Daily news about motorcycleshttp://news.motorbiker.org/blogs.nsf/en-usWed, 15 May 2013 18:00:00 +0200 Thu, 16 May 2013 08:00:00 +0200

#Elections #Fraud #Pakistan - People sometimes (okay, often) wonder why there's fraud in elections, and how it's possible. The

answer is quite simple: because we make it possible! Transporting the ballot boxes like this on a motorcycle is spelling trouble.... or in any vehicle, in bags.

]]>http://192.168.1.4/Testblogs.nsfdx/pakistan-and-why-do-you-think-there-is-fraud-in-elections.htmNewsMike Wernerhttp://192.168.1.4/Testblogs.nsfdx/pakistan-and-why-do-you-think-there-is-fraud-in-elections.htm?opendocument&commentshttp://192.168.1.4/Testblogs.nsfdx/pakistan-and-why-do-you-think-there-is-fraud-in-elections.htm http://192.168.1.4/Testblogs.nsfdxcomments/pakistan-and-why-do-you-think-there-is-fraud-in-elections.htm http://192.168.1.4/Testblogs.nsfdx/pakistan-and-why-do-you-think-there-is-fraud-in-elections.htm?opendocument&comments Mon, 13 May 2013 08:00:00 +0200

#Bajaj #LML #India - Italian scooter manufacturer LML and Indian manufacturer Bajaj have been at odds for the last seven years, and slugging it out in court. The reason? Bajaj have been granted a patent for an intake system for two stroke engines which improves fuel efficiency and reduce emissions, two much sought-after technologies in today's world.

LML have been claiming that the patent granted to Bajaj was not new, just a minor improvement over existing technology. The Indian courts disagreed, but it took 7 years of, probably very boring, testimonies to come to that conclusion.

Bajaj is over the moon, and LML will challenge the ruling. I think the only real winners were the lawyers.

]]>http://192.168.1.4/Testblogs.nsfdx/india-bajaj-wins-patent-court-case-against-lml---7-year-struggle.htmNewsMike Wernerhttp://192.168.1.4/Testblogs.nsfdx/india-bajaj-wins-patent-court-case-against-lml---7-year-struggle.htm?opendocument&commentshttp://192.168.1.4/Testblogs.nsfdx/india-bajaj-wins-patent-court-case-against-lml---7-year-struggle.htm http://192.168.1.4/Testblogs.nsfdxcomments/india-bajaj-wins-patent-court-case-against-lml---7-year-struggle.htm http://192.168.1.4/Testblogs.nsfdx/india-bajaj-wins-patent-court-case-against-lml---7-year-struggle.htm?opendocument&comments Thu, 9 May 2013 14:00:00 +0200

#Spain #Court #Compensation - You know that government rarely have the best interest of its citizens in mind. Usually the contrary, as long as they can get rich and/or more powerful, and when they do get caught doing something they shouldn't, or should, they pretend that it wasn't their fault. It's what has been going wrong in the world lately, and you can see that citizens are revolting against it. Enough is enough.

The latest abuse/mis-actions can be seen in Spain. Back in 2007, a Spanish motorcycle rider lost control of his motorcycle because of the potholes in the motorway. The road is that bad that when hitting one of the holes it means the biker can easily get ejected from his bike, which is what happened. This was not a city road, but a motorway, so speeds are higher, and you have less time to react.

More bad luck for the unfortunate motorcyclist, he hit the guardrail which was one of the old, and very unsafe, rails, killing the biker on the spot:..........

...........Click on the headline to continue reading this story.......

]]>http://news.motorbiker.org/blogs.nsf/dx/spain-government-kills-biker-then-balks-at-paying-damages.htmNewsMike Wernerhttp://news.motorbiker.org/blogs.nsf/dx/spain-government-kills-biker-then-balks-at-paying-damages.htm?opendocument&commentshttp://news.motorbiker.org/blogs.nsf/dx/spain-government-kills-biker-then-balks-at-paying-damages.htm http://news.motorbiker.org/blogs.nsf/dxcomments/spain-government-kills-biker-then-balks-at-paying-damages.htm http://news.motorbiker.org/blogs.nsf/dx/spain-government-kills-biker-then-balks-at-paying-damages.htm?opendocument&comments Fri, 3 May 2013 08:00:00 +0200

#Odometer #Rollback #Fraud - The Dutch have gotten a new King, and it looks like they also got some common sense. Last week the Dutch politicians managed to vote on a new law that makes odometer rollback illegal. Odometer rollback is when unscrupulous motorcycle dealers (or private people) rollback the bike's odometer, therefore making it look like there's less mileage on it, thereby raising the price.

In most countries this is an illegal, often criminal, activity, but not in The Netherlands, and it will remain "legal" until January 2014 when the law becomes active...........

...........Click on the headline to continue reading this story.......

]]>http://news.motorbiker.org/blogs.nsf/dx/the-netherlands-odometer-rollback-now-illegal---you-mean-it-was-allowed.htmNewsMike Wernerhttp://news.motorbiker.org/blogs.nsf/dx/the-netherlands-odometer-rollback-now-illegal---you-mean-it-was-allowed.htm?opendocument&commentshttp://news.motorbiker.org/blogs.nsf/dx/the-netherlands-odometer-rollback-now-illegal---you-mean-it-was-allowed.htm http://news.motorbiker.org/blogs.nsf/dxcomments/the-netherlands-odometer-rollback-now-illegal---you-mean-it-was-allowed.htm http://news.motorbiker.org/blogs.nsf/dx/the-netherlands-odometer-rollback-now-illegal---you-mean-it-was-allowed.htm?opendocument&comments Mon, 8 Apr 2013 09:30:00 +0200

#India #BMW #TVS - TVS Motor, India's fourth motorcycle manufacturer, is looking at an expected tie-up with German BMW. KTM are heavy into Bajaj (actually, it's Bajaj who is into KTM), and the partnership/relationship is working fine, so it makes sense for BMW to look for a partner in India.

The alliance would call for a technology collaboration, manufacturing of motorcycles and distribution.

TVS have a range of small displacement motorcycles, typically in the 160 to 180 cc range and are looking to produce more premium motorcycles, while BMW needs better access to the blossoming Indian market...........

...........Click on the headline to continue reading this story.......

]]>http://news.motorbiker.org/blogs.nsf/dx/india-tvs-motor-and-bmw-to-make-joint-venture.htmNewsMike Wernerhttp://news.motorbiker.org/blogs.nsf/dx/india-tvs-motor-and-bmw-to-make-joint-venture.htm?opendocument&commentshttp://news.motorbiker.org/blogs.nsf/dx/india-tvs-motor-and-bmw-to-make-joint-venture.htm http://news.motorbiker.org/blogs.nsf/dxcomments/india-tvs-motor-and-bmw-to-make-joint-venture.htm http://news.motorbiker.org/blogs.nsf/dx/india-tvs-motor-and-bmw-to-make-joint-venture.htm?opendocument&comments Mon, 25 Mar 2013 08:00:00 +0200

#Ossa #GasGas - Spanish GasGas motorcycles are famous the world over for their trial and off-road bikes, and Ossa, a company founded in 1924 (and stopped in 1982) by the former MotoGP star rider's grandfather, Sete Gibernau, are going to make motorcycle together.

Ossa was reborn a few years ago (2009) and has been hammering away trying to make their products sell in an increasingly competitive and difficult market, while GasGas had already been expanding with a factory in Brazil and more to come (talks are for another Latin-America country and one in Asia).

The joint factory for GasGas and Ossa will be using the current GasGas factory in Salt (Girona area) of Spain...........

...........Click on the headline to continue reading this story.......

]]>http://news.motorbiker.org/blogs.nsf/dx/spain-gasgas-and-ossa-to-jointly-make-motorcycles.htmNewsMike Wernerhttp://news.motorbiker.org/blogs.nsf/dx/spain-gasgas-and-ossa-to-jointly-make-motorcycles.htm?opendocument&commentshttp://news.motorbiker.org/blogs.nsf/dx/spain-gasgas-and-ossa-to-jointly-make-motorcycles.htm http://news.motorbiker.org/blogs.nsf/dxcomments/spain-gasgas-and-ossa-to-jointly-make-motorcycles.htm http://news.motorbiker.org/blogs.nsf/dx/spain-gasgas-and-ossa-to-jointly-make-motorcycles.htm?opendocument&comments Thu, 14 Mar 2013 14:00:00 +0200

Sometimes, rare I admit it, you got to love lawyers. In the UK, on a stretch of road on the M42 motorway, the Highways Agency has been using the wrong font for their variable speed limits.

The electronic signs that got placed there in 2006 signal different speed limits according to road conditions and traffic. And there lies the problem: the font used for the electronic signs was too narrow, or at least, not in compliance with the standards set in 2002.

In the mean time, thousands of cars and motorcycles have been fined, and the lawyers want these fines squashed...........

...........Click on the headline to continue reading this story.......

]]>http://news.motorbiker.org/blogs.nsf/dx/uk-1000s-of-speeding-fines-to-be-binned-due-to-wrong-font-used.htmNewsMike Wernerhttp://news.motorbiker.org/blogs.nsf/dx/uk-1000s-of-speeding-fines-to-be-binned-due-to-wrong-font-used.htm?opendocument&commentshttp://news.motorbiker.org/blogs.nsf/dx/uk-1000s-of-speeding-fines-to-be-binned-due-to-wrong-font-used.htm http://news.motorbiker.org/blogs.nsf/dxcomments/uk-1000s-of-speeding-fines-to-be-binned-due-to-wrong-font-used.htm http://news.motorbiker.org/blogs.nsf/dx/uk-1000s-of-speeding-fines-to-be-binned-due-to-wrong-font-used.htm?opendocument&comments Mon, 25 Feb 2013 08:00:00 +0200

The community of motorcycle riders in The Netherlands has expanded quite a lot last year. During 2012 31,500 cloggies (=Dutch people) got their precious motorcycle license, an increase of 18% over 2011. Half of the new bikers are under the age of 24.

The most interesting statistics is that 50% of the under 24 year old new motorcycle riders are female. So more and more girls are taking to riding their own motorcycle, which is a good thing.

The reason for the sudden increase in the number of people taking a motorcycle license... on January 19th, a new motorcycle license law came into effect in Europe, making it impossible for younger riders to go directly to bigger displacement bikes. Younger riders need to progressively move to larger displacement motorcycles, so many wanted to go directly to the big bikes license.

]]>http://news.motorbiker.org/blogs.nsf/dx/the-netherlands-2012-more-motorcycle-riders-many-more-female.htmNewsMike Wernerhttp://news.motorbiker.org/blogs.nsf/dx/the-netherlands-2012-more-motorcycle-riders-many-more-female.htm?opendocument&commentshttp://news.motorbiker.org/blogs.nsf/dx/the-netherlands-2012-more-motorcycle-riders-many-more-female.htm http://news.motorbiker.org/blogs.nsf/dxcomments/the-netherlands-2012-more-motorcycle-riders-many-more-female.htm http://news.motorbiker.org/blogs.nsf/dx/the-netherlands-2012-more-motorcycle-riders-many-more-female.htm?opendocument&comments Wed, 20 Feb 2013 14:00:00 +0200

Are there still any motorcycle manufacturers out there that haven't started selling in India or at least announced that they are planning to? Almost any self-respecting manufacturer has decided to enter this mega market. The last one to make their intentions known that they want to sell their high-end motorcycles is Polaris with their Victory Motorcycles brand.

Polaris are not an unknown name in India, since they sell ATVs, but it'll be a first for Victory. Apparently the Victory motorcycles will be shipped to India, not built there (CBU - Completely Built Unit). Any unit that is not manufactured in India faces enormous import duties (about 110%), so much so that you can expect the already expensive motorcycle to double in price before it reaches the customer's hands...........

...........Click on the headline to continue reading this story.......

]]>http://news.motorbiker.org/blogs.nsf/dx/india-now-victory-motorcycles-to-enter-india.htmNewsMike Wernerhttp://news.motorbiker.org/blogs.nsf/dx/india-now-victory-motorcycles-to-enter-india.htm?opendocument&commentshttp://news.motorbiker.org/blogs.nsf/dx/india-now-victory-motorcycles-to-enter-india.htm http://news.motorbiker.org/blogs.nsf/dxcomments/india-now-victory-motorcycles-to-enter-india.htm http://news.motorbiker.org/blogs.nsf/dx/india-now-victory-motorcycles-to-enter-india.htm?opendocument&comments Wed, 23 Jan 2013 14:15:00 +0200

It's one of those articles which I hate to read. Any motorcyclist who dies while riding is one too many, but when it hits a fellow colleague, it brings home the often deadly consequences when riding a motorcycle.

Kevin Ash, a long term (20 years) motorcycle journalist for the UK based The Daily Telegraph died on the road in South Africa while attending the press launch for the new BMW motorcycle.

Details are still sketchy since the police are currently investigating the accident, but unfortunately Kevin is dead. Tony Gallagher, Editor, The Daily Telegraph, said: “Kevin Ash was the doyen of motorcycle correspondents. Respected throughout journalism and the motorcycle trade, he was also one of our most admired motoring columnists and will be greatly missed by both Telegraph staff and readers. Our thoughts and prayers are with his friends and family at this difficult and sad time.”

You will have noticed I had used many of Kevin's articles in my Friday afternoon roundups.

He'll be missed. RIP.

]]>http://192.168.1.4/Testblogs.nsfdx/kevin-ash-motorcycle-journalist-for-the-telegraph-dies-at-bmw-launch.htmNewsMike Wernerhttp://192.168.1.4/Testblogs.nsfdx/kevin-ash-motorcycle-journalist-for-the-telegraph-dies-at-bmw-launch.htm?opendocument&commentshttp://192.168.1.4/Testblogs.nsfdx/kevin-ash-motorcycle-journalist-for-the-telegraph-dies-at-bmw-launch.htm http://192.168.1.4/Testblogs.nsfdxcomments/kevin-ash-motorcycle-journalist-for-the-telegraph-dies-at-bmw-launch.htm http://192.168.1.4/Testblogs.nsfdx/kevin-ash-motorcycle-journalist-for-the-telegraph-dies-at-bmw-launch.htm?opendocument&comments