IMS Show 02.20.10 - Chicago

[screaminss]

Great pics Captain. Man, I DO like the Street Fighter!!

[fletch696]

I was a little disapointed with the show.  There was some cool stuff, but pretty much the same as the indy bike show.  I'll post my couple of pics when I figure out how to get them out of the phone.

[Rudge]

I too was a little disappointed but it seems that's the case each time I go. There were a few nice custom bikes and a good section with vintage machines on display. And of course the girls but the fashion show was a real let down.
















 

[sTD]

IMS Show?  Meh... I always bitch about it when I get back, so that's old news.

But this year there were a few exceptions:

- Ducati booth: no more walls!!!!  And fondling close & personal to Nicky's ex-MotoGP bike....

- Ducati Freestyle show: not my thang, but tres cool framed in a Monster/Termi bellow vs. token Jap 4-pinger whine.

- Yamaha brought Rossi & Spies' bikes, and Honder brought the new Moriwaki GP2 bike and Johnny Campbells Baja 1000 CR450R..... yummy.

- Cornball Chick Ural was there (No pix Al? Tsk.)

And last, but probably not least, the DRILL Criminal Element was there in force.

Ducati Multistrada: Meh. In the context of where I'd hoped they'd steer the new bike, it's a FAIL.  Everything I thought I wouldn't like about the bike in foto-reality was pretty much confirmed: waayyyy too much pave-strada, not enough dirt-strada.... sorta like most things pawned off as 'SUVs' in this coddled country.  But it was very compact in person, comfy, and will no doubt make a great 1198 Sofa Edition.

BMG (British Motorcycle Gear) makes some trick schtick, and if I hadn't already blown my jacket wad last fall on a Dainese, I might go Limey...

Marchesini, Ohlins, Brembo, Galfer, Zard, and GPR were all accounted for with their tootly bits... good on ya guys, fighting the Queen's fight against the Leather Bandanna/Dilligaf Swag/Underbody LED Tide.

Are the Japanese Meffers on crack?  Same old shart in a new electro-hydro-assisted wrapper: more plastic, more doodads, more eye assault... but no Big O finish.  Where's the beef?

Ah well... pix:

Swanky Triumph Thruxton Custom - lotsa drooltails


Spies' WSB scooter


Moriwaki GP2 bike: Carbon OD


Mas Carbino


Mucho Mas Carbino


That color is shocking!


I wanna cause a Ruckus


Does this scooter make my butt look fast... in a tuck?


No comment


Yeah right


Notice the guy in the background laughing  - and what he's in


Who farted?


Just GO man!


No Moleste!


What are you, 13?


If you like blue rims so much, why don't you marry them?


Some girl-on-girl action - giggity


And Luka throwin down his best mojo for the Ducati Models

[screaminss]

Nice write up Troy! I enjoyed.

[ToasterTank]

Well heres my take pics to come later.  I took a vacation day mainly to spend it with my BFFG.  As far as the show goes, I thought it was a bike show not a vendor show.  I do realize you have to have both but way out of balance.  More shirts and shit than anything.  Ducati did more than anyone of the other companies.  My hat goes off to them.  It was nice seeing old friends etc.  The multi was comfortable but a let down.  Maybe Ducati should of appealed to the masses like they did with the Hyper and jammed up their computers.  I'm like STD I would buy a Hyper before a Multi exception 2009 model.  Now to the girls as far as I'm concerned me and Std were with the best looking girls plus they ride. The umbrella girls with the exception of the ducati girls all skanks.  I'm sure most of the show girls don't even know where the brake and the clutch are at.  If I had the day off I would attend only to have something to do.  I would never ever take a day off for this show.  For having a name like IMS International Motorcycle Show it was a flop.  On a scale from 1-10Best I would rate this show a 5.  I thought Italian Fest was better.   

[fletch696]

So there was the Zero bike.  According the the guy in the booth 60 mile range at 60 MPH on a single charge.  Charge time was 4 hours.  50 ft-lbs of torque at 0 rpm.  In production at a cost of $10,000 each.

[sTD]

I spent a little time checking out the Zero, but came away with mixed emotions. 

It was effen tall (as in, dirt-bike-high), and equipped with the premier butt-killing KTM seat.... but I guess with a 60 mile range, you're not going that far anyway...

A most excellent styling job on the frame and swingarm - very unique.... then wrapped around a perfect cubic-linear battery box: FAIL.

Where'd the head, taillight, and signals come from?  They get a deal on a truckload of 1981 Kawasaki NOS parts?  Ugh.

Why is the recharge plug located on the lower, kickstand side of the bike?

For $10k, a non-adjustable suspension is a little hard to swallow.

Too... much... plastic... argh.

Not exactly sure who they're trying to appeal to?  The 60 mile range is pretty limiting, the bike is way too tall for everyone with less than a 33" inseam, the styling isn't really supermoto, standard, retro, or chic... and whatever it is, it isn't very well done/contiguous.  All of the 250cc Supermotos are sub-$6k, are lighter, have ranges of at least 120 miles, fully adjustable suspensions, readily-available (and cheap) replacement plastic, and get 75mpg or better.  $4k buys at least a lifetime of fuel for a 75+mpg vehicle, plus you could go cross country with them.

[Jogitu]

The ZERO bike will be very expensive to own past the warranty of 2 years. The battery alone is $3000 to replace.

 I went to the Auburn Car Museum in Auburn,IN last year. They had electric cars there built in the very early 1900's. They also had electric cars there from the 70's and 80's. In over 100 years the same basic problems exist with electric vehicles. The early models in the 1900's were an alternative to the gas powered cars that were hard to hand crank in the cold weather and had limited places to buy fuel. Electric cars were common at the time and not as rare as they are now.

Electric cars failed for several reasons. Gas stations went up across the US. Electric starters were developed. The main reason was that electrics were heavy because of batteries and had limited range and speed. In the last 100 years the battery technology has advanced very little. The same issues plague electrics today. The batteries are still heavy, the speed is slow and the range is limited. During those same years engine tech has soared.

Electric tech has been dead and should remain dead. It does not have a promising future and the long term costs associated with owning any electric vehicle outweigh the savings on fuel. May I also mention the "green" effect is only on emissions. The electric has environmental issues associated with the old batteries and the energy used to charge.

All that to say the Electric Car or Motorcycle is Bullshit. The builders of these vehicles are taking advantage of the "green" crowd and the government that gives grants and tax breaks out to build this shit.

[crazyducdude]

Why is it that you do not see a locomotive style engine out on the market?  A diesel generator, that runs electric motors, super efficient on a big ass train, should do well in a car, possibly bike depending on size/weight.

These people that are buying "hybrids" who do they think they are kidding, I have read numerous studies written on the subject, that to build the batteries alone, puts a far greater strain on the greenhouse than does a HD truck over a 10 year period, but they are oh so good for the environment. BS, they are better of buying a Jetta TDi, that gets 45 miles/gallon.

[dropstharockalot]

Why is it that you do not see a locomotive style engine out on the market?  A diesel generator, that runs electric motors, super efficient on a big ass train, should do well in a car, possibly bike depending on size/weight.

These people that are buying "hybrids" who do they think they are kidding, I have read numerous studies written on the subject, that to build the batteries alone, puts a far greater strain on the greenhouse than does a HD truck over a 10 year period, but they are oh so good for the environment. BS, they are better of buying a Jetta TDi, that gets 45 miles/gallon.

This. 

Keith Code nailed it in his MC guest column about a year ago - a vehicle that uses 1/2 of it's power source to haul around the dormant other 1/2 of it's power source is not "efficient," it's just using less of a particular form of energy.

He made the diesel loco argument, too... I think that a combined-fuel solution (gas making electricity, electricity to wheels) is as more realistic solution than expecting all these electric vehicles to run off the same grid that the businesses and households draw from.  If you look at the amount of jice it takes to recharce a current "green" vehicle, if 10% of the vehicles in the west and southwest went electric tomorrow the demand for current would mean constant brown-out.

[GRUBBY]

What we need is a Mr.Fusion.

[monsterdark123]

Very disappointing. The shows seems to get smaller and smaller each year. It was more of a leather show with some bikes sprinkled in and it took days to get the smell of the Jerkey Hut off my clothing. The Ducati stunt rider worked that 696.