Well the show ended yesterday just prior to the Super Duper Bowl. Pretty good show and pretty good ball game also.
As a vendor it was hard to get around and talk with booth personnel as I was tied up in sales mode for the duration. However showing up early I had the place to myself and was able to check out all the products and displays unhampered by the crowds.
In general I felt all the Polaris products highlighted the commercial direction of the industry. They are definitely focused on engineering and modern advancements. This was especially evident in the Victory line where they had turbo charged nitro test bikes on display along with new paint schemes. sound systems and other advanced ideas.
Slingshots with turbos. LS6 corvette engines and even a studded ice race version.
Honda's best advancements were in the area of fully clutchless automatics which are and should be the future of motorcycle transmissions. Seems odd we all fully accept and expect automatics in all our vehicles yet balk at the change from clunky shifting motorcycles.
Roadsmith had a nice display of their products and the workmanship is really quite impressive.
Of course the wheels are in the wrong place but still nice work, well done.
There was a CSC unit on display but as an engineer of sorts I find the suspension somewhat confusing as it's an independant which is setup to mechanically function as a straight axle. But again the finished product was quite good.
Harley had half naked girls. This part of the review was submitted by my wife. Very nice paint (bikes not girls, they had tats)
Other than that not much news.
This show had some activities for kids which was nice especially for me as we have 6 boy grandchildren (one set of triplets) so they also had a good time.
I didn't get a chance to check out Yamaha or Suzuki but Royal Enfield did have a nice display of modern 1960's bikes. Like Triumph they are basically the old design with modern mechanical features for those who wish to ride the old classics without worry.
CanAm drew large crowds and the new units are very impressive which is good for them and to be honest also for me.
All in all except for a minor truck vs my cargo trailer incident the show as quite spectacular.
As a vendor it was hard to get around and talk with booth personnel as I was tied up in sales mode for the duration. However showing up early I had the place to myself and was able to check out all the products and displays unhampered by the crowds.
In general I felt all the Polaris products highlighted the commercial direction of the industry. They are definitely focused on engineering and modern advancements. This was especially evident in the Victory line where they had turbo charged nitro test bikes on display along with new paint schemes. sound systems and other advanced ideas.
Slingshots with turbos. LS6 corvette engines and even a studded ice race version.
Honda's best advancements were in the area of fully clutchless automatics which are and should be the future of motorcycle transmissions. Seems odd we all fully accept and expect automatics in all our vehicles yet balk at the change from clunky shifting motorcycles.
Roadsmith had a nice display of their products and the workmanship is really quite impressive.
Of course the wheels are in the wrong place but still nice work, well done.
There was a CSC unit on display but as an engineer of sorts I find the suspension somewhat confusing as it's an independant which is setup to mechanically function as a straight axle. But again the finished product was quite good.
Harley had half naked girls. This part of the review was submitted by my wife. Very nice paint (bikes not girls, they had tats)
Other than that not much news.
This show had some activities for kids which was nice especially for me as we have 6 boy grandchildren (one set of triplets) so they also had a good time.
I didn't get a chance to check out Yamaha or Suzuki but Royal Enfield did have a nice display of modern 1960's bikes. Like Triumph they are basically the old design with modern mechanical features for those who wish to ride the old classics without worry.
CanAm drew large crowds and the new units are very impressive which is good for them and to be honest also for me.
All in all except for a minor truck vs my cargo trailer incident the show as quite spectacular.
