| ATV Brakes Market
Report
Megan Vickers
Assistant Editor
Photo courtesy of Russell Performance
Knowing that their brakes are going to slow them down when they need it is essential to your customers’ peace-of-mind when they are out riding their ATVs. Staying up-to-date on the specifications of the brake products you keep in stock will help you calm consumer fears of faulty brakes and firey crashes. To get the lowdown on the latest ATV brake products on the market, we contacted the experts to help us with this month’s Market Report.
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McDonald ATV’s ArmorTech line now offers a set of clips, pins and adjusters used on Hondas with hydraulic front shoes. “These are often overlooked but usually need to be replaced when changing the shoes,” noted General Manager Tony
Runions. Also new are braking components for KYMCO, Polaris, Arctic Cat ATVs and more. Runions explained the main benefits of using the ArmorTech braking products are profits and customer satisfaction. “Our products will make you money and you’ll feel proud doing it,” he said. Runions told us the trend from shoes to pads in ATV brakes is good for those in the brake business since the pads need to be replaced more often and added that, partly as a result of this, ArmorTech brake sales have increased since last year. To help sales keep going strong, Runions recommended dealers move braking products out from the back room and into full view. “With the increased use of pads, there will be more consumer installs than with shoes. Dealers need to prominently display brake pads to take advantage of this change,” he advised.
ArmorTech
7700 Counts Massie
North Little Rock,
AR 72113
Phone: 501-791-9100
Fax: 501-791-9105
www.armor-tech.com |
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The Braking ATV Wave Rotors feature high-quality, stainless steel construction and the wave profile continuously cleans the pad surface, giving top notch, consistent brake performance in all conditions, explained Sales and Marketing Manager Cory
Jonson. “The wave rotor is lighter, has better heat resistance and provides more aggressive stopping power,” he added. Jonson said he has noticed people are now upgrading their brakes and that there are more sport models available. Sales are a bit up from last year, Jonson divulged, adding, “With new unit sales down, consumers are putting money into their current ATV.” He finished by telling dealers, “Braking Wave rotors are superior to standard round rotors and other wave copies. [Dealers] can make good profits on Braking products.”
Braking USA
700 Watkins Glen Drive
Franklin, OH 45005
Phone: 937-743-9049
Fax: 937-743-9069
www.brakingusa.com |
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DP Brakes President Larry Mills reported the full expansion of its ATV brake pads and rotor lines for ATVs/
UTVs/side-by-sides is what’s new from the company. DP now offers “more durable than original equipment pads with up to 2-3 times more life, along with no noise and no abuse to the rotor,” he explained, adding, “The rotors are slightly thicker to reduce warping, cracking and bending under extreme use.” He told us he has noticed customers are looking for a higher quality brake pad and, even though price is sometimes an issue, they are willing to spend a little more for quality. Sales are generally flat for the year, he said, which is generally a good thing when compared to the way the market is. “Sell DP Brakes and Rotors as a premium OEM upgrade,” Mills advised. “[Dealers] can assure their customers that DP will perform better, last longer and be non-abusive to the rotor,” he added. Mills concluded by saying dealers can make up to 50 percent profit margins, which is usually unheard of when it comes to brake pads.
DP Brakes
4401 Walden Ave.
Lancaster, NY 14086
Phone: 716-681-8806
Fax: 716-681-8863
www.dp-brakes.com |
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The oversize brake rotor kit for the Yamaha Rhino side-by-side is the latest ATV brake product from EBC Brakes, noted spokesperson Andy Freeman. “Consumers have been asking for better brakes and this improves stopping by 20+ percent,” he explained. Sales are up 20 percent from last year, Freeman told us. He said, “Strong sales and people looking for better quality parts that last longer all the time” are two trends he’s noticed. His advice to retailers is to offer their customers choices and don’t just stock the lowest priced products when deciding what to keep in stock. “Let consumers know what their options are,” he said, adding, “All the relevant tech information is in the EBC catalog.”
EBC Brakes
www.ebcbrakes.com |
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“Our most updated product is a complete line of ATV brake lines, all in aluminum, complete brake line kits that feature all banjo fittings and bolts in aluminum for all those who are looking for a lighter brake kit,” informed Galfer’s VP US Operations Sandro
Milesi. Besides having Galfer’s lifetime warranty, what really sets these lines apart from the competition is their color combinations; the banjo bolts are red, the banjos are blue and riders can choose from multiple brake line color choices, including black, blue, red, yellow, smoke, green, orange, etc., explained
Milesi. “We are experiencing a continuous sale of wave rotors, maybe because consumers’ old rotors are worn and they choose to replace them with a quality product such as ours,” he noted. Milesi added, “Or maybe it is because some of the OEs have now finally started using rotors similar in shape to our wave rotors and the consumer has a bit more confidence in our patented design and performance.” Overall sales are a bit higher in the ATV side of business for 2007, but nothing like it has been in the past few years, divulged
Milesi. “It is crucial that shops maintain a good inventory level on their shelves and that they offer the consumer upgrades such as brake lines or wave rotors to the OEM brake system,” advised
Milesi. He continued by saying, “Dealerships must realize that in order to compete with Internet sales, they must have some of the most popular products on hand, talk about their products with the consumer and have some knowledge on how that product works.”
Galfer Braking Systems
310 Irving Drive
Oxnard, CA 93030
Phone: 800-685-6633
Fax: 805-988-2948
www.galferusa.com |
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New from KFP Magnum Pads is a new high friction material, which requires less pedal pressure to stop, reported spokesperson Larry Hunter. Consumers want performance, he told us, adding, sales are about the same as last year. Those who know about our products are not spreading the word, Hunter explained. “Convince customers they need high performance products,” he advised shops.
Magnum Distributing
2225 Dixie Hwy.
Waterford, MI 48328
Phone: 800-783-5859
Fax: 248-332-9410
www.magnumdistributing.com |
A good set of brakes will lend your customers the confidence they need to know that their vehicle will stop in those critical moments. We hope this information can help you increase your knowledge of the specifications of the brake products that are best fitted for your customers. We’d like to thank the above companies for participating in our annual ATV brake segment and urge our readers to continue on to our coverage of ATV tires and wheels, elsewhere in this issue. |
