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SUPER X FILES
Excelsior-Henderson has suffered a couple of set backs
in the past month. As reported in the Star-Tribune, their
new marketing guru Steve Wilhite has parted ways with E-H.,
Wilhite is best known as the mind behind the inventive
"Drivers Wanted" ad campaign of Volkswagen. He is highly
regarded by those in advertising and his hiring by E-H to be
their VP of sales and marketing was said to be a major coup.
But it seems his family was unwilling to move from
California and therefore he was unable to take the job. The
other bump on the road to market for E-H has been the
announcement that their losses for '99 will be greater than
expected and that they are in need of more operating
capital. The root of the problem seems to lay in production
delays due to difficulties with vendors of certain parts.
These delays have curtailed profits coming from the sale of
new bikes. No specifics have been given, but CFO Tom
Rootness described the problems as a "small glitch" and is
confident that E-H do very well in the coming year. Market
analysts independent of E-H are also confident that E-H will
pull through. Having come this far it is hard to not see
them rebounding quickly.
DAS BOXER IST GUT
RACER
 Not
since the R90S of the seventies has a BMW had a strong
showing on US race tracks, but that may change following the
impressive finish of a new R1100S in a race at Daytona. The
bike that was campaigned by a privateer team know as "Das
Boxer Team", finished fourth in a Pro Thunder race. The
success was lauded by Ed Robinson of BMW North America, who
said "like the R90S before it, the R1100S shows that a
motorcycle can be competitive in racing, while offering
comfort and reliability for the street." The bike used for
the race is actually an Endurance racer setup for running 24
hour races which makes its strong finish more impressive.
The bike was further handicapped by Daytona's long straights
where it continually bumped against its rev limiter at 156
mph. Team captain Berthold Hauser stated "The R1100S has
proven an exceptional platform on which to build a
road-racer, providing exceptional performance, while never
retiring from practice or a race with a technical problem."
Now, for those of you who would contend that the Japanese
have been doing this for years, let the Germans have their
day in the sun.
TRADE WAR TARGETS
MOTORCYCLISTS
There is a trade war brewing between the US and Europe
and it appears that somehow motorcyclists are going to be
drawn into the fight. The dispute stems from the European
Union's threat to ban the importation of US beef treated
with growth hormones. These hormones are used by ranchers to
increase the size and speed of growth in their cattle but is
still controversial because of possible health risks for
consumers. In response to their threat the US has announced
that it will impose huge tariffs on some European products.
Now 70 of the 75 products are food related but the last item
on the list is motorcycles of 500cc or less in size. The
proposed tariff would go into effect in June of this year
and effectively double importation costs creating steep
rises in the prices at your local dealer. Since the tariff
would only hit bikes under 500cc, it would not affect makers
of large road bikes&emdash;instead focusing on European
off-road makers like KTM or Husqvarna and scooter builders
like Italjet. The AMA is talking to trade officials about
removing the bikes from the list of affected
products.
DUCATI GOES PUBLIC
You now have the opportunity to own part of Ducati
without ponying up the cash for A whole bike. In late March
Ducati went public on the New York stock exchange. Members
of Ducati's board were on hand for the opening of the day's
trading and rang the starting bell. Over 90 million shares
where offered, being traded under the symbol "DMH" and have
been holding in the range of $30 a share. "We are a brand in
our infancy," said Federico Minoli, CEO of Ducati, in an
interview with Reuters. "I think there is enough space to
erode the Japanese market share, and we will grow in
accessories.
VIRGINIA GUARANTEES
ACCESS FOR BIKES
The state of Virginia has now asserted itself as being
very biker friendly with the passage of new legislation in
their state house. The law which was signed by Virginia
governor James Gilmore bans the creation of any law which
would prohibit the use of motorcycles on any road built or
maintained by state or federal funds. Patterned after a
federal regulation the law now extends protection to state
roads. The law has the full support of the AMA, Virginia
Coalition of Motorcyclists, and ABATE of Virginia. The law
is being lauded as a landmark since Virginia is the first
state to pass such regulation, though there is a similar
bill making it's way through the Illinois Senate. "This
marks the first time any state has taken the step of
protecting motorcyclists in this way," said Sean Maher of
the AMA. "It is a landmark step in recognizing the rights of
legally licensed motorcyclists to operate their machines on
public roads." No word whether any similar bill may be
introduced into the Minnesota legislature.
GP TO ALLOW FOUR
STROKES?
In a recent meeting between the FIM, manufactures, and
promoters of Grand Prix and World Superbike, there was
discussion of the introduction of four stroke motors into
500cc Grand Prix racing. The president of the FIM, Francesco
Zerbi, said "Progress cannot be stopped, but it may be
guided. We are here to discuss all the issues in relation
with the proposed new rules for the 500cc Grand Prix class."
This addition of large displacement four-stroke bikes into
the all two-stroke field of GP racing could cause a blurring
of the lines between GP, normally reserved for purpose built
machinery, and Superbike racing which is based on production
machines. As for the possible combination of the two series
into one, Zerbi said, "I see no benefit to any party
currently involved in the separate championships if there
were to be an amalgamation. The result of their adding up
would be less than the result coming from their current
separate status." The opinions with many seems to be
opposition to the rule change since each series serves it
purpose well in current form. The final decision about the
proposed rule will not be made for some months.
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