mika
Still Wondering
triumph.co.uk: Safety Recall ÔÇô Rocket III Touring Tires
businesswire.com: New sport redefines motorcycle endurance touring
econorun.co.za: 2009 RFS Bike Econorun News
motorcycle-usa.com: Can-Am Spyders in Paradise
motorcyclenews.com: BMW F800R first ride
cmgonline.com: [Canadian] Money for KTM [Canadian] purchase
roadracingworld .com: Ducati North America offering special financing on new 1198 Superbike
bikedealine.com: Honda confident market will rally for the remainder of 2009
Related:
The FCAI referred to in the article is the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries an Australian automotive and motorcycle industry group.
A Swedish name on a German BMW company segment with strong Italian roots, Husqvaran fascinates me. The Italian based website RacingCafe.blogspot.com gives a bit of history, comparison and a fun look at the 2008 Husky concept.
racingcafe.blogspot.com translated: Husqvarna SMQ 450 Concept ÔÇô 2008
Speaking of things Italian, AnimaGuzzist.com has another very interesting MG project to explore.
geeketto.com: Prova Aprilia test
I agree with Paul Crowe of the Kneeslider. I really like this bike.
thekneeslider.com: Royal Enfield V-Twin ÔÇô The Musket
motrsport.com: Vintage Motorcycle days
Dirt Rider Magazine named this its Bike of the Year
dirtrider.com: 2009 Husaberg FE450 Web Test
piaggiogroup.com: Piaggio increases market share in Italy
royalenfield.com: Royal Enfield breaks away from traditional selling
omnimoto.it translated: KYMCO Super 8 for BMW Motorsport Team
BENCHRACING:
fim-live.com: The WEC discovers splendid Sardinia
gnccracing.com: Husky riders spin the wheel at Big Buck GNCC
Remember KYMCO? They are that Chinese company that makes engines for that German motorcycle company arenÔÇÖt they? Well it seems the have a US division that is busy getting involved in U.S.racing.
dealernews.com: KYMCO USA goes racing with three sponsorships
motogp.com: Qatar press conference ÔÇô Dust settles on rivalry
speedtv.com: MotoGP 2009 Season Preview
fim-live: Rossi looks to maintain hunger
yamaha-racing.com: Yamaha and Petronas extend collaboration into MotoGP
dealernews.com: MotoGP ready for Quatar season opening
worldcarfans.comBMW X6 M to make safety car debut at Qatar MotoGP [This is the same race Dealer News was talking about in their Quatar MotoGP preview ]
reuters.com : Fact box ÔÇô Motorcycling ÔÇô MotoGP Season
reuters.com: Stoners wrist concern for opener
motorsport.com: Pirelli Bulgaria sumary
WEC
Can-Am GNCC Racing
AMA Pro Racing
MotoGP
But will it sell drywall?
The title is a blatant ripped off from a St Petersburg Times article, with the same title, published prior to this years running of the Daytona 500. The article look at the Team 20 ÔÇô Home Depot car and wondered about the impact of Tony Stewart leaving to start his own team would have on the team and the willingness of Home Depot to sponsor the car. For the sponsor the question always is does involvement in racing move product off your shelves. Hubris may cloud your decision yet your accountant will keep asking the question.
The S1000RR has not arrived in show rooms yet and already has caused great discussion on the street. It looks too much like all the other UJM sport bikes. ItÔÇÖs a Yamaha clone. Now in the SoloMoto article people are wondering will it have the asymmetric lights that are growing motorrad characteristic much as the kidney grill is to the cages BMW is rumored to build.
Are race victories and championships the measure of success BMW will apply to the S1000RR and BMWÔÇÖs superbike effort? Or will they, in the end, base their decisions on the number of bikes going out the dealerÔÇÖs doors?
There is no doubt that racing performance will be part of determining the fate of the S1000RR. It is clear that a plan spanning several years has been laid out for the team. Look at the G450X experience as a possible model.
- The first years were developmental for the G450X before it took to the track. The parallel period for the superbike project began back in the first days of racing the R1200S and then the HP2 Sport in endurance events and finished with the presentation of the S1000RR last fall.
- The first racing year expectations for the G450X were modest. Organize the team, deal with various infrastructure issues and sort the bike out. On track performance was something to be learned from not to set high bars for accomplishment. Podiums and wins were things to delight in not expect the first year. BMW seems to be applying the same standard to the S1000RR effort.
- The G450X goal for the second year was to score wins. In the process BMW picked up a championship in its own back yard. The superbike team will have similar expectation placed on it for the second year. Podiums and wins will be expected. Not in every outing but on a not unexpected basis.
- Year three the G450X was ahead of schedule. What was to be on the plate for that effort is the same that will be on the plate for the S1000RR victories.
- Year four more of the same with the goal of being in the hunt and winning the constructor championship.
BMW hubris will play a part in this also. Look to the cage ÔÇô F1 return in 2000 as an engine manufacturer. It soldered on in that roll looking for a team to bring home a constructors title with BMW powering the car. To achieve that goal they spent the money required to change Sauber-BMW F1 to BMW-Sauber F1 and run the entire show. The team manager Mario Theissen has alluded to marching plan that had the bench marks of Y-1 organizing, Y-2 competing, Y-3 winning a race and podium finishes and Y-4 competing for and winning a constructors championship. During this time all BMW parties involved have listened to the accountants report the costs. BMW Sauber F1ÔÇÖs efforts in 2009 and beyond may give us a small measure of how much racing hubris there is in the company.
For the motorrad racers hubris will not be enough to offset poor dealer sales however. The clear marching orders are developing racing motorcycles for street going classes that perform on the track and in the show room. The G450X seems to be doing that by winning races, championships and selling in the showroom. Riders will determine the fate of the S100RR as it comes to the dealers.
At the end of the scheduled multi-year plan management will turn to the marketers and accountants and ask ÔÇ£did we sell any drywallÔÇØ and make any money doing it? If the S1000RR is not winning sales for BMW in the showroom the accountants will be asking for a large infusion of hubris.
From an article on solomoto30.com
trendhunter.com: Expandable city cars
The boys from Top Gear are great fun to watch but they are idiots by putting the Ford GT on the un-cool side of their car board. If they donÔÇÖt want one I take it!
flagworld.com: FIA GT ÔÇô Ford GT1 revealed at Paul Ricard
22 hours of gearhead lucking ÔÇô
speedtv.com Speed set to offer 22 hours of Barrett Jackson Palm Beach coverage.
bild.de translated: Karmman ÔÇô The cult brand can still be saved
Mothership news is on page 2
BMW Group Mexico announces sales results for the first quarter of 2009.
BMW OF NORTH AMERICA ANNOUNCES CHANGES IN MANAGEMENT TEAM
wired.com: Around the world in a solar boat
This has potential to be a mandatory part of your rally kit and the Rally chairmanÔÇÖs plug in nightmare.
gizmag.com: CookingÔÇÖs silver lining ÔÇô tor roll up stove.
IÔÇÖm certain, summer 2008, I filled up at the last one.
weburbanist.com: Architecture to Go ÔÇô 10 offbeat gas station designs
gas2go.com: Connecticut and Massachusetts could get EV charging network
howstuffworks.com: What speed should I drive to get maximum fuel mileage
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WOOT.com
Cyrilhuzeblog.com: makes its first appearance in the humor section of Motorreads with ÔÇ£Watch this video and stop bitching about everything.ÔÇØ
Turboflat.blogspot.com
xkcd.com:
Bike Candy
Triumph Scrambler advertising video
From: animaguzzista.com by way of RocketGarage.com Follow the link to more pictures of this wonderful Moto Guzzi project
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