First of all, I have to give Harley-Davidson some kudos for their cool and engaging booth. I'm not a Harley/cruiser kind of guy but their setup was nicely done and staged so as to make the visitor part of the booth. From the bike that the curious could actually hop on, fire up and rev to the "how to pick up your bike" clinic, it was all very well done.
A booth I make sure to visit at each bike show is the Touratech booth. They provide top quality farkling and gear, have terrific guest speakers and events at their Seattle facility and are fantastic at working with customers. Here's a fully farkled F800 GS at their booth.
For me, the highlight of this year's show was to be having Triumph there again. I believe they make some of the best bikes in the world, with top flight build quality, excellent design and a fun mischievous side missing in "serious as a heart attack"sport bikes. Their booth was consistently packed while I was there. I even saw a visiting fan with a Triumph tattoo. (Note, there will be a cautionary post to Triumph following this one)
After last year's coup at launching the Tiger 800 like an arrow at BMW's GS heart, Triumph stepped up the competition with the new 1200 Expedition. A bit heavy for my taste but a gorgeous bike. BMW had better guard their lunch.
My long time favorite, the 1050cc Speed Triple, released in a higher spec R version this year. This one goes to fricking 12.
The very popular Street Triple looked a little embarrassed at appearing in "I have a sensitive side" purple.
A modern classic Bonnie and a Thruxville custom put together by I-90 Motorsports.
Triumph's America cruiser, hopefully not named that way because they see ALL Americans as overweight and slow, with poor ground clearance.
There may have been some Japanese bike manufacturers at the show as well.
As always, there were some great custom bikes for eye candy.
Posts
