For most motorcycle enthusiasts the new riding season officially begins in early March with the arrival of Bike Week in Daytona Beach, but for those of us who work inside the motorcycle industry, the new season actually gets its start a few weeks before Bike Week at the International Powersports Dealer Expo that happens every February in Indianapolis. This gi-normous event (the 2005 running hosted well over 800 exhibitors from the motorcycle aftermarket under the inflatable hood of the RCA Dome and Convention Center in downtown Indianapolis) is among the most anticipated events of the season for industry types, and the place where everyone shows their new gadgets and goodies for the coming year. If you're a gearhead (or just a people-watcher), the Indy show is without a doubt the place to be.
Unfortunately, unless you are a card-carrying industry member, the Indy show is absolutely off limits to you. Committed to maintaining a business-friendly environment by shutting the drooling masses out, show organizers have made the general riding public persona-non-grata at the Indy show. But luckily for you, we dispatched our man-with-a-plan, Simon Green, to capture the highlights of the Indy Expo to share with you exiled enthusiasts on our Web site. And what a show it was, this year. For starters, the celebrities were out in force--we weren't on the show floor for more than an hour on opening day before we saw 2004 AMA/Prostar Streetbike Shootout Champ Barry Henson hobbling around on his crutches, AMA pro roadracers Aaron Yates and Ben and Eric Bostrom and a veritable who's who of the stunt world--Jason Britton (congrats on the engagement!), the Starboyz, Tony D, Kyle Woods, Dan Jackson, Patrick Stephens, and many, many others--all out to meet with current sponsors and hit up future supporters. And then there were the bikes--fat tire sportbikes were everywhere this year (including the wild Hayabusa called "Money Shot" built by Eric Shahan of Myrtle Beach's 360 Motorsports, which will be profiled in the May '05 issue of Super Streetbike), along with another fleet of wild R1s from McCoy Motorsports, a twin-turbo ZX10R built by Muzzys, and many, many more. Heck, even the choppers were looking tight this year--check out the latest from Roland Sands at Performance Machine, a Harley V-Rod with Kawasaki ZX6R bodywork and Ohlins Superbike suspension! And who could possibly ignore the gorgeous girls--um, we mean, "spokesmodels"--who were everywhere we looked, trying their best to lure us in to the various show displays.
Needless to say, it was a great show--and we've got the pictures to prove it!