Being an Analyst Means Never Having to Admit You Were Wrong

I never predicted that they’d go away, so it might not count as a total error, but I have entirely missed until now that there will be a new show based on Muppets: America’s Next Muppet.

But it looks like I got at least one right: I said that SuperMoto racing would lead to an increase in dirtbike-styled street motorcycles, and sure enough, MotoSavvy gives a positive review to the SuperMoto-based Suzuki DR-Z400 SM. Now, an industry publication doesn’t really count as confirmation of a trend going mainstream. But The New York Times also mentions that bike.

That’s an article mainly about scooters, but it admits that a scooter just doesn’t have the testosterone factor that drives 90% or so of the two-wheeler sales in the US– which is why it suggests the Suzuki SuperMoto bike. NYT also likes the look and feel of a personal fave of mine, the Honda Big Ruckus, although I feel that the Big Ruckus is just too pricey to really take off as more than a niche vehicle: it’s a not as wimpy as the 50cc Metropolitan, but at nearly five grand, you want something that’s a little more… something can weave through traffic and handle potholes and the occasional back yard or highway median while you take your laptop to and from fantasy soccer practice. If a scooter is a minivan, the mid-size dirtbike for the street is an SUV: semi-practical transportation with a dose of vehicular Viagra.