OzVMX Forum
Clubroom => General Discussion => Topic started by: paul on November 27, 2008, 07:47:55 am
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i was day dreaming over this ebay add and it dawn on me how the assie dollar has devalued
XR-750 Factory Flat Track Racer Dirt Track Racer (Harley-Davidson : XR-750) (Reserve Not Met)
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=120340337642&ih=002&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&viewitem=
US $10,500.00
AU $16,183.72
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or looking on the bright my C&J just appreciated against its replacement cost ;D
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last christmas it would off been close to even money
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Yair Paul,
$16,183 Ozzie plus shipping plus import costs. The Fat Lady has sung. ;)
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16k is a pretty fair price for a pretty well unmolested first series XR750. Many changed over to C&J, Champion or Trackmaster frames and were fited with aftermarket cases and/or top ends, detracting from their originality and therefore investment value. When you compare the price to a genuine Manx Norton or a G50 Matchless, its a good indication that these factory Harleys will eventually go through the roof. These flat trackers are too cool and as soon as I get the current batch of motocross projects out of the way I may make a start on my 650 Benelli Trackmaster basket case.
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IMO the best Harley ever!
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harley have just released an new XR - the XR1200 - a way cool lookin bike , saw it for the 1st time at our big boys toys show here in New Zealand
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the yanks have blown all their money and now they have come to take ours. The drop in our $ against theirs as compared to less than 12 months ago is the most obvious sign. Even if I were a millionaire I personally would not a touch a single thing out of the US at present on principle only. The US economy collapses, they see we are doing just fine so we'll bleed the Oz people for 50c in every dollar they have. Paying an extra $5000 to Uncle Sam for absolutely nothing as compared to 12 months ago??..if you love the US for what they've done to the average persons savings and investments globaly then go right ahead ;) bit of bee in my bonnet of this, it truley is nothing short of a money grab from average joe and makes one sort of understand why so many others are up in arms, literally! If we had vast oil reserves down here I'd be a little more than worried about any US military activity in this country ;)
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It's easy to blame the yanks for the dollar, but it's more of a world game played by the worlds banks.
I didn't think it would last long when close to even money, but I didn't think it would drop as low as it did.
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I have to agree with GMC.
It's always easy to take pot shots at the USA for their problems. What tends to get lost in the anger are the good things that they create and do which have positive effects on our lives...like the ability to tank the yanks on an internet discussion forum... ;)
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Isn't it all to do with the amount of money some bloody stupid people are spending, that has caused Aussie trouble.
Went to North of Perth on the weekend and what used to be strawberry/tom/spud/carrot fields is all now roof tops and these houses have to be furnished and the outdoor setting ::) too dear ::)
just out of control >:(
And they are still letting OS people into the country ,what about our kids jobs next year and the year after..
aaaahhhhh I feel good now ...
Have a great day
Alison
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the trouble is that countries are now run just to supply multinationals with consumption-addicted humans who have long lost sight of what real life is about. governments will always do these companies bidding cause they keep them in government, and that means short term profit all the way down to the last bit of available water, oil, air.
on that note, anyone see that most interesting doco last nite, 'earth after humans'? if we did ourselves in, a hundred years later skyscrapers are like vertical jungles; a thousand years later all signs of the species homo sapiens gone baby gone....
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on that note, anyone see that most interesting doco last nite, 'earth after humans'? if we did ourselves in, a hundred years later skyscrapers are like vertical jungles; a thousand years later all signs of the species homo sapiens gone baby gone....
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yes we watched it,(Chen noble with the city next door was regrowing)don't ya just love the way nature takes over. :-*
Our mx track up the paddock is the same, has to be riden on ever so often to stop the regrowth ;D
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Some interesting and diverse comments. I have never known exactly why the various exchange rates vary constantly and vary wildly at times. I probably should jump on Google and investigate :P. It does seem unusual that the consensus is that Australia in probably going to weather the tough economic times better than most western economies and yet we seem to get hammered with the exchange rate.
Taking a mild interest over a long period of time I think there are a number of factors that vary our exchange rate. I have heard that being a relatively small volume currency the Oz $ is subject to manipulation at times ::) :-\. I don't think that is the cause at the mo. The last explanation of the current situation I heard was that the US economy is sucking in credit which somehow makes the oz $ against the $US go down and the $US against the Euro go down ???.
I think the variation in exchange rates is a case of swings and around abouts, there are advantages and disadvantages. Some industries welcome the change some go backwards. My sister in law is getting an inheritance from Ireland. She'll effectively get about 50% more than she would have 12 months ago 8). The prob with variations in any prices is the disruptive effect of adjusting (exchange rate is an international price of our currency).
I'm still buying out of the US, buying less and being more selective but still buying. Without any real info I'm supposing that the Oz $ will recover further in the near future. I probably should jump on to Google now and become better informed ;).
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It's always easy to take pot shots at the USA for their problems. What tends to get lost in the anger are the good things that they create and do which have positive effects on our lives...like the ability to tank the yanks on an internet discussion forum...
Ajay, that example is exactly the point. Too many corporate giants and too many little people. I am not racist, people are people no matter what part of this rock they're from, I'm having a go at the US super powers and government departments with their buddy buddy corporate giants who have sucked up all the money that would normaly be spread around globally. The war in Iraq and elsewhere is a prime example. The US munitions companies, suppliers and all other assocciated contingencies must be laughing all the way to the bank regardless of how much it's cost their country or the global economy for that matter. The US is richer than ever it's just fewer people share the wealth. For every action there is an equal and sometimes more drastic reaction. I have my opinions and it points the finger squarly at the outgoing US government and their war mongering global controlling ways. Thank God the US had the sense to toss them out while they had the chance ;)
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Angry ant. Chill out mate, our dollar has taken a nose dive due to the fact it was too strong .
Aus dollar needed to drop to be competitive .
Ask yourself this then why has the price of a barrel of oil dropped since the dollar has crashed
It's all highs and lows
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getting back to the important stuff, nice bike though. I picked up the remastered re-issue of On Any Sunday the other week for the grand total of $9.00 and the footage of those crazy buggers on those flat-trackers is still the highlight for me.
One hand on the bars (on purpose ;D) while going sideways next to a picket fence (if you're lucky). Gotta love it.
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In the 90s I worked at Neilson & moller windscreens in Taren Point anyway that place ran 24 hours a day 7 days a week :o and sold screens all around the world and then our dollar got stronger and the world stopped buying screens and they went bust :'( sometimes its just not right. jimson
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the yanks have blown all their money and now they have come to take ours. The drop in our $ against theirs as compared to less than 12 months ago is the most obvious sign. Even if I were a millionaire I personally would not a touch a single thing out of the US at present on principle only. The US economy collapses, they see we are doing just fine so we'll bleed the Oz people for 50c in every dollar they have. Paying an extra $5000 to Uncle Sam for absolutely nothing as compared to 12 months ago??..if you love the US for what they've done to the average persons savings and investments globaly then go right ahead ;) bit of bee in my bonnet of this, it truley is nothing short of a money grab from average joe and makes one sort of understand why so many others are up in arms, literally! If we had vast oil reserves down here I'd be a little more than worried about any US military activity in this country ;)
Hey now, let's play nice. As an American I admit that the greedy US mofos on Wall Street had a lot do do with the world's crappy economy, but you have to remember that China, Japan and lots of other world banks were perfectly happy and willing to loan the money out, expecting to get a lot of money back in return. They played the game as well. One group or nation can't do this on their own any more than one person can tango with himself.
I also want to point out that I've been going to AMCA meets here since 1999 and there are LOTS of Australians, New Zealanders, Germans, Dutch and Japanese who've been coming to the US and taking container loads of Indians, Hendersons, Excelsiors and Harleys back to their countries and making TONS of profit.
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OK guys - there are no right or wrong answers on the whole global meltdown thing other than we are seeing a massive correction to a lot of otherwise pear shaped things that have become accepted practice and the worm has turned !!!
House prices will drop, fuel has dropped and sadly the arse has fallen out of our dollar (which should now be recovering and it appears to be so - while parity would be handy it would fairly well root our overall economy meaning no more money for dole handouts or sponsoring the entry of African refugees etc, lol!)
It comes down to the old ' if you want it badly enough, you will pay' situation, eg, I have just forked out a considerable amount of money for a 501 Maico which requires a full resto and that is after an expensive shipping exercise. I also have bought a shitload of NOS stuff that sadly will now cost a small fortune. No time for tears, just get on with life and enjoy being above the ground.
Anyone with good, quality spares can now wait for a cashed up dollar rich yank to buy up.
For what it's worth (or not anymore, lol)
Dave Mac
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As an American I have to say that the American economy is being looted by the US government
itself in an attempt to drive the US into socialism. Obama is an economic moron, his cabinet is no better,
none have ever had a real job or been a bsuinessman. These bailouts are nothing more than manufactured
scams. I do find it funny though that he has told the liberal buffoons that voted for him "Sorry, but I won't be keeping any of those promises I made". I really feel sorry for the retards who thought he could cure cancer.
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As an American I have to say that the American economy is being looted by the US government
itself in an attempt to drive the US into socialism. Obama is an economic moron, his cabinet is no better,
none have ever had a real job or been a bsuinessman. These bailouts are nothing more than manufactured
scams. I do find it funny though that he has told the liberal buffoons that voted for him "Sorry, but I won't be keeping any of those promises I made". I really feel sorry for the retards who thought he could cure cancer. ... with respect for your views i hope your wrong and hope you can see positives out of the wishes of your population of voters who came out this time to make a change. i know in the past i have been alarmed at the result of federal elections in oz but in hindsight have been convinced that the voters probably got it right. kind regards from one ozzy mate.
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The US is richer than ever it's just fewer people share the wealth. For every action there is an equal and sometimes more drastic reaction. I have my opinions and it points the finger squarly at the outgoing US government and their war mongering global controlling ways. Thank God the US had the sense to toss them out while they had the chance ;)
As a matter of interest, the US is NOT richer than ever. It's being running huge deficits for well over a decade, created by both brands of politics. It only gives the impression of being rich.
Indeed the root cause of the current crisis (the credit freeze) can be blamed entirely on the Clinton administration, who liberated lending of money to people who never should have been able to borrow money and never had any chance whatsoever to pay it back. When this happened, it was only a matter of time for the house of cards to fall... ::) It is amazing that it lasted as long as it did though... :o
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The problem with our government is they can't say no to spending, especially during the last 8 years. It's also misguided and incorrect to lay the current economic crisis solely at the feet of the Clinton administration.
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"In 1999, under pressure from the Clinton administration, Fannie Mae, the nation's largest home mortgage underwriter, relaxed credit requirements on the loans it would purchase from other banks and lenders, hoping that easing these restrictions would result in increased loan availability for minority and low-income buyers. Putting pressure on the GSE's (Government Sponsored Enterprise) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the Clinton administration looked to increase their sub-prime portfolios, including the Department of Housing and Urban Development expressing its interest in the GSE's maintaining a 50% portion of their portfolios in loans to low and moderate-income borrowers" (ref: New York Times, Sept 30, 1999)
Everyone is entitiled to an opinion of course... ::)
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Wally,
I wish you were right but a number of polls and studies shows that those who voted for Obama didn't have any clue as to what his plans were and now they are unhappy because he isn't giving them free gasoline,forgivr their mortgages or hand out any cash.
I believe the root problem is the educational system which does not teach, economics,government or trying to instill a sense of achieve. American school system teach what to think, not how think. They
stress, diversity, political correctness, self-esteem, white guilt and a host of other useless garbage.
All of this is a scam to dumb people down and line of pockets of people like Al Gore.
As an engineer who works in the field of alternative energy applications I can say with all honesty that
global warming is a scam and that there is not energy source out there that is go to replace oil in the next hundred years. The left likes to tout getting rid of foreign energy sources for electricity. The problem is the US doesn't use foreign energy for electricity, it use nuclear and US coal but this is never reveal to
unknowing public. You can't tax your way to prosperity but nothing will change until the US dumps democrats and republicans and adopts conservatism. Getting off my soapbox now and going back to the toolbox.
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As an engineer who works in the field of alternative energy applications I can say with all honesty that
global warming is a scam and that there is not energy source out there that is go to replace oil in the next hundred years.
How do you know that? What are your theories based on?
Fifteen years ago I could work outside all day with my shirt off and get moderitely sunburnt, today if I have my shirt off for two hours I'm burnt to the same degree. You might think that global warming or a hole in the ozone lay may not exist in your country, but believe me where I come from the sun is allot harsher than it use to be.
Ten years ago I could snow ski in the Austrian Alps all day without applying sunscreen and was amazed that I didnt get burnt but if I was to try to do the same thing here up on our mountains today I would have blisters from the sunburn. Maybe this has nothing to do with global warming but it just seems a strange coincidence. I am not a PC greenie type person and I certainly dont believe everything my government tells me but what I do know is that if I dont look after my bike and do maintanence it turns to crap. I wonder if the same applies to the planet we live on?
Most things are money driven, and I cant see big corperate giants jumping to spend money on something that isnt going to give them a return so it is allot easier for them to get their scientist to say it doesnt exist or is a scam.
Maybe Global warming isnt happening and their isnt a hole in the ozone layer and our dollar had to collapse to prop up the spending of another country because they over committed themselves.
Life is harsh..... Thankfully my scotch whiskey isnt.
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They stress, diversity, political correctness, self-esteem, white guilt and a host of other useless garbage
:o
And I bet you work in the nuclear industry and are a card carrying member of the NRA. It'd fit right in with your tolerant and open minded outlook on life. After 8 years of the most laughable administration in US history, methinks Obama is the breath of fresh ideas that the USA needs.
global warming is a scam
That statement defies all serious scientific research but backs up the oil company driven conservative propaganda fed to the gullible American people as "fact". The "dumbing down" (to use your terminology) of the American people starts in your schools where from day one the kids are taught little or nothing of other societies or political philosophies that differ from the American idea of 'democracy'.
Because of that lack of knowledge Americans grow up with an inbuilt distrust of any political ideal that differs from what they are taught. The paranoid hatred of the evil socialism is a classic example yet if you asked the average American in the street to explain how socialism works they wouldn't have a clue. This ignorance is further carried into the American psyche by the far right dominated media (Fox, CNN) that feed largely biased and erroneous propaganda under the guise of "news".
This is nothing personal Phantom, you seem a nice bloke and I like your bikes. However if you are going to make American political statements on an Australian vintage motocross forum you must be prepared to hear an alternative view. ;)
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You guys are geniuses, who would have thought that the worlds problems would have been solved by a bunch of middle aged has been dirt bike riders. Amazing.
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And we definitely get better at solving these problems at Margeurita Time.... ;D
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You guys are geniuses, who would have thought that the worlds problems would have been solved by a bunch of middle aged has been dirt bike riders. Amazing.
ah magoo youv'e dun it again! ..However rightly or wrongly i have a similar opinion as firko.... As a conservative voter 95% of the time, I have learnt that governments can get a bit over the top e.g.that stupid 'work practices' caper tried on by our last p.m....One other thing i have learnt in my 71 years is that governments never win elections ..they generally loose by stupidity and or arrogance. i also learnt the value of listening to others points of view.... as in a previous role, where i found myself on the opposite side of the table to communist types in industrial situations.it is amazing what you can learn just by listening.
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global warming is a scam
That statement defies all serious scientific research but backs up the oil company driven conservative propaganda fed to the gullible American people as "fact".
Global warming has been proven but the cause/s is/are being guessed at, as are the consequences.
There have been variation is global temperature of this magnitude in the pass.
There are a number of scientists and other lobby groups who are obviously exaggerating for their own benefit. Despite their protestations and professional ethics and posturing the scientific community can't be relied on to give wholly objective findings and advice.
Carbon sequesting and the growing of trees is an obvious area of complete and misleading bullshit been pushed and exploited for the financial benefit of a few. It is true that a tree absorbs carbon from the atmosphere and stores it in the wood as it grows but what happens in 50-70-100 or 500years time when the tree dies. Yep, that's right, the tree decays and releases the carbon back into the atmosphere. At best growing trees to outset carbon release from burning fossil fuels is 'carbon delay'. At best! We weren't going into how much arable land that would be required to offset one years carbon production let alone suck up the last 100 years of already released carbon (which we would have to do to stop and reverse the alleged process/cause).
I'm no expert, I'm no economist and I'm probably not even 'fully informed' to the satisfaction of the 'experts', but I suss the whole of the Carbon Trading as a scam and I all so suss the genuiness of it's proponents. If they want to decrease carbon release by 10% it could be done today at the stroke of the pen - ban unnecessary international flights. Tell the frigging French their can't fly to the Canary Islands this weekend to getting freaking warm. And now tell Qantas to expect a 50% downturn in income profitability etc etc. Now tell 50% of the Qantas workforce that they are out of a job. And now tell the rest of society that the ensuing recession is the 'recession you have to have' ;).
All of the above is not an argument or incitement to do nothing. Most of the solutions and alternatives pushed by Global Warming are actions we need to take for long term sustainability. In fact Global Warming may be the battleship Maine, the Lusitania, Pearle Harbour, the Bay of Tonkin and WMD all rolled into one.
There's no one that big, powerful or manipulative is there? :P
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I am in!!!!! I am stupid and at times arrogant (OK scumbags!!!) I going to be in parliament..!!!!! ;) :D Cheers Tim
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Here's a link to an interesting article which reports that the Bush Administration backed off tougher mortgage legislation in 2005, even when warned what would happen.
Doing nothing about a known problem is nearly the same as causing the problem.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081201/ap_on_bi_ge/meltdown_ignored_warnings
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Absolutely! ;)
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Firko,
No offense taken, I believe differing point of views and debate is good, unlike the green cultists who say
that there is nothing to dicusss. Prehaps I mis-spoke, I didn't mean to say that climate change doesn't happen, my point was carbon credits are s scam, nothing more than a new route to more taxation.
No I don't work in nuclear energy, I design wind, solar and geothermal projects. (we keep trying but
the technology is still not there to make any of these options viable for large scale power generation).
NRA member, no. Gun owner, yes. In Vietnam I saw and learned first hand the wonders of communism
so you will have to excuse if I don't trust the government. Take care, stay safe.
http://www.milkandcookies.com/link/102069/detail/
http://www.bobbyshred.com/globalwarmingfools.html
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Here's a link to an interesting article which reports that the Bush Administration backed off tougher mortgage legislation in 2005, even when warned what would happen.
Doing nothing about a known problem is nearly the same as causing the problem.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081201/ap_on_bi_ge/meltdown_ignored_warnings
"Many of the banks that fought to undermine the proposals by some regulators are now either out of business or accepting billions in federal aid to recover from a mortgage crisis they insisted would never come. Many executives remain in high-paying jobs, even after their assurances were proved false."
Go figure ::).
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And for some more world news at 5.. ;D
Honda Two-Wheeler Sales to North American Dealers Drop 51%
Posted: Thursday, 5th November, 2009 : 2:36 PM - - 518 Reads -
While the Global Financial Crisis has had an effect in Australia it has certianly been no where near as bad as it has been in North America.
Sales figures from Honda show exactly how bad it is.
July through September, Japan’s Honda Motor Co. sold about 22,000 motorcycles and scooters to North America, a decline of 51 percent compared to the same period last year.
During the six months ending Sept. 30, the company sold about 53,000 units to the region, a decline of 44 percent.
Honda defines North American sales as those to the U.S., Canada and Mexico. The sales include both units exported from Japan and those made by subsidiaries. Not included would be units made without Honda parts (a slim minority of units, perhaps not relevant to North American statistics).
These numbers were divulged in Honda's financial report for the second quarter of its 2010 fiscal year. In a slideshow accompanying the financial filing, the company stated, “The U.S. economy seems to have bottomed out, although the duration of the decline is still a concern.” The company notes a North American increase in sales to dealers of sport models such as the CBR1000RR and VFR800/A.
Honda also provides numbers for its North American sales of all types of powersports units: two-wheelers, ATVs, PWC, etc. Altogether it sold 43,000 units to the region during the fiscal second quarter, a year-over-year decrease of 53.8 percent. During the six months ending Sept. 30, it sold 173,000 units to North American dealers, a decrease of 43.9 percent. Honda notes a decrease in sales of ATV models such as the TRX250TE and TRX350FM.
Honda predicts improving sales. For its fiscal year ending March 31, 2010, it expects to sell 210,000 units to North America, a decrease of just 34.4 percent compared to the previous year.
Honda’s worldwide net earnings for the quarter ending Sept. 30 were 54.0 billion yen ($599 million), a decrease of 56.2 percent from the same period in 2008.
Revenue for the quarter amounted to 2.06 trillion yen ($22.8 billion), a year-over-year decrease of 27.2 percent, primarily due to fallen auto sales and unfavorable exchange rates. Honda estimates that had the rates been unchanged from the corresponding period in 2008, revenue for the quarter would have decreased by about 16.1 percent.
Honda’s earnings for the first half of its fiscal year totaled 61.5 billion yen ($683 million), a decrease of 79.2 percent from the same period in 2008. Revenue for the period amounted to 4.06 trillion yen ($45.0 billion), a decrease of 28.7 percent.
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With % and absolute declines of that magnitude it's surprising that Honda have stayed in motorcycle racing, GP and MX. Either they have good reserves or good credit 8).
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With % and absolute declines of that magnitude it's surprising that Honda have stayed in motorcycle racing, GP and MX. Either they have good reserves or good credit 8).
Im not sure about all forms of motorsport that Honda is involved in but in the World MX series they only supply bikes and parts(and maybe some token $) to chosen satelite teams like CAS in the UK and Martin Honda in Italy .These teams are otherwise self funded.
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watched head of toyota racing (i think),holding back the tears in a press conference announcing they were pulling out of F1 racing(i didn't know they were innit?? ???),F1's gunna sue,breach of contract??, :P
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F1 has enough drama's without taking on a corporate giant. Seems lots of Japanese companies are tightening belts Bridgestone is out of F1, Toyota, Honda(the team was sold to Ross Brawn for 1 pound sterling and went on to win the driver/constructor titles this year ;D), Subaru, Mitsubishi and Suzuki out of WRC, Kawasaki out of MotoGP etc etc
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With % and absolute declines of that magnitude it's surprising that Honda have stayed in motorcycle racing, GP and MX. Either they have good reserves or good credit 8).
Im not sure about all forms of motorsport that Honda is involved in but in the World MX series they only supply bikes and parts(and maybe some token $) to chosen satelite teams like CAS in the UK and Martin Honda in Italy .These teams are otherwise self funded.
Ducati's Livio Suppo has been headhunted by HRC to get more sponsorship dollars (or is that sponsorship Euro's ;) ;D) for the Big H.
http://www.motomatters.com/news/2009/11/05/suppo_to_be_hrc_marketing_director_yaman.html
May you live in interesting times :D.
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Along with the increasingly important 'data/telemetry engineers' mostly from Yamaha. Italy is salivating as now Vito Gareshi is doing Suppo's job, Gareshi and Rossi are good friends ;)
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Along with the increasingly important 'data/telemetry engineers' mostly from Yamaha. Italy is salivating as now Vito Gareshi is doing Suppo's job, Gareshi and Rossi are good friends ;)
Yeah, the contest for Rossi's last years has started. The stakes are high; the manufacturer that wins his last championship before retirement will have perception and marketing advantages for years to come.
Friendship, nationalism, and an ongoing marketing career, and lotsa Maraboro Euros, will be a powerful combination not to be discounted. And maybe not to be ignored, contracts not withstanding ;).
But would Vale go over, would he risk his reputation on managing the 'unrideable' Ducati. Would he win or just enhance Casey's reputation?
It would be fantastic to see an 'even' fight between Casey and Vale (either Vale on Ducati or Casey on a Yammy 8)) but I wonder would it happen. If Ducati went to the trouble and expensive of winning Vale over could they risk Casey winning. Casey might give them two years marketing advantage, Vale would give them 20 years marketing advantage.