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Dec. 1, 2008 – Hot News

Rider training efforts broadened in military, overseas

An industry nonprofit group has announced partnerships with the U.S. military and an overseas vehicle association to further broaden rider training opportunities.
The Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF), a group funded by several large motorcycle manufacturers, has entered into an agreement with Europe’s largest automobile club and the world’s largest motorcyclist association, the General German Automobile Association. The group is also known as ADAC (Allgemeiner Deutscher Automobile Club).
The two groups will collaborate on various motorcycle rider safety education and training initiatives. That is expected to include military opportunities.
The MSF says once approved by the Army Service Component Command, U.S. military personnel and their families will be able to enroll in any one of four advanced ADAC riding courses recognized by the MSF, as well as the MSF Experienced RiderCourse, and receive the MSF Experienced RiderCourse completion card to satisfy the military’s requirements for ongoing rider training.
MSF and ADAC will share curricula, best practices and research as well. ADAC will also be the exclusive provider of the new MSF Military SportBike RiderCourse and the MSF European Module RiderCourse in Germany. The European module is designed to help military riders in Germany make a safe transition to the European riding environment and highway user culture.
“We are pleased to help our military personnel in Europe receive greater access to quality rider training,” said MIC and MSF President Tim Buche. “The MSF has always taken a world view of rider safety education and training. Key learnings aren’t exclusive to countries or borders but meant to be shared for the benefit of all.”
MSF also announced its SportBike RiderCourse, developed in collaboration with the Navy and Army safety centers, is now available to all branches of the Department of Defense.
Developed to address the increasing number of military personnel who are involved in sport bike crashes, the MSF Military SportBike RiderCourse is a “next-level” training course for military riders who have completed the MSF Basic RiderCourse. The one-day course consists of approximately three hours of classroom interactive lessons and four hours of on-cycle range time, and is taught by instructors (RiderCoaches) who receive additional training and special MSF certification to teach the course. “The goal is to provide riders with a way to further develop personal riding strategies and decision-making abilities to help them minimize their risk,” said Ray Ochs, MSF director of training systems.
The Department of Defense mandates rider training and specifies an MSF course for all military personnel who ride, and the Navy now requires all personnel who own sport bikes take the MSF Military SportBike RiderCourse after they have completed the MSF Basic RiderCourse. To date, more than 1,600 armed forces personnel have taken the new MSF Military SportBike RiderCourse.

National off-road legislation likely to be delayed

A significant piece of public lands legislation that could impact future off-road riding availability is not expected to be addressed in the upcoming Congressional session, according to a news release from a recreational access group.
The release, however, says the legislation, HR 5151, is expected to become an early key issue next year.
The bill would create more than a million acres of wilderness while authorizing dozens of studies for potential parks and protected rivers, the news release said. More than 100 conservation/recreation organizations, including Americans for Responsible Recreational Access (ARRA), opposed passage of this measure, the press release stated.
“The next Congress can wrestle with these issues and ARRA will be ready to engage, once again,” Larry Smith, executive director of ARRA, said.

Buell produces 125,000th motorcycle

Buell Motorcycle Co. announced it has produced its 125,000th motorcycle. The bike, a white 2009 1125R, was rolled off the production line Nov. 12 and is bound for Australia, according to a company press release.
Buell’s 125,000th machine comes in the company’s 25th year. Founder Erik Buell, a former Harley-Davidson engineer, designed and built the first Buell bike in 1983, the RW750, for the AMA Formula One motorcycle road racing championship.

2009 Breakfast of Champions at INDY scheduled

The BlueRibbon Coalition (BRC), a national trail recreation advocacy group, has announced that “Celebrating the Champions of ISDE” will be the theme at its 11th Annual Breakfast of Champions (BOC) Feb. 15.
The breakfast will be held at the Hyatt Regency Ballroom at 7 a.m. This fund-raising event also features a newly created Web site to promote the event and host an online auction of memorabilia from ISDE and other off-road champions.
The Web site and auction will be launched Dec. 1 and will include details about the February event, such as which ISDE champions will be featured in live interviews and/or who will be attending the event to sign autographs.
The industry luminaries participating include Eric Anderson, Don Emde and Dick Lague. ISDE Champions slated for attendance are Jeff Fredette, Malcolm Smith, Chris Carter, Dick Burleson, John Penton, Jack Penton, Drew Smith, Mandy Mastin, Jimmy Jarrett and many others.
BRC is asking for racing memorabilia or other off-road auction items to be donated to the event. This is the BRC’s largest single fund-raiser to help support efforts to promote and protect off-highway vehicle recreation on public and private lands. If you are interested in donating an auction item or items, please send it to: Travis Poppe, BOC Online Auction Manager, BlueRibbon Coalition, Inc. 4555 Burley Drive, Ste. A, Pocatello, Idaho, 83202. Email: brtravis@sharetrails.org

Limited number of Desmosedici RR now available

Ducati North America will offer a limited number of the previously sold out Desmosedici RR Grand Prix replicas for the North American market.
The interest in the Desmosedici RR has remained strong since Ducati announced it would produce a street legal MotoGP motorcycle. Initial orders sold out quickly, leaving many interested individuals out of the ordering process. Until now Ducati North America was not able to address any of those needs.
“We are fortunate to offer a few units to those interested individuals who were closed out of the initial ordering process. As the global run of 1,500 bikes comes to an end, we are notifying interested parties that we have secured inventory to deliver in the coming months; but only if they act quickly.” said Michael Lock, CEO of Ducati North America.

U.K. cycle, scooter registrations up, report shows

Registrations of two-wheelers in the United Kingdom were up
4 percent in October compared to the same month last year, an industry group reported.
According to the Motor Cycle Industry Association (MCI), 11,408 mopeds, scooters and motorcycles were registered in October.
Total registrations for the first 10 months of the year stands at 125,494, 1.5 percent down from 2007.
“The motorcycle industry is not immune to the economic downturn, but the resilience of the market this year reinforces the fact that (two-wheelers) are more relevant than ever,” said Steve Kenward, MCI’s acting chief executive.
Nearly all categories of motorcycles and scooters showed gains in October.

Correction

National powersports dealership traffic is up compared to a year ago, according to data from the RPM Group, the industry’s largest 20 group provider. An article in the Nov. 10 issue, “September slump deepens 2008 new unit sales decrease,” incorrectly reported dealer traffic being down.
The data, through August, showed metric dealer traffic up 16.4 percent and V-twin dealer traffic up 7.6 percent. psb

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