| Author | Message | ||
     Dynarider |
Will post some pics later. Frist off they jacked the price of parking up another dollar this year so now its $11. Then its $12 a head to get in in, so I am out $35 by the time I just get in the door. The show was ok. Not great & not bad, just ok. I think the manufacturers need to update their displays. BMW had the same one they used last year, Kawasakis was new but nothing special Honda had a huge new one Suzukis was the worst of all..very blah Yamaha used some old parts & a couple new ones Buells was the same one they have been using since the XB's were first announced, they really need to update. Huge crowd & it appeared as if Yamaha, Honda & BMW were the busiest. No shows were KTM, Benneli, MV, Indian obviously. Aprilia had nothing new or noteworthy, Suzukis whole area stunk & they had nothing earthsahking there. HD had the same old bikes with a few new screaming eagle ones with some beautiful blue paint schemes. Yamaha had the new FZ6 & the R1 front & center. That R1 is a tiny feeling bike. Victory had the Arlen Ness customized series of their new Vegas bike & they were very very pretty. Honda had their new/old Dream & that little 50cc deal. The Dream is one ugly little bike. The new CBR1000 felt huge compared to the R1 & the Kawi ZX10. Anyone who tries to compare the Kawi ZX10 to the ZX12R is way way off base. The ZX12 is a huge pig of a bike. Sitting on it, the bike feels as long as a train. The new ZX10 actually felt almost as light & small as an XB9. If that bike actually has the power to back up its supposed numbers, its going to be a tough package to beat. Very aggressive looking. Honda had the VTX custom bike that Jesse James made, its a pretty cool bike & looks a lot better in person than it does in the mags. One bike that looks worse is the new Kawi 2000cc cruiser, that is one ugly assed pile. The new Triumph rocket 2300cc bike is no prize winning beauty either. But it doesnt look as big in person as it does in the mags. Those colored tires are even nastier looking on person. They had yellow & orange on display, along with a set of red ones on a red Honda cbr...gross is being kind to it. The Moto Guzzi Breva is a cool looking bike & felt very comfy. The retro Ducatis were a no show...or maybe I just overlooked them. Lots of folks selling stunt videos, only a couple of Trophy girls doing whatever it is they do. Peter Egan was there signing copies of his book, wish I had known & I would have brought mine with me. Lots of crap for sale, but luckily this time the mop & cooking pan people werent there. Only thing I bought was a little leather vest for my 15 month old grandson. Has orange flames sewn on the back & I thought it was a decent price at $30. | ||
| Ferris |
Dyna, great report, thank you. looking forward to your pix.  | ||
| Dynarider |
The new for 2004 Yamaha FZ6 The new tail section of the R1 for 2004 My wife aboard the new R6...a few years ago she wouldnt be caught dead on any sportbike. Now she lusts after the R6, Busa, Triumph Daytona 955I, & liked the new ZX10 as well. Normally I dont mind the Kawi green, but this one seemed a little off color & imho looked like crap. The Guzzi Breva, sorry if the pic is a little blurry, I was so excited by the deep rich colors that I couldnt hold still  I feel its a very pretty bike. | ||
| Dynarider |
Gauges on a Moto Guzzi, I forget which model..wasnt one of their better looking ones. Ohlins forks on the Guzzi A portion of the crowd at the Honda display The Aprilia booth was jampacked with people And what is Honda thinking with the weird flower deal on their little Metropolitan scooter? edited by dynarider on February 08, 2004 | ||
| Dynarider |
Hondas new CBR1000 Hondas new for track use only 50cc Dream & behind it you can see the NSR50R Rear end of the Rune...I still think its goofy looking & too damn big. The new Blue color for Harleys screaming eagle bikes. The pic really doesnt do the color justice. A Honda VTX styling exercise. Looks a lot like Yamahas warrior. Also looks like something George Jetson would ride. | ||
| Dynarider |
Jesse James version of the VTX. I havent decided if I like it or not. Jesses handiwork is evident in the exhaust system. The man is master metal fabricator. The meat slicer disc brake/driveshaft setup This was about as exciting as it got in the Suzuki camp, the GSXR1000. The Arlen Ness signiature series Vegas. Very sweet looking & the paint looked a mile deep. | ||
| Dynarider |
The "crowd" at the Buell display. This display really needs to be updated. A gorgeous Norton 952 that was being raffled off by some charity. 999R Ducati Same bike with the carbon fiber exhaust..maybe its just a cover? Doesnt look that great to me. My wife checking out the Ducati Monster S4. Very nice bike. | ||
| Dynarider |
Paintjob on one of the many custom choppers that were there. Big Dog, Texas choppers, A merican iron horse, etc. For Koz, here are his Bling Bling colored tires, in a lovely yellow Believe it or not this is actually an orange tire..dont know where the color went? And here are some red ones on a bike The Triumph Rocket 2300cc | ||
| Dynarider |
The bike is not as big in person as it looks, & the actual drivetrain is rather compact. They had a cutaway version sitting on display, but I screwed up & didnt photo it. Triumphs Thruxton..this was a sharp bike. I usually dont like the retro style, but this one was well done. Triumphs Daytona 955I, still a favorite of mine & the wifes. $10,000 is list but you can get them at dealers for $9k or less easily. The freight trained sized Kawi ZX12R | ||
| Dynarider |
The very wicked looking front end of the new Kawi ZX10 A cutomized Yamaha Warrior, these bikes are proving to be a hot seller & very big with the racers & the customizers. They look much better after the huge howitzer sized exhaust can is pulled. | ||
| Glitch |
I came away with the same impression as you. If it hadn't been raining here when we went I would have wanted my money back. The Norton was the best bike there IMHO. Nice pics Dyna, what camera do you use? | ||
| Dynarider |
Sony cypbershot DSC-P71, 3.2 mega pixels. It will do a lot better & take better pics, but im too lazy to read the manual & set it up properly. I agree that the Norton was a sweet looking bike. | ||
| Coolice |
Thanks for the preview Dyna I'm taking a group of 6 up tommorrow. How was the entertainment- the Ball of Steel? | ||
| José_quiñones |
Great pics & report, but the gauges and the fork that you said were from a Tuono were actually from a Moto Guzzi. The DC show did not have a few of the bikes they had in Chicago, like the Jesse James VTX. They did have some cool race bikes here, like the Triumph Daytona 600 that won the Junior TT last year, Mat Mladin's GSXR1000, the DL/SV 1000cc powered Suzuki Dirt Track bike, a Yamaha M1 GP bike, Jamie Hacking's AMA Supersport Champ R6, among others. | ||
| Ray_maines |
The Ball of Steel was the best entertainment yet. Wonderful show, well worth getting a front row spot. My KTM dealer said that it cost something like $60,000 per show to have a bit of floor space. That's not counting all the extra costs involved - like the display, the bikes, the people, the transportation. They already build all the bikes they can, and sell EVERY bike they build. For the cost of doing all 14 shows they could develop a whole new model bike. Sounds like you had a bigger show than the one in Seattle, but we had free parking for motorcycles. The paint job on the Guzzi Breva was WAY better than your picture shows. A very nice looking bike I thought. And Yes, the Aprilia Tuono looks hideous but I'd still really really really (really!!!) like to have one. | ||
| Dynarider |
Jose..correct you are. Screwed up my notes a bit. Thanks for the correction. They had some racing bikes there, almost every booth had 1. But to be brutally honest I dont give a rats ass about the racing aspect. Im not a pro racer, im a street rider & sometimes track day rider & I dont follow the bike racing scene at all. The only racing I follow is NHRA & Winston..now Nextel cup. Ray..even if we had free parking for bikes it wouldnt have mattered with all the damn snow that has been coming down every day. And yes the paint on the Breva is stunning. Coolice, I didnt hang around for the ball of steel..I have seen similar events in the past..usually called the Ball of death. If you havent seen it before its cool, but it gets old fast. | ||
| Court |
Dyna: Great report! For three years running I flew to every IMS show each weekend and, at this point, fascination with paying to see what is essentially last years stuff painted green has waned. Nicely done and I'm wondering if Honda will do the flowers on the new CBR1000? Thanks for the report. Court | ||
| Buelliedan |
I saw the same show in Dallas last year. I left very disappointed. | ||
| Prof_stack |
Similar thoughts about Seattle's show (in December) as well. I think I should go every other year to see significant changes. | ||
| Ftd |
My buddy used to own a XB9R, traded it in own A CVO. Nice bike.  | ||
| Dynarider |
FTD, I agree the Screaming eagle bikes are pretty sharp..course for the $$$ they cost they had better be. As Court pointed out, aside from the ZX10, the new FZ6 & the few oddball bikes like the Honda Dream or the Norton, it was the same old stuff from last year. New colors on the bikes is about the biggest change most had this year. Court, the flowers might be an improvement for the CBR1000. I mean its a nice bike & all, but Honda is now staring to go the route that Kawi has for so many years...all of their bikes are starting to take the same basic look. The CBR1000 & the 600RR as well as the 600F4 all look the same except for the exhaust systems. All of their VTX models & their Shadow lineup look the same. Its almost as if they have about 4 Bikes with different displacements. At least Kawi is now moving away from their old ways, the new ZX10 & the Z1000 from last year are radical departures from their normal styling & they look fresh. In my opinion I think the next bike Buell releases should be a radical departure from their current offerings. Aside from different cosmetic front & rear treatments the XB's are the same bike. Lets create something totally different so when people go into a dealership or a bike show, they dont see the same old stuff. Create the same excitement that was around when the XB's were first announced. | ||
| Oconnor |
I went to the show out here in Cali, and then recently went to a hot rod show. Totally disappointed at both. Its just like a bunch of dealerships in a tent. Except that the people manning the booths know less about their product. And I had to pay 40 bucks (I don't remember the price) to get in and had to pay 5 bucks for a hot dog whilst there. Unless they start having something their, other than 1 or 2 concept bikes, that I can't find or see at a dealership, then they are not getting my patronage and cash any more. | ||
| Nevco1 |
Dyna...Thanks. The report and pics are fantastic. To me, the magic of the show and the reason I keep going is that you can see and sit on (almost) all the bikes one is be interested in. Makes for great comparison shopping when combined with the interaction with others in the exhibits and the reviews from the motojournalists. Combined it saves time and dollars as well as giving you some leverage when going out and negotiating for your next bike. | ||
| Court |
>>>In my opinion I think the next bike Buell releases should be a radical departure from their current offerings. Take a shot at guessing how many parts the tubers and the XB platform share? I do not know, but would venture that few manufaturers of anything have ever made such a drastic "ALL new" product. Generally things evolve and change happens a step at a time. Buell changed E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G in one fell swoop. Ballsy, me thinks. And, a necessary statement to begin the process of recapturing eroding prodcut confidence. It worked. Court | ||
| Dynarider |
Bill I agree that it does make great 1 stop shopping. Its nice to be able to jump on the Kawi & then immediately hit the Honda without having to drive to another dealership. One thing I found very ammusing is all the people who do strange things on parked bikes. They have this weird compulsion to twist the throttle...why I dont know. They also love to sit on the bikes hit the front brake & bounce the front end, as if they can tell what the suspension action is like by doing that. I see someone pulling that stuff & all I think is newbie or poser. There was 1 guy doing the bouncing thing on the ZX10, he was actually beating the crap out of it doing that. probably weighed about 260lbs & he couldnt figure out what was rattling in the front end so he kept up the bouncing while his buddy was trying to shake the rotors & calipers looking for something loose. My wife walks up to them & pulls the big cardboard tag thats hanging from the mirror away from the fairing & instantly the ratling stops Those 2 guys turned beet red & practically ran away from the display because a women figured out the source of the rattling. | ||
| Dynarider |
Court, I agree that Buell made a ballsy & radical move by completely dumping the tube frames & introducing an entirely new model in their place. What I am thinking tho, is to increase the customer base come out with something totally different from the current offerings. Honda sells both sportbikes & cruisers, as do the other manufacturers. Im not saying make a cruiser based Buell..although who knows, maybe something along the lines of the redneck engineering bikes would sell great? Right now Buell is very narrowly focused on a very small portion of the market. i would like to see them expand their market base by offering a variety of machines that arent just cosmetic variations of the same platform. | ||
| Ray_maines |
I like the one stop shopping thing, but the real reason I go is to spend a few hours with a bunch of my friends that ride up together and have dinner together later. | ||
| Nevco1 |
Honda sells both sportbikes & cruisers, as do the other manufacturers Wrong comparo, me thinks. Would like to see Sport and Sport Touring (two up) bikes coming from Buell. Leave the Sport Cruiser (new category???) thing to Harley. Consider Courts comments about Buell having made a serious commitment to the sport riders and diluting that effort this soon could be a very bad decision regardless what we think. Man, that V-Rod engine is just begging to get out of its cage! Wait and see, I bet HD will put us out of our misery in a year or two. | ||
| Nevco1 |
Dyna...Sorry we missed you and Dee at the show. Met up with John, Brook, Roger and Ingrid but lost them after a pit stop. Man, that crowd was large and unruly as usual. Wish they had double yellow no passing zones in the aisles. I was running on two hours sleep and felt like demonstrating some aggressive behavior more than once. LOL Still in spite of all the confusion, we managed to drop $150 on stuff at the show plus admission and parking...and to think I can't wait for the next one. Yikes!!! PS: There is another KLR650 in my future. Had so much fun with my first one that I can't resist. Funny thing is, when I bought the X1, I actually was going to the dealer to buy a KLR I looked at two days earlier but it had sold and they just got the X1. Also am planning on either a ST1300 or a FJR1300. Duh... edited by nevco1 on February 08, 2004 | ||
| Blake |
Complaining about a motorcycle show???  Man, I practically have an out of body experience being immersed in all the moto models and moto-related stuff. Thanks for the report Dyna. Feel free to edit your mislabeled pic of the Guzzi dash. Buell could add some faux asphalt and faux wind (a fan) to their "leaning bike" displays, enough to fill a photo and make for some fun picture taking. I bet that would draw a BUNCH of interest. Maybe add a similar photo mockup featuring a wheelying and/or stopying Buell. How's that sound Dyna? |
