Into the Storm...
Wow – It has been the busiest few months ever at BBR. From the Indy Trade Show, to the testing and introduction of our new MM12P Production Race Bike, to dealing with the Lead Ban issues, to filming for the MTV Teen Cribs, to building and testing bikes for Mini Moto, and of course…working with J-Law on his upcoming Mini-Moto appearance in Las Vegas. I actually found a couple of minutes to type this before flying out to Vegas to walk into the storm that is Mini Moto.
Indy Dealer Show
First, lets go clear back to the Indy trade show in February. BBR unveiled the MM12P Production bike to all of the dealers there - where it received a great reception. The dealers are more than ready for a quality bike of this size and price point. I can’t wait to deliver the first round to them this summer. There was a noticeable absence of Chinese knockoff bikes at this year’s show. As a mater of fact, I don’t remember seeing one Honda knock-off 50, or even a BBR knock-off bike for that matter (other than the usual Chinese manufacturers). It was kind-of lonely without anyone to pick on! Anyway, good riddance to them all. Despite the poor economy, all the top name motorcycle parts companies had booths and floor traffic was up from last year. That’s good news for the motorcycle industry.
Big Government
Next on the list is the Lead Ban. The government stepped in and banned all toys with lead contents above 600 parts per million. This ban targeted at kids twelve years of age and under, and unfortunately was written with a very broad scope. The whole mess stems from the Chinese manufacturers who decided to use led paint in a bunch of toys (and dog food and medication). Everyone was excited to stop the contaminated toys from coming into the country and a bill was signed into law very quickly. The only problem was that it included every toy targeted at the twelve and under crowd. Baseballs, books, handmade clothing, and our beloved CRF50s and KLX110s. The dealers, who were already dealing with down sales, took another hit because the youth market is a huge part of any motorcycle shop’s business. Under this new law, these dealers can’t even sell replacement parts for kid’s motorcycles. Luckily at BBR, our target customer is adults (on kid’s bikes) so we have been able to sell throug h this mess – but it is hard to sell a bar kit to a guy who can’t buy a bike to put it on. Funny thing is, the Chinese are still selling knockoff 50’s and 110’s at the local auto parts stores and sporting good shops. I’m sure there is no lead in those bikes! It’s a double punch to our great U.S. dealerships who try to do the right thing….they follow the guidelines of the new law and pull all of the kid’s bikes off the showroom floor, then they watch as the Chinese bikes with all the lead in them continue to sell at the store down the street. Big Government and motorcycles just don’t mix very well. But we better get used to it. Our current government is just not very motorsports friendly. There have been land closure bills in the works for years which are coming into focus again now. These land closures will get little or no resistance, and will probably pass easily. Hang on for the ride.
If you want to help fight the Lead Ban you can learn more here:
http://www.mic.org/stbn.cfm
Be sure to check out the AMA’s website for information on possible land closures here:
http://www.amadirectlink.com/news/story.asp?id=816
MTV Teen Cribs
MTV has a new show out this season called Teen Cribs. The premise of the show is “Ordinary kids living extraordinary lives”. MTV sent a crew of nine people out to my house to follow my daughter Jennifer and our family and friends around. They came out for three days and shot over twenty hours of film for the ten minute segment. They did a lot of riding shots, home photos, and shop pictures. Hopefully, we hooked a whole bunch of people on riding! MTV will put it on their website permanently in a few weeks, so check it out at http://www.mtv.com/. Or check it out Tuesday April 28 at 1:00pm if you have satellite or at 4:00pm on cable (check your local listings). It is MTV Teen Cribs episode #11. The kids, family, and friends all had a blast and learned a lot. Thanks MTV!
Mini Moto SX
We have been building Mini Moto bikes like crazy since Christmas. Thirty+ race bikes for our team riders, plus who knows how many customer bikes! We tested the last couple of weeks with Derek Costella and Ryan Abrigo, and they both are going faster than ever! Not that he needed to, but Derek (the defending champion) has picked up the pace for sure. The guy is crazy on a mini bike. Every time Derek comes to our test facility, he walks right past the race bikes and goes for my daughter’s $70 “garage sale” Z-50 that she learned to ride on. Derek always says “let me race this thing in the stock class!” Well, it’s Derek’s lucky year. Mini-Moto is having a Z-50 8” class this year at Mini Moto. Derek threw a leg over the Z and spun a few laps at the BBR test track. I have never seen anything like it. I have been fortunate to ride with all the best riders in the world over the years, and have seen some crazy stuff. What Derek was doing on that little Z looked impossible. He’s crazy! Nobody has more fun riding Mini-bikes than Derek. For sure it is the key to his success. Ryan Abrigo is hauling right now also. Ryan is one of the most talented riders we have every worked with. He is completely injury free and has the bike set up perfect for him. Watch for big things from Ryan again this year. Timmy Weigand will be as fast as always, and has had time this year to practice for Mini Moto. Timmy knows how to win on minis, being the three time Langtown champ and White Bros 150 champ. Check out the holeshot Timmy had at last year’s Mini Moto in the 12E class (number 33):
We also have some fast kids riding for us this year. Jason Anderson will be there along with Kevin Flynn (racing the 13-17 youth class). My son, Carson Brown, will be riding the 12 and under youth class. He’s hoping that the 15 bikes he has destroyed in his short ten years on this earth will pay off for him! UPDATE: Tyler Villopoto and Drew Gosselaar will also contest the Mini Moto SX on BBR bikes. Both have blazing speed and should be fun to watch on Friday night. For more info on the Mini Moto SX click this link: http://www.minimotosx.com/
Jason Lawrence
I don’t know what to say. I had never met Jason before but he is going to do Mini Moto on a BBR/Monster Energy Factory Race bike. It should be like fire and water in our pits. It is funny to think about me and my brothers, who would feel right at home living with the Brady Bunch, and mix us together with the wild child and it should be fun…well at least for the internet crowd. One thing J-Law and all of us at BBR do have in common is our love for mini-bikes. Monster called up and asked us to build him a bike, so we said, “Let’s do it!” Can he win it? Who knows? About ten years ago we put on a 150 race in New Jersey as part of a video shoot for a mountain bike extreme video. I wasn’t there, but my guys came back talking about this crazy fast kid on an XR100…..Jason Lawrence. This kid has some serious skills, so we will all look forward to seeing what he’s got for us in Vegas. If nothing else, his talent and all of the drama that come with him will be worth watching!
Alright, I’m headed out the door to Vegas – Should be a blast! C-you there….. Duane
Indy Dealer Show
First, lets go clear back to the Indy trade show in February. BBR unveiled the MM12P Production bike to all of the dealers there - where it received a great reception. The dealers are more than ready for a quality bike of this size and price point. I can’t wait to deliver the first round to them this summer. There was a noticeable absence of Chinese knockoff bikes at this year’s show. As a mater of fact, I don’t remember seeing one Honda knock-off 50, or even a BBR knock-off bike for that matter (other than the usual Chinese manufacturers). It was kind-of lonely without anyone to pick on! Anyway, good riddance to them all. Despite the poor economy, all the top name motorcycle parts companies had booths and floor traffic was up from last year. That’s good news for the motorcycle industry.
Big Government
Next on the list is the Lead Ban. The government stepped in and banned all toys with lead contents above 600 parts per million. This ban targeted at kids twelve years of age and under, and unfortunately was written with a very broad scope. The whole mess stems from the Chinese manufacturers who decided to use led paint in a bunch of toys (and dog food and medication). Everyone was excited to stop the contaminated toys from coming into the country and a bill was signed into law very quickly. The only problem was that it included every toy targeted at the twelve and under crowd. Baseballs, books, handmade clothing, and our beloved CRF50s and KLX110s. The dealers, who were already dealing with down sales, took another hit because the youth market is a huge part of any motorcycle shop’s business. Under this new law, these dealers can’t even sell replacement parts for kid’s motorcycles. Luckily at BBR, our target customer is adults (on kid’s bikes) so we have been able to sell throug h this mess – but it is hard to sell a bar kit to a guy who can’t buy a bike to put it on. Funny thing is, the Chinese are still selling knockoff 50’s and 110’s at the local auto parts stores and sporting good shops. I’m sure there is no lead in those bikes! It’s a double punch to our great U.S. dealerships who try to do the right thing….they follow the guidelines of the new law and pull all of the kid’s bikes off the showroom floor, then they watch as the Chinese bikes with all the lead in them continue to sell at the store down the street. Big Government and motorcycles just don’t mix very well. But we better get used to it. Our current government is just not very motorsports friendly. There have been land closure bills in the works for years which are coming into focus again now. These land closures will get little or no resistance, and will probably pass easily. Hang on for the ride.
If you want to help fight the Lead Ban you can learn more here:
http://www.mic.org/stbn.cfm
Be sure to check out the AMA’s website for information on possible land closures here:
http://www.amadirectlink.com/news/story.asp?id=816
MTV Teen Cribs
MTV has a new show out this season called Teen Cribs. The premise of the show is “Ordinary kids living extraordinary lives”. MTV sent a crew of nine people out to my house to follow my daughter Jennifer and our family and friends around. They came out for three days and shot over twenty hours of film for the ten minute segment. They did a lot of riding shots, home photos, and shop pictures. Hopefully, we hooked a whole bunch of people on riding! MTV will put it on their website permanently in a few weeks, so check it out at http://www.mtv.com/. Or check it out Tuesday April 28 at 1:00pm if you have satellite or at 4:00pm on cable (check your local listings). It is MTV Teen Cribs episode #11. The kids, family, and friends all had a blast and learned a lot. Thanks MTV!
Mini Moto SX
We have been building Mini Moto bikes like crazy since Christmas. Thirty+ race bikes for our team riders, plus who knows how many customer bikes! We tested the last couple of weeks with Derek Costella and Ryan Abrigo, and they both are going faster than ever! Not that he needed to, but Derek (the defending champion) has picked up the pace for sure. The guy is crazy on a mini bike. Every time Derek comes to our test facility, he walks right past the race bikes and goes for my daughter’s $70 “garage sale” Z-50 that she learned to ride on. Derek always says “let me race this thing in the stock class!” Well, it’s Derek’s lucky year. Mini-Moto is having a Z-50 8” class this year at Mini Moto. Derek threw a leg over the Z and spun a few laps at the BBR test track. I have never seen anything like it. I have been fortunate to ride with all the best riders in the world over the years, and have seen some crazy stuff. What Derek was doing on that little Z looked impossible. He’s crazy! Nobody has more fun riding Mini-bikes than Derek. For sure it is the key to his success. Ryan Abrigo is hauling right now also. Ryan is one of the most talented riders we have every worked with. He is completely injury free and has the bike set up perfect for him. Watch for big things from Ryan again this year. Timmy Weigand will be as fast as always, and has had time this year to practice for Mini Moto. Timmy knows how to win on minis, being the three time Langtown champ and White Bros 150 champ. Check out the holeshot Timmy had at last year’s Mini Moto in the 12E class (number 33):
We also have some fast kids riding for us this year. Jason Anderson will be there along with Kevin Flynn (racing the 13-17 youth class). My son, Carson Brown, will be riding the 12 and under youth class. He’s hoping that the 15 bikes he has destroyed in his short ten years on this earth will pay off for him! UPDATE: Tyler Villopoto and Drew Gosselaar will also contest the Mini Moto SX on BBR bikes. Both have blazing speed and should be fun to watch on Friday night. For more info on the Mini Moto SX click this link: http://www.minimotosx.com/
Jason Lawrence
I don’t know what to say. I had never met Jason before but he is going to do Mini Moto on a BBR/Monster Energy Factory Race bike. It should be like fire and water in our pits. It is funny to think about me and my brothers, who would feel right at home living with the Brady Bunch, and mix us together with the wild child and it should be fun…well at least for the internet crowd. One thing J-Law and all of us at BBR do have in common is our love for mini-bikes. Monster called up and asked us to build him a bike, so we said, “Let’s do it!” Can he win it? Who knows? About ten years ago we put on a 150 race in New Jersey as part of a video shoot for a mountain bike extreme video. I wasn’t there, but my guys came back talking about this crazy fast kid on an XR100…..Jason Lawrence. This kid has some serious skills, so we will all look forward to seeing what he’s got for us in Vegas. If nothing else, his talent and all of the drama that come with him will be worth watching!Alright, I’m headed out the door to Vegas – Should be a blast! C-you there….. Duane
posted by DuaneBrown at
8:47 AM
