Last weekend we had a pretty tragic accident out in the hill country down here in San Antonio. I just learned of this today, but two very experienced riders hit head on and were both killed instantly. I knew one of the riders, not very well, but enough to really hit home. This just goes to show you never know, and I just want it to be a reminder of the unexpected things that can happen on the street. Be safe and keep it shiny side up gentlemen.
This weekend I received a tip from the director of a documentary series on Discovery Turbo entitled, "Twist the Throttle". This documentary is, I quote, "an inside look at 8 of the major and/or most famous motorcycle manufacturers in the world." I took a look real quick and it looks like there will be some pretty intriguing information/footage to check out. Would be nice to take a last look at the US plants before they move production over to the super plant in Japan later this year.
I suggest you guys make the jump at the end of the press release; FYI, the site is not very FireFox friendly. IE seemed to work okay with it.
Here is the press release:
Lake Elsinore, CA (March 4, 2008)—Presented for free in full HD on Discovery Turbo Online starting Monday, March 10th, Twist The Throttle delivers an extraordinary, behind-the-scenes perspective of what makes eight of sport motorcycling’s legendary brands tick.
With over four hours of material online, Twist The Throttle takes its audience inside Honda, Yamaha, Kawasaki, Suzuki, BMW, Ducati, MV Agusta, and Bimota like never before. Multiple webisodes encapsulate each manufacturer’s remarkable tale: Starting with a trip back in time to reveal the brands’ magical histories, the films evolve to explore never-before-seen footage behind the closed doors of their manufacturing facilities, design centers, and R&D departments, offering an incredible insight into the past, present, and future of the motorcycle world.
Cry Havoc Productions, an award winning independent documentary company which has produced Speed on Two Wheels, Driving Design, and Top Marques, uses their unparalleled knowledge and passion for motorcycling to capture it all in crystal-clear, high-definition video with the kind of quality the sport deserves.
Filmed during a remarkable 36,000-mile journey to four countries on three continents, Twist The Throttle is the most comprehensive documentary series to ever showcase the inner-workings of today’s premier sport bike brands. Completing the adventure, Cry Havoc’s producers take the viewer’s trip full-circle, offering firsthand accounts of what it’s like to ride each brand’s premier sportbikes on some of the best motorcycle roads and racetracks in the world.
Honda Motor Company (HMC) has decided to end production of motorcycles in the USA beginning in the Spring of 2009. The plans entail moving the motorcycle divisions from plants in Ohio as well as one plant in Japan to an expanded production facility in Kumamoto, Japan. There are currently five plants located in Ohio which make various Honda cars and motorcycles. HMC has stated that there will be no layoffs resulting from the move and that workers will fill other positions within the Ohio operations.
According to President and Chief Executive of Honda of America, Akio Hamada, "This move allows us to improve the competitiveness and appeal of our products by applying the latest technologies and production systems at one efficient location."
Its about that time of the year again guys. That time when I begin thinking of what I can do to improve the appearance of the site, make things easier for you guys, and all around just better the way the site functions. I'm going to be re-writing the way most of the things work on the site, except the forum, that will stay the same. I will redesign the front page and be re-doing all of the other modules such as model specs, media, downloads, etc. If any of you guys have any suggestions or feature requests before I dive head first into this, now is the time to speak out or forever hold your peace...well, at least until I get the re-design bug again.
FYI, its going to take me some time to redo all this stuff, so don't expect it next week either.
Hey guys, just wanted to let you know about a feature that has been added to the garage; Garage Signature Cards. Garage Signature Cards will allow you to embed a dynamically generated image into your signature that contains some information about your ride as well as the main thumbnail. This data is 100% live and generated on every page load.
To add a Garage Card to your signature, simply go to Profile > Forum Profile Information: and then by the signature block, there is a link that says, 'Get Garage Signature Card' which will bring up a window with the available card designs. Then you can easily copy and paste the BBCode provided to insert into your signature.
NOTE: At the moment, the 'Total Spent' portion of the card is not functioning correctly.
So Honda updated their site today to include the 2008 models....well, except for the much anticipated 2008 CBR1000RR that was supposed to by officially debuting today, but I see no mention of it. Either way, they do have some info on the 2008 CBR600RR and it looks like they added 2 color schemes: Pearl Orange and Graffiti.
