TSRBrad
Junior Member
Just got back from this year's Progressive International Motorcycle Show in Minneapolis and thought I'd toss out a few observations...
- The place was pretty crowded. I normally go on Fridays so I don't know if this is normal for Saturday/Sunday.
- Decent showing from the various manufacturers. Most of the biggies were there but a few had a limited number of models on display, Honda being one of those. No Kymco or any of the other Taiwanese companies. No Guzzi.
- Bikes garnering lots of attention: Honda's new Gold Wing FB6 "BaggerWing" (Looks good in person but still needs a little more windshield), New FJR1300 had someone constantly on it (Looks just like an FJR), the various flavors of Triumph Tiger and basically everything in the Ducati area (They win the prize for best form-fitting attire on their girls). Lots of people sniffing around the Can Am area checking out the different models of Spyder. As usual, the Harley area smelled of leather handlebar tassels and watery beer.
- A bike I'm going to have to schedule a test ride: BMW's 2013 F800GT. This one could potentially be on my buy list. (BMW also had their new scooters there... pretty sweet. Pretty pricey!)
- I am amazed at the number of people that wear actual motorcycle attire in the middle of January in Minnesota. They dress like that all the time? It's all about "the lifestyle" I guess. :rockon:
If you've been to these shows before, not much changes from year to year. The normal collection of vendors, a nice variety of vintage bikes and some sort of stunt show which I had no interest in seeing. Bring back the trials guys!
All in all a nice opportunity to get some quick seat of the pants comparisons. I only took a few pics... things that caught my eye.
I thought this area for kids was great... a little course with the kids riding "striders"; basically pedal-less bikes.
I've always really liked Ducati's Diavel. This one only enhanced that.
Finally what I thought was the coolest bike of the show. A genuine Evel Knievel XR750 from '72 on loan from some motorcycle museum. I didn't get a chance to read the accompanying info but I assume it's not an actual jump bike. Looking at it, two thoughts came to mind...
1) The man was indeed crazy
2) You would expect a bigger bike considering it had to carry what must have been a huge set of balls.
- The place was pretty crowded. I normally go on Fridays so I don't know if this is normal for Saturday/Sunday.
- Decent showing from the various manufacturers. Most of the biggies were there but a few had a limited number of models on display, Honda being one of those. No Kymco or any of the other Taiwanese companies. No Guzzi.
- Bikes garnering lots of attention: Honda's new Gold Wing FB6 "BaggerWing" (Looks good in person but still needs a little more windshield), New FJR1300 had someone constantly on it (Looks just like an FJR), the various flavors of Triumph Tiger and basically everything in the Ducati area (They win the prize for best form-fitting attire on their girls). Lots of people sniffing around the Can Am area checking out the different models of Spyder. As usual, the Harley area smelled of leather handlebar tassels and watery beer.
- A bike I'm going to have to schedule a test ride: BMW's 2013 F800GT. This one could potentially be on my buy list. (BMW also had their new scooters there... pretty sweet. Pretty pricey!)
- I am amazed at the number of people that wear actual motorcycle attire in the middle of January in Minnesota. They dress like that all the time? It's all about "the lifestyle" I guess. :rockon:
If you've been to these shows before, not much changes from year to year. The normal collection of vendors, a nice variety of vintage bikes and some sort of stunt show which I had no interest in seeing. Bring back the trials guys!
All in all a nice opportunity to get some quick seat of the pants comparisons. I only took a few pics... things that caught my eye.
I thought this area for kids was great... a little course with the kids riding "striders"; basically pedal-less bikes.
I've always really liked Ducati's Diavel. This one only enhanced that.
Finally what I thought was the coolest bike of the show. A genuine Evel Knievel XR750 from '72 on loan from some motorcycle museum. I didn't get a chance to read the accompanying info but I assume it's not an actual jump bike. Looking at it, two thoughts came to mind...
1) The man was indeed crazy
2) You would expect a bigger bike considering it had to carry what must have been a huge set of balls.
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