IMS DC 2012

After skipping 2 years, I decided to return to the International Motorcycle Show in DC this year.

I finally met an RC8!

My wife and 8-month-old son joined me, and the youngest of us pretty much set the pace :)  I didn't get as many photos as I had hoped, but I snapped a few and got the chance to sit on some pretty wicked bikes.

It was great to see Motus Motorcycles showing DC some love and bringing their MST to the show (at Battley's tent)!  The other small-time start-ups that I follow didn't seem to consider DC a necessary stop (I'm talking to you, Zero and Brammo).  I'm totally excited about what Motus is bringing to the table, and it's great to see their president in-person when they take to the road.

I was really surprised to see the Erik Buell Racing 1190 at the show.  The Dream Pavilion, which featured a handful of you'll-probably-never-see-one-of-these bikes, had Erik Buell's latest 2-wheel jet on display in all its carbon fiber glory.  I only managed a picture of the front squeezer...

Good times - 2012 is not going to be a sleeper on the motorcycle front!

I want to get excited...

...about the Progressive International Motorcycle Show coming to DC next month, but it's nearly impossible. Why? Well, for starters, the very same show in Long Beach, CA is so significant that it warrants its own article at motorcycle.com. But if last year was any gauge, Washingtonians get a watered-down version of the show. Avi and I went on Friday last year and it was a pretty weak experience.



Off the top of my head, here's why the event sucks:

1. It's winter.


2. We have to pay? Are you kidding? It's an advertisement fest.


3. None of the reps seemed all that interested in talking it up.

It's pretty awesome to have a motorcycle show land near your door. But give us a good reason to go! I mean seriously, I'm seeing pix of Keith Code's gadgetry on that review of the Long Beach show. Nicky Hayden, Ben Spies - any chance they're gonna make it out to the Washington Convention Center next month? I have my doubts...

I think the video from the International Motorcycle Show's website sums it up:



*sigh*...