Etc.

etc.

ROSSI GOLDEN

Helmet-maker AGV presented inaugural MotoGP World Champion Valentino Rossi with a hand-done gold, diamonds and platinum take on its new “Ti-Tech” helmet this past January in recognition of the Italian’s fourth world title. “I am speechless in appreciation of such a fantastic gift,” exclaimed Rossi at the presentation. Along with AGV stylists, goldsmith Selene Gioelli dedicated more than 350 hours to the creation of the helmet. Initial estimates placed its value at $150,000.

READ TO RIDE

How do you promote local planning efforts and develop public support for an 0HV park? How do you offer ideas, resources and suggestions to managing government agencies and private owners of 0HV parks that will enhance ongoing activities and encourage development of others? The answers to these questions and more can be found in Park Guidelines for Off-Highway Vehicles, written by George E. Fogg. Six years in the making, the $45 book is the first to cover design, construction, maintenance, operation and management of off-highway vehicle parks. It’s available from the National Off-Highway Vehicle Conservation Council at 800/348-6487.

CLAIMS WRITTEN RIGHT

Progressive Insurance, the nation’s largest insurer of motorcycles and personal watercraft, has a new 30,000square-foot training center in Tempe, Arizona, where representatives are taught to write estimates and oversee repairs of bikes, ATVs, RVs and watercraft. “Each of these products is unique, and the hands-on training our reps receive is extremely specialized,” says Ben Sheridan, general manager. “The training prepares our reps to handle all aspects of these claims so they can provide the 24-hour, in-person service our customers expect.” Instruction time ranges from two days to one week.

RIDE FOR LIFE

More than 16,000 motorcyclists participated in the 22 Ride For Kids events last year, raising a record $3.1 million for the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation. “More kids lose their lives to brain tumors than any other cancer,” says Mike Traynor, foundation president. “The motorcycling community is responsible for making the foundation the world’s largest non-governmental source of childhood brain tumor research and family support.” Twenty-six events are planned for 2003. For information, go to www.ride4kids.org.

ROBERTS ONLINE

What’s up with Kenny Roberts Sr.? Well, find out for yourself. The twotime AMA Grand National Champion and three-time 500cc World Champion’s new website, www.teamkr.com, chronicles not only the progress of Banbury, England-based Proton

Team KR, its riders Jeremy McWilliams and Nobuatsu Aoki, and its “principal,” the King himself, but the entire MotoGP world. The site is the work of Sportbike magazine contributor Jason Black’s Redline Media Group, the same outfit charged with www. spencermotorcycles. com, home of the King’s fellow world titleholder Freddie Spencer.

H-D ON THE RISE BRAND-WISE

Harley-Davidson continues to be one of the world’s top trade names, says Interbrand, author of “The World’s Most Valuable Brands,” which is published annually in BusinessWeek. The Motor Company raised its “brand value” by 13 percent this past year, coming in at number 45. Coca-Cola topped the list.