Vo Knows

MV Man -Positive thinking February 3, 2010 12:01 PM
Steve, not to shift gears to the "issue one 2010" of Moto USA magazine, but you better be careful, your UN-official title of "master cynic" might be in jeopardy. Your editorial "it's only money" was dead on, well written and....drum roll please....extremely positive!! What's funny is how these wars breakout every time AMA/DMG is mentioned. The truth is that everyone who has an opinion on the matter is proving one thing....they love motorcycle roadracing!! How could you not? It's the most exciting form of motorsport, period. I appreciate your whatever you ride, get out and ride message. After all, when Honda sells enough VTX cruisers and civics, the trickle down is $$ for us speed freaks, roadracers and track owners!! We have to support our sport and stop attacking eachother....this has never been more true than right now. Good job Atlas. P.S. I got my copy of the Moto USA Magazine free today when the UPS guy dropped off my most recent purchase from the "Superstore." The Mag is great and I will be using the on-line subscription feature as soon as I finish this post.

NorCalFilth -Steve February 3, 2010 08:41 AM
Steve based on the frequency of my posts you might be able to tell i am a fan of your site, but i too am not here to make you feel all warm inside by mindlessly agreeing with you when i believe you are wrong. And i appreciate the fact that we can all sound off and have a voice, unlike other sites that have no readership input. I must respectfully disagree with your statement that you have been putting a positive spin on the AMA lately. Your first line in your article The Last Chance was "Is there any hope left?" I dont know how this was a positive piece, you ended it with "i dont know how it could be any worse." Well Steve we could have no racing. I think that would be worse. i enjoy some of the banter but i am no coward. I am one of the only ones that tries to show the other side of the coin. And just for the record i was listing the rolling start as an example of a flawed idea that was implemented by DMG. I am not saying they are perfect by any means, but at least we still have racing. This is all going to turn around with time but Steve...take some of your own advice.

Leslie D'Amico -ex-racer February 3, 2010 04:46 AM
I am not some wacko and I am not implying you are either. Since I raced on a local basis and never got any farther than WERA in the late 70's and early 80's I doubt as you will find me in any record books. The point is: racers race for themselves, not for any money, not for fame and fortune. Usually they're just scrapping by in their daily life, sacrificing for a recreational activity they love. If an organization wants the best talent it needs to provide some incentive. The fans already pay enough to see them, it's the promoters and sanctioning organizations and yes, even companies like MotorcyleUSA who need to step up and make it possible for racers to showcase their skills on a national basis. Given the state of the economy it's no wonder more companies aren't sponsoring more events. Personally I never had the talent to race on a national basis. That doesn't mean I didn't enjoy it just the same as guys who did. National caliber racers won't give up racing just because they can't afford to race AMA, they'll still ride even if it's friendly competition at a track day. You the fan will be the loser if the best talent quits the AMA.

c -the internet has made me a jerk... February 2, 2010 07:35 PM
I'm glad your econ class taught you how to decipher an acronym. Unfortunately ROI doesn't really apply when evaluating hypothetical advertiseing strategies. For one, its's hypothetical and there is no data, and second you can't accurately isolate the "return" of a specific advertising campaign. ROI (return-investment)/investment, is the kind of calculation that a grade schooler might use to evaluate a new venture, piece of equipment, or stock. So two points: 1. criticising is good- I enjoyed it and you learned something, 2. Any moron can know business, 90% of it is fancy names for common sense, and the rest is on wikipedia. This is where I know less, but to evaluate a sponsorship venture in ama roadracing, I would expect motorcycle-usa to examine similar oppurtunities. Did yoshimura become significantly more profitable when it started sponsoring ama suzuki teams? I don't know, probably, Atlas, Motorcycle-usa, do it! do it!

NorCalFilth -Revision to my statment February 2, 2010 04:57 PM
Perhaps i should have recommended a finance course. Less money coming in means less money to spend. And these fools are advocating that people boycott the AMA/DMG. So heres the question: If you stop going to the races and the tracks cant make it where are you going to have american roadracing? Answer: Were not!!! I guess my point was that i find it incredibly self-righteous that everyone knows how to spend other peoples money better than they do. So i leave you with this business question, whats the ROI for any company to sponsor any series in america right now? oh scribe!!!! just do you know ROI is Return on Investment.

c -Your apart of this industry too February 2, 2010 03:50 PM
Lets see team "motorcycle-usa" go racing. If beer brands, insurance companies, and restaurants can justify sponsoring a team then i'm sure a company whose customer base are motorcyclists, can justify buying a couple stickers. Or how about a Motorcycle-USA's race MVP award to riders. It could be famously controverial. Good marketing and good support for the league. Your apart of this industry too