Expanded Sturgis Hall of Fame plans gain traction

The Sturgis rally is a massive success by any measure. This year, 650,000 riders and fans descended on the town of Sturgis, South Dakota, which has a population of about 6,600. The rally brings a lot of money to the town, but business-owners have busy brainstorming ways to increase tourism year-round. One draw is the Sturgis Motorcycle Museum and Hall of Fame, and plans to expand it have just been approved.

The expansion is dramatic, and will feature a giant red motorcycle leaping from the façade. Said Dave Davis, Museum Board President:

“The drawings that were made public at last night’s meeting are conceptual in nature, but are based on input from the Board of Directors of the Sturgis Motorcycle Museum. The museum board is ready to move forward into a feasibility study phase to determine the full scope and time frame for making an expanded museum like the one represented here a reality. We want the community and all the constituents of the museum to understand that we are excited about growing our museum into an iconic structure that draws visitors to Sturgis on an ongoing basis.”

From the Hall of Fame’s site:

The Hall of Fame is central to the museum’s vision to “stand out among other motorcycle museums, in that we will not only document the history of the machines, we will document the history of the people who have shaped and changed the sport and lifestyle. This will be a resource and inspiration for future generations.”

The Sturgis redevelopment task force has also discussed ideas for a downtown event plaza, a water park, and a mixed use building.

From Motorcycle-USA

This custom XL1200R has a Karoo up front!

A custom Harley for $13.5k?  That’s what Shaw Speed & Custom delivered to one lucky customer earlier this year.  In fairness, they started with a 2006 XL1200R rather than a brand new bike, but the result is nothing short of drool-worthy.  The bike isn’t wildly stretched or altered, but it has a chunky look that demands closer inspection.

A big part of it is the knobby Metzeler Karoo on the front.  In fact, judging by the comment on Bike Exif, it’s the knobby front that makes the bike so noticeable.  Besides the Karoo, Shaw Speed & Custom lowered the bike,  added a solo seat, and made a custom rear fender.  The wheels and some parts were blacked out, and that’s about it.

It goes to show that with a little imagination—and some creative tire application—you can get a look that will differentiate you from the crowd.  Check out our entire line of tires in our Metzeler Catalog and imagine which tires would look great on your next build.

From Bike Exif

Crash in reverse, it’s more graceful

Rnickeymouse makes a habit of hanging out on Muholland Drive with the cameras rolling.  He winds up recording lots of exotic cars, as well as a few riders who lose control and wind up in the bushes.  In this 60fps, slow-mo compilation, he plays a series of highsides and lowsides in reverse.  The result is a surprisingly graceful ballet, as riders seem to use telekinesis to bring their bucking bikes under control before landing softly on their seats.  It’s magic.

We haven’t crashed in years, and make it a habit of keeping fresh rubber on our bikes.  We check tire pressure consistently too.  Proper tire pressures and fresh rubber won’t prevent crashes, of course, but at least your tires won’t have been a factor!  Check out our latest Metzeler Catalog to see what tires can keep you right-side up.

Metzeler’s Danny Milner proves todays 250s can rip

From an outsider’s perspective, a 250cc dirtbike  might not sound that fast—perhaps ¼ as fast as a 1000cc sportsbike.  They’ll also forever be in the shadow of the 450s.  In reality, a 250 has enough power to keep even expert riders on edge.  220 lbs and 35 high-string horsepower.  That’s a lot.

Danny Milner just released this video, which does a great job showing just how much juice a little 250 has.  Milner is a Metzeler rider from Lang Lang, Australia, and in Octotober won his first E1 Australian 4 Days Enduro championship.  Of the victory, he said the following:

“I’m so stoked to win an A4DE.   Finishing the final moto today was a monkey off the back, that’s for sure. As soon as I finished the final moto, it felt unreal. I was super relieved to have it over with and the Outright win for the first time – which has been a huge goal of mine ever since I was a kid. Taking the win in my home town was also unreal – it felt amazing to have all the family there and all the supporters and all my mates were there too. Winning a four day gets me pretty hungry to do it again. Especially seeing that number one on the bike next year – just makes me want to hang onto it.”

Racing enduros is one of the least expensive ways to get into motorcycle racing, and also puts racers on the bikes for a huge amount of time at each event. Drag racers may expect to spend—at maximum—two minutes racing at  each event.  Enduro racers, on the other hand, can expect to enjoy at least five hours in the saddle at race pace on each day they compete.  Not bad for around $60, plus gas and maintenance.

Milner races on our 6 Days Extreme enduro tires, which is the same model Taddy Blazusiak used to win the inaugural Enduro X competition at the X Games in 2011, and the tire Jonny Walker and Dougie Lampkin used to finish first and second in the Erzberg Enduro earlier this year.

Video by 404shots

1000 people came to the 2013 Metzeler Calendar party

The special guest for the event—which was held at the popular Innvilllà nightclub in Milan and which was attended by more than 1000 motorcycle enthusiasts—was 15-time World Champion Giacomo Agostini, who graces the cover of the Metzeler Classics calendar. The cover shot is Giacomo Agostini and Alan Barnett in 1969 at the start of the Junior TT, which the Italian won on his number 6 MV Agusta.

Enjoy the photos!