Story & photos by Ronald Rey M. de los Reyes
It’s not the American pop punk band from Los Angeles, California, that started their colorful careers when they were only 16 years old, and have rocked the world since. The color orange, in fact, is an expression of life, adventure, fun and the outdoors—the things we do in our very existence that keep us young and full of energy.
The official local importer and distributor of KTM motorcycles, Adventure Cycle Philippines Inc. (Acpi), has planned to paint the town. Dubbed as the “Orange Day Tour”, the affair, which visited key cities nationwide, aspires to spread brand awareness and excitement all around the country, starting with Cebu City, Bacolod and, finally, in Alabang.
“Our goal is to build and strengthen the KTM community in the Philippines. We would like to spread Orange across the nation, and we will do this by expanding our dealer network. We are targeting to have 31 stores by the end of 2017,” Acpi President and COO Dino Santos said.
Acpi currently has a total of 19 dealers nationwide, and will be opening five more stores in the next few months.
The KTM Orange Day Tour events will have a showcase of the different KTM motorcycles, test rides, raffles and stunt shows from KTM international stunt rider Rok Bagoros.
This European stunt-bike champion, whose motto in life is “Dream Big, Never Give Up”, was an inspiration not just among the young, but to everyone who attended the inauguration, and was left dropping their jaws in absolute awe.
The event is open to all motorcycle groups/clubs regardless of brand. Special awards also await the “Biggest Motorcycle Group” present during the event.
The tour started on February 4 at Café Racer, Ouanio Avenue, Cebu City. Then they flew to Blip Bacolod, Lacson Street, Bata Highway in Bacolod on February 11 with a culminating tour in Filinvest Drive, Alabang, on February 18.
For starters, Acpi’s mother company, the KTM group, already includes 39 subsidiaries, located in Austria, the US, Japan, South Africa, Mexico and India, and in various other countries of Europe and Asia.
If its founder back in 1934, Austrian engineer Johann “Hans” Trunkenpolz, was alive today, he’d be proud with every eager KTM fan uttering the phrases “Ready to Race”, the brand’s famous transcendental slogan.
KTM has been synonymous with racing ever since it began joining motocross in 1974, when Guennady Moisseev claimed the 250cc Motocross World Championship. They have been on a roll, gaining more successes in the Paris-Dakar Rally, Atlas-Rally and Supermotard, to name a few.
The brand is known particularly for its two-stroke and four-stroke off-road motorcycles. In fact, in recent years KTM has also expanded into street motorcycle production and developing sports cars.
Now, definitely when it comes to orange, expect that the loud-colored hue will be the first thing Filipinos would think of when you talk about sporty, exciting and one-of-a-kind snazzy motorbikes.
Image credits: Ronald Rey M. de los Reyes