International Motorcycle Show Hot

For the past two years, we've heard nothing but doom and gloom with the economy. People losing their jobs, companies closing and general hardship all-round. After visiting the Cycle World International Motorcycle Show in New York, people appear to have decided that enough is enough. Now they want to put some positive sentiment back into everyday existence and not focus on the recession.

The show was absolutely packed. As soon as the doors opened on Friday morning after the "Press Only" meeting, there were queues of people pushing to get in. On Saturday it took people over half an hour just to get a ticket, and then when they did get in there was little room to move as the isles were teeming with motorcycle enthusiasts. It definitely gave me a warm feeling to see people really interested in what is going on in our space!

One disappointing piece though was the lack of some of the tier 2 manufacturers. KTM, Kymco, and Aprilia/the Piaggio USA group, to name a few that were not there. It’s public record that motorcycle sales in 2009 were down some 40-percent across the board, and the exhibitor list was short by some 40-percent from last year. Hopefully next year will be better. Let’s face it, it’s the consumer that loses out with those companies not being there; they want to see their new models.

Enough of the politics, let’s look at what was new. Victory have always been marketing geniuses in my eyes. With their Victory Vision selling out on the Web in a matter of minutes last year, this year they put together another competition that brings riders into the spotlight.  They want you to post your “road trips” to win either the Victory Cross Road or the Victory Cross Country for a season. It’s a great way of social networking motorcycle trips and the Victory brand, while at the same time creating buzz for riders to see themselves featured. Check it out on www.victorymotorcycles.com. The new Vegas LE was unveiled. With its’ 106/6-speed, V-Twin engine and four limited colors, and only 100 being made with unique manufacturers numbers, the Vegas LE made for interesting viewing. I hope to get to ride one!

BMW were there with their beautiful S1000RR on show. Keep an eye on AAB for our review of this machine; we are going to West Palm Beach next week to test it. The new BMW 2010 GS1200 was also visible with the Adventure, displaying everything you need to follow in Ewan McGregor and Charlie Boorman’s footsteps and do your very own “Long Way Down”...something we are considering for this season. Some good news from BMW was that if the market is down 41-percent year on year, their sales figures were only 21% down year on year; that’s at least a step in the right direction in comparison to a few of the other OEMs.

Honda had the new Honda VRF on display, and Ducati did a stellar performance showing their huge investment in the Multistrata and their new line of apparel. They really are trying to become a “chic” Italian brand with their Ducati-labeled product offering. I have to say the show was quite spectacular. Nicky Hayden was also there to lend some support from Ducati’s MotoGP efforts and give his point of view while talking to the fans.

I have to say one of the highlights for me was the Confederate Booth. Wow what a fantastic looking group of machines.  With the Fighter, Wraith and Hellcat all visible and price tags in the $70,000 mark, you could not do anything but smile in amazement at these wonderful machines. We will be testing a couple of them this year.

All in all I have to say the whole experience was really quite enjoyable.The show now moves onto Cleveland then onto Chicago. BMW, Victory and a few other local businesses will not be following the road show, but I still recommend you visit if for nothing else but your sanity in this cold time of year.