Coming off the third-straight record year for Polaris, CEO Scott Wine has just gotten a resounding vote of confidence from the company’s Board of Directors, and has been elected to Chairman of the Board at Polaris Industries. Wine replaces former-Chairman Greg Palen, who had served in the position of chairman for 11 of his 20 years on Polaris’ Board of Directors.

“I would like to congratulate Scott on his election to serve in the additional capacity of Chairman of the Board,” said Palen. “Under his leadership, Polaris has delivered consistent and profitable growth while successfully executing the company’s ambitious strategy, generating record results and shareholder returns.”

News

Aprilia is getting serious with its sport bike offerings here in the United States, as we just got an email from Aprilia USA announcing massive price reductions on its 2012 model year Aprilia Tuono V4 R, Aprilia RSV4 R APRC, and Aprilia RSV4 Factory APRC, to the tune of $2,000, $3,000, and $4,000 respectively. That’s right, you can get a Tuono V4 R for $12,999, an RSV4 R APRC for $13,999, and an RSV4 Factory APRC for $18,999 MSRP. Boom goes the dynamite.

Bikes

Unless your name rhymes with Tarlos Techa, the chances of you owning a Ducati 1199 Panigale RS13 are pretty slim. The racer-only version of the Ducati 1199 Panigale R, the Panigale RS13 is stripped of all the lights, mirrors, reflectors, and other assorted running gear that you would need to pass an inspection from the DOT, and becomes a motorcycle solely dedicated to the art of going fast.

Getting one isn’t cheap though, as the price tag is pegged at a cool €134,900 ($180,500). A hefty price increase over the street-going Panigale R, though with all the added suspension, brakes, wheels, etc that come with the RS13 race bike, the price seems somewhat reasonable — if you can say such a thing about a nearly $180,500 motorcycle.

News

Calling it a “strategic realignment” for BMW Motorrad, the BMW Group has confirmed the rumors and sold Husqvarna Motorcycles to Pierer Industrie AG, the holding company of KTM CEO Stefan Pierer. Saying the parties would not disclose the terms or purchase price of the transaction, the press release from BMW Motorrad was surprisingly light on any actual information. Touting BMW’s commitment to urban mobility and electric vehicles, the German company will now focus solely on the BMW Motorrad brand. With reports saying that BMW Motorrad will not venture back into the dirt bike market, the company will maintain its on-road focus for the foreseeable future.

Racing

Ignite Asset Management is a new name in the MotoGP paddock’s lexicon, as well as the new sponsor of Ducati’s “junior” team. While each year sponsors come and go, Ignite is a bit different from the usual batch of names plastered on the side of a GP bike, and the investment firm is getting some interesting play in the otherwise unassuming motorcycle world. If you are not sure what an “alternative asset management” investing firm happens to be, then the American company’s self-description as a “management firm led by a group of hedge fund industry veterans and supported by private investors that are driven by the undiscovered alpha” is going to really leave you really wondering what slicks-back the hair on these Wall Street types.

Racing

Our riding brethren across the pond have all the luck, as we learn of another cool motorcycle production that will be hitting the British airwaves: TT Legends. An eight-part documentary series that will cover the Honda TT Legends team throughout the 2012 season, TT Legends looks like a cracking good watch, if the trailer (after the jump) is any indication. Following John McGuinness, Cameron Donald, and Simon Andrews behind the scenes at six events, we get a unique perspective at some of the World Endurance Championship’s best venues like the Bol d’Or, Suzuka 8-Hour, and Le Mans, as well at the Isle of Man TT and North West 200. In addition to the racing footage, TT Legends also shows the stories off the track, as the riders prepare themselves physically and mentally.

Racing

A hallmark of both the African and South American varieties of the Dakar Rally, ask any of the competitors in the 2013 Dakar Rally about what the Arabians call fesh fesh, and you may see their faces turn as ashen as the material in your inquiry. A very fine and light powdery substance, fesh fesh in large enough quantities can spell instant disaster for an adventure rider or rally racer, as it plumes can quickly obscure the vision, and its quicksand-like properties can instantly envelope tires that tread too deeply or too slowly. The byproduct of countless years of the erosion process, fesh fesh is sand that has been worn down from its typical granular size, into a dust-like particle that closely resembles talcum powder.

Bikes

The name Marine Turbine Technologies (MTT) may not immediately strike recognition, though we are pretty sure that if we said the company was repsonsible for the turbine-powered Y2K hyperbike, you would know what we mean. Built in time for the turn of the millennia, the Y2K features a Rolls-Royce-Allison Model 250 turbine motor that makes 320 hp at 52,000 rpm. Yes, that rpm figure is correct. Unlike other turbine-driven road machines, which use the trust of the turbine jet engine for locomotion, MTT mated the helicopter turbine system to a two-speed gearbox, which in-turn drives a shaft to a final chain-drive system. Now reports say Marine Turbine Technologies is working on a new model of turbine-powered hyperbikes, awkwardly dubbed the 2013 MTT Y2K 420R.