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Matt Finley's BlogPosted by Matt Finley A friend was recently involved in a motorcycle accident where he was nearly killed. He was on a dirt bike, trying out a helmet light, when an apparent malfunction of the equipment ended in him running in to a wood, galvanized pipe and hog-wire fence. The impact literally ripped the helmet from his head, breaking C2 and C5 in his neck and tearing all the ligaments in the back of his neck. He was impaled, breaking several ribs and lacerating his liver. His wrist is badly fractured. It's a wonder he is still alive, but it's a miracle that he can move his fingers and toes. He was wearing all the proper gear at the time. He's a professional, so that's a given. But it just goes to show you that bad things can happen in an instant, no matter how prepared you are. Posted by Matt Finley After his win at Misano, and his 8 victories so far this season, Casey Stoner, Marlboro Ducati's 21 year old young gun, is on pace to win the MotoGP World Championship with a nice 85 point lead from Valentino Rossi. Stoner has already broken a 3 decades old drought of 3 consecutive wins on a European built motorcycle, but he's also on track, with 5 races to go, to tie or break his compatriot's (Michael Doohan) previous 11 win season. Posted by Matt Finley I wrote an article recently about a motocross race track here in San Diego that was built in 1973 on an Indian Reservation. In the last decade or so, a housing community has popped up next to the race track, I mean RIGHT next to the track, called the San Diego Country Estates. It is located in the town of Ramona, a small community in the hills of eastern San Diego County. As I said, the track has been there since 1973, and now, over 3 decades later, some developer built a bunch of houses there hoping the buyers would be too ignorant to realize that the track might not be the best place to buy a house, unless, of course, you're a racer. Well the developer was right... the houses sold. And now the residents are ready to sue to get the track removed. I wonder if I should try to sue to get the damned pesky airport near my house removed? I mean, yeah, I knew it was there. Hell, I heard the planes! But now I don't want them there. Who do I complain to? Posted by Matt Finley Tail of the Dragon, in case you haven't heard, is one of the most popular and twisty roads in the US that is populated by thousands of riders every weekend. Lately, the Highway Patrol has been sinking to new lows when it comes to Deal's Gap. They are reportedly crossing the double yellow line and using their cruisers to stalk people. As one person reported to Deals Gap: out-and-out stalking with THP repeatedly pulling out behind a car everytime the car would stop at a pull-off and then get back on the road. Posted by Matt Finley John Hopkins raced Rizla Suzuki's GSV-R to in superb second position at the Czech Republic Grand Prix. Looks like he's making good on his commitment to continue to improve this year. Looks like he's also getting married! Congrats, John! Posted by Matt Finley So the wifie's been talking about a new motorcycle for the last year or so. I've been able to talk her out of it so far, but I think I'm about to lose this battle. She's a good rider. She spent years on the back of my bikes, then after a lot of badgering, she convinced me to get her one. So I put her through the motorcycle safety course, and we went shopping for a bike. For her. (I had a '94GSXR750 at the time). Long story short, I ended up with a TL1000 and she got my GSXR750. That was a long time ago, and now that her office is moving across town, there's no parking for the truck, (her normal daily driver), without walking for 7 minutes. So she wants a new bike. And I get to do some more test riding. Posted by Matt Finley I DVRed (is that a word?) the MotoGP event from Laguna Seca last weekend. Yeah, I know, for a motorcycle writer I'm a slacker. Truth be told, I've got races from months ago that I haven't had time to watch yet. I typically leave the race coverage to my colleagues over at the motorcycle racing section of Suite101. Besides, Sunday I was at Crown Point North (San Diego Bay) at 4:30am eating jello-shooters, drinking kamakazi shots from a test-tube, watching the freaks in their under-wear and helping my wife set up her AT&T picnic which started about 7 hours after the first jello-shooter was done. Hey! Cut me some slack... The cooler that had the jello-shooters in it fell over and spilled on the inside of my trailer, what was I supposed to do? Ok, back to the race. I knew there were a couple of new MotoGP faces, like Roger Hayden on the wild-card riding for Kawasaki. I also knew Wayne Rainey would be there getting inducted into the Hall of Fame. What I didn't know was that every American who's ever won a MotoGP championship was there, including Steady Eddy Lawson, both the Kenny Roberts, Fast Freddy Spencer and Kevin Schwantz (I hope I didn't forget anybody) Ok, we're back to the race, now back to the reason for this post... I saw Miguel Duhammel there as well. Racing MotoGP. Huh? Miguel? MotoGP? My first thought was that he was too old to be starting a career in MotoGP. Then I realized he was filling in for an injured rider. Then I found out he retired from the race without crashing, without injury and without mechanical failure. When I first heard him say what I interpreted as he basically got scared, I told my wife "I think I just quit supporting him in races". She wisely pointed out (as she often does), that he already wrecked one bike, and he wasn't feeling in "the groove" during the race and didn't want to wad up the other one and get hurt, or hurt someone else. (BTW, I'm STILL mad at Hayden for taking Hopper out!) I can respect that. Really, I can. But to have a MotoGP bike handed to you and to refuse to ride it just hurts. I was truly impressed with Roger, too. He got in the top 10 with less than a half a dozen hours on a totally different kind of motorcycle. I don't think Roger will have trouble finding someone on the MotoGP circuit to take him on next year. Posted by Matt Finley In a press release, Rizla stated: Hopkins was one of the hardest working riders on the track today as he completed 66 laps in reference to Friday's practice at Laguna Seca. Huh? Work? Who you trying to fool, man? (que Dire Straits) That ain't working. Posted by Matt Finley One of my favorite riders is Wayne Rainey. It's good to hear he is being inducted into the Laguna Seca Hall of Fame. He is a true champion. The first 500cc event I ever went to was Laguna Seca, and I went to see Wayne. As we were packing the van Thursday night after work to go to the race, we heard that Wayne had been in an accident and was paralyzed. I had previously ordered a lithograph of Wayne, Mick Doohan and Kevin Schwantz, autographed by all three. Only it hadn't been autographed before Wayne's crash. It is autographed now, and hangs in my son's room with several other pictures of Wayne and Kevin. I regret not having the opportunity to get to Seca to see him again, but here's a great big congrats from San Diego, Wayne! Posted by Matt Finley Being the youngest of 5, I can appreciate how well Roger Hayden is doing racing motorcycles. His older brother, Nicky, who is the current MotoGP World Champion, will be in familiar territory racing his brother. There's something about being the youngest in a competing family that makes you work harder to be better than the others. It will be nice to see how Roger does under pressure. Posted by Matt Finley Associated Press reports that the Senate approved a federal motorcycle helmet standard law by a 27-22 vote. Riders will be required to spend hundreds of dollars to become compliant with these new rules, which will likely make many riders criminals because they cannot afford them. Posted by Matt Finley Indianapolis Motor Speedway opened in 1909, and in August of that year there was a motorcycle race there. After 99 years, motorcycle racing returns to the world famous oval with a brand new 16-turn, 2-1/2 mile road course. IMS and Dorna Sports, commercial rights holders for the MotoGP events, say the new track will offer up some pretty good racing. The long history surrounding Indy will lend beautifully to the current championship race, led by Casey Stoner. There are 5 Americans with Championship points, including current World Champion Nicky Hayden, 2000 World Champion Kenny Roberts Jr., Colin Edwards, John Hopkins and Kurtis Roberts. All major manufacturers of sport motorcycles are racing at the event; Ducati, Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki and Yamaha. Harley Davidson does not participate in this highly technologically advanced form of racing, some of the most thrilling racing to watch. Posted by Matt Finley I saw this coming but I didn't think it would come to fruition so quickly. If the rumors are true, that is. One thing's for sure... if Hopper makes the move to Kawi, it's going to have a massive ripple effect in that there will be riders jumping all over the place. It's been said that Marco Milandri is slated as the favorite to replace Hopper on the Rizla Suzuki. Loris Capirossi is said to be the favorite to ride next to John on the Kawi. But there have been murmurs of Americans Edwards joining, or perhaps Roger Hayden moving up from AMA to MotoGP. He did just finish some MotoGP testing on the ZX. James Toseland wants to make the move too. It's going to be interesting to say the least. Posted by Matt Finley As promised by MCN, here is the Video of the new sport bike. Is Buell planning on hitting the track and racing with the big dogs? It's tough to say for sure, but I'll say this... if they are, they've either done some serious ground breaking changes and developed some kind of innovation with a belt drive system, or they failed to notice that nobody is racing with belt drive. Don't get me wrong, I'm not slamming belt drive. Heck, a friend of a friend had a cousin who's neighbor had one and they said it rocked. So who am I to point out that there is likely a reason nobody (that's serious) is racing with belt drive. We'll see what they plan I guess. Perhaps it's just a bike for consumers and they have no interest in racing. *cough* yeah, right *cough*. Posted by Matt Finley Marc Potter at MCN said it will be something you've never seen before. I can almost imagine an alien looking bike with no spokes. Like some concept bikes I've seen at shows. Marc said this: It looks like nothing else you’ve ever seen, sounds like a proper V-twin racer and from what we’ve seen of the video, this is a seriously good handling new motorcycle. Make sure you click back on Monday morning as we bring you the world’s first pictures and exclusive video of the bike being put through its paces. Posted by Matt Finley From: Yamaha Factory Racing Team Press Release Assen, The Netherlands Saturday, 30th June 2007 YAMAHA REACHES 150TH PREMIER-CLASS MILESTONE WITH Assen VICTORY Yamaha’s win with Valentino Rossi in the Dutch TT at Assen today is cause for a double celebration for the Factory, as it is also its 150th win in the premier-class of World Championship motorcycle racing. Yamaha Motor Company is only the second manufacturer in the history of the sport to pass the milestone of 150 wins, which it has achieved in 46 years since it began racing on the international stage in 1961. Yamaha’s very first premier-class victory came with British rider Chas Mortimer, in Barcelona at the final race of the 1972 series aboard a 353cc twin-cylinder two-stroke Yamaha. Since then, Yamaha has won premier-class Grands Prix in every season bar two and has taken a total of eleven manufacturers’ and twelve riders’ titles during the process. Posted by Matt Finley I recently had the opportunity to take a pair of CBRs for a test run near the coast in southern California. I've owned both 600cc and 1000cc machines, and they both offer a very different ride when you go from owning one to the other. But take them both for a ride on the same day, and the differences and similarities show themselves clearly and loudly. Read the first review of the liter bike here, and stay tuned for a follow up review of the 1k's little brother. Posted by Matt Finley Up til a couple of years ago, the Bak's were heavily into their motorcycle business. That all changed when Cam was born... 3 and 1/2 months early. As a father of a 2 and a 4 year old, I know how kids can change your life, but the added stress of a pre-mature birth must be terrible. In this great day and age of modern medicine, Cam is doing very well and growing as you'd expect. After what I can only assume was a hard, long battle, the Baks have seen their way through it, and decided to give back to those that helped them, so they decided to raffle one of their bikes for the March of Dimes. Visit Bak BMW Victory All the best to the Baks, and especially to Cam. Posted by Matt Finley Team Roberts reports that Kurtis Roberts will be racing instead of his older brother Kenny Roberts Jr, claiming the elder sibling is having trouble with the bike. There is a new chassis design under construction at Team Roberts in England Roberts is not a great rider, but he is a World Champion from 2000 and deserves some respect. Last year he managed 3 podiums, but is struggling now with the new bike. I have to ask myself if the decision to move him out and his younger brother in was done partially to test the ability of the younger Roberts in the saddle of a real MotoGP race. Posted by Matt Finley Dorna Sports reports that 21 year old Australian Casey Stoner is all set to continue riding with the Marlboro Ducati team on the Desmosedici through the 2008 season after signing contract. Stoner's manager, Colin Stoner, says Casey will likely sign a contract that will take him through the 2010 season. I can totally understand why the higher ups at Marlboro Ducati would want Stoner to keep riding for them; quite simply, he's taking Valentino Rossi to the cleaners. Not many riders can beat Rossi, and if you've got one in your corral, you keep him! Posted by Matt Finley For those of us who have Speed Channel or high speed internet to watch MogoGP racing on motogp.com, this Sunday's same day delayed broadcast of the MotoGP race at Catalunya will may not be something special to you, but it should be. The national televised race, 1 of 3 to be broadcast this year, will mean more coverage for something that's way more exciting than the Golf Channel, and every bit as exciting as any other type of racing out there today, if not more. More coverage means more exposure means more fans means more interest more sponsors means more coverage. Posted by Matt Finley While sitting at the barber shop reading a 2-wheel rag, I saw an article about KTMs new all street model Sportbike, the 2007 Super Duke 990. I had just enough time to look at a couple of pictures and grab a couple of quick reads on some of the goodies the 990 had before the haircut was done. As luck would have it, the KTM shop was just down the street from the barber, so I figured I'd sneak in there, using the tube for the 50 as an excuse, and see if they had any 990s on the floor. As expected, they didn't have the tube, but they did have two 990s in there; an anthracite one (grey and black), and an orange one. After a short chat with a couple of the guys, I headed out to the car to grab a camera while they started pulling the 990s out so I could get some pictures. They offered me a ride by asking if I had my helmet and leathers with me, but since I had my son with me and no riding gear, I politely declined. I took a few quick shots of the bike and talked a bit more, and found out they were having a couple more new demo models coming in shortly. One was already in transit. I eagerly asked them to save me a seat on one when they came in, and that I'd bring my gear and my photographer with me. I'll be looking forward to seeing what KTM's long standing philosophy of building Race Ready bikes has come to from their old original street bike days, and what they've learned from over 120 World Championships. Hopefully in a couple of weeks you can look forward to a full review of the Super Duke.. Posted by Matt Finley Riding a motorcycle can be strenuous on many senses, including your hearing. Unless you've spent a great deal of money on a top of the line helmet, chances are you're probably hearing a lot of wind noise and if your bike is loud, you're hearing that too. Wearing ear plugs can help 2 ways. First of all, it can protect your hearing. Long term riding with loud pipes or a lot of wind noise can damage hearing. Secondly, the right ear plugs can filter out un-wanted noise and actually help you hear the motor better. (This may not always be a good thing if you're paranoid about that slight knocking noise you can now hear) A music store is a great place to get ear plugs. They have them with high/low filters that cost under 30 bucks and last for months. These ear plugs reduce most of the wind noise and much of the exhaust noise, but let you hear everything else. If you spend a lot of time riding, you might consider getting a set made specifically for your ears, but be advised they are expensive; often over $100.00 a set. Posted by Matt Finley I got into a discussion about this with quite a few of my biker friends. We've all had some bozo in a car not paying attention and cut us off as we rode. If you haven't, you're either a new rider or you don't ride on the streets. Some people tell you to pretend you're invisible. I disagree. You have to think you're a target. There's a huge difference, and believing that car is going to try to hit you will help keep you safer and more alert. But when everything you do to be safe fails, and that bozo still cuts you off, what do you do? How do you react? Cut back in front of them and flip them the "bird"? Ride next to them and break off their mirror? Kick in their door? No. Absolutely not. Chances are, that poor sap in the car didn't see you. If you're not picking yourself up off the ground, consider yourself a winner and try harder to be ready for bozo. Kicking their car, breaking mirrors, tossing ball bearings at them are all reasons for you to go to jail. It could get you run over or get your butt kicked too. It's just not worth it. Posted by Matt Finley Last month I posted about Buell's Track Days inside Pass, where they were giving out test rides at several World Class Racetracks. They're at it again. This time it's not as appealing, but it's still a way to get you on a Buell. They're offering a free "Messenger Bag" when you take a test ride. The promo is going from now until June 30, 2007. This one I'm sure I'll be getting in on. There are a few restrictions, of course. Valid motorcycle endorsement and proper riding gear required for demo ride. FREE messenger bag is available to U.S. residents only from April 15 through June 30, 2007, or while supplies last. Limit one Messenger Bag per customer. Free messenger bag is available only through participating dealers. Posted by Matt Finley The former Ducati MotoGP rider, Troy Bayliss, had to have his finger removed after crashing out of round four of the World Superbike Competition in Britain's Donington Park. After what appeared to be a high-side and then a slide into the gravel, he was rushed to the hospital where doctors removed what was left of his right-hand little finger, where most of the bone was damaged or lost in the crash. Julian Thomas, Ducati Press Officer, stated that Bayliss had "a nasty crash, but he'll be back". If his history is any indication, his return is very likely. The small finger is not typically used for racing motorcycles, so the ability to adapt should be possible without any modifications to the motorcycle. Bayliss is not new to serious injury, either. The Australian suffered a badly broken arm racing the Camel Honda MotoGP team of Sito Pons towards the end of the 2005 MotoGP season, causing him to miss the final few races. After recovering from that, Bayliss went on to win the World Superbike Championship last year, while competing in the last MotoGP round at Valencia, which he won. Posted by Matt Finley Valentino Rossi is right in the middle of a Spanish Omelette between Dani Pedrosa and Carlos Checa. There are 3 Spaniards and 3 Americans in the top 10. This should prove to be a very exciting race, with the top 10 riders within less than 1/2 second of each other.
Posted by Matt Finley This is not only un-precedented, it's not fair! Nobody outside the Suzuki team has ever ridden one of the new 800cc MotoGP bikes, but now Steve Perrish has. It will be aired before the Jerez race. (If you can't view it on BBC2 at 12:30 on Sunday, March 25th, you can catch it on the Rizla Suzuki's MotoGP web site in the videos section next week. Quotes from Steve Parrish after the ride: “It was an absolute privilege to ride John Hopkins’ bike and I can now appreciate why this year’s lap times are already faster than those from last season. “No one expected the bikes to be this good. However, these new generation machines are a beautifully balanced package, as opposed to the tire shredding 990’s. “I’m sure the 800’s will just get faster and faster over the season, as the teams continue to develop the bikes. The GSV-R felt fantastic thanks Rizla Suzuki MotoGP! That's one lucky bastard. Imagine the pressure. Posted by Matt Finley In a bid to expand the popularity of MotoGP racing in North America, Kenny Roberts, Team Roberts and F1 MAX-X have teamed up to drive interest in the world renowned sport across the USA. Several global corporations based in North America have shown a lot of interest in the development of MotoGP racing. With the likelihood of a second running of the MotoGP series in the US, with a stop at both Laguna Seca's Mazda Raceway and Indianapolis, the potential to reach hundreds of thousands more Americans is greatly increased. Kenny Roberts, Sr. stated, "We're excited about this development. We are fortunate that we are in this position to introduce these companies to MotoGP." Alex Copson, President of F1 MAX-X believes that with the help of Kenny Roberts, they can make MotoGP one of the "hottest sports in the US". He called MotoGP racing an "exciting, trendy sport which parallels the values that Las Vegas represents; adrenalin, drama, glamour and excitement.' Posted by Matt Finley Jerez is one of, if not the most popular stops on the MotoGP circuit. Over 250,000 people over the 3 day weekend last year puts it at the top. Jerez is almost 4.5 km long, with hard braking, often off-camber corners and undulating turns. With the new 800cc bikes, this track should prove to be a great show. Last week in Qatar, the Marlboro Ducati of Casey Stoner showed it's superior power by easily pulling away from the Fiat sponsored Yamaha of Valentino Rossi. It almost made Rossi look like he was, well... Stoned. Yes, Rossi was late on the brakes. Yes, Rossi was quicker going in and coming out of the corners. Yes, Rossi is arguably a superior rider. But riding well is not always enough to overcome another good rider on a faster machine. Casey Stoner rode an error free race on a superior motorcycle and beat one of the best racers in the world. He didn't win because Rossi made a mistake, either. Will Rizla Suzuki's John Hopkins make a podium finish now that he is getting healthier? With a very encouraging finish (even with injuries) in Qatar and good testing times here earlier this year, Hopper says he is healing nicely and is ready for this race. And what about the current World Champion, Repsol Honda's Nicky Hayden? After finishing in 8th place last week at Qatar, it looks like it may be a disappointing defense of his championship season. Posted by Matt Finley In Race 1, Max Biaggi proved himself to be a force to watch in his World Superbike Championship debut in the first round at Qatar. After an error in the first lap put him back to 4th place, Biaggi remained calm, rode smooth and kept up the challenge as Toseland tried to pull away from the pack early on. After passing Toseland several times, Biaggi finally made the pass stick and continued to victory in the first race, with Toseland only a couple of seconds behind. The rest of the field fell behind at the rate of almost a second per lap, with 3rd place going to Lorenzo Lanzi almost 14 seconds behind. In Race 2, Biaggi made similar mistakes in turn 1 as he did in the first race, which gave Toseland the break he needed to pull away by mid race. But Mad Max wasn't done. He battled back, and made an incredible charge in the last couple of laps to try and catch Toseland, knocking the lead down by over a second and a half in the last 2 laps. But it wasn't enough to catch Toseland. Troy Bayliss took the last podium position. Posted by Matt Finley The strike lasted 3 weeks, and affected thousands of people in several states. We'll find out what it cost the Harley Davidson Motor Corp. some time in the next couple of weeks after they release an impact report. IAM Local 175 represents over 2,00 people at Harley-Davidson's York plant where they assemble Touring and Softail bikes. This is the company's largest production facility. The new contract will increase wages by 4% per year for 3 years and has a 2-tiered structure for wages of those hired after the contract goes into effect, meant to bring them up to the same wage as older tenured employees by the end of the contract's term. Employees will not be required to pay premiums for health care, but will have larger deductibles and co-payments. In my opinion, it was nothing but a greedy ploy by both the union members and the company to try to milk as much as they could from the other, without regard for how it might have affected thousands of families at other facilities in other states. Posted by Matt Finley (Update to previous entry of a second MotoGP event to be held at Indy.) There are many reasons to bring the MotoGP to the US for a second event on the other side of the country. The business aspect of it was the most appealing to IMS, but the racing aspect of it is of utmost important to what was described as "65% of the US population" who are within a 700 mile radius of Indy. If it happens, it will be an event of Biblical proportion for one of (if not THE) most recognized racetrack in the world. I know because I've seen how far people travelled to see the MotoGP events at Laguna Seca in years past. The audiance would be epic and the business would be huge. The track has already been approved pending some modifications, including to the banking, which will eventually become part of the course for the F1 series as well. Perspective dates for the second US event look like Augest 2008. Read the whole story here. Posted by Matt Finley Hopper will be seeing a specialist Friday evening, and I'm guessing he will likely miss testing next week at Jerez. (I'd love to be proven wrong!) He has at least 2 broken toes and perhaps a broken bone in his hand, as well as bruising on all extremities, according to sources close to John. Linda: "As of 8pm pst John was boarding the plane for London. He boarded under his own steam (literally) He was in a lot pain but ok. He has an appt. with the specialist at 6pm GMT Friday. We'll know more then. As far as I know at this time, according to him, he has 2 broken toes (confirmed) His hand is swollen and he feels something is broken. He is bruised all over his body and he hurts like **** " With the physical and mental strength shown by John and those around him, I have now doubt he'll be back in time for the season opener in 3 weeks. John has been one of the more consistant, cogent riders I've followed in my many years of riding and watching races, and if this year's testing is any indication, he's going to be running at the top of the field this season. Posted by Matt Finley Fears of broken bones in his hand and foot are circulating in the Rizla clubhouse. I heard from an inside source that while John is basically OK, he will be taken to a hospital in England to see a specialist. John Hopkins: “I’m feeling pretty beat up at the moment – a 120mph high-side does that to you! I’ve got bruises on all four limbs and a couple of broken bones. I’m flying straight back to England to see a specialist first thing tomorrow, and then we’ll know a bit more about the injuries. It was a sad way to end the test because we had made good progress here. I am quite happy with the way the three days went and we got through everything we needed to before the crash. I’m sure we’ll be in a good position when we come back here in about three weeks and I’ll certainly be at the first race – just try and stop me!” In the final day of testing at Qatar, John Hopkins, after the midday crash, was able to hold on to the second fastest lap of 1'55.825, behind Danny Pedrosa's Repsol Honda with a lap time of 1'55.471. MotoGP Official Test: Qatar Day 3 Official Times 1. Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda - 1'55.471 2. John Hopkins, Rizla Suzuki - 1'55.825 3. Valentino Rossi, Yamaha Factory - 1'55.954 4. Alex Hofmann, Pramac d'Antin - 1'56.315 5. Colin Edwards, Yamaha Factory - 1'56.371 6. Randy de Puniet, Kawasaki Racing - 1'56.753 7. Loris Capirossi, Ducati Marlboro - 1'56.807 8. Casey Stoner, Ducati Marlboro - 1'56.834 9. Alex Barros, Pramac d'Antin - 1'56.950 10. Marco Melandri, Honda Gresini - 1'56.980 11. Shinya Nakano, Konica Minolta Honda - 1'56.980 12. Makoto Tamada, Dunlop Yamaha Tech3 - 1'57.232 13. Toni Elias, Honda Gresini - 1'57.246 14. Nicky Hayden, Repsol Honda - 1'57.269 15. Chris Vermeulen, Rizla Suzuki - 1'57.365 16. Kenny Roberts, Team Roberts - 1'57.408 17. Carlos Checa, Honda LCR - 1'57.497 18. Sylvain Guintoli, Dunlop Yamaha Tech3 - 1'58.379 19. Shinichi Ito, Ducati TTT - 1'58.974 20. Andrew Pitt, Ilmor GP - 2'00.455 21. Olivier Jacque, Kawasaki Racing - 2'02.081 22. Jeremy McWilliams, Ilmor GP - 2'02.612 Posted by Matt Finley It's getting to the point where I'm losing respect for the union workers in York, Pa who are striking against the Harley Davidson Motor Corp. The greed and hard line taken by the union is continuing to affect more people every day, from consumers to workers in other parts of the country. People are being layed off in other parts of the country because of this strike by the union workers in York, Pa. The package they're being offered by Harley Davidson is decent. They're already making good money with good benefits at a successful company. They've got job security. But they are continually putting other families at risk of losing it all by being selfish and un-willing to compromise. According to the York Daily Record, there are several comments being left by readers of the strike articles there urging the union to work things out and get back to work: Here's what some have written: 'Please work it out' Please work it out this time. ... I want to get back to work here in NE. We are a subcontracting company that has had to lay off a lot of people due to the HD strike, including me. HD strikers, suck up your pride and get into reality, you are being offered a decent package ... better than what the vast majority of skilled/unskilled workers in the country that indirectly work for HD get. Posted at 3:35 p.m. Monday 'Not just take' I do have a Road Glide on order and would love nothing more than the having the workers go back to work But as a union member, there has to be some give and take. Not just take. Good luck. Posted at 4:35 p.m. Monday 'More at stake ...' There is more at stake here than just paying for insurance. Why don't we all just keep going backwards in time until there is no more middle class, because that is what most Harley workers are. Posted at 4:11 p.m. Sunday Posted by Matt Finley As I initially reported at Under My Helmet back in December, and more recently reported at Roadracing World, the United States may be hosting a second round of MotoGP racing at Indianapolis Motor Speedway some time in September of 2008. This will, of course, be contingent on a few safety issues being delt with, much like what was done at Seca in order to bring that track up to standard, but it looks good so far. I think a second round of MotoGP racing in the US will do wonders for the sport of Motorcycle Racing in general, and especially in the US. I was at the first return of MotoGP racing in 2005 and talked to many riders who came from all over the country to see the race. Considering how many race fans there are on the right coast, and considering the location of the proposed new race, I foresee wide spread popularity if it really does happen. More as it develops Posted by Matt Finley According to Officer.com, the Police Chief in Kewaskum, Wisconson, was not paying attention to what was going on around him when he "accidently" passed a school bus with it's red lights flashing. (He claimed he was watching a truck on the opposite side of the 4 lane road, which had, umm.. stopped for some reason. I don't know if he did it because he truly felt he deserved it, or if he did it out of fear that the bus driver would report him, but he wrote himself a ticket, and gave himself 4 points against his driver's license. I remeber when I was a kid (about 14), my neighbor let me drive his car home for him while he drove his truck, and I did the same thing, only I knew the red lights were flashing, I just never paid any attention to the great big letters on the back of the bus that read "Stop When Red Lights Flash". I mean, I knew the words were there, but the "Stop When Red" was above the windows, and the "Lights Flash" was below, so I mentally seperated them and didnt' realize you were actually supposed to, you know... stop.. I was 14, what do you expect? Posted by Matt Finley The strike by the International Association of Machinists (IAM) Local Lodge 175 against Harley Davidson Motor Corp is causing ramifacations in other states as well as Pa. In Menomonee Falls, Wis, Harley Davidson says it expects to have to lower production of at least a portion of the engine and transmission facilities, as well as slowed production for injection mold parts at the Tomahawk, Wis facility. These reductions may very well result in layoffs of up to 1/3 of it's production employees in the Menomonee Falls location, and over 1/2 of it's production employees at the Tomahawk location. it expects to reduce production of engines and transmissions (powertrains) at the Company’s facility in Menomonee Falls, Wis. The Company also expects to reduce production of injection-molded components at its facilities in Tomahawk, Wis. Harley Davidson is apperently asking for voluntary layoffs, and the actual layoffs could start as early as Feb 12 for some. I certainly hope the striking union members realize what they're subjecting themselves, their fellow employees in other states, and the Harley Davidson Motor Corp to with the strike. Posted by Matt Finley As reported at Under My Helmet, the coming MotoGP season, featuring the all new 800cc machines should prove to be one of the most competitive seasons yet, at least since the 500cc machines of a decade ago. The lap times layed down by the top riders were so close, (seperated by a mere 1-1/2 seconds for the top 10 riders) it can only mean one thing: This season will come down to the wire. I'm not going to make my predictions just yet, but I'm sure we'll see a couple familiar faces at the top, along with one or two new faces, including John Hopkins and Danny Pedrosa. Top 10 lap times on the final day of testing at Sepang, Malaysia: 1. Valentino Rossi - Yamaha Racing 2'00.936 2. John Hopkins - Rizla Suzuki 2'01.026 3. Loris Capirossi - Ducati MotoGP 2'01.274 4. Dani Pedrosa - Repsol Honda 2'01.664 5. Chris Vermeulen - Rizla Suzuki 2'01.691 6. Randy de Puniet - Kawasaki Racing 2'01.878 7. Nicky Hayden - Repsol Honda 2'01.884 8. Colin Edwards - Yamaha Racing 2'02.266 9. Casey Stoner - Ducati MotoGP 2'02.407 10. Marco Melandri - Honda Gresini 2'02.489 Wednesday 24th January Posted by Matt Finley Read the entire story here. I'll give you the Reader's Digest version. Refusing the contract offered by HD may be a mistake in the eyes of one worker's wife, who points out that as a well paid employee of the Harley Davidson Motor Corp, you could do much worse if the plant you worked at were to close for what ever reason, including but not limited to being able to find cheaper labor someplace else. Posted by Matt Finley After rejecting Harley's contract offer, union machinists were forced out of the plant in what union leaders called a 'betrayal" to the workers. “Harley-Davidson has no business behaving like they’re on the brink of bankruptcy,” claimed IP Tom Buffenbarger. “When Harley was flat on its back in the 1980’s, it was union members who refused to let it die. Harley went on to become an international success story but they’ve obviously forgotten how they got this far.” “They don’t respect workers as much as their stock options,” said District 98 Directing Business Rep Tom Boger. Harley Davidson's upper management gained record revenues of well over $1.5 billion in Q3 of last year. IP Tom Buffenbarger went on to slam Harley Davidson further claiming they are "risking a successful 26-year partnership for a few cents more in profits", He went on to call them "incredibly stupid" and "shortsighted." Developing. Posted by Matt Finley This is great news for stunters and fans everywhere. The official signing by a major manufacturer for a closed course stunt competition will undoubtedly open doors and increase awareness world wide of the rapidly expanding stunting community, and likely bring stunting to a new level. Friesen is a Guinness World Record holder for doing a 137mph front wheel stoppie. That performance shattered the previous record 87mph stoppie by 40mph. "It's an honor to be given this opportunity as a stunt rider. The support of such a large and respected company is validation of my efforts and it's exciting to see this sport finally receiving attention from a major manufacturer." says Friesen, adding: "I hope the Kawasaki sponsorship helps me set an example for those looking to get into this sport, as well as to the fans. To be successful at this, a rider needs to practice and compete in a safe and responsible manner, or the big manufacturers won't touch you." Posted by Matt Finley The strike was expected to occur as early as 12:01 a.m. Feb. 2, when the contract expires. The new contract offered a 4% increase every year for the three years of the contract. 2% of the increase was to be contingent on the union accepting the company's salaried health care plan supposedly equal to the amount of the pay increase. "While Harley-Davidson is a strong company today, we don't want to find ourselves in ten years in the same position that the Detroit auto industry is in now." said Fred Gates, General Manager of HD's operations in Pa. |
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