johnson at Norton Motorcycles.
Kay.johnson@nortonmotorcycles.com

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BIKER COULD BE LORD OF THE URBAN JUNGLE

One lucky biker could become lord of the urban jungle, thanks to DVLA Personalised Registrations which is auctioning TA12 ZAN on Wednesday, 26 February.

King of the track, king of the jungle...

The registration, which clearly resembles the name of the jungle-living hero created by author Edgar Rice Burroughs, is among 1500 personalised registrations going under the auctioneers’ hammer during the agency’s first live sale of 2014 at the Casa Hotel in Chesterfield.

Prime examples include CO11 ETT and 22 O which have reserves of £900 and £4000 respectively, the two are particularly notable as CO11 EEN and 21 O sold for £39,850 and £29,500 respectively and helped the agency to raise an impressive £3.5million for the Treasury during its final sale of 2013.

Jody Davies, DVLA Personalised Registrations Events Manager, said the DVLA had “high hopes for another successful sale”.

The lots include 7777 A (reserve - £3000), AD11 ELE (£900), ASH 74G (£400), A57 ONV (£350), BEE 80P (£400), BRO 55S (£400), COA 555T (£400),  110 CR (£2,500), C444 MPA (£400), 175 E (£2,800), EL13 NOR (£900), ELV 15H (£450), EMA 1V (£700), ESS 333X (£400), E55 EXX (£400), FER 550A (£400), F457 DAN (£400), 9999 G (£2800), GRE 99G (£400), GTO 288S (£400), HA11 WAY (£900), HAY 80Y (£400), HES 81G (£400), HES 510W (£350), JEF 70Y (£400), KE13 THS (£900), KUW 441T (£400), K177 KAT (£350), L154 BMW (£400), MU12 REY (£900), NSX 10 (£450), PAR 15E (£450), POR 918X (£400), RAJ 805S (£450), SUS 53X (£400), TEA 805S (£300), TH13 RRY (£900), TUR 80V (£450), VEG 444N (£400), WO12 LEY (£900), XKR 130Y (£350), X911 XXX (£400), Y51 EEP £350).

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Paralysed rider helps others get back on two wheels

After a motorcycle accident in 2003 left him paralysed, Talan Skeels-Piggins admits he thought he’d never get back on a bike again. Five years later, all that changed, and two years after that he and his friend Russell O'Neil founded Bike Experience, a charity, to help others get back on a bike.

Talan Skeels-Piggins, Inspirational

“After my accident I didn’t think I would ever ride a bike again; it wasn’t until 2008 that I thought it possible. I was in the United States and I was riding a snowmobile, which kept getting cross-rutted and was moving around all the time, and I thought, if I can ride this I can definitely ride a motorbike.

“When I did get back on a motorcycle in 2008, it was the best day of my life,” Skeels-Piggins recalls. “I felt free of my wheelchair for the first time and it was amazing, it was magical. But then I started thinking that there must be more people like me.

“In 2011 I converted my GSX-R600 SRAD as a way of helping other people get back on a bike. Russell and I did track days together on a pair of GSX-R1000s, and he’s one of our instructors.

“We start with paddock stuff, getting them used to pulling away and the feeling of being back on a bike again. We have also designed bolt-on stabilisers so they can get used to it first, or we’ll start them off on an automatic bike, before moving on to focusing on gear changes and increasing their speeds on a marked out circuit.

“You can see a change in people as they go through the experience. It changes their attitude and it changes their families too. These are often people who are paralysed or amputees, we’ve had people come who have had a stroke, and we even had a blind guy come along. And these are all people who never thought they’d ride again, and we help them realise that it is possible and that they can get back to enjoying motorcycles.

“Last year we ran 15 events and helped 37 different riders.”

Skeels-Piggins has also taken up racing. He says: “2014 will be my third season racing against able-bodied competition. I have to start from the back of the grid, as I need supporting and holding upright before I launch, but it’s great. It’s only when I’m off the bike and talk to them afterwards that other racers realise I’m in a wheelchair.”

The Bike Experience has 13 confirmed dates for 2014.

www.tbex.co.uk

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NEWS: BIKE RESTORERS: YOUR COUNTRY NEEDS YOU

Bletchley Park is looking for volunteers to carry out essential maintenance on a rare Second World War dispatch rider’s motorcycle, as well as other vintage vehicles - two of which were used in the 2001 film, Enigma.

Calling all bike restorers..

 A Norton WD16H dispatch rider’s motorcycle is now on display in the newly refurbished garages at Bletchley Park, Milton Keynes, where visitors can learn about other forms of transport used in the process from intercepting encrypted radio traffic to delivering suitably disguised vital intelligence to commanders in the field. Meanwhile a BSA (Birmingham Small Arms Company) motorcycle has recently been kindly donated by the family of the late John Hazel.

Anyone interested in volunteering to help maintain any of the vehicles on display at Bletchley Park is invited to contact Sarah Kay, sarahkay@bletchleypark.org.uk 01908 640404.

A passion for motorcycles and patriotic duty prompted many enthusiasts to become dispatch riders during the war. At the peak of Bletchley Park’s codebreaking operation, around 3000 messages per day were brought to the government code and cipher school’s top secret HQ by dispatch riders. Some were based at Bletchley Park, with more stationed around the country, collecting messages from the many Y (listening) stations. Some were armed and they travelled up to 1200 miles per week.

Dispatch Rider Nevil Horsfall said: “We knew Bletchley Park was a ‘big deal’ and although we were bright enough to recognise that it was not just a cipher school and that interception of enemy signals was somehow involved, we had no idea about enemy codebreaking and the importance of Bletchley Park efforts during the war, to us it was largely, business as usual.”

Pictured is Nevil Horsfall (left), a Bletchley Park dispatch rider, with his brother Alan.

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RECORD 59 STOLEN BIKES RECOVERED

Bike Trac, the motorcycle tracking device, celebrated a record year of recoveries last year, claiming to have returned no fewer than 59 stolen motorcycles to their rightful owners, along with a number of high-profile arrests.

59 bikes retruned!

Manufactured by automotive technology experts Road Angel Group, Bike Trac is said to be the only motorcycle-specific tracking device to offer Thatcham Category 6 and 7 ratings, effectively making it the only system that can truly track and precisely locate a stolen motorcycle in virtually any set of circumstances.

"The recoveries in 2013 have certainly kept us on our toes", said Bill Taylor. "From bikes tracked to ferry ports to live police chases and even successful overseas recoveries, we've been able to assist and recover over half a million pounds worth of motorcycles."

Bike Trac continues to enjoy official endorsement from Ducati UK, with more than 600 Ducati's protected by Road Angel's technology in the UK, with customers benefitting from insurance discounts of up to 25%.

A feature on the main tracking devices appears in the next issue of British Dealer News.

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London bike show shakes off the weather

The Carole Nash MCN London Motorcycle Show enjoyed a weekend of action that saw thousands of fans flock through the doors, despite the extreme weather.

BBC Top Gear’s James May chatted with visitors about his own machines, which were showcased in the Classic Zone, and took a seat on Mike Hailwood’s 500/4.

MCN's London Motorcycle show- busy busy

 Four-time World Superbike Champion Carl Fogarty had kicked off proceedings on Friday morning with an emotional reunion with his quartet of title-winning Ducati’s in front of a packed audience. MCN then surprised the British hero with a replica of his 1995 ‘Man of the Year’ trophy after he lost the original in the late 1990s.

Sunday also saw Tai Woffinden, the UK’s World Speedway Champion, crowned this year’s ‘MCN Man of the Year’. Having received over twice the number of votes as his fellow nominees, which included the likes of Tom Sykes and Sam Lowes, ‘Woffy’ becomes the first speedway winner in the 56-year history of the prestigious award.

Race fans were well catered for throughout the weekend. Cal Crutchlow and Bradley Smith flew straight in from testing in Sepang to meet and greet fans. The show also played host to a number of British Superbike announcements, as three-time champion Shane Byrne took the wraps of his 2014 Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki, Simon Andrews announced he was returning to the premier class with the RAF Reserves Honda team, while Lee Costello and Harry Hartley will be taking to the grid with the Halsall Racing Kawasaki team. Fans arriving Sunday were treated to a special chat show with some of the stars of this year’s exciting championship.


 

The show also featured a world exclusive Mike ‘The Bike’ Hailwood tribute, displaying his many machines, winning trophies, clothing, and the Ford GT40 sports car he raced. Fans were delighted to hear his incredible Honda 500/4 running.

Elsewhere, the world’s leading manufacturers including BMW, Ducati, Harley-Davidson, Honda, Indian, Kawasaki, KTM, Royal Enfield, Triumph, Victory and Yamaha showcased their latest 2014 model ranges, allowing fans to get up close and personal with these exotic machines.

Nathan Baines, UK Marketing Coordinator at Triumph Motorcycles UK, commented: “It’s been an exceptionally positive show for us, with plenty of customer leads and interest in our brand, particularly in the Thunderbird Commander and LT models.

“We’ve had five dealers from the London area who have all enjoyed talking to current and hopefully future customers. It’s been noticeably busy throughout the show and we were pleasantly surprised to see so many people struggle through the horrendous weather on Saturday!”   

The inaugural London Custom Bike Championship, which featured an incredible 50 motorcycles competing for the prize purse of £10,000, came to a conclusion on Sunday afternoon with Destiny Cycles entry Carousel being crowned ‘Best of Show’.

The Adventure Zone proved popular throughout the weekend as Nick Saunders, Simon Pavey, Austin Vince, Charley Boorman, Graham Hoskins and Steph Jeavons kept fans entertained with on-stage interviews and chats.

The Revolution live action show proved extremely popular as thousands of fans packed the edge of the arena to witness TT Legend John McGuinness and his team mates Ian Hutchinson and James Whitham battle it out with the opposing team, captained by BMW new-boy Michael Dunlop and team mates Michael Rutter and Phillip McCallen.

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BSB circuit changes direction

Knockhill Racing Circuit in Scotland is to make history by running its round of the MCE British Superbike Championship the wrong-way round – well, OK, the other way round. The switch comes in its 40th anniversary year.

Knockhill- the wrong way round...

The circuit, on a desolate hilltop in the wilds near Dunfermline, Fife, restarted racing, track days and experiences in the counter-clockwise direction in 2012. Regular racing events utilising this alternative layout used to take place right up until the early 1990s.
Since 2012, more than 50 motorcycle and car track days, test days and both bike and car race events have been held and significant experience gained.

MCE BSB Series Director Stuart Higgs takes up the story: "Since the circuit restarted events in the counter-clockwise direction we've been curious to learn how they've been received and in talking with Niall Mackenzie, Stuart Easton (pictured) and Dennis Hobbs, amongst others, who have had first-hand experience, they were very enthusiastic.”
The circuit has invested £100,000 modifying the circuit.

Knockhill Chief Executive Derek Butcher concluded: "We invested in giving Scotland, and Britain, another circuit over the winter of 2011/12 and since then, the ‘new’ circuit has provided such a different challenge, and for many, they prefer competing on it! Once a rider has done 40 to 50 laps to get into a rhythm, we are convinced that all the MCE BSB riders and those in the support classes, and not least the thousands of spectators, will love the challenges of this new layout. It will be fascinating to hear the feedback from the riders in May after they have had a few sessions to get familiar with Britain's newest track".

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NEWS: Friends launch 'Hope for Huck' fundraising appeal

Friends of motocrosser Mark Hucklebridge (Huck) are appealing to the motorcycle industry to back a fund-raising campaign set up after he was diagnosed with terminal cancer.

Freelance sports PR Carly Rathmell and associates at motocross website MX Vice have clubbed together to promote the 'Hope for Huck Appeal'.

 “We are hoping people within the motorcycle industry will get behind this and support Huck and his wife Emma in what is now going to be very tough times. We are arranging a number of online eBay auctions to raise some money - the auctions will be placed here http://www.mxvice.com/features/racing/mark-hucklebridge-auction/ and also on the Facebook Page - 'Hope For Huck Appeal' - www.facebook.com/HopeForHuck

Huck, 35, has been a dominate figure in the motocross industry for the past 20 years, as a rider and also a race organiser plus one of the top ACU trainers in the UK. In 2010 his life changed when he was diagnosed with stage four cancer.

Among his many racing achievements, Huck was British School Boy Champion in 1994, the youngest ever winner at that time of the Weston Beach Race in 1998, British SX Champion 2001, KWS Champion 2004 and 2008, and Winner British SX Championship 2005.
Huck retired from professional racing at the end of 2008 and in 2009 he was offered a great opportunity by the ACU to work in training and developing young motocross riders.

Emma and Mark have been a couple since 1998. They eventually tied the knot in 2006 and their son Charlie was born in 2007. Nothing stops in their family and they are continuously on the move and working hard to achieve their goals and targets.

In 2010 their lives took a drastic turn when Mark was diagnosed with stage four (spread beyond the original tumour) bowel cancer, a huge blow for the Hucklebridge family.

After treatment and several operations Huck was told last month that the cancer had returned and was inoperable.
The future for Mark will include more tests and scans to monitor the tumours as well as palliative chemo (used to shrink tumours), which will start the first week in March and will continue for the rest of his life.

Before Mark starts his next batch of intense chemo, he and Emma will be competing in the Bath Half Marathon to raise money for the Forever Friends Appeal, Bath RUH.

You can donate here - https://www.justgiving.com/Emma-Hucklebridge1

Rathmell is appealing for donations for Huck and his family and to raise money for the Forever Friends Charity -

http://www.foreverfriendsappeal.co.uk/ruhcancercentre

She says: “We are asking anyone who may have something they can donate that we can sell to please get in touch with us and help us raise as much money as possible. Huck has put so much into our sport and now it is our turn to put into Huck and help him. If you have anything, signed, unsigned, race kit, products, tickets, anything we will sell! Please e-mail carly.rathmell@btinternet.comor or Elliot.spencer@mxvice.com to arrange delivery, logos etc.”

Huck says: "All the money raised will go to the Forever Friends Appeal. It is developing its cancer unit and wants to be in the top five in the UK for research and care. Dyson is a big sponsor as well as MJ Church and through myself have pledged to raise £50k this year.
“Before I start my treatment Emma and myself are running the Bath Half marathon with lots of our friends, as a group we have already raised over £2500 so far.

“I would like to thank everyone who has donated gifts and have brought items and Carly and James for putting this together. Let's hope that your donations will help the doctors to find a cure for Cancer soon and a cure for me.”
http://www.foreverfriendsappeal.co.uk/ruhcancercentre

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NEWS: POPE’S HARLEY and biker JACKET SELL FOR £250,000

Pope Francis’ 1585cc Harley-Davidson Dyna Super Glide sold for €241,500 (£200,200) after a six-minute bidding war at the Bonhams Paris sale.

Pope's wheels: SOLD

A Harley-Davidson motorcycle jacket also sold for €57,500 (£47,700) at the sale which took place as part of Bonhams’ Les Grandes Marques du Monde sale at the Grand Palais.

The Harley - with the Pope's autograph on the tank - and the leather jacket were the first two lots of the 45-strong motorcycle sale to go under the hammer. The hundreds watching the sale applauded when the hammer came down on the motorcycle after being won by a telephone bidder.

The items, which were donated to Pope Francis by the motorcycle manufacturer in June 2013, were bought by separate bidders – with the motorcycle going to a private buyer in Europe, and the jacket to an overseas buyer.

Funds raised by the machine and the jacket will go towards the renovation of the Caritas Roma’s Don Luigi di Liegro hostel and soup kitchen based at Rome’s Termini railway station.

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All vehicles brought into the Auto Trader garage

Trader Media, owner of Bike Trader, Van Trader and Motorhome & Caravan Trader, has announced that it is bringing all three offerings under the Auto Trader banner.

Auto Trader - 'one stop shop'

The move comes at the beginning of what will be a significant year for the brand with an impending re-launch of the Auto Trader homepage, improved search functionality and new digital display functionality.

Each of the non-car sites will link directly from the Auto Trader homepage and will use the new Auto Trader brand logo, launched in December last year.  The new structure marks the first time in the group’s 37-year history that the four brands have operated from under one brand name. 

Jonathan Williams, Auto Trader Group marketing director, commented: “There has long been more to Auto Trader than just cars and our 18-year-old non-car brands reflect the strength and breadth of our offering to trade customers, as well as private buyers This latest change reflects our ambition to simplify the Auto Trader brand for everyone, allowing easier access to the full range of products and services we are proud to deliver.”

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