Friday, January 2, 2009

Motorcycle Shows for the Snowbound

I'm seeing this press release on a lot of motorcycle forums & blogs
New Discovery TV Series Looks At Motorcycle Brands Worldwide
Dec 12, 2008, ©Copyright 2008, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.
From a press release issued by Discovery Communications

HD THEATER TAKES TO THE ROAD WITH TWIST THE THROTTLE,
AN EIGHT-PART SERIES EXPLORING SOME OF
THE GREATEST MOTORCYCLE BRANDS IN THE WORLD

– Original Turbo.com Broadband Series Makes Its Television Debut
with New Footage on HD Theater Starting Monday, January 5

(Silver Spring, MD) – Millions of people ride motorcycles and millions more fantasize about what it would be like to ride these cultural icons of speed, freedom, craftsmanship and personal rebellion. HD Theater’s new series, TWIST THE THROTTLE, takes audiences on a remarkable 36,000 mile journey across the globe to explore eight of the most famous sport motorcycling brands. Each episode focuses on a single brand, showcasing the remarkable history; the behind-closed-door factory, design facilities and R&D departments; and ultimately, what it is like to ride these magnificent machines on some of the most picturesque roads and spectacular racetracks in the world. The brands covered in TWIST THE THROTTLE include Bimota, BMW, Ducati, Honda, Kawasaki, MV Agusta, Suzuki and Yamaha. TWIST THE THROTTLE premieres on HD Theater starting Monday, January 5 and stories will continue to be featured on HD Theater’s online home for motorized content, Turbo.com. TWIST THE THROTTLE is narrated by actor Ed Quinn (Eureka, CSI:NY), who is an avid sport bike rider.

Using spectacular 1080i high-definition and 5.1 digital surround sound, TWIST THE THROTTLE takes viewers directly to challenging racetracks like Kawasaki’s Autopolis on the island of Kyushu and Honda’s top-secret proving grounds in California’s Mojave Desert. For the first time ever, outside cameras were permitted on Yamaha’s private test track, Fukoroi, in Hamamatsu where TWIST THE THROTTLE put two of Yamaha’s newest sports bikes to the test. In addition to exclusive access to these private test facilities, the series travels on the open road through picturesque locales like northern Italy’s Futa Pass. Originally an ancient Roman road linking Florence to Bologna, the Futa Pass has over 200 curves carved into the mountainside in just a 20 mile stretch.

In addition, TWIST THE THROTTLE journeys through the history of each brand through interviews with the people behind their unique design philosophies. The series features an exclusive interview with Massimo Tamburini, considered to be the “Michelangelo of Italian motorcycle design,” who created some of the most iconic motorcycles including the Ducati 916 and the MV Agusta F4. Normally a recluse, Tamburini unlocks the doors of his design studio to reveal how he creates “mechanical art” and why he believes machines have souls. Additional interviews feature some of the most important names in the motorcycle world telling each brand’s remarkable story including:

• Honda’s Masanori Aoki, BMW’s David Robb and Yamaha’s Atsushi Ishiyama
• Former racing World Champions Freddie Spencer, Wayne Rainey, and Kevin Schwantz
• Current and Former American road racing stars Mat Mladin, Neil Hodgson, Miguel Duhamel, Ben Bostrom, Jamie Hacking and Reg Pridmore
• Renowned motorcycle journalists Nick Ienatsch, Mark Hoyer, Mitch Boehm, Clement Salvadori and Mark Tuttle

NETWORK: DISCOVERY HD THEATER
AIR DATES & TIMES (NOTE: ALL TIMES ARE 'LOCAL TIMES')
MONDAY, JANUARY 5TH 10PM HONDA
MONDAY, JANUARY 12TH 10PM DUCATI
MONDAY, JANUARY 19TH 10PM BMW
MONDAY, JANUARY 26TH 10PM KAWASAKI
FEBRUARY 2ND 10PM SUZUKI
FEBRUARY 9TH 10PM MV AGUSTA
FEBRUARY 16TH 10PM BIMOTA/ALPINESTARS
FEBRUARY 23RD 10PM YAMAHA

Not sure how that differs from videos on the web site. Here is the link to the BMW one.

Steve Farson has a nice 4 minute video summary of his 2008 ride season

1 comment:

fasthair said...

Ms. SRB: Enjoyed watching these videos, even though the narrator’s voice is rather annoying. I’ve always wanted to figure out a way to make a TV show about building motorcycles and have all of the different manufactures give me stuff for free promotion. One of these days I’ll figure it out. Rest assured though once I’m rich and famous I will not forget the little guy.

fasthair