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Cycle Update – BMW featured at AMA Vintage Days

BMW will be the featured marque at AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days 2004, held July 16-18 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio.
AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days will benefit the Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum and will feature an exhibit of classic motorcycles and memorabilia. A large display of vintage BMW motorcycles on loan from vintage club members and independent collectors will be a part of the exhibit, and will be supplemented by a Mobile Tradition Exhibition, an extensive review of seminal motorcycle models and large narrative walls, and demo rides on all current BMW motorcycle models including the new R 1200 GS and K 1200 LT.
In addition to the BMW events, AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days will feature American Historic Motorcycle Racing Association (AHRMA) road racing; AHRMA motocross, observed trials and dirt-track racing; plus two vintage bike shows; the Will Stoner Swap meet, the largest of its kind in North America; a slate of guest speakers; an array of vendors; the annual Motorcycle Hall of Fame Auction of motorcycles and memorabilia; and the return of Rhett Rotten’s original 1941 “Wall of Death” drome.
Spectator tickets for AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days 2004 are available from Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course at 800/MID-OHIO or www.midohio.com.
Campanile leaving MZ
Ray Campanile, president and general manager of Miami-based Motorrad North America, says he will resign his positions as of June 1. Motorrad of North America is the factory-owned U.S. office and importer of MZ motorcycles, scooters, and ATVs. Headquartered in Zschopau, Germany, MuZ is owned by Malaysian conglomerate Hong Leong.
Campanile, who says he is leaving Motorrad to explore new challenges, began serving as national sales manager for American Jawa Ltd. in 1989. In 1993, he convinced the company to import and distribute the MZ brand of motorcyles.
MuZ of North America was incorporated under Campanile’s leadership in 1997, set up as the MZ and Laverda Distributor for the U.S.
Now a purveyor of motorcycles, scooters and small displacement ATVs, Motorrad of North America will continue operations. For more information about the company, visit www.motorradna.com.
Aprilia to go AMA Racing
Aprilia motorcycles will take to the track in AMA Superbike competition as early as June of this year, Italica Racing team boss David Lewis recently announced.
Consisting of riders Mike Hale and Matt Wait, and crew chief Vic Fasola, Italica Racing will run the Mille Factory RSV1000 V-twin. Lewis is Hale and Wait’s manager.
Although some development and parts procurement may take place in Italy, the team will reportedly operate without financial help from the Aprilia factory, gaining funding from Jeff Jensen, a former stuntman turned movie director.
Coors Taps Jesse James
Jesse James, owner of West Coast Choppers, first found fame via a cable television show, then he advertised for Auto Zone, and now he’s ready to tap a new marketing deal: spokesman for Coors beer.
As part of the deal, Coors Original will partner with Jesse James on advertising, a sweepstakes, and the design of Jesse James merchandise and collector packaging.
James’ West Coast Choppers was founded 10 years ago in a corner of a friend’s garage. Today, the company has over 50 employees creating custom bikes that sell for $60,000 to $150,000.
Evader Signs for 1,200 U.S. Dealers
Madami International of Russellville, Ark. recently signed on to distribute electric scooters made by Bellevue-Washington-based Evader, Inc., offering Evader 1,200 motorcycle dealers to sell and service its products.
Evader is currently putting its worldwide distribution network in place, and says its products will be available in over 25 countries by the third quarter of 2004. Evader’s corporate headquarters are in Bellevue, Wash., with their Latin American division operating out of Coral Springs, Fla.
Sundiro Honda Updates Facilities
Japan’s Honda Motor Co. Ltd. reports that Sundiro Honda Motorcycle Co. Ltd., its motorcycle production and sales joint venture in China, has begun construction of a new plant in Tianjin with an investment of approximately $18.07 million.
Although the new plant is meant to replace an existing facility in Tianjin, Sundiro Honda also has plants in Shanghai and Hainan, with total production capacity at 1.6 million motorcycles a year. Production capacity will not change overall, Honda Motor said.
The world’s largest market, China will have sales of approximately 12 million two-wheelers during 2004.
Sundiro Honda Motorcycle, established in September 2001, is 50% owned by Honda Motor, 47.33% owned by Hainan Sundiro Holdings Co. Ltd. and 2.67% owned by Tianjin Motors Group Inc.
Snap-On to Work Sturgis
Registration at this year’s Sturgis motorcycle rally, Aug. 9-15, is going high tech with Snap-On Tools, a sponsor of the event, planning to set up a computerized system to make it easier for organizers to learn about the people who attend the gathering.
Rally organizers have said they want to gather information on the lifestyles of participants and their expectations for the rally in an effort to better plan future events. psb

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