Morning Reads: 9 February 2007

[mika]

The motorcycling world viewed from the saddle of a BMW. A daily look at all things BMW, Euro-bike, products and things I find interesting on the internet. With links to news, reviews, events, riding skills, maintenance and racing series updates. Morning Reads is a one stop shop for motorcycling information.

Today’s Birthdays / Calendar

BMW MOA Chartered Club:

club: Dinky Dozen BMW Riders, Inc., #84 founded: 2/1/1978
contact: Sharon Fulks (myers.sharon@insightbb.com)
PO Box 694
Bloomington, IL 61702-0694 US
meetings: 3rd Sunday of month at 10 am, various locations.
events: Hard To Be Humble Rally, Livingston Cnty 4-H park, Pontiac, IL, Aug.21-23




Gem??tlichkeit is the warm, comfortable feeling
one receives from pleasant surroundings and atmosphere.
I think you will find that when you come here.


Milwaukee Pierhead Lighthouse, WI

Motorcyclistonline.com : International Vintage Motor Cycle Show and Swap Meet

Ozaukee – Washington Daily News

Fond Du Lac Reporter

The Sheboygan Press

Daily Citizen, Beaver Dam

Weather

West Bend WI
Current

10 Day Forcast

United States
National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration

Canada
Meteorological Service of Canada


Travel Information – Driving Conditions and other related information sites.

News:

Superbikeplanet.com: 1098 Ducati is legal for World Championship – Super Stock today SKB tomorrow.

This is a boxer story, okay a Subaru boxer but a boxer story none the less. allcarnews.com reports that Subaru will introduce what it is calling the first boxer turbo diesel.

TheAutochannel.com Harley updates shipping guidelines due to strike.

Syracuse.com: Analysts - Harley Strike will be short

wfrv.com : Ongoing strike hurts Harley-Davidson business

Greencarcongress.com : Itelligent Energy and Suzuki to partner on hydrogen fuel cell motorcycles.

Bikes in the Fast Lane: Links to a BBC test ride of the ENV hydrogen motorcycle.

gizmodo.com : Electric version of the three wheeled T-rex

luxist.com : 2007 Norge 1200 Moto Guzzi

Popularmechanics.com : Bombardier Unveils 3-Wheeled Wonder

Victory Vision
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Marco Andretti given second chance with [http://www.hondaracingf1.com/en/index.php?section=8&item=1779&type=1]Honda Racing F1[/url].

Telegraph.co.uk: The Bandit comes to life. Bandit S 1250 and ABS model. Compare it to the BMW in the Bike Candy section.

Feature:

This site will be listed in the MR Traveler section in the future but for today –

Roadfood.com : This is the site of the Sterns, authors of the original “Road Food” book. The site features a restaurant of the day and more.

Blog Update:

MotoLiam

Salcar : For MOA members this post is a bit like the time traveler who runs into himself on the journey.

atomephis.com: 1999 Ducati Monster M900 Build – update.

Motorcycle Repair and Care:

Tires are always a hot topic – sprotrider.com has a virtual tour of how they are made.

Riding Skills:

Insidebikes.com : Seeing around corners.

Motorcycledaily.com: Tuning your body for sport riding…and maybe some ideas for long distance touring are buried in there also.

Video:

I was in London when the McLaren F1 sports car was unveiled. I stood outside the McLaren showroom in Mayfair across from Hyde Park and just looked for about half an hour or more. via egmcartech.com we get a glimps at a McLaren F1 and a Ferrari Enzo on the street.

Technology:

The Future of Things has a very interesting article describing a turbine engine on a chip. Measuring roughly 4 millimeters in size this has big implications for powering a variety of personal devices.

Wonderings:

What would you add to the list?
AMADirectlink.com : The best ever motorcycle invention was…?

Woot

Todays Woot

The Blog

Over Heard in New York | Voice of the City


Bike Candy:

R1200ST Limited Edition

 

[mika]

All things BMW

BMW Group Press Club:

Motorsport PressClub

BMW Sauber F1 Team - Test in Jerez - Day 2
6th February - 8th February 2007
Day two - Wednesday

Weather conditions: Sunny in the morning, cloudy in the course of the afternoon
Temperatures: Air: 8/17??C, Track: 8/24??C

Number of cars participating: 16

Fastest lap overall: 1:19.690 min, Felipe Massa, Ferrari

Robert Kubica:
Chassis / engine: BMW Sauber F1.07-01 / BMW P86/7 V8
Test kilometres today: 430 km (97 laps)
Fastest lap: 1:19.794 min (lap 70)

Nick Heidfeld:
Chassis / engine: BMW Sauber F1.07-02 / BMW P86/7 V8
Test kilometres today: 359 km (81 laps)
Fastest lap: 1:20.647 min (lap 55)

Programme:
As it was Nick's first day on this track in the new car he started working on the set-up. He then did aerodynamic comparisons and systems checks. In addition, he tested different brake coolings. Robert did a set-up scan in the morning and continued with an aerodynamic evaluation. He also compared different mechanical components and completed his programme by doing long-runs. Overall, it was a very productive day for the team.

What comes next:
Tomorrow, Nick will continue working on his programme, while Timo Glock will take over from Robert and will have his first run in the F1.07
BMW Sauber F1 Team - Test in Jerez - Day 3
6th February - 8th February 2007
Day three - Thursday

Weather conditions: Rainy most of the day
Temperatures: Air: 14/17??C, Track: 14/18??C

Number of cars participating: 14

Nick Heidfeld:
Chassis / engine: BMW Sauber F1.07-02 / BMW P86/7 V8
Test kilometres today: 156 km (34 laps)
Fastest lap: 1:29.497 min (lap 32)

Timo Glock:
Chassis / engine: BMW Sauber F1.07-01 / BMW P86/7 V8
Test kilometres today: 120 km (27 laps)
Fastest lap: 1:30.211 min (lap 21)

Programme:
Due to bad weather conditions and in view of the limited testing mileage, the team decided to stop testing at mid-day. Timo, who had his first proper run in the F1.07 started the day making starts on extreme weather tyres. He then changed to standard wet tyres and worked on a baseline set-up. Systems and diagnostics checks were also on his programme. Nick also tested the extreme weather tyres before switching to standard wet tyres. He worked on the fine tuning of the traction control and also made some diagnostics checks.

What comes next:
The BMW Sauber F1 Team will be testing in Barcelona from February 12 to 14
PressClub Asia

BMW Group in Asia achieves new sales records in 2006
02/07/2007

Singapore. The BMW Group posted strong growth results in Asia for 2006, beating previous records.
With the BMW Group achieving sales of 126,949 vehicles, the company has again achieved a new sales record in Asia, making the group the leading car company in the regionÔÇÖs premium segment for the 4th consecutive year.

In all, retail figures for BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce cars delivered to customers were up 13.8% (previous year: 111,571).

Sales of the BMW brand gained 15.5%, rising from 95,116 units to 109,848 units.

MINI continued to enjoy growth in Asia with sales of 16,959 cars (+3.7% / previous year: 16,353), while Rolls-Royce delivered 142 Phantoms to customers in Asia last year (previous year: 102/+39.2%). BMW Motorrad delivered 3,620 (previous year: 3,622) motorcycles to Asia.

The results underline the leading position of all three premium brands of the BMW Group in Asia, underscoring the GroupÔÇÖs record performance and market leadership: On a worldwide basis, BMW Group increased sales by 3.5% with the delivery of 1,373,970 vehicles (previous year: 1,327,992). Global sales of the BMW brand, at 1,185,088 vehicles, outstripped the previous year's figure (1,126,768) by 5.2%.

Group revenues increased by 5.0% to euro 48,999 million (2005: euro 46,656 million) compared with the previous year. Revenues generated by the Automobiles segment went up by 4.2% to euro 47,767 million (2005: euro 45,861 million). The Motorcycles segment generated revenues of euro 1,265 million (2005: euro 1,223 million/+3.4%), whilst revenues from financial services rose by 17.8% to euro 11,079 million (2005: euro 9,408 million).

ÔÇ£The BMW Group grew more strongly in Asia than in any other region of the world,ÔÇØ stated Dr. Michael Ganal, Member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, who announced the latest results. ÔÇ£This means that we are going to strengthen our presence in the individual markets in the years to come. We will continue our product and market initiative and invest further.ÔÇØ

Strong sales growth in key Asian markets.

In 2006, the BMW Group maintained strong sales increases in its key Asian markets, beating industry growth levels in most of the car markets and receiving accolades for products and brand alike.

In region China (covering Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan), BMW Group car sales experienced the highest growth rates in Asia with a total of 44,700 vehicles sold (+35.4% / previous year: 33,020). In Mainland China, Group sales of 36,357 BMW and MINI vehicles jumped by over 50% (previous year: 24,025). Growth was spurred by the BMW 3 and 5 Series launched in fall 2006, while the BMW 7 Series, X5 and X3 secured market leadership in their respective segments. Sales included a BMW 5 Series Long Wheelbase model designed specifically for the Chinese market.

Mainland China emerged in 2006 as the second largest market for the BMW 7 Series worldwide with sales of 7,522 units. (+ 32% / previous year: 5,700).

BMW achieved an above 20% brand share of the premium segment in the Chinese Mainland, earning the accolade ÔÇ£the most desired brandÔÇØ and ÔÇ£the most valued brandÔÇØ in media surveys ( auto motor und sport China, Feb.1, 2007 ; Fortune (China), July 2006).

In Japan, the largest individual market of the BMW Group in Asia, a new retail record was reached with sales of 62,068 vehicles (+5.6% / previous year: 58,767). Contributing to the sales success were five anniversary BMW 1 Series, X3, X5, 3 Series and 5 Series models, launched on the occasion of the BMW Japan CorporationÔÇÖs 25th anniversary. The reputation of the BMW brand was further strengthened in a highly competitive market with a No.1 ranking in the J.D. Power Asia Pacific Sales Satisfaction Study.
Japanese customers bought more than 13,400 MINI vehicles ÔÇô including a limited-edition model ÔÇ£MINI DesignerÔÇÖs ChoiceÔÇØ, specially created for this market. Limited production capacities at Plant Oxford resulted in a sales increase of 1%, although demand for the MINI was in reality much higher.

In Korea, the third largest growth market of the BMW Group in Asia, sales grew by over 10%, to a total of 7,250 vehicles (previous year: 6,682 units). The BMW 3 Series (the segment leader) and the BMW 5 Series proved to be best-sellers.

MINI brand sales ÔÇô again affected by supply from Oxford ÔÇô decreased by 9.1% to 700 vehicles (previous year: 770)

In Singapore, more retail records were broken, with BMW Group sales rising to 3,857 vehicles (+ 6.4%; previous year: 3,624). The BMW brand achieved a retail volume 15% higher than its nearest competitor, reinforcing its market leadership position in the premium segment.

The BMW 3 and 5 Series yet again proved to be sales successes in their segments, generating over 70% of BMW sales. The 7 Series, used to transport world leaders in Singapore during the International Monetary Fund and World Bank Meetings in 2006, also continued its successful run.

MINI sales also increased by almost 20% to 199 units (previous year: 166 units).
While the overall premium market in Thailand underwent a 14% decline (compared with the previous year) due to political turmoil, the BMW Group still delivered nearly 3,100 vehicles ÔÇô 9% over the previous year.

The BMW brand was the only premium brand in Thailand to achieve a two-digit growth rate with a volume of 2,822 vehicles (+13%; previous year: 2,502 units). The BMW 3 and 5 Series were key growth drivers in a depressed market. The BMW 3 Series retained segment leadership in 2006. The BMW X3 also gained substantial popularity, X3 retail volume having quintupled in only a year since the start of local production at Rayong.

The MINI brand suffered due to supply issues. Although retail volume of the MINI brand decreased to 276 vehicles, the BMW Group still held a 40 per cent share in the premium segment in Thailand.

Malaysia saw record sales, where the BMW Group delivered 3,472 vehicles to customers (+8%; previous year; 3,213 units). The results, which flew in the face of a declining market, exhibited the fastest growth rate in its market segment. Like the 3 Series, the BMW 5 Series achieved market leadership.

MINI did not attain the previous yearÔÇÖs retail level, with 170 vehicles sold, but the launch of the new MINI at the end of March is expected to boost sales.

In the Philippines, the BMW Group secured market leadership in the premium segment with a market share of 53 per cent and a retail volume of 803 units. (Previous year: 802 units). The BMW brand received two distinctions at the PhilippinesÔÇÖ Car of the Year Awards: The BMW 5 Series was named ÔÇ£Best-in-Ultra-Luxury-ClassÔÇ£, and the X3 received the award for ÔÇ£Best-in-Technical-InnovationÔÇ£.

The premium segment in the automotive market in Indonesia registered a decline due to economic pressures, resulting in overall sales of 1,562 vehicles, a fall of 58% compared to 2005. Correspondingly, BMW Group sales decreased to 600 vehicles. (-52%; previous year: 1,250 units). Yet, however, BMW received the most number of accolades in this market, garnering ÔÇÿIndonesia Car of the Year 2006ÔÇÖ for the 325i in the category ÔÇ£Best Premium SedanÔÇ£ as well as for the 730Li in the category ÔÇ£Best Exclusive SedanÔÇ£ plus the Autobild Indonesia Award 2006 for the 3, 5 and 7 Series. BMW was also honored with the ÔÇ£Best in Indonesia Customer Satisfaction AwardÔÇ£, ÔÇ£Indonesia Most Favorable Brand 2006ÔÇ£, and attained the number one ranking in the ÔÇ£Indonesia Customer Satisfaction IndexÔÇ£ study published by J.D. Power Asia Pacific.

BMW Group to increase commitment in Asia

BMW Group officially opened its subsidiary ÔÇ£BMW India Private LimitedÔÇØ recently at Gurgaon, Delhi and is due to open its production plant at Chennai in Southern India, creating its fifth production location in Asia. Production of the BMW 3 Series is expected to commence at the end of March 2007, while the BMW 5 Series will be produced from May.

The BMW 3 and 5 Series will have stronger underbodies, higher ground clearance and advanced fuel filters.
BMW India will be the only car manufacturer in India to offer financial services such as direct Wholesale financing and Retail financing.

Currently, BMW Group IndiaÔÇÖs workforce comprises 200 employees, while another 600 jobs will be created at its retail and service partners. Through local production and expansion of its dealership network to six outlets, BMW Group intends to increase its retail volume to 1000 units as early as this year. Last year, the BMW Group sold 257 BMW vehicles in India.

In Malaysia, BMW Group has just concluded an agreement with Sime Darby Berhad to acquire the local enterprises SimeLease and its subsidiary SimeCredit, a precursor to BMW Financial Services entering the Malaysian market, pending the Foreign Investment CommitteeÔÇÖs approval.

In Singapore, the BMW Group strengthened its presence with the launch of the BMW DesignworksUSA Asia studio as well as the opening of the BMW Group Asia Pacific Treasury Center last year.

Product and market initiatives to continue ÔÇô EfficientDynamics

Key product highlights of the BMW Group for Asia in 2007 include the new 3 Series Coup?®, the new MINI, the Z4 Coup?® and the Z4 M Coup?® as well as the new X5. In early January, the new BMW 3 Series Convertible and the convertible model Rolls-Royce Drophead Coupe made their world premieres at the Detroit Motor Show.

The efforts and innovative solutions in the field of sustainability have enabled the BMW Group to continuously improve the performance of its premium vehicles while reducing fuel consumption. This concept is called ÔÇ£EfficientDynamicsÔÇ£. It means, that each model series and various technology applied to a vehicle has to contribute to the overall target of reducing fuel consumption. Therefore the company improves continuously its engines. Technological improvements range from light-weight construction, aerodynamics, rolling resistance and energy management of the powertrain.

Currently the BMW Group is also developing a hybrid powertrain. The companyÔÇÖs research on a long-term sustainable solution to future individual mobility is being translated to commercial production of the BMW Hydrogen 7, an innovative limited-series vehicle powered by hydrogen.

Outlook for 2007

The forecast of the BMW Group for the year remains optimistic. ÔÇ£We expect the BMW GroupÔÇÖs retail growth to stay on a high level. This year, we already plan to meet our 2008 retail target of 1.4 million vehicles. Three years ago, we set an annual retail target for Asia of 150,000 vehicles to be sold by 2008. We also intend to move a fair step closer to this target this year,ÔÇØ said Ganal.
On the longer-term outlook in Asia, Ganal said, ÔÇ£The BMW Group considers itself a long-term partner in the region Asia. This means that we are going to strengthen our presence on the individual markets in the years to come and we plan to invest further in these markets.ÔÇØ

 

[mika]

Page 2

MR Traveler
A growing list of links too use for trip planning and on the road.
PM me with links that you have found useful and think should be listed.
PM me with things that you would like me to try and find.

Masscountryroads.com

AMA Daytona Bike Week 2007 Planner

RideYukon.com The Golden Cirlcle

BMW MOA ÔÇô Two resources not to be overlooked.
Camping with information on packing, planning, the basics, gear, places and tips of all kinds.

Global Touring with Court Fisher : covering Touring in North America, Europe and beyond.

Mapart.com Canadian Maps ÔÇôRoad Atlases, Street Guides, Folding Maps and more.

Radio-locator.com : radio station search engine

A growing messy list of links; I am cleaning up loose ends and it is messy.
WisconsinMotorcycling.com

511.alaska.gov: Alaska Road Traveler Information Service.

Great-Lakes.net: Great Lakes Cirle Tour Information.

mileageslaves.com : Mileage Slaves has a variety of resources for you.

MotorcycleRoads.us: ÔÇ£Your one-stop resource for great motorcycle roads.ÔÇØ

pashnit.com California Motorcycle Roads ÔÇô This site has gone subscription but is worth the entry fee.

Bestbikingroads.com: Aspiring to be the pashnit version of all of the US and Europe.

Off the Road : Your Guide to New Mexico Main Streets.

GERMANY
Web.de : Route planer for Germany.

Stadplan.net Maps

Continental Divide Trail Information
fs.fe.us: Continental Divide National Scenic Trail.
cdtrail.org: Continental Divide Trail Alliance
continental Divide Trail Society
[url=http://gorp.away.com/gorp/resource/us_trail/continen.htm]gorp.com: Map of the Continental Divide Trail and Travel

Ontario.bikerides.ca: Ontario Motorcycle Rides

USPS.com : Find a Zip. Zip codes are used by many travel related internet tools. If you donÔÇÖt know the Zip Code they are worthless. Find a Zip will help solve that problem.

Canadapost.ca: Travel plans for Canada? Postal Code Lookup is the tool.

cbsa-asfc.gc.ca: Canadian Boarder Serves Agency ÔÇô Traveling to Canada this summer?

ridefim.com: Welcome to the FIMÔÇÖs Internation Touring site.

AMADireclink.com
The AMA site has organized a lot of useful information that can be accessed using these links. Thank you AMA. For now I feel no need to reinvent this wheel.

AMADirectlink.com Trip planning information including :
Weather websites | Mapping sites | State Tourism bureaus|
Toll- free hotel numbers | Campgrounds | Nationwide dealer locator

AMAdirectlink.com : Local AMA race | event locator tool.

Internet Caf?® Directories
No one directory will deliver all that is available on any subject. Here are three links to start you off before you wade through millions returns on of a search engine will generate for you.

Internet-caf?®-guidl.com - Here is an Internet cafe directory of cybercafes in the U.S.

ca.dir.yahoo.com- YahooÔÇÖs directory to Canadian internet caf?®s.

Wifi Hotspots
Starbucks.com The Starbucks store locator. Not an endorsement but they seem ubiquitous.

Libraries often are excellent sources for internet access. There are too many to list but for the 2007 National Rally in West Bend:
West Bend Community Memorial Library: Home page
:West Bend Community Meorial Library: Acceptable Internet Use Policy.

Map Sources

Madmaps.com : Motor Adventure Destination Maps

Maps.com

topozone.com: interactive topo maps

Trails.com

Trails.com: Best Scenic Drives in Wisconsin

TOURS

adventure.gs

DragonBikeTour.com China

Go-Overland.com : Overland Expedition Resources

KTMtravel.com : An adventure travel resource for all kinds of information.

Steelponytours.co.uk: Steel Pony Motorcycle Tours of Spain.


The Pit Crew View: Racing Series 2007

American Historic Racing Motorcycle Association
AHRMA Handbook News and notable items from AHRMA
2007 AHRMA Events & Results
AHRMA Web Links page


AMA PRO RACING- Home Page

AMA Pro Racing @ the Wire Live! Menu

AMASuperbike official website
Schedule and Ticket Information
AMA Superbike 101

AMA Flat Trac official website
Schedule and Ticket Information
AMA Flat Track 101

AMA Supermoto official website
Schedule and Ticket Information

AMA Motocross official website
Schedule and Ticket Information
AMA Motocross 101

AMA Supercross official website
Schedule and Tickets
AMA Supercross 101

AMA Hill Climb

AMA Pro ATV
Schedule Information

Australian Superbike Championship


Canadian Superbike Championship
News
Track Information

Championship Cup Series American SportBike Racing Association


FORMULA 1
Schedule
Tickets and Travel

BMW Sauber
Drivers
Nick Heidfeld
Robert Kubica

Ferrari
Drivers
Kimi Raikkonen ÔÇô Under Construction
Felipe Massa

Honda
Drivers
Jenson Button
Rubens Barrichello

McLaren
Drivers
Fenando Alonso
Lewis Hamilton

Renault
Drivers
Giancarlo Fisichella
Heikki Kovalainen

Spyker
Drivers
Christijan Albers
Adrian Sutil

Super Aguri
Drivers
Takuma Sato
Anthony Davidson

Toro Rosso (Red Bull)
Drivers
David Coulthard
Mark Webber

Toyota
Drivers
Ralf Schumacher
Jarno Trulli

Williams
Nico Rosberg
Alex Wurz


Mid-Atlantic Road Racing Club (Cornerworking)


Isle of Man TT
Calander
Front page news
TT Database


MotoGP

SUPERSIDE

FIM Sidecar World Championship ÔÇô SUPERSIDE

Superside ÔÇô American Sidecar Championship



US Classic Racing Association


United States Grand Prix Racers Union


Vintage Road Racing Association ÔÇô CA:


WERA Motorcycle Roadracing


Westwood Motorcycle Racing Club CA.


World Endurance Championship


World SBK


Unless noted otherwise, I have no known commercial interest in any products, retailers or manufactures discussed in the Morning Reads. The links used in the Morning Reads are for informational use only. The use of all links is subject to the terms of use of the originating site.

THE END

 

[SNOONE]

1200 ST Limited Edition. Sweet!!! .

 

[PAULBACH]

What I learned from M1KA today!

Food for thought.

Looking for some good road food? This site might soon be moved to Mr. Traveler.

Now if we could just link roadfood.com to tankbag maps 
A great find to plan those rides when looking for something other than the golden arches.

Another link if you are traveling in New York or Vermont. Keep your eye open for the StewartÔÇÖs Shops. These stores are always tidy, have clean lavatories and picnic tables year round. They also stock fresh sandwiches and cold drinks and almost always have gas pumps. Nice clean and friendly places to stop and rest. All of them are motorcycle friendly.