Ups & Downs
Ups & Downs
DOWN: To 80th Anniversary BMW Rockster buyers, for being stayat-home scaredy-cats. Here was the deal: Buy a limited-run “Edition 80,” and roiled into the $16,490 purchase price was a chartered jet ride to Germany in the company of Beemer VIPs, followed by a factory tour and bike pick up, then a fiveday guided ride through the Alps ending at the big 80th anniversary shindig in the Black Forest, with the bike shipped home for local delivery. Fun or what?! But the program was shot down when U.S. buyers, citing terrorism concerns, balked at the air travel involved. Nervous Nellys can now purchase the bikes stateside for $13,900-and wonder forever about the ride of a lifetime that might have been.
UP: To Indiana, for finally giving off-road enthusiasts a lawful place to ride. This past June, the Hoosier state opened its first off-highway vehicle park, Redbird State Riding Area (www.redbirdsra.com). The former coal mine offers more than 20 miles of hilly trails and is located on the border of Greene and Sullivan counties near the town of Dugger. Federal grants, off-road registration fees and daily use charges fund the facility.
UP: To the TV news show “60 Minutes II,” for uncharacteristically keeping its hatchet holstered. A recent segment on freestyle motocross was fair and balanced, with the reporter actually having a good time interviewing FMX high-flyer “Cowboy” Kenny Bartram. Who says there’s no intelligent programming on television these days?
