2007 International Motorcycle Show
Oct 26-28 at University of Phoenix Stadium

Over one hundred vendors and hundreds of 2008 model motorcycles converged at the University of Phoenix Stadium for the second year in a row.  There were street bikes, dirt bikes, cruisers and ATV’s from more than 19 manufactures, the most ever at the show.  Baggers, bobbers and sport bikes are all the rage and this show is the perfect venue to check out the latest wave of new bikes and hot bike trends.

Of course, one of the first areas that I wanted to see was the Harley-Davidson presentation.  They had the much talked about new Rocker and Rocker C.  The MSRP for the Rocker is $19,495.  By the way, the C on Rocker C stands for chrome.  One thing that I found interesting was the hide a seat for the passenger on the Rocker C.  I don’t know how comfy anyone will be sitting on that little hide a seat when it is attached from under the driver’s seat frame and extends up and in the air hanging over the rear tire.  They also had the now Buell 1125R. Wow, what an awesome machine.  I sure would like to carve some canyon roads with that mean looking machine.

One of the great reasons for attending the event is that the manufacturers provide great cutaway models of engines and motorcycles that can provide visuals of the technology.  Three that I found interesting was the cutaway of the new Buell 1125R and the Buell engine that is a liquid cooled Helicon V-Twin engine with 146 HP and the Victory Vision.  You will never find this kind of presentation at a dealer.

There was also in interesting presentation about the history of speed – the world’s fastest motorcycles.  It was a collection of historical machines that have held speed titles including a streamlined Harley-Davidson, which broke the land speed record in 1937 when Joe Petrali clocked 136.183 mph in the mile.  Also on display was the “Turnip Eater,” Leo Payne’s highly modified 1957 Harley-Davidson Sprotster, the first machine to exceed 200 mph in 1969 and the “Manning”  Harley-Davidson Sportster-based streamliner that clocked 265.492 mph the following year.  Plus, they even had Denis Manning’s BUB #7 Streamliner that set the current land speed record on September 2006 with rider Chris Carr of 350.885 mph at the Bonneville Salt Flats.

Besides vendors and great presentations from manufactures they had the BOSS “Ball of Steel Freestyle Motorcycle Stunt Show.  And out in the parking lot they had 6 or 7 manufacturers offering free rides on the latest creations.  That included KTM, Star, Kawasaki, Can am Spyder and Victory Motorcycles.  With just your signature you can get a free ride, how cool is that.

On the way back to the parking lot, I walked through the Demo area where you can test ride some of the new motorcycles.  If you are looking to replace your ride or just curious about what the manufacturers are offering for the New Year, this is a must.  You can have a conversation with a technical person and get good answers without the worry of having someone trying to close on you.  Not only that, you can even take a supervised demo ride with a group.  What better way to get some good information about that ride you always wanted without having to go into a dealer’s showroom?

There is a lot to see and International Motorcycle Shows did a super job of putting together a great event.  According to the records there were just under 22,000 that attended the three day event.  Next year when they come back, make it a note to check them out.

Ride safe,