Harley Buys MV Agusta

So it looks like it's official - Harley-Davidson announced that they are acquiring MV Agusta.

In a move to gain access to a broader, growing customer base in Europe and the U.S., motorcycle maker Harley-Davidson Inc. agreed to purchase MV Agusta Group, an Italian motorcycle company, for about $109 million.

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The California "hands free" cell phone 'laws' take effect today - cagers aren't allowed to use a cell phone unless the driver is using a hands-free device.

Personally, I don't see this as having a major impact on safety. But it certainly will drive sales of Bluetooth and other wireless devices.

Now, if I want to use my cell phone while riding my sportbike through the twisties, I guess I'll have to upgrade to the latest cell phone technology - my old trusty Nokia isn't Bluetooth-compatible.

Nice to see the California legislature has all that time on their hands.

As the Times Online newspaper points out, Harley-Davidson management thinks that the next generation (post-boomers, that is) is probably looking for something a little less, shall we say, traditional.

Lots of talk about the future here. Lots of conjecture. From the sound of it, Harley Davidson management is looking for new places to sell, and new people to sell to. A new generation of buyers...

Any changes will not happen quickly enough to compensate for the slide in domestic sales. The group is finding other ways to compete, splitting marketing into two, one concentrating on traditional, more mature Harley customers, as epitomised in last year’s Hollywood movie Wild Hogs, and the other aiming at young men and women riders.

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Jim Giuffra, ER HED, and the AFT Models prep for a hot shot

You simply must cruise on over to kbvp.com and check out this photo.

Our good friend Keith Breazeal of kbvp.com (he's the guy who helps us with video production) attended a very special photo shoot the other day.

Buzz on over to his site and check it out. He's adding a gallery with other photos from the shoot (not to mention the older galleries with photos from local events) so keep checking over the next few days, you never know what pleasant surprises you may find.

I've heard it said that one should not use synthetic oil during break-in, because it can impair proper wear-in of the rings and other moving parts.

Well, my daughter (lucky gal) just bought a new 2007 Pontiac Solstice, and lo and behold, the car comes equipped with synthetic oil from the factory. Corvettes, Vipers, and many others do too!
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So, this must mean that, at least for some new engines, that it's perfectly OK to run synthetic oils from day one. Does this apply to motorcycle engines? Hard to say. I assume that it depends on the manufacturing methods used, but these days, I assume most all automotive engines (including motorcycles, of course) use similar methods and are manufactured to close tolerances and require less rigorous break-ins than did engines made when I was a wee lad. So, the answer is: perhaps.
Enough of my uninformed rambling! What do the oil manufacturers say?

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