The gang's all here

The gang's all here

2009 Tokyo Motor Show

Motorcycle-USA’s Ken Hutchison is at the Tokyo Motor Show this week, and he’s got a round-up of the show at MC-USA;s web site. You can read it here. I have. What a bore-fest this thing sounds like.

Kawasaki’s not even there. Harley-Davidson is there, but Buell Motorcycles make up a big part of their display, which makes them look sort of stupid. Again. I’m surprised they didn’t force Erik to go, and just stand there weeping publicly, while Harley executives bashed a couple of 1125Rs with sledgehammers.

Other than that, it sounds like everybody was showing off “Green power, maaaan!” and “Save the planet, maaaan!” technology.

Over at Yamaha the big presentation featured the ‘Art of Engineering’. In this philosophy the hot topics were the Smart Power scooter and bicycle-styled experimental vehicles on display in front of the true core of Yamaha’s business: The V-Max R1, Road Star cruiser, new YZ450F and, of course, the world-conquering YZR-M1 MotoGP machine.

Apparently everybody there was really agog over this:

Yamaha ECf

Wow. I just keep looking at it, because I keep trying to think of something I hate more. And I can’t.

I have no doubt the Japanese love it, though. They probably think it’d be a really fun way to wind down after finishing their latest rape comic. Or maybe an easy way to zip home instead of being packed into the subway like sardines during their commute. Just a silent, environmentally-friendly way to get home, followed by watching a TV game show that involves contestants sitting in freezing water while their testicles are crushed in an electric vice.

Yeah, the Japanese enjoy a lot of weird crap, so I bet they adore this monstrosity.

Three Guys, a girl and a side valve

Three Guys, a girl and a side valve

Loramski

Speedway legend Mark Loram has reluctantly announced his retirement from the sport, due to on-going complications with a serious leg injury sustained in a track crash at Ipswich in 2007. Over the past couple of decades, Loram has established himself as a real fans favourite, mainly due to his incredible ability to overtake the opposition, which combined with his infamous inability to "gate," ensured that he was one of the most exciting riders to watch.

The highlight of Mark's career was undoubtedly lifting the Speedway Grand Prix World Title in 2000. Following his triumph, I can remember reading an article in one of the mainstream bike magazines about Mark and the journalist was knocked out by how chilled out and down to earth he was compared to the usual egotistical prima donnas in Moto GP who he normally interviewed.

We salute you Loramski for all the entertainment you have provided over the years, and wish you good luck and good health for the future.

Photos: Philip Lee Harvey (Top) Speedway Star

Early Pictures

I have a request for all the viewers of the site. Please send me your pictures! This site is not just the Wing Nuts, but belongs to all of you as well. We get a lot of emails and comments requesting info and we do what we can to comply, but we don't have all the answers. I'm really looking for early club and race pictures. Mostly 40s and 50s. So if you can help, I'd appreciate it. I am trying to track down an early picture of the Galloping Goose patch from the 40s. It was triangle shaped. I've got a viewer who is really trying to find photographic evidence of this elusive patch. Any help would be appreciated.

FHJ