March 5, 2008

Inside a Factory Test Ride (Pt 1)

Hey Everyone, Huggy here.
This is a reprint (post) of a piece I wrote for our consumer newsletter, Horizons. I received some good feedback on Inside A Factory Test Ride, so I thought I would post it on the blog in case you missed the original.

For most of my childhood, I was a stick and ball sport athlete, traveling around the province to various tournaments. I really did like all the sports I played and thought it was a lot of fun. That was, up until I went to my friend’s farm down the road one day at the age of 13. He had just purchased a new dirtbike and wanted me to see it. I took a look at it, casually impressed but a little hesitant in proclaiming it “the greatest thing since sliced bread”. Then he asked me, “Why don’t you take it for a rip?”

In a word? WOW! The adventure and independence combined to capture a whole new set of feelings. This changed everything!! What a rush! From then on, I was obsessed with everything there was to learn about dirtbikes. I would watch the videos and read magazine after magazine, sponging everything I could about this brave new world of motocross. It was there that I stumbled across countless articles about “Secret Test Tracks”, “Spy Shots” and “Never Before Seen Photos”. Why was everything so clandestine? Why was there such a shroud of secrecy from the manufacturers about new bikes?

Fast forward 15 years and I’m on the other side of the fence. I work for Big Blue and protect those secrets. Bike names are given letters and numbers for names, a là James Bond 007, to keep their identity safe in case information falls into the wrong hands. I’m sworn to secrecy and sign confidentiality agreements, unable to disclose any information. That is, until a certain date is reached on the calendar, then I try and tell EVERYONE about it!

But I still do remember those days and yearning to know what really goes on across the pond before new model introductions. Given the amount of people that ask me questions about the same thing, I’m not the only one. So I’m here, to act as a liaison from factory to customer, without giving away too many trade secrets.

It started last May when I was asked to travel to Japan. A lot of Yamaha staff go back and forth to the factory in a given year, but typically only for meetings. So I couldn’t believe my good fortune when I was asked to go on the trip that is envied by the rest of the office. Why? Simply, it’s where you get to ride the latest and greatest new Yamaha products! We travel across the world to experience the latest prototypes and pre-production units from some of the world’s most talented engineers and development teams. We do this on private Yamaha tracks with barbed wire, security systems and catered lunches….

There’s definitely a rock star vibe, yet just like you, I’m only an enthusiast from Canada! For these couple of days though, I feel like Chad Reed AND Valentino Rossi.

After a 13-hour non-stop flight, we arrive at Narita Airport and grab our bags, do our best hand signals to where the train station is, try and figure out how to make our loonies into yen and get on the train bound for Tokyo station, about an hour’s trip. At Tokyo, we transfer to a bullet train and head to Iwata, the home of Yamaha Motor Corp.

The objective of this trip is simple. Ride the new products and determine how we see them fitting into the market on home turf. Since there are Yamaha representatives from all over the world, each picks up on the features or benefits that would serve their customers well. They then relate their positioning to the group, so Yamaha can decide on a global message that each product should possess.

The first day is comprised of riding the new off-road bikes at Yamaha’s private motocross track. The project leaders do a brief presentation of what’s new or changed on the unit and stress the importance of NOT crashing their babies! At this point in the product’s life cycle, there are only a few units in existence. Any time spent repairing the product after a crash is time lost developing the final version. Not to mention, the value of these one-off machines is much higher than a production unit.

After riding the current year’s production unit and competitor models, I jump on the prototype to see how the changes/additions stack up. I’ve had arm pump since my second time around the track, so it’s a little harder for me to put the new beast through its paces when I’m not in shape. I curse myself for the lack of foresight and try and ride through it. The new product is as advertised and improved upon over last year’s model. I’m feeling confident about our results when the media test back in Canada. BRAAP!

The second day begins with a bus ride out to Yamaha’s road course. I’m a little more apprehensive here. I have my motorcycle licence and years of experience, but most has been dirt-related and today we’re trying the latest from the sport segment. On this day, there are many more Yamaha representatives at the track due to the increase in the number of bikes being tested. The same routine is given of project leaders highlighting the changes/updates to the new bikes, then it’s suiting up and out to the track…

There’s nothing that gets you over the jet lag fog like cracking the throttle open on an expertly-tuned R6! I get comfortable on the course and bike. Sometime thereafter I’m hitting 257km/h on the straight. The best part? The knowledge that there isn’t a smiling cop at the turn with a radar gun ready to tear my licence up! All the bikes return to their spots after a day of riding without a hitch. It’s back to the hotel, clean up for Korean barbeque dinner before meetings on Friday.

After deliberating for a few hours in a meeting room, Yamaha US, Yamaha Australia and Yamaha Canada decide upon what our specific message will be for our products. The distributors of Yamaha Europe do so in another room. After we’ve completed, we present to the Japanese staff and a consensus is reached.

I stretch my legs and let out a yawn. I’m actually looking forward to the 13-hour flight this time to catch up on some of the sleep I’ve missed. As I drift off… until the baby behind me wails his discontent… I feel content knowing the answer to a question I first asked myself 15 years ago. It dawns on me that without the precluding secrecy and agonizing time spent speculating and hypothesizing, there is no grand unveiling! The beauty is in the wait!

Stay tuned for the launch of our 2009 Snowmobile line this winter. From what I’ve seen, you WON’T want to miss this one!

Cheers, Huggy

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5 Responses to “Inside a Factory Test Ride (Pt 1)”

1. Rod Atkinson says:
   

   Just a note to say that I really enjoy reading the Bike Blogs. It’s now March 6th, 08 and it’s been a long winter in Manitoba waiting for the bike riding season to begin.
   Keep up the good articles.

   Rod Atkinson

   Thanks for the kind words Rod. Even in ‘balmy’ Southern Ontario, it seems like Old Man Winter really has a chip on his shoulder this year! I’m not complaining because we sell snowmobiles too, but the smell of fresh cut hay and a warm wind on your face during a sunset cruise is definitely a welcome thought!!

   Huggy

   March 6th, 2008 at 9:02 am
2. Robin Veerman says:
   

   I think you have a really cool job! Here we are up to our ears in snow and you are telling us about riding the latest bikes. Not FAIR!! I plan on getting a Stratoliner in the near future, but is there any chance that a fairing will be an option soon? I ride a HD FLHT and I try to imagine how good a Strat would look all “dressed up”. I think STAR would sell lots…
   Thanks, Robin

   You’re right Robin, I do have a cool job. I’m definitely the first to admit it!

   Not a word of a lie – I saw a guy on a Stratoliner with a passenger cruising around on Wednesday here in the Toronto area! The temperature spiked from -3 to +8 and sunny. There was still snow on the ground, but to this Yamaha die-hard, the pavement was dry and the air wasn’t freezing. I’m guessing he had enough of winter and had to get out too!

   I asked our P&A sales manager about a bolt-on fairing. There have been many requests such as yours and they’re investigating the possibility of bringing one in. As with anything with Yamaha, all due diligence must be met to ensure that the quality, design, safety and performance is top notch and of course, this takes time.

   Thanks

   Huggy

   March 6th, 2008 at 3:23 pm
3. Henry says:
   

   Sorry to hear about you blokes out east and all your snow. Will be taking out my 1700 today, after a long winter.Maybe Ill feel like Huggy and think I am on top the world.
   Henry

   lol….Atta boy Henry!

   Huggy

   March 6th, 2008 at 4:26 pm
4. alan reesor says:
   

   Thanks for the article. Are you the one that decides which new models are introduced to Canada? That’s a big responsibility and cool job ,for sure. Was the 08 WR250R designed for the European market first before being introduced to North America? It looks like a great bike and hope you bring one to an OFTR trail series ride ,so we can check it out. I,m a big fan of dual sport bikes and glad Yamaha’s back in the game.

   Hi Alan!

   No I’m not the one who decides which bikes come in and out of Canada. Those decisions are made by a bunch of older guys with corner offices and laptops who get paid the big bucks to make the right decisions!

   My job, once they’ve agreed to bring in certain models, is to make their decisions pay off, through public relations (press releases, media events) and advertising (all print, TV, radio and online materials)

   You’re right, the WR250R is a European project that has now landed in North America. The Euros have a much larger market for dual sport, so naturally most of the testing and project orientation heads in that direction. A large chunk of the decision-making process is due to external factors too, such as licensing and insurance. In many markets, a 250cc dual sport is coined as a “novice” bike by local insurance companies (0-250cc), so in effect it will sell better as it’s cheaper to insure than an “advanced” 450cc model. This is not to say that a 450cc model is out of the question, it’s just that many times, the smaller displacement is a better barometer of what the market will bear and how big that market is. John Bayliss, product manager for motorcycles and racing, will have more to say about this in a future post. Stay tuned….

   Thanks for writing.

   Huggy

   March 7th, 2008 at 11:54 pm
5. Jayson Kitchen says:
   

   You are indeed lucky to be able to try out the new and cool toys. One question I have is did you get to try out the new Europe only XT-660Z Tenere on your trip? I’m hoping this one is on your list for next year for new models coming in. I had a ’96 XTZ660 while living in Oz and I would like to see the new one come here for ’09. I have a bunch of the Yamaha Australia media stuff of that era if you’re interested to see what they did. One really cool thing Yamaha Oz did to promote the new bikes was organise the Belgarda Outback Connection ride to follow the Australian Safari for a couple days total ride was 3000 km. Participants were new Yamaha TT600 / XTZ660 owners picked by lottery… Trip of a lifetime, got to meet Edi Orioli & Stephen Gall and made lots of new friends… I can send you the Sidetrack Magazine article if you’re interested. Tenere’s are the ultimate adventure dual sport, and the new one looks so cool…

   Hi Jayson,

   We’re not able to say what we will be bringing in and what we won’t until we actually do. Suffice to say we did bring a XT660 over here a few winters back as a display unit during the consumer show season. The goal was to see what interest was like, from consumers and our dealer network. A number of other factors must be considered too, including price point, competitor models, land access, insurance issues etc . All the factors didn’t quite line up to warrant bringing the XT660 in at that point, but interest has definitely picked up in the dual sport segment since (as witnessed by our introduction of the WR250R). We will be monitoring the growth of this segment closely. So for now, your fond memories of the XT660 and Belgarda will have to do, unless you still know a few people in Oz and can mooch a ride the next time you visit.

   For those who aren’t sure what model Jayson is referring to, here’s a video piece Yamaha Europe put together concerning the XT660Z Tenere.

   http://www.yamaha-motor-europe.com/products/motorcycles/adventure/xt660z.jsp?view=video

   Thanks for writing!

   Huggy

   March 10th, 2008 at 9:45 pm

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