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Bench Racing & The Morning Reads

743992218_W63z9-Th.jpg
I found the picture on the Motorcycle Picture of the Day blogspot. Public domain pictures are posted on this site with no comment. The source was attributed to Floridasteve.

The bike appears to be based on a R100R Mystic. At least that is my current guess. I agree who ever did the caf?® work did a wonderful job. If anyone knows about this bike we want to know more.

743995801_AKG6e-M.jpg
 
What if they held a race and nobody came?

Kawasaki has decided not to compete in an already depleted AMA/DMG roadracing fiasco for 2010.
At this rate, BMW ought to enter the diminishing field. They'll be almost bound to win now that everyone else is either bailing out or being driven away.

Depressing:cry

http://www.roadracingworld.com/news/article/?article=38995
 

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Saturday, December 19, 2009

If BMW goes racing in the US it would be a decision at the national level and run out of BMW NA. I have been trying to imagine what I would say to Pieter de Waal the head of Motorrad USA regarding this. Frankly in every conversation I imagine I end up telling him racing in the US right now is a no win (even if you win the DMG/AMA Pro Racing Championship) proposition for BMW and a dumb waste of time and money for the company. I am incredibly disappointed to come to this conclusion for all sorts of reasons but today that is what I think.

As always what I think and a buck will get you a small cup of coffee and change at the official F-O-L gas station. But if Mr. de Waal, who I really like, wants to have a cup of coffee and talk about it I would see he gets a new styrofoam cup. Heck I would even spring for crullers!
:ha



Saturday, December 19, 2009

WSBK et al.

www.roadracingworld.com: Reader reaction to various DMG/AMA Pro Racing Issues, including the poll on rolling restarts

worldsbk.com: Guintoli gearing up for first full World Superbike season

MotoGP

744141658_zfeLN-S.jpg


thekneeslider.com: Moto Guzzi 500cc V8 Racer ÔÇô Otto Cilindri

744141642_eyYDq-S.jpg


Formula 1 and 

f1netowrk: Petronas and Sauber [No sponsorship deal]

I read this short piece and had a Whiskey Tango Fox trot moment.
f1sa.com: USF1 signs agreement with supplier of advance composites

The big news for USF1 is they signed a supplier agreement? Time passing quickly and they are the only team not to have signed a single driver. Yet they were the first of the new teams for 2010. Meanwhile SpeedTV continues to cover everything but what is going on at USF1. .

On the Street

motorcycle.ocm: Honda NT 700V reveiw

J.D. Power and Associates issued a press release about their 2009 Motorcycle Owner Customer Satisfaction Study. The results show a significant increase over last yearÔÇÖs numbers. The study measures five factors - product; quality; cost of ownership; sales; and service.

Sales and service areas showed the biggest improvement. The reasons pointed to for this may seem obvious to us.

The study also finds that dealers may positively impact satisfaction with the sales aspect of the ownership experience by following up with their customers after the sale. On average, the sales satisfaction score among customers who received a follow-up phone call is 170 points higher than among those who did not get a follow-up call.

ÔÇ£The follow-up phone call is a simple concept that may have a significant impact on customersÔÇÖ sales or service experiences,ÔÇØ said Markusic. ÔÇ£While it might seem that calling customers after a visit would be standard practice for dealers, 20 percent of customers donÔÇÖt receive a call after a new bike purchase and 56 percent donÔÇÖt receive a call after having their bike serviced.ÔÇØ

Motorcycle owners who take their bike to a dealer for maintenance or repair-related service work present dealers with an opportunity to make a lasting impression, as the length of time a motorcycle is in for service greatly impacts overall service satisfaction.


I wonder what the results would show if a BMW dealer satisfaction with customer survey would show? What could we learn from that about how they measure us and what would could customers do to improve the gap between us from the dealer perspective?

bikeexif.com: Louis Lepoix BMW R12

I know this bike showed up in another thread :)thumb) but I found it early yesterday after I posted and still want to post it in here.

744131953_mAZ3S-S.jpg


Imperial Cycles completes their first four stroke build.

solomot30.com: MV Agusta triple tested in Spain

thesun.co.uk: Motor vehicle company Saab to shut down.

RedmondSpokesman

xkcd.com

moto*******s.com

Bike Cruller

744493462_aXeze-M.jpg
 
Yes it is based on an R12. Here is some information I collected as I was purposefully wondering about R12 on the internet.

motorcycle.com: 1937 BMW R12 A brief history of the R12


BMW R12,2

122552583_tUUNc-M.jpg


Begin of the Production 1935
End of the Production 1942
Engine Internal Designation M 56 S 6 or 212
Motor Type four-stroke two-cylinder flat-twin
Bore 78 mm
Stroke 78 mm
Displacement 745 ccm
Max Power 20 hp
Rpm (Max Power) 4000 rpm
Compression Ratio 5.2:1
Valves sv
Carburetion System 2 x Amal 6/406/407
Engine Lubricating System forced-feed lubrication
Oil Pump gear pump
Power transmission Clutch double plates, dry
Number of Gears 4
Shifting manual
Gearbox Ratios 3.18/2.06/1.42/1.09
Rear Wheel Ratio 1:4.07 (sidecar 1:4.75)
Bevel/Crownwheel 14/57 teeth (sidecar 12/57)
Electrical system Generator Bosch D 245 RS 108
Ignition System magneto or battery ignition
Spark Plugs Bosch M 175 T1 or Bosch W 175 T1
Chassis Designation F 66
Frame twin-loop pressed steel frame
Front Wheel Suspension telescopic fork
Rear Wheel Suspension rigid
Wheel Rims 3 x 19
Tyres front 3.5 x 19
Tyres rear 3.5 x 19
Brakes front drum brake ?ÿ 200 mm
Brakes rear drum brake ?ÿ 200 mm
Dimensions and
weights
Length 2100 mm
Width 900 mm
Height 940 mm
Wheel Base 1380 mm
Fuel Tank Capacity 14 l
Unladen Weight, Full Tank approx. 185 kg
Load Rating 300 kg
Fuel Consumption approx. 4 - 4,5 l/100 km
Oil Consumption approx. 1 - 2 l/1000 km
Top Speed 120 kph
Numbers Produced 36.000 (single- and double-carburettor versions)
Price 1.630,- RM

<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/-7N41bkCLB0&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/-7N41bkCLB0&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>


BMW R12,1

744631990_pgt4o-L.jpg


Begin of the Production 1935
End of the Production 1942
Engine Internal Designation M 56 S 6 or 212
Motor Type four-stroke two-cylinder flat-twin
Bore 78 mm
Stroke 78 mm
Displacement 745 ccm
Max Power 18 hp
Rpm (Max Power) 3400 rpm
Compression Ratio 5.2:1
Valves sv
Carburetion System 1 x Sum CK, 25 mm
Engine Lubricating System forced-feed lubrication
Oil Pump gear pump
Power transmission Clutch double plates, dry
Number of Gears 4
Shifting manual
Gearbox Ratios 3.18/2.06/1.42/1.09
Rear Wheel Ratio 1:4.07 (sidecar 1:4.75)
Bevel/Crownwheel 14/57 teeth (sidecar 12/57)
Electrical system Generator Bosch D 2 BRS 170
Ignition System magneto or battery ignition
Spark Plugs Bosch M 175 T1 or Bosch W 175 T1
Chassis Designation F 66
Frame twin-loop pressed steel frame
Front Wheel Suspension telescopic fork
Rear Wheel Suspension rigid
Wheel Rims 3 x 19
Tyres front 3.5 x 19
Tyres rear 3.5 x 19
Brakes front drum brake ?ÿ 200 mm
Brakes rear drum brake ?ÿ 200 mm
Dimensions and
weights
Length 2100 mm
Width 900 mm
Height 940 mm
Wheel Base 1380 mm
Fuel Tank Capacity 14 l
Unladen Weight, Full Tank approx. 185 kg
Load Rating 300 kg
Fuel Consumption approx. 3,5 - 4 l/100 km
Oil Consumption approx. 1 - 2 l/1000 km
Top Speed 110 kph
Numbers Produced 36.000 (single- and double-carburettor versions)
Price 1.630,- RM

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Wow, lots of bike candy today; Guzzi V-8, with and without dustbin fairing, Ducati bevel drive, and some art deco era streamlining. It must be the Christmas spirit!

I let my bitterness about the miserable decline of american roadracing come through a little bit to loud and clear. It's just a damn shame some of the worst decisions the AMA/DMG are making coincide with an economy which has everybody out there seriously evaluating what's worth it, and what isn't, including fans (as in the picture).

If BMW did compete, their ABS might come in handy when the clown (oops, errr, safety) car cuts everyone off.

The whole series needs a lift. Where's Pascal Picotte when we need him?:jester
 

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Sunday, December 20, 2009

MotoGP

It is never too early to start negotiating especially with a rider like Rossi. MotorCycle News says Yamaha has started to negotiate with Rossi to keep him on beyond the 2011 season and away from Ducati. Can they keep him away from four wheels?

Formula 1 and 

crash.net: Wurz admits he could yet be persuaded by USF1 to return to the cockpit.
My question remains; what would he be driving?


On the Street

745239777_7o36G-S.jpg


The Vintagent gives us a chance to learn more about the man who designed the interesting streamliner R12, Louis Lucien Lepoix

Don Williams at ultimatemotorcycling.com has a review of the 1973 BMW R75/5

MotorcycleUSA: 2010 Honda VFR1200F video review
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Relive International Female Rider Day

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I came home late Friday night and made a nice dinner. After dinner I kicked back with my second or maybe third beer and my computer. I brought the Forum up expecting to read the latest installment of The big renovation: 1908 home when I noticed I had a PM in my in box. When I checked it I found a link to the Motley Fool and an article from there titled, Is Harley-Davidson Doomed?

I had seen a related article earlier in the day on AsphaltandRubber.com announcing that Goldman and Sachs had downgraded the H-D stock. That article started me thinking about and trying to piece together all that I had read about H-D over that last months and the motorcycle industry in general. Scanning the article on fool.com I came to the conclusion that there are several stories that are being mingled together as we read about H-D and the motorcycle industry in general. In very broad terms these are
- Pure business stories of publicly held companies
- Motorcycle industry stories that talk of what is going on in an international industry
- Motorcyclist stories that talk about bikes and smell of gas grease and rubber.

H-D has been a frequent topic on the forum. Sometimes I am not certain which has the potential to turn vitriolic; a H-D thread or a helmet thread. I leave the latter alone but have often thought that as we talk about H-D in the former we are shadow boxing with questions we have about BMW. So lets do a little shadow boxing with H-D and the three general headings this morning.

Pure Business Story

Is H-D doomed? Depends on your investing horizon but in broad terms my answer is no.

The recent recall of over 110,000 bikes will hit them financially just when they donÔÇÖt need it, but I agree with the FoolÔÇÖs reader who suggested that H-D could figure out ways to turn a profit selling Screaming Eagle upgrades. Getting people into dealer show rooms is always a good way to move product and that generates revenue if only to churn.

In a longer term H-D is destined for some major changes. Some are fore seen some may come as a surprise in the process. H-D recently announced its 3rd quarter results, unveiled a new long term business strategy that calls for major consolidations. So change is on the horizon and is happening. The consolidation of the York plant and closing/consolidation of testing facilities are two examples of how this fore seen change is playing out.

The success and timing of these changes could have some unanticipated results. It is not inconceivable that in the process H-D could cease to be a publicly held company as we know it. All fun speculation, but back to the FoolÔÇÖs question the answer in this section H-D is not doomed.

Motorcycle Industry Story

Here again I donÔÇÖt think H-D is doomed any more than any other of the major manufactures in the motorcycle industry. The issues to pay attention to when writers write about the motorcycle industry is do they understand the sales cycle and when do they see industry recovery and how do they describe it. Few do. They want to treat motorcycle industry like the auto industry. The two share many similarities but their business cycles are very different and thus have very different implications.

When will the market recover? The articles think that we are going to see recovery in the next year. The assumption may seem reasonable if you think the overall economy is beginning to recover, which I do, I just donÔÇÖt agree about the motorcycle recovery time line. The downward spiral in sales will continue for a while yet then level off into some chronic malaise for the next 24 months or a bit more.

H-D is a big enough and at same time a small enough player in the market to survive.

A Motorcyclist Story

The motorcyclist part of the H-D business story is when we bring it down to the ride and the smell of gas grease and rubber. This is where I find myself seeing H-D as doomed. Not today or in the near term but there is a point in the market direction that H-D may not be able to handle.

At some point the motorcyclist and the industry will be riding and building bikes that are no longer dominantly powered by gasoline. I donÔÇÖt see a critical mass of H-D owners/buyers that are ready to make that change on an H-D. If that does not change the demise of H-D as a business in any form or as part of the industry will rest at the feet of its fans and previous buyers.

Keep in mind that my investment advice is to invest in another cup of coffee down at the F-O-L gas station. At least for a buck you get a clean cup with drinkable brown liquid and change. My cup ran empty a few lines ago and some would argue my intelligent thoughts ran out before I started typing.

Thank you to my fellow member and reader for the link to the Motley Fool article I had fund purposefully wondering about what I thought of it.

Do any of you have thoughts to share? :lurk


wired.com: Screen ÔÇô Robert Downey Jr.ÔÇÖs Sherlock ÔÇô Faithful or Flawed?

I am a Sherlock Holmes fan not a file. I canÔÇÖt quote you chapter and verse for example or make cleaver exact references to Sir Arthur Conan DoyleÔÇÖs work. I am just a huge fan of Sherlock Holmes stories, movies and updates. I am really looking forward to seeing this movie during my Christmas holiday break.

yankodesign.com: M6 wind powered car by Funfere Koroye

RedmondSpokesman

xkcd.com

motobastards.com

Bike Cruller

TodayÔÇÖs treat comes from motoblog.itÔÇÖs Picture of the Day. The translated description starts, "William Dunlop during a road race through the trees. Pure poetry. Landscapes and sensations that you dream of racing on the track ".

744662286_as7L9-M.jpg
 
I think you're on the money w/ the HD analysis. It's going to be a tough few years but not tougher than that of any other MC manufacturers.

They don't need technological or styling innovation as others. Just have to make incremental improvements, manage the bottom line and milk the Americana image for all it's worth. Not saying that would be easy, mind you.
 
Monday, December 21

MotoGP

motomatters.com: Peter Clifford interview Part 1
‘‘There is no commercial reality in MotoGP”

Dakar

bikedeadline.com.au: Daka final countdown continues

Formula 1 and …

dailyexpress.co.uk: Ecclestone gives Rome Grand Prix green light
The eternal none sense of Bernie Ecclestone finds a new home in the Eternal City; WHY? In an article on the Guardian they quote the Mayor of Rome.

"We have calculated that there will be an income of €1bn [?ú900m] a year with this grand prix and Rome needs to renew its tourist appeal. Not only the past, archaeology and monuments, but also the future, something which is aimed at families and youngsters."

Good luck with that for Rome but for racing in general and cage racing’s symbiotic motorcycle racing partner street racing sucks up sponsor money and fan discretionary spending and leaves no infrastructure for the two wheeled crowd.

telegraph.co.uk: Iceland’s Glitnic ‘owes’ ₤10m to F1 team Williams
The world economic crisis hit Iceland hard. What had been a burgeoning island economy has gone away. Now the bills are coming due.

On the Street

YouTube: BMWS1000RR Asymmetric Styling Explained
“BMW Motorrad VP of Design, David Robb takes Cycle Canada's Neil Graham on a tour of BMW's first superbike and discusses the ideas behind the S1000RR's asymmetric styling.”

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I was sipping coffee and listening to a piece about makers of bamboo bicycles on the radio when I cam across this in a e-mail newsletter from Patent Pending Blog on a belt drive bicycle from 1890.

Something a bit more modern from Hell for Leather Magazine. From 750 parts to Yyrus in three minutes.

Vyrus_Assembly-thumb-415x237-7422.jpg


Floridasteve is at it again over on the Motorcycle Picture of the Day blog with an Excellent old airhead BMW.

Book Review: scientificamerican.com: How Santa does it clones wormholes and memory-eliminating devices
The brisk read—it comes in at just 144 pages—is not just a how-to for would-be Santas. It is a romp through the nearby future of advanced technology, a world where magic is made real.

Found in my In Box
Links and ideas of from readers found in my In Box.

Professor Risk
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1PtQ67urG4
David Spiegelhalter's proper title is Professor of the Public Understanding of Risk. He is in two minds (literally) about playing it safe or chucking caution to the wind. Decisions, decisions!? Are bacon sandwiches really that dangerous and is it wise to drive when you love cycling? David shows us how to use statistics to face up to life's major risks.

The Sunday Times ran a piece by Jay Leno who was invited to look over the McLaren MP4-12C

You know, a trip to the UK for me is a pretty rare thing. Last time I was in England was 10 years ago and that was also for a visit to Woking, Surrey — when I bought one of the McLaren F1 road cars, a model many regard as the best car of all time. I have to agree.
So when the guys at McLaren asked if I’d like to come and see the new road car, the MP4-12C, I accepted.


RedmondSpokesman

xkcd.com

motobastards.com

Bike Cruller

I follow the BSA Bits Scraps and Allsorts blog. It offers some interesting pictures but very little if any information on the bikes pictured. The bikes that caught my eye for today were manufactured by FB Mondial in the 1950s. Curious, I did a bit of digging into Mondial motorcycles.

Mondial’s roots go back to the founding of FB in 1929. Four Boselli brothers, from a noble family in the Milan area, founded FB. In the years before WWII the company manufactured bicycles and delivery tricycles. After the war it became a manufacturer of small displacement high quality sporting machines.

During the 50s Mondial was involved in Grand Prix racing. The company took five world championships. In 1957 Mondial riders to the top three positions in the 250cc Championship and the first fourth and sixth positions in the 125cc Championship. Not bad for a company that produced between one and two thousand motorcycles a year.

After the 1957 season successes Mondial announced they would no longer be racing. They sighted the cost of running a racing program and the diminishing sales they were experiencing. More than a half century later we are still hearing manufacturers use the same words to explain their exits from racing today.

The last all-Mondial motorcycle left the factory in 1960. After this, Mondial purchased engines from proprietary makers. In this hybrid form, motorcycles with Mondial frames and ancillary parts, but non-Mondial engines, were produced by the factory for the next 19 years ending production in 1979. Mondial didn't produce new motorcycles until 1992 when Mondial was revamped by and heir to the firm and produced a KTM 560cc powered, single cylinder bike.

The rights to Mondial were purchased by newspaper tycoon Roberto Ziletti in 1999. In 2000 Ziletti worked with Honda to supply engines for the new Mondial from their RC51 superbikes. A deal was made, in part, because Mondial had supplied Soichiro Honda with that 1957 racebike. This was the first time Honda has ever allowed a firm to use its engines for their production vehicles. Ziletti experienced financial difficulties with his other businesses and in 2004 Milan bankruptcy courts took over the production facilities.

I did not find any specific information on the bikes pictured on the blog site. If any of you know more about Mondail motorcycles in general and these three models in particular I would love to hear from you.

I could not decide which of the three to post so here all three are.

746120174_J3o2Q-M.jpg

1957 Mondial 250cc Prototype

746120287_DaSmo-M.jpg

1955 Mondial 175cc

746120208_uP5b2-M.jpg

Mondial 125cc

Sources for pictures and story:
BSA Bits Scraps and Allsorts Blog
Wikipedia
Wapedia
Autoevolution
 
Tuesday, December 22

WSBK et al.

worldsbk.com: Pitt speaks of new opportunity

bmwra.org: Andrew Pitt BMW WSB Satellite Team?

crash.net: Yamaha loses satellite representation

fim-live.com: Byrne excited by British challenge in WSB

BSB to WSBK to BSB again ÔÇô fim-live.com Kiyonari back at Honda

MotoGP

motomatters.com: Peter Clifford interview Part 2
ÔÇ£Privateers are at the whim of politicsÔÇØ

Formula 1 and 

autosport.com: Mercedes GP lands Petronas as major sponsor

Because I want to.

On the Street

motoblog.it: Test: Face to face with the BMW R1200GS 2010

moto22.com: Piaggio invest $3 billion in Derbi

HmmThe Kneeslider introduces us to the EcoMotors OPOC two stroke engine. The innovative design meets all EPA requirements and has all the 2 stroke mileage we remember. Just when we thought the 2 stroke was dead.

Jose Geraldo Reis PfauÔÇÖs miniatures show up on various sites on a regular basis. They have been in my past posts. He works with scraped watch parts to make his interpretation of real models. moto22.com is where his worked appeared recently. The gallery is full of motorcycle watch art whimsy.

normal_motos-miniatures-modele-9.jpg


TÔÇÖis the Season to send Christmas Cards. Here are some of the electronic greetings have received in news letters or seen on line.

746397796_K42Jj-S.png


I donÔÇÖt remember which blog I saw this image in first but it has show up in some of the e-mail greetings I have received.

It has been a tough economic year for Suzuki and their Rizla team but they were nice enough to include this small greeting in their news letter.
746397850_otHxy-O.jpg


Sometimes Christmas cards provoke unintended reactions.

746397825_NkZQj-S.jpg


This was in the Triumph news letter. I looked left then right at the line of bikes then the center rider caught my attention. Suddenly I felt like I was six years old and wanted to run screaming into the house for my mom ma take my Christmas presents and behind a locked safe room door. YMMV.

This story has floated around the internet for a few days. Here it is presented by Motorcycle Daily as YamahaÔÇÖs Xmas Present: King Kenny on the TZ Flat Tracker Video

thedesignblog.org: Ergonomic bike bends to the riderÔÇÖs needs for a comfy ride

wired.com/autopia: See Norway by train. From your laptop.

RedmondSpokesman

xkcd.com

motobastards.com

Bike Cruller

TodayÔÇÖs cruller comes from the Superpantah blog site and again it did not have any ingredients labeling so I headed to Wikepedia. Wikepeidia describes Laverda in its opening paragraphs as,

Laverda is an Italian manufacturer of combine harvesters and one-time a manufacturer of high performance motorcycles. The agricultural equipment brand is famous for quality, simplicity, and efficiency; while the motorcycles in their day gained a reputation for being robust and innovative.

The bike is based on a Laverda twin perhaps one of the 750cc versions. The simple and robust characteristics listed in the above description come through in this image.

746428441_tGENJ-M.jpg
 
Wednesday, December 23

WSBK et al.

kawasaki-racingteam.eu: Almeria tests provide positive results for WSB squad

MotoGP

caradisiac.com: Not a penny more for HRC


Formula 1 and 

USF1 responded by twitter with link to their facebook page that links to an ESPN F1 article expanding on WindsorÔÇÖs comments.

Both USF1 and Campos spoke with the BBC and denied the comments of Bernie Ecclestone regarding their preparedness. I am more willing to believe Campos than USF1. They have passed concrete milestones on the path to the grid. We only have the word of Peter Windsor as to USF1 for their progress.

With all regards to Peter WindsorÔÇÖs mother he has always struck me as a smarmy kind of guy. In the BBC article he is quoted,

"We are trying to find the best drivers we can; there's no rush," said Windsor, a former team manager with Williams.
"We have no date [for car completion]. It's difficult to predict when that date would be.
"However, there will be a moment when we announce the drivers at the factory and that will be some time towards late January."


All things he predicted and promised would happen in August and October.

On the Street

thedesingblog.org: Carbonfiber ÔÇÿWheel-skatesÔÇÖ take skating closer to skating and cycling


<a title="View Motorcycling for Women Beginner Bikes on Scribd" href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/24344706/Motorcycling-for-Women-Beginner-Bikes" style="margin: 12px auto 6px auto; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none; display: block; text-decoration: underline;">Motorcycling for Women Beginner Bikes</a> <object codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=9,0,0,0" id="doc_865440482876973" name="doc_865440482876973" classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" align="middle" height="500" width="100%" > <param name="movie" value="http://d1.scribdassets.com/ScribdViewer.swf?document_id=24344706&access_key=key-23rtu2q9nmr4ueayvupt&page=1&version=1&viewMode=slideshow"> <param name="quality" value="high"> <param name="play" value="true"> <param name="loop" value="true"> <param name="scale" value="showall"> <param name="wmode" value="opaque"> <param name="devicefont" value="false"> <param name="bgcolor" value="#ffffff"> <param name="menu" value="true"> <param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"> <param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"> <param name="salign" value=""> <param name="mode" value="slideshow"> <embed src="http://d1.scribdassets.com/ScribdViewer.swf?document_id=24344706&access_key=key-23rtu2q9nmr4ueayvupt&page=1&version=1&viewMode=slideshow" quality="high" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" play="true" loop="true" scale="showall" wmode="opaque" devicefont="false" bgcolor="#ffffff" name="doc_865440482876973_object" menu="true" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" salign="" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" align="middle" mode="slideshow" height="500" width="100%"></embed> </object>


RedmondSpokesman

xkcd.com

motobastards.com

Bike Cruller

An American looking pastry based on an British recipe cooked up in Japan.

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Via: ritmo-sereno.com
 
I am taking a few days off from posting Bench Racing and the Morning Reads.

The car is packed.

Later this morning I will close up shop and begin to tilt with the winter storms as I head to the Christmas gathering of the Pit Crew and Team Mika.

Happy Christmas and a Merry New Year

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Bike Cruller

I am still taking a break from my normal routine; however; I did come across a Bike Cruller today that answers a request posted early in the life of this thread. I hope you enjoy it with your morning coffee.

This was the first Bike Cruller in this thread.

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When asked if I had a picture of the entire bike I replied I did not. I have been searching and following various sources and threads I follow. I found these two over on 8Negro.

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I have some feelers out but can tell you nothing about the bike beyond posting these new pictures. I will let you know when and if I know more.
 
I love long sexy exhaust pipes all the way up to a nice symmetrical rearend. :heart

Sadly the bike is not in my class, it would neeed a 5'4" rider who is 135 lbs.
 
Wednesday, December 30

WSBK et al.

sportrider.com: AMA Pro Roadracing ÔÇô Looking back looking ahead

Formula 1 and 

autosport.com: Piero Ferrari ÔÇô Schumacher not disloyal

crash.net: Stefan GP car ÔÇÿpasses crash testsÔÇÖ

motor21.com: Piquet Jr. buys a seat with Campos

On the Street

Some of these seem a bit of a stretch but Hell for Leather Magazine lists and explains ten reasons we should be excited about electric motorcycles.

cyrilhuzeblog.com: The best choice right now. Bank repossessed motorcycles.
On one level this has always been an interesting idea as a way to buy a project bike; on another it points to another form of market inventory that must be worked through before manufacturers will begin to show increased sales figures.
-related-
argusleader.com: Repo man uses handcuffs, stun gun to take mans Harley-Davidson
The comments from readers are the fun part of this story.

knucklebusterinc.com: Care and use of a micrometer

utlimatemotorcycling.com: 2010 BMW K1300GT motorcycle review

motorcyclenews.com: NeevesyÔÇÖs predicted 2010 top five motorcycles.
Hmm what are yours?

motorcycle-usa.com: Cornerspin ÔÇô Getting roadracing dirty

motorcycle.com: 2010 KTM 1190 RC8R Review
The Austrians go Duc hunting

moto-station.com: a brief review of the Triumph Tiger

world.honda.com: Riding across Five Continents
A photo journal from Honda

At one time I did watch the OCC boys and enjoyed it, even learned a couple of things that could be transferred to other areas. I gave up when the dysfunctional family stuff got in the way, way to much. Just when you didnÔÇÖt think the Tutles couldnÔÇÖt be any more dysfunctional this comes along. ]tmz.com ÔÇô O.C. Choppers ÔÇô Dad sues gearhead son.


RedmondSpokesman

xkcd.com

motobastards.com

Bike Cruller

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Wow, those old art-deco era stamped steel bikes look a lot like full size tinplate toys!
 

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AMA Pro Racing Press Release December 29

Roger Edmondson to Leave AMA Pro Racing

DAYTONA BEACH, FL (December 30, 2009) - Roger Edmondson will be leaving his position as Chairman, Managing Member and Chief Executive Officer of AMA Pro Racing effective January 1, 2010.

Edmondson, a pioneer in motorcycle racing and one of the original Managing Members of the AMA Pro Racing organization, will be leaving to deal with some unforeseen health issues that necessitate his full attention.

"Roger's health is first and foremost in our minds," said David Atlas, Chief Operating Officer, AMA Pro Racing. "Roger's significant, multi-decade contribution to motorcycle racing is well known but nothing is more important than his health."

Edmondson will available to consult with the management of AMA Pro Racing but his official duties will be reallocated among the other current Managing Members, David Atlas, Tom Bledsoe and Chris Harris.

The 2010 AMA Pro Racing season will again open at the famous Daytona International Speedway, March 3-5, headlined by the Daytona 200 held under the lights at the 2.5-mile World Center of Racing followed by a full season of Road Racing, Flat Track and Motocross events.
 
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