Event 5 in the Bike Tyrestore Track Action programme, this time with Michelin!
The date: Wednesday 13th August The place: Oulton Park The name: “Get On Track with Michelin Two Compound Technology” The bonus: Free Two Compound Technology tyres by Michelin.
21 days to go, and the long range weather forecast looks promising, so everything is full on for an exciting day of track action with our 42 customer guest riders, Michelin, in the shape of Bibendum and the Moto Team, even Aprilia's RoadShow!
Signing On starts at the ungodly hour of 07.30, followed immediately by the Safety Briefing. If any of our guests plan to stay overnight locally, to ensure arrival on time, we recommend making an early hotel booking, as accommodation nearby is in short supply the night before an event at Oulton Park.
We needed to have acceptances, with free Two Compound Technology tyre selection and bike details, back by last Wednesday, 23rd July on our fax number 0121 350 5792. Any places not confirmed by that date, will now have to be offered to riders on our standby list, good news for some!
Please call Event Co-ordinator Becca, on freephone 0800 281 413 with any questions.
It was the Laguna Seca Red Bull US Grand Prix and a stunning victory for Valentino Rossi on a day when Bridgestone took all three podium positions, Rossi being joined by Casey Stoner and Chris Vermeulen in second and third places respectively, last Sunday. Following his injuries at the previous week's Sachsenring race, Dani Pedrosa was unable to ride, and is now third in the 2008 championship stakes, following leader Rossi, and number two contender, Stoner.
In fourth place is Jorge Lorenzo, as the teams have a break before the next round at Brno, for the "Cardion AB Grand Prix Ceske Republiky" on 17th August.
A really cool Summer Workshop Kit by Pirelli is now available to claim, free of charge, across all reward levels, in our Customer Loyalty Programme, Moto-Vate.
Consisting of polo shirt, t-shirt, cap, fitting gloves, pen, key ring and coffee mug, a maximum of four kits per registered Moto-Vate member will be sent out in response to claims at www.moto-vate.com, but please note the clothing only comes in large and extra large, seems the Italians like their pizza!
Starting in August, we'll have a monthly featured Moto-Vate attraction, bringing something new and exciting to the range of rewards on offer. Also, responding to our members' feedback following the recent survey by questionnaire, we're urgently sourcing more bike related items - watch this space for Moto-Vate updates over the next few weeks!
If a customer comes in asking for some "VIP", that could lead to an unfortunate misunderstanding, but "VIP" may actually be "Virtual Intelligent Prototyping", which is Maxxis' new offering to the catchy phrases library of bike tyre construction descriptives!
As well as "VIP", the third generation radial tyre from Maxxis comes with "FEA" - that's "Finite Element Analysis", which is claimed to ensure an even load distribution between cornering and straight line performance. "FEA" identifies the precise stress/load conditions the tyre will be used under, and specifies a carcass to suit, according to the manufacturer.
Maxxis Supermaxx Sport has been causing a lot of interest recently. Fast Bikes magazine said "The Maxxis tyres have been a huge surprise. They're cheap too!" Maxxis are Official Tyre Partner of the Isle Of Man TT and the brand is outstandingly well promoted at any number of events so, when times are hard and riders are looking for lower price without sacrificing quality, Maxxis Supermaxx Sport, in stock at Bike Tyrestore now, is a serious price/performance option.
We won the 2008 British Dealer News "Best Trade Service award", and are very proud of that! So some people imagine we must be a huge operation, with a staff of hundreds - wrong! Yes, we are a major player in the UK bike tyre industry, despatching as many as 2000 tyres a day to delivery addresses across the country, and taking orders up to 17.45, also we make the best use of IT to enable us to do things others can't, but in terms of people, or "head count" in manufacturer-speak, we are quite a small focused bunch, just seven teamers talking to customers in the call centre, six staff in the warehouse with one despatch support person. Marketing, Training and Account Managers, on the road, bring our full team numbers up to 18 - a lot of smaller outfits employ many more.
And, the all important statistic ….yes, eight of us ride!
MOSSY ON: SHOCK AND AWE!
A visit to my local dealer last week revealed some truly shocking news about how some riders ‘look after’ their tyres.
The dealer in question has a ‘Wall of Shame’, and hanging on it was a tyre from a moped with severe damage to its sidewall. This was the result of its young owner getting a puncture and then deciding to run flat until he could be bothered to have it replaced! The damage to the sidewall had come from the edge of the rim cutting through it.
Shocked at what I saw and heard, I then enquired if this was more of a one off. The response suggested ignorance of tyres and the maintenance they require is a lot more common than you might think.
Checking tyre pressures is obviously not something done too often. Every week on average, a rider has visited the dealer complaining of a poor handling bike only to find the tyres are inflated to far too low a pressure. In the past they’ve been found to have just five psi or even less! The dealer added it was the most common tyre ‘problem’ he’s asked about.
Others are unaware of how much tyres wear. Last month a V-Strom 650 was jacked up on the bench to have a full service. As it was lifted up, the sun glinted off a patch of the tyre making it look like it had a chromed tread. It was of course a badly worn tyre that had gone down to its steel belting. When it was pointed out to him, the rider remarked that he thought the tyre has done a lot of miles, and was wondering when it would need replacing.
Riders crashing on new tyres just minutes and yards after they’ve been told to take it easy until they’ve bedded them in is another problem, as is failing bikes for wear and damage to their tyres come MOT time.
The most worrying thing of all though, is that issues like these occur with all sorts of owners running all sorts of bikes – even older riders on sportsbikes who you’d think would know better. The dealer reckons most problems are simply the result of some people thinking that nothing needs to be done to a bike between services other than filling it with fuel. He then rounded up his disturbing series of tales by adding that most people just laugh when the faults are pointed out to them.
Many of our dealers are closed on Mondays, and those who are not using "YOUR Online Warehouse" from Bike Tyrestore, have to wait until Tuesday to order tyres sold over the weekend. That means Wednesday delivery and uncertainty, regarding availability, also not least, prices, in the current climate of continual increases by manufacturers struggling with raw material and fuel costs.
On a busy Saturday afternoon or Sunday, "YOUR Online Warehouse" users can view our live stock and their own individual cost prices, send orders to us, and know that the goods will arrive on Tuesday. That saves a day out of the supply chain, impresses the rider customer, and makes for "job done" instead of "work in progress"!
"Way to go!"
(To register for online warehouse access, visit our website using the link below, then go "YOUR Online Warehouse" and our contact zone. In no time you'll be online with us and free to trade 24/7!)
In our experience, a new tyre usually takes around twelve months to get established in the market place, but two models have broken the mould, with Bridgestone's BT-021 being taken up immediately by sports/touring riders and now, again from the Market Leader, "the world's best hypersports tyre", BT-016 storming away, bringing MotoGP technology to high performance sports and track day riding.
Race inspired 5-layer construction on the rear BT-016 and 3 equally advanced layers up front, deliver ultimate handling confidence. Go www.worldofbiketyres.com > Features > Reviews, to see how the tyres impressed both "Mossy" and our own Adam, on track in Spain. Bear in mind the product's exclusive endorsement by the Ron Haslam Race School, and rave reports from dealers using BT-016 on their own bikes - as Bridgestone say "riding on rails just became a reality!"
THE WAY AHEAD
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