Sunday, 26 March 2006
So, let's have a little look at Sunday, 26th March. What's so special about that date?
Well for the women, it's Mothers' Day (or
Mothering Sunday).
This year, this means I shall be foregoing the pleasure of riding down to the
Ace Café London for a gathering of the ZRX Owners Club at the Ace's "Kawasaki Sunday".
But what else is under threat that day? Well how about:
- 12.45pm to 2.00pm BBC1 MotoGP from Jerez; and
- 3.00pm to 4.30pm ITV1 British Superbikes from Brands Hatch
We'll ignore the World Rally Championship coverage from Spain directly after the BSB showing.
Bastard!
Courtesy of "Bikes (Motorcycles) in the Fast Lane - Daily Motorcycle News" comes the news that the
Hells Angels MC is suing Disney for trademark infringement.
That would be someone suing a company reknowned for protecting its own copyright and trademarks.
How so? Well Touchstone Pictures is making a film this year called "
Wild Hogs" with Tim Allen, Martin Lawrence and John Travolta. The plotline is:
"A group of middle-aged wannabe bikers look for adventure out on the open road, where they soon encounter a chapter of the Hell's Angels."
And therein lies the problem: "HELLS ANGELS and the skull logo (R) are trademarks owned by Hells Angels Motorcycle Corporation, registered in the USA and in many other countries. All logos and designs of Hells Angels are trademark-protected (TM) and protected according to international law. Copying and other use is not allowed." They claim that Disney are using their trademarks to promote the film before it's made.
So according to the excellent "Bikes in the Fast Lane" site's reporting of an article in Moto Journal, the top 5 motorcycle sales in 2005 were:
Italy1. Yamaha 600 Fazer/FZ6 - 10,834
2. Honda 600 Hornet - 8,217
3. Kawasaki Z750 - 5,149
4. Honda CBR 600 RR - 4,421
5. BMW R1200GS - 4,095
Germany1. BMW R1200GS - 6,779
2. Honda CBF 600 - 4,859
3. Suzuki Bandit 650 - 3,420
4. Yamaha 600 Fazer/FZ6 - 3,286
5. Suzuki GSX-R 1000 - 2,947
France1. Kawasaki Z750 - 7,160
2. Yamaha 600 Fazer/FZ6 - 6,474
3. Suzuki Bandit 650 - 5,475
4. Suzuki SV 650 - 3,420
5. Honda Hornet 600 - 2,687
Spain1. Yamaha 600 Fazer/FZ6 - 5,421
2. Suzuki GSX-R 600 - 2,988
3. Honda CBR 600 RR - 2,893
4. Honda CBF 250 - 2,778
5. Suzuki Bandit 650 - 2,425
UK
1. Suzuki GSX-R 1000 - 2,534
2. Kawasaki ZX-6R - 2,213
3. Honda CBR 1000 RR - 2,083
4. BMW R1200GS - 1,980
5. Yamaha R1 - 1,936
Now, whilst four of the UK's top 5 being sportsbikes is probably a healthy thing, as far as I'm concerned, the level of sales that implies is pretty pathetic, isn't it?
Slightly perturbed by this, I went and had a look at the
MCIA's web site and found
December 2005's figures with the 2005 totals.
It looks as though Moto Journal had ignored total PTW sales, because Honda's learner-legal 125cc bike, the CBR 125R, was actually the year's top-seller with 2,738 unit sales.
Somewhat more disappointing for me is that Kawasaki only sold "approximately 150" ZRX1200Rs in the UK in 2005 whilst Triumph sold 757 Speed Triples.
