Despite the best efforts of my work environment, I somehow remain an optimist. Though there may not be an overabundance of evidence to back up that claim, I think I have one thing in particular I can use to demonstrate that fact. You see, this weekend I will be mounting up new tires on two of the bikes in the garage.

Its not that I haven’t seen the weather reports that estimate multiple inches of snow this weekend. I am not deaf to the predictions of temperatures tonight in the single digits. I’m not so dim as to miss the asphalt covered with a fine dusting of ice melting gravel that makes keeping even a four wheeled vehicle upright a challenge. You see, I don’t expect to ride in the next 48 hours anyway, so those items are not a deterrent. Its just that somewhere in the depths of my battered soul, there still smolders a small bit of eternal optimism and that softly glowing ember is what drives me to put fresh tires on bikes that will not be ridden this weekend. Instead I know that soon, perhaps even in the next few weeks, the sun will shine. The snow will melt. The gravel will be washed off the road. My helmet, which I washed last week, will finally dry out and no longer smell like a raunchy foot locker. Spring beckons just around the corner. The roads of Colorado will murmur the call of the curves. A little work now is not in vain, I will ride again!

Just one evening of knuckle busting, of freezing my fingers on 10 degree stainless steel tools and of straining my back as I do the gymnastics necessary to remove the bikes from the front end stand are all that is necessary to pay the final dues of winter. In return I shall receive the ticket to ride.

Any day now, these wheels will be turning…

[image from my photo collection.]

My buddy Kreig pointed out that it has been awhile since I posted a Box of Shame entry…

Most of my Box of Shame stories have been about my long suffering GSXR. Some have been mechanical blunders on my part while others were just slack maintenance. This story, on the other hand, is more along the lines of a “wrong place, wrong time” story, so hopefully it won’t make me look as much the idiot as some of the earlier stories.

When I lived in Atlanta, there was a group of us that would gather every Tuesday night at Cafe Diem to hang out, kick tires and tell lies. Many of us hung out on the SERIDERS mailing list while a few other regulars were non-riding friends. Just a great group of folks, many of whom I still keep in touch with and of whom I have many great memories.

One of those friends was Andy, the owner of Cafe Diem, who always supported all of us bikers that would regularly visit his great coffee shop. Among the things he did for us was allowing us to park our bikes on the sidewalk in front of his patio so we could keep an eye on the motorcycles when hanging out there. I often got there first on Tuesday and got the “prime” parking spot on the sidewalk next to the entrance.

On particular rainy night, we were all gathered inside the cafe. We had a pile of wet rain gear dripping in the corner, a stack of helmets clearly marking our area and a big group of noisy folks around three or four tables all deep into our weekly B.S. session. A hesitant, nervous looking woman approached the table and asked if anyone there owned the white motorcycle parked out front. I owned up to being the owner and was shocked to hear her report that from her seat in the front she had watched the bike get hit by a car. Since the bike was a good 8 feet away from the road, protected by a 6 inch high curb and between big steel light poles, I thought that unlikely. In fact, my first assumption was that this was a joke someone was pulling by having a stranger report by GSXR was damaged.

Despite my disbelief, I followed the woman outside and found my GSXR was in fact leaning up against the small picket fence surrounding the patio and a car was halfway up onto the sidewalk next to the bike. My bike had in fact been run-over but that is when things started to get strange. You see, the car wasn’t running and was, in fact, empty! What’s more, it had been backed over the curb (denting the rims and probably rashing the underside of the car) just barely missing one of the light poles. While I was accessing the damage to the GSXR a very shocked young woman walked out of Cafe Diem clearly not expecting to see her car on the sidewalk. As it turns out, the lady had taken a sharp right turn off the street and parked her car in the parking lot next to the cafe. Since she’d made the sharp turn, the steering wheel locked with the wheels turned to the right when she turned off the car. Whether she forgot to park the car in gear, I don’t know, but she definitely didn’t use the parking brake and the transmission ended up in neutral. The car started rolling slowly backwards down the entrance ramp into the parking lot but slowly arching to the right, eventually rolling out into the street, back around tothe sidewalk, up over the curb and straight into the side of my bike.

The GSXR had the added misfortune of being knocked over onto one of the posts supporting the patio’s cute little picket fence. This post basically impaled the upper fairing busting through the fiberglass and bending the upper fairing bracket. The front brake lever was broken off, along with the front and rear right side mirrors. The lower fairing on the left side of the bike was cracked where the car’s rear bumper nailed it and the clutch lever broke in half where it contacted the trunk of the car.

I had one of my friends give me a quick ride back to the house to get a replacement brake lever, then returned to install the lever and ride the bike home. I then spent the next month getting the lady’s insurance company to pony up the money necessary to put new bodywork, levers, mirrors and fairing brackets on the bike. It turned into a $1500 tab a few months to track down all the replacement parts including some lighter (and cheaper, saving the insurance company a few bucks) Harris race glass bodywork. I still keep the bent fairing bracket in the Box of Shame to remind me that even parked cars can be dangerous!

[image from my photo collection.]

“All for one and one for all…”
– The motto of the Three Muskateers

I did a blog entry last year about how Honda has trouble retaining riders. Well, I think that losing Valentino Rossi isn’t the only challenge Honda will be facing this coming MotoGP season. It appears that Yamaha has upped the odds by bringing on board Colin Edwards as Rossi’s teammate stealing the best development rider on Big Red’s payroll. Honda still has a talented line-up and are also getting involved with testing earlier than they did in 2004, so they’re ahead of the game compared to last year, but I still believe they are still going to have a struggle on their hand because of two of the RC211V riders.

A racer wants to beat all their competition but no one moreso than his teammate. In this particular case, it is the teammates of Max Biaggi and Nicky Hayden that I think may cause Honda some difficulty. First, their riding styles are completely different. Nicky rides with the traditional US ex-dirt tracker style which favors squaring off a corner and then sliding the rear of the bike on the way out. Biaggi, because of his four titles in 250GP, prefers to carry high corner speed and use a wider arc through a turn. With Honda’s commitment to build their bike around the Repsol riders, this may point the engineers in two different directions. Perhaps input from Movistar Telefonica rider Sete Gibernau (the not-quite-official official rider) will help break any development gridlock.

However, the bigger problem is that even this early in the season it is apparent that Max and Nicky aren’t likely to be best buddies. Barros was apparently very generous with tuning information while teamed with Hayden at Repsol and even Rossi was rumored to have helped out his rookie team-mate while he still riding for Honda. Despite Nicky and Max being seen together at the opening AMA Supercross race of the 2005 season in Anaheim California, comments made by Hayden during a Two Wheel Tuesday interview on SpeedTV and in a printed interview on Superbike Planet show there is no love lost between the two riders.

It is bad enough that Honda may have trouble building a bike around two distinctly different riders but this chaos will be compounded if the riders can’t get along. Honda needs to have their riders communicating and working together. The MotoGP series will be visiting two new tracks in 2005, Laguna Seca in the US and Shanghai Circuit in China. Biaggi and Hayden will both be riding constantly changing bikes with revised suspension configuration,enhanced electronics and probably lots of other modifications as new parts are developed. Two riders working together, as Rossi and Edwards at Yamaha already appear to be doing, can adjust their bikes more efficiently in pre-season testing and come up to speed faster when visiting new circuits than two riders who are in competition with each other. In contrast to Edwards and Rossi’s work at Sepang, the biggest news from the Repsol camp was when their two lead riders crashed into each other on pit lane. Not good.

If these two guys are looking to be the best among equals rather than seeing the bigger picture of Honda’s goals, then perhaps the biggest challenge for Erv Kanemoto won’t be sorted out the RC211V but will be sorting out the relationship between his two riders.

[image from Honda Racing of UK web site.]

A news item has been circulating around the ‘net for the past few weeks about Lexus cars getting infected by a computer virus that is transmitted via the Bluetooth protocol. The virus was apparently targeted towards cell phones but the built-in wireless connection in the Lexus is apparently susceptible as well. This is the first reported case of a car getting a computer virus but is unlikely to be the last. With more and more vehicles containing Bluetooth or other forms of wireless technology so that consumer devices like cell phones can be more easily integrated, I’m sure virus writers will soon turn their attention to this uncharted territory of digital mayhem.

Which brings me to today’s blog topic…a big deal as been made this year about BMW’s computing technology they are using for their new bikes. Specifically, the new K series BMW motorcycles utilize a revolutionary computer system, transplanted from the BMW cars, which uses a distributed computer network to handle the various functions of the bike like fuel injection, ignition, ABS brakes, spark and the “console” displays. The press releases have all shown how the CAN-bus just uses a few wires to transmit digital signals between these distributed processors, meaning no more large bundles of wire in a bulking wiring harness. They’ve also highlighted out this allows more interaction between the various components and will allow for future advancements like traction control.

What has gotten less press is that BMW is also starting to integrate Bluetooth wireless technology in their bikes to enable accessories like HUD (heads up display), communication devices like cell phones, intercoms or CBs and entertainment accessories like radio and CD players. The new BMW System V helmet has integrated speakers, independent processing computer, Bluetooth antenna, microphone, inflatable accident triggered neck ring and other fancy devices. So soon, the bike’s onboard computer systems will be able to keep the rider informed, entertained and safe all without the needs for wires.

I’m sure you can see where this is going. If not, then understand that as someone who makes his living in the high tech world and who is obsessed with motorcycles, this news scares the living crap outta me. I spend all day working on complex computer networks which are the most frustrating, unstable and laborious systems imaginable. Its bad enough that my job is dependent on these vile contraptions. Worse yet that in some dark, air-conditioned data rooms around the world my finances, my legal status and my life history are monitored by these digital monsters. Now the stillness of my motorcycle refuge is about to be disrupted by the same problems that already make my 9-to-5 such hell.

I can see it now. I’m riding the road on my fancy new BMW motorcycle, listing to my MP3s on the integrated radio/CD/MP3/XM satellite entertainment system. My Bluetooth helmet’s HUD display shows that I’m cruising near the speed limit and that the outside temperature is hot but isn’t affecting the engine’s performance. Just as I queue the intercom button to tell my riding buddy that the GPS shows a right turn is coming up, the whole system goes nuts. The inflatable helmet ring, designed to protect my neck case of an accident, triggers which pushes the helmet up around my ears. The in-helmet speakers start making strange noises and the HUD display starts flashing numbers and letters. distracting me in this critical moment. This terrifying chaos causes me to instinctively grab the brakes, which would likely cause an accident had the onboard computer not overloaded the ABS system preventing the brakes from locking or even working. Still, it does end the ride early because the computer also causes the bike’s ignition system to fire the spark plugs too soon which overheats the engine, locks up the crankshaft and dumps the whole bike onto the shoulder of the road. All because I rode past some yuppie yapping away on their cell phone which happened to have been infected with the latest virus. Oh, and I forgot to update the Beemer’s computer system with the security patches this week. Ah, just another fine day of riding my bike.

I was willing to accept the advantages that come with new technology like black boxes and fuel injection when they replaced points and carburetors. What motorcyclist would give up tubeless tires, halogen lights and rebound damping? From time to time, I’ve even been known to listen to my wife’s MP3 player while riding. But like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, I’ve looked behind the curtain of the computer world enough to know that the big green head isn’t what it appears to be. All that seamless integration and plug-n-play functionality brings with it a risk I’d prefer not to take.

Hmm…maybe setting points with a gum wrapper wasn’t so bad after all.

[image from the Sport Rider web site.]

March is just around the corner and it is always a rough time of the year for the Ducatisti. Like the long suffering Boston Red Sox fans, the die-hard race fanatics who cheer for Team Bologna generally find March a month they’d rather just skip. Success at the Daytona International Speedway has been a rare thing for the big red Italian twins, so rare in fact, that there hasn’t been much to cheer about after an AMA Superbike race at the Speedway in nearly 30 years.

In the 90s, Fast by Ferracci tuned Ducati’s ruled the AMA Pro Twins class and even more recently, Ducati 748s have won in Pro Thunder but in the premier class, the last time Ducati stood a top the podium at Daytona was 1977. When you consider that Ducati virtually ruled the AMA Superbike class in the nearly 90s with riders like Doug Polen and Troy Corser, the length of their drought at Daytona comes as a shock. Especially when you look at their success in practice and qualifying for the past decade it seems strange that there hasn’t been a win. Maybe there is a Ducati Daytona curse!

Well, if there is a curse, then like the miracle Red Sox of this past baseball season, this may well be the year that Ducati gives it the smackdown. First, they have a solid team line-up. Second, they have an excellant bike. Third, they are on the “spec” Dunlop tires.

Their favored rider has to be Brit Neil Hodgson racing over here after a dismal season in MotoGP. Despite not having ridden at Daytona since the 90s, Neil was one of the fastest riders during the recent tire tests on the newly reconfigured Daytona track. The guy is a past World Superbike and British Superbike champion, so there is no denying his talent. Additionally, as recently as 2003 he was riding a Ducati 999 and as recently as 2002 was on Dunlop tires so he should have no trouble adapting to his 2005 ride. The only question mark for Neil is how quickly can he adapt to racing next to Daytona’s threatening concrete walls after so many years of racing on world class tracks.

Also a potential threat at Daytona this year is Eric Bostrom. He is into his second season now riding the Duc 999 and is now back on his favorite Dunlop tires after a season to be forgotten on the Michelins. The 999 doesn’t have the same level of front end feel of the Kawasakis upon which Eric was so amazing, so the real question is whether he will finally have gotten that under control. Still, Eric was pole sitter at Daytona last year and ran well until a claimed busted oil cooler ended his shot at winning.

The 999, while definitely finicky, is a proven race winner which has dominated World Superbike since its introduction in 2003. The bike Hodgson and Bostrom will be racing is based on a limited production model, homologated specifically for racing in the AMA series, so it will probably be the most powerful and race focused bike on the grid.

All of the factory teams in AMA Superbike are running Dunlop tires this year which means no more wondering who has the good tire and who doesn’t. While Michelin makes a good tire they don’t have the history in the US that Dunlop have, so there was always a question mark in that regard. No only will everyone be Dunlops but ll the top factory riders will have access to the same choice of tires so there won’t be some guys with a special “A” tire and others with something more mundane. Additionally, Dunlop has said there will be no qualifying tires this season, so fast race time will be set on soft race tires. No more one lap wonders. Neil’s fast times at the tire test are an indication that the Duc doesn’t need ‘em to throw down fast laps.

But perhaps the best card in the Ducati Austin team’s hand this year will be the change in the Superbike race itself. After years of the premier Superbike class running 200 hard miles at Daytona, this year it is being relegated to a 45 mile sprint race while Formula Extreme takes over the prestige of the 200 mile race. Historically, reliability has been the Achilles’ heel for the Ducati during the 200. Whether it is an obvious failure (Gobert’s 2003 race, Picotte’s 2002 race, Mladin’s 1997 race), crashes (Bayliss in 2000, Russell in 2001) or apparent bad luck (Bostrom’s 2004 problem) Ducati have been unable to run at nearly full throttle for the two hours required by the Superbike race at Daytona. This history of failure is in sharp contrast to their qualifying results. In the 90s, Ducati took nearly half of the Daytona pole positions and this was during the reign of Scott Russell as “Mr. Daytona”. I suspect Ducati is near 50% in poles over the past two decades. The big V-twin certainly has the power and in many ways Daytona may be a “Ducati track”. With Superbikes only running a 15 lap sprint race this year, perhaps they can dodge the reliability bullet and finally win one.

Isn’t it about time this curse, like that of the famed Bambino, is finally put to rest?

[image from Ducati web site.]

One of the hot topics this time of year is testing. It is when the new bikes are rolled out after a winter of modifications and put under the harsh scrutiny of the stop watch. Like the melting of snow in the spring, the bike covers melt away to reveal new secret compound tires, fancy unobtanium brake systems, magic suspension modifications, monster engine upgrades and sleeker more aerodynamic bodywork. The crowds ohhh and ahhh. Some factories beat their chests in triumph while others sulk back to the workshop for some frantic last minute changes. Timing sheets show lap records that have been shattered, everyone predicts the most competitive season yet and the track owners start trying to figure out how to deal with bikes that go 10 mph faster than last year without dumping millions into track re-configuration projects. Ah, the joys of spring.

One thing that usually only gets mentioned in passing are that the riders aren’t usually put under that same level of scrutiny, despite their mental and physical conditioning being more essential to success than anything on the bike. The off season is usually a time when riders recover from the previous season: some guys relax, others go into obsessive training while others visit their favorite surgeons to fix the problems that accumulated over the previous season. There are always the guys that are left scrambling for rides during the off-season and teams trying to sort out what bikes, classes and mechanics they will have available for the next year. Anyone that comes to the first test session in anything other than 100% fitness, without 100% focus and without a team that is 100% prepared is already behind the eight ball.

In MotoGP this year, there have only been a few riders in that position because of health problems. The biggest name in this position is Max Biaggi. At the end of last season, he broke his leg in a Supermoto training accident. Being unable to walk wasn’t a big enough hindrance to prevent him from getting promoted to the much coveted lead Honda rider position but did threaten to sideline him for the first official test after the mandatory winter test ban. However, the miracle of modern medicine raised its head, along with a helping of space age technology, and he showed up at Sepang with only a heavy limp and a fancy carbon fiber boot. As it turns out, he was able to cut respectible times ending the test fifth fastest and less than two seconds of session leader Capirossi’s best. Out of potential disaster comes success.

The only other MotoGP rider still on the injured list is Capirossi’s teammate on the Ducati, Carlos Checa. Checa suffered a freak accident during a joint Ducati-Ferrari press event where he cut his left hand on the ice screws on a go-kart. Checa made the Sepang test, despite the injured hand, but then caught the flu and was unable to ride the majority of the test. Despite missing most of the first test, he showed up a day early for this week’s second official test at Sepang and punched in on the clock to start getting seat time. Tomorrows time sheets will show how well he has bounced back from his injury.

Both Kenny Roberts, Jr. and Nicky Hayden suffered from late season injuries last year but both claimed to be back at 100% by the first Sepang test. Otherwise, the MotoGP paddock has been uncharacteristically injury free during the off season and starts the new season generally healthy. But given the reputation for crashing with riders like Xaus and Melandri, there are still a a few more big hurtles to cross before a full grid of injury-free riders can really be announced for the first race at Jerez in April.

Closer to home, things are looking a bit more gruesome.

First of all, two of the star riders in the AMA paddock spent time late last year having hardware removed from their bodies. Jamie Hacking and Miguel Duhamel both took the off season to visit the famed Dr. Ting to have plates removed from previously broken bones. Honda’s star rider Duhamel, after a few sessions of this, has reversed his previous transformation into a cyborg and is back to being more bone than metal plates. Miguel trains with Lance Armstrong’s fitness coach so he should have all the tools necessary to recover quickly. For Jamie, it was the final step in repairing the damage that may well have cost him and Yamaha a championship last season. Both spent some time resting on the couch but otherwise shouldn’t be affected. Both showed up at Daytona fit and appeared to be race ready.

The same can nearly be said of Ducati rider Eric Bostrom now that he’s had the winter to continue the healing process with his shoulder which he injured in his crash at Road Atlanta. He claims to be close to 100% and has already been putting in strenuous training time aboard his bicycle and the rock climbing wall. Again, only the stop watch will show if he’s really ready to race but nothing raises a red flag at this point. Eric really needs thing to go well this season and can’t afford to start with with a bum shoulder.

Another question mark is whether Erion Honda’s Kurtis Robert is ready. He missed the first tire test at Daytona but did start riding today at Fontana. He spent half his 2004 MotoGP season with an injured wrist but says that he has completely healed. Since wrist injuries are among the slowest to heal, only having seat time on the bike will really answer the question of how the hand has recovered. That could be answered as soon as tomorrow since his first day at Fontana was spent adjusting the bike and learning the team.

More seriously on the injured list is Mat Mladin who is still recovering from the effects of his 80mph crash at Daytona during the first tire test. He was back aboard his Suzuki today at Fontana, turning the second fastest lap of the day, so obviously he isn’t too injured. The question is how well that chipped bone is doing and whether the race season will start before the bone has re-knit itself. If so, he’ll be fighting that leg injury all season long. Possible bad news for Mat but perhaps the only chance his competition has of getting the Superbike championship away from the Aussie.

The final person fresh from a hospital visit is Kawasaki’s Roger Lee Hayden. News broke today that he was in a serious bicycle accident last week while training which has turned the left side of his body into one big slab of roadrash. While skin heals pretty quickly, its basically impossible to move for a week without the painful experience of breaking scabs open and that rules out any physical training. It also rules out this week’s testing at Fontana. With Rog racing a new ZX-6RR this season, that lack of seat time could be tragic. We’ll see if he’ll be ready for Kawasaki’s next test at Laguna or if he’ll miss that test too.

Even among the riders listed as full fit, there are some lingering wounds that may yet play a part. Yamaha’s Damon Buckmaster spent most of last season with various bone injuries but returned for the last two races of the year. Likewise, Josh Hayes took a pretty big tumble at Road Atlanta that had him hurting for a few months. Those kinds of incidents may not affect the rider on the bike but just one nasty highside can re-break bones or re-tear tendons at the side of a previous injury. Something that takes a rider from healthy to bed-ridden in one quick twist of the throttle.

The prognosis on these two series? Well, MotoGP appears healthy and ready to bring on another season of excitement. The AMA, on the other hand, has some major players on the injured reserve list. With only a month until the opener at Daytona, the doctors may have as much to do with race results as the crew chiefs! Lets try to stay healthy out there!

[image from MotoGP web site.]

A lot of bike manufacturers have come and gone over the past decade or so. A few have gone on to prosper but most have fallen (or even fallen multiple times in the case of Indian) by the way side.

What is the difference between the winners and those that didn’t survive?

Certainly the business side of things hasn’t been handled well in a few of these cases. Nearly everyone acknowledges that the rebirth of Excelsior-Henderson in the mid-90s was bungled from the start. The first two or three attempts to revive Indian were out-right scams, if not just horrible examples of management. If you don’t have management that know how to manage a budget, don’t understand the industry or how to make harsh decisions you aren’t going to get off the ground. But management alone isn’t enough…The last revision of the Indian company seemed to have a clue about the industry. Cannondale was part of a huge company and they certainly knew how to run a business. Still struggling Aprilia were one of the biggest bike producturers in the world, thanks to their scooter sales, before their recent bankrupcy.

Perhaps to see where others may have gone wrong, I should comment on what I think was done right with some of the survivors…

First and foremost, has been the return of Triumph starting in the early-90s. The list of what these guys did right should be a “how to” for the other companies trying to get started. First, they made sure their new products had a tie-in to the original. For their first models, this was in name only but their greatest success has been with neo-retro bikes like the Thunderbird and then a complete re-imaging with their twin cylinder Bonneville line. The second thing John Bloor did was to partner with a Japanese company to learn the ropes. The original triple engined Hinkley Triumphs used Kawasaki parts. Bloor even traveled to Japan to see how Kawasaki built their bikes. While this drew criticism for making Japanese Triumphs, it allowed his company to get off the ground quickly. Third, the first generation of Triumphs started with unit production parts. All models used the same basic engine and frame. This meant a wide variety of bikes could be made without having to tool up lots of different assembly lines. With this start, Triumph started to build bikes. They deviated from these rules only as money and the market gave them an opportunity.

The second company that obviously did things right was Victory. Seeing the success of Harley in the early 90s, Polaris decided to diversify their snowmobile/ATV business with a motorcycle line. Despite some troubled times, this division has gone on to success and is now considered a major player. The biggest factor to their success has undoubtedly been their success in other motorsports markets. That means both money and knowledge of how to play in this industry. Secondary to that, I believe they also hired some truely great engineers when they started. For example, I know they brought in Dr. Rob Tuluie to help with their initial designs. They continued this by bringing in Arlen and Cory Ness when they did their second line. Hiring good people is essential to building a successful bike. Third, they followed the racing dictum of never follow, always look for a way past. The first Victory, the V92, was a “sport cruiser”. While it didn’t sell well then, it was certainly a successful market to shoot for given the success of todays V-Rods, Warriors and Mean Streaks. The current Hammer is the first major production “custom”, again show in Victory is looking beyond their competition not at their back end.

The third example of success is the rebirth of MV Agusta. (Success in the Italian motorcycle industry, BTW, just means they haven’t yet filed for bankruptcy). The company was brought back from the dead by the Castiglioni family who have a long history in the motorcycle business. He started out with truckloads of cash and immediate hired Massimo Tamburini, designer of the Ducati 916. That was the clincher, no matter what else happened. Tamburini knows how to build a lust worthy bike and that along would generate the buzz needed to fuel the company’s growth. Their second step was to focus on the upper end of the market, making their money off high pricing rather than mass production. This allowed them to gain momentum and gain the image of exclusivity. Now that they are building more bike at lower prices like the Raptor, the market is jumping at the chance to own their own status symbol. Finally, they partnered with Malaysian based Proton meaning that their source of money isn’t dependent on the notorious Italian business environment.

So the folks that got it wrong?

Well, most of them tried to develop a new engine too soon. The “new” Indian went under when they tried to develop a new (non-S&S) engine for their Chief. Its rumored that Excelsior-Henderson was tanked for the same reason. Cannondale was trying to do to many unique things with their 400cc dirt bike engine. The current Motoczysz project has spent millions so far and only have one working engine to show for it. Building an engine is the most complex and expensive bit of engineering possible, made even more difficult by the constantly changing government restrictions. The rumored “new” Vincent has cut out that hurtle by buying engines from Honda. The “new’ Norton did it by modifying the original Norton design, rather than starting with a blank sheet of paper. Even the strange Gurney Alligator uses a Honda engine and Dan Gurney knows a thing or two about building engines.

Second, re-use parts as much as possible and stay with a small line-up until money allows growth. Indian did this well with their Harley clones but it was when they tried to build an all new bike that their costs skyrocketed. Aprilia had huge success with their scooters and sport bikes but went bankrupt because they bought and tried to revitalize Moto Guzzi just as the scooter market was collapsing. Meanwhile, India’s Royal Enfield has been making the same bike since the ’50s and new Korean manufacturer Hyosung are building a bike based on the SV650 that they build under contract for Suzuki. This maxim is true for the established manufacturers, as all of Ducati’s current line-up uses two basic engines, one of which has been around for 15 years.

Finally, know the market place. The list of cruiser/custom builders that have dried up on the vine, like Titan Motorcycles, is continually growing longer. It is always good to aim for a known portion of the market but always look for new places to go. Harley will always own the American cruiser market. Folks like Excelsior-Henderson that thought they could exist solely by stealing a piece of the cruiser pie away from Harley were doomed from the start. Victory came in looking for something different like the sport cruiser or factory custom markets and have prospered. Titan tried to take on West Coast Choppers and Orange Country Choppers but couldn’t bring anything new to the table (and lacked a fancy TV show for marketing). Down they went. ATK has always survived, like MV Agusta, by focusing on a narrow and exclusive portion of the dirt bike market. Cannondale went head-to-head with Honda. ATK is still selling bikes.

I’m no economist and I’ve never started a motorcycle company. Ultimately, I’m just looking at the wreckage strewn about the motorcycling landscape and trying to make sense of it all. Maybe the next company to strike success will build their own engine, have lots of unique models and will go up against an established leader in the market place…but I doubt it.

[image from my photo collection]

So the motorcycle press has been buzzing lately about the AMA losing some tracks off the 2005 calendar. The Brainerd International Raceway has definitely been cancelled because of the impending sale of the track (and sadly its likely future as a golf course) so that double header round is definitely off the schedule. Additionally, it seems that the AMA and Virginia International Raceway are having trouble coming to an agreement about a race date there (tentatively shown on the AMA schedule as Sept 17-18) so it may be cut as well. If so, that will only leave nine tracks for this season. Fortunately, seven of those events would be double header events, so there would still be 16 separate superbike races. What would be hurt are the support classes, especially Formula Extreme since it isn’t scheduled to race as one of the Laguna Seca MotoGP support races. The FX title may be determined by only eight races. Yikes!

Anyway, I don’t think a nine round series is necessarily a problem. Sure, it doesn’t indicate any growth in the AMA Superbike series but it also doesn’t mean the series will go the way of Formula USA’s road race series either. What I do think is a problem are the tracks themselves. Its the old quality versus quantity issues. While there are nine tracks on the series this year three of those circuits are actually NASCAR oval’s with infield tracks. I think these infield tracks have a few major problems while offering relatively few advantages. First and foremost is always safety. The length of these tracks is often an issue, with all three now being shorter than three miles in length. Finally, these tracks often end up with slower chicanes in place to bleed off the speeds from the bankings and that makes for stop and go racing, rather than high speed dicing which characterizes road racing.

In terms of safety, 2000 lb race cars going 200 mph need to be contained when there is an accident and that means hard walls. Safety at Daytona has gotten its fair share of press already this year but California Speedway and Pikes Peak International Raceway aren’t much better. In fact, turn 2 at PPIR may be the worst of them, given the huge mid-corner bump over the access tunnel and the concrete wall on the outside of the turn. PPIR has been lucky not to have a serious injury over the past eight years, particularly given the turn one chicane that was used during the Formula USA and AMA races the first year bikes raced there. Not only is PPIR unsafe through the turns coming onto and off the banking, it is also an amazingly short track at only 1.3 miles in length. With sub-one minute lap times, back-markers are a huge problem which just compounds the safety issues.

California Speedway seems like the only one of the three NASCAR ovals with a relatively safe infield course. This is because the track is so large (a two mile oval, where PPIR is a one mile oval) and that means nearly twice the track length at 2.4 miles. It also packs 21 turns which keeps speeds lower, making that maze of concrete walls and steel guardrail a bit safer at the expensive of tight racing.

Of the tracks on the 2005 schedule that aren’t NASCAR oval infields the worst of them in terms of safety is still Mid-Ohio. The track is a beautiful 2.5 miles long classic road course and there aren’t many off-track obstacles, so all would seem great right? Well, the problem with Mid-Ohio for the past decade has been the track surface. Because Mid-Ohio’s main income is from sports car racing, they use concrete pads in the corners to keep the pavement from being rippled due to the lateral force of the aerodynamic cars. This concrete works great for the cars but has always caused problems with the bikes. The seams between asphalt and concrete raise (no pun intended) hell with bikes that are heeled over at max lean angle mid-corner. Last year they tried to solve this by grinding down the concrete pads to level out the tops but this resulted in an ultra-slick surface which caused more accidents than the uneven concrete edges. Every fan of AMA motorcycle racing hopes they will finally get the repaving job it needs to be a top rated motorcycle track.

To give credit where credit is due, four of the tracks on the AMA circuit have been making major changes which greatly benefit motorcycle racing. Road Atlanta, Infineon Raceway, Barber Motorsports Park and Laguna Seca are all tracks which are improving every year. What makes this particularly exciting is that motorcycles rarely fill the coffers of the tracks who instead make their money of some form of car racing. It is basically impossible for the AMA to leverage increased earnings as a motivation for track owners to make their tracks safer for bikes because bike races don’t bring in very many spectators. The tracks that are making these changes are doing so either because they hope to bring in International racing which requires greater safety (Laguna Seca and Barber) or are making these changes just to make the tracks safer (Road Atlanta and Infineon). Either way, these tracks deserve some added attention from motorcycle racing fans in return for their efforts. If you’re near one of them, be sure to buy tickets to this years AMA Superbike race. If that starts to happen, maybe more tracks will pony up the bucks necessary to provide a safer venue for our sport.

[image from Pikes Peak International Raceway web site.]

With the start of the 2005 AMA Superbike season only a month away, I thought I’d throw out one reason to watch Miguel Duhamel. I guess I should say “another reason” to watch him, since the primary reason to watch him is that he’s damned fast and may well be one of the few riders that can challenge Mladin for the title in 2005.

Over the last 15 years the Canadian born racer has won his share of both critics and fans. Throughout the 90s Duhamel, along with Scott Russell, was regularly chided by fans for his harsh treatment of backmarkers. TV scenes of Miguel flipping off slower riders at tracks like Daytona were common place. Despite those that screamed for his head on internet mailing lists, the number of fans who support him has grown into a veritable army. And why not? The guy has a better sense of humor that many comedians, has more on-screen personality that most of the TV commentators that interview him and, most importantly, has stamped his authority on the AMA scene with so many 600SS, Forumula Extreme and Superbike wins that nearly everyone has lost count. His heroic (yes, that is an overused word these days but re-watch the race…its true) 1999 Daytona sweep of both 600SS and Superbike was enough to get him a legion of sworn fans.

Well, none of those are the particular reason I think the guy deserves a little extra attention. I think it is because the guy showed himself to be a class act on two different occasions in 2004 and I’d like to see more riders follow his lead. The situations I’m thinking of where his podium speeches at both PPIR and VIR after winning Formula Extreme races. In both instances, he used that opportunity to recognize people who were less fortunate that himself. At PPIR, he commented on a woman with AIDS. At VIR, he mentioned Colorado racer Donna Bowden who was in the ICU with a flesh-eating infection and at VIR recognized cancer patient Shawn Hose and had her present his Superbike trophy.

Racers in general, and perhaps motorcycle racers in particular, can be pretty egotistical people. To master, even for just one race, all the complex aspects of a motorcycle and the tricks of a track is a great accomplishment. For someone like Duhamel who has done this so many times, it is understandable that he could develop a bit of an attitude about winning. After his triple sweep (both Superbike races and the Forumla Extreme race) at VIR, I don’t think anyone would have been surprised to see him on top of the podium pounding his chest and proclaiming he was number one. That, at that triumphant moment, he could see beyond himself and recognize people who are suffering is amazing. That he asked to for go the usual spandex clad trophy girl and have a common fan who was terminally ill with cancer present his trophy was wonderful show of humility and compassion.

I hope more racers can learn from that and perhaps do the same. While every race fan wants a racer that is skilled on the bike, I think even non-motorcycle fans would be thrilled to see well paid athletes spending more time showing compassion for the less fortunate.

Bravo Mr. Duhamel!

[image from AMA Superbike web site]

“Half this game is ninety percent mental.”
– Philadelphia Phillies manager Danny Ozark

In any sport, being mentally ready is as important as being physically ready. This is as true in motorcycle racing as in any other sport, perhaps more so because the rider as an individual plays such a crucial role in determining his or her success.

The examples are liberally sprinkled across all the marque classes of last season. Two of those are both Rossi and Mladin who jumped out to early season leads with decisive victories and then built on that mental advantage throughout the season. Any time a rider can win early in the season, it gives a psychological edge but to win big compounds that advantage exponentially. If a rider can gel with his bike setup, tires and the track, he can pull away while his competitors struggle with their own problems. The trailing rider is then forced to either ride over their head and risk crashing or back off and settle for second place. Either is a crushing mental blow.

Rossi, in particular, has a history of doing this. He wins early races spectacularly, then in subsequent races will stalk his rivals pressuring them into mistakes. One by one, riders like Checa, Biaggi and Gibernau have succombed to that pressure crashing out and losing the mind game as well as the race. By season’s end everyone except Rossi is basically racing for second place.

Mladin, also, plays this game with the skill of a master. His wins at the first two or three stops on the AMA Superbike calender handing him the championship advantage, not just in points but in the head games as well. Mladin also knows how to play the press to strengthen his game, even if it pisses off most of the fans (myself among them). At subsequent rounds, Mat can afford to relax while the other riders have to push harder and harder to regain the lost ground. Near season’s end it just takes one more coup de grace race win for him to burst the confidence bubble of everyone else and take home another championship.

Well, as of this past weekend, you can add Ricky Carmichael to the list of psychological masters. He’s playing mind games with his competitors that would make Hannibal Lector proud. Of the first five races of the AMA Supercross season, he’s won four of them and was on the podium at the first muddy Anaheim race. This past weekend, he threw down a win by more than 20 seconds, a crushing defeat in a season that was originally forecast to have close racing and with a whole pack of guys possible championship winners.

RC’s domination has already slammed the book shut on those rumors. Once possible title contender Kevin Windham has come apart like a cheap suit, having big crashes at three of the five rounds, all while chasing RC. Reigning champ Chad Reed seems to have settled for getting second place, after nearly crashing trying to keep up in San Francisco. In fact, the bulk of the field seemed in awe at Carmichael’s performance at Anaheim III, with other possible race winners failing to impress. McGrath crashed out, Larocco was sixth and Fonseca struggled to fifth. Ricky now has almost two race wins worth of points over Reed in second place. That is nearly game-set-match and we’re not even a third of the way through the season.

[image from Rick Johnson’s Supercross web site.]