Presidential bike on exhibit at Sturgis Motorcycle Museum
Maverick - Oct 23, 2007

A weekly collection of newsworthy items for motorcycle enthusiasts...

 

The Sturgis Motorcycle Museum & Hall of Fame announced it will be exhibiting the “Bush Bike”, the motorcycle built by Desperado owner Jeff Nicklus for President George W. Bush. Jeff Nicklus, the builder and owner of the bike, says the president is the only person who has ever ridden it.

 

The red, white and blue motorcycle has the Preamble to the Constitution airbrushed on the gas tank with the signatures of Bush and others underneath. This one-of-a-kind, custom motorcycle bears the signature of the President of the United States, George W. Bush; First Lady Laura Bush; U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson (TX); U.S. Senator John Cornyn (TX); Texas Governor Rick Perry; California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger; Texas State Senator Tommy Williams; Ed Gillespie, Chairman of the Republican National Committee; David and Howard Bellamy of the Bellamy Brothers Band; and builder Jeff Nicklus.

 

Nicklus used a 2005 model Jeff Nicklus Signature Series Desperado Motorcycle with a specialty built TP Engineering 124 cu. in., 145 hp polished motor; polished 6-speed transmission; chrome wheels in the shape of the “Lone Star” of the State of Texas; and is painted red, white and blue. The Preamble to the Constitution of the United States of American is airbrushed on the tank, with the above signatures underneath.

 

In the future the “Bush Bike” will be offered by the Nicklus Family to the Bush Library Foundation and be placed on permanent loan for display purposes at the Bush Presidential Library.

 

When designing a Harley-Davidson motorcycle, sometimes a paper bag or a bar napkin will suffice for capturing the initial inspiration. Key players in the design process at Harley-Davidson are Louie Netz (left), vice president and director of styling, a 30-year company veteran, and Ray Drea, styling director, along with Willie G. Davidson, grandson of one of the founders of the iconic motorcycle company, who once sketched a design on a brown paper bag he found in a parking lot.

 

For more than 40 years, Davidson has guided the designs of Harley-Davidson motorcycles. The company named its product development center after him, and the design team draws inspiration from "Willie G" as their styling guru. But, at the beginning, the process sometimes starts with an individual who has a dream for a new motorcycle design.

 

From a raw concept to a finished product, a Harley design might go through dozens of changes. Netz, who has worked at the company more than 30 years, describes the process as the "gantlet."

 

Designing a complete motorcycle, such as Harley's V-Rod, can take up to a decade and involve a million test miles. The designers must bridge a generation gap between baby boomers, who turned the Harley brand into an icon, and younger riders who may have no brand loyalty at all. Right now, Harley is designing bikes for release in 2012 and beyond. It's a complex process, but at the end, the bikes have to strike an emotional chord with riders.

 

Everyone on the Harley design team is a motorcycle rider. As part of their jobs, company executives are required to attend motorcycle rallies, including the big annual events in Sturgis, S.D., and Daytona Beach, Fla. "Form follows function," Netz said. "But both form and function report to emotion. It's part of the look, sound and feel of a Harley."

 

Yamaha Motor aims to increase its share in the motorcycle market to 38 % next year from 35% presently, said managing director C.H. Ng.

 

He said the positive market environment and trend towards automatic bikes would augur well for the company in future. “Yamaha managed to improve its market share to 35% in the first eight months of this year against 30.5% for the whole of 2006,” he said at the launch of the Yamaha Ego-S automatic bike. “With this model and further new initiatives the company expects to roll out, we expect to grow our market share to 38% in 2008,” he added. He said the introduction of Yamaha Ego-S was expected to sustain Yamaha’s dominance in the automatic segment, in tandem with the Yamaha Nouvo S.

 

He said the Yamaha Ego-S with its new innovative features would be targeted at buyers below 25 years, entry users and car owners who wanted a commuter for short distance travelling.

 

On the motorcycle industry, he said sales in the first eight months of 2007 had been encouraging. “Demand for motorcycles grew at 5.4% to 329,207 units for the January-August period compared with 312,343 units in the previous corresponding period.

 

BMW has announced it will be participating in the 2009 World Superbike Championship. The new team will be formed during the 2008 season under the direction of BMW's head of motorsports Berti Hauser. BMW's brand new 1000cc inline four cylinder engine will be tested under racing conditions and further developed and improved based on the data gained in these tests. Partner in this project is the company alpha Technik GmbH in Stephanskirchen near Rosenheim/Germany.

 

Peter Müller, BMW's head of motorcycle development, says that the company is well aware that they are engaging in competition with manufacturers that have a considerable advantage on BMW because of their long experience in this sport. Although he does not expect BMW's new Superbike project to be a walk in the park he is confident that in cooperation with alpha Technik, and utilizing their decade-long experience in Superbike racing, BMW will be able to compete successfully with the strong international teams of other brands.

Global warming, high gasoline and oil prices have several companies and many experimenters working on battery powered Motorcycles. Advances in battery technology and super efficient motors have made the electric motorcycle practical. Also fuel cells have started to appear on some models. Thin film fuel cells and other fuel cell technology promise an exciting future.

 

The first mention of electric motorcycles in patents was in the 1860's but we have come a long way since then. Modern electric motorcycles are super efficient, have almost no emissions and require less maintenance.

 

The advantages of electrics are Lower fuel costs. It cost about one tenth as much to ride an electric. They are almost silent with almost no emissions and lower maintenance costs. The disadvantages are higher up front costs, and shorter range.

 

Electric motorcycles eliminate tailpipe emissions, keeping pollution out of the city, and they can be powered with clean sources of electricity. What's more, electricity costs less than gasoline. Most of the advances have been in battery technology.

 

Electric motorcycles are practical today because of advances in battery technology. Lead-acid batteries, which have been used in electric motorcycles in the past, are very heavy, provide a short range, and last for only a couple of years.

 

Some of the commercial models uses nickel metal hydride batteries. This type of battery is lighter than lead-acid batteries and more durable Lithium-ion batteries, in turn, are lighter than nickel metal hydride, and new chemistries have made them durable as well, lasting as long as or longer than nickel metal hydride batteries.

 

These cycles are powerful and capable of high speed. In 2006 the word speed record for the quarter mile was set at 9.1 and 135 miles per hour. Later that year the record was broken again by the same team, this time 8.9 seconds at 145 miles per hour.

 

Most of the production models are limited to 70 miles per hour or less. This is because they are set up for city riding. This helps extend the range, which is one of the weak points now. But prices will drop, batteries will improve and new technology in fuel cells will make the electric cycle and car a practical reality soon.

 

Harley-Davidson, Inc. announced its results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2007. Revenue for the quarter was $1.54 billion compared to $1.64 billion in the year ago quarter, a 5.8 percent decrease. Net income for the quarter was $265.0 million compared to $312.7 million, a decrease of 15.3 percent versus the third quarter of 2006. Third quarter diluted earnings per share were $1.07, a 10.8 percent decrease compared to last year’s $1.20. During the third quarter the Company repurchased $509 million of its common stock.

 

“Harley-Davidson’s third quarter financial results are disappointing but not unexpected. In early September, we announced that we would reduce planned motorcycle shipments for the rest of 2007, and our results for the quarter are consistent with the Company’s revised guidance,” said Jim Ziemer, Chief Executive Officer of Harley-Davidson, Inc.

 

“Worldwide retail sales of Harley-Davidson® motorcycles during the third quarter were virtually flat with the third quarter of 2006, down 0.2 percent. U.S. retail sales continued to be sluggish, finishing down 2.5 percent for the quarter, while retail sales in our international markets grew 8.8 percent during the period,” said Ziemer.

 

For the full year of 2007, the Company expects a shipment range of 328,000 to 332,000 Harley-Davidson motorcycles, compared to 349,196 units in 2006. The Company also expects a modest decline in revenue and lower operating margin in 2007. Diluted earnings per share for the full year are expected to decrease 4 to 6 percent compared to 2006.

 

Looking ahead to 2008, the Company anticipates that the U.S. retail motorcycle environment will continue to be challenging. It expects moderate revenue growth, lower operating margin and diluted earnings per share to grow between 4 and 7 percent compared to 2007.

 

“For the longer term, I am optimistic and confident about our future,” said Ziemer. “Harley-Davidson has a strong business model, and we will continue to manage the Company in a manner that strengthens our brand and contributes to lasting success for all of our stakeholders,” said Ziemer.

 

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