Welcome to Friday Fudge. If it’s weird, funny, or strange motorcycle news, or it just plain won’t fit anywhere else on the site – you’ll find it here.
Untruths in advertising
Apparently, the advertising isn’t necessarily true; you might not actually meet the nicest people on a “Honda.” In fact, you might meet the worst people.
According to some documents on Wikileaks, Americans fighting terrorism overseas claim the Taliban’s favourite vehicle is a Chinese-built Honda knockoff (ironic, considering the piece below from EICMA). They supposedly like the China bikes because of their durability and low, low pricing. Why spend big bucks on a motorcycle when you’re about to strap on a bomb vest? Or maybe they just wanted the bikes for their explosive capabilities – in Internet forums everywhere, buyers are always warned away from the machines because “the engines will blow up.”
Source: Visordown
Stunting gone wrong
A handstand on a motorcycle: What could go wrong?
Cops in drag
What’s faster off the line: A Harley-Davidson Big Twin, or a 600 cc sportbike? These are the sort of questions that keep arguments lively every time motorcyclists meet. It’s also a question that’s settle on the street in this YouTube video. There’s a bit of a twist in the video, though; this isn’t just any light-hearted stoplight-to-stoplight race, it’s a guy on a sportbike racing a motorcycle cop … a motorcycle cop whose boss wasn’t happy about the incident.
After the clip came out on YouTube, Chief Kevin Murphy of Montgomery, Alabama said the officer (Carlos Rogers) had resigned (under a lot of pressure, it seems) … and that he might even be facing some charges over the incident. There was much ballyhoo, the video went viral, and everyone asked why such an obvious fun-loving officer should be out of work over a little innocent drag-race. And, a couple days later, Murphy said he changed his mind and Rogers had his job back. We’re guessing, though, he’ll be put on foot patrol for a while, where he will be less likely to race others down the street.
Source: New York Daily News
Counterfeiters clobbered
You’d think they’d learn, but they haven’t yet. We’re talking about Chinese scooter manufacturers, who were nabbed at EICMA again this year, for producing Vespa knock-offs.
In what’s starting to become a yearly ritual, a Chinese scooter manufacturer booked valuable floor space at EICMA, shipped their step-throughs there, sat down in the booth and waited for the show to open … and had authorities show up and confiscate their machines over copyright issues. In all, seven different manufacturers had machines taken.
Strangely enough, although China has a strong reputation for also copying motorcycle designs, we haven’t heard of any bikes being seized, maybe because they haven’t started to pirate Ducatis … yet.
Source: IBN Live
Burnout blues
Hey, know what’s cool? Getting your main squeeze to take a video of you doing a burnout on your ridiculous chopper, that’s what’s cool. Unless it goes wrong …
That handstand bike committed suicide.