Midwest Motorcyclist Blog
Busy International Motorcycle Show in Novi, Michigan
by Ray Peabody on 01/12/12
I spent a couple hours at the show last Saturday afternoon and must admit to enjoying it more than I thought I would. The combined cost of parking, admission and drinks/food always gives me pause when I think about attending. When I'm thinking about the cost more than the motorcycles, you know someting is amiss.
That said, it was an enjoyable couple hours. Lots of Midwest Motorcyclist(tm) friends and customers were at the show and it was good to re-connect face-to-face with people with whom I most often communicate through phone calls, e-mail, text and/or Facebook.
I don't know the attendance numbers but the show "seemed" busy to me. The booths and aisles were filled with people. The Triumph booth (glad that corporate decided to participate in one of te lesser shows) was jammed with people. Triumph Detroit co-owner Dave Canu happily told me that they stream people coming into their booth was constant and that all of te models seemed to be getting good attention.
From the Triumph booth, I headed over to check out the new Ducati's, especially that new Panigale. Oops, Ducati skipped the Novi show apparently because the size of the Michigan market doesn't warrant a booth at the show. Same for BMW Motorrad. I did run into John Horner, owner of BMW Motorcycles of Southeast Michigan in the Schuberth Helmet booth. He was showing two (or was it three) motorcycles in the booth. He indicated that the bikes were getting a lot of attention despite having only three on-site.
The Harley-Davidson booth was also packed with people and local H-D dealer, Motor City Harley-Davidson, seemed to have more booth space than any other exhibitor at the show. Their Japanese motorcycle dealership, Motor City Power Sports, also had dignificant booth space.
There were really just four motorcycles in which I was most interested in seeing. The new Triumph Tiger Explorer, upgraded Suzuki DL650 V-Strom Adventure, the Yamaha Super Tenere and new Kawasaki Versys 1000. The Yamaha was the only one of the four not on display. The others are all good looking motorcycles. Both the Kawasaki and Suzuki were shown as stock and also accessorized. The Versys 1000 was expecially sharp in full dress. I'm not in the market for a new motorcycle but if I were all of these motorcycles would likely make my short list.
Finally, I ran into Malisa Hinderliter of Cafe Racer Ypsi and Steve Brown who were passing out fliers promoting the 2012 Ton-Up. I'm glad to see this Mods vs. Rockers motorcycle / scooter show and music festival is on for 2012. The specific date is still under negotiation with the city but will be announced asap.
Despite my initial apprehension about the cost of the show, I'm glad I attended. It was great to catch up with friends, talk about the state of the industry with customers and see so many great motorcycles on display. No matter what type of motorcycling you do, there was a motorcycle fitting your interest on display.
