s you’ll see in this issue, it was a busy summer for Parts Unlimited, as well as all of us at Parts Magazine. Our two companies share the same philosophy: that working in the motorcycle industry is not a desk job. Yes, we have desks at our office, but they are mainly for the papers we need to be planning our next trip, right? Races, rides, shows…those are the places where we can promote our products and see what is going on in the market. It sticks in your gut when you see it first-hand.      We got the summer rolling in July with the 3rd annual running of the MotoGP series at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. No question that this was the best one yet. The first two years were marred by massive traffic problems that were caused mainly by the popularity of the MotoGP series. Basically more people wanted to come watch the riders and hear those fabulous machines than the facility was able to handle. This year it got a lot better and surely will continue to smooth out. Read our report starting on page 18 about the many happenings at this year’s event.      Shortly after Laguna Seca, we were off to Madison, Wisconsin for the annual Parts Unlimited NVP and Dealer Showcase. That’s really the start of “Next Year” for the motorcycle business and we came away with great optimism about 2008. Get ready. There are lots of great new products on the way to your stores soon! See page 92 for our report on all the happenings in Madison. And then there was my favorite event of the year, the Rocky Mountain 400. Bob Maynard and his staff at Thor team up each year with others at Parts Unlimited to produce and organize a fantastic industry ride through the Rockies. To keep things fresh, the ride moves around and this year was based in Steamboat Springs. The weather was perfect, and everyone who attended had a great time riding the mountain trails of Northern Colorado. That report starts on page 58. If you’ve never taken the time to go, do yourself a favor and get qualified for next year’s ride. Your Parts rep can give you the details.      In closing, I had two hats to wear this year at Laguna Seca. In addition to my Parts Magazine work, Yamaha invited me to participate in their Yamaha Weekend of Champions activities. It’s a once-a-year opportunity for race fans to get a poster signed by some of the greatest names in motorcycle history. Giacomo Agostini, Eddie Lawson, Wayne Rainey and more. I didn’t have a racing career like theirs, but my victory in 1972 was Yamaha’s first Daytona 200 win and I appreciate very much them remembering that milestone. And what an honor it is to be sitting at the same table with those guys.      After six or seven years of doing the Weekend of Champions poster signings, Yamaha added a new twist this year. Right before the start of the MotoGP race, we all got to take a parade lap around the track in Mazda convertibles. And as we toured the course, I had an experience that I hadn’t had for about 35 years. As the announcer introduced us, it was really great to have the fans recognize us with their applause. To me what it said was that the fans that spend their time and money to come to an event like the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix really know their history. These are the super fans of our sport, with great passion and appreciation for every detail of what has happened before. And hopefully it gave them a way to better appreciate the performances that they were about to see from the current racers in the MotoGP final.

Parts Magazine
Volume 14 #10

Parts Magazine Index