The number of vendors was way down this year and that was a little sad. Normally there are big name companies set up down the middle aisles of the show with at least four aisles on either side full of small and one-man companies trying to break into the big leagues. I’m sure those guys are still out there, either the economy or weather kept them away. The show took place the week of the nationwide snow and ice storm that even shut down someTexascities like my own.
Besides seeing old friends and new products,Cincinnatialways has some great bikes on display. Some are built or commissioned by the displaying company; others are just lent to booth owners to act as eye candy to draw a crowd. Paughco not only had the killer CaptainAmericaon Geritol, but they had one of the best looking FXR bobbers I’ve ever seen. I immediately texted our long-time advertising director and now special contractor, Penny Osiecki, to come take a look. I thought the Indian Larry-style Mustang gas tank would be just the item to finish off her FXR.
There was also a killer Triumph bobber using an old Bonneville engine and lots of imagination. This one looked like it stopped way faster than it ran, given the enormous perimeter disc brakes. I got to see Ron Finch’s sidecar in person. It was made of welded together, thin tubing and stuff lying around the floor of his garage I guess. But what was amazing was that after welding together several hundred differently-shaped objects, it all balanced out and looked great. There weren’t any areas that were more opaque or less opaque than any other. Term artist becomes appropriate at this point.
What else? The brochures I found myself with at the end featured some high-end shocks from Suspension Technologies. Can’t wait to test those; always looking out for those customers with bad backs. There was a handlebar-mounted, touch-screen flash tuner from Dynojet that would let you change ECM programs on the fly. Not only are they making it easy for the home tuner to get their bike running right, but they are attempting to allow you to modify your tune while on the road should you end up in mountains for a long time or purchase a part at a rally that requires re-mapping. Custom Cycle Engineering had a small spring-mounted clip for your gas cap that would let you hang your cap by the throttle cable while gassing up in case everything around you was filthy or there were no flat surfaces. Convict Custom Cycles had some floorboards that doubled as tool chests or holsters. As you can see, it is mostly the small companies with something totally different that make the biggest impression on me for some reason.
I imagine the show’s host, Easyriders, was a little disappointed with the turnout; but on the bright side, everything ran super smoothly. The event was well thought out and professionally run. The poor weather delayed some vendors so we saw a few dollies shuffling parts around the first day. The bright side to the low turnout was that we got a great spot in the hotel bar Sunday night to watch the Super Bowl, up front and in the center. Try that when eight thousand people are also trying to do the same thing.