Each year the motorcycle industry congregates from all over the country to the chilly Midwest to showcase its latest products at the Dealer Expo. This year, the event was noticeably smaller with the absence of the sportbike pavilion in the nearby Lucas Oil stadium. With all the exhibitors located under a single roof, it only took a single day to walk the entire show. While good for spectators, it acted as yet another reminder of the poor current economic conditions in the bike industry. The weather was the Indianapolis standard: frigid temperatures in the teens and snow. It caused numerous flight delays/cancellations which also affected attendance and vendor displays. Why the show has not been moved to a warmer and more travel friendly climate is always a topic of debate. This year, Super Streetbike searched high and low to find the hottest new products for 2010 and presented the winners with a badge to honor the companies for their innovative efforts.
Here's our top pics from the show:
Best Green Product
1. Yoshimura R-77 Slip-on with Integrated Catalytic Converter
Slip-on exhaust systems for the 2008-2010 Honda CBR1000RR are nothing new. What drew our attention to this system is that it's designed to be street legal in both noise and pollution. While motorcycles have managed to fly under the radar from the green hand of the law, it's only a matter of time before we are made to comply.
yoshimura-rd.com Best Product Under $10
2. Luimoto Ear Plugs Key Chain Case
For those that wear ear plugs when they ride, Luimoto designed a keychain with an attached ear plug case. Sometimes the simplest ideas are some of the best.
luimoto.com Best Racer Product
3. Full spectrum Power Pulse Battery
Orient Express is proudly carrying this new compact battery that's made from Lithium-Ferrous batteries and has enough juice to power a standard sportbike. It's designed for the racer with an average weight savings of seven pounds for just under $250. While the weight savings might not seem like a lot for street riders, racers will appreciate the compact design that also allows them to mount the battery anywhere for better weight distribution and unlike traditional lithium batteries, Lithium-Ferrous will not catch fire. For safety's sake alone the battery is worth its weight in gold.
orientexpress.com Best Performance Product
4. Two Brothers Juice Box Pro
The Two Bro's Juice Box Pro unit has a few new noteworthy features over previous models. It can hold up to 10 different maps that can be switched on the box to adjust for various situations. Quick adjustments can also be made to each map on the fly to any of the 10 settings. Clever.
twobros.com Best iProduct
5. Speed and Strength iPhone Game
If you have an iPhone, you'll appreciate this product. While it doesn't make you faster, smarter or better looking, it is a lot of fun. Best of all-it's free! Choose your favorite Speed and Strength gear and head out to do some serious two-wheel street racing. It's a simple game, yet very addictive.
ssgear.com Best Suspension Product
6. Race Tech GS-3 Custom Shock
For those serious about suspension, Race Tech offers a custom shock built to your specs. It features custom valves, adjustable high and low speed compression damping, adjustable rebound, and spring preload along with ride height adjustment and it's affordable too.
racetech.com Best Apparel Product
7. Icon Victory Metal God Jacket
This will probably be the most talked about jacket in 2010. For starters, it weighs over 30 pounds and has over 100 attached metal skulls. It's limited to just 100 units of which I'm told over half have been sold. At $1,200 it's for the serious skull fanatic. Love it or hate it, you'll still talk about it.
rideicon.com Best Booth Model
8. Rio Vogt
If you have seen the Zero Gravity ad for its Double Bubble windscreen, than you are familiar with Rio already. When we heard she was working the show, we set out on a mission to locate her. Luckily the grill was just as nice as the bumpers! Expect to see all of Rio in upcoming issues of SSB.
Those are SSB's top picks from the 2010 Indy Dealer Show. While there were more products that caught our eye, these are the ones that left a lasting impression.