Last weekend, I stopped by the Rock Financial Showplace in Novi, Michigan to see the Progressive International Motorcycle Show, touted as the largest motorcycle show on the planet. Having attended the show in Chicago in recent years, I was disappointed that BMW and Ducati were absent (BMW was missing in Chicago last year as well). Triumph is a participant this year but not in Detroit. Present were, Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki, Yamaha, Harley Davidson, Victory, Can-Am and Indian. Additionally, there was a nice display of custom choppers along with the usual suppliers, vendors and clubs representing both the national and local motorcycle scene. What was somewhat surprising was the fact that there were hardly any people there on opening night. It was a tough weather night with snow falling heavily but c’mon, this show comes around only once a year! I’ll attend the Chicago show in a few weeks. BMW, Ducati and Triumph all have new bikes to introduce in 2011. Let’s hope the attendance will be better.
Both Progressive and Allstate Insurance companies had significant presence at the show. Even though Allstate was not a sponsor of the traveling show, they had two large booths where mechanics and other presenters provided hands-on demonstrations on how to perform valve-adjustments to providing information on how to buy the right fitting protective gear. Unfortunately, all the booths were sparse without a big showing that evening.
This custom triumph was one of the highlights of the show for me. You could hardly call this a Triumph, but they used the Triumph badge on the gas tank. It was a beautifully built bike. Note the large rotors on the front tire. The rear tire had a similar set up. And the way they connected the handle bars into the fork was a great design element. The front shocks system was built into the center right behind the headlight. Just beautiful and amazing!
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