Etc.
etc.
KEEP ON TRUCKIN’
Southern California-based Galpin Motors has inked a deal with 1998 AMA Supercross Champion Jeff Emig to produce a signature-model Ford F-150. Featuring N-Style graphics, custom wheels and tires, a 3-inch suspension lift and spray-on bedliner, the 5.4-liter Triton V-Eight-powered truck will be known as the “Jeff Emig Signature Series F-150.” Price is $31,995. For more
information, contact Shane Stanley at 818/787-3800 or galpinmotocross@ aol.com. In related news, AMA roadrace sponsor Chevrolet will feature Vance & Hines Ducati riders Troy Bayliss and Steve Rapp in its 2001 S-10 pickup catalog. Reportedly, more than 800,000 copies of the catalog will be distributed nationwide.
BMW GOES BIG
According to a report in Britain’s Motor Cycle News, BMW’s flat-Twin R1100R, RUOOS, R1100RS and R1100RT will soon sport the increased displacement and added performance of the R1150GS. A more stylish link and an updated shock for the Telelever front end are also predicted. As for the R1200C custom, expect a ground-up re-do next year.
GOODBYE, FRANTISEK
Former Jawa factory roadracer Frantisek Stastny has died at age 72. Born in the small Czechoslovakian village of Kochanky, 50 miles north of Prague, Stastny began his career on a 125cc DKW, then “remodeled” an old Norton 500 to resemble a Czech-made Blesk Thunderbolt, as foreign-made motorcycles were not permitted in national events. Stastny also competed on the world level. He won the 1966 East German Grand Prix, and finished fourth in that year’s 500cc World Championship.
NEWS FROM ITALY...
• Bimota made a massive effort to produce enough Suzuki TL1000-engined SB8s to satisfy FIM World Superbike homologation. That, combined with the fact that the SB8 and the DB4 are not selling as hoped, has once again put the tiny Italian bike-maker on the brink of bankruptcy. There is, however, hope: A new partner poured in fresh cash, and Ducati contracted Bimota to manufacture the MFI900e.
• Gianfranco Castiglioni, brother of Cagiva President and CEO Claudio Castiglioni, left the motorcycle business when things at Ducati went sour. He now owns Franco Tosi Industries, which produces enormous steamand gasturbine power units. It can mill 30-footlong, 30-ton steel shafts within Vioooth of an inch! Gianfranco also owns an aluminum foundry that specializes in “polycasting.” Don’t be surprised if he re-enters the motorcycle industry soon, this time as a vendor.
• Ducati’s much anticipated replacement for the aging 996 will be unveiled this fall. The engine will be more compact, with more advanced and efficient thermodynamics, a narrower included valve angle and cleaner-profile combustion chambers. It will also have more oversquare bore-and-stroke dimensions (around 102 x 61 mm) and have its 90-degree Vee turned slightly backward, more like a real Vee than the current L.
• A new Vespa, powered by a 150cc four-stroke Single, will soon head Piaggio’s U.S. comeback. Piaggio is the top manufacturer of two-wheelers in Europe, and was recently purchased by German banking giant Deutsche Morgan Grenfell.
• Piaggio-owned Gilera will also see new life-and not just as an alternative scooter brand. Gilera is one of the great names in motorcycling, its 500cc Fours having won many races and championships, and set world speed records.
• Piaggio also tried to add Moto Guzzi to its portfolio, but was rebuffed by Aprilia. Gilera and Guzzi would have made a helluva pair. In the old days, the two factories were located just 20 miles apart, and competition was fierce.
