OtherMakes.net

Corey Green will ride a US Highland 450 MX in the 2010 X-Games Super X competition in LA this weekend. It is great to see US Highland pushing on after the devastating loss of Malmberg, Bales and Roddich. Super X should bring some great visibility to the US Highland effort.

US Highland will also have a presence off track at the X-Games to show off their extensive line of dirtbikes as well as the Streettracker and Viking road bikes. Check out the press release after the break for more information.

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Mats Malmberg (left) and Chase Bales (right) of US Highland in a recent Joseph Noel Interview

Yesterday US Highland President Mats Malmberg, COO Chase Bales and Director of Operations Damian Roddich were killed in while returning to Oklahoma in Bales’ Cessna 421. Malmberg had been working for years to bring Highland to the main stage and had finally looked to have perfected the formula for success.

Bales was truly interested in giving the riders what they want and was often found posting and talking with enthusiasts. No doubt these men will be missed. The riders who have been following US Highland know the impact this will have on US Highland and a company poised to change the motorsports industry. Sincerest condolences go out to the families of these men and to US Highland.

Source: Plug Bike Picture: Joseph Noel

It appears US Highland is not only busy prepping it’s factory quality 450 and 950 cc motorcycles and 450 quads for sale in the United States. They are also in talks with a “large global OEM” for US Highland to manufacture bikes to be re-branded by this OEM.

The agreement is “tentative” so nothing is final but we will try to bring you more information. Looks like Highland changed their website a lot recently so have a look.

Hit the break to read the press release.

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2010 US Highland 350 Trail

US Highland is set to take the offroad motorcycle market to a new level of custom fit and performance in 2010. Over the last decade the Highland 950 has become the Sasquatch of the motorcycle forum world. A big, powerful agile beast that very few have seen in real life. OK, I’m being over dramatic, some owners have posted some excellent information on the few bikes in circulation. The Highland bikes may have been elusive and hard to find but they are no lumbering oafs.

The 950 twin has been claimed capable of 120 hp on the old Highland.se site and the 1150cc engine will make 150 HP. The planned 950 Viking streetfighter will weigh 318 lbs. If they put the 1150 in it the motorcycle world could get really silly, really fast. The 450′s engines were designed with a similar philosophy of light and fast and the sharp looks come from Mikael Hallgren at Caran AB. Instead of waiting for news about the new US Highland to trickle out I got on the phone with their V.P. of Promotions Kurt King for the scoop.

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I got to hand it to Kevin Duke at Motorcycle.com, he always seems to report on the hidden gems at the big shows. Check out this 318 lb. 950cc V-twin US Highland Viking MO shot at the Dealer Expo last week. There was a small picture of the bike on the US Highland site but this is the first good look at the lightweight powerhouse. Compare to the SV650 at 375 lbs dry this bike will roast the rear and loft the front on command. The powerful and light 950 engine is suspended in a Spondon Engineering frame and swing arm for a custom streetfighter look. Like all Highlands the bike comes with high end specs such as Ohlins shocks and Brembo brakes.

Dealers will not carry any inventory. The buying process will be automated via kiosk in the dealer’s showroom. After the customer evaluates a demo model details such as engine displacement and suspension will be tailored to the users riding style. Once the customer order is complete the bike will be shipped in 7 days as the bike is assembled in Tulsa, Oklahoma. No word on pricing or release date. Stay tuned to OtherMakes.net for updates.

More pics after the break…

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It’s ironic that a bike so prone to dying would be reincarnated so many times. In early 2000 Cannondale transformed itself from US based bicycle manufacturer to US based powersports innovater with the launch of the x440s dirtbike and the Cannibal ATV. Both were based on a gound breaking programmable fuel injected four stroke with a reverse cylinder similar to the 2010 Yamaha YZ450, minus the reverse slant. Air in the front, exhaust out the back.

The all aluminum frame was covered with top shelf components from Domino throttle to Ohlins suspension to Talon hubs. The only problem was the bike had issues with the motor grenading, sealed fuel system leaks and slightly porky weight. Cannondale did a great job of servicing it’s customers (I know, I fried the ECU on my 2002 e440) but they eventually went bankrupt. ATK purchased the motorcycle rights and did a lot of work improving reliablility. Dinli purchased the ATV rights originally but ATK now sells a version of the Dale Quad. read more »

Pictures of the Highland 950 vTwin has been popping up on discussion forums for years and teasing adventure riders with it’s high capacity, light weight, 120 HP engine and dirt ready design. Now it appears we may see these bikes in dirt and gravel near you. U.S. Highland is building the 950 vTwin  dualsport in 750cc, 950cc and 1150cc capacities and multiple body styles. They also will produce several versions of a single cyinlar dirtbike and ATV from 250cc, 350, 450 and 550cc.

From what I can piece together, Highland was started started in Sweden by ex-Husqvarna employees. Later the company joined forces with Louyang Northern Enterprises Group Company, Ltd to start Luoyang Luojia Highland Motors Co., Ltd. ATK was working with Highland to rebadge the bikes but this fell through. Dirt Wheels claims Cannondale was involved along the way.

US Highland recently got their hands on the equipment to build the machines and have begun production of US made units in Bixby, Oklahoma. The US Highland machines have sophisticated and highly tunable electronic fuel injection. They also come equiped with trick features such as a “G-Meter” to record vertical acceleration and deceleration forces. The US Highland website will allow customers to built a bike with multiple choices of engine and specs to suit their riding style.

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