Morning Reads: Thursday, 20 March 2008

Mika · 03-20-2008, 05:07 AM

Today’s Birthdays / Calendar

turbo.discovery.com
Twist the Throttle: Ducati – A four video tour 23.52 minutes

prweb.com
Motorcycle Bloggers International 9{url=http://www.mbiweb.org/]MBI[/url]) 2008 Awards for the Motorcycle Industry

visordown.com
Off-road legend Smets to develop BMW enduro bike

finacialexpress.com has a interesting article about BMW sourcing frame and engine parts from India for the Motorrad division.

RUMOR: Several news blogs are speculating that BMW will be introducing a naked version of the F800 this fall. This will continue to fill out that model line and give BMW another bike in a key price point.

ducati.com
INVESTOR RELATIONS: Results for 2007

telegraph.co.uk
Gilera GP 800: Have a hoot as you commute

visordown.com
Heads up – naked 1000s test [Sorry the riders are wearing full gear and there are no BMWs in the bunch]

womenridersnow.com
First woman competes in AMA 600 Supersport at Daytona: Misti Hurst enjoys an outstanding opening race.

worldsbk.com: Official Web Site – News, features and more

motogp.com: Official Web Site – News, features and more

BMW Sauber F1
BMW Motorsport

[b]History and background: Kuala Lumpur

The venue for the 2008 Malaysian Grand Prix is once again Kuala Lumpur. The Southeast Asian city this year celebrates the tenth anniversary of the "Sepang International Circuit", and the tenth time the Formula One show has come to town. Discover more about the venue for the second race of the season.

The name Kuala Lumpur translates as "muddy estuary" after its location at the mouth of the rivers Gombak and Klang. KL, as the city is popularly known today, is the heartbeat of modern Malaysia. With a population of around 1.5 million, more than half of them Chinese, the capital is also the country's largest city. Extending over an area of 244 square kilometres, KL offers a thriving Asian culture alongside British colonial buildings and landmark high-tech edifices such as the 88-storey PETRONAS Twin Towers that rise to a height of 452 metres.

Kuala Lumpur was founded in the middle of the jungle by tin miners in 1857. In 1896, under British rule, the Malay Sultanates formed the Federation of Malaya with Kuala Lumpur as its capital. In 1957 Kuala Lumpur became the capital of the newly independent country.

The PETRONAS (Petroliam Nasional Berhad) company, which is the premium partner of the BMW Sauber F1 Team, was founded on 17th August 1974. PETRONAS, with its head office in Kuala Lumpur's Twin Towers, is a multinational gas and petroleum group operating in more than 30 countries. The group is engaged at a local and global level. Its activities include upstream exploration and production as well as downstream oil refining, marketing and distribution of petroleum products, trading, gas processing and liquefaction, gas pipeline network operations, marketing of liquefied natural gas, manufacturing and marketing of petrochemical products, maritime logistics and property investment.

Theissen: “Kula Lumpur is an important Grand Prix for BMW”

After the first race of the season, the Australian Grand Prix, the BMW Sauber F1 Team moves on to its first home race of the year, the Malaysian Grand Prix. In his column, BMW Motorsport Director Mario Theissen looks ahead to the coming weekend, when he is expecting a taxing race in the home of premium partner Petronas.

Dear motorsport enthusiasts,

No sooner have we ticked off the season opener in Australia than Malaysia is already beckoning. This Grand Prix is a kind of home race for us. Since 2006 we have experienced the sheer charisma that our premium partner Petronas has in Malaysia. The euphoric welcome extended to our team in this country is a fantastic experience every time, and the various events held at the foot of the Petronas Twin Towers have always exerted a magnetic pull. As part of its Asia strategy, the BMW Group has ramped up its involvement in Malaysia over recent years. The race in the Greater Kuala Lumpur area is an important grand prix for both BMW and Petronas.

Following the unexpectedly hot battle in Melbourne, we now head for the steam bath of Sepang. Not only are temperatures above 30° Celsius, but humidity levels are also extremely high due to the proximity to the equator. Consequently, we are looking ahead to this test of endurance with bated breath.

Sincerely,

Mario Theissen

latimes.com
A BMW only a mama could love

“Let's begin with a verity, an undeniable truth that is evident from 3 feet away or from the cold distance of outer space: The new 1-series BMW is ugly. Seriously ugly. Ugly with X-wings locked in attack formation. Spare me your E.H. Gombrich or Helen Gardner. I know an ugly car when one blows past me at 100 mph.”

Mini fans, MotoringFile.com has a series of videos from the Geneva auto show and the introduction of the New Mini new Cooper and Clubman models.

topspeed.com
RUMOR: BMW developing new super sports car

egmCarTech.com is reporting that Tata will borrow $3 billion from Citi Bank and JP Morgan in the form of a bridge loan to cover its purchase of Jaguar and Land Rover.

BMW Website Review:

World of BMW:
North Way Up
F 800 up for the Cup

BMW Yachtsport

BMW Golfsport

BMW Oracle Racing

BMW Sport website

BMW PressClub

BlogRoll: some of the blogs I have collected while purposefully wondering around the internet.

Stuff: A place for everything and everything in its place, including stuff.

thevintagent.blogspot.com
BOOK REVIEW: ‘Flat Out – The Rollie Free Story’

webbikeworld.com
REVIEW: Oregon Scientific Camera – helmet cam

independent.co.uk
City lights turn peregrines into night hawks

M.R. Traveler

Places 2 Ride Blog

www.biker-events.com
Finding the Good Times on 2 Wheels

Horizonsunlimited.com – Newsletter

2008 International Rally
Gillette, Wyoming, July 17-20 2008

Mining The Website

Threads worth following:

Today’sRoadFood.com

Woot

Todays Woot
The Blog

Packer News: Packers.com, jsonline.com - Packers Plus Online

Humor

Over Heard in New York | Voice of the City
Sluggy Freelance
The Onion
xkcd

Bike Candy:

THE END

Visian · 03-20-2008, 05:38 AM

... for posting something that truly reflects what the campfire is about.... day after day of enjoyable experience.

Quote:

turbo.discovery.com

Twist the Throttle: Ducati – A four video tour 23.52 minutes

there are four good BMW videos just above the ducati in the list. well shot, great editing and good historical footage.

ian

PAULBACH · 03-20-2008, 05:48 AM

Morning Reads usually enjoyed with first cup of coffee - both a good way to start the day.

Mika · 03-20-2008, 11:10 AM

Thanks guys, I am glad you enjoy the posts.

I looked back to previous Morning Reads and found I screwed up the links to Twist of the Throttle. Thery are very intersting and well done.

I will be running them this weekend, but as a preview here is a link to the main index screen for the video tours of BMW, Bimota, Ducati, Honda, Kawasaki, MV Agusta, Suzuki and more.

03-20-2008, 05:07 AM	#1
Mika Still Wondering Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: On reconnaissance Posts: 8,081	Morning Reads: Thursday, 20 March 2008 Today’s Birthdays / Calendar turbo.discovery.com Twist the Throttle: Ducati – A four video tour 23.52 minutes prweb.com Motorcycle Bloggers International 9{url=http://www.mbiweb.org/]MBI[/url]) 2008 Awards for the Motorcycle Industry visordown.com Off-road legend Smets to develop BMW enduro bike finacialexpress.com has a interesting article about BMW sourcing frame and engine parts from India for the Motorrad division. RUMOR: Several news blogs are speculating that BMW will be introducing a naked version of the F800 this fall. This will continue to fill out that model line and give BMW another bike in a key price point. ducati.com INVESTOR RELATIONS: Results for 2007 telegraph.co.uk Gilera GP 800: Have a hoot as you commute visordown.com Heads up – naked 1000s test [Sorry the riders are wearing full gear and there are no BMWs in the bunch] womenridersnow.com First woman competes in AMA 600 Supersport at Daytona: Misti Hurst enjoys an outstanding opening race. worldsbk.com: Official Web Site – News, features and more motogp.com: Official Web Site – News, features and more BMW Sauber F1 BMW Motorsport [b]History and background: Kuala Lumpur The venue for the 2008 Malaysian Grand Prix is once again Kuala Lumpur. The Southeast Asian city this year celebrates the tenth anniversary of the "Sepang International Circuit", and the tenth time the Formula One show has come to town. Discover more about the venue for the second race of the season. The name Kuala Lumpur translates as "muddy estuary" after its location at the mouth of the rivers Gombak and Klang. KL, as the city is popularly known today, is the heartbeat of modern Malaysia. With a population of around 1.5 million, more than half of them Chinese, the capital is also the country's largest city. Extending over an area of 244 square kilometres, KL offers a thriving Asian culture alongside British colonial buildings and landmark high-tech edifices such as the 88-storey PETRONAS Twin Towers that rise to a height of 452 metres. Kuala Lumpur was founded in the middle of the jungle by tin miners in 1857. In 1896, under British rule, the Malay Sultanates formed the Federation of Malaya with Kuala Lumpur as its capital. In 1957 Kuala Lumpur became the capital of the newly independent country. The PETRONAS (Petroliam Nasional Berhad) company, which is the premium partner of the BMW Sauber F1 Team, was founded on 17th August 1974. PETRONAS, with its head office in Kuala Lumpur's Twin Towers, is a multinational gas and petroleum group operating in more than 30 countries. The group is engaged at a local and global level. Its activities include upstream exploration and production as well as downstream oil refining, marketing and distribution of petroleum products, trading, gas processing and liquefaction, gas pipeline network operations, marketing of liquefied natural gas, manufacturing and marketing of petrochemical products, maritime logistics and property investment. Theissen: “Kula Lumpur is an important Grand Prix for BMW” After the first race of the season, the Australian Grand Prix, the BMW Sauber F1 Team moves on to its first home race of the year, the Malaysian Grand Prix. In his column, BMW Motorsport Director Mario Theissen looks ahead to the coming weekend, when he is expecting a taxing race in the home of premium partner Petronas. Dear motorsport enthusiasts, No sooner have we ticked off the season opener in Australia than Malaysia is already beckoning. This Grand Prix is a kind of home race for us. Since 2006 we have experienced the sheer charisma that our premium partner Petronas has in Malaysia. The euphoric welcome extended to our team in this country is a fantastic experience every time, and the various events held at the foot of the Petronas Twin Towers have always exerted a magnetic pull. As part of its Asia strategy, the BMW Group has ramped up its involvement in Malaysia over recent years. The race in the Greater Kuala Lumpur area is an important grand prix for both BMW and Petronas. Following the unexpectedly hot battle in Melbourne, we now head for the steam bath of Sepang. Not only are temperatures above 30° Celsius, but humidity levels are also extremely high due to the proximity to the equator. Consequently, we are looking ahead to this test of endurance with bated breath. Sincerely, Mario Theissen latimes.com A BMW only a mama could love “Let's begin with a verity, an undeniable truth that is evident from 3 feet away or from the cold distance of outer space: The new 1-series BMW is ugly. Seriously ugly. Ugly with X-wings locked in attack formation. Spare me your E.H. Gombrich or Helen Gardner. I know an ugly car when one blows past me at 100 mph.” Mini fans, MotoringFile.com has a series of videos from the Geneva auto show and the introduction of the New Mini new Cooper and Clubman models. topspeed.com RUMOR: BMW developing new super sports car egmCarTech.com is reporting that Tata will borrow $3 billion from Citi Bank and JP Morgan in the form of a bridge loan to cover its purchase of Jaguar and Land Rover. BMW Website Review: World of BMW: North Way Up F 800 up for the Cup BMW Yachtsport BMW Golfsport BMW Oracle Racing BMW Sport website BMW PressClub BlogRoll: some of the blogs I have collected while purposefully wondering around the internet. Stuff: A place for everything and everything in its place, including stuff. thevintagent.blogspot.com BOOK REVIEW: ‘Flat Out – The Rollie Free Story’ webbikeworld.com REVIEW: Oregon Scientific Camera – helmet cam independent.co.uk City lights turn peregrines into night hawks M.R. Traveler Places 2 Ride Blog www.biker-events.com Finding the Good Times on 2 Wheels Horizonsunlimited.com – Newsletter 2008 International Rally Gillette, Wyoming, July 17-20 2008 Mining The Website Threads worth following: Today’sRoadFood.com Woot Todays Woot The Blog Packer News: Packers.com, jsonline.com - Packers Plus Online Humor Over Heard in New York \| Voice of the City Sluggy Freelance The Onion xkcd Bike Candy: THE END

03-20-2008, 05:48 AM	#3
PAULBACH Once there was a Tavern Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Ballston Spa, NY; South of the Adirondacks, North of the Catskills and West of The Berkshires and Green Mountains Posts: 6,822	Morning Reads usually enjoyed with first cup of coffee - both a good way to start the day. __________________ Paul Bachorz - F Twins Moderator RA Rallymeister - Pownal, Vermont Click here.

03-20-2008, 11:10 AM	#4
Mika Still Wondering Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: On reconnaissance Posts: 8,081	Thanks guys, I am glad you enjoy the posts. I looked back to previous Morning Reads and found I screwed up the links to Twist of the Throttle. Thery are very intersting and well done. I will be running them this weekend, but as a preview here is a link to the main index screen for the video tours of BMW, Bimota, Ducati, Honda, Kawasaki, MV Agusta, Suzuki and more.