Ups & Downs

Ups & Downs

UP: To Norma “Duffy” Lyon, for choosing Harley-Davidson as the subject of her annual butter-yes, butter-sculpture. A popular exhibiter at the lowa State Fair, the 74-year-old Toledo resident and mother of nine whipped up a 100th Anniversary V-Rod. As the detailing suggests, Lyon takes months to research, sketch and sculpt her projects, and uses a whopping 500-600 pounds of butter. Past creations include “Elvis,” “The Last Supper” and the “Peanuts” characters.

UP: To our own Nick lenatsch and his book, Sport Riding Techniques, for becoming the best-seller in Amazon.com’s Motorsports category. Nick’s book, now in its second printing, outsold all other motorcycle and car titles to claim the number-one spot. Also in the top 15: More Proficient Motorcycling by David Hough, A Twist of the Wrist and A Twist of the Wrist 2 by Keith Code, and Pro Motocross and Off-Road Motorcycle Riding Techniques by Donnie Bales and Gary Semics. We’re encouraged by the trend. It suggests more riders are actively developing their skills for both safety and speed, which is good for them and good for the sport of motorcycling.

DOWf To Harley-Davidson, for hitting a clinker in the big finale of its 100th Anniversary celebration. A special “mystery headliner” was supposed to close a concert for 200,000-plus of the faithful gathered at Milwaukee’s Veterans Park. Who would it be? ZZ Top, Springsteen, U2, Aerosmith, Mellencamp, maybe the Stones? Er, not quite. When the curtain came up it, there was aging pop diva Elton John, who did not endear himself to the rapidly dwindling crowd by saying, “I’d sing a motorcycle song, but I don’t have one.” Commenting on Harley’s odd booking, one wit suggested, “Hey, maybe they couldn’t get Lionel Ritchie...”