The ‘I Have a Dream’ Speech by Martin Luther King, Jr, in 1963

I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.

Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.

But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. So we have come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.

In a sense we have come to our nation’s capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked “insufficient funds.” But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. So we have come to cash this check — a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice. We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quick sands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God’s children.

It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro’s legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. Those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.

But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.

We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force. The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. They have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone.

As we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead. We cannot turn back. There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, “When will you be satisfied?” We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied, as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro’s basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their selfhood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating “For Whites Only”. We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.

I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive.

Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed. Let us not wallow in the valley of despair.

I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.”

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification; one day right there in Alabama, little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.

This is our hope. This is the faith that I go back to the South with. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

This will be the day when all of God’s children will be able to sing with a new meaning, “My country, ’tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim’s pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring.”

And if America is to be a great nation this must become true. So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania!

Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado!

Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California!

But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia!

Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee!

Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

And when this happens, when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, “Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!”

Nokia N97, originally uploaded by Robert Scoble.

Robert Scoble started a bit-storm when he got his hands on the Nokia N97 even before I have scored myself an N96. I love love love my Nokia N95 8GB and use it as my 5mp camera, my QIK video camera, and my official podcast-listening device. I wake up this morning and there are a million articles about the Nokia N97 all over the place: Robert Scoble, Gizmodo, Engadget, SlashGear, MobileCrunch, GSMArena, Atmaspheric Endeavors, UnwiredView, Mobile.ie, PhoneMag, Laptop Mag, Geeky Gadgets, Mobile Tech Addicts, GadgetHeat, The S60 Blog, Inside View, Scoble’s Flickr, Teche Blog, Mobile Fun, CNet UK, Phones Review, The Serious Games Blog, TechLime, SlashPhone

Please check out my first article as a writer for AdAge, In ‘Poor But Sexy’ Berlin, Brands Need to Understand Casual.

In ‘Poor But Sexy’ Berlin, Brands Need to Understand Casual: To market successfully, you need to understand college kids

This is my first post for the Global Idea Network and I am happy to be here. I aim to post once-a-week about my experience in Berlin and around Europe as an expat. Today, I want to talk a little bit about Berlin, the city its Mayor, Klaus Wowereit, called “poor but sexy.”

Berlin is sexy, poor, and the most casual city I can imagine. Everyone wears jeans, t-shirts, hoodies, and some sort of field jacket. At first I mistook this casualness as slovenliness or poverty. No. Berlin’s casualness is very intentional. In spite of limited cash, Berliners are slaves to fashion and remain current. The moment jeans went skinny, Berlin went skinny. When the world became obsessed with Chuck Taylors, Berliners sported them. Current, as long as the fashion palette keeps to caps, jeans, t-shirts, jackets, and sneakers. When my friend Mark wore the wrong sort of casual his friends staged an intervention: the jeans were all wrong, the jacket was uncool, and the shoes had to go.

It occurred to me that successful marketing in Berlin requires marketing to college kids, who are the epitome of poor but sexy, across the board and for everything. How would you sell a car, a cell phone, a pair of panties, a watch, some gum, a bank account, or a credit card to a teenager and you’ll probably get it right here in Berlin.

When it comes to purchases, Berliners judge each others’ fashion sense like they do at college, where how you were dressed had more to do with style and selection — how you wore it — and less to do with the total cost of purchase and where you bought it. Competition in the marketplace comes from flea markets, hand-me-downs, swap meets, and eBay as easily as it may your competitor. Lots of those skinny jeans and Chuck Taylors were scored used from the 80s. I learned from my friend Libia from Mexico City that Berlin is world famous for its used clothing and consignment stores. There is no stigma associated with getting stuff used and cheap — quite the opposite.

There are other concerns when marketing to Berliners: biking, weather, exposure, and the elements. Like college students, Berliners take public transport and ride bikes every day in all sorts of Central European weather. In fact, I have been told again and again that bicycles are neither recreational nor optional. They’re essential to daily life. Like students going to class in the morning, Berliners need to carry everything they need for the day with them. Necessity demands that Manolos are pretty impractical, as are skirts, heavily-styled hairdos, and exceptionally-delicate makeup rituals.

Berlin casual is not limited to kids in their teens and twenties, however. I am talking about my 39-year-old friend Frank, who pretty much dresses in hooded sweatshirts and jeans all the time (with a fierce family brand loyalty to the G-Star brand, universally popular in Berlin) and, coincidentally, dresses just like his two sons, 8 and 10, as you can see in the photo illustrations. Yes, Frank, who runs a production company called The Lime Machine, approved this post.

I have been invited to be a European correspondent to the AdAge Global Idea Network. I am a resident of Berlin, Germany, and will be mostly reporting my experience in Central and Eastern Europe; however, GIN is a moveable feast — it is global, after all. I hope you enjoy the post. Please consider subscribing to the blog. I plan to post at least once-a-week. Plus, there are a wide assortment of other great bloggers from around the world.

I received this email from my friend Lisa, “One of my best friends just launched the below website — I thought it might interest you!” Well, I do whatever Lisa tells me to do because I am simply crazy about her. So, Yee Lee, you’re lucky that you have a friend in Lisa because look at all of this amazing promotion that she just scored you and your new startup, Rolago!

My startup team just launched a new service called Rolago (www.rolago.com) and we need your help! Rolago is a new communication service for friends, families, and club members. We help people stay up-to-date with each other via short text updates, a.k.a., microblogging. Rolago is now available via the web, email, and mobile phone. Tomorrow (Monday) morning, I’d really appreciate it if you could help us get the word out about www.rolago.com.

Some specific things you can do include (please do as many of these as you are able/willing):
1) Join Rolago.com, create a network, and invite some friends to it
2) Set your Twitter/Facebook/MySpace status to: “Checking out www.rolago.com” (or something like that)
3) Submit “www.rolago.com” to Digg and tag it “microblogging” and “groups”
4) Tell any group/club organizers you know about Rolago
5) Tell your high-school-aged relatives about Rolago.com (selling point: “it’s not blocked like meebo, facebook, or myspace”)
6) Email 5 friends about Rolago

If you’re familiar with Twitter, then you’ll immediately get the microblogging concept. The key difference between Rolago and Twitter is that with Rolago, you can control who you’re talking to. With services like Twitter (or Facebook Status Updates), you’re broadcasting to everyone on Twitter (or your entire Facebook network). Whereas with Rolago, you can create groups (public or private) and share updates just among group members.

Even if you hate status updates and Twitter and Facebook and motherhood and apple pie and all that is good with the Earth, I’d still appreciate it if you could do us a favor and at least tell a friend. :-)

Thanks and please let me know if you have any questions or suggestions! -Yee

p.s., if you’re ever in downtown Mountain View, please stop by for lunch, a cup of coffee, or a free beer (Fat Tire is loaded up in our kegerator!)

One great thing about owning a Social Media PR firm is that I get to do cool stuff. Another great thing is that I can bogart some of the stuff. Well, I am number-one box of the Life Changing Box, which you can see over on my Facebook Profile! (Please feel free to add me) I will be holding onto the box for a full eight hours today, so feel free to “touch my box.” You know you want to — and you don’t have to go “through” me — feel free to just join up yourself directly! I have a feeling that you can add the app to your Facebook Pages as well — check it out! Long story short:

The game launched at 10AM today, June 12th. Prizes include 52″ flat screen televisions, exclusive tickets to sporting events, international trips, home theater systems — 20 prizes in all — with values ranging from $400 to $14,000. There are two of everything so everyone who wins a prize wins its twin for the person who invited him or her. Lowe’s client doesn’t want to be revealed just yet, so please plug some words into the query box on the teaser site, LifeChangingBox.com.

Please enjoy this handy widget you can come back to again and again to watch the current course of the 10 boxes as they move around, awaiting to be touched by you!

Life Changing Box Facebook Game Launches!

• The promise of the extraordinary
• The surprise of something new
• The power to bring change
• It all starts here!
  • The Box: www.lifechangingbox.com
  • The Game: apps.facebook.com/lifechangingbox

The Life Changing Box game is a Facebook application believed to be the first of its kind…A contest with BIG PRIZES – many worth thousands of dollars!

Quick Links: News Facts | About Life Changing Box Facebook App | Screen Captures | About LifeChangingBox.com | About Lowe Worldwide | About Abraham Harrison | Contacts | Social Media | Tags

News Facts

• Life Changing Box the game is an application for Facebook which resembles Hot Potato in reverse. In our case, the “potato” is a box and inside each box is a prize. The goal of the game is to be in possession of the box when it opens, thus winning the prize. Part of the fun of Facebook is the option to invite your friends to install an application you enjoy. We encourage you to do so with a creative twist. If someone you invited into the game wins a prize, you win the exact same prize!
• There are 10 boxes total in the game. The currency the game uses to allow players to take possession of the box is called a “Touch”. Players get 24 “Touches” per day. Each “Touch” enters the player into a Round. At the beginning of each Round, the box will randomly jump to one of the players that entered that Round. A Round lasts between 30 minutes and 8 hours, randomly decided by the application. If the box didn’t open that Round, a new Round will begin and everyone must “Touch” the box again to participate.
• Since there are 10 boxes, 24 Touches, and up to 48 rounds per day, players will have to strategize their Touches in order to maximize their chance to win. This creates engaging and addictive play
• Click here to go to the Life Changing Box Facebook application page

About Life Changing Box Facebook App

LCB is a lottery-style game based around 10 boxes that open to give prizes to whomever is in possession of them.

Enter to Win

To get possession of a box you go to its application page and “touch” the box. Whoever touches the box first is in possession of it. Email and other contact info must be entered in case you win. The pic and name of the holder appears next to the box on the app page.

Gameplay

The game play is based around timed rounds where a box either opens to reveal a prize or jumps to another player’s page.

If you have touched the box you are in for that timed round only.

If someone else is in possession of the box for that round, your touch means that you are eligible to get the box only if it doesn’t reveal a prize on that round.

Then you are in a pool of people that the box will randomly jump to.

Strategy

All 10 boxes appear at the same time but they open sequentially over a four-week period. Nobody knows when they open, or how many rounds of “touching” there will be until they do so you get a limited number of “touches” per box to use at your discretion. You choose if you want to sit out a round and save your touches. If someone else wins and you have touches, you can roll them over into another game. If you invite a friend to the application and they win, you win a duplicate prize.

• There are 10 boxes total in the game
• To gain possession of a box, users use a currency called a Touch
• All players get 24 “Touches” per day
• Each Touch enters the player into a Round
• At the beginning of each Round, the box will randomly jump to one of the players who entered that Round
• The player given the box holds it for the entirety of the Round, which lasts between 30 minutes and 8 hours, randomly decided by the application
• If the box doesn’t open in a Round for the player, a new Round will begin and everyone must Touch the box again to participate
• 20 prizes will be awarded with values ranging from $400 to $14,000
• If you invite a friend to the application and they win, you win a duplicate prize
• Click here for the rules and regulations

Screen Captures

(click on thumbnail to view full-sized image)

About LifeChangingBox.com

• The Life Changing Box is part of a marketing strategy developed to promote a new campaign from Lowe New York. The client sponsoring the application will be revealed as the game progresses
• LifeChangingBox.com is a mysterious website designed to intrigue users and let them guess what is inside this “Life Changing Box.” This first of its kind contest will run for one month starting on June 12th, 2008
• Shhhhh! Try these words in the search bar (but don’t tell anyone!):
  japan, takumi, komayama, baseball, mlb, sports, world series, home run, diamond, catch, hit, bat, swing, glove, catcher, short-stop, hitter, batter, grand slam, bases, loaded bases, stadium, major league, pro, professional, pastime, Pennant, uniform, outfield, out, fly ball, foul, umpire, fans, seats, tickets, dugout, couch, run, score, safe, call, official, play, slide, signal, contract, stealing, cleats, walk, pop-up, heckler, fanatic, stats, cards, card, mitt, bullpen, inning, infield, color, crystal, HDTV, light, molecules, contrast, hertz, refresh rate, pixels, resolution, high def, high definition, home theater, remote control, display, flatscreen, big screen, picture, image, clarity, brilliance, transmit, transmission, spectrum, 108 inch, portal, window, viewing, friendly, sun, solar panel, energy, efficiency, carbon footprint, ecosystem, ecology, save the environment, nature, natural, earth, planet, light, air, water, animals, birds, clean, renewable, grid, power, future, tomorrow, responsible, generate, generation, sustainable, mother earth, habitat, species, food chain, change, harmony, low emissions, summer, spring, kitten, life, movies, film, action, comedy, romance, chick flick, hollywood, horror, terror, stars, celebrity, sitcom, documentary, channel, surfing, classics, script, dialogue, cinema, art, expression, acting, show, shows, commercials, soundtrack, theater, news, cartoons, prime time, ratings, re-runs, director, genre, audience, flick, blockbuster, live, on air, season, video game, theater, game, calculator, pencil, mechanical pencil, japanese, scientist, factory, technician, engineer, invention, inventor, innovator, innovation, leader, first, company, brand, pioneer, legacy, technology, electronic, electronics, advancement, vision

About Lowe Worldwide

Lowe Worldwide is an interconnected global community of marketing agencies. Its client roster includes Unilever, Saab, Johnson & Johnson, Nestle and Stella Artois. The agency is founded on the belief that the greatest service it can render its clients is High Value Ideas coupled with Problem Biased Thinking. Lowe is a member of Interpublic Group (NYSE:IPG), one of the world’s leading organizations of advertising agencies and marketing services companies.

Lowe New York is one of the cornerstones of Lowe Worldwide with a client roster including Milk, Perdue, XM, Sharp and more. www.loweny.com

About Abraham Harrison LLC

Abraham Harrison understands that the Internet is not just a different advertising medium, it is a different culture with unique customs and protocol. Knowing this culture allows us to translate your unique company message to relevant online communities. This approach drives business your way—our primary and sincere goal. www.chrisabraham.com

Contacts For Press Inquiries

Sal Taibi
President, Lowe New York
sal.taibi@loweworldwide.com
(212) 605 8750

Social Media

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Tags

TV, electronics, travel, environment, Japan, baseball, solar, LCD, flat screens, consumer electronics, game, Facebook app, Facebook, Life Changing Box, lifechangingbox.com, Facebook Application, game, hot potato, musical chairs

Here’s the official Press Release from Lowe Worldwide:

Lowe Launches First-of-its-Kind Facebook(R) Application
12/06/2008 – 13:00

Today Lowe Worldwide announces the launch of an industry-leading application on Facebook Platform called The Life Changing Box. The application, developed by Lowe New York for one of the agency’s global clients, is an interactive game giving users a chance to win prizes, some of which are worth thousands of dollars.

The Life Changing Box is part of a marketing strategy developed to promote a new campaign from Lowe New York. The client sponsoring the application will be revealed as the game progresses.

The application on Facebook Platform resembles the classic game Hot Potato, only in reverse. Facebook users who install the game can take possession of a box from another player, which is then passed around to other friends who have installed the The Life Changing Box application. The goal is to be in possession of the box when it opens, thus winning the prize it holds inside.

There are 10 boxes total in the game. To gain possession of a box, users use a currency called a Touch. All players get 24 “Touches” per day. Each Touch enters the player into a Round. At the beginning of each Round, the box will randomly jump to one of the players who entered that Round. The player given the box holds it for the entirety of the Round, which lasts between 30 minutes and 8 hours, randomly decided by the application. If the box doesn’t open in a Round for the player, a new Round will begin and everyone must Touch the box again to participate. 20 prizes will be awarded with values ranging from $400 to $14,000.

“We are excited about this groundbreaking contest we are bringing to Facebook Platform. It is a unique offering that will give users the chance to win actual, tangible, valuable prizes rather than just the virtual trinkets usually found on Facebook,” commented Mark Wnek, Chairman of Lowe New York. “What is really great about this program is that if someone invites a friend to play the game, and their friend wins a prize – they win a duplicate prize. This will add significantly to the viral nature of this program while increasing the level of both awareness and engagement with lifechangingbox.com.”

Since there are 10 boxes, 24 Touches, and up to 48 rounds per day, players will have to strategize their Touches in order to maximize their chance to win. This creates engaging and addictive play. The game will last through July 14, 2008, to coincide with the full launch of lifechangingbox.com.

About Lowe

Lowe Worldwide is an interconnected global community of marketing agencies. Its client roster includes Unilever, Saab, Johnson & Johnson, Nestle and Stella Artois. The agency is founded on the belief that the greatest service it can render its clients is High Value Ideas coupled with Problem Biased Thinking. Lowe is a member of Interpublic Group (NYSE:IPG), one of the world’s leading organizations of advertising agencies and marketing services companies. Lowe New York is one of the cornerstones of Lowe Worldwide with a client roster including Milk, Perdue, XM, Sharp and more. www.loweny.com

Lowe New York
Sal Taibi, 212-605-8750
President

While the news that the United States has completely withdrawn from the United Nations Human Rights Council is still rumor and gossip and hearsay, I am preparing to be completely appalled and disheartened by the (probably true) news. Well, read this, via Boing Boing, the Human Rights Tribune, and Digg. Good Lord!

The news that the US has completely withdrawn from the Human Rights Council spread like wildfire Friday afternoon (June 6) through the corridors of the Palais des Nations in Geneva. There was general consternation amongst diplomats and NGOS. Reached by phone, the American mission in Geneva neither confirmed nor denied the report. Although unofficial, the news comes at a time of long opposition by the Bush administration to the reforms which created the Human Rights Council in June 2006. Washington announced from the beginning that the US would not be an active member but its observer status would mean that it could intervene during the sessions. To date even this has rarely happened.

When a country starts doing things like this, it is alway in fortification against a slew of lawsuits against the United States on human rights issues. Withdrawing from the Geneva Convention is definitely bad enough but withdrawing from the United Nations Human Rights Council is unforgivable. Score another point for moving to Berlin!

In a Nutshell: The 105 bhp H2 Enduro is BMW’s first pure dirt bike. Twenty-five years of rally racing experience have made their mark in this design. It has a race-ready suspension and an extremely lightweight body, just 386 lbs dry.

Engine:
Type: Air-cooled/oil-cooled Boxer twin-cylinder
Displacement: 1170cc
Bore and Stroke: 101.0 mm x 73.0 mm
Fuel System: BMW Engine Controller – BMS K
Compression Ratio: 11.0:1
MPG: NA

Drivetrain:
Transmission: 6-speed
Final Drive: Enclosed driveshaft with two universal joints
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Brakes:
Front: One, two-piston caliper; 12.0 inch floating rotor
Rear: Single, two-piston floating caliper; 10.4 inch single fixed rotor

Suspension:
Front: WAD UPSD fork 45 mm
Rear: BMW EVO Paralever

Wheels and Tires:
Front: 90/90 x 21 tubeless tire
Rear: 140/80 x 17 tubeless tire

Dimensions:
Length: 92.5 in.
Seat Height: 36.2 in.
Steering Angle and Trail: NA
Wheelbase: 63.4 in.
Weight: 433 lbs. unladen with full tank
Fuel Capacity: 2.9 gals.

Miscellaneous:
Colors: Indigo Blue/Alaska Gray, Dirty
Price: $19900
Warranty: NA

Review from Dirt Bike Report:

The HP2 Enduro from BMW is an extreme off road bike its part of a new high performance series of bikes from BMW it has a tuned 105 Hp boxer engine.. Here is some more news on this bike.

As such – and in response to customer demand – a 17-inch set of street wheels is now available for the HP2, giving owners maximum riding pleasure on tarmac, with the added bonus of being able to quickly and easily change the bike back to enduro specification for off-road riding.

Since its launch in September 2005 the world’s most powerful production enduro bike has caught the imagination of off-road fans all over the globe. It has already seen action in legendary international races such as the Baja 1000 and Erzberg Rodeo, and even competed in the famous Hafren Rally closer to home. It also proved its long-distance capabilities and durability when Dakar rally veteran PG Lundmark rode one from the Nordkap in Norway all the way to the tip of South Africa earlier this year.

But it’s the short journeys where the new HP2 with street wheels will excel on tarmac. With sticky road rubber and more than 100 horsepower available, this high-performance BMW will be great fun to ride on the kind of twisty, bumpy, undulating surfaces that tie sports bikes up in knots. In town, its long-travel suspension and 920mm seat height will provide excellent visibility in traffic, while the massive amount of torque generated by the tuned 1,170cc Boxer engine (115 Nm at just 5,500 rpm) will undoubtedly make the journey to and from work the best part of the day.

Available after BMW’s New Season Launch weekend celebrations on 25-26 March, customers who purchase an HP2 Enduro can choose to have a set of street wheels included for an all-inclusive price of £12,595 on the road. The good news for existing HP2 owners is that they will be able to purchase a set of street wheels for a special price until the end of December 2006 – on submission of the appropriate vehicle documentation to their dealer. And for true off-road aficionados (who have no intention of riding their HP2 Enduro on tarmac) it is still possible to buy the HP2 Enduro without the street wheels option at £11,955.

The set of street wheels come as standard with tubeless Continental Road Attack tyres (120/70 and 150/70) although other tyres authorised for use include the Bridgestone BT 020, Metzeler Roadtrac Z6, Pirelli Diabolo Strada and Pirelli Scorpion Sync. The spoked wheels (3.5 x 17 front and 4.0 x 17 rear) have anodised black rims and mounted brake discs. Adapted fork protectors and assembly instructions are also included.

Changing from off-road to street wheels is very simple – and much like a standard wheel change – since the axle mounts are identical to those of the enduro wheels. Only the fork protectors have to be exchanged and the front brake calliper has to be bolted into the new assembly position in line with the larger brake disc diameter (320 mm).

From Motorcycle Daily:

BMW has released details of its new off-road model, the HP2, and it looks like they’ve really gone all-out to make this a real, competitive off-road bike in the same class as KTM’s Adventure. BMW states that the design targets for the HP2 were light weight, excellent handling, low center of gravity, and excellent off-road capability.

The HP2 is loosely based on the existing R1200GS model, and uses a slightly uprated version of that bike’s 1170cc boxer flat-twin engine. This motor should provide excellent performance when combined with the HP2′s claimed 386lb dry weight (claimed 430lb wet).

BMW plans to demonstrate the HP2′s off-road prowess through competition in a number of off-road venues throughout the world, including the SCORE Baja 500 and Baja 1000. The HP2 should reach dealerships in Autumn 2005.

Thanks to Corrie I now know I am Moya from Farscape. I love Farscape.

“You are surrounded by muppets. But that is okay because they are your friends and have shown many times that they can be trusted. Now if only you could stop being bothered about wormholes.”

Moya is the space ship on Farscape. She’s a living thing, “Moya is a Leviathan, a race of living space ships. They certainly don’t look organic, but Moya is curvaceous and sleek and behind the hull are numerous veins and hull tissues.”

You scored as Moya (Farscape). You are surrounded by muppets. But that is okay because they are your friends and have shown many times that they can be trusted. Now if only you could stop being bothered about wormholes. FBI’s X-Files Division (The X-Files) 94% Moya (Farscape) 94% Nebuchadnezzar (The Matrix) 88% Bebop (Cowboy Bebop) 81% Babylon 5 (Babylon 5) 81% Galactica (Battlestar: Galactica) 75% SG-1 (Stargate) 75% Andromeda Ascendant (Andromeda) 69% Serenity (Firefly) 63% Deep Space Nine (Star Trek) 50% Millennium Falcon (Star Wars) 44% Enterprise D (Star Trek) 31% Your Ultimate Sci-Fi Profile II: which sci-fi crew would you best fit in? (pics) created with QuizFarm.com

I am such a nerd.