n the twelve years that we’ve been publishing Parts Magazine we have tried to give our issues a theme from a specific segment of the market. This August issue was for a time an ATV issue. But with the snowmobile season just around the corner, we later added a section for dealers in snow country.
     This year our “ATV/Snowmobile” issue has expanded once again, this time with more mainstream motorcycle news and events. We found there is just too much motorcycle activity going on to skip a month without reporting about that.
     For example, in this issue you’ll find a pictorial on the first-ever running of the fabulous MotoGP motorcycles at Laguna Seca. Parts Unlimited was one of the companies that stepped up with sponsorship support to make the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix the total success that it was.      Sure, the overflow crowd did cause some major traffic jams, and the lines were long for everything from the gift shop to the chicken teriyaki shish kabobs. The fact is, the motorcycle sport in America has never had an event quite like this GP. It was extreme in all ways and firmly put America on the calendar of Motorcycle Grand Prix racing. And it will only get bigger – and better organized – from here. I have no doubt that the organizers at Mazda Raceway Laguna      Seca see a long future for this great event at their facility. I know we do.
Whether you were at the race or just saw it on TV, you’d no doubt agree that it would be hard to write a script better than the way things turned out in the MotoGP race. Wasn’t it a great moment to watch Nicky Hayden win his first career Grand Prix, then pass by on his victory lap carrying the American flag? And even greater when he came by for a second lap and had his dad on the back!
     MotoGP wasn’t the only racing going on at Laguna Seca and everyone in the Parts Unlimited compound was pretty excited to see Eric Bostrom put it to Mat Mladin in the Superbike race. It’s great to see Eric getting comfortable on his Parts Unlimited/Ducati Austin. He got off to a bit of a slow start this year, then won at Colorado Springs, a place where he has won before. That victory seemed to give him the confidence he was lacking and at Laguna Seca he became the first rider in a long time to speed away from Mladin’s Yoshimura Suzuki. He did, by the way, win again a few weeks later at Ohio too.
     So enough about all this two-wheel stuff. Even with the addition of the motorcycle coverage, you’ll still find plenty of the latest products from the ATV and Snowmobile world, plus we’ve got a detailed pictorial in the Snowmobile Special Section from Snow Ride 2005, held earlier this year.
     No matter if your specialty is two-wheels, four-wheels, or a snowmobile track, there is something in this issue that you should enjoy. We hope you have a great season and will be looking for you at the upcoming Parts Unlimited Dealer “Meet & Greet” and Showcase in Wisconsin in August.

Ride Safe,