Silly Season Part 1
Hey Everyone,
Well the Moto GP season wrapped up, World Superbike has been closed out for 2 weeks, AMA motocross and supercross doesn’t begin for another 6 weeks and AMA roadracing hasn’t even released their full schedule yet. We are officially entering silly season. This doesn’t simply apply to the various motorcycle racing bodies. Motorcycle dealerships worldwide are closing out their 2011 inventories in expectation of the 2012 models. Pretty soon we’ll all be driving to work before the sun rises and going home after it sets….in short…it’s silly season behind the parts counter as well! So in my boredom I’m simply going to post a few random “almost year end” ramblings until something more exciting comes along (or gets traded in).
-Apparently this scooter talk isn’t just an internet rumor. BMW Motorrad has OFFICIALLY added the C600 and C650 scooters to their model lineup. Seen here:
Search as I might I haven’t been able to dig up any details on the engines except that they uses a 60HP twin of some sort of configuration.
-Ducati officially released the new 1199 Panigale superbike this week as well:
http://www.1199panigale.ducati.com/en/
The 1199 is still going to be a 2 cylinder “L” engine (contrary to rumors they might be going the V-4 cylinder route) BUT this new engine will have a SUPER short stroke and really big bore to achieve high RPM. Additionally the engine is now the main frame member and the headlights are LED’s! This means what between the 1199 and the S1000, come spring BMW Ducati Husqvarna motorcycles of Atlanta will sell the two most powerful and feature packed superbikes on the planet.
OK now that we’ve wrapped up new models let’s cover new gear:
-The Arai Signet is back and updated. It’s now called the Signet Q and features the new wider visor and cutaway, better vents similar to those found on the RX-Q and some incredible new colors. Seen here:
http://www.araiamericas.com/default.aspx?pageid=57#/helmets/moto/signet-q
-We have finally received the full size run on Klim Latitude and Badlands riding suits. This is an adventure touring suit similar to a BMW Rallye suit but it is one of the few on the market that have a waterproof OUTER layer rather than an inner liner. Seems a lot of apparel manufacturers are going back to the waterproof outer layers because the new materials still allow the waterproofing to breath in hotter temperatures. Check em out here:
http://www.klim.com/en-us/moto
