Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

Ruthless Engineering
and INCREDIBLE Marketing

Monday, August 24th, 2009

Erik Buell with the redesigned 2010 Buell Blast

Erik Buell with the redesigned 2010 Buell Blast

I think the “Purple Cow” just came home for the slaughter…  I’d love to hear what marketing moguls had to say, preemptively, about this campaign…

Okay, so I’m going to go a little bit of the way down the rabbit hole with this one, but ride along with me if you don’t mind… :)

I was on the AMA’s web site last night and I saw an advertisement (it was a skyscraper ad for Buell) that caught my attention.  It said “Introducing the 2010 Buell Blast”.  Immediately, a crushed block-o-motorcycle dropped into the ad and they swooped in their tag line of “Ruthless Engineering”.

Interesting.

Going to their site, I came across this campaign.

It’s all about how Erik Buell “Ruthlessly Reengineered” the 2010 Buell Blast into a block of trash because it wasn’t inline with their corporate culture of performance biking.

In essence, people were identifying Buell as the company that makes that tiny, cute little bike, the Blast, rather than the company that makes high-end street and racing bikes.

Genius!

Many other companies would have just let the brand/model die.  When was the last time you saw a Chrysler in a car crusher?  Erik Buell, on the other hand, used it as an opportunity to kill off a potentially under performing brand that wasn’t in line with the corporate strategy AND (AND AND AND) reinforce the overarching, high-performance brand.

B E A U T I F U L!!!!

I just wish I was a fly on the wall when Buell’s creative agency came to them with that strategy…  Either Erik Buell has one hell of a sense of humor or that was one hell of an interesting conversation/pitch..  ;)

Just trying to keep your brains fresh!

- Ray
The road gets you wet.
Biker Rain Chaps keep you dry!

Bad Boys, Bad Boys,
What Ya’ Gonna Do When
Biker Rain Chaps Come For You?

Friday, August 14th, 2009

Today, I filled an interesting order…  I filled an order for a police supply house in California called Adamson Police Products (http://www.policeproducts.com).

I say interesting, not because the use is that unusual…  Police ride motorcycles, right?  And they don’t like getting dirty and wet, either.  That’s not the interesting part.  I just think it’s interesting that they contacted me and that they are my first…

What I DO think would be cool is to see a police officer on a Segway or mountain bikes using them.  Both are AWESOME applications of Biker Rain Chaps.  That would be something to write about!

As a matter of fact, I will give a free pair of Biker Rain Chaps to a hand full of police officers who:

  1. Can provide me with their department name and badge number (to prove that they are a police officer; this data will not be put online)
  2. Will provide me with a product review and a quotable statement
  3. Will provide me with a picture of themselves, in uniform, on a police-issued motorcycle, mountain bike and/or Segway

Just use the tab at the top of the page to send me your contact information, badge number and department and I will get you a pair in the mail (once I confirm that you are a police officer).

Thanks & I look forward to hearing from you!

When the road gets you wet, Biker Rain Chaps keep you dry!

Quick riddle

Sunday, April 19th, 2009

K. Let me know if you figure this one out..

There is a bull in a field that found and then swallowed a hand grenade. Which of the following words best describes this situation?

  1. Terrible
  2. Awful
  3. Abominable
  4. Sad

Think you’re smart?  Then tell me the answer…

American Tea Party YouTube video

Thursday, April 16th, 2009

This is absolutely incendiary. I love it, especially the last call to action.

What are your thoughts on this? Do you think that right now is a pivotal point in our country’s history or does it just seem so pressing because we are present in this point in time?

That is actually a question I struggle with all of the time.



Here is a related event in my home town…


In essence, it seems like we the people are pretty pissed… And I must agree.

NONE OF THE ABOVE in the next election; let’s get some folks in there that can actually affect change.

Now this is FUNNY!!!

Thursday, April 9th, 2009

This is an absolute riot!!!

Do not listen to in open settings or if you’re annoyed by foul language…  It’s a little harsh.

From The Onion News Network…

Fifth Gear Goes Nuts with the T-Rex…

Wednesday, March 25th, 2009

This one’s got the opposite configuration of the previous post (2 in front, 1 in back). This old Brit’s really pushing it.

0 – 60 in 3.3.
Top speed around 175 mph
33,000 British pounds ($48,000 USDs)

OMG!!!


Could 3 wheels be better than 2 or 4???

Wednesday, March 25th, 2009

This is absolutely incredible!  I want one!!!

I wonder how much they cost!!!

Where’s innovation like this from American auto manufacturers? Perhaps this is why they are being handed their hats and their lunches…


 

 

So I went to Home Depot…

Friday, March 20th, 2009

I promise, I’m not trying to turn this into a joke blog, but this one was just so damn funny I had to repost.  My wife sent it to me.  I think it’s a commentary about my “symphony”…

Still wiping away the sweet tears…

- Ray
   Don’t let anything slow you down!


I went to the Home Depot recently while not being all together sure that course of action was a wise one. You see, the previous evening I had prepared and consumed a massive quantity of my patented ‘you’re definitely going to s**t yourself’ roadkill chili. Tasty stuff, albeit hot to the point of being painful, which comes with a written guarantee from me that if you eat it, the next day both of your butt cheeks WILL fall off.

Here’s the thing. I had awakened that morning, and even after two cups of coffee (and all of you know what I mean) nothing happened. No ‘Watson’s Movement 2′. Despite habanera peppers swimming their way through my intestinal tract, I was unable to create the usual morning symphony referred to by my dear wife as ‘thunder and lightning’.

Knowing that a time of reckoning HAD to come, yet not sure of just when, I bravely set off for the Depot, my quest being paint and supplies to refinish the den.

Upon entering the store at first all seemed normal. I selected a cart and began pushing it about dropping items in for purchase. It wasn’t until I was at the opposite end of the store from the restrooms that the pain hit me.

Oh, don’t look at me like you don’t know what I’m talking about. I’m referring to that ‘Uh, Oh, S**t, gotta go’ pain that always seems to hit us at the wrong time. The thing is, this pain was different.

The habaneros in the chili from the night before were staging a revolt. In a mad rush for freedom they bullied their way through the small intestines, forcing their way into the large intestines, and before I could take one step in the direction of the restrooms which would bring sweet relief, it happened. The peppers fired a warning shot.

There I stood, alone in the paint and stain section, suddenly enveloped in a noxious cloud the likes of which has never before been recorded. I was afraid to move for fear that more of this vile odor might escape me.

Slowly, oh so slowly, the pressure seemed to leave the lower part of my body, and I began to move up the aisle and out of it, just as an red aproned clerk turned the corner and asked if I needed any help.

I don’t know what made me do it, but I stopped to see what his reaction would be to the malodorous effluvium that refused to dissipate. Have you ever been torn in two different directions emotionally? Here’s what I mean, and I’m sure some of you at least will be able to relate.

I could’ve warned that poor clerk, but didn’t. I simply watched as he walked into an invisible, and apparently indestructible, wall of odor so terrible that all he could do before gathering his senses and running, was to stand there blinking and waving his arms about his head as though trying to ward off angry bees. This, of course, made me feel terrible, but then made me laugh.. …….BIG mistake!!!!!

Here’s the thing. When you laugh, it’s hard to keep things ‘clamped down’, if you know what I mean. With each new guffaw an explosive issue burst forth from my nether region. Some were so loud and echoing that I was later told a few folks in other aisles had ducked, fearing that someone was robbing the store and firing off a shotgun.

Suddenly things were no longer funny. ‘It’ was coming, and I raced off through the store towards the restrooms, laying down a cloud the whole way, praying that I’d make it before the grand mal assplosion took place.

Luck was on my side. Just in the nick of time I got to the john, began the inevitable ‘Oh my God’, floating above the toilet seat because my ass is burning SO BAD, purging. One poor fellow walked in while I was in the middle of what is the true meaning of ‘Shock and Awe’ . He made a gagging sound, and disgustedly said, ‘Sonofabitch!, did it smell that bad when you ate it?’, then quickly left.

Once finished and I left the restroom, reacquired my partially filled cart intending to carry on with my shopping when a store employee approached me and said, ‘Sir, you might want to step outside for a few minutes. It appears some prankster set off a stink bomb in the store. The manager is going to run the vent fans on high for a minute or two which ought to take care of the problem.’

My smirking of course set me off again, causing residual gases to escape me. The employee took one sniff, jumped back pulling his shirt up to cover his nose and, pointing at me in an accusing manner shouted, ‘IT’S YOU!’, then ran off returning moments later with the manager. I was unceremoniously escorted from the premises and asked none too kindly not to return.

Home again without my supplies, I realized that there was nothing to eat but leftover chili, so I consumed two more bowls. The next day I went to shop at Lowe’s. I can’t say anymore about that because we are in court over the whole matter.

Bastards claim they’re going to have to repaint the store.. 

Law of the Garbage Truck

Wednesday, March 18th, 2009

My wife sent this to me today and I thought it was worth reposting…  especially what’s going on in the world with economic and personal sentiment…


One day I hopped in a taxi and we took off for the airport. We were driving in the right lane when suddenly a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us. My taxi driver slammed on his brakes, skidded, and missed the other car by just inches! The driver of the other car whipped his head around and started yelling at us. My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. And I mean, he was really friendly. So I asked, ‘Why did you just do that? This guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital! ‘This is when my taxi driver taught me what I now call, ‘The Law of the Garbage Truck.’

He explained that many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full of disappointment. As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it and sometimes they’ll dump it on you. Don’t take it personally. Just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on. Don’t take their garbage and spread it to other people at work, at home, or on the streets. The bottom line is that successful people do not let garbage trucks take over their day.

Life’s too short to wake up in the morning with regrets, so…Love the people who treat you right. Pray for the ones who don’t. Life is ten percent what you make it and ninety percent how you take it!

Have a blessed, garbage-free day!

A new link to our site…

Wednesday, February 25th, 2009

The other day, I was looking at our traffic logs and I noticed traffic from this site called “RideOnMyOwn.com“…  So, I had to go out and see what it was all about…

I noticed that the site had our link posted with other apparel and rain gear.  Being the appreciative bloke that I tend to be, I dropped the site owner an e-mail to thank them.

As it turns out Donna (a.k.a., Froggi), almost immediately dropped me a line back.  Her site is by a woman rider for women riders.  The site, http://www.RideOnMyOwn.com, is very much worth checking out.  Also, if you’re into RV’ing (and many folks are into that more transient/mobile lifestyle which always presents you with something new), be sure to check out her blog, From The Lily Pad

BTW, here’s where we are listed on their site…

Don’t let anything slow you down!!!
- Ray