Wanna buy an Orange County Chopper? No? What if it was for a good cause?

Excerpt:

On Saturday, November 17, 2007, the “Big Blue” Bike made its debut during half time at the UM – Ohio State game.  Mikey and Paulie Teutul of Orange County Choppers and stars of the popular TLC’s American Chopper® presented the custom-made motorcycle … “Big Blue” will be auctioned off to the highest bidder along with a tailgate party for 10-20 people at a UM home game of their choice sponsored by Domino’s Pizza.  All proceeds from the auction will benefit the new U-M C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital and Women’s Hospital building campaign.

Read more here.

Global Motorsport Group, Inc. Agrees to Sale With Dae-Il USA

Global Motorsport Group, Inc. Agrees to Sale With Dae-Il USA.

 

Global Motorsport Group, Inc. Agrees to Sale With Dae-Il USA

   To attend 8th Annual V-Twin and International Powersports Dealer Expos

    MORGAN HILL, Calif., Jan. 31 /PRNewswire/ -- Global Motorsport Group,
Inc. (GMG) announced today that it has agreed to sell its assets to Dae-Il
USA, Inc. as a going concern. The sale includes all of GMG's US operations
-- including its Custom Chrome, Motorcycle Stuff, and Jammer divisions, and
the stock of Global Motorsport Group GmbH, which manages all of GMG's
European operations. In order to facilitate the sale process, the Company
filed a voluntary petition for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the U.S.
Bankruptcy Code. The filings were made today in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court
for the District of Delaware.

    The Company announced that it has reached an agreement with its lender
to provide debtor -in-possession financing, subject to Bankruptcy Court
approval, to fund the Company's business operations while it completes the
sale process. This financing will provide the Company the necessary funds
to continue operations in the normal course of business, keeping all of the
Company's distribution facilities open on normal schedules, and fulfilling
customer orders. The Company does not foresee any changes in employee
numbers or facility locations.

    The purchase agreement is subject to the approval of the Bankruptcy
Court. Definitive documents will be filed with the court, along with
bidding procedures noting that qualified bidders will be provided an
opportunity to make higher and better offers for the purchase. It is
anticipated that the sale will be completed within 45 days.

    "We are pleased to have entered into an agreement to be acquired by
Dae-Il USA and are confident that this transaction will position GMG to
reestablish its leadership position in the marketplace," said Scott Avila,
Chief Restructuring Officer of GMG. "We have carefully reviewed our options
and believe that a sale will provide the best long-term prospects for the
Company's customers, vendors, and employees.

    "We look forward to supporting GMG's success and continuing operations
as a stand-alone business," said Nace Panzica, President of Dae-Il USA and
the original founder of Custom Chrome. "We are committed to investing in
GMG's product lines and outstanding customer service. With the continued
support of our faithful employees, loyal customers and valuable vendors, I
am confident GMG's future will be a success."

    Senior GMG representatives will attend at the 8th Annual V-Twin Expo by
Easyriders held in Cincinnati beginning on February 2, 2008. GMG's exhibit
will be located in the Center Main Hall, booth numbers 556 and 669. GMG
will attend the International Powersports Dealer Expo in Indianapolis
beginning on February 16, 2008, and exhibiting in booth 825, Main Hall

    The transition of control should be concluded by March 2008.

    About Global Motorsport Group

    Global Motorsport Group, Inc. markets and distributes aftermarket
motorcycle parts and accessories and does business as Custom Chrome,
Santee, Custom Chrome Europe and Motorcycle stuff. The Company is one of
the largest, independent suppliers of aftermarket parts and accessories for
Harley-Davidson motorcycles and commands significant market share in the
broader motorcycle industry. With over 50,000 unique product offerings,
Global Motorsport Group anticipates and fulfills the aftermarket needs of
the entire motorcycle industry through a network of independent dealers
throughout North America, Europe and Asia / Pacific. To learn more, please
visit http://www.customchrome.com or http://www.motorcyclestuff.com.

    About Dae-Il USA

    Dae-Il USA is a wholly owned subsidiary Dae-Il Corp, a publicly traded
(Korea Stock Exchange) manufacturer of parts for automobiles, forklifts and
motorcycles. Major customers of Dae-Il include Global Motorsport Group,
Hyundai, Kia Motors, Daewoo, Mitsubishi, Clark Forklift, John Deer,
Polaris, and Caterpillar. Dae-Il has been a supplier of GMG and its
predecessors since 1982 and manufactures the popular Rev-Tech engines,
transmissions and related driveline products exclusively for GMG.

    Media Contact:

    Sarah Michael

    310-903-3481

SOURCE Global Motorsport Group, Inc.

Tommy Graves News

Hello Everyone!
 
Just getting back from showing at the North East Motorcycle Expo in PA and I have to tell you WE HAD A BLAST!
As soon as we get our camera gear out of the trailer we’ll be sure to get you some pics and stuff. Thanks to everyone
who came out to say hello! Our booth was just across from Dave Perewitz and crew and all I can say is CLASS ACT all
the way. He had one of sweetest old’ school chops I’ve seen in a long time.  I wanted to take it home so bad. It’s been
almost 15 years since I’ve done a retro bobber and I’ve got a fever and the only cure is going to be a knucklehead chop!
I’m gonna do it and can’t wait to get started!
 
Link to the show website:
http://www.kevmarv.com/neme/reading.php
 

 
 
TGC IN TIMONIUM!!!!
We are also going to be at the Timonium Motorcycle show next weekend so make sure you come on
down. It’s going to be great seeing some of our friends from Metric Revolution! Sam Nehme, Doug Keim,
Dana and Robert will all be there. Really looking forward to meeting Chica for the first time and seeing his
rides first handl. This will be our first show in MD!
 
Timonium Motorcycle Show website link:
http://www.cycleshow.net/
 

 
Tommy Graves, President
Tommy Graves Customs, TGC
802-644-8217
www.myspace.com/tommygravescustoms
www.tommygraves.com

Tom Cruise Buys First Super Ducati

Hey,

  Those of you have seen any of the Mission Impossible movies or follow Tom Cruise know he is a motorcycle enthusiast.I am not a big Tom fan but I have enjoyed a couple of his movies. I am not into the Scientology thing.I think it’s a cult. No, I am not just talking. I have known a couple of people well who joined that thing and basically ruined their lives.

  Anyway, it seems “Tomcat” has purchased the very first Ducati superbike for around $80,000. It’s the bike that’s interesting. It’s supposed to have a top end of 200 mph.That’s pretty fast for a guy who thinks he is a decendant of some aliens.

  Train will post the article if we have time before we take off for Cincy. If not, we’ll post it very soon.May the force be with you.

                                                        Beach

V-Twin Coming UP

Hey,

Train and I are getting ready to head up to Cincinatti for the V-Twin Expo. This is an industry show that kicks off the season. It’s only February but this is it. The event is only open to industry people. It is a chance to see all of our friends and to see what everyone is up too for 2008.There is a lot of walking, a little talking and an amazing display of everything from Bikes to lights, to parts, to seminars, to a party or two.The actual event runs Saturday through Monday but most folks are there on Thursday or Friday to settle in and set up their booths.This is, in my opinion, the best show of the year.Most folks in the industry show up and the new stuff is always mind blowing. The only problem is, it is just too short.

  It’s hard to believe that a whole year has passed since the last one.We will be there with camera’s to bring you stills and video of what we see and hear. We will also share our thoughts about the experience.We will stay in touch as usual only it may be over a rib or chicken at The Montgomery Inn.

                                                       Stay Tuned

                                                         Beach

I Can’t Believe Pig…errr…HOG (Harley Davidson) Was Up on Friday

posted on: January 28, 2008 | about stocks: HOG     As I wrote last week:

Harley Davidson (HOG) has been in a tough spot and is the prototypical consumer discretionary stock that this economy will hurt but in “Fed cuts solve everything” thinking we have the past 2 days I guess it might say something people will like (but needs to be shorted on each spike)

Somehow the stock was up early Friday, from a quick glance the company offered guidance that was not that bad for 2008. Hah! And analysts bought it. Just like they bought the retail, financial, and restaurant guidance about 9-12 months ago. Seriously! The market never ceases to give us gifts like this.

Talk about the prototypical company to short in this recessionary environment where the consumer is getting squeezed. I cannot short individual names, but there was a great opportunity to short this at $42 this on Friday (later it was down to $38). This is like the men’s version of Coach (COH) - any spike, it should be shorted. At least for another year. I can’t think of another company that better represents the excesses of credit (house ATM, over spending) we’ve had over the past decade.

Harley-Davidson Inc. says riders concerned about the economy are throttling big purchases, like the company’s classic motorcycles, sending its profit down 26.3 percent in the fourth quarter.
Sales in the U.S. were down 14.2 percent in the quarter, the company said Friday. That outpaces the domestic heavyweight motorcycle market’s fall of 9 percent.
CEO Jim Ziemer called the retail environment “challenging” for this year and said dealers report consumers are worried about the direction of the economy. They’re holding off on larger purchases, like Harley-Davidson motorcycles, which start at $6,695 but can often cost more than $20,000 fully loaded.
But the company said it expects moderate growth in both earnings per share and revenue this year. (this is technically called “dreaming”)
Harley-Davidson’s shares rose as much as 5.8 percent to $42.45 (more dreaming) in trading earlier Friday, but by the afternoon they fell $2.18, or 5.4 percent, to $37.94.
I mentioned Harley back in September [Sept 8 - More Retail Tells? Office Depot and Harley Davidson] At the time the company lowered guidance for the year, had bad results, and withdrew guidance for 2009. 35% of purchases are people in subprime category. Ding Ding, we have a winner. The stock dropped from $54 to $50 that day in Sept… still a great time to short.

Again, I can’t short any individual names in this Marketocracy.com account but in a real mutual fund this would be the prototypical short to overlay against long positions. Easy pickings…. and another opportunity today. As I’ve written, we are going to see very similar charts to the homebuilders in retail, restaurants, and financials - long downswings, punctuated by oversold rallies (short covering) - each of those rallies can be shorted. One day it will stop working, but not for quite a while.

Disclosure: No position but wish I could be short

Source http://seekingalpha.com/article/61812-i-can-t-believe-pig-errr-hog-harley-davidson-was-up-on-friday

The Beachcruiser In Russia

Hey,

  We got an email today from Sergei over in Russia. I get a big kick when someone from far away writes to us. Sergei reads the Beachcruiser and he wants to have an ongoing relationship with us. That’s very cool as we hope to find out about the motorcycle community over there. Russia is a place you don’t think about much when it comes to the industry. I am hoping that Sergei can tell us about what the motorcycles are like,what the bikers are like, who the top builders are over there, if he is aware of what is going on here and anything else we think of.

  So, we are getting emails from all over the world. Who would have thunk it?Micky in England, Sergei in Russia, our Canadian friends and a bunch more.We are three months from our second anniversary on the net. We never imagined where this would take us.

  We hope our sponsors and friends benefit from exposure to all of these markets .If you have any questions for our overseas friends please ask them and we will try to get answers for you.I know we have some.

                                                      Over Easy

                                                       Beach

NEW S&S 50th ANNIVERSARY WEBSITE GOES LIVE

 

LA CROSSE, WI (January 28th, 2008) S&S® Cycle announces the release of an all-new website dedicated to the S&S 50th Anniversary Celebration, www.sscycle50th.com .

The new website is packed full of information about the historic event.  Designed with an interactive approach, the site allows users to navigate easily from screen to screen and get a solid start on planning their weekend in La Crosse.  Local businesses and community information is instantly available with just a few clicks of your mouse.

 “We worked with the entire community to set the standard for a motorcycle rally in the United States,” said S&S president, Brett Smith.  “We felt having a full feature website dedicated to supporting a rally such as our 50th Anniversary Celebration was a necessary part of that.”  Smith went on to say, “When you have everyone involved and supporting an effort like this, the website is a seamless integration of everyone’s effort and the services they will provide the visiting enthusiasts, making their experience here one to remember.”

Visitors to the new site will be able to check out who is in the build, look at maps of the area, visit a live web cam of La Crosse,  find campgrounds and hotels,  book their seats on celebrity river cruises with the builders and shop for S&S 50th Anniversary apparel.

“Building this new site was both challenging and exciting, as it gave me an opportunity to use Web 2.0 technology and AJAX programming components,” said S&S Webmaster Kevin Sather.  “Additionally, this new site is the groundwork for the new version of the S&S main website that will be introduced later this year.”

The S&S 50th Anniversary Celebration will take place June 27-29, 2008 in La Crosse, Wisconsin.  The event will feature 50 of the world’s best builders creating 50 bikes, a celebration of S&S history and a community wide party to celebrate the event.  All of the information is available on the new website at www.sscycle50th.com .

 

 

 S&S Cycle has been a leading manufacturer of Proven Performance v-twin motorcycle components and engines for nearly 50 years. George Smith and Stanley Stankos founded the company in 1958 in Blue Island, Illinois. Shortly after the founding of S&S, George, and his wife Marjorie (whose maiden name was also Smith), bought out Stanley Stankos and Smith & Stankos became Smith & Smith (S&S). In 1969, S&S moved from Blue Island to Viola, Wisconsin and expanded to La Crosse, Wisconsin in 2004. This 3rd generation business supplies components and/or engines to several large custom OEs including: American Ironhorse, APC, Arlen Ness, Big Bear Choppers, Big Dog, Bourget Bike Works, Orange County Choppers, Saxon, Swift, Victory, & West Coast Choppers (please see the S&S website for a complete listing located at www.sscycle.com).

Elton John takes motorcycles to Africa

By Michael Carroll

Other

28 January 2008 12:45

Sir Elton John has donated 120 Honda CTX200s to medics in Lesotho, Africa, to help in the fight against Aids in the country.

The first 60 bikes have already been delivered, with the remainder due to be sent by end-February.

The donation was handled by Riders for Health and the Elton John Aids Foundation, a body set up by the singer in 1992 to fund Aids-relief projects globally. Riders is taking responsibility for training the medical staff to ride the bikes, and will also take care of maintaining the machines.

“Thanks to Riders, motorcycles really will be saving lives in Lesotho,” Mohale Moshoeshoe, operations director at Riders, says. “It is only thanks to the support of the motorcycling community that our work is able to attract the attention and backing of groups like the Elton John Aids Foundation.”

The bikes will be used to deliver anti-retroviral drugs and health education to remote communities in Lesotho, while also helping to provide home-based care for tuberculosis sufferers.

Source http://www.motorcyclenews.com/MCN/News/newsresults/mcn/2008/January/january-28-2/jan2808eltonjohndonatesbikestocharity/

Rabbitohs lose but owner left crowing

Martin Boulton
January 28, 2008

HIS beloved South Sydney Rabbitohs lost their Australia Day challenge against English Super League champion Leeds in Jacksonville, Florida, but actor Russell Crowe didn’t walk away empty-handed. Crowe, who co-owns the Rabbitohs, was presented with one of two motorcycles in the team’s colours by local customisers, Orange County Choppers, before the start of the game at Hodges Stadium. A crowd of about 12,000, including golfing great Greg Norman, seven-time world surfing champion Layne Beachley and former NBA star Dennis Rodman, watched the depleted Rabbitohs rally from a 26-0 half-time deficit. The Rhinos had won their three previous pre-season games and held the upper hand over the Rabbitohs, who were having their first hitout of the year in match conditions. A near full-strength Leeds squad stacked with Great Britain, New Zealand and England representatives held out the Rabbitohs, 26-24. “I’m very pleased with that,” Crowe said, referring to his side’s second-half fightback, not his new wheels.

Source http://www.theage.com.au/news/sport/super-bowl-ambush-has-nfl-in-a-flap/2008/01/27/1201368946709.html

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