The Buzz Happenings Around the Industry
June 3rd, 2011
by Jason Giacchino
HMF Releases 2012 Brute Force Exhaust, Slip On and Full System
The muscular Brute Force 750 4×4 ATV picked up a ton of upgrades for the 2012 model. An Electric Power Steering (EPS) system is one of the biggest changes, but other new features like a more-powerful V-twin engine, new double-wishbone front suspension, six-spoke cast alloy wheels and new bodywork featuring wide-stance styling cues help share the load. HMF ATV exhaust systems have always responded well to the Brute Force engine. The 2012 model picks up a lot of horsepower and torque, especially on the Swamp series.
Exhaust Series Options:
Swamp Series
The Swamp is great for its large mechanical core that directs and controls sound pulses to keep sound levels approximately 1-2 dB over stock.
Performance Series
The HMF Performance Series has a specially designed, unrestricted core that allows the exhaust to increase power evenly throughout the entire power curve. It also features the signature HMF sound with industry-leading end cap and color options, giving you a completely custom look.
Penland Pro Series
Backed by ATV legend Mike Penland, the Penland Series was developed for serious off road racers and trail riders striving to achieve more low-end torque. The Penland features the same core as the Performance Series, but features the removable TRM that allows quads to hook-up in rough conditions.
Swamp XL Series
The younger brother of the Swamp Series, the Swamp XL Series (extra loud) offers anywhere between 1-2 more horsepower than the standard Swamp Series. What makes the Swamp XL different than the Swamp Series is the non-restrictive core that produces very high dB sound levels.
Each HMF Exhaust:
• Includes a USFS Approved Spark Arrester.
• Includes a 2 Year Limited Manufacturer’s Warranty.
• Is made of high quality Aluminum, Stainless Steel, or Carbon Kevlar.
• Packed with high performance glass wool packing.
• Includes Installation Instructions.
• Manufactured in the U.S.A.
Don’t Forget:
Whenever you add an after-market exhaust system to your machine, tuning your fuel system, in most cases, an absolute necessity. The proper jets and EFI settings are extremely important for the performance and lifespan of your machine. Tuning Kits are available to ensure your machine runs at its top performance and your HMF Warranty remains valid.
Polaris Goes all Social Networking
Everyone has a FaceBook page these days, right? Well, maybe not everyone, but now Polaris does. The company’s Off-Road Vehicles division has launched an official page on Facebook where off-road enthusiasts can find photos, blog updates, and links to exclusive content at: www.facebook.com/Polarisoffroad/.
Arctic Cat Launches Online Store
Arctic Cat Inc. has launched its Parts, Garments and Accessories (PG&A) online store at www.arcticcat.com for the United States market. Consumers now have the convenient option of shopping online for a full range of Arctic Cat PG&A products. These orders may be delivered to homes or a nearby Arctic Cat dealer. Arctic Cat expects to expand the e-commerce site to accommodate Canadian shoppers by late summer.
“We are excited to offer consumers the speed and convenience of our new online store, which will provide access to Arctic Cat’s products and product information at any time,” said Mary Ellen Walker, vice president and general manager of Arctic Cat’s PG&A division. “Our dealers will also benefit by receiving online orders without making the investment in building their own internet store.”
From dirt to snow, Arctic Cat is making online shopping easier to match the perfect product to enthusiasts’ riding style and machine. The benefits of Arctic Cat’s online store include:
• Convenient 24-7 shopping: Online orders are fulfilled within 24 hours, enabling consumers to receive their order within three to five days.
• Easy navigation and product search functions: Parts may be located by category, model year or model name, color or size.
• Secure, confidential and reliable: Built-in security measures protect consumers’ information. The system currently accepts payment with Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover and PayPal.
• For dealer pick-up orders, consumers simply choose a dealership within a 150-mile radius where they will pick up their order.
Arctic Cat selected Shopatron’s Coex Freedom technology to support the e-commerce site’s fulfillment. The Arctic Cat online store also features – PartStream, ARI’s new, consumer-friendly lookup and ordering system, which offers a quick search tool, intuitive illustrations and an extensive collection of parts diagrams dating back to 1974. This feature simplifies consumers’ searches for the exact part required, regardless of the age of their machine.
Major Wild Lands Anti-Off-Road-Vehicle Policy Reversed
In a victory for off-highway vehicle (OHV) riders nationwide, U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar has reversed his position on his controversial new Wild Lands policy, the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) reports.
In an announcement made June 1, Salazar said the federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) wouldn’t designate any Wild Lands, which would have been managed as if they had received the restrictive Wilderness land-use designation from Congress.
Instead, Salazar said the BLM, which is a part of the Interior Department, will work in collaboration with members of Congress and others to identify public land that may be appropriate candidates for congressional protection under the Wilderness Act.
“We will focus our effort on building consensus around locally supported initiatives and working with members [of Congress] to advance their priorities for Wilderness designations in their states and districts,” he said. Rob Dingman, AMA president and CEO, said he was pleased by the news but cautioned that OHV riders must remain on guard.
“This is a major victory for motorcyclists and all-terrain vehicle riders and others concerned about appropriate access to public land,” Dingman said. “But we must remain vigilant. Anti-access groups will continue pushing for legislation to inappropriately close off millions of acres of public land to OHVs. Not only are BLM lands under attack by these groups, but U.S. Forest Service land as well.
“I want to thank all the AMA members and others who attended meetings and contacted their federal lawmakers to oppose the Wild Lands policy,” he added. “Your voices helped put pressure on Secretary Salazar to convince him to abandon his ill-conceived Wild Lands policy.”
In December, the AMA and OHV enthusiasts won an important battle for responsible riding on public land when U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) dropped his effort to pass a massive omnibus public lands bill that would have inappropriately designated millions of acres of public land as Wilderness, barring OHVs.
But then just days later, on Dec. 22, Salazar signed Secretarial Order 3310 creating the Wild Lands land-use designation that essentially allowed BLM officials to manage public land as if it had received a Wilderness designation from Congress, but without requiring congressional approval. This new policy was widely expected to restrict or eliminate responsible OHV use in the affected areas, and was seen to be orchestrated by anti-access groups to pull an end-run around Congress.
It also was expected to have a far-reaching impact because the BLM manages about 245 million acres of public land nationwide, primarily in 12 western states.
Federal lawmakers have considered the Wild Lands policy a “land grab” and a blatant attempt to usurp congressional authority. Off-highway riders sporting “Stop the Land Grab” stickers produced by the AMA and distributed by the Utah Shared Access Alliance (USA-ALL) turned out in droves for a meeting of Utah’s Governor’s Council on Balanced Resources that featured BLM Director Bob Abbey trying to explain the new policy.
Several governors were very vocal in their opposition to the Wild Lands policy as well, including Wyoming’s Matthew Mead, Idaho’s C.L. “Butch” Otter and Utah’s Gary Herbert.
Because of opposition from powerful federal lawmakers, governors, the AMA and other OHV enthusiasts, the Wild Lands policy hit a major snag on April 15.
That’s when President Obama signed into law the Fiscal Year 2011 Continuing Resolution — the funding measure that keeps the federal government operating through Sept. 30 – that included language barring the Interior Department from using any money to implement the Wild Lands land-use policy to manage land as if it had been designated as Wilderness.
A Wilderness designation is one of the strictest forms of public land management. Once Congress designates an area as Wilderness, nearly all forms of non-pedestrian recreation are illegal. The AMA supports appropriate Wilderness designations that meet the criteria established by Congress in 1964, but anti-access advocates have been abusing the legislative process to ban responsible OHV recreation on public land.
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