Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128244
- .... _ : -I• ... ... i'I ~ Happenings In Motorcycling ..." • .... - Flash bulb s, autograp hs and rous ing rounds of applause punctuat ed th e assem bly of the fi rst Victory Arlen Ness Signature Ser ies m otorcy cle on October 23, at the Victory final assembly facility in Spirit Lake , Iowa . Arlen and Cory Ness - renowned cu stom bike builders and Victory's sty ling and design partners ' were on hand as th e first Ness model reach ed the end of the Victory assembly line . Both were on hand to autograph th e first bike as it rolled off the li ne and posed fo r a myriad of ph otos with plant employees inv olved in the Victory assembly proc ess. Arlen Ness even took a ride on a Signature Series bike - without leaving the factory. He climbed on a Ness model that was stationed in the plant's " Rolli ng Road : a rolle r dy no where nearly com pleted bikes are run to ensure all sys tems are functioning properly . The Arl en Ness Signature Series is a limited -edition 2004 Victory model that was customized by Arlen and Cory Ness. Th ey sta rted with a Victory Vegas and gave it custom Black CherryFade paint, numerous Arlen Ness bill et and chrome accessories, several Pure Victo ry chrome accessories and a c usto m-stitc hed leather seat. Th e Arl en Ness logo ap pears on the right, side EFI cover, and a replica of Arlen Ness' signature appears on the side covers. "It' s a great feeling to see those m odels come off the li ne. With all the chrome and the custom paint, th ey looked like show bikes : said Ar len Ness While in Spirit Lake. "I'm really proud to see m y name on them. ' "We enj oy a great relationship wi th Arlen and Cory, and the y have m ade very valuable co ntributions to th e developme nt of the Victory m odel lin e: said Vict ory general manager Mark Black well. "It was a thrill to have them visit the Spirit Lak e facility to see their Signa ture Series m odels bein g built and to m eet the peop le who build these bik es with such pr ide.' Four-time 250cc Grand Prix World Champion Max Biaggi (on the right in both photos) hasn't exactly been on vacati on since th e end of the MotoGP season last month , he finished third in the championsh ip - he's been too busy having fun . Biaggi recentl y contested a two -hour Supermoto endurance race in his hometown of Rome, Italy, with Europ ean Sup ermot o rid er Simone Girolami. The pair started from pole position and went on to win the event . Prior to that weekend Biaggi was spotted in Southem Califomia at the Lak e Els inore motocross track , hanging out with factory KTM motocross star and huge MotoGP fan Ryan Hugh es (left in both ph otos) and ripping some laps himself. Biaggi is also slated to compete in a stand a lon e su pe r m oto ev en t a sso ci ated w ith th e Bologn a Motorshow on Dec ember 8. Oth er stars wh o w ill be' at te nding th e eve nt incl ude Gar y M cC o y , Tro y Bay lis s , Lori s Cap iross i , Car lo s C he ca , Manu el Pogg ial i , Randy D e Pun ie t , Andrea Doviz ioso and Alex De Angelis. Biagg i's vi sit to So uthern Cali fornia wasn't an uncommon occurrence . as he has taken a real li king to th e Am eri can lifest y le and as a m atter o f fa ct rece ntly p ur cha sed a ho m e in Malibu . A ccord ing to Racer X' s Er ic Johnson , who snapped th ese ph ot o s, Si aggi has become hook ed on motocross, ta ki ng every op po rt un ity t o ri de wh en he is in t ow n , an d he pl an s to atte nd as many of the early Supercross ro unds as he can . The photo on the right shows Biaggi signing the leathers th at Hughes cra shed in at the Irwindale r ound o f th e A M A Red Bull Superm ot o Champion ship. To cast your vote. log on to http://www.cyclenews.com. 125 .17%1 I I B.6 0 % 1 116.8 0%1 112.QO%1 110. 6 0%1 15.21 %1 IQ.0 3 %1 13.53%1 Who will win the i!DDq AMA Supercr0 55 Champio nship wilh Ricky CarmicHael sii:lelineH witH a J(nee injury A. Craig Anderson B. Ernesto Fonseca C. Ezra Lusk D, Heath Voss II .Q3% 1 ------........._------... 10.8 1%1 10.7Q%1 M. Tim Ferry N. Mik e LaRocco :-::~.=~__ D, Sebastien Torte iii _ _ _Po Kevin Windham 10.68%1 16 13 cue I e n e vv s D EC EM BER 1 O. 2003 7