FIRST PERSON/OPINION Via e-mail: I just thought I would drop you the heads-up–I was just at the Washington, DC 2007 International Motorcycle show and didn’t see one single mention of Nicky Hayden at the huge Honda exhibit. I walked up to three Honda reps and asked, “Where’s Nicky?” They all just stood there with their hands in their pockets. I asked why Honda didn’t have a picture of him, his bike or an American flag and 2006 World Champion anywhere. Their response, “Nicky Hayden doesn’t sell bikes.” I was pretty taken back and let down–even on Nicky Hayden’s home turf he can’t get any love. Yamaha had Rossi’s M1 on display but no Honda RC211V in sight! Just thought I would let folks know. Darrell Rogers Washington, DC And now some reaction… FIRST PERSON/OPINION Via e-mail: In response to your email from a reader who attended the International Cycle Show in Washington D.C.; I can’t comment on if Nicky actually sells bikes or not statistically, but I can comment that the dealer-reps for Honda at the D.C. show are usually full of you-know-what and rarely know what they are talking about. So Nicky is the center of your top road bike’s ad campaign but he doesn’t sell bikes. huh? Last year I was at the same show overlooking the Honda bikes and overheard one dealer rep enthusiastically informing a lesser informed consumer on how “…ALL of the privateer road racers race Honda.” Oh really?! The only Hondas you ever see on any road racing grid are either factory riders, factory satellite riders, well, and that is about it. Anyone who knows anything about road racing knows that 90% of the grid is made up of Suzuki GSX-Rs and Yamaha R6 or R1s. So listening to a dealer rep from Honda is about as constructive as trying to knock down a brick wall with a tack hammer. Furthermore, during the same show I tried to ask some very specific questions in the Yamaha area about Rossi’s GP bike from guys who were dressed to look like somebody’s pit crew. Of course they had no idea what I was talking about. A similar thing happened in the Suzuki area when asking about Aaron Yates’ Superstock bike and in the Ducati area when asking the differences between the equipment found on the 999S vs. the 999R. In each case I found myself correcting what the reps were telling other patrons about equipment, specs, the riders who ride the bikes professionally, race stats from the past couple of years, ect. (Much of which I contribute to being a 6-year subscriber to your glorious magazine — plug plug plug). Some of which couldn’t even explain what was occuring on thier own monitors showing road racing footage from the previous AMA, WSB, and MotoGP seasons. Basically, the reps who show up at these shows don’t really represent the brand names nationally. They just tend to be sales guys from the larger local dealers out to help rep the company when the show comes to town. Ask them for a business card and they will almost always end up being your local big named shop. Comparatively speaking, the ONLY reps at the shows who seem to actually know what they are talking about are the BMW guys…now they know their stuff. Patrick Lawrence Ft. Washington, Maryland. More on the Washington motorcycle show… FIRST PERSON/OPINION Via e-mail: I traveled to Washington, D.C. for the Cycle World International Motorcycle Show this past weekend. I was impressed with the Ducati booth and all the Italian eye candy. The reps were revved up and and the new 1098s and the $65,000 Desmosedici RR were on display. The BMW of North America booth had a flat screen tv with local BMW racer Nate Kern as the hero of the film! I turned my head and there was the winning bike from the inaugural Moto-ST 8 hour race from Daytona, the San Jose BMW that was raced by Stephane Mertens, Brian Parriott, and Nate Kern. Nate was there and autographing pictures for a long line of fans. Pretty cool! Another highlight of the show for me was meeting Dennis “BUB” Manning and his fastest motorcycle on earth, “Streamliner 7” raced at the Bonneville Salt Flats . Seven time National Champ Chris Carr piloted the awesome machine to a new land speed record of 350.884 mph! Dennis has been at this for 40 years. Too bad Chris did not make it to DC. Maybe he will be in New York City this weekend. There were many beautifully restored vintage race and street bikes and a lot of locals had their customized sportbikes on display. The Mid-Atlantic Road Racing Club had their annual booth with enthusiastic members preaching the gospel of local motorcycle road racing at Summit Point Raceway. All in all, it was a great show. Next time I will be there when it opens so I can see everything and catch up with my friends. I will also bring my camera. Roger Lyle Motorcycle Xcitement Track Days Hagerstown, Maryland