As you might imagine, not too much has been happening in Europe of late as most factories and sources of information have been enjoying the festive season to the fullest. As a result, news is only just beginning to trickle out as people return to work and start looking to launches and up-and-coming shows.

However, one event that has dominated the weekly motorcycle news pages over here and will, no doubt, be headlined in the monthlies when they come out is the cancellation of the Dakar rally. Just 18 hours prior to the start of the 3,500-mile event in Lisbon, the announcement was made that it was to be abandoned due to the threat of terrorism towards the entrants.

For the first time in the 30-year history of the event, which started as the Paris Dakar, organizers were forced to cancel due to threats made about the safety of competitors when travelling through Mauritania. This followed on from the murder of three French tourists and the death of some soldiers shortly after. There were, in fact, 262 bike entries this year in the event that has made the names of riders like Stephanie Peter Hansel, Cyril Never, Hubert Aureole, Gaston Racier and Richard Saint legends in the off-road arena. Many of the private riders lost thousands, despite the return of their £12,000 GBP ($23,500) entry fee. Riders were in tears when the decision was announced as for many it was the culmination of many hours work and fund raising to pursue the dream of riding in what is the toughest off-road race in the world.

KTM, who is the biggest bike sponsors of the event, also stand to lose heavily, especially with the loss of publicity, although they publicly backed the decision to cancel. Despite the organizers stating it will be back next year, it could well be the end of the legendary event if the threat of terrorism again intrudes into the planned desert route!

Austria

Despite the above blow to its publicity machine, KTM announced its full year financial profits from August 2006 to August 2007. Sales revenue has climbed 12.2% year on year to £393.6 million ($773.6 million) and pre-tax profits shot up 16.9% to £27.7 million ($54.4 million). No net profit figure is available because they are still a subsidiary of Cross Industries AG. Given the up and coming launch of the X-Bow car and the recent investment by Indian manufacturer Bajaj that we reported last month, along with the seemingly endless supply of new bikes that keep being announced, these figures could be even bigger this time next year.

Talking of new bikes, we mentioned the Venom in last month's gossip. Well, it seems that KTM has registered two new websites, www.ktmvenom.com and www.ktmrc4.com for the new bikes. These links just take you to their main website at present, but it certainly backs up the rumors!

France

We normally mention that bikes are being built in the Far East in order to save money so that manufacturers can sell product at a very competitive rate. In a bizarre twist, I have to announce this month that French scooter (and car) giant Peugeot is to assemble electric scooters for an Italian company/brand called Oxygen. The latter has 350 Cargoscooters on test and has decided to devote its time and resources to R&D and have the vehicles built at the French plant at Mandeure. Peugeot claims that they can assemble up to 1,200 scooters a day for the Italians who have 1,000 on back order and hope to shift around 25,000 annually within three years!

Germany BMW's profits and financial figures also seem to grow in line with its new models. Unit sales grew 1.4% in the third quarter of 2007 that ended in September, with 23,549 machines being sold. Taking the whole year into account means 82,779 bikes sold, a rise of 4.3%. For the first nine months of the year, turnover has risen by 1.2% to £ 713.2 million and overall pre-tax profits top out at £ 66.2 million, a rise of 6.7%.

None of this seems to be stopping BMW from looking at more technology and new safety measures. While we reported last year that the Germans were not in favor of following Honda into the airbag market, it seems that they are working on a bike you cannot fall off!

Recently uncovered patents show the work of Josef Seidl, one of the BMW engineers, is aimed at making such an idea reality. As we all know, many a car now sports driver aids and electronics that monitor a driver's input. If they get it all wrong, the 'aids' correct the problem before it sends the car into instability mode and results in a crash. We already have traction control and ABS on bikes, but incorporating other aids is obviously more difficult due to weight and space problems. Then of course there is the fact that with a bike we are talking about a single-track vehicle that can easily fall over without too much help! 

However, it would appear that BMW is working on being able to electronically change the bikes chassis and geometry while also being able to affect rider input to prevent this happening when on the move. One of the reasons for getting it wrong on corners is too much rider input on the bars. To compensate, the patents show hydraulic rams that would resist this input if the computer thought it inappropriate.

Also shown is a system to pivot the steering head in both directions and also a system to affect the angle of the rear wheel from the vertical, to ensure the angle of lean is reduced to keep a larger tire contact patch on the road. The rear suspension is also controlled by the computer, although the intention seems to be that the rider still retains overall control of the machine!

Now while some of these ideas seem fanciful, the patents show that the ideas are quite simple and achievable. The problem is working out and writing the computer program that will control it all. So, either don't panic because they are not taking away your skill levels just yet, or put the check book away if you want it fitted to your bike, as it is all still a long way off!

Running against this and sounding a note of caution about electronics are UK claims that the ABS on the BMW F800S and ST is releasing the brakes for long periods over and above accepted ABS 'cycling' times. Riders are reporting near misses on numerous websites, but the claims are being rejected by BMW, who claim that the riders are getting the rear wheel close to lifting when the ABS is programmed to release and prevent this from happening. However, at the time of writing, the debate continues with many unhappy postings!

Boom Trikes in Germany are allegedly in secret (not so secret!) negotiations with Triumph Motorcycles in the UK for the supply of engines. Sources suggest the price is the only problem preventing the deal from being completed. The custom builder has recently bought an 850 V-Twin motor from Piaggio and is thought to be expanding its range even further to include large capacity Japanese powerplants!

Italy

It would appear that despite Ducati's recent loss of the legendary designer Pierre Terblanche to 'other projects,' that its faith in the 1098 and Hypermotard has been justified. Figures released for the first nine months show that the brand's sales revenue rocketed 43.8% to £224.2million ($440.6 million), while operating profit went up a staggering 212% to £19.5 million ($38.3 million).

Without getting too boring on the figures front, the net profit was £12.2 million ($24 million), compared to last year when the figures showed a £3.2 million ($6.3 million) loss! The company is also now cash rich, with reserves of £6.6 million ($13 million) thanks to retail sales being up globally to 34,705 bikes, or an increase of 14.7%. Most of this is thanks to the 1098! Given the above, it is no real surprise then that it would appear that the board of Ducati Motor Holding has established a 'phantom' stock holding option for its senior managers around the world to be rewarded. Bonuses are calculated on the performance of Ducati's share prices based on the amount of shares held. The chief executive, Gabriele Del Torchio, apparently has the option of 1,477,500 shares. You do the math!

Italian Fashion brand Moschino has just signed a deal with helmet manufacturer Max Safety Fashion to have its name on a range of helmets. The Italian helmet company already makes Momo and Cromwell helmets amongst others and will use the clothing firm's branding on the helmets.

We have mentioned the Cagiva Mito 500 several times before. The good news is that insiders report it will be produced this year despite others in the company denying it. The truth appears to be that a problem seems to have occurred with the 500 motor that powers it, as it came from a Husqvarna for the prototype that has been publicly aired at shows. Now that the Swedish brand has been sold to BMW, they no longer have the rights to use it.

Smart money is on them building their own 650cc Single rather than buying a Single such as the recently launched Hyosung 450 that would obviously be down on power. Any motor has to fit the small dimensions of the bike, which makes it so appealing to potential purchasers.

Interestingly, rumors also suggest that the stunning STR6 that was built as a Husqvarna prototype by the Cagiva research center (CRC) was not part of the deal with the Germans. The design, to which Cagiva has the full rights to, was the brain child of the legendary Italian designer Massimo Tamburini, who was of course responsible for the iconic Ducati 916, amongst others. 

As we mentioned here in this column last year, the idea is to have a single-cylinder motor mounted in a chassis that is fully adjustable to alter the bike's stance and handling. Apparently this could still see the light of day as well, once a source of viable motive power has been identified!

Parent MV Agusta is rumored to be using the cash it got for the sale of the Husqvarna off-road brand to finally bring to fruition a three-cylinder bike. Sources suggest that once again an MV 3 could grace the world's race tracks and highways in both naked and fully faired versions. The capacity is likely to be around 600cc when it does appear, with the engine being derived from the existing F4 motor to cut down on costs and development time.

We mentioned the MV Bestiale shown at the Paris show as a design exercise. The bike was the work of French designer Yacouba Galle, based around a Brutale 910, but with a new suit of very angular and minimalist clothes. It now appears that the factory liked it as much as the public and is to market a kit to allow riders to transform their own bikes into a Bestiale, which neatly sidesteps homologation issues. Expect the kits to be available by the summer.

Italian giant Piaggio has just revealed a 400cc version of its strange MP3 scooter. The machine, which features two wheels at the front, has previously just come in a 125 and 250cc version. However, the new 400cc model means that it slots in just beneath the equally weird Gilera Fuocco 500 from its sister company. The 400cc edition, with its 34 hp four-valve four-stroke single-cylinder motor, is totally new as it has a longer wheelbase to cope with the extra power. Cost is around $10,000 for those who want to stand out from the crowd!

Spain Spanish bike manufacturer Rieju, which until recently has been selling small capacity machines, has now upped the ante with the launch of its MRX 450 Enduro bike. The bike, like a lot of their other machines, is powered by a Yamaha motor and has top quality components like Marzocchi inverted forks and Ohlin's rear shock. Brembo brakes, Galfer discs, Excel wheels and Leo Vince titanium exhaust all validate the yet-to-be-announced high price when it goes on sale in February!

United Kingdom Triumph bike dealer Jack Lilley has used a modern 'Scrambler' from Hinckley to build a tribute bike to Evel Knievel. The bike was started before his death and intended to mark the 40th anniversary of his jump at Caesar's Palace, which was of course done on an original T120 Bonneville. As a result of his death, it is now more of a tribute to the man himself! The bike is now for sale with a signed picture of Knievel making the jump!

In the UK, police are now monitoring web sites like YouTube with a view to prosecuting riders who post dangerous high speed film clips. If they can identify riders, they are taking court action!

Last month we told you about the new Ace Cafe motorcycle. Now they have followed that up with a range of clothing. Those wishing to look the part and ride in limited edition 1960s leather jackets can now do so. They even come with an Ace badge already sewn on if you so wish!

Rest of the World
China

It would appear that maybe the Chinese bubble is starting to burst, with manufacturers admitting that the rising value of the Yuan against the US dollar, along with cuts in government subsidies, has seen a 31% drop in their exports. At a recent large trade fair, there was also a drop of 8.8% in visitors, again blamed on rising costs.

Singapore

The first 'Bike Asia' trade fair takes place here on April 10-13 and is being promoted by the major European show organizers. It is hoped that it will attract visitors from Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines.

And Finally!

The dangers of a 'blind date' became very apparent to a Chinese gentleman in Nanchang recently when he got arrested shortly after his arrival to try and win the hand of a fair maiden.

The reason? He turned up to take her for a ride on his motorcycle.

The problem? He had stolen it from the city center the day before and it was actually her bike and she did not take kindly to his offer!

Flowers may have been a better option if he wanted to impress! 

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