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Kawasaki PR Rep Fired Over Trump TV Show Statements

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The last 24 hours have been a strange one for Kawasaki USA. Yesterday, Kawasaki announced through a spokesperson that it was dropping its advertising support of Donald Trump’s new reality show, The New Celebrity Apprentice.

Then today, the Japanese motorcycle manufacturer did an about-face on the issue, releasing a statement on Facebook that distanced it from any political motivations in its previous announcement, and declared the departure of the company’s representative who made the statements.

The whole controversy stems from a Reuters story about Kawasaki’s departure as an advertiser on the The New Celebrity Apprentice TV show, where Kawasaki Public Relations Manager Kevin Allen was quoted as saying the following:

“Once we understood the concerns of American citizens, we have taken the approach of agreeing not to participate in the show in the future as long as Mister Trump is involved as an executive producer.”

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MotoGP

2017 Yamaha MotoGP Team Launches in Spain

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It was billed as the launch of Yamaha’s 2017 MotoGP team, though it read more like a poorly choreographed Telefonica advertisement.

Yet, today was our first chance to see Valentino Rossi and Maverick Viñales dressed up in their new leathers, and our first chance at seeing the Yamaha YZR-M1 in its new livery.

Of course, the bike on display at the media launch is very different from the one that we will see take to tracks for the 2017, with Yamaha still exploring different aerodynamic packages before the start of the new season.

While the technical changes might be fewer than expected, the addition of Viñales to the Movistar Yamaha garage is sure to shake things up quite a bit. The Spaniard has already shown himself to be a quick study of the YZR-M1, which is sure to create some friction on the other side of the garage.

To his credit, Valentino Rossi looks to be in the form of his life, and has a keen on eye on making it 10 Grand Prix victories in the premier class.

All things considered, this formula is looking to be a potent recipe for a stellar 2017 MotoGP season. Note: the images we have of the Yamaha YZR-M1 are really big. The biggest. They’re yuge!

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Bikes

2017 Honda CBR1000RR Priced at $17,000*

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*It should be noted that after the publication of this article, American Honda adjusted the price on the 2017 Honda CBR1000RR to an MSRP of $16,499. American Honda has since also announced pricing on the 2017 Honda CBR1000RR ABS, set at $16,799 MSRP.

I’m not sure if I missed the memo, or if Honda just didn’t make much of a fuss about it, but pricing for the 2017 Honda CBR1000RR and its kin are now showing on the American Honda website.

Prices for the new Honda CBR1000RR seems to be only available in the USA right now, but early indications appear that Big Red is asking for quite the pretty penny for its freshly updated superbike.

As such, current pricing is as follows: Honda CBR1000RR – $16,999; Honda CBR1000RR ABS – TBD; Honda CBR1000RR SP – $19,999; Honda CBR1000RR SP2 – $24,999.

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Racing

Guy Martin Returns to Road Racing with Honda

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Road Racing’s biggest personality is returning to the paddock, as Guy Martin has signed up with the factory Honda Racing team. Martin will be alongside John McGuinness, and the pair will compete in the North West 200 and Isle of Man TT on the Honda CBR1000RR SP2.

The news is a welcomed announcement for those who missed Guy Martin’s presence in the road racing scene – the truck mechanic from Lincolnshire sat out the 2016 Isle of Man TT, and other racing events, choosing instead to take on some other projects, like a land speed record attempt at Bonneville.

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Opinion/Editorial

Why the USA Might Tax European Motorcycles Over Beef

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What do chickens have to do with potatoes? For that matter, what do chickens have to do with steel? And what do both of those things have to do with tires?

The answer isn’t as obvious as you may think, and this week everyone in the motorcycle industry is asking themselves what European motorcycles have to do with beef exports.

The answer to all these questions is the same though, and it involves the rather unsophisticated motorcycle industry being dragged into the rather complex world of international trade negotiation. Let me explain.

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Bikes

MV Agusta Dragster 800 “Blackout” Debuts in Verona

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The Motor Bike Expo is underway in Verona, Italy right now, and MV Agusta is there showing off two of its special livery machines, to help grab headlines and to keep buzz moving around the Italian brand.

The first bike is the MV Agusta Brutale 800 RR “Ballistic Trident” that we have already shown you, and the other is today’s installment, the MV Agusta Dragster 800 “Blackout”.

As the name implies, the Blackout is built off the Dragster 800 platform, with copious amounts of black paint used. In other news, water is wet, right?

The design is pretty interesting though, and I mean that in the Chinese proverb sense of the word. There is a lot going on here, from the rain race tires, LED headlights and auxiliary lights (on the fork bottoms), pedal shaped front brake discs, and the addition of a “push to start” button.

We can also see a bevy of Valter Moto Components parts, as well as an SC Project exhaust (the tires are Pirelli too), thus making it an all-Italian affair.

MV Agusta has really been pushing the envelope with its Dragster customs, each one more lurid than the last, and since we are talking about the Blackout today, we suppose it’s mission accomplished for MV Agusta’s marketing department.

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A&R Pro

Some Notes on the 2017 Dakar Rally

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The 2017 Dakar Rally is done and dusted. The competitors are either already on their way home, or now spending a well-deserved vacation in South America, after tackling what is easily the most difficult motorcycle race on the planet.

The Dakar is of course iconic and well-known for its difficulty, where it is not uncommon to see riders perish on its course, but this year’s rally raid was billed as one of the most challenging editions of the Dakar Rally ever.

When a man like Marc Coma – a man who has won the race five times – tells you that, your default mode is to believe him.

Tackling that challenge were 143 riders, of which only on 96 made it all the way to Buenos Aires. And while KTM has been the dominant manufacturer for the past 15 years, the 2017 edition saw early on that any of the major four brands could have a hand on the trophy in Argentina.

Of course we know that KTM made it to a sweet 16th victory, sweeping the podium no less, but the results sheet betrays what happened on the course. As such, I wanted to share some notes I have from the 2017 Dakar Rally.

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News

BMW Makes It Six Record Sales Years in a Row

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2016 was another record sales year for BMW Motorrad, the sixth in a row for the German motorcycle maker. BMW Motorrad sold 145,032 units to customers in 2016, a 5.9% gain over 2015’s sales figure.

Because of this result, BMW says it is well on its way to its goal of selling 200,000 units in the 2020 model year. As lofty (and arbitrary) as that goal is, what is more impressive is the fact that BMW Motorrad has been able to increase its sales volume by nearly 50% since 2010 (98,047 units).

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News

Ducati Sold Over 55,000 Motorcycles in 2016

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Ducati Motor Holding has finished counting how many bikes it sold last year, and the official tally is 55,451 units were sold worldwide in 2016. That figure is up from the 54,809 sold in 2015, for a modest gain of 1.2%.

This result means two things: 1) 2016 was the best sales year ever for Ducati, in terms of volume, and 2) 2016 was the seventh year in a row where Ducati has posted sales growth – no easy feat considering the economic climate. 

“Ending the year of our 90th anniversary with yet another record is a source of immense pride and satisfaction,” said Claudio Domenicali, CEO of Ducati Motor Holding. “2016 was the seventh consecutive growth year for Ducati, clearly confirming the soundness of the Bologna-based group’s strategy and skills.”

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Dirt

2017 Dakar Rally – Stage 12: Victory Goes to Sunderland

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That’s it. The 2017 Dakar Rally is finally over, with Stage 12 concluding today in the capitol city of Buenos Aires, Argentina. With a short 64km timed special, the results were unlikely to change much, barring some sort of unexpected catastrophe.

Anything can happen in the Dakar Rally, and in what was billed as the toughest edition of this iconic race, we bet there were still some nervous hands during today’s session.

Two stages of the 2017 Dakar Rally had already been cancelled, and we had already seen top riders withdraw from this competition, namely KTM’s Toby Price, who dropped out while leading the Dakar, and Husqvarna’s Pablo Quintanilla, who withdrew while in second place.

As such, there was much delight when KTM’s Sam Sunderland not only finally finished his first full Dakar Rally, but did so by standing on the top step. Finally bucking his bad luck, Sunderland does so by also being the first British Dakar Rally winner, in any category.

The victory is also KTM’s 16th-straight Dakar Rally win, marking the occasion with an all-orange podium, as Matthias Walkner and Gerard Farres finished second and third behind Sunderland overall, respectively.

In fourth place is surely a frustrated Adrien van Beveren, the Yamaha rider finished just 48 seconds behind Farres, which is extra disappointing considering the one-minute penalty he received during Stage 11.

That is a tough break for the factory Yamaha team, though it shows that the Japanese manufacturer is a true contender now in the Dakar Rally.

The same can be said of Honda Racing, with the Monster Energy Honda Rally team showing tremendous potential as well, throughout the 2017 Dakar Rally.

If it had not been for a one-hour time penalty for a refueling mistake during Stage 4, Honda would have had two riders, Joan Barreda and Pablo Gonçalves, in winner’s contention. They finished fifth (+43 minutes) and sixth (+52 minutes) behind Sunderland, respectively. 

We can expect Honda to be a strong contender in future editions of the Dakar Rally, and despite this year’s result, the racing through the rally raid showed that KTM’s dominance is no longer assured.

There are four manufacturers now capable of winning this iconic race, which bodes well for the future.

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