Euro Gossip January 2006

A belated Happy New Year! Welcome back to the gossip and rumors from across pond that hopefully keep you abreast of what might be coming your way in the future from the European factories.

While the most of the world was enjoying some form of festivities, the world of motorcycling managed to keep the rumor mill alive with some deliberate PR and some that was not meant to slip out!

In New Zealand, FX Bikes have produced a titanium-framed 124cc off-road bike that is said to weigh in at just 99 lbs! Basically a beefed up mountain bike powered by a 17-hp Kitaco four-stroke engine, the Team FX has a price tag of $7000. Just 10 have been made as a tribute to John Britten, who made just 10 of his multi-coloured V-Twin racers. FX Bikes will also make some budget machines with steel frames and less expensive components, weighing in an extra 22 lbs. (You can see videos of the FX bikes in action by clicking here.

Any of you planning to visit the Isle of Man TT Races had better firm up your travel arrangements for this year or for next year's 100th anniversary if you want to see the greatest road races for real. The reason is that the Coroner's verdict and comments on the deaths of a rider and marshal at the 2005 TT races have caused serious concerns after he stated that, had the marshal survived, she may have been charged with unlawful killing.

What this means is that any marshal who makes a mistake and causes a death may end up in prison if it can be proved they were negligent. Needless to say, all marshals in the UK, who are mainly unpaid volunteers, are now seriously reconsidering their position. Due to the numbers needed around the 37 3/4 mile mountain course, the race could not run without these volunteers who give up a week of their time to assist with the racing.

At the time of writing, this year's race program has just been announced, showing that the organizer's reaction has been to reduce the number of races. (We will update you next month when we have had time to analyse the implications of this.)

Shock news comes from Triumph, in the form of the sudden departure of Ross Clifford, the product manager for the re-born firm. To many he has been the public face of the factory, especially with owner John Bloor's reluctance to be seen in public or give press interviews.

Over the past 11 years. Clifford has travelled the world in various roles for the company and helped conceptualize many of the groundbreaking machines that have attracted so much interest, like the gargantuan Rocket III. He stated that he felt he could achieve nothing further with the company and was going on to fresh challenges.

Meanwhile rumors emanating from the factory show that a replacement for the ageing 955i Daytona is now undergoing test and development. At a guess, the three-cylinder's capacity may well be above the liter class, possibly around 1050cc to give it the edge over Japanese Fours. (Perhaps bigger -Ed.)

With the recent launch of Kawasaki's ZZ-R 1400 (ZX-14 in America), Triumph must be thinking that they should not have shelved their own 1400 back in 2003. There has been little of the backlash the British factory feared for launching a 200 bhp road bike, and they could have been first!

Bikes that have been spotted testing recently have all been mentioned here before, but a quick reminder never hurts. We're predicting a touring version of the Rocket III with twin exhausts, along with a baby brother with just two pots, the above-mentioned replacement of the Daytona 955i, plus a 675 Speed Triple. Last but by no means least, a supermoto-styled Tiger!

Looking back, at the end of last year we gave you the rundown on the bikes that had actually appeared at the Milan Show that had been mentioned in this column throughout the year. What we did not tell you was some of the facts and figures behind the glitz and how the industry is fighting back against the emerging Chinese invasion.

First the good news: More than 1500 brands were represented at Milan, which included 833 overseas exhibitors from 35 different countries. Over half a million visitors saw the exhibits, plus over 50,000 professionals attending on the press and trade day, including Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlesconi!

Behind the scenes industrial patent agents were cruising the show and aggressively confiscating any blatantly obvious rip-offs, mainly from China. Czech manufacturer Blata even led a massive raid involving Italian financial police and customs, resulting in the seizure of many copies of their mini-motos.

Yamaha now have a lawsuit pending against a Korean firm who make a commuter R1 copy. Called the Yamuda K1, it has almost identical styling to the R1 Superbike despite being a humble 125cc four-stroke. Its race can comes from Yokohama as opposed to Yoshimura, and the typeface on the graphics is almost identical as well. Don't expect to see too many around, as Yamaha intend to nip this copyright infringement in the bud!

Until the next major European show in the fall, if you fancy taking in a motorcycle show with a difference, why not try the Moscow International Show on 21st-23rd April 2006 at Moor Park. Most manufacturers will be represented after Yamaha managed to shift 2,500 bikes there last year. If you do go, wrap up warm as it will still be cold and there are outside displays scheduled.

In the world of small wheels, Piaggio have been seen testing a prototype for a three-wheeled leaning scooter. Unlike the Honda of recent times and the British Ariel from the Sixties, this has the twin wheels at the front with just a single driving wheel at the rear. Powered by a 250cc motor, it could prove to be good for learning to rear-wheel drift or powerslide!

We mentioned last time that Ducati now seem to have an end to their financial troubles, with Texas Pacific Group managing to offload their majority shareholding to Italian firm Investindustrial amongst others. In fact, if you look at the minutia, there are now more investors taking a slice of the cake, which is good considering the poor showing of finances. Restructuring will clearly be the order of the day in the not too distant future to keep all these new investors happy. Middle management are of course hanging on tightly to their desks, as no doubt some may well lose their jobs in any shake-up!

However, for most of us this is just pie in the sky facts and figures and all we care about is that the Hypermotard is going to become a production machine. In the UK dealers are already taking deposits of 500 pounds without anybody having any idea of price or final specification!

The bad news from Bologna is the postponement of very popular World Ducati Week based around the Misano racetrack. This will affect the launch of the road-going Desmosedici RR which was scheduled to be launched to the world at this event way back in 2004. Plans are afoot, however, for a launch to replace the WDW unveiling just for this bike.

In our show report from Paris we mentioned that Honda would be offering an airbag on the prestigious Goldwing tourer. We followed this up last month by suggesting that BMW would soon follow suit on one of their big tourers. Just to show that we are not always right, BMW have admitted that they will not be emulating the Japanese company. In fact quite the opposite, now stating they consider it is too high a risk to the rider to fit one on a bike, and they consider the data available is insufficient to justify the risk. This has started quite vociferous debate between the two companies in the UK, and safety organisations have joined in with their views.

While not agreeing with some aspects of actual bike safety equipment, BMW then went on to give news of their new crash helmet that incorporates a neck brace. The work is conjunction with KTM and is designed to reduce spinal and neck injuries and is still in its early stages.

Staying with safety, Volvo, the Swedish car maker, are offering a solution to the 'A' pillars on cars obstructing the drivers view of approaching motorcycles at junctions. The answer is a latticework of metal and Plexiglas that will give the driver some vision through the pillar. Scientists say that currently a bike can disappear for up to half a second, the same time as it takes a driver to look and pull out of a junction!

Moving back to BMW, they have let slip that they are working on a range of single-cylinder bikes to replace the F650, which could include an HP1 machine to compete in the Supermoto class. Expect, therefore, to see a belt-driven single of around 600cc with a conventional fork and suspension.

We have already reported in this column that BMW's joint venture with Aprilia still stands for a Pegaso replacement, which could mean that a Rotax engine may be used. Alternatively, there is of course the Aprilia V-Twin, although insiders say the Single concept is still favorite.

Rumours still abound of the long-awaited BMW entry to MotoGP. What we do know is that they have a three-cylinder engine developed by former Ferrari engineer Mauro Forghieri's Oral Engineering Company in Modena, Italy. With a change in regulations in 2007 and drop in capacity to 800cc, it could be an ideal time to join the battle, especially if the changes favour a triple!

With the gruelling Dakar race nearing its end, a leaked sketch from the Guzzi design house shows that, not content with taking on BMW on the touring front, they now intend to challenge the GS range. The Stelvio (named after the famous winding pass in the Alps so beloved by bikers) will be based on a bored -out 1064cc V-Twin engine they currently use across their range. The styling will be pure large trailie, but the trademark shaft drive will be retained. Guzzi, however, are currently denying the rumors/sketch and will not comment.

If you are an MV fan then you may kick yourself when you learn that you could have bought the company for one Euro! The only slight problem is that apart from gaining the factory, bikes, etc, along with the Cagiva and Husqvarna brands, you also got 75 million pounds of debt!

We previously reported that MV's owner's, Malaysian car firm Proton, was in trouble, and that proved to be true when they off-loaded their 57.75% majority shareholding to Italian Investment house Gevi S.p.a. in December. Watch this column for more news on this deal as and when it becomes available.

At the other end of the scale, Swedish firm Highland has just opened a new factory in China and has launched a new range of single-cylinder bikes. It is also developing a new 750cc dirt-track machine alongside a 1200cc Twin. The plan is for them to make 10,000 bikes per annum, as well as another 20,000 engines to sell to other firms.

Lastly, just to prove some riders do not learn very quickly. Recently in South Africa, a rider has been caught speeding twice on the same day and on the same motorway. In the morning Marius Prinsloo was clocked at 176 mph and then in the evening at 155 mph! In court, the 34 year-old, was offered the choice of paying a fine of 9,000 pounds or two years in jail! What would you do?


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