Harley-Davidson 110th Celebration 8/28 - 9/2

With Harley-Davidson's 110th anniversary celebration approaching, Milwaukee is preparing to accommodate thousands of motorcycle enthusiasts. The 6 day event at House of Harley is looking to bring in around 250,000 people. With all types of vendors and entertainment the main focus will be the unveiling of the New 2014 model year line up. For everyone who is looking to buy one of these new Harley-Davidson's  and need a way to get it home, make sure you check out Aerostar Motorcycle Transportation. Aerostar is your "premium" international & domestic motorcycle shipping company. Aerostar ships every bike in a fully enclosed crates that include; the same base metal crate the HD motor company ships on, four 1500lb. strength ratchet straps, breathable bike cover and, all bikes a insured to their full value. Aerostar has unparalleled transit times anywhere in the US and has 30 plus years of experienced international shipping. Come stop by the Aerostar tent in the parking lot of House of Harley and get your NEW bike shipped home safe. Aerostar Motorcycle Transportation "built by bikers for bikers"

And it was a close one this weekend at the Indy Moto GP

 

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (August 18, 2013) - For the second consecutive day, a rider from outside the XR Showdown title chase stepped forward to claim victory in AMA Pro Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson Series action at the Red Bull Indianapolis GP.

And yet again, it came down to a photo finish as PETRONAS/KWR's Hafizh Syahrin earned his first career GEICO Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing win by drafting past Aerostar Global/Suburban Harley-Davison's Steve Rapp at the checkered flag by just 0.060 seconds.

The Malaysian, nicknamed "The Fish" during his time racing in Spain, led his home Grand Prix at Sepang en route to a fourth-place result in the Moto2 World Championship race last season and showcased world-class adaptability throughout the Indy weekend. He continually built up speed as he adapted to the unfamiliar Harley-Davidson XR1200 machinery. On Saturday he managed to fight his way to third position, and he took another big step forward on Sunday to battle up front with XR Showdown favorite Rapp, who came into the Indy weekend riding a wave of four consecutive victories.

The two went back and forth throughout the contest; Rapp repeatedly owned the infield only to find himself outclassed down the long start/finish line straight, which ultimately proved his undoing for a second straight day.

Syahrin capitalized on his top-end advantage, setting Rapp up for a slipstream maneuver on the final lap to storm past just before they hit the stripe.

Syahrin, who competes as a Spanish CEV Moto2 regular, said, "I tried to keep improving every session. We found a very good setting in the first race and then we just tried to improve the rear suspension just a little bit for today's race because yesterday I had just a little bit too much slide.

"It improved a lot and that's why I was able to run up front. Steve Rapp and I were the only two in the front and I kept in the second position until the very end. I passed him in the slipstream. I'm very happy to come away with a first place and third place this weekend."

While Rapp may have been frustrated to be the victim of the draft yet again at Indy, Sunday's runner-up finish puts him in a commanding position in the four-race, $60,000 XR Showdown. His primary rival, Eco Fuel Saver/Scrubblade's Tyler O'Hara, entered today's contest holding a five-point advantage thanks to his Saturday second. However, O'Hara crashed out of contention on the opening lap of Sunday's race, severely damaging his championship chances with just two more rounds to go.

Runner-up Rapp said, "It was the luck of the draw with the draft and he weighs forty or fifty pounds less than I do. You know, that's the way it worked out and I don't think he'll be racing the rest of the season so in the big picture it's okay. I don't think there's anything I could have done. I figured he would get a draft and it wouldn't take much to pass me, but in the same regard, I knew I probably couldn't pass him.

"I always say if I try 100% and I don't win, I am okay with that."

Saturday's winner, Harley-Davidson of Bloomington Indiana's Jeremy McWilliams, lost touch with Syahrin and Rapp when O'Hara went down. As a result the Irishman found himself embroiled in a scrap with Harv's Harley-Davidson's Travis Wyman for the final spot on the podium.

McWilliams was unable to replicate his late-race heroics from the day before, however, crashing out on lap nine of ten while running just in front of Wyman. The youngster narrowly avoided running into his fallen rival and carried on to collect a strong third-place finish.

As a result of his third and O'Hara's mishap, Wyman moves into second position in the XR Showdown. He said, "I am really happy to leave second in points. Being on the box here at Indy is like a win to me. I feel really good about being in the Showdown. Before McWilliams crashed, it was shaping up to be a real good dogfight between us, I know that. He isn't one to give up a podium spot."

Rapp's Suburban Harley-Davidson teammate, Ben Carlson, picked up fourth with Spyke's Harley-Davidson's defending series champion, Michael Barnes, rounding out the top five.

Mob Racing's Shane Narbonne edged Happy Trails M/C Connection's Hayden Schultz for sixth, while Folsom Harley-Davidson's Gage McAllister, Fernet Insurance's Eric Stump, and Longevity Racing's Barrett Long completed the top ten.

With just two races remaining to determine the 2013 AMA Pro Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson Series champion, Rapp leads by eight points over Wyman, 1045-1037. Defending champ Barnes is third at 1030 followed by Narbonne with 1028. O'Hara remains in the top five but is saddled with an imposing 20-point deficit as the series heads into its penultimate race.

6 Bikes to Montana

6 Guys from Chicago have been shipping their bikes from Chicago to Montana and riding through Canada and back for about 17 years. This was the first time they had used Aerostar Global Logistics and this is what they had to say " Shipping with you guys has been the easiest it has ever been in the 17 years that we have been doing this trip" The bikes were shipped out to Montana and arrived 2 days prior to the actual delivery date. The bikes were un-crated by Big Sky Harley-Davidson and were ready to ride for the customers when they arrived. They rode up through Canada and back to Montana. After their trip was over they dropped the bikes off at Big Sky and took their flight home. The 2011,2012,2010 Ultra Electra Glide, 2012 Road Glide Custom, 2007 Ultra Electra, and a 2003 Road Glide all came back from Big Sky in 2 days transit, 7 days prior to the actual delivery date. Big thanks to Big Sky Harley Davidson and team Aerostar Global Logistics for their fantastic service.

Round 6 and Round 7 of the Vance and Hines XR1200 Series

The Miller Motorsports Park round of the 2013 GEICO Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing season marked the final opportunity for this year's crop of AMA Pro Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson Series contenders to earn a slot as one of the ten qualifiers for the four-race shootout that will determine this year's champion.
While the season's established front-runners -- Aerostar Global/Suburban Harley-Davison's Steve Rapp, Spyke's defending class champion Michael Barnes, and Eco Fuel Saver/Scrubblade's Tyler O'Hara -- were already well positioned for the upcoming title chase, they still came to Utah ready to fight.
With pride and prize-money on the line, Rapp, O'Hara, and Barnes again dominated the proceedings, locking down the three positions on the podium.
In the end, Rapp outlasted a determined challenge from '12 MMP victor O'Hara to secure his fourth consecutive AMA Pro Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson Series race win. That streak arguably makes him the odds-on favorite heading into the XR Showdown despite the fact that the top ten riders will all start off on equal points, reset at 1000 for each of the ten qualifiers.
Rapp said, "It feels great. I wasn't even sure if I was going to make this race, and thanks to all the guys at Suburban Harley-Davidson and Aerostar Global I'm here and they gave me an awesome bike…It's just a good feeling; no matter what you run on it's always fun winning. I'm having a great time and there's a lot less pressure and stress than I used to have. It's fun coming to the races again."
O'Hara provided the on-form Rapp with a serious challenge, but one little mishap was all the veteran needed to make his break.
O'Hara explained, "Going into the first left on the Attitudes I was leaned over and hit the cases. It just about threw me to the moon but I saved it. He gapped me there with three laps to go."
While Rapp continued his winning ways, O'Hara was encouraged by his Miller Motorsports Park performance and is justifiably optimistic heading into the XR Showdown. He said, "We keep moving up on the box. We've been consistent and we're making progress. My whole team is working their butts off. These Harleys are a lot of work, just to keep them on the track. We're feeling good and now it's time for the chase. We're really excited about that. These are some of my really solid tracks coming up and I think it's going to be a really good end to the year."
Barnes, who missed out on Saturday's qualifying session after suffering a massive (and painful) highside on his out lap, finished a distant third.
After the race, the champ said, "We just missed out a little bit on the set-up and I'm kind of beat up from (Saturday). We'll just regroup and get ready for Indy."
Despite sporting the #1 plate, in many ways Barnes has continued in his perennial role as the scrappy underdog. He's been forced to change teams midseason (as he also did in '12) and work overtime just to make each successive race. However, as difficult as it's been at times, Barnes only needs to get hot now, the same way he did last season, to successfully defend his crown.
Barnes said, "We're just waiting for everything to click as far as the bike. I've had a lot of struggles between last year and this year, as far as jumping on different bikes, financial, etc., etc. It's just hard to make the races right now. I was hoping to win one, mainly for money so it would make things easier going into the chase. We're just going to try to put together as many resources as I can ahead of Indy.
"Hopefully Indy will be a bit more rewarding to help us get through the final two races. I haven't been notoriously strong at Indy, but I have been very consistent there. With our new suspension, I already feel some big improvements and I think it's going to work better at Indy. The more and more time I have at Indy, I think I keep getting stronger. New Jersey we were strong, and Laguna is going to be Laguna. Because we haven't been there (on the XRs) that's probably going to be the coolest part of the end of the year. Kind of like NOLA was last year -- no one had an advantage. We're just going to attack it and go to Indy and do the best we can."
Unlike the top three, a handful of runners in qualifying positions elected to sit out the Miller Motorsports Park round and gamble on the fact that they had already collected enough points to earn them a slot.
Harv's Harley-Davidson's Travis Wyman and Suburban Harley-Davison's Ben Carlson escaped unscathed. Longevity Racing's Barrett Long did so as well, although it was a close call for Long, who slipped from sixth to tenth in the final pre-Showdown tally.
ChiliPepper Racing's Ricky Parker was not so fortune, slipping from ninth to outside the top ten. Parker's loss was Thrashed Bike Racing's David Estok's gain, who battled from eleventh to eighth with an excellent fifth-place result at MMP.
The Miller Motorsports Park round was a heartbreaker for some riders working hard to fight their way in as well.
Fernet Insurance's Eric Stump qualified on the front row and was holding out hope of leaping all the way up from 17th and into the top ten. Unfortunately, he crashed out on the final lap while scraping with Folsom Harley-Davidson's Gage McAllister for fourth position. However, even if he had managed to claim fourth, he would have still fallen a point short of earning a slot in the XR Showdown.
Meanwhile, Happy Trails M/C Connection's Hayden Schultz, who qualified fifth, crashed out while racing up front on the race's opening lap. Had he finished fourth, he would have successfully climbed up from 15th and into the top ten.
Deely Racing's Darren James came into the weekend in 14th position. He put in a strong sixth-place ride on Sunday but still fell two points short of clawing his way in.
Now that the top ten is set, it's a whole new season for those battling in the $60,000 XR Showdown. The XR Showdown will kick off a week from now as the AMA Pro Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson Series will join the MotoGP World Championship at the Red Bull Indianapolis GP on August 16-18 for a vitally important doubleheader event.

2013 XR Showdown Qualifiers
Steve Rapp (No. 5 Aerostar Global/Suburban Harley-Davison)
Tyler O'Hara (No. 29 Eco Fuel Saver/Scrubblade)
Michael Barnes (No. 1 Spyke's Harley-Davidson)
Travis Wyman (No. 24 Harv's Harley-Davidson)
Ben Carlson (No. 45 Aerostar Global/Suburban Harley-Davison)
Shane Narbonne (No. 46 Mob Racing)
Nicholas Hansen (No. 97 H&S Distributors /Aerostar Global)
David Estok (No. 123 Thrashed Bike Racing)
Josh Chisum (No. 10 Eco Fuel Saver/Scrubblade)
Barrett Long (No. 2 Longevity Racing) (6th to 10th)

Next Up
The 2013 GEICO Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing season will resume next week as the series travels to Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Indiana for Round 7 on August 16-18. For tickets and additional information, please visit http://secure.brickyard.com/Tickets/RedBullIndianapolisGP.aspx.

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