Ups & Downs
UPS & DOWNS
ROUNDUP
UP: To the Steve McQueen/on Dutch connection, for continuing to bring in the big bucks. A Scott Super Squirrel painted and pinstriped by Von Dutch and once owned by McQueen sold for a whopping $276,000 at the Antiquorum auction in New York this past June. The lot returned a tidy profit for the consignor, Tonny Sorensen, owner of the Von Dutch Originals clothing company, who paid $44,460 for the 1920s British two-stroke at a 2007 auction. Hey, at least the Scott can be ridden; at the Antiquorum auction, McQueen's Rolex wristwatch went for $234,000!
DOWN: To organizers of the Dakar Rally, for kicking sand in the face of long-time competitor KTM. After eight consecutive victories, KTM was forced to announce its withdrawal from the rally for the foreseeable future after event-organizer ASO declared that from 2010 onward the maximum motorcycle displacement will be 450cc. The announcement took KTM completely by surprise, as the rally begins in just six months and construction of its
factory 690 Rally bikes, in addition to 50 customer units, was already under way. "We are shocked by the organizer's lack of loyalty, above all because of the huge ef forts we've made following the cancellation of the (African) Dakar in 2008 by contribut ing to the new South American edition, even during a period of extreme economic crisis," said KTM Motor Sport Advisor, Heinz Kinigadner.
UP: To Michael Dunlop, for carrying on the family tradition of winning at the Isle of Man IT. Riding a privately en tered Yamaha YZF-R6, 21-year-old Dunlop, son of the late Robert and nephew of the late Joey, took victory in the second of two Supersport races during TT week. In damp conditions, Dunlop got out front early and was never seriously challenged, win ning with a 121.416-mph average speed over four laps of the 37.73-mile Mountain Course. His 125.077 mph final lap, in im proving conditions, was enough to take a
31.01 -second win over veteran Bruce Anstey. Dunlop’s win came 11 years after his father’s last victory in the 1998 125cc TT and nine years after uncle Joey won the same class in 2000.
UP: To Harley-Davidson, for throwing it in reverse. Anyone who’s ever had to push a big, fully loaded Harley dresser to back it out of a downward-angled driveway or parking spot knows how tough that task can be. But relief may be on the way. According to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Harley-Davidson has applied for a patent on a “Reverse Drive Assembly for a Motorcycle.” Though H-D has made no public statements regarding this patent, the company apparently would like to make this system adaptable to all of its current Big Twins. The idea is to provide a rather simple conversion that could allow any Big Twin, touring or otherwise, to have a reverse gear.
