The IBR jersey will be wasted on the cruiser crowd at the Jan show. Have fun!
I knew it would be, but still wore it anyways...
There did seem to be an absence of Yami's at the show. For those not in the loop some years ago the manufacturers pulled out of this show and created there own Toronto area show. Which means this show is just whatever the dealers that show up happen to bring.
As such there was only a couple dealers that carried Yami and they were not a very large presence. Too bad, did kinda wanna see the new FJR1300ES in person.
What did I see?
GP Bikes had some nice Carbon Fiber helmets for a little under $300 bucks. (Cant remember the brand). Freakishly lightweight when you put one on your head. I'm a Shoei person but I might look into this for my next helmet.
Honda has taken the sales success of the CBR250 in the past couple years and come out with a CBR500. Very nice bike. The CBR250 could be a little underpowered for longer trips. But the 500 could offer people (especially new riders) to buy a bike that's light and small and nimble for the urban environment but still has the gumption to hit the road for a longer trip. They even had an "adventure" version of the bike that I was taken with. $6800 with ABS, pretty good deal.
Even though its a year old now, still liking the 1200 Triumph Explorer adventure bike.
Kawasaki has reworked the Ninja 1000. Not totally familiar with the older models, but this one seemed to have slightly more upright sitting position (not laying down on the tank) comes with ABS and they offer factory hard luggage as an option. Obviously going after the sport touring segment (emphasis on sport). As much as I love the FJR I could almost see myself pulling off some serious miles on this one.
Often with these shows you pay your money and after an hour you've walked by everything. Not at this one. We were in right at 10am and didn't cover everything till 2-3 in the afternoon. And we did gloss over alot of the booths. So definitely give this show two thumbs up for sheer volume of things to see.
And it certainly was a nice reprieve to walk around all the bike stuff and get away from the crap-tastic weather we've been dealing with lately!
- Colin