Motorcycle Show 2009
Jan 21st, 2009 by Leo
On the one hand, I love going to the Bike show at the Javits Convention Center every year. It’s fun to go with friends, even if they don’t ride, and sit on all the purrdy bikes. On the other hand, the whole thing has a sadness that conventions get when their products lack excitement (and it’s a travesty that a motorcycle show can lack excitement). More gripes and pics after the jump!
Maybe one exception to that is the booth over at Victory that was showcasing a new concept bike (pictured above looking somewhat like a Cylon toaster) The frame is also the air intake and fuel tank. They had plenty of people on hand to talk about their bikes, and even had their lead designer standing around talking to people. But stripped down hot rod cruisers are not so practical for city biking. Imagine having to make a U-turn in that thing? Although if I were in the market for a cruiser, this would give the Confederate Hellcat a run for my money.
Elsewhere there wasn’t as much excitement (from what I could tell), Ducati tries to make it interesting, but their booths look the same every year with its high-traffic box that artificially makes their area more congested than it has to be. Yes the 1198 is purrdy, but is it really all that different to look at than a 1098? Their more interesting bikes are “look but don’t touch” like the Desmo and their naked 1098.
And even the bikes you can sit-on are set up on rear stands (except for the 696 above) so that you can’t feel the weight or true height of the bike. Venture further to the rear of the convention past Ducati and you get the din of death metal played through tinny speakers and a flea market of what look like leftover products from bike stores going out of business.
Okay enough with the griping. It’s STILL a fun afternoon, and it’s nice to get a closer look at what’s been coming out of the factories. So what was good this year?
Japanese 600’s feel lighter than ever (especially the CBR600rr)! And liter bikes feel like 600’s from three years ago.
Vespa has a snazzy looking 300cc scoot, as well as the retro styled GTV 250 (pictured above).
And Aprilia is going to start sending thier RS125 to the US market (for track days only)…talk about light it’s a 100lbs lighter than a light 600.
If you want the same power in a slightly heavier street legal bike, the restyled Ninja 250 is still a nice bike for rainy days and bad weather rides around the city… Here they have the “Monster” kit with a single “race” seat. I love my current bike, but if I could have a second bike, I’d gladly take this Ninja 250, Vespa GTV, or the 696…depending on how much money I wanted to burn.
So what about you CityBikers out there? What did you like about the Bike Show this year? If you have Flickr, link your pics I’d love to see them!
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Not all the “sit-able” bikes were on rear-stands. Most of them were not. However, it would have been nice if KTM had had a few which were not locked down. Comparing the 1200 GS to the KTM Adventure was pretty difficult.
The bikes did feel light, but I suspect that was because they were all empty of fluids.
Not many (if any!) discounts at the show. Certainly not at the big booths. (Eg.: Gerbing.)
There were a couple exhibits: Cafe racers, Japanese bikes, etc. Those were pretty nice.
Finally got around to posting some of my pics from the show – http://www.flickr.com/photos/jjriders/sets/72157613006069237/
Corny and crowded as it was, I still had a good time. It was definitely nice to be able to get some kind of feel for a lot of bikes at once, even if some were on rear or center stands. I was also surprised to see Royal Enfield there, and their booth left me wanting one.
I was really disappointed by the lack of gear manufacturers. The only ones I saw were a few helmet booths and the fieldsheer booth. Otherwise everything was tri-state area retailers.