Justin Barcia led all 20 laps to earn his first career victory in the 450cc class of the AMA Supercross Championship. The Team Honda Muscle Milk rider took the holeshot and never looked back to take his maiden win in front of 50,109 fans at Chase Field in Phoenix, Ariz.

“I can’t tell you how excited I am right now,” says Barcia. “I didn’t think this win would come so soon. I kept it smooth out there, but the track was super slick. It was a great night for me.”

Following Barcia out of the first corner were Anaheim 1 winner Davi Millsaps of Rockstar Energy Suzuki and TwoTwo Motorsports Honda rider Chad Reed, an order they would maintain for the opening 11 laps. Monster Energy Kawasaki‘s Ryan Villopoto was also among the early front-runners but slid out on a corner, dropping him from fourth to eighth. Continue Reading »

Triumph reported a 7% increase in unit sales and a 47.8% increase in operating profit for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2011.

According to Triumph, the British manufacturer sold 48,684 units over the year, a 7% increase from the 45,501 units sold the previous year.

Operating income totaled 22.3 million pounds (US$35.0 million), a large jump from the operating income of 15.1 million pounds (US$23.7 million) reported last year thanks to a more efficient use of working capital and reduced costs.

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As expected, Harley-Davidson reported a net income of $183.6 million over the third quarter ended Sept. 25, 2011, a 106% increase from the $88.8 million reported in the same quarter of 2010.

Harley-Davidson reported sales revenue of $1.23 billion, a 13.4% increase from the $1.09 billion reported in the same quarter of 2010. Operating income from sales totaled $180.7 million, a year-on-year increase from $101.5 million.

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Polaris Industries announced another record quarter with sales growth across all its product lines including on-road vehicle sales which consist mainly of Victory Motorcycles and Indian Motorcycles.

The Medinia, Minn., company reported $67.6 million in net income for the third quarter ended Sept. 30, 2011, a 43% increase from the $47.2 million reported in the same quarter of 2010. Overall sales brought in $729.9 million, a 26% increase from Q3 2010′s $580.1.

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Honda reported a 88.3% year-on-year decrease in net profit over its first quarter ended June 30, 2011, thanks in large part to the March 11 earthquake and ensuing tsunamis in Japan.

Honda reported a profit of 31.7 billion yen (US$411.1 million) over the quarter, a fraction of the 272.4 billion yen (US$3.53 billion) reported over the same quarter last year.  The decrease came mainly from a large dropoff in automobile sales.

Net sales from the motorcycle division helped keep Honda in the black despite a drop in unit sales. Honda reported a net income of 44.9 billion yen (US$582.4 million), a 43.5% increase from the net sales of 31.3 billion yen (US$406.1 million) from the same period last year. Unit sales were down 4.7% to 2.75 million units from 2.89 million units, but Honda was able to increase profits thanks to changes in its product offerings.

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The U.S. motorcycle industry saw a 4.6% decrease in year-on-year sales over the first six months of 2011, thanks mostly to a 17.3% drop in ATV sales. Motorcycle and scooter sales however saw a 1.7% bump in the first half .

Unfortunately, most of that gain in two-wheeled vehicle sales was due to a strong first quarter that saw a year-on-year increase of 7.2%. Second quarter motorcycle and scooter sales totaled 156,215 units, down 1.6% compared to 158,686 units sold in the second quarter 2010.

Compiled by the Motorcycle Industry Council, the figures represent sales over the six months ended June 30, 2011, from 19 reporting manufacturers: Aprilia, Arctic Cat, BMW, Buell, Can-Am, Ducati, Harley-Davidson, Honda, Husaberg, Kawasaki, KTM, Moto Guzzi, Piaggio, Polaris, Suzuki, Triumph, Vespa, Victory and Yamaha.

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Ducati North America announced  a 61% increase in sales over the second quarter of 2011 compared to the same period in 2010.

Following the 68% increase reported from the first quarter, Ducati can claim four consecutive quarters of year-on-year increases in North America. Over the first six months of 2011, Ducati‘s North American sales are up 63% from the first half of 2010, with over 5,200 new motorcycles registered.

Ducati says it saw growth across its product lineup, especially with the Multistrada 1200, the new Diavel, the 848EVO and the Monster 796

[Source: Ducati]

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Ducati North America Reports Q1 2011 Results

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Polaris Industries reported a 99% increase in on-road vehicle (i.e. Victory Motorcycles) sales, and a 90% increase in overall net income over the second quarter of 2011.

For the quarter ended June 20, 2011, Polaris reported $30.9 million in product sales from its on-road division which consists primarily of Victory Motorcycles. That is nearly double the $15.5 million reported in the same quarter of 2010.

Victory’s North American unit sales were up 40% over the second quarter, while the rest of the heavyweight cruiser and touring industry saw only a single-digit increase in U.S. sales. Sales outside of North America increased by 34%.

Overall, Polaris reported all-time record second quarters in both sales ($607.9 million) and net income ($48.7 million).

[Source: Polaris]

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Polaris Reports Q1 2011 Results

Harley-Davidson reported a net income of $190.6 million over the second quarter of 2011, thanks to the first year-on-year quarterly improvement in the U.S. market in nearly five years.

For the three months ended June 26, 2011, Harley-Davidson’s operating income totaled $301.9 million, a 38.0% increase from the $218.8 million reported in the same period of 2010. The increase can be attributed to an 18.0% increase in motorcycle sales revenue and a decrease in expenses from Harley-Davidson Financial Services.

Worldwide retail sales of Harley-Davidson motorcycles totaled 83,396 units, a 5.6% increase from the second quarter of 2010. U.S. sales totaled 53,599 units, a 7.5% increase from the 49,841 units sold in 2010. This represents Harley-Davidson’s first year-over-year quarterly increase in the U.S. since the fourth quarter of 2006.

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