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I keep telling around that riding a motorcycle is better than therapy. This guy is just the proof...

According to the administrator of the brand, following the first reunion that took place yesterday, KTM will survive and will continue. Obviously, major changes are programmed. As usual, they will delocalize more of the production outside of Austria. Typical. Similar to Audiomick, I never liked the chiseled looks of their motorcycles. Personally, looking at the KTM bikes yesterday, I think they have too many models built around the same engine. Such as the 390cc; they have at least four or five different variations on that same powerplant.

I remember that one of my colleague purchased a Honda Goldwing the first year they came out. We were all proud of ourselves on our various Kawasaki triples, Suzuki T350 or T500, Yamaha RDLC... But the Goldwing is still here today, and going extremely strong. Same for the Yamaha 500 XT when it came out. Nobody thought it would be a success. Of course, the GS took everyone by suprise. Who knew it would become what it is today... Those could have easily been a nanar too...

Today was the first reunion of the KTM creditors with the administrator; Amongst various cost cutting measures, the creditor's consortium have called for exiting MotoGP; they did not offer any time line, so at this point, nobody knows if this concerns 2025. Two days ago, the owner of the Tech 3 team, Hervé Poncharal, gave an interview to a French specialized media, and said that for all he knew, everything would continue as programmed. He, however, understands that development will necessarilly be impacted. He said that if push comes to shove, he hopes they will at least have the possibility to race with the 2024 bikes, modified to suit the 2025/2026 regulations. He also said that he continues to be commited to the KTM project as the partnership between KTM and Tech 3 runs until 2026. There have been some rumors that Ducati was trying to snatch Pedro Acosta to put him on a VR46 bike, axing Franco Morbidelli in the process. Anyhow, if KTM was to not participate in MotoGP from 2025, it would certainly be bad. Tech 3 would be furloughed, and four top riders would be without a machine. I read from an unconfirmed source, that Ducati could step in to provide Tech 3 with two GP, not sure if 23 or 24, should it come to that. Dorna is more than likely working on a plan B. Last, the deal from Liberty Media to purchase Dorna did not close as expected today. The European regulator said that he wanted to continue to look into it.

you guys are in the South hemisphere.... you can't brag about it lol....

Angelique? ah, ah, your partner has a French name... lol! Meilleurs vœux pour les fêtes!

First, let's define what a nanar means in French; it is a coloquial adjective that is used for a variety of contexts. For example, you could say that a movie is a nanar (nobody went to see it). In the context of motorcycles, a nanar is not necessarily a "bad" product. So what is a "nanar"? -a motorcycle that did NOT reach any commercial success; -because of its look; too futuristic, too retro, too strange, -inadequate technology, engine architecture, capacity, -good product but launched at the wrong time, too early, too late. Feel free to give your own examples of what you deem is a nanar: Honda Pacific Coast, Münch Mammut (some of you may remember this one), Yamaha GTS, Honda VT Keep in mind that a "nanar" is not pejorative in this case. It is mainly a product that did not encounter success. I think in the US they may call it a failure, but maybe a "dude" would be a better analogy? In any case, the Moto Guzzi Quota is in this category. Guzzi launched it after Laverda released their OR Atlas, Cagiva its Elephant. Confirmed by Mike Haven when he saw my Quota, he was a Guzzi dealer at the time, nobody wanted them. They had to discount them heavily to clear the stock.

As long as you don't get stopped by the authorities, or caught in an accident, or going at really excessive speeds, you should be safe from prosecution. However, be aware that rental companies usually provide the authorities with your address, and country of residence. There are a few caveats as the driver is the one that should be fined, and for a motorcyclist, they can't prove it was you under the helmet. But if the Gendarmes/Carabinieri stop you, depending on the fault, they may fine you on the spot. Now they can't remove your driver's license since it is from the US. The last time I rented a car in France, Hertz automatically debited my credit card a few weeks after my stay, invoking a fine from the French authorities, without providing any tangible proof that the vehicle I had rented had was involved. I disputed the amount charged by Hertz USA on behalf of Hertz France, and the charge was reversed. However, one of my neighbor did receive a letter from the French ticket collection company, for overspeeding. The car he was using had been rented in Spain, and he said that he was in France that day, on the highway where the radar caught him. He was not charged by the rental company, maybe because the fine was French and the rental Spanish. He did not pay the fine, because all the narrative was in French, and he is not supposed to understand it. Maybe in the future, with AI, they will be able to send the same collection letter in various languages. Also, as an aside, I was stopped at the frontier between Germany and The Netherlands, because my head beam was not working. I was not fined, but I had to fix it before they let me continue.

Just rode to the new Guzzi dealership to check things out. The nice looking V85TT has sold since my last visit. The one with the Blue Red and White livrée. All the KTM motorcycles have incredible discounts, up to 5000 USD less on the price tag... Even their best sellers have discounts. So if you ever thinking about purchasing a KTM, it seems that now is the time. According to some of the media, the worker' salaries and end of year bonuses will not be paid before January 2025. Things are difficult.

That's what I was led to believe. Maybe he only got the V7's. But I will ask him if he got any V100 too. I am guessing the major difference with those are the electronics. From what I understand, the manufacturers, such as Ducati, have proprietary software and tools that you can't get if you are not a Ducati representant. In a way, we are lucky with our older motorcycles which never evolve and do not require software updates.

The photography is great, the narration just there to punctuate the story. This is a great one...

I will let you know how much the seller wants for it, just in case... The one below sold for 13k USD. By the way, if you look at the pics, it has the exact same black faced Speedo/Odometer.

@PJPR01 I forgot to tell you; Davey said that the Moto Guzzi dealer on the 59 in Houston, brings the bikes for service at MPH. They don't do the service in house. I am not sure if that applies to Wild West Motoplex.

Went back today, and got a few more facts: The Speedometer/Odometer is clearly showing Veglia Borletti; Possibly black faced so it would not be confused with a metric one, on the assembly line? were those Daytona equipped with Koni rear shock? This Daytona is from 1993; The current owner purchased it used, and never rode it. This is why there is no registration. The bike came to MPH because they could not get it started. Davey explained that someone replaced the fuel pump (Weber Marelli), but reinstalling the fuel hoses, they managed to block the fuel flow, and after multiple attempts to start it, they burned the fuel pump. Davey has replaced the fuel pump, and is replacing all the fuel lines. The bike starts immediately now. Davey said that the owner has not requested to replace the distribution belt. The bike only has 8+k miles, but chances are, the belt is the one installed in 1993, 31 years ago, soon 32. He said the owner only wants to spend minimum amount of money since he wants to sell it. I don't know you guys, but personally, if I wanted to sell a motorcycle that has not run for a while, I would make sure I am in a position to confirm everything has been checked.

If you scrub through the best review I could find about the Daytona, at 3:48 into the video you have a view of the instruments. The odometer is not similar to the one on the Daytona at Mike's MPH; However, the bike shown has an odometer in km and speed in km/h. The one at Mike's has dual units, miles and kilometers. I remember from the old days, that one of my friend who had purchased a Commando directly from UK, had to change from miles to km to get it registered in France.