2008 Nominations

The nominations and their content are the opinion of the submitters, and not necessarily the opinion of MBI or its members.

Best concept motorcycle or scooter
Finalist	Manufacturer	Name/model	Additional information	URL	Photo
x	Honda	CB1100R	Classic honda colors, future-retro		....
x	Aprilia	FV2 1200	Revolutionary, sexy, power		....
x	Honda	Evo 6	Utilizing an 1800cc flat 6 and Honda’s HFT motorcycle automatic transmission may not sound exciting but take a look at what they have produced - one of the most talked about concepts since Suzuki’s B-King.		....
x	KTM	690 Stunt	The first ever bike that was planned for real stunt riding: Grab spaces under the seat, rear hand break control for stand-up wheelies, flat fuel tank (for standing) and more... coolness at its best!		....
x	Yamaha	XS-V1 Sakura	Great retro bike, brilliant looks		....
	Harley-Davidson	Softail Rock C	Custom, sleek style.		....
Best manufacturer’s website
Finalist	Manufacturer		Additional information	URL	Photo
x	BMW		Lots of info, configurator, reviews
x	Yamaha		Good, intuitive navigation, lot’s of news, easy to find the needed info
x	Buell		Easy to navigate, interactive without being obnoxious
x	Harley-Davidson		Very large, all the info you need, international, and all the merchandising you’ll ever want.
x	Yamaha - Star		Excellent information with intuitive navigation controls.
Best new motorcycle
Finalist	Manufacturer	Name/model	Additional information	URL	Photo
x	Ducati	Hypermotard	The most amazing new motorbike!		....
x	KTM	Superduke 990	What already was a brilliant bike is even better now. Who wants a 1098, DB7 or anything you just can’t ride properly with all that traffic? This is the bike that has it all!		....
x	Honda	CB1000R	Honda, the most boring of all manufacturers, takes a deep breath and comes with a stunning looking bike. They probably killed the engine (like Yamaha did to the FZ1) but if they are as brave in the engine department as the designers it should beat the SuperDuke and all other Big Balls Bikes.		....
x	Moto Guzzi	Griso	What other OEM, mass-produced motorcycle stands apart from all others as much as the Griso? The Griso stands apart with unique, aesthetically-pleasing style in a comfortable package with solid street performance, priced within a reasonable range.		....
x	Triumph	Street Triple 675	Sporting the distinctive dual lamps up front, the Street Triple is an amalgam of the Triumph Speed Triple 1050 and the Daytona 675. The bike is closely modelled on the Speed Triple but uses a re-tuned inline three cylinder 675cc engine from the successful Daytona 675 sportsbike released in 2006. The demand for the bug-eyed Street Triple has been greater than anticipated, there are waiting lists at some dealers. [www.motorcycle-usa.com]		....
	Buell	1125R	First true American sportbike.		....
	Aprilia	Shiver	Perfect standard motorcycle. V-twin usable power without the ’fashionable’ trend of being a litre bike. 750cc twin. Perfection.		....
	Ducati	848	Incredibly fast, great looking, and available to the public 2 weeks after launch.		....
	Kawasaki	Concours 14	A well received machine in almost all reviews and a major release in this sector which is sure to bring changes to the other manufacturers touring line up.		....
	Kawasaki	Ninja ZX 1400	Powerful, comfortable, and beautiful...good for sport, cruising, or a combination of both...massive power yet very economical...Everything I could ever want in just one bike!		....
Best new scooter
Finalist	Manufacturer	Name/model	Additional information	URL	Photo
x	Aprilia	Sportcity 250	250cc dohc EFI engine (same as Vespa GTS), dual front disc brakes, great modern styling, all for $4,599.		....
x	Piaggio	MP3 400	400cc and three-wheel tilting? How could it NOT be the best scooter?		....
x	Yamaha	X-Max 250	Nice looking scooter, fast and easy to ride at a decent price		....
Most disappointing new motorcycle
Finalist	Manufacturer	Name/model	Additional information	URL	Photo
x	Kawasaki	zzr1400	worst after sales i ever experienced
x	Yamaha	Raider	Fuel injected, water-cooled, and about as uncomfortable as a sport bike.		....
x	Honda	CBR1000RR	Nothing new - same old 4 in line four, but this time, designed as one big mock up. Short exhaust are the fashion now? Let’s throw them in! Ducati made nice front at the 1098 with those special headlights? Let's do the same! pointy lines goes great on KTMs? Let's copy them! And so on...		....
x	Suzuki	B-King	Too soft, too round, too ugly exhausts		....
x	Yamaha	YZF R6	Brand new. Innnovative. Extreme. So how come it looks like the old one, isn’t as track-oriented as it should be (no, they just SAY that) and still has stuff like passenger pegs and a weak midrange?		....
Most environmentally friendly motorcycle
Finalist	Manufacturer	Name/model	Additional information	URL	Photo
x	ElectricMoto Corporation	Blade XT	The granddaddy of electric offroad motorcycles		....
x	Oset	Trials	Excellent starter bike to teach young riders and do it quietly in the safety of your backyard.		....
x	Quantya	FMX	Top!		....
x	Zero	Zero X	Not a toy, but a real off roader		....
Object of lust
Finalist	Manufacturer	Name/model	Additional information	URL	Photo
x	BMW	F800 GS	It is the mid-range GS model that BMW riders have been waiting for. Fully loaded with touring gear, the 1200GS can be frightening to manage under less-than-ideal conditions. The 650GS feels like too much of a step down. The F800GS looks just right.		....
x	Ducati	1098			....
x	Ducati	Desmosedici RR	A street legal MotoGP bike, even the stars want one (and can afford one)		....
x	KTM	Superduke	What already was a brilliant bike is even better now. Who wants a 1098, DB7 or anything you just can’t ride proper with all that traffic? This is the bike that has it all!		....
x	MV Agusta	F4 312R	People stop, stare, start thinking how could they afford one.		....
	Suzuki	GSX1300R	Incredible power. Refreshing new look. Avant garde technology. Legendary.		....
	Bimota	DB7	Superb 1098 performance, gorgeous Bimota style.		....
	Gilera	Fuoco 500ie	Call it an MP3, call it a Fuoco, call it whatever you want. I want one!		....
	Honda	DN-01	Radical new styling that grabs attention from every angle. Form-fitting comfort that invites one to both sit on and to ride. Smooth response to every rider input, reacting with exhilarating performance at every twist of its throttle, and… no clutch! Not only that, no gear changer! Is this really a motorcycle? Or is it some strange kind of scooter? I don’t care what it is called, I want one NOW!		....
Thumbs down
Finalist	Nominee name	The deed	Additional information	URL	Photo
x	Honda	eliminating all ’standards’ from the US lineup	It’s bad enough that then new CB1000 the Hornet and other standard street motorcycles are omitted from the U.S., but now they’ve taken away the 599 and the 919 standard. Way to go Honda.
x	Buell	Only offering 2 of their 10 models for 2008 in some markets.	For Australia and The Pacific nation markets Buell have elected to only import their new 1125r and the XB12SS in 2008 spec and recycle 2006/7 stock for the rest of the range with the exception of the XB12S Lightning which incredibly they discontinued altogether.
x	AMA (American Motorcyclist Association)	Directionless	Between the firings, the resignings and the new hires...does anyone there know what the heck ’American Motorcyclists’ actually want/need?...and that’s not even mentioning the debacle that the ’Racing’ arm of AMA has created.
x	Lambretta USA	Using Lambretta name to sell their cheap looking rebadged scooters.	Lambrettas are beautiful, vintage, metal bodied, 2 stroke, manual shifting scooters that were made in Milan, Italy from 1947 till 1973. Come 2007, an American company decides to take plastic, 4 stroke, automatic Adly (her Chee)scooters made in Taiwan, slap a Lambretta sticker on them, give them Italian sounding model names and use the marketing tagline “True Love Returns”, thereby causing confusion with newcomers to the scooter scene, who think they’ve bought a classic and can buy spares and accessories from the vintage Lambretta parts suppliers. There is no family tree to be followed from the vintage Lambrettas to the rebadged Adly’s apart from the sticker, and it seems like a move to try and cash in on the newly renewed interest in vintage scooters. It has caused an outcry in worldwide vintage Lambretta clubs and Lambretta USA continues to present themselves and mislead potential customers by giving the impression their rebadged Adly’s are related to the Vintage Lambrettas.
x	Loud Pipes Save Lives	Behavior by a few turning public opinion against all riders	Standing behind the idea that they have the right to do whatever they want riders with excessively loud exhaust systems violate the rights of others by destroying their right to peace and quiet. Additionally the idea that loud pipes saves lives is a myth used to rationalize indefensible actions. It is time the riding community and manufacturers to police our own before the government does it for us.
	Alpinestars	Terrible quality of the Tech 7 and Tech 10 motocross boots	The soles of the Tech 7 and Tech 10 motocross boots are of very poor quality. The sole comes loose from the boot after only the first time using them. The problem persists even when the boots have been repaired by Alpinestars. The arrogant attitude from Alpinestars makes this big problem even more annoying.		....
	Honda	Not importing the new 700 Transalp to the USA	Major stupid move.		....
	Stichting Geluidshinder Baggelhuizen	Making the famous TT-circuit Assen almost close down	This housing area Baggelhuizen was built in 1955, long after the TT-track was there. Protests are led by “Stichting Geluidshinder Baggelhuizen”, a small group of retired lawyers and whiners who have nothing else on their hands. With the help of some environmental fundamentalist groups they sued the city, county and track itself for so long it was forced to stop track days and club racing.
	Tree huggers	Promoting electric motorcycles	If people like Vectrix and KillaCycle keep on building this electric BS it will not take long for the Environmental Fascists to notice. Next they will ban all combustion engines and make us ride this electric crap. Stop developing everything that doesn’t sound and feel like we want to, it will only bring us trouble.
Thumbs up
Finalist	Nominee name	The contribution	Additional information	URL	Photo
x	KTM	Entering the Streetbike market	After years of tippy-toeing into the road-motorcycle market with the ’Duke’ and ’Super-Duke’ and the Supermotos, KTM has officially dove head first into the roadbike market. Also entering world competition with the RC8 should develop their sportbikes even further.
x	Vespa	The Vespanomics Video contest	Vespa is really hitting the USA in the gas gauge, and using innovative methods to promote environmentally-friendly transportation.
x	ClassicYams.com	Building a digital Yamaha museum	This website is a project of Ludy Beumer, a recently retired Yamaha Europe employee. He worked there for 46 years and was a part in the racing era in the early 70’s. Ludy knows them all and helped the team and the development of the bikes. His website is a real treasure for all classic-race fans and filled with loads of inside information and photo’s. All the big names, all the bikes, all the secrets. A group of guys around Beumer still maintains and races the classic bikes Let’s hope every brand has its own Ludy Beumer.		....
x	Ewan McGregor/Charlie Boorman	Enhanced image of motorcycle riders	With their Long Way Down, book and TV series, they have captured the imagination of non-riders worldwide.		....
x	Leatt Brace	Offering something that really will save lives	This great device has become standard issue in motocross within one year. It was developed with help from people like Heinz Kinigadner of KTM who’s son is in a wheelchair. This brace is not too expensive and thus has a brilliant price-quality comparison. Saving lives at a low price, who can beat that?		....
x	Riders.org	African health organization created by motorcyclists.	International, with many famous motorcycle stars, charity, helping Africa get motorcycles for medical and logistics, including maintenance and the motorcycles.
	Bono	Auctioning of his Ducati for charity	Worked with Rider.org to auction his Ducati for African charity		....
What were they thinking?
Finalist	Manufacturer	Name/model or description	Additional information	URL	Photo
x	Babecage	Pillion safety cage	Putting a cage around your pillion to make them feel safer?? Buy a car!		....
x	Yamaha	2008 Roadstar	Someone should be tied up and beat upside the head for messing with the Roadstar. It was perfect just the way it was. What the **** were they thinking putting FI on a prefectly good design.		....
x	KTM	Toaster	Burnt KTM toast...click the web link and scroll down to see the picture of the toaster. This is no joke.		....
x	Suzuki	B-King	A case of too many years having passed since the concept, those exhausts in 2001 were novel but now look stupid. The nose cone was not translated well and also looks ugly. Of course all the interesting electronics were lost along the way too...		....
Wish we’d thought of that
Finalist	Manufacturer	Name/model or description	Additional information	URL	Photo
x	Harley-Davidson	Softail Rocker	The new rockertail suspension feature a fender suspended right over the rear tire with no visible supports.		....
x	KTM	Toaster	At last a brand that dares to have fun. So much BS from Japanese brands who take themselves and riding bikes too serious. This toaster shows what riding bikes should be about: having fun. [scroll up when you click the link]		....
x	Scootpub	Scooter publicity	In Paris, France a company is using scooters to pull publicity boards through the city. Visible, and doesn’t get stuck in traffic.		....
Women riders booster of the year
Finalist	Nominee name	Achievement	Additional information	URL	Photo
x	Donna Palladino	Motorcycle riding instructor / demonstrator with a giving heart and independent spirit!	Donna, as the wife of motorcycle instructor and law enforcement officer Jerry Palladino, travels to different bike events around the nation and demonstrates the motorcycle skills that are taught to officers. She is tireless in her efforts to show that women riders can control any bike they ride with these techniques. She is also the founder of the Women Who Ride forum on Delphi Forums, which has been a gathering place for women riders since, I think, 2003. Through her forum Donna provides a place where women riders can ask questions and seek and offer support. She is not only a personal inspiration, but her skills are admired by the many hundreds (thousands?) of women riders who frequent her forum and purchase her instructional videos.		....
x	Gail Hatch	Gail Hatch has an clean, uncluttered way of presenting her views as a motorcyclist.	Traveling over 9 thousand miles 2-up with her incredibly grounded 12 year old daughter is not something done lightly. Gail and Lisa shared their insights as they traveled together through heat, rain and various other challenges. This shared journey was enjoyable and fascinating to follow.		....
x	Genevieve Schmitt	Tirelessly promoting women motorcycling since 1993.	Genevieve has been working in the motorcycle industry since 1993 and is recognized as a leader in motorcycling journalism focusing on the area of women. She currently writes a monthly column about women and motorcycling for these motorcycle magazines: American Iron, the number one motorcycle magazine on the newsstands, and Dealernews, a leading industry trade publication. She is an inductee in the Sturgis Motorcycle Museum Hall of Fame for her journalism work on raising awareness of the female motorcyclist. Genevieve tours the country speaking at motorcycling events including ladies nights, dealer open houses, and motorcycle rallies. Her speeches are designed to inspire women to take up motorcycling for the first time, or inspire current riders to spend more time in the saddle by creating new riding goals. In addition, Genevieve does presentations to business owners to help them better market to the female customer.		....
x	Lois Pryce	20,000 mile solo ride, Alaska to the tip of South America on a 225cc bike	The riding achievements of Lois Pryce and subsequent books are outstanding reminders of what a person can do with minimal support an a large amount of self determination. Ms. Pryce’s experience and example shine a bright light on what is possible not only for women, but men as well who choose a more challenging option to commercial adventure expeditions.		....
x	Sarah Lyon	Photographed and produced the first Female Mechanics calendar.	Sarah Lyon, artist, motorcycle mechanic and enthusiast, traveled over 6,000 miles on her 1978 Yamaha during the summer of 2006, photographing women mechanics from around the US for the first Female Mechanics calendar. For the second calendar, Sarah set out on her 1977 BMW R100S, traveling 12,000 miles to both the east and west coast. These are the pictures that will inspire the next generation of female mechanics for trucks, cars and airplanes, and especially motorcycles.		....
	Biker Chick News/Janet Green	Writes a blog that captures the spirit of women riders, features women riders other than herself, writes humorously about the camaraderie of women riders and road experiences.	Janet’s blog has been in existence since 2004. She writes “getting to know you”-type blurbs about other women riders, humorous rants about various bike-related topics, original instructional articles, entertaining ride reports (with photos), posts that promote the blogs of other women riders (via links and comments about their posts), and general commentary on issues in motorcycling. Janet has been an active member of the Women Who Ride (WWR) forum on Delphi Forums since 2004, writing there with encouragement and support for other riders. She is the New Member Ambassador of her local Harley Owners Group chapter in Des Moines, Iowa.		....
	BikerBetty	Maintains a great blog focusing on women riders issues.			....
	Carla King	Long time, veteran solo adventure rider, author, dedicated distance rider (domestic and world), highly informative websites dedicated to motorcycling safety, adventure and fun.	Carla King is a rider, writer and multi-blogger extraordinaire--and she’s been at far longer than most having grown up riding and wrenching. She recently completed a China trip, her second trip having first motored there China more than ten years ago! Read about her trips to India (on a Royal Enfield), Italy and other adventures that are dramatically captured on her Motorcycle Misadventures blog. Her recent book, _American Borders_ beautifully detailed her perimeter trip around the USA in a Russian Ural. It is a page-turner and far transcends being an interesting ride report! She writes with full body energy that allows us a palpable experience of her joys and many challenges on the Ural (she gets to apply her wrenching skills a lot). We love and hate the quirky American characters she meets along the way. Carla King has an active podcast series (The Misadventuring Podcast) where she shares the stories of others’ “misadventures” to near and far lands. Her creative journeys, beautiful words, intrepid nature are inspirations to motorcyclists regardless of gender--and an extra boost to women motorcyclists. Carla is an exceptional promoter of safe and FUN adventure riding and a young old-timer of two-wheeling explorations.		....
	Cecilie Hoffman	Showing everyone that you too can start riding - persistence pays off.	Cecilie has one of the oldest blogs on the net. Her inspirational story begins when she first started riding, proceeds through a couple seasons at the track to her current first steps in adventure riding. If she can do it, you can too. [Mike has ruled that this nomination is okay in spite of the fact that I’m the nominations administrator!]		....
	Girl Bike - Crystal Waters	Advancing scooter information with a bend towards women riders yet it appeals to both genders!	With a staff of 5 writers, girlbike.com is an outstanding resource for scooter riders!
	Lisa Thomas	Motorcycling around the world	Lisa is riding around the world with her husband. She rescued him after he fell off a bridge and broke his neck in the middle of the Amazon. She contracted malaria weeks later. Her stories on 2 Ride the World are incredible.		....
	Liz Frazier	Maintains a well-rounded, unique blog geared toward female riders, that doesn’t alienate men.	Liz has created an informational, hip and fun motorcycle blog that is appealing to a wide, motorcycle-lovin’ audience.		....
	Scooter Divas	This website is an outstanding resource devoted to women who ride scooters.	Site and forum for women scooter riders who help other women! Highly informative and a very active site.
	Shirl Kennedy	Shirl authored The Savvy Guide To Motorcycles	In addition to her book, Shirl does extensive research on motorcycle safety and women riders in the news. As a professional research librarian, she’s the premier researcher for this subject.		....
Worst manufacturer’s website
Finalist	Manufacturer		Additional information	URL	Photo
x	Triumph		Is there no news at all or did they just forget to update the website? And why is there no decent Dutch part?
x	BMW		"Complete details on the new 2007 bikes will be available soon" - that’s acceptable in in 2006, but 2007 has come and gone already.
x	Buell Australia		Still stuck in 2007. The 2008 model range was released 7 months ago. Sad and tired effort.
x	Cycleport/Motoport		Finding Waldo is easier than finding the product one is looking for and almost as difficult to determine how to purchase it and what it costs. Very few, but very bad, product photos.
x	Benelli		Popups, always out of date, very little info.
	KTM		Where can i find something? Why are there a million sub-sites? Why is the country content so poor an do you get transferred to other languages all the time?