| Author |
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Court
| | Posted on Wednesday, June 27, 2012 - 08:50 am: | 
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The VR-1000 program was the epitome of how NOT to manage a program.
Their legacy is $50,000,000 pisses away, a corporate embarrassment and a 47 minute pit stop filmed by Harleywood Productions.
At least, that day, it was great to watch the Britten do it's thing . . . . |
Chauly
| | Posted on Wednesday, June 27, 2012 - 12:48 pm: |
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Karin and I were across from the Harley pits, and here comes Pascal, smokin' fast. He's on the bike, engine running. He's cut the engine off. He's gotten off the bike. He's sitting on the wall. He's taken his helmet off. He's peeled open his leathers' top. He's Pascal Pissed-Off... |
Firstbuell
| | Posted on Wednesday, June 27, 2012 - 02:08 pm: |
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Chauly sez, [edited]
".....He's Pascal Pissd-Off....."
too funny! |
Finedaddy1
| | Posted on Wednesday, June 27, 2012 - 05:54 pm: |
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Looks like I'm gonna have to buy a copy or RW, I need a fix! |
Tbolt98
| | Posted on Wednesday, June 27, 2012 - 10:47 pm: |
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From Geoff May's facebook page....
" Affordable models for everybody, are coming in the near future to a store near you!"
 |
Rohorn
| | Posted on Thursday, June 28, 2012 - 01:20 am: |
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I wonder if the people who know the VR program well enough are free to talk about it - and if, say, Mat Oxley could write a good book about it. |
Danger_dave
| | Posted on Thursday, June 28, 2012 - 02:08 am: |
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Britten by Big Daves Pics, on Flickr |
Court
| | Posted on Thursday, June 28, 2012 - 09:03 am: |
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quote:Karin and I were across from the Harley pits, and here comes Pascal, smokin' fast. He's on the bike, engine running. He's cut the engine off. He's gotten off the bike. He's sitting on the wall. He's taken his helmet off. He's peeled open his leathers' top. He's Pascal Pissed-Off...
I saw what was happening and, in a moment of clarity, knew to get the hell out of the picture. Someone's ass was going down for that one. Perhaps one of racings greatest moments of pure incompetence.
Book won't happen. The egos that caused many of the problems haven't changed. Quoting one of them, at a "secret" off site meeting . . . "Over my dead body . . . . ' . . to the suggestion of adapting a Buell-born idea.
That very Britten in the photo I had a most interesting encounter with.
quote:God bless Jim Hunter, the well-funded enthusiast who gave me one of the most memorable experiences of my life: racing the Britten. Hunter originally asked if I could ride the bike at Daytona during the vintage weekend preceding the AMA national, doing a few parade laps on the revolutionary bike with the booming tone. Third-gear power wheelies were no problem, and then Andrew Stroud showed the world how New Zealand makes a twin win.
I was standing there, in the hot pits, when the AMA guy came over and refused to let the Britten on the track displaying #1. They had 60 seconds to grid or park it.
As the crew scrambled trying to figure something out . . . I was standing there with Dano Lang from Buell and remembered I had a roll of Scotch 33+ black electrical tape in my back pocket.
I whistled over the wall and when then crew member turned around, tossed him the roll.
The bike went out as something like #77 . . . . .
Fun times.
Two years later I had dinner with Jim and Kirsteen Britten and I think Jim still owns two of the Brittens.
Great memories . . .
Kirsteen with the first book . . . . well, not the FIRST book . . . remind me to tell you sometime.
:-) |
Danger_dave
| | Posted on Thursday, June 28, 2012 - 09:32 am: |
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Yeah - one of my good friends is in that book. I got some stories too. None I'm prepared to put online. :-0 |
Court
| | Posted on Thursday, June 28, 2012 - 09:46 am: |
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>>>None I'm prepared to put online. :-0
Ditto
:-) |
Finedaddy1
| | Posted on Thursday, June 28, 2012 - 12:50 pm: |
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Any speculation on the "Adventure" type bike?
What's the engine layout gonna be? Single, Twin?
I've got the itch for an adventure bike and don't want to screw up and buy something now and regret doing it after Erik comes out with his. |
Ratbuell
| | Posted on Thursday, June 28, 2012 - 09:54 pm: |
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Look at an XB.
Then, the quantum leap to the 1125 platform.
Then, the quantum leap to the RS.
Given the pattern...10-12 months doesn't seem like much of a waiting period to me  |
Crackhead
| | Posted on Thursday, July 05, 2012 - 01:48 pm: |
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Ok, here is a big question, that depending on the answer might help with the production count.
With cars, you can have 1 model with different trim levels. Example: Subaru Impreza, it comes in 2.0i, WRX and STI trim levels. The Chassis are different, the suspension is different, the interior is different, the entire drive train is different. There is 4 different chassis codes for one model based on body style and track width.
I an not sure what the official (used by the EPA, state titles, ect) EBR bike model and trim names are but, it looks like the model is "1190" and the trims are RS, RX, SX, AX.
Think of it as the complete opposite of HD models. |
Jaimec
| | Posted on Friday, July 06, 2012 - 10:27 am: |
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I'm thinking:
XB12R
XB12S
XB12Ss
XB12X
XB12XT
XB12STT
Not just "trim level" changes in those bikes. The "R" and the "S" shared a "frank" whereas the latter four shared a different "frank." The "R" and "S" were also two VERY different looking bikes.
The Ss and STT were essentially the same bike with different "trim" and the argument could be made that the X and XT were the same bike with different trim... but it really is more complicated than that.
The "S" and "Ss" looked like the exact same bike to the untrained eye, but they were also very different from one another. |
Xl1200r
| | Posted on Friday, July 06, 2012 - 11:03 am: |
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Think of it as the complete opposite of HD models.
Sounds like the exact same thing as HD models, lol. |
Jaimec
| | Posted on Friday, July 06, 2012 - 06:38 pm: |
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I remember somewhere a quote regarding the HD Superbike effort... something along the lines of Harley engineers arguing well-established rules of physics...
Does anyone remember the exact quote and the source? |
Reducati
| | Posted on Friday, July 06, 2012 - 07:03 pm: |
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"chrome will bring it home"..willie g |
Rohorn
| | Posted on Saturday, July 07, 2012 - 12:22 am: |
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Was told that the styling dept wouldn't allow any sort of ram air on the VR.... |
Crackhead
| | Posted on Monday, July 09, 2012 - 07:57 am: |
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Think of it as the complete opposite of HD models.
Sounds like the exact same thing as HD models, lol.
HD thinks that every time they throw a different piece of chrome on a bike that it is a new bike, aka new model. But they should be saying there is a new trim level to the same bike. |
Xl1200r
| | Posted on Monday, July 09, 2012 - 09:30 am: |
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HD thinks that every time they throw a different piece of chrome on a bike that it DOES make a new trim level, in a way.
Yes, they refer to them as a Sportster Low and a Nightster, but they are both Sportsters, everyone at HD and everyone in the showroom knows that, and it's reflected in the model designations - XL1200L vs XL1200N. Same is true for the other model families. |
Jaimec
| | Posted on Monday, July 23, 2012 - 05:30 pm: |
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Funny how we were just discussing the Foggy Petronas' FP1:
http://www.asphaltandrubber.com/bikes/momoto-mm1-p etronas-fp1/ |
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