More Afternoon Moto News - Rossi in India & Yamaha Motor Japan and Australia

Valentino Rossi was in India a few weeks ago to attend a local show and tour around the Indian Yamaha dealers to spur more interest in their machines. While he was there, he took time to speak with John Abraham - a HUGE Indian celebrity - and even signed a book for him. The two spoke with each other about motorcycle safety and how to improve it in India. With the momentum provided by the high-profile meeting, they may actually get a message through to the Indian riding public!

http://tinyurl.com/ykvujv5

Some more from Rossi about the test and a bit about his future plans: http://tinyurl.com/y9d9zym

Yamaha Motor Company is asking some 800 employees to voluntarily retire - thus removing some 7% of their workforce in Japan. This comes on the heels of several reports of financial issues at the company. Hopefully, they will do right by the workers they are asking to retire and give them an excellent severance package!

http://tinyurl.com/ycfyy56

Even with the financial issues, Yamaha in Australia knows that you have to spend some money to make alot of money. The manufacturer will continue to support the Australian Off-Road Championship (AORC) and has signed again, but with some help from Motorcycling Australia. The AORC series is growing year over year and this will only help its stability.

http://tinyurl.com/y8tvlsj