The International Powersports Dealer Expo is the motorcycle industry-only convention that takes place every February in Indianapolis. It is easily the biggest event of the year in the powersports industry and the motorcycle aftermarket manufacturers and distributors take advantage of the expo to unveil the latest and greatest motorcycle accessories to the assembled dealers and other industry types. In addition to showcasing all the new goods, Dealer Expo is the one time of year where you can put the names with the faces from a years worth of phone calls, meeting contacts from all corners of the country.
This was my first trip to Dealer Expo, as the newly hired Associate Editor of Super Streetbike, the Expo turned out to be my introduction to the larger motorcycle industry. It was exciting to be part of the Primedia team, and it was most exciting to see first-hand what love and support Super Streetbike magazine is starting to get in the motorcycle industry. In an industry that sometimes seems obsessed with millimeters and milliseconds, it was encouraging to have so many industry-types come up to us and ask us about the wants and desires of regular street riders like those that we cater to at this magazine.
Forget about the kneedraggers and chopper heads, 2006 is going to be the "Year of the Squid," with the "street scene" being the focus for many major companies. Teknic Leathers unveiled a line of "Freestyle" apparel and invited sponsored stunter Derrick "D-Mann" Daigle to present it. Long time freestyle supporter Mike Russell of LBZ pulled out his fur suit and females to announce his new partnership with major distributor Tucker Rocky, and their plans to go big with an expanded line of LBZ street gear. Even Ben and Eric Bostrom, two of the biggest names in the traditional road-race world, were there debuting their "Boz" line of exhausts aimed squarely at the bike night crowd, and were talking about the upcoming release of a casual apparel line of clothing worked up with the guys from Von Dutch.
Of course the joint was full of stunters--Dan Jackson, Joe Dryden, Bill Dixon, Starboyz, Jason Britton, Ryan Cramer and current Super Streetbike cover boy Patrick Stephens were all in house--only this year, the manufacturers were actually paying attention to them! And of course there were plenty of gorgeous "spokesmodels" to capture our attention... The International Powersports Dealer Expo was one of the busiest (and certainly one of the coldest) events I have ever attended, and I was stoked to be there with Super Streetbike. The writing is on the wall--the future of the motorcycle industry is the street sportbike scene, and we'll be right at the forefront as our sport and lifestyle enter the spotlight.