The release of the AMSOIL A Study of Motorcycle Oils white paper shook up the motorcycle oil marketplace and showed motorcyclists why AMSOIL is The First in Synthetics. The quality of AMSOIL 10W-40 and 20W-50 Synthetic Motorcycle Oil has impressed so many motorcycle enthusiasts that word-of-mouth promotion has created an industry-wide buzz for AMSOIL. AMSOIL is the Official Oil of the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally and Daytona Bike Week, and now proudly adds Laconia Bike Week in New Hampshire to its roster. The Sturgis and Daytona rallies are North America’s biggest events for motorcyclists with more than one million riders attending the two rallies, while Laconia Bike Week is third largest and the original. Since its humble beginnings in 1916, Laconia Bike Week set off the beginning of a new era for motorcyclists and is now going strong into its 86th year.

Sturgis

AMSOIL has had a corporate presence at Sturgis since 2006. This year, as the rally’s Official Oil, AMSOIL will once again be prominently displayed. “People are going to see AMSOIL; there’s no way you can miss us,” said Director of Dealer Sales Rob Stenberg. Stop by the AMSOIL booth in downtown Sturgis for AMSOIL products, clothing and more. Check the official Sturgis Motorcycle Rally website (www.sturgismotorcyclerally.com) for additional information.

Daytona Bike Week

Popular with both Harley-style street bike riders and the metric crowd, the Daytona rally is similar in size and popularity to Sturgis, also boasting more than 500,000 attendees annually. AMSOIL will have a booth in the Daytona Bike Week Information Center. Check the official Daytona Bike Week website (www.officialbikeweek.com) for more details.

Laconia

North America’s third largest motorcycle rally, Laconia is the oldest of its kind. The very first unofficial event was held in 1916 with 300-400 motorcyclists gathering annually at Weirs Beach. The event has steadily grown ever since. The 75th Anniversary brought upwards of 330,000 people during the ten-day event, with attendees steadily going up to over 400,000 in 2004. This trend seems to be going strong, with more people becoming aware of Laconia Bike Week and its steadfast reputation. For more information please visit the Laconia Bike Week website at www.laconiamcweek.com.

AMSOIL Goes Hot Rodding: NSRA

Since 2007 AMSOIL has been an official product sponsor of the National Street Rod Association (NSRA). The NSRA is a loyal network of more than 55,000 classic car enthusiasts. The organization puts on a dozen national events per year in various parts of the country with attendance well over 250,000 people. Spectators attend to see and hear many of the most beautiful vintage automobiles around.

Historically NSRA events involved pre-1949 classics, but have now opened their events help to the muscle car era to seed the future of hot rodding.

The NSRA offers high visibility in a niche market, and helps garner public awareness on the benefits AMSOIL provides. The national events begin in April and run through October, with coverage on each in the Events blog on the AMSOIL website.

AMSOIL Official Oil of the Diesel Power Challenge

The Diesel Power Challenge is a creation of Diesel Power Magazine and the Source Interlink Truck Group. AMSOIL is proud to be a title sponsor of the Diesel Power Challenge, a grueling two-day event that tests the mettle of the toughest street legal turbo diesel trucks. The event results in as many as 40 pages of magazine coverage each year, along with a one hour TV program to be aired nationally.

Each year over a dozen pickups arrive for the competition, all maxed-out turbodiesels selected by the readers of Diesel Power Magazine to be put through rigorous testing for two days. The tests include a 1/4 mile drag-strip run, 1/8 mile drag while pulling a 10,000 lb trailer, sled-pull for distance, chassis dynamometer pulls testing horsepower and torque and a 100 mile drive to see which turbodiesel has the best fuel economy on the road.

The growing popularity of diesel vehicles in the United States makes events like the Diesel Power Challenge an unrivaled opportunity to put AMSOIL products to the test in the most severe operating conditions.

AMSOIL Joins Four Wheeler Top Truck Challenge

The Four Wheeler Top Truck Challenge is a grueling experience for both off-road machines and the drivers involved. Similar to the Diesel Power Challenge but far more twisted, participants are selected by the readers of Four Wheeler Magazine and come from all over the USA and Canada. The Challenge consists of a week of events designed to push the machine, the driver and the spotter to the limits.

The eight events included in the Challenge are the Hillclimb, the Trail Fix, the Tow Test, the Frame Twister, the Mud Pit, the Mini-Rubicon, the Obstacle Course and the Tank Trap. (More information on these events is available at www.fourwheeler.com) 2009 marked the 16th anniversary of this event and it continues to grow in numbers and popularity, making it a pivotal time for AMSOIL to gain exposure and serious street credit. This event allows AMSOIL to test various products in extreme conditions and become more visible to this booming market.

Four Wheeler Magazine is a respected authority in the off-road scene. The Top Truck Challenge sponsorship includes a one hour TV program which will in turn become a DVD.

AMSOIL Boosting MOPAR Muscle Engine Challenge

Back in 2006 at the Performance Racing Industry trade show in Orlando, FL, AMSOIL announced its new affiliation with Mopar Muscle magazine to become “Official Oil” of the MOPAR Muscle Engine Challenge. It was such a success that AMSOIL has stayed on board ever since and continues to help grow awareness for this event. The sponsorship is an excellent opportunity for AMSOIL to gain exposure with MOPAR enthusiasts across North America.

Each year eight Mopar engine builders across the continent are selected to feature their unique engine designs at the Mopar Nationals. The engines are transported to a dyno testing facility and run on the same octane fuel, while AMSOIL is the only oil allowed in each engine. Mopar Muscle magazine then features the competition events, highlighting each competitor’s engine specifics and overall standing within the competition. Each engine is given an overall rating based on a composite score of peak horsepower and peak torque divided by the retail cost of listed parts to determine the winner.

MOPAR, which stands for MOtor PARts, is the parts division of Chrysler Corporation

World's Fastest Diesel Motorcycles Rely on AMSOIL Lubricants

Fred Hayes currently holds eight world and four national land speed records on motorcycles. This month he’ll try to better those records and add another -- all on diesel-powered bikes. Fred Hayes is an experienced motorcycle rider, earning top honors in several American motorcycle riding competitions through the years. In 2003, Hayes was awarded a platinum medal at the UK National Rally, the competition's highest award. Since then Hayes has ridden two HDT USA diesel motorcycles to the first recognized land speed records for diesel motorcycles at the salt flats of Bonneville, Utah. Hayes' experience with motorcycles goes far beyond competition, though. He has been with Hayes Diversified Technologies (HDT USA) since the company's beginning in 1961 and has led the company to become the largest supplier of military motorcycles to the U.S. Defense Department. Hayes is HDT's president, C.E.O. and chief engineer. In addition, Hayes was a primary consultant to the Motorcycle Safety Foundation and the U.S. Marine Corps during the development of the Marine Corps’ Military Motorcycle Operator Training Course and still holds credentials as a Military Motorcycle Chief Instructor. In short, Hayes knows motorcycles. He builds them and rides them, and does both in a superior fashion.

Hayes Diversified Technologies HDT USA develops and manufactures motorcycles for the U.S. Defense Department. The company is known for its advanced technology, superior engineering and revolutionary motorcycle design, but HDT began as something totally different. Throughout the 1960's and 1970's, HDT specialized in the development and manufacture of electro-mechanical switches and relays for defense and aerospace. The company was the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) for major defense companies like Lockheed, Boeing, Control Data and Unisys. In 1970, HDT expanded into commercial motorcycle sales, selling and racing PENTON Sport Cycles under the trade name METTCO. From 1976 through 1979, HDT was employed as a consulting firm to Honda's off-road racing and enduro teams. HDT produced suspension components and provided two-stroke engine performance modifications for Honda from 1977 through 1979. In 1981, HDT used its unique combination of expertise in government contracting and off-road motorcycle development to place the winning bid to produce tactical military motorcycles for the U.S. Army. Since then, HDT USA has been awarded more than 45 contracts, resulting in over 2500 military motorcycles being delivered to the U.S. and allied military forces. HDT’s M1030B1 Marine Corps motorcycle is known as the best performing, most reliable tactical military motorcycle now in service with any military organization, beating out competitive motorcycles from BMW and KTM.

"Single Battlefield Fuel"In 1984, all NATO military forces adopted a long-term goal of employing a single battlefield fuel to reduce the logistics burden of supplying gasoline, diesel, aviation gasoline and aviation kerosene. Years later, the U.S. Navy announced they would not supply or transport gasoline in any form, only heavy fuels such as diesel and jet fuel. The only equipment still operating on gas was small field generator sets and motorcycles. The military approached several motorcycle manufacturers to determine what options were available as alternatives to gas-powered bikes. All of these manufacturers claimed that a diesel-fueled motorcycle was neither commercially practical, cost effective, nor, in some cases, even possible given the performance requirements. After requesting proposals from all interested sources, the U.S. Marine Corps found the answer at HDT USA. In May 2001, HDT unveiled the first motorcycle powered by a diesel engine that was designed specifically for motorcycles.The Search for a More Durable Oil because HDT motorcycles are made for the military, their engines and the oil that protects them must withstand much more rigorous testing and use than the average bike. "The military does not perform a civilian-type break-in, that’s not how they use their vehicles," said Hayes. These motorcycles are operated in every kind of severe condition imaginable, from the ice and cold of mountainous regions to the sand and heat of the Iraqi desert. They run hard, and breaking down in the heat of battle should be the last thing on a soldier's mind. These severe conditions dictate that the oil be able to flow readily in sub-zero temperatures to quickly lubricate moving parts, yet stay viscous enough to cool and protect in extreme heat.

HDT was servicing their motorcycles with Mobil Delvac 1 5W-40 and using Mobil 0W-30 racing oil for their race engines. Mobil's 0W-30 is not diesel-rated or recommended for motorcycle wet-clutch applications. "We have seen for several years that our engines 'like' the lighter oils, especially during initial run-in," said Hayes. "This has been especially evident when we look at camshaft and rod bearings after a new engine has been run very hard with no run-in." HDT had been using Mobil 1 for three years, finding it was superior to conventional diesel oil, but they were having problems with blow-by. Impressive Results Hayes said HDT was drawn to AMSOIL because of the availability of AMSOIL 0W-20 Synthetic Motor Oil and Series 3000 5W-30 Heavy Duty Diesel Oil. "We noticed an increase in horsepower right away as compared to Delvac 1," said Hayes. "But what was quite surprising was the condition of an engine after a 50-mile run-in and over 120 full-throttle dyno runs. The camshaft bearings, the small and large end rod bearing didn’t even look like they had been run. During that series of dyno runs, we registered the highest horsepower and torque readings ever." Hayes said their testing proved that AMSOIL Series 3000 5W-30 Heavy Duty Diesel Oil provided better cam bearing lubrication, better transmission operation and less blow-by than their previous oil. "We picked up just over one horsepower at the rear wheel," he said. "In addition, it appears that overall coolant temperature was down about five degrees."Hayes said AMSOIL provides superior performance in the two areas that matter to him most: horsepower and lubrication, especially in new engines. At start-up, the exhaust cams are the last components the oil reaches. Because the military doesn't break-in their vehicles like civilians do, and they typically don’t have time to allow a warm-up period, it is vital that the engine oil is able to flow immediately. For this reason, HDT takes their engines straight to dyno with no break-in, and they are run wide open."The lubrication to the exhaust cams was really good," said Hayes. "They looked beautiful."