Harley-Davidson's 3rd quarter 2010 financial results are in: income climbs as sales drop. Net income totaled $88.8 million, or 38 cents per share, which compares with income of $26.5 million, or 11 cents per share for the same period last year.

H-D reported a 7.7 percent decrease in motorcycle sales worldwide, including a 9.4 percent decrease in the U.S.

The company posted a net profit of 40 cents per share from continuing operations. Revenue fell 2 percent to $1.09 billion.

Risk of offense is the price of clarity

A fascinating look behind the scenes at Motorcyclist magazine describes Dexter Ford's firing from Motorcyclist, apparently as a result of his no-hold-barred expose of shortcomings in the Snell M2005 standard that, according to some experts, could result in greater injuries to riders.

Spring is on the way, and if you aren't lucky enough to have a long-lasting motorcycle battery, you're probably going to be buying a new motorcycle battery soon.

Here are a couple of resources that can help you choose a new motorcycle battery.

First, here's a Consumer Reports automotive battery article that says, in part:

Most auto batteries are made by just three manufacturers, Delphi, Exide, and Johnson Controls Industries. Each makes batteries sold under several different brand names. Delphi makes ACDelco and some EverStart (Wal-Mart) models. Exide makes Champion, Exide, Napa, and some EverStart batteries. Johnson Controls makes Diehard (Sears), Duralast (AutoZone), Interstate, Kirkland (Costco), Motorcraft (Ford), and some EverStarts.

Harley-Davidson announced the end of the Buell line.

This is not a huge surprise given Harley-Davidson's financial situation, although it is bad news for enthusiasts. The new Buell models, especially the Buell 1125R and 1125CR models were kick-ass bikes and certainly worthy of consideration by many sport bike enthusiasts.

Reading a blog entry on HarleyThoughts.com about a gruesome incident reminded me the day I came within inches of losing my right leg.

It was 1980. It was late on a Summer Saturday afternoon. I was 20 years old, full of the dumbass fearlessness that so often accompanies youth. I was riding a 1969 Harley Shovelhead. I accelerated quickly from an intersection on a busy main drag, leaving the rest of the cars behind. I wasn't racing, but I was moving along faster than the rest of traffic. I wasn't wearing a helmet—this was long before California eliminated that choice.

The uber-techs at Castrol have been hard at work perfecting a bad-ass robotic test "rider". Well, it doesn't really ride, but it can sit atop the motorcycle and do all the throttle, clutch, and shift actions that a human rider does.

Among the many stated benefits:

• Flossie can be fitted onto any bike or scooter for testing on a chassis dynamometer.
• Flossie can act like a new rider, learning how to operate all the controls, gaining proficiency over time.
• Flossie will perform the same gear change or the same acceleration time after time.
• Flossie doesn't get tired or saddle sore
• Flossie doesn’t mind the excruciating noise of the bike in the chamber as its engine screams away
• Flossie doesn't worry about riding in extremes of temperature
• And, most importantly, Flossie is a safe rider

(Source: Castrol)

Of course, I think this is complete bull. Castrol engineers built Flossie because it was just a wickedly-cool looking 'bot!

Here's a short YouTube video showing Flossie in action and one of the techs giving background details...