Year of the Hog: Harley-Davidson Enters China
With all the gray-market motorcycles on the streets of Beijing and other big Chinese cities, the biggest surprise is why it took Harley-Davidson so long to open its first authorized dealership in this country of 1.3 billion people.
The U.S. manufacturer said on Thursday that it has appointed Beijing Feng Huo Lun as its initial Chinese dealer, with the official opening slated for early April. Additional factory-authorized Harley stores are expected to open later this year and next in Shanghai and other major cities.
Peugeot CT125 2006
The word from the UK importer for Peugeot Motorcycles;
Peugeot have introduced a highly specified and stylish new 125cc motorcycle that is designed to appeal to the growing numbers of young learner riders, (the UK’s best-selling bike in 2005 was a 125cc learner-legal machine).
The new XPS CT125 is a full-sized motorcycle that takes its styling cues from motocross machines but is built to handle the rigours of the urban jungle. Most people associate the French manufacturer with cars and scooters, but Peugeot built their first motorcycle over 100 years ago.
MAG Condemn Budget 2006
The latest from MAG, who wanted Gordon Brown to do more to encourage the use of small capacity bikes and scooters;
Gordon’s Lost the Plot
The Motorcycle Action Group (MAG UK) slams Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) rises for bikes.
Gordon Brown has totally forgotten Labour’s “Back to Basics” policy that they trumpeted before they came to power says MAG. ( Er, wasn’t the Back to Basics policy started by John Major? - Baffled Ed )
BikeSafe Event at Cheltenham
The annual National BikeSafe event, supported by the major motorcycle manufacturers, is taking place on April 1st and 2nd at Cheltenham Racecourse in Gloucestershire. The event will run from 10am – 5pm on both days, entry nad assessments are FREE.
This event is unique, in that it provides the opportunity for people to admire the up to date models on display and benefit from a free BikeSafe assessed ride and assessment provided by some of the UK’s top motorcycle police.
Triumph Sixty8 In ‘06
Sixty8, Triumph’s new sublimely stylish accessories collection, is inspired by a pretty cool year. Bikes were anarchic. A cultural revolution was in the air. The Stones were charting with Jumping Jack Flash, and Steve McQueen starred in Bullitt. Triumph made a classic that still gets talked about almost four decades later.
Designed for the iconic Bonneville, the sixty8 range is not about panniers and boring old tank bags. sixty8 is about well-designed, hand-crafted accessories which allow you to be personalize your looks in a slick and stylish contemporary way: be that on your Bonneville, in your favorite club or in the boardroom.
Indian Apache Launched
TVS Motor Company Limited, an Indian manufacturer of motorcycles, has entered the ‘premium’ segment with the launch of `Apache’ targetted at youths aged between 18 and 22 years. Premium in the Indian motorcycle industry doesn’t mean 1400cc 200mph bikes, it means 150cc!
Speaking at the launch of Apache (is there a pun there?) AGM (Marketing) TVS Motor, M V Krishna, said the bike had a displacement of 150 CC and a host of stunning features (stunning that is to Indian youths not used to seeing big bore superbikes on a daily basis).
The dirt bike show in three year deal
The Dirt Bike Show will run at Stoneleigh Park for the next three years.
Promoto, the Company that has successfully run the Dirt Bike Show since founding it six years ago, has signed a three year deal with Stoneleigh Park that will see the Show running at the popular Midlands venue until 2008.
Visitor numbers at the Dirt Bike Show have grown at an average rate of 10% each year, reaching over 21,000 in 2005, firmly establishing it as the biggest off-road exhibition of recent history. A semi-permanent marquee was added in 2004, creating a third exhibition hall and this, along with the new thousand-seat indoor action arena, eased the crowding experienced in previous years. The introduction of a ‘Virtual Paddock’ outside the entrance for 2005 proved hugely successful and brought total exhibition space to 15,000 square metres.
