The Kneeslider

Doers Builders and Positive People

Japan’s Motorcycle Wars

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Japan's Motorcycle Wars delves deep into the history of the Japanese motorcycle business going well beyond the stories of the now successful big 4 brands everyone seems to know. For all of the impact Japanese motorcycles have had here in the U.S. and around the world, there hasn't been a scholarly book written about how the business started and grew, until now. Dr. Jeffrey … [Read more...]

Harley Davidson’s Global Expansion Deserves Praise

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Last Friday, Harley Davidson announced their acquisition of the Italian motorcycle manufacturer, MV Agusta, and many have weighed in on the pros and cons of the move, some think it's a good idea, others aren't so sure. If you haven't made up your mind, consider what else is going on in the U.S. business environment and then look at Harley's move again. Over the weekend, … [Read more...]

Harley Davidson Acquiring MV Agusta – It’s Official

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We wrote about the rumor before, here's the story now that it's official: Milwaukee, Wis., July 11, 2008 -- Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE: HOG) today announced the signing of a definitive agreement to purchase the Italian motorcycle maker MV Agusta Group (MVAG). Under the agreement, Harley-Davidson will acquire 100 percent of MV Agusta Group shares for total consideration of … [Read more...]

Which Motorcycle Engine Technology Will Win?

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Which alternative, if any, to the gasoline 4 stroke engine do you think is most likely to become dominant in future motorcycles? Will we continue as we are now or adopt one or more of the alternatives? Over the last several years, we've highlighted many motorcycles built with all sorts of power plants, some of those bikes worked and looked great, some were a bit more … [Read more...]

Roehr 1250sc Price Set

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Roehr Motorcycles has set the price of their new Roehr 1250sc at $49,995. When we last wrote about it in May, the final specs and pre production images were on their site but the price was still up in the air. Coming in at roughly $50k is about right based on what this bike is, a low production, hand built, 180 horsepower, supercharged V-twin American sportbike. Looks pretty … [Read more...]

Ducati Apollo V4

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The Berliner brothers, who owned Berliner Motor Corporation and used to import Ducati into the U.S., among several other brands, in 1959 asked Ducati to build a motorcycle to compete with Harley Davidson for the police motorcycle business. After some discussion, Ducati finally agreed to the idea and a few years later produced the V4 powered Apollo. The engine displaced 1256cc … [Read more...]