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Polaris Industries and Zero Motorcycles have inked a 10-year deal that will see the two American companies partnering on electric ATVs, side-by-sides, and snowmobiles (but not motorcycles).

While the 10-year duration might be an ambitious commitment, we do expect to see the fruits of this partnership to debut in just a year’s time, with the first model from this partnership expected to come in 2021.

The plan is for Polaris to develop, manufacturer, and sell electric powersport products that use Zero’s drivetrain hardware and software components.

This gives Polaris a jump on electrifying its fleet of vehicles, while it gives Zero some much needed cash from selling drivetrain systems.

What makes a champion? Is it talent? Desire? Drive? Today we had an opportunity to learn about those things from the champions themselves, as Yamaha closed out their year-long 60th Anniversary celebration by inducting twelve members into the Yamaha Wall of Champions.

The celebration occurred at Yamaha’s headquarters in Cypress, CA with much of Yamaha’s senior leadership team present. Four of the inductees came from the motocross and supercross side of the house, two were ATV champions, and six prefer the slick tires of motorcycle roadracing.

Yamaha used this ceremony as an opportunity for its employees to celebrate the holiday, to give back to the community, and to enjoy some time with factory racers, both past and present.

The mood was festive and spirits were high. A band comprised of Yamaha employees added to the festive atmosphere and a couple of food trucks ensured that everyone was well fed.

A teaser video from Yamaha Europe is very clear on the fact that Yamaha is getting ready to debut a sporty off-road side-by-side, for the European market and likely the American market as well.

The interesting thing, and the reason we’re talking about it here at Asphalt & Rubber, is the four-wheeled desert-shredding monster is powered by a three-cylinder engine – a peculiar choice of lumps, from the Tuning Fork brand.

Of course the only model in Yamaha’s lineup that has such an engine is the FZ-09 (that’s an MT-09 to you non-Americans), which has been the basis for the FJ-09 sport-tourer as well.

Perhaps hoping to get some more mileage, no pun intended, out of its three-cylinder engine design, Yamaha has repurposed its triple for this unique use.

We will likely have to wait a little while longer to see what Yamaha has brewing, though it does seem intriguing…if you like to sit-down and steer your adult-sized toys.

It seems DMG has made its second smart decision in recent memory, the first being to sell its interesting AMA Pro Road Racing to the KRAVE, which started the MotoAmerica series.

What is this new “smart” decision, you might ask? The hiring of former Ducati North America CEO Michael Lock as a strategic consultant AMA Pro Racing.

Certainly a contentious name in the Ducati dealer network, one cannot deny however that Lock brought growth to DNA (not to mention Triumph) during his tenure, and that he understands the importance of branding and public perception — something DMG clearly does not have at its core competencies.

You know that scene in Crocodile Dundee where Mick says, “that’s not a knife, this is a knife!” and whips out a big-ass bowie blade? That’s the inner-dialogue Alessandro Tartarini (of modern Lambretta fame) must have had as he designed the simply named “Brutus” motorcycle concept. Likened to being half an ATV, the main calling in life for the Brutus is to go where no other motorcycle dare dream.

Helping it achieve that lofty goal, the Brutus has a massive 750cc water-cooled single-cylinder motor, which is rated at around 50hp, and is paired with a CVT transmission. 14″ wheels are mated to Maxxis Big Horn tires, which give the two-wheeler that Bigfoot look, though we were surprised to learn that the Brutus is only one-wheel drive.

Expected to debut a production model later this year, with public availability in Spring 2013, the Brutus will come with a bevy of options, including sidecar, ski, and fire-fighting configurations. Massively over built, the Brutus is completely ridiculous in almost every way, yet the idea of monster-trucking our way through the most rugged terrain seems oddly appealing. Hrmmm…

Well maybe it’s not strictly a motorcycle, but Alexei Mikhailov’s Trakrok concept certainly look like a lot of fun. Part quad, part snowmobile, part dirt bike, we imagine the Trakrok would be able to get us into all sorts of trouble on some of the more impassable terrain available. Featuring futuristic off-road tires up front, the real thing that catches our eye with the Trakrok is the rubber snowmobile-like independent track that replaces the rear tires.

Complimenting the angular modern design, is the idea that the Trakrok would be powered by a hydrogen power cell. A bit out there on the practical meter, we do like the design elements that Mikhailov is using here, and the Trakrok looks like something straight out of the KTM playbook (or would that be the Kiska playbook?). Angel eye headlights set-off the front, while trellis framing abounds on the frame and track supports. It might be a bit hard to find tires for the thing though. More photos after the jump.

The Motorcycle Industry Council is reporting that US motorcycle sales are up 7% in Q1 of 2011, with 102,547 units being sold in the year’s first three months. Leading the charge were scooter sales, which were up nearly 50% to 6,246 units, while on-road units were up as well, pushing 70,879 units in Q1 (a 6.9% gain).

Despite the strong numbers from on-road and dual-sport models, off-road vehicles did not fare as well, with ATV sales down 16% and off-road motorcycle sales down 5.5% (47,702 & 18,725 units respectively), making 2011 still a mixed bag depending on what side of the industry you are on.

Honda has closed its books for the first quarter of 2010, and the company’s motorcycle, scooter, and ATV sales are up 28.2% over Q1 of 2009. Selling over 2.8 million units (compare that to Q1 2009’s 2.25 million units), Honda’s sales created $3.7 billion in net sales. Honda reported $3 billion in net sales during the same time period last year. While the Asian markets powered most of Honda’s sales, North American sales were up 11% to 60,000 units sold.

In about 18 months, roughly a thousand workers will be out of a job at the Polaris plant in Osceola, Wisconsin. In that timeframe Polaris plans to close the Osceola plant, and move its production south of the border to Mexico. The move comes about as Polaris looks to increase production efficiency (i.e. lower production costs with cheaper labor), which will then allow the company to be more competitive with its products’ positions in their respective marketplaces.

The latest data from the Motorcycle Industry Council (MIC), suggests that the end of cascading motorcycle sales may be near. According to the MIC, the combined new unit sales for motorcycles, scooters, and ATVS during the past 9 months were down 40% from last year’s numbers. While still frighteningly low, these results show a 2% rebound in sales when compared to the first 6 months of 2009.

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Kawasaki, not be left out of the metric manufacturer meltdown, is offering a buyout package to 320 workers at its plant in Lincoln, Nebraska, which produces ATVs and personal water craft for Team Green. While, the buyout applies to only about 16% of the plants total 2,000 or so workers, if further costs reductions are not met then deeper cuts will likely be made.

According to Kawasaki, “rapidly declining sales” of recreational and utility products prompted the buyout, and if not enough of the employees excericse the option to have their contracts bought, then Kawasaki will “be forced to terminate some employees.” Workers at the Nebraska plant already have been working short weeks and will continue to do so for the next several months. No further comment from Kawasaki is expected until Friday, May 22. 

Source: PowerSports Business