Hey,
This news will be strange. Aren’t they all? Hollister is this weekend in the wine country of California, and the LA Calendar show rocks the Queen Mary right here in Long Beach, the home of WCC. That’s just the tip of the chrome iceberg. There?s events and parties all over the globe, plus we’re all preparing for Sturgis.
We have our famous 5-Ball trophy parts ordered and my fingers are crossed for the Kevin Baas Bikernet metal signs. I’m hand-building the Best of Show Trophy bases. Plus Mike Lichter asked me to create a metal sculpture for his Art Exhibit at Thunder Road in the Dome in Sturgis.
That’s not all. A high-Dollar Ducati was delivered to the Bikernet Headquarters on Monday and Tuesday morning a lovely model arrived at our Headquarters with Rick Hustead, a photographer for Easyriders, and picked up Billy Lane’s bike. I’ll tell you about the Italian Duck at the end of the news:
HARLEY-DAVIDSON TO ACQUIRE MV AGUSTA GROUP EXPANDING PRESENCE IN EUROPE–Italian Company Known for Premium, High-Performance Motorcycles.
Milwaukee, Wis., July 11, 2008 — Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE: HOG) today announced the signing of a definitive agreement to purchase the Italian motorcycle maker MV Agusta Group (MVAG). Under the agreement, Harley-Davidson will acquire 100 percent of MV Agusta Group shares for total consideration of approximately 70 million euros ($109 million), which includes the satisfaction of existing bank debt for approximately 45 million euros ($70 million). In addition, the agreement provides for a contingent payment to Claudio Castiglioni in 2016, if certain financial targets are met. MV Agusta Group is privately held, with the Castiglioni family owning 95 percent of MVAG shares.
The acquisition is expected to close in several weeks, pending the satisfaction of contingencies and receipt of regulatory approvals. Harley-Davidson intends to fund the transaction primarily through euro-denominated debt.
MV Agusta Group has two families of motorcycles: a line of exclusive, premium, high-performance sport motorcycles sold under the MV Agusta brand; and a line of lightweight motorcycles sold under the Cagiva brand. MV Agusta?s F4-R motorcycle, powered by a 1078cc in-line four-cylinder liquid cooled engine, is rated at 190 hp. The company sells its products through about 500 dealers worldwide, the vast majority of them in Europe. In 2007, MVAG shipped 5,819 motorcycles. During 2008 MVAG has significantly slowed production due to financial difficulties.
?Motorcycles are the heart, soul and passion of Harley-Davidson, Buell and MV Agusta,? said Harley-Davidson, Inc. Chief Executive Officer Jim Ziemer. ?Both have great products and close connections with incredibly devoted customers. The MV Agusta and Cagiva brands are well-known and highly regarded in Europe. They are synonymous with beautiful, premium, Italian performance motorcycles,? Ziemer said.
Harley-Davidson, Inc. plans to continue to operate MV Agusta Group from its headquarters based in Varese, Italy. Following closing, the first priority will be to appoint a leadership team to include a new Managing Director and to resume the manufacture of current models.
Current MV Agusta Group Chairman Claudio Castiglioni will continue in a leadership role as Chairman and will play a major role in future product development. Design Chief Massimo Tamburini will continue his leadership of MV Agusta Group?s world leading sport-bike design studio.
?We take enormous pride in MV Agusta and Cagiva motorcycles,? said Castiglioni. ?Our riders seek an uncompromising experience in premium performance motorcycles. And with Harley-Davidson?s deep understanding of the emotional as well as the business side of motorcycling, I have great confidence that our motorcycles will excite customers for generations to come.?
According to Ziemer, the acquisition is intended primarily to expand Harley-Davidson, Inc?s presence and footprint in Europe, complementing the Harley-Davidson and Buell motorcycle families. Retail sales of Harley-Davidson motorcycles have grown at a double-digit rate in Europe in each of the last three years, as the Company has increased its strategic focus on global markets.
?The acquisition of MV Agusta Group will enhance Harley-Davidson, Inc?s position as a global leader in fulfilling customer dreams and providing extraordinary customer experiences. We look forward to a long relationship with the MV Agusta and Cagiva families of customers and employees,? said Ziemer.
Conference Call
Harley-Davidson, Inc. will hold a webcast conference call regarding the acquisition from 8:00 to 8:30 a.m. (central time) today, July 11, with Tom Bergmann, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Harley-Davidson, Inc. To access the webcast, please log on and register at least ten minutes prior to the start time at www.harley-davidson.com
RUN TO THE S&S 50TH RAY WHEELER, W8LESS MASTER, SAGA–San Jose to Laughlin, then Larkspur, Colorado for two weddings, then to Wichita, Kansas for 2-3 days and monsoon madness, then off finally to lake of the Ozarks, Sunrise Beach, Missouri. Lynn Long threw on a paint job quick in two days. Best friend since ’67. He used drawer liner to mask off the theme real snappy like. Out of the Ozarks, destination S&S 50th on 2004 Dyna with RR 124-inch engine and Daytona Twin Tech EFI, with RB Racing pipes.
In Wayland, MO the fuel line quit. Ended up on the road for four hours. No one stopped except the Mail lady who pulled a page out of the phone book and gave it to Ray. He made calls. He called a half-dozen bike shops and they didn’t have time on a Monday, between noon and five to rescue a brother along side a road scattered with road kill running from the Mississippi floods.
Finally Haps Brothers, truck and agricultural repair service, out of Wayland, MO, Keith and Tony came and got him. They both rode custom metric bikes.
“They were too cool,” Ray said. They worked on the bike until 11:00, then worked with Tattoo Artist Doug Smeltser. Loaded up at midnight and Doug gave him a place to stay. Next morning they hauled to Heartland H-D in Burlington, Iowa. He was there all Tuesday and Wednesday to 5:00 and spent $11,000 to fix and replace a $32 collapsed fuel line. Remember our editor Bruce Snyder had the same problem with his King.
He rolled to Ainsworth, Iowa to Sucker Punch Sally dealer Papa Clutch, Tim Anding, his parents own the truck stop up the road. He hit a monsoon and hid out under a hotel awning until midnight. Clear skies, lollypops and he peeled out with Bad directions from the truck stop lad,y turned around on highway 20 slipped onto highway 38 to Anamosa and J&P Cycles.
About 4:00 in the morning heading into an unknown dangerous curve a pickup pulled onto the road behind him, flashed his brights and ran right up on his ass. “Four bikers have died on that curve in the last year,” Ray said. It went from hard pan to pea-gravel. He lost total control but rode straight off the bluff. “I slipped past the guard rail, fortunately, over a bluff and down a hill. Dead man’s curve.”
Sat on the guard rail for awhile then returned to my bike for a flashlight. It was black. Tried to flash down folks, but half-dozen folks, wouldn’t stop. Called 411 for cops number, but was disconnected three times. Called 911 and they couldn’t decide what county he was in.
“Stay on line, policeman on the way. Can you hear the sirens?” He wasn’t found for a couple of hours. Then the cops arrived from all different directions. Two cars and a pick-up. Talked about getting a wrecker, but one of the cops, Dave Weatherwax, was a rider. “I’ve been riding forever,” Dave said. ” I’ll ride it.”
They got it upright and pushed it up the hill. “I crawled over, punched the compression release and showed him how to start it,” Ray said. Fired it up.
“Cancel the wrecker, I’ll ride it home,” Dave said.
Cops took Ray to the Regional Medical Center in Manchester, Iowa. Fractured a bone in his foot. “I was there until 2-3 in the afternoon and an EMT gave me a ride to a Motel 6,” Ray said.
Dave Weather came over and hung out, told him that the bike was okay. He called his best friend, Kit Knutson. The next morning Dave’s friend came over with his bike loaded up and took him to the S&S 50th.
The Boss of Purple slice delivered Ray and his bike from Iowa to LA, where we patched up his bike for the six hour ride home to San Jose. Just another Ray adventure.
BANDIT’S CANTINA, WORLD RUN REVIEW–Great read, but I want to know about the end. I’ve been subcribing for a little over a year and didn’t even realize that you wrote a damn good story, until I got bored at work and read, Bandit’s Cantina – The Series. So, then I moved on to reading, Chance 2: World Run, — figured I start at the bottom of the book section and work my way up. Anyways, I hope the rest of the books don’t leave me hanging.
Hell, I haven’t read a book since High School and you got me hooked. I’m like a crack whore waiting for my next fix. I just got to now the end of that story. Have a good one and thanks for my entertainment here on the job.
–Hayes
OFFICIAL BIKERNET STURGIS DEAL OF THE YEAR–Sturgis ?08: make the ride home better than the ride there.
Don?t think about your ride to Sturgis ? think about the ride home. Think about how nice it would be to ride back with a few-hundred less, bike rattling, fuel sucking, bolt-loosening, ass-numbing, motor RPM. Forget about the screaming that your engine did on the way out there.
That is, forget about that old 5-speed and return home with the award-winning BAKER Direct Drive 6-Speed to keep up with the new Cruise Drive equipped Harley-Davidsons. For a flat $2,595.00 and a healthy afternoon of bar-hopping in downtown Sturgis you can be all set.
Get a BAKER DD6 installed while you eat, drink, and be merry about your nice ride home with a more-relaxed engine, a quieter transmission, a more-efficient ride, and suffering buddies who still ride stock 5-speeds.
Read more on why the DD6 is perfect for the long ride home at www.bakerdrivetrain.com/DD6 Please call 1-877-640-2004 and schedule an appointment while there is still availability. It is a first come/first serve basis and spaces are filling. There are many riders that would like to sneak an upgraded transmission home onto their ?90-?06 Big Twin while away from their spouses. What happens in Sturgis, stays in Sturgis. When & Where ? Sturgis Bike Week 2008, 10:00am-5:00pm Everyday More Information ? www.bakerdrivetrain.com/onsiteinstall ? –//Scout Connecticut Threatening a HELMET LAW AGAIN–I Rode in the protest rallies in the seventies and I would do it again. I will be watching for any that might start here. –Henry LAS VEGAS BIKE FEST PLANNING GUIDE–Wow! The year is half over. We hope you had a great holiday weekend. With only three months to Las Vegas BikeFest we are working at top speed around here. Our staff is working day and night to plan the best Las Vegas BikeFest yet and we can’t wait to have you join us. If you have never been to the event, this is a great time to make the trip. Don’t let the economy and fuel prices get you down. Plan your trip now so you have something exciting to look forward to for the next three months. Hook up with a group of friends and ride out together. Vegas is always more fun with a group of buds and ladies don’t think this doesn’t include you. Come out with all your girlfriends and make it a girls weekend in Vegas. We are looking forward to you joining us for the 8th Annual Las Vegas BikeFest. WET T-SHIRT CONTEST, PRESENTED BY LAS VEGAS HARLEY-DAVIDSON They’re wet and hot. Need any mo’ information? DETROIT BROS’ MALICE VELOCITY STACK/ AIR CLEANERS–You can have it either way.Detroit Bros.? new Malice Velocity Stack is scientifically proven to boost your bike?s Cool Factor by 20% – 22%, and will fit on your stock H-D big twin carb from ?84+ and your S&S Super E and G carbs. Velocity stack measures 5? OD x 2.25? thick, and is available in raw aluminum (shown) or polished aluminum (+20.00). K&N Filter element (shown) not included, but available for an additional $35.00. Velocity stack starts at $149.99. For more information, or to see matching Malice Headlight, check out www.detroitbros.com or call 866-DET-BROS. BIKERNET NUMBERS FOR JUNE ARE HOT–We anxiously watch for our numbers to spill out of our secure software program. Last month 333,500 readers came to Bikernet 544,000 times, for 1.2 million impressions and 7.6 million hits. We want to thank every reader for making Bikernet their home for all sorts of Bullshit information. We’ll keep it coming or die trying. BIKERNET WEEKLY PRODUCT RELEASE FROM RIVERA PRIMO / 4-SPEED HYDRAULIC CLUTCH TRANS END COVER from RIVERA PRIMO (A.R.T.-branded)Looking for that hi-tech, hi-end look then A.R.T. hydraulic covers, now manufacturedhere in-house by Rivera Primo, are the answer. First off the line is the 4-speed kickstart model. Manufactured from fine qualitybillet aluminum & polished to a high luster finish, this model has the kicker shafthole with bushing as well as the kick spring stud hole in place. Piston bore on this baby is 1-3/8″. This cover accepts the hydraulic line & banjo fitting matched to a 5/8″ bore master cylinder (not supplied). These distinctive, yet easily recognizable covers are delivered with cover hardwareas well as mounting gasket. We’ll be introducing 5-speed versions in the near future, so keep watch here onBIKERNET’s “Thursday News” for their introductions. 1215-0027 4-Spd (Kickstart) Hydraulic Trans End Cover / Billet $ 321.04 For these & other fine products contact: UNDER STRESS? BIKERNET BRINGS YOU ZEN THROUGH THE SAYINGS OF THE JEWISH BUDDHIST– If there is no self, whose arthritis is this? Be here now. Be someplace else later. Is that so complicated? Drink tea and nourish life; with the first sip, joy; with the second sip,satisfaction; with the third sip, peace; with the fourth, a Danish. Wherever you go, there you are. Your luggage is another story. Accept misfortune as a blessing. Do not wish for perfect health, or a lifewithout problems. What would you talk about? The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single Oy. There is no escaping karma. In a previous life, you never called, younever wrote, you never visited. And whose fault was that? Zen is not easy. It takes effort to attain nothingness. And then what do youhave? Bupkis. The Tao does not speak. The Tao does not blame. The Tao does not takesides. The Tao has no expectations. The Tao demands nothing of others. TheTao is not Jewish. Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breathe out. Forget this andattaining Enlightenment will be the least of your problems. Let your mind be as a floating cloud. Let your stillness be as a woodedglen. And sit up straight. You’ll never meet the Buddha with such roundedshoulders. Deep inside you are ten thousand flowers. Each flower blossoms ten thousandtimes. Each blossom has ten thousand petals.(You might want to see aspecialist.) The Torah says, Love your neighbor as yourself. The Buddha says, “There is no self.” So, maybe we’re off the hook. –from Art Friedman AUTOMOTIVE STYLIST VIRGIL EXNER JR.TO MAKE RARE APPEARANCE AT ?SPORTS & CLASSICS OF MONTEREY? EVENT–Automotive stylist, and son of the legendary designer of the ?forward look?,to be in attendance as his father?s custom 1957 Chrysler Diablo concept carcrosses the auction block August 15th to 16th in Monterey, California. Monrovia, CA (July 6, 2008) ? RM Auctions announced today that Virgil Exner Jr., son of the legendary V.P. of Design at Chrysler Corporation Virgil Exner Sr., will attend the much anticipated Sports & Classics of Monterey auction event in California, August 15th to 16th. Exner Sr. ushered in the first notable era of the Chrysler concept car with his ?forward look?, an innovative design concept which centralized around tailfins. One of his most notable works was the sleek 1957 Chrysler Diablo concept car, which is slated to make its auction debut at the RM event in August. ?We are extremely honored to be welcoming Virgil Exner Jr. to our Monterey event to offer a unique personal perspective on the design of the extraordinary Diablo,? said Ian Kelleher, Managing Director of RM Auctions. ?His insight on his father?s legacy will add much excitement to the offering, as the car has received considerable international interest.? ?Concept cars have always held our fascination and will be a featured highlight of the famed Pebble Beach Concours d?Elegance held following our Monterey auction? The 1957 Chrysler Diablo comes to us from a time when Exner was given carte blanche to develop his designs and express them with candor. It was designed with aerodynamics in mind to appear light and fluid, like a moving work of art and is a spectacular example of a show car. Even its immense stature (18.2 feet long, 6.7 feet wide) does not weigh down its streamlined, racy appearance. “I was fortunate to have an opportunity to drive the Diablo myself,” said Exner Jr. He added, “My father was very fond of the car, as it confirmed what he was trying to achieve – less chrome, clean lines, more sculptural in appearance. The Diablo which was a serious design that proved to have excellent aerodynamics and directly influenced the Chrysler line of cars for that followed,” recounted Exner Jr. RM Auctions’ Sports & Classics of Monterey will be held August 15th and 16th at the Portola Resort & Spa and Monterey Conference Center, in Monterey, CA. Coinciding with the famed Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, the annual auction event, which is now in its 23rd year, attracts thousands of automobile enthusiasts and participants from around the world. Admission to RM’s Sports & Classics of Monterey auction event is $40 per person, with children 12 and under admitted free of charge. An auction catalog is available for an additional $100 U.S., including shipping and handling within North America. For additional information on RM Auctions Inc., and this event, visit www.rmauctions.com MR. LUCKY WANTS YOU– Got an out of sight retro part that you?re just dying to get to market? Well, “Mr. Lucky” of Jammer Cycle Products wants to talk to YOU!! He?ll be at the Grease Monkey Mayhem lot on Lazelle & 8th St. every day from Noon – 5:00 looking for cool Old School parts to add to the 2009 Jammer?s Handbook Catalog. Ride your bike over and show him what you?ve got………..your product could be featured in the new Jammer?s Handbook distributed around the world! SADDLEMEN SPONSORS BIKERNET BROUHAHA SHOW IN STURGIS– Saddlemen would like to participate by offering the following product donations for the Burn-Out competition winners at Thunder Road on Friday August 8. The Thunder Road, Thunder Dome burn-out pit is the officially declared strongest, toughest burn-out pit in the world, all 2000 pounds of steel. Come out, test it out and let us know if you’ve ever seen a burn-out pit that compares. Here’s the prizes plus famous 5-Ball Trophies: 1- Gift Certificate for a seat- Road Sofa or Explorer with built-in adjustable backrest, for any Harley-Davidson model, value up to $679.95 1- Gift Certificate for a seat- Explorer with built-in adjustable backrest, for any Metric Cruiser model, value up to $599.95 1- S3500 Deluxe Sissy Bar Bag, value $199.95 (will bring this product with for the show) Tom Monroe
? BAKER Drivetrain?s booth on the corner of Lazelle Street and 5th Street
Call and ask for Sales for more details at 1-877-640-2004
Brand Vandal | Director of Marketing, Creative and PR
BAKER Drivetrain
Toll Free: 1-877-640-2004
Cell: 616-443-9776
www.myspace.com/scoutlaw
bassfisher@snet.net>
Rivera Primo
12450 Whittier Blvd. Whittier, CA 90602
Tel: 800-872-1515
Tel: 562-907-2600 Fax: 562-907-2606
www.riveraprimoinc.com
Sales & Marketing Manager
Saddlemen
310-638-1222
www.saddlemen.com 
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