Motorcycle Smack » Coverage

Cycle World Show Highlights

Quintin — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 04:31:33 +0000

The Cycle World International Motorcycle Show at the Long Beach Convention Center seemed bigger and better than in recent years. Several attendees made this observation. I, for one, could not be happier.

This year’s show opened up the hockey rink adjacent to the convention center for a very cool custom bike show, with quite a few examples of Roland Sands’ and Jesse Rooke’s handiwork. Rooke displayed a few examples of his Schwinn Stingray-inspired customs. It’s refreshing to see someone come up with all-new designs, rather than the done-to-death choppers seen so often on TV.

Oddly there was a Fischer sportbike in the lobby of the show, just parked there with no information available. The bike appeared unfinished, with no provisions for a passenger seat, tail light, or license plate. I think this little display did more to turn off potential buyers than turn them on.
Another oddity was the Hyosung cruiser trike. This is the answer to a question nobody asked.
There was also a very strange Ferrari Dino V-6 powered monstrosity on display. This is what I would refer to as a “bad idea, well executed”. The aluminum work was meticulously done, obviously it took the builder a long time. But theowner clearly has more money than taste. Vive le difference, eh?

This year’s show featured new bikes from just about all the manufacturers, including Ducati, Harley Davidson, Honda, Yamaha, Bimota (yes, Bimota!) Suzuki, Aprilia, KTM, etc. Conspicuously absent once again was Triumph, tho the good folks from Southern California Triumph in Brea waved the Brit bike flag with a great display.

All in all, it was a great show.

AMA Superbike – more of the same?

Quintin — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 05:05:04 +0000

Today’s AMA Superbike race was dominated, once again, by the Yosh boys, Mat Mladin and Ben Spies. The American Honda factory racing effort was almost pathetic. Jason DiSalvo on the podium over any factory Honda? What’s gone wrong with Honda? Have they simply lost their competitive edge?

In the post-race interview, Greg White asked Ben Spies about how challenging the competition was going to be this year. Being politically correct, Spies said he thought DiSalvo and others would be competitive this year. But come on, does anyone really believe this?

For better or for worse, Roger Edmondson and the new NASCAR ownership of AMA Superbike will surely shake things up next year.

DUCATI NORTH AMERICA ANNOUNCES 2008 DAYTONA BIKE WEEK FESTIVITIES

Quintin — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 04:46:57 +0000

DUCATI NORTH AMERICA ANNOUNCES 2008 DAYTONA BIKE WEEK FESTIVITIES

Cupertino, CA (February 28th, 2008) – Ducati North America announces the arrival of the inaugural Ducati Island to Daytona Bike Week.
From Wednesday, March 5 through Saturday, March 8, Ducati will transform the area beneath Daytona International Speedway’s Nextel Tower Grandstand into ” Ducati Island ” – featuring Ducati-only parking, hospitality, live TV feeds and the full range of 2008 Ducati models. Ducati Island will be the epicenter of Ducati for Daytona-bound Ducatisti.
This year’s Daytona 200 marks the debut of the Ducati 848 Superbike in its first professional road race. Larry Pegram of Pegram Racing, the official Ducati supported racing team for the 2008 AMA Superbike Championship, will pilot the 848 in the AMA Formula Xtreme Class. To commemorate the occasion Pegram Racing will have one of their race 848’s on display at DDD, and team owner/rider Larry Pegram will be on hand to sign autographs and answer questions.
On Friday, March 7 from 10am-5pm; the Island will host Ducati.net’s annual DucatiDayDaytona party (DDD). DDD 2008 will have numerous activities for fans to check out, such as the first round of the Ducati Superbike Concorso- a contest putting the top Ducati’s in the country against each other for a VIP trip to Italy ; a Hypermotard stunt exhibition, Ducati show and shine and two performances of the ever popular Ducati Fashion Show. The Ducati Owners Clubs of the South East will also have a strong presence, coordinating Ducati University : a series of informative technical discussions revolving around the Ducati brand.
Another special guest of the festivities will be Roland Sands, former AMA Champion and Custom Bike Builder. Roland will be attending DDD on Friday afternoon; where fans can see his ground-breaking, custom Hypermotard first-hand. Roland will be available at the event during the afternoon to answer questions, sign autographs and enjoy all that Ducati Day Daytona has to offer.
Full details of the week’s events, including a complete schedule, can be found at www.ducatidaydaytona.com and www.ducatiusa.com.

Congratulations Casey Stoner, Ducati, Bridgestone

Quintin — Sun, 02 Sep 2007 05:06:45 +0000

I gotta say congrats to Casey Stoner, Ducati, and Bridgestone. All 3 won their very first MotoGP championship this past sunday at Motegi in Japan. For relatively small Ducati to outperform the Big Four Japanese manufacturers is quite a feat. But it seems like the Bridgestones had a lot to do with it. Interesting that after all those years of Michelin dominance, there is now competition in tires. Even more interesting is that now that there is actual competition in tires, Dorna seems to want to take that away and go to a one-tire-brand rule.

Of course we can’t forget Stoner. What a talented kid. And what a magically babelicious wife! That kid is way too young and rich to be married, in my humble opinion.

Major props to Stoner and his family. They really believed in his talent for many years, to the point of moving the whole family from Australia to the U.K so Casey could further his racing career. It certainly paid off.