Monday, October 11, 2010

September/October Newsletter




117 ROELAND STREET, CAPE TOWN

PH: 021 461 0991/021 461 1015
FAX: 021 461 0996
VAT #: 4230168546
REG #: CK92/04746/23
Jackie@eurobike.
co.za

September/October



Hi All

Wow, what a way to start this newsletter – Max Biaggi has won World Superbike Championship on an Aprilia RSV4!!! More about Aprilia’s race heritage in a report compiled by Stretch further on in this newsletter. Are we proud – definitely! In actual fact there are many racers out there that are doing the brand proud be it overseas or locally.

It is our anniversary this month. Eurobike was started in October 1992 and we initially operated the business out of our garage in Newlands. Things started expanding and Stretch, who only worked on the bikes after hours (he worked at Telkom), got someone in to prepare the bikes for him and do the “donkey work”. There obviously was a need for servicing, repairing and rebuilding of Italian bikes and as the business grew and the neighbours complained we needed to find premises. In 1997 we purchased Dick Bate Motorcycles and moved our entire operation to Salt River. Stretch was still employed by Telkom and I in the meantime came in and managed the business for him. Wow, what a learning curve. My motorcycle experience upto that stage had been helping Stretch rebuild the odd Laverda, listening to Chris Prior in the garage whilst polishing the odd motorcycle part, helping at racing and attempting not to crash his 400/4 whilst practicing my riding skills.

I had my own business so the admin side was not new to me. We took on the existing staff from Dick Bate. The staff whom had really only worked on all things Japanese were in for a learning curve as we introduced Eurobike to them which was predominantly all things Italian. Stretch, however, did work on a lot BMW’s as well. Shortly after taking over the business the admin lady left to have a baby and Cecil went on leave. I now had to source “Japanese bike bits”, batteries, spark plugs etc. I had people phoning for prices of things I had never heard of. All I can say is thanks to Donald Craig who so many times came to my rescue. Of course the other part of being a WOMAN in a MAN’S world was something else. I can remember Woolfie of Charlies Honda (no longer in business) phoning me and telling me that they had set up a Motorcycle Union for the motorcycle shops and that he suggests I join so that I have some sort of backup, afterall I am a woman and I may run into problems! Gary Johnson of Suzuki World (no longer in business) told me that some of the bike shops had put out bets as to how long I would last!!

I'm still here and they have all gone! Stretch left Telkom in 2003 and joined me on a full time basis. It is 13 years ago and wow have I learnt a lot!

FLEXI-SHIELD:

We will be wrapping our RSV4 in a pr
oduct called flexi-shield. They will be coming to do this tomorrow at 14h00. Please come and join us and watch how they apply this product.

It is a flexi shield made out of a 200 micron film which is applied to all the body panels as well as your headlight and indicators. This product is really tough and if a stone does manage to chip it, it seals itself within seconds. It protects your bike from sandblasting and stone chips and comes with a 12 month warranty on workmanship.

Pricing is as follows:


Superbike – R2900
Street Fighter/Naked – R2300

Tourers – R3500
Panniers – R1600

It takes approximately 3 days from time of taking pattern to the end product. All panels are laser cut.

APRILIA NEWS:

Dorsoduro 1200 – the first units have been ordered by Aprilia SA and they should be here sometime in January 2011. Price will only be determined upon the shipment arriving.

Tuono V4 – Its expected to go into production mid 2011 and will definitely be ordered by Aprilia SA. If no delays occur, they should be here during the 3rd quarter of 2011. No pricing available yet.

Shiver 750 – 2010 Model which is black with a red frame: R89995 incl vat. Older shiver model (we have 1 in stock in black) R85995 incl vat. No difference b
etween the models except the colour scheme.

RSV4 Factory – 2009 Models which are identical to the 2010 Models have been reduced to R225 995.

The 2011 Model RSV4 Factory with APRC (Aprilia performance ride control) arriving late January 2011. No price as yet.

RXV 450 (Enduro model) – 2008/2009 Models on special at R57500 and R64800 respectively.

RXV 550 (Enduro model) – 2008/2010 Models on special at R64600 and R91800 respectively.

SXV 450 (Motard model) – 2007/2008/2009 Models on special at R58500. R65700 and R90000 respectively.
SXV 550 (Motard model) – 2009 Model on special at R91800

RS125 – 2008/9 Models at R49995

NEW PRODUCTS:

Aprilia - we have new caps in stock @ R120.00 incl. vat

Motul Shine and Go - spray it on and wipe it off. Really nice bike cleaner. R165.00 incl. vat.

License Holders - in carbon fibre and metal @ R140.00 incl. vat.

Cargo Nets - for holding all your goodies at the back of your bike - good for going to rallies. R80.00 incl. vat.
Motul 2 Stroke Oil - now available in 4L @ R498.00 incl. vat.

Battery Tester - Yuasa battery tester that tests the degree of charge and checks cells (for unsealed batteries). R67.00 incl. vat.
Digital Tyre Gauge - R180.00 incl. vat.

RACING NEWS:

With only 1 race left for the season, our Son, Killian, will finish either 2nd or 3rd overall in the tar class and the Supermotard class. The points are really close with 2nd and 3rd places in the championship and there is a big drop off to 4th. This is an amazing achievement for youngster who has never raced before, never done motocross before and where his riding experience compromised of an Italjet at age 6, which he used to ramp over various pavements and bmx courses. He then moved up to a KX60 with gears and from there progressed onto a small-wheeled KX80 with performance pipe. When he outgrew his KX80, I suggested he try my KDX200 but he felt a bit intimidated by its height.

Stretch took him off to a Motard riding school held at Killarney last year and they took out the KDX200 and the SXV550. Stretch rode the KDX whilst Killian and Steven Matthews had fun on the SXV550. Killian was in Matric and we mentioned that should he do well in Matric, he could race for 2010 on the SXV550. What a "carrot" - he got an excellent Matric, and he has proven that he is clearly a good learner. He has gone from rookie to elbow bashing with the front runners. At the last race meeting he was awarded the Rider of the Day award, which was sponsered by Maxxis. Stretch and Killian have become a formidable team and next year Killian will be on a SXV450, competing in the Regional series as well as the National Coastal series.



INTERNATIONAL RACING:

Congratulations to Aprilia and Max Biaggi on winning the 2010 World Superbike Championship

Many will argue that Leon Haslam handed him the championship on a plate when his engine let go but, although it was mathematically possible for young Haslam to win the title, it was highly unlikely as he went to the Imola round 63 points behind Biaggi. Nope, Biaggi and Aprilia won the Championship fair and square.

It’s not the first time Biaggi has won a Championship on an Aprilia. Max won the 250 World Championships in 1994, 1995 and 1996 on Aprilias. And that was not Aprilias first GP Championship either. In 1992 Allesandro Gramigni won the 125 GP championship on an Aprilia although Honda took the Constructors title.

Loris Reggiani was the first person to put Aprilia on the podium in 1985 with a 3rd at the Yugoslavian 250 race and another 3rd at the San Marino GP with a 6th overall in the 250 Championship. Loris gave Aprilia their first 250 GP victory winning the San Marino race in August, 1987. He later won the French 250GP in 1991, the Spanish and French 250GP in 1992 and the Czech 250 GP in 1993 on an Aprilia. Although he was never a World Champion, he certainly helped put Aprilia in the GP map.

On 15th August 2010, Nicolas Terol won the Czech 125 GP on an Aprilia giving Aprilia their 276th win at GP level, one more than MV Agusta. To break it down that is 133 wins in the 125 class, 143 wins in the 250 class, 26 World Championships and 18 Manufacturers Championships making Aprilia the most successful manufacturer at GP level.

It is not only on tar that Aprilia has done well. In 1992 Tommi Ahvala won the Outdoor World Trial Championship on an Aprilia. A year later (in 1993) Tommi won the Indoor World Trials Championship on an Aprilia.

Jerome Giraudo won the 2004 S2 Supermoto Championship on an Aprilia SXV450 in its debut year. In 2006 Thierry van den Bosch won the S2 Supermoto Championship on an Aprilia SXV450 with Jerome Giraudo second in the Championship. Aprilia took the Manufacturers Championship in 2006 and in 2007.

Stefan Merriman competed in the E2 World Enduro Championship on an Aprilia RXV450 in 2007. In 2008 he won 3 races on an Aprilia RXV550 in the E3 class and finished the season 5th overall.

On the MotoRally side, Alex Zanotti put Aprilia on the podium with a 3rd overall and 1st in class on an RXV450 in the 2008 Pharaoh Rally. This was followed by another 1st in class by Paolo Ceci at San Teodoro (Sardinia 2008) and another 1st in class by Lopez in Tunisia in 2010.

So there you have it: 36 road and 7 off road World Championships and a total of 342 wins (so far) in World premier classes is a pretty impressive trophy list for a manufacturer who only started with motorcycle production in 1970.



BIKES FOR SALE:

Please note that we will only advertise bikes here that have a full service history:

CAPONORD - 18000kms on the clock, immaculate condition with lots of extras (higher screen, panniers, etc). 2008 model. Contact Deon on 0834696554

MV AGUSTA 750 - has just had a big service done, 2000 model, 20913kms, FSH. Bike at Eurobike.

RS250 - Full service history, 35062kms, 1996 model. Bike at Eurobike.

RSV 1000 - Immaculate, 15189kms with Akrapovic pipes, full service history. Bike at Eurobike.

DATES TO DIARISE:

17 October - Suzuki South/WP Motorcycle Section Riding School.

13 November - Regional Motorcycle Racing - Main Circuit.

13 November - Beaver Rally: Entries available from Eurobike.

27 November - Motard Racing - Half Main Circuit.

28 November - Toy Run.

That's all for this newsletter - Ride Safe.

Stretch and Jackie