B BEE'\/ WORLD

vocabulef\.as \\'cll as terir, givinq i \ ifrual

'onc-on-one' interf:rcc, Ask a clLrcstion ucl
i rrllqir. rurr r,l c r.r.,'r.r^r'.,..r'r
directions ancl not jusr a nurllbel of links.
:1s in nornal sc:lrch engrncs. h $ ill ;rlso bc

incorporered in thc ELuopciln motor\\'ir\

slsten, giving rrallic infb rnd in rhc ever)r
^i,1.Irr..b..,hlerogi c ' r, r.'1. n.j ...,Ji"
instrucrions :rs to eltenr;rtc roLrre!. C)drcr
motorclcles and cirrs cqrrippccl l.irh Srnarr
Veb n i11be able to corunruritarc t ith
eilch othel.
Oicourse nolmal lnrernct * ill llso be
avrilablc but hopefirllv riders * ill usc e bir
oisense ancl onlv use it uhilc srationarr'.
N.rrig.rrn',r ll b. h"" icrrrl- ..p.. 1
celh, designcd conrrollcr- mountetl on the
lelt-hancl srvitchgc:rr, t'l, ich crn bc used
easih, \\.hile \\'eafillg rhick winrcr- slor.es. .:'
The u'orld rt rhc touch oia burtorr, so ro
spcak.
=:
Abovei Steven Craig rrst ,rnl h.l c pr.or cL1 ro be LrlLr.i rcli.rblL
tcchrricallr at|.rnr crl .rnJ clcg.Lnt nrL,ior' .1nd rnrl)(rt.rnrl\ .rpprcci,rrcJ br rhcrr
clclc on thc rnrr'licr.
trlalrin hrcl.L lclnrnq to B\l\\i.r' hc Srcr r .rncl \ l.rlrin o*cl I choitc oi
cxlnc.l .rn oldcr noclcl K I100 (i t rr hilc hrli-.1.u. tirll .1.r. .rn.l tt,,, ,1,rr ,rvclnight
Stoctrs opcn minclcd; hc lodt ,.rrrL{ clcrrin:rriorrs ior borh ringlcr end oicoLllsc
(llll{ 'rill coLrplcs lookins iirr 'A clitlirtnt l.l rorrrcll
doesl .L Hcucl.r 6ll(1.'llrcr Irr.rl l h.rr
tho tentcd.rncl I hLflcl.rv .rnJ firli cl.Lr rours c,rn r.rlic in
.rs sor,n:rs rhcr r.lr rirc
K l_,', (,1', , lrLi l. 1,. ..r r. i r'r. \,rr. \. .'
nrotorocle dr.rt hud it.r1l. t)rr r..sr lidirrq l lorrinqron I)cnirrsrrl.r lnd Srcvt t l.rr oLr-
drc bilic Stcr c srid ir rrrorc dr.rn corrr rrcccl lirc, thr tr1.rrc.lon lhngcs.Lurl sp.r lcqion.
hinr. Sto. 'eiLl
Lhis .rrc.r is ofcn firgorrtn, bLrc

"the mouse" \'... .,. t,. .L . t.,., I

tol rhosc looliing for crpclicncc th.rr hes
.rrr

in Aplil l.rst r car .n.1 sincc thcn rhc rrr o

jr rsr .rbout cr crr rlrinq, hc lcckorrr ir is hrr:cl
Thc slsrenr is no* in che carlr.srlgcs of siher K 1200 (ll Ir,*r Lrccn ir constrrrr 1...t'.r..i.,.1.t.
on-the road dcvclopment bur it rvill nor bc
!oo far. \'lr\',
Oh for the simplc lif.:l

thrilling ride, not a thrill riclc'is hot'

Steve Cririg ofVicnroto besr descr ibcs
rvhet l-re and his fither trhrrirr, ollcr rheir
cosaon1ers, as thcr glide or-cr thc besr
motorclcling r-oads in Yictor-ia on the bacli
oi thelt fullv cquipped K 1200 G f.
The motorcyclc chauHiurcd rouring
l, rp. r' .r'he.r. lrr.i'.
'. -lrr.
dorr,.'rr i
'.1..
of operatols usinq H:rrlevst big, brrsh rnd
nrosth'noisl wi!h a hint of'\\'ild one' ..:'-
,. ''
attirude. Stcve and trfarrin Craig * crc nto
tor-o'clists looking ior.r chrnge liorD drerr
lives in Hcahh and Dcfcnce indLrstlics and
thcl s:rl'e gap in thc m.rrkct. l1rcl trirccl
ro oflir a premium rclr.icc on the nosr

Above: Martin and Steven Craig


poinred in choosing this desrinariorl.
For those after
longer adventure,
a you could buyyour way ofsin and time
the two-day overnight rrips can take in
the Grcat Ocean or Alpine roads or the
Prom..,r of cour,e, de,rinatiol\ of choice.
Fuervrhing i' orgarri.cd in rhepackage.ju'r
be ready to be picked-up.
Tr i' not only rhe bike rhat i. cop of
the range, customers are kitted out in
full motorcycle clothing for comfort and
protection and all helmets come equipped
with communication so passengers can ralk
to Steve or Mertin. lfit is a couple on the
ride rhe ollorv' Ful] communic;rion
'y'rem
between riders and passengers on bolh
motorcycles. As Steve pointed out'Thrs rs
more than iusr a ride on a motorcycle, it is
an experience to be enjoyed and remem-
beredl
Steve said the range ofcustomers is all
encompassing. Manv are from overseas or
interstate on short-term visits and othcrs
are locals, all wandng a different way to
Iook at the countryside and experience the
best that Victoria has ro offer. For a few
it is the lirst step on the journey back to
notorcycling and what befter way ro do
ic than on the heated (in winter anlway !)
seat ofa K 1200 GT.
lVho krow.. in rhe future che bol r
might offer their passengers the option ofa
club ride. norv rhec ould be a complctell
'r
different experience.
Steve said that the 6rst eleven months
ofoperation heve been successful and
rewrrding and he and Mrrrin are norv in
the planning srages ofexpanding rheir
operations to offer guided multi-day tours
(7'10 days) rvith riders on fully equipped
BM!f models. This will attract overseas
riders looking for an Aussie two-rvheeled
advcnture in a group environmen!. Thr rs
now r gror ing \ectol ofworld rourr.rr
This is a very professional outlit,look-
ing after tourists on our favourite moror-
cycle, in a manner befittingBM\V. Check
it out at w1\,.w,vicmoto.com.au.
l:-i'ilt:,sion
r', rlr in-. rt r'*^:<
1517 Augusrinian monk, Martrn
ln
I Lurher n;iled hi, 95 The'e, ro rhe door
ofAll Saints Castle church in the Gernran
city of\Wittenberg. Ir was lhe srart ofrhe
Reformation.
In his Theses, Luther ser out his disser,
isfaction with the Church and horv it had
rurned a\\ry from Cod. One ofhi. major
criticisms was the sale oflndulgences, their
idea thac for money given to the Church
that would be spenr in Purgatory. It was a
nice litale earnet as Arthur Daley would
say. It had become a gianr rort; sin a bir,
pay a bit more and everyone is happy.
Luther did not think that rhis was the
true mission ofthe Church.
Everything changes, but everything
stavs lhe same.
The new'Green Religion'it seems has
clo,ely modelled ir,elIon rhe pre.re[or-
mation Church. It has rhe dogma ofin-
fallibiliry (excepr it is all adherents ofthe
faith and not just the leader) ir conducts
inquisitions on all non- believers and
although there is no death penahy, any
professional who ques.ions any aspecr
ofGreen philo.ophy i. ridiculed ro rhe
point of'professional deathl Like the
Church ofold it has major pcrsonalities
preaching doom and gloom and the end
ofthe rvorld. Ofcourse there is redemp-
tion and this, ofcourse, can come in thc
form of carbon-credits ofoffsets.Just like
Indulgences.
The European automotive industry
will be the vicim ofthe latesr possible
Green Larv handed down by the Euro-
pean Commission, the non-elected bodv
based in Brussels (yes Europeans are only
nerv to democracy). It will add about
$2000 to rhe price ofvehicles produced
in Europe and rvould increase due to iines
ifnew emission targets are not met alier
2012 and triple after 2015.
Other than BMW, Me(cedes and
Porsche, rhis proposed law would hit
all European manufacturers hard as ir
will be based on 'total lleerl These threc
producers, unlike VlX/ group, Fiat and
Peugeot/Citroen, do nor have cars in lhe
light compact class, bur are almost rorally
based in the larger car market. Before
the plan was handed down, Fiat boss and
presidenr of the Furopean Automobile
Producers Association, strongly op-
posed the plan as it will put Europe at a
disadvantage and could force production
to movs our ofturope. He rdded rhar
all manufacturers are improving emission
levels but rhe 120 gm/km will cost jobs.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel
attacked rhe proposal as a direct assaulr
on German manufacturers. She was noc
h"PPy.
She w.r, nor rhe onll one. rhe,hare
market reacted by lopping 3% ofthe
.hare price. oFrhe auto producer. and it
has not improved in the months since the
Brussels announcement.
These are challenging times for all
BEEHM WORLD 9
.::).'
r.'
L' '
car producers and what affects BMW as
a rvhole will have repercussions at BMV
Motorrad. \We live in interesring times.
{ln ?le ,,il'.:
600- wer onorher record ye"r For BMW
EMotorrad with worldwide rales up
2.4% to 102,,i67. Not a nassive increasc
but inline with expectations.
The motorcycle market is cough;
there are established manufacturers and
newcomers out of Asia battling arvay at
rvhat is a small market in terms of automo-
tive production. This is even more so in
the 'leisure' area in rvhich BM\tr Mororrad
operates. It n]ost cases it is a secondary
purchase so it is affected by general eco-
nomic condiaions more than perhaps other
products. It is, as rve know a grear life,sryle
but it sornetimes has to run a close seconor
In Australia BM\( Mororrad, as we
read last month, had a very pleasing vear
u'ith sales upjust under l5%, well above
the average for the res! ofrhe world.
Cermrny i' the large,r m;rket and ir
r,r'as depressed, nor jusr for BM!f Mo-
torrad, but all manufacturers. This is a
reflection on the Gernan cconomy and
el.o i. the cflecc ofa VAT increa'e thar
commenced onJanuary I lasr year Thrs
caused a record sal€s 6gure for December
2006. The real impact ofthis large increase
in government greed will not be known
until the end of2008. There was a dccrease
of2,l13 to a srill large roral of21,504.
The market situation can perhaps best be
explained by the fact that BM\(/ Motor-
rad sales fell bur their share ofthe toral
marker rose from l8.5lo in 2006 to 19.2o/a
in 2007.
The Italians are in second place on the
I:ddem ith l+,+2-r, .rn increa,e of--J rnd
third was the USA rvith 12,825, down 731
on 2006. The American marker is aLo in a
slump, which can explain some ofthe de,
crease, but I anr sure Munich had a higher
6gure in mind. Former BMW Mororrad
Australia General Manager, Mac McMath
is probablv in a quandarv as to how to get
things movingforward and is also less than
pleased (can we say pissed-oif?) with tne
recent annouDcement thar the F 800 GS
would be going to European cusromers
6rst. This is the bike that has caused thc
mo\r nder inrere\r in mlny yern rnd isjurr
what nrany Americans (and othcrs)went.
The Spaniards rounded out the rop-four
with 10,382, 380 up on 2007. Those 300
police bikes delivered in December came at
a good time
!