building a better bike : costa mesa company is getting it together and taking it off the road

These four are not intimidated by the conventional wisdom that you can no longer afford to build things in Southern California. 12 months ago, when they decided to build a new car, they ignored the pessimists who complained that Southern California was too expensive, too strict, and not business-friendly. They decided that the trick was to take advantage of the vast network of automotive and aerospace parts manufacturers, suppliers and manufacturers that already exist in the region. Instead of worrying about manufacturing details, four-- All of this has a certificate from the motorcycle industry. - Took their time to perfect a design and engineering off site A 50%-powered road racing car weighs the same weight as most motorcycles it will compete. They called on a group of voluntary external suppliers from Orange, Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties to make parts and provide materials to enter the prototype. \"This is the job we would have rejected five years ago because we are busy with the aerospace business,\" said Gary Van Der, owner of Corona co Engineering. \"But now there is less and less aerospace, and we are happy to do that. \"Using external suppliers to avoid serious costs of building new manufacturing plants is\" what you have to do, \"says Jon P \". Goodman, professor of management at the University of Southern California, director of the university\'s entrepreneur program. This is what all IBM PCs do. Really good value. It works if it\'s done right. \"* For motorcycle manufacturers William NEGE, auf Hasselberg, William Thomas and Björn Elvin, everything has gone well so far. Within a 50- Within a mile radius of their company\'s Costa Mesa office, MCM Group has found a dozen suppliers or ordered all 1,500 parts they need for their cycle. Some people are willing to work- Meet the strict design schedule. Still, time almost ran out last fall as MCM-- Motorcycle Costa Mesa-- Race to complete its prototype: in October, a crazy Knight actually stuffed 285 pounds motorcycles into seven large suitcases, and checked it on Air New Zealand\'s flight as excess baggage so he can perform in Cologne in time Although the bike has not competed yet and there is no performance data, its engineering and power have been well receivedto- Weight ratio from Long Beach bike News- Magazines for dirt bike lovers. MCM is now raising $650,000 for production. \"It\'s an industry that\'s hard to get into,\" says Chris Jonnum, who reports on the industry for Cycle News. Japanese motorcycle manufacturers High quality bicycles produced and sold in large quantities are relatively low in price. A game is expected to be sold The $8,500 motorcycle, while the less powerful Japanese car starts at about $5,000. But Jonnum says the extra power will make MCM different on the track, and it will also help it build a place in the market. By late this summer, if the effort to get funding is productive, MCM Group will work with two other boutique dirt bike manufacturers --- ATK and industrial cities near Salt Lake City, Utah-- As the only racing car manufacturer in China. In the process, the company will provide a ready-made example of business retention organizations that abound in today\'s recession -- Tired Southern California As the MCM story shows, you can build it here. Don Brown, an independent motorcycle industry consultant and analyst based in Irving, said the timing of the new motorcycling company could not be better. U. S. Sales of all types of motorcycles, scooters and all types of motorcycles peaked in 1984 Terrain Vehicle (ATVs) hit 1. 3 million, including 150,000 dirt bikes. But the rising yen pushed up the price of Japanese motorcycles and consumers turned to the second-hand bicycle market. By 1991, only about 430,000 new motorcycles were sold nationwide. Dirt bike sales fell to 74,000. Last year, U. S. Consumers bought 535,731 motorcycles, and sales of dirt bikes climbed to nearly 80,000. The industry\'s annual growth rate of nearly 10%- Dirt bike alone has 7% cars a year- Brown said it is expected to continue for some time. The dirty domestic bicycle industry is so small that it is almost negligible: According to circular News, the total output of motorcycles in three countries in the United States is less than 1,000S. This year\'s company Other domestic motorcycle manufacturers, Wisconsin- Harley-Davidson headquarters Its Buell Motorcycle Company About 67,000 bicycles were jointly sold last year, mostly for street use. By contrast, Japan\'s cycle giant- Honda and Kawasaki both produce motorcycles, Yamaha and Suzuki in this country-- Of all motorcycles sold in the United States last year, about 80% were sold in the market, including all motorcycles except about 1,400 of dirty bicycles. MCM plans to produce about 280 motorcycles in the second half of this year and 700 in 1996. Kniegge said that the company hopes to sell about half of the expected production in Europe, in Europe, Road racing is an important sport. The bike made its debut in Cologne. - The biggest motorcycle show in the world- Kniegge said that MCM egge has attracted enough interest and has signed an agreement to provide bicycles to motorcycle dealers in Western Europe and Scandinavia. \"If we want to send all our bikes overseas, the demand of European dealers may occupy all of our production,\" Kniegge said . \". The decision to build a new well-off Road motorcycles in the European and North American racing markets are made in the United States 1993 when four men worked with ATK on product development, they decided to build a better bike using Sweden\'s new engine design. The motor is manufactured by Folan AB, the company with the famous non- Road motorcycle manufacturer Husqvarna Motorcykla AB develop more powerful off-road motorcycles Highway racing engine in early 1980. Forland also makes engine parts for several other Swedish car and motorcycle companies. Its new design, Folan V- MCM partner Bill Thomas says Twin evolved from the company\'s work for others. While the engine has never been used in production, Kniegge and his partners have seen its weight -- Save design as a way to have more horsepower than any other manufacturer. The 100-Horsepower 948-cubic- Cm Folan V- Twin weighs 85 pounds, and the MCM motorcycle completed weighs 275 pounds. In contrast, Kawasaki\'s KLX650 single Only 60 hp cylinder dirt racing, weighing 276 pounds. Some people in Europe Road bikes are as powerful as MCM says Folan. Motorcycles will be provided. But competitors weigh more than 400 pounds. - Including an engine of 140 to 180 pounds, gives MCM a huge weight advantage, which is crucial in a sport that requires competitors to personally manipulate bicycles through muck and tortuous terrain. Just a month. When Kniegge, Thomas, Elvin and Hasselberg flew to Sweden in last January to negotiate an agreement with Folan, the two sides established an old partnership. \"Our idea is that over time Long term support from engine manufacturers, the four of us have all the expertise needed to develop and sell new bikes, \"said Kniegge, a marketing specialist at the group. They have the exclusive right to use Folan V-in North America Dual engine and its smaller, more powerful single engine Production of the cylinder version of the motorcycle and for the rear- Market use for individuals and teams. With these, four men robbed their savings accounts, sold excess motorcycles, lent money on their houses, and sold a small stake in the company to outside investors, and received about $300,000 in seed funding. This project started with engine and Alvin, who is Owner of bicycle manufacturer in Sweden. He designed the frame and designed the suspension, brakes and other components of the new motorcycle- Now called MCM off-road. These partners then bring together their years of experience with Southern California motorcycles and look for experts to help them build prototypes. The first stop is Santa Ana, where it\'s free Lance designer Philippe de Lespinay was hired to design the body of the bike. \"They caught me through a good friend and he was invited to do the design and refused because he didn\'t have time,\" De Lespinay recalls . \". Newport Beach designers met MCM Partners because of their racing background and agreed to take over after discussing the project with them. The frame of the motorcycle is built on a fixture made by Corona, in the shape of a series of triangles ---a so- Known as the pyramid frame, developed in the 1980 s for endurance races, has never been used on dirty bikes before. \"It makes the bike very strong, but it also makes aesthetics difficult because it\'s not easy to get beautiful body lines from the bike,\" De Lespinay said . \". He was asked to design the detachable body panel of the bike and presented a complete Size model in 20 days. De Lespinay took a day to sketch, and then, when the MCM partner approved the basic design, commissioned the Costa Mesa metal worker Brian warmak to make the body parts. The production bike will use molded plastic body panels, but the prototype is peeled with hand-made aluminum sheets from wamak, which will also serve as the main mold for plastic parts. Not everything on the prototype was made from scratch: MCM purchased a disc brake system from Paramount; Shock Absorber, light and ignition off-the- Shelf assemblies and silencers-- Must be the government. Certified for noise and Sparks Ability to capture-- From Anaheim. Light, executive Chromium-molybdenum alloy-strength-or chrome moly-- Used for the frame is provided by a pair of Southern companies that have been specialized in providing products for the racing, aerospace and defense industries for many years. Goodman of the University of Southern California says the company\'s story highlights what she has been promoting in her university startup program. \"For 1/2 years, I have been screaming about the modernization of the Southern California aerospace and defense industry jobs store,\" she said . \". \"These are state-of-the-art technologies that can produce the best products in the world when they discover new opportunities. The span of what they can do is sum. Anything you need to do can be done here, including making rare metals. The key to successful use of the system, Goodman said, is \"make sure you have a hammer to secure your supplier . \". You don\'t want to be in a situation where there is only one source for what you need. But unless you\'re working on some proprietary processes that you can\'t get others in, there\'s very little cost Establish the efficiency or necessity of your own manufacturing operations. When all these work shops are already there, why build an outdated factory 12 minutes after you open it? \"Kniegge said that when production began later this year, MCM did not plan to actually produce its own bicycles. Instead, he said, the company is expected to lease a building of no more than 10,000 square feet, employing a dozen workers to carry out final set of parts manufactured by outside workers, such as Bassani, a frame manufacturer manufactured in Placencia, and Mike Hamm, a design exhaust system in Anaheim. \"This is the only thing that makes sense,\" Kniegge said . \". \"That\'s why we can do this here. \"( Start text of infobox/Infographic) In the past ten years, the total sales of motorcycles have been bumpy, and the overall decline has been nearly 60%. However, data has been rising since the bottom of 1991. Total sales including scooters and ATVs; All thousands: Total sales (1994) : 536Off double years high-speed highway 1984 485 150 55 1985 405 145 27 30 corruption problem advisory 1986 305 125 1987 285 100 1988 220 month 1989 172 70 85 Act of 1990 166 77 Act of 1991 161 months 1992 168 month 1993 185 months 76 75 74 1994 194 79 18Who companymcm run of motorcycle is by four representative different of motorcycle industry. All of these are experienced motocross players who worked in the industry before forming MCM. Birth: Sweden; came to U. S. Education 1983: Swedish Institute of Mechanical technology; Professional history of engineering: * Husqvarna Motorcykla: team manager for motocross * Husaberg Motor: New product development, testing, william kniegge born: Iowa Education: Paloma College, San Diego; production and race team management * atk usa: New Product Marketing Professional history of Liberal Arts: * Husqvarna USA: Director of Marketing and Sales * Bell helmet: Vice President of Sales and marketing * Accuride: director of marketing and sales Sweden; came to U. S. 1967 Education: Trolhatten technical college, professional history of engineering: * Saab Scania: research and development of new products; And test * Saab, USA: test engineer, dealer service, R & D; * Created a \"mid- Engine \"Saab William Thomas Bourne: Colorado Education: University of Colorado, History of Engineering: * National Motocross: event promoter and track designer * ATK motorcycle: R & D; * Bill Thomas Motorcycle Co. , Ltd. At DenverSource: Board of motorcycle industry, MCM motorcycle group led by Valerie Williams