Table of contents
- Life: motorcycle manufacturers and museums A visit to the factory
- No time to plan yourself? Help is coming!
- Italy
- Aprilia
- Ducati
- MV Agusta
- Benelli
- Moto Guzzi
- Germany
- BMW
- Horex
- Austria / India / England
- KTM
- Royal Enfield
- triumph
- Japan
- Honda
- Suzuki
- Kawasaki
- Yamaha
- USA
- Harley-Davidson
- Victory
Blacksmith
14th pictures
Blacksmith
1/14
In the factory, the production of your favorite bikes can be carefully examined.
www.jkuenstle.de
2/14
Party in front of the factory gates: Guzzi holds an open house every year-
Weekends.
3/14
The date for the open house weekend next year is not yet known.
www.jkuenstle.de
4/14
Here is screwed until the bike is ready.
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The view of the production is, however, denied.
6/14
The Guzzi factory museum is attached to the factory and exhibits around 80 models.
www.jkuenstle.de
7/14
Many motorcycle manufacturers have recognized that factory tours make a not inconsiderable contribution to customer loyalty and allow a glimpse into the sacred halls.
www.jkuenstle.de
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The Guzzi factory museum is attached to the factory.
www.jkuenstle.de
9/14
However, there is an open house weekend every year.
www.jkuenstle.de
10/14
Factory tours are not possible at Moto Guzzi.
Harley-Davidson
11/14
Captain America & Co: At Harley, both a factory and a museum
can be visited in one.
Thomas
12/14
Not so close: The plants in Japan prefer to refer visitors to their factory museums.
BMW
13/14
BMW: If you want to go from the factory to the museum, you have to plan a weekend: the building will be in Berlin and the exhibition will be in Munich.
www.jkuenstle.de
14/14
The Moto Guzzi production team.
to travel
Life: A visit to the factory
Life: motorcycle manufacturers and museums
A visit to the factory
Whether to think outside the box or to pay homage to your favorite brand: a trip to the place where motorcycles were made is an exciting tour destination. With which companies is the trip worthwhile??
Anton Semerikov
10/10/2013
The lady in the picture above is proud of her work at Ducati on the tape. Anyone who wants to get to the bottom of the development of motorcycles alla bolognese can even look over her shoulder. If you are not a fan of Italian two-wheeled food, that’s no problem either: MOTORRAD asked around where else you can witness the manufacture of your favorite moped. Many motorcycle manufacturers have recognized that factory tours make a not inconsiderable contribution to
Achieve customer loyalty and allow a glimpse into the sacred halls. So what could be nicer than the nimbus on vacation “his” Experience the brand up close?
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In Germany this is quite unproblematic. A quick call to Horex, an email to BMW, and you can watch the mechanics’ fingers. Similar in the USA: Harley has been exploiting its brand myth not just since yesterday and even offers different tours of three of its plants.
The Italians are divided: While at Ducati and the comparatively small motorcycle manufacturer MV Agusta Bookings are possible directly via the website, you can only visit the Moto Guzzi factory museum. Which is more than at Aprilia: fans of the Noale brand go away empty-handed when it comes to factory tours or museums.
The Japanese are also buttoned up: none of the Honda or Yamaha factories are open to the public, be they locations in Japan or Europe. Of Kawasaki and Suzuki, there was no comment at the time of going to press, but everything points to similar policies. If you are on holiday in the land of the rising sun, you can at least visit the factory museums. They are not limited to motorcycles, but offer a cross-section of the brand’s history.
Get pleasure? Then the following lines offer incentives and planning bases for the next trip inside the works or associated museums.
No time to plan yourself? Help is coming!
MOTOTOURING in Milan offers a nine-day tour through northern Italy with visits to various museums and works. The stops: Ducati Museum in Bologna, Ferrari Galleria in Maranello, Moto Guzzi Museum in Mandello del Lario, Aprilia factory in Noale (only for tour participants) as well as the Benelli Museum and the private Morbidelli Museum, both in Pesaro. Guided tours in Spanish, French and English.
The date for 2014 will again be in September, the costs (with rental bike) are expected to be 2650 euros per rider, 1900 euros for the pillion passenger. Of course, you can also use your own motorcycle, the costs must then be requested accordingly.
Info
Telephone 00 39/02/27 20 15 56
Email: rental@mototouring.com
www.mototouring.com
The German provider ALMOTO offers trips to the BMW plant in Berlin. The start and finish point of the two-day tour is
Dresden. On the way there it goes through the Spreewald to Berlin. After an overnight stay, the factory tour is on, then it goes through the Flaming back to “Florence on the Elbe”. The daily stages are a moderate 260 kilometers. The prices are similarly moderate: the driver pays 139 euros, the pillion rider can come for 129 euros. Tour groups are limited to eight motorcycles, dates must be requested.
Info
Telephone 03 51/8 03 10 17, email: info@almoto.de,
www.almoto.de
address
ALMOTO Motorrad Reisen, Priebnitzstrabe 42, 01099 Dresden
Italy
Party in front of the factory gates: Guzzi organizes open house weekends every year.
Aprilia
As one of the younger brands (two-wheeler production since 1968) it has Aprilia not yet so with its own story. The Noale plant is not open to the public, nor is there a plant museum. A previously existing virtual museum has been removed from the network, the overview of the plant’s history on the official site can only be accessed via search engines, not via the Aprilia site itself. If you want to browse at least a little, enter the full link: http://www.aprilia.com/pages/company/history.aspx
address
Piaggio & C. S. p. A. – Aprilia,
30033 Noale, Italy
Info
www.aprilia.com
Ducati
Factory and museum tours are available in English and Italian, and in German for group bookings. Costs: 10 euros regular, 8 euros reduced. Discounts for groups of 11 people or more and Ducati owners with a Ducati card. Free of charge for Desmo Owners Club members. Times: Monday to Friday 9.15 a.m. to 11.00 a.m. and 1.45 p.m. to 3.30 p.m. Saturday is reserved for Ducatis Desmo Owners Club members, museum tours at 10 a.m., 11 a.m. and 12 p.m. Bookings through the website.
address
Ducati S. p. A., Via Cavalieri Ducati 3,
Bologna, Italy
Info
Tel. 00 39/051/6 41 33 43
www.ducati.de
MV Agusta
MV offers factory tours; the tours take place on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. they last
about an hour each. Group size up to 20 people. You can register on the homepage, click on “Company” and “Factory Tour”.
address
MV Agusta Motor S. p. A., Via Giovanni Macchi 144,
2100 Varese, Italy
Info
www.mvagusta.it/en
Benelli
No information on factory tours was available by the editorial deadline. The Benelli Museum in Pesaro is currently being renovated and is due to reopen in January 2014. Then there are also updated opening times on the website (previously only in Italian). The address therefore refers to the museum. For those who speak Italian, go to: www.officinebenelli.it info. All
others can visit the “History” section of the official site.
address
Benelli Museum, Via Mameli 22,
Pesaro, Italy
Info
www.benelli.com
Moto Guzzi
Factory tours are not possible, but open house weekends take place every year. The date for next year is not yet known. The Guzzi factory museum is attached to the factory and exhibits around 80 models. The opening times are quite limited: Monday to Friday only from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m., in July from 2.30 p.m. to 4.30 p.m., closed in September. Admission is free, museum tours are possible.
address
Piaggio & C. S. p. A. – Moto Guzzi, Via Parodi 57,
Mandello del Lario, Italy
Info
www.motoguzzi.com/en
Germany
BMW
BMW: If you want to go from the factory to the museum, you have to plan a weekend: the building will be in Berlin and the exhibition will be in Munich.
BMW
The Berlin-Spandau plant can be visited from Monday to Friday; guided tours take place from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Individual visitors and groups of up to six people are led in mixed groups of up to 25 people, admission is 6 euros or 4 euros for a reduced price. There are discounts for the disabled, schoolchildren, students, BMW clubs and BMW customer card holders. Duration: about 2.5 hours. Larger groups or individuals can book exclusive tours: size up to 25 people, cost per exclusive tour: 130 euros.
address
BMW Plant Berlin-Spandau, Am Juliusturm
14-38, 13599 Berlin
Info
Tel. 0 89/38 21 57 50
www.bmw-besuchen.com
Horex
The Augsburg-based manufacturer organizes an open day twice a year, but there is still none for autumn
precise appointment. As soon as one is found, the information is on the website. Guided tours for a maximum of 15 people are possible after registration by phone or email and are free of charge.
address
HOREX GmbH, Werner-Heisenberg-Str. 15th,
86156 Augsburg
Info
Tel. 08 21/4 48 09 60,
info@horex.com
www.horex.com
Austria / India / England
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Harley-Davidson
Thomas
BMW
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KTM
at KTM Factory tours are fully booked until the end of the year, and due to this high demand, restructuring is to take place from next year. How exactly, KTM has left open.
address
KTM-Sportmotorcycle AG,
Stallhofnerstrasse 3,
5230 Mattighofen, Austria
Info
Telephone 00 43/77 42/6 00 00,
info@ktm.com
www.ktm.com
Royal Enfield
Every second and fourth Saturday of the month, factory tours are possible in the oldest motorcycle factory in the world that is still producing today. Registration via email is necessary, the tours start at 10.30 a.m. Costs 600 rupees per person, which corresponds to about 6.80 euros. Rahul Shankhwar takes care of the registrations, his email address is rshankhwar@royalenfield.com. The registration form can be found on the official website under the tab “About us”, then “Factory Visit”.
address
Royal Enfield, Tiruvottiyur High Road,
600019 Chennai (formerly: Madras), India
Info
http://royalenfield.com
triumph
Triumph is currently not offering factory tours in England or Thailand. From next year tours in Hinckley should be possible, then a booking tool will also be set up on the website.
address
Triumph Motorcycles Ltd.,
Normandy Way, Hinckley,
Leicestershire LE10 3BZ, UK
Info
www.triumphmotorcycles.de
Japan
Thomas
Not so close: The plants in Japan prefer to refer visitors to their factory museums.
Honda
Neither the factory in Japan nor the factory in Atessa, Italy are open to the public. Brand fans can, however
visit the factory museum “Honda Collection Hall” at the racing circuit Twin Ring Motegi. Google Maps offers a virtual tour to get an appetite: Enter “Honda Collection Hall”.
address
Motegi, 120-1 Hiyama, Haga, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan
Info
http://world.honda.com/collection-hall
Suzuki
Previously not accessible to outsiders, the factory museum in Hamamatsu can now be visited by prior arrangement. On the site you will find instructions for registration and information about the museum.
address
Hamamatsu, 300 Takatsuka-cho, Minami Ward, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan
Info
www.inhamamatsu.com/art/suzuki-plaza.php
Kawasaki
There is a Kawasaki Museum in Kobe which is part of the Kobe Maritime Museum. Motorcycles take up a comparatively small part of the exhibition, but you can climb into the driver’s cab of the Shinkansen.
address
Kobe, Hatoba-cho 2-2, Chuo-ku,
Hyogo Prefecture, Japan
Info
www.khi.co.jp/kawasakiworld/english/index.html
Yamaha
Also does not offer factory tours, neither in Japan nor in one of the European production facilities. However, there is a factory museum that Yamaha Communication Plaza in Iwata. In addition to typical Yamaha two-stroke icons, there is a cross-section of the brand’s other fields of activity.
address
Iwata, Haga, 2500 Shingai,
Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan
Info
http://global.yamaha-motor.com
USA
Harley-Davidson
Captain America & Co: At Harley, the factory and museum can be viewed in one.
Harley-Davidson
H-D offers tours of the following factories: York, Pennsylvania; Kansas City, Missouri; Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin.
There are two types of tours in all plants, the free plant tour and the steel-toe tour. The steel-toe tour includes plant sections that require steel toe shoes (the “steel toes”) and safety helmets, these are provided.
The steel-toe tour in Menemonee Falls starts with a shuttle bus from the Harley Museum in Milwaukee, 25 kilometers away, and the price of 38 dollars also includes admission to the museum. The steel-toe tour costs $ 35 in York and Kansas City, and reservations are required at all factories for groups of ten or more. From 16 people there is a discount. The minimum age is twelve years, under 18s must be accompanied by an adult.
Addresses
York, PA 17402, 1425 Eden Road
Factory tours Mon to Fri between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m., duration: 1 hour
Steel-toe tours from Mon to Thurs at
9.30 a.m. and 12 p.m.
Cost: $ 35, duration about 2 hours
Kansas City, MO 64153, 11401 N
Congress Ave.
Factory tours Mon to Fri 9 a.m. to 1.30 p.m. Steel-Toe Tours Mon to Thu 9.15 a.m.
and 12 o’clock,
Cost: $ 35, duration about 2 hours
Menomonee Falls, WI 53051
W156 N9000 Pilgrim Road
Factory tours only on Mondays between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. Steel-Toe-Tours Wed, Thu, Fri from the museum, 9 a.m. and 12.15 p.m., duration approx. 3 hours
Info can only be found on the Internet in English at www.harley-davidson.com under the tab “Company”, then “Factory Tours”
www.harley-davidson.com
Victory
Telephone registration required, visits take place on Wednesdays and Fridays from 9.30 a.m. Minimum age twelve years, under 18-year-olds must be accompanied by adults. Anyone who calls must have option 4 (“Schedule
a Tour “). If you have problems understanding the (sometimes somewhat indistinct) announcements, Option connects
5 the caller with customer service. Attention, telephone costs: up to ten minutes on hold possible! Groups of more than eight people register separately.
address
Victory Final Assembly Facility, 1900 Hwy. 71, Spirit Lake IA 51360, Iowa, USA
Info
Telephone 001/7 12/336 37 97
www.victorymotorcycles.com
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