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The last we checked-in with the Suzuki/Volkswagen divorce, the German automobile maker was ordered by the London Court of International Arbitration to sell its 19.9% stake in the Japanese manufacturer (worth $2.8 billion at the time).

That was back in September 2015, and now that ordered has finally been fulfilled, with Volkswagen completely divesting itself from Suzuki – a move that has been four years in the making.

Have you ever wanted a .motorcycle domain name for your website? Us neither, but if did, your chance is coming soon. Dealer software solutions group Dominon Powersports Solutions has been granted…ahem…dominion over the new .motorcycles domain, one of many new interest-specific domain names made available by ICANN.

Like the .xxx domain name that came before it, the ICANN hopes that it can corral specific interests into these domains, thereby relieve some of the overcrowding that is going on with the current top-level domains (.com, .net, .org, etc). Will it work? Maybe yes, maybe no.

You would have to be living in a hole not to have heard about the video footage of a Range Rover plowing through a group of motorcyclists, and the chase through New York that ensued afterwards.

I say this not because the video has been the highest trafficked article on Asphalt & Rubber this week so far, though it is; nor do I say this because the video has been posted to virtually every motorcycle forum and blog on the internet, though it has; but instead because the video has elevated itself out of our obscure sport and into the national, if not international, public consciousness.

It is rare that motorcycling finds its way into mass media, and unfortunately it is rarely a good thing when it does so. Motorcycling by and large has an image problem in the United States. Few motorists commute via motorcycle, which means our industry is filled with people who come to motorcycles from either a hobby, sport, or lifestyle perspective, and because of this motorcycles remain on the fringe of mainstream society.

For some, that is the allure. Motorcycling is “something different’ which in turns allows a motorcyclist to express their individuality in an obvious manner. To illustrate this point, I am fairly certain that the vast majority of flame threads that start on forums and blogs can be boiled down to the premise that because your enjoyment of motorcycles is different from my enjoyment of motorcycles, it therefore must be wrong.

Do remember when you were kid how pretty much any sport (yes, even baseball) was infinitely better in the mud and the rain? Shirts soaked, pants soiled, grass and mud stains everywhere…and maybe even a bruise or two to match, there is something about slipping and sliding in the rain that amplifies the fun you have.

Well, today I think we found the adult motorcycle version of this theory: a bunch of friends, a bunch of bikes, and a bunch of mess. If some good wholesome hooning in the muck doesn’t remind you that motorcycles are supposed to be fun, well..I feel sorry for you. A quick thank you to the folks at 4H10 for reminding us of that.

Back in 2009 Suzuki and Volkswagen made some headlines, as the German automaker took a 19.9% stake in the Japanese manufacturer. The basic points of the agreement were that Volkswagen would get access to Suzuki’s small-displacement motors and Indian presence, while the latter would benefit from Volkswagen’s larger-vehicle technologies, etc.

Seemingly however doomed from the start, the partnership in motorcycle circles erroneously spurred some interesting thoughts of a Volkswagen motorcycle coming to fruition. While industry journalists spun gold out of hay, the two behemoth manufacturers failed to come to terms on any of their proposed partnership goals, leaving both parties to wonder why they were interested in each other, let alone financially intwined.

In this third video of four (see Part 1 & 2 here), BMW sat down some experts to talk about how mobility will change in the future. It’s funny to hear the issues the different sides propose and talk about in regards to automobiles, as they’re the very same sort of subjects we’ve talked about on Asphalt & Rubber in regards to motorcycles.

Some of the key debates explored in Part 3 of the Wherever You Want to Go series include vehicles as purely a form transportation, the “three internets”, the rise of electric vehicles, and of course whether the future of mobility will be fun. There are valid points all around the table in this video, and almost all of it applies to the future of motorcycles (except maybe the automated land train thing…we don’t see that working for two-wheeled machines). Check it out after the jump, and chew on it over the long weekend.

BMW is halfway through releasing a four-part video on the future of transportation, which explores a multitude of ideas including infrastructure, city dwelling, personal transport, population growth, and the environment. BMW obviously is approaching the issue with its automotive hat squarely on its head, and doesn’t directly deal with motorcycles, but when you stop and think about it, cars and bikes are wrapped up in the same situation. While the only the first two videos have been released, there’s already some interesting concepts to think about.

While we wait for Part 3 (Feb. 15th) and Part 4 (Feb. 22nd), chew on these facts and figures: over 50% of the world’s population lives in urban areas, automobiles are parked about 90% of the time, and there’s roughly five parking spots for every car (that’s 1,500 sqft of space just for a single car!). It sure seems like motorcycles could help solve that utilization/space problem.

Honda has closed its books for the first quarter of 2010, and the company’s motorcycle, scooter, and ATV sales are up 28.2% over Q1 of 2009. Selling over 2.8 million units (compare that to Q1 2009’s 2.25 million units), Honda’s sales created $3.7 billion in net sales. Honda reported $3 billion in net sales during the same time period last year. While the Asian markets powered most of Honda’s sales, North American sales were up 11% to 60,000 units sold.

Walking into the office of a company is always an interesting experience. For a company, the work place is the first expression of the company’s culture. Similarly, workspaces are often a reflection of the people that work inside them, an occupational rorschach test if you will. Yet, despite its importance and revealing nature, a company headquarters is rarely experienced by the end-consumer. It is an interesting disparity that occurs in every industry, and the electric motorcycle scene is no different.

Rumors are circulating that Suzuki is about unveil its 2010 motorcycle line-up, which will reportedly feature an all new 1,250cc Bandit, new GSX-F, and an updated GSX1000R. With the Gixxer 1000 being completely revamped just last year, we’re not sure if that means just new colors for 2010, or if Suzuki will be making modest performance enhancements, like we saw with the 2010 Honda CBR1000RR and 2010 Yamaha YZF-R6.

Those are all the details we know now, more as it comes to us. Remember to always tip your waiter, and your daily motorcycle blog.