Born To Ride News

Milwaukee Police Celebrate 100 Years Using Harley-Davidson Motorcycles

In recognition of the 100th anniversary of its use of Harley-Davidson motorcycles to patrol the streets of the city of Milwaukee, the Milwaukee Police Department motorcycle unit held its shift change roll call at the Harley-Davidson Museum on May 13 during the first of the Museum’s weekly Bike Nights for 2010. Willie G. and Bill Davidson were joined by MPD Chief Edward Flynn for the ceremony, which was attended by over 40 motorcycle officers and their Harley-Davidson Electra Glide Police motorcycles.

Harley-Davidson Launches Start Something Campaign with Marisa Miller

Harley-Davidson’s Start Something campaign featuring supermodel Marissa Miller, which is designed to encourage men to stop dreaming and start riding this summer, kicks into gear this week around the Maxim Hot 100 magazine issue, including an in-book ad, as well as exposure at the Maxim Hot 100 party in Los Angeles, on the Maxim Web site, social communities and their television program.  

To help get men in gear, Harley-Davidson is also providing a few perks.  Men can register for the chance to win one of hundreds of free Rider’s Edge New Rider Training Courses, as well as an exclusive package featuring the chance for one lucky winner and four friends to:

·                    Participate in the Rider’s Edge New Rider Training Course together

·                    Select the Harley-Davidson motorcycles of their choice

·                    Go on the road trip of a lifetime

·                    Meet supermodel Marisa Miller

The Start Something campaign extends the relationship Harley-Davidson has enjoyed with Marisa Miller, who first linked up with the Motor Company in 2008 to help launch the Harley-Davidson VRSCF V-Rod Muscle motorcycle.  Miller’s role in the Start Something campaign is to encourage…and challenge men to live out their dreams.

In addition to the new Start Something spread featuring Miller and her favorite ride in the Maxim Hot 100 issue, men can also visit h-d.com/start to download exclusive photos of Miller and her motorcycle, as well as view behind-the-scenes video from the ad shoot.

Harley-Davidson XR1200 Is the Perfect Prize for a NASCAR Race Winner

Beer, brats, and cheese are certainly iconic Wisconsin food fare—but for the race winner in the NASCAR Nationwide Series Bucyrus 200 presented by Menards at Road America—what could be more iconic than a brand-new Harley-Davidson motorcycle? In addition to presenting the winner of the June 19 race with a brand-new XR1200 motorcycle, Harley-Davidson is also creating a unique presentation trophy that will be awarded to the winner.

Hines Rebounds to Third Place in Season Points

NHRA Atlanta_Polito

COMMERCE, Ga. (May 16, 2010) – Screamin’ Eagle®/Vance & Hines rider Andrew Hines won the final round of Pro Stock Motorcycle eliminations at the Summit Racing Engineering NHRA Southern Nationals at Atlanta Dragway. Hines rode a Harley-Davidson® V-Rod® to the win over Lucas Oil Buell rider Hector Arana, the second time he has defeated the defending class champion in the final round this season.

The win comes on the heels of a disappointing outing for Hines in St. Louis on May 2, when the three-time champion went out on a red light in the first round.

“This was a big moral victory for the Screamin’ Eagle team after St. Louis,” said Hines, who has now notched 20 Pro Stock Motorcycle wins in his career. “Some of us stayed in St. Louis to test, and we focused on improving our 60-foot time. We started by learning what not to do, but on our last run of testing we had a great pass, so that’s where we started from here in Atlanta, and my worst 60-foot time today was better than any I’ve had all season. We are not racing from behind any more.”

Hines qualified third in Atlanta with an elapsed time (ET) of 6.938 seconds. His Screamin’ Eagle teammate, Ed Krawiec, qualified sixth with a 6.976-second pass. Arana led all qualifiers with a time of 6.913 seconds.

Krawiec lost at the starting line in the first round of Sunday eliminations, when his 7.013 ET could not overcome a 0.064-second reaction time and he fell to Valvoline Buell rider Craig Treble (0.017/7.026).

“That light was not acceptable,” said Krawiec. “We had trouble with our tune-up all weekend, and I never got mine fixed because I was done after one round. I think we got it right on Andrew’s final run, so we can save that and move on.”

Hines moved through Sunday eliminations with wins over MB Machining Buell rider Mike Berry, Treble, and David Hope on the VRoom Racing Buell. In the final against Arana, Hines had an outstanding 0.006-second reaction time and made his quickest pass of the day at 6.968 to take his second win of the season. Arana ran 0.034/7.047.

“Like Ed said, this was our first race of the year in hot weather, and we were really fighting to get the engine tuning right,” said Hines. “But on the last run the V-Rod felt really good. So we got a big win and some good data we can use for the rest of the season.”

Following five rounds of the 17-race 2010 NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle schedule, Arana leads in points with 475. Al-Anabi Racing Buell rider Smith is second with 374, followed by Hines with 369, and Krawiec with 354.

The next Pro Stock Motorcycle event on the 2010 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series schedule is the United Association NHRA Route 66 Nationals, June 3-6, at Route 66 Raceway Joliet, Ill.

Screamin’ Eagle Performance Parts are inspired by and built in the spirit of the raw adrenaline and power of motorcycle racing. Screamin’ Eagle Pro parts are specifically designed for race-use applications, while Screamin’ Eagle parts offer street-use performance options for the Harley-Davidson motorcycle owner. Visit www.harley-davidson.com for more information.

The Screamin’ Eagle/Vance & Hines Pro Stock Motorcycle team is sponsored by Matco Tools, Dunlop and S100.

From a press release issued by Daytona Motorsports Group…

SONOMA, CA (May 16, 2010) – Danny Eslick finally attained his first AMA Pro Daytona SportBike presented by AMSOIL win of the 2010 season on Sunday afternoon in the final race of the West Coast Moto Jam at Infineon Raceway’s 2.32-mile natural road course.

In a weekend that saw riders in each class take well deserved wins, no one was happier and more relieved than Eslick.  The reigning Daytona SportBike champion showed that consistency is key, once again pushing his GEICO Powersports Richie Morris Racing Suzuki to the maximum to earn a hard-fought victory over the 31-bike field and take control of the point standings with his fifth podium finish in the season’s seven races.

Over the course of the 22-lap sprint race, nine different riders occupied the top five spots.  Eslick surged to the front almost immediately and had to battle intensely in a quest for his first 2010 race win.  The lead freight train was rarely separated by more than a second and although Eslick led 19 laps, it was never truly clear who was poised to take the top spot.

Josh Herrin on his Team Graves Yamaha, Steve Rapp with his Team Latus Motors Racing Ducati, Martin Cardenas on his Saturday race one winning M4 Monster Energy Suzuki and pole sitter Tommy Aquino on his Team Graves Yamaha all took the fight to Eslick with intentions to take the win.

Cardenas suffered an early mishap in the turn nine left/right complex and wasn’t able to continue after coming together with another rider, but it was Rapp, who took the lead from Eslick on lap 17, that was poised to be the rider to once again deny Eslick of a 2010 win.  In a cruel twist, Rapp unfortunately had the bike slide out from under him while leading lap 21.  He was able to rejoin the fray to finish a brave 16th. 

A number of other riders also had falls today, one of which necessitated a red flag. Russ Wikle went down in turn five and Michael Beck unfortunately made inevitable contact with him.  Wikle was airlifted to Santa Rosa Medical Center for further examination.  He was awake and alert when he left the track and was undergoing further examination at the hospital.  He had spoken to his parents but the full extent of his injuries was still being evaluated.

When the race wound down, Daytona 200 winner Herrin took second and Dane Westby riding his Project 1 Atlanta Yamaha closed out the podium in third place, his third podium this season.  Polesitter Tommy Aquino, who led three laps in Saturday’s race and never fell below seventh position this weekend, battled his way to a fourth place finish.

Fifth was Cory West on his Vesrah Suzuki, followed by Bobby Fong in sixth, who ran as high as second position in the early stages of the race aboard his DNA Energy Drink CNR Motorsports Ducati.  Seventh was the second Vesrah Suzuki of Chris Fillmore, eighth was P.J. Jacobson riding for Celtic Racing Suzuki.  Eli Edwards took ninth with his Edwards Racing Yamaha and rounding out the top ten was Tyler Odom riding a Honda for Erion Racing.

Eslick completed the day with a spectacular wheelie for the television cameras and also a loud, smokey burnout as he pulled into the Infineon Raceway victory lane. Sunday’s first place finish marked Eslick’s eighth career AMA Pro Daytona SportBike presented by AMSOIL win, but if his consistent finishes so far this year are any indication, expect to see him in victory lane at least once a weekend for the rest of the season.

Next up for the series will be the classic four mile road course through the Kettle Moraine country of Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin’s Road America, June 4-6.  Visit www.amaproracing.com for all the latest information and results.

 Retrieved May 17, 2010; from http://www.amadirectlink.com/news/story.asp?id=1966

From a press release issued by Daytona Motorsports Group…

SONOMA, CA (May 16, 2010) — Josh Hayes and his Team Graves Yamaha backed up his convincing Saturday win at Infineon Raceway with another display of superiority, as he took his second AMA Pro National Guard American SuperBike win in as many days and led all but five laps of Superbike competition at the 2.32-mile natural road course.

Hayes, who started on pole position, had to come from behind after some exceptional front-row starts from his competitors.  Over the course of the first few laps, however, Hayes slowly picked off the riders in front and rode away to a 3.677-second victory over former teammate Ben Bostrom.

Ben Bostrom on his Pat Clark Motorsports Yamaha and an ever strong Larry Pegram on his Foremost Insurance Ducati both battled off Hayes to repeat their second and third place finishes from yesterday.  Pegram led the first five laps of the race before being passed by a charging Hayes, who climbed back from fifth position to take the top spot on lap six, steadily maintaining his lead on the way to his ninth Superbike win.

“I felt like I had an advantage this weekend,” Hayes said.  “My bike worked really well and the boys did a fantastic job.  I think we learned a few things and it will bode well for the rest of the season. If we keep our nose clean, we can compete for wins any given weekend.”

All three riders commented that it was a different kind of race today, but at the end of the day, the top three matched the conditions perfectly and each rider was delighted with their results for different reasons.

Hayes was relieved that he was able to back up his result from yesterday.  He felt that he had such an advantage with Saturday’s clearly dominant performance of his Team Graves Yamaha that he was actually worried that he might not deliver on the advantage he felt that he had over the conditions and competition.

Bostrom was also pleased with his weekend.  His new team, Pat Clark Motorsports, has been getting better and better and this is an indication that the team and rider are back up front where they belong and now feel that they can be contenders for the rest of the 2010 AMA Pro Road Racing season.

Pegram, who rides, manages and works on his family-owned Foremost Insurance Ducati team, felt that his performances at a track where he traditionally doesn’t do well was a bonus.  He did have more difficulty with slower traffic today, but overall he is leaving Infineon Raceway with a pair of strong results as he heads into the scene of his popular victory last year at Road America.

Behind the top three, Rockstar Makita Suzuki teammates Tommy Hayden and Blake Young enjoyed battling with each other and more as they also duplicated their fourth and fifth place finishes from yesterday.  The duo had a close encounter in the turn nine complex on the final lap, which sent Hayden off course momentarily, but both riders retook their respective positions before crossing the stripe.

Young ran as high as second position early in the race before beginning his seemingly race-long battle with points leader Jake Zemke on his National Guard Jordan Suzuki, who did all he could to take sixth, giving no quarter as he fought all the way to the flag.

Jake Holden had another strong run on his M4 Monster Energy Suzuki with a seventh place run, ahead of his teammate Chris Ulrich on his M4 Monster Energy Suzuki.  RidersDiscount.com Suzuki rider Taylor Knapp took another solid finish in ninth and Geoff May returned to fulltime National Guard SuperBike competition with a tenth place finish on his Erik Buell Racing Buell motorcycle.

Next up for the series will be the classic four mile road course through the Kettle Moraine country of Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin’s Road America, June 4-6. Visit www.amaproracing.com for all the latest information and results.

Retrieved May 17, 2010; from http://www.amadirectlink.com/news/story.asp?id=1965