Friday, February 10, 2006

Int'l Motorcycle Show [day 1]

It’s that time again, I made it out to the Chicago IMS in Rosemont tonight. I never get bored of these things. A room full of pretty, shiny new bikes, no matter how many bikes I have and how much I love them, I can always make room for more in the garage.

Todays highlights:

Ducati

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This sharp looking Paul Smart 1000LE, was actually one of the most uncomfortable bikes at the show.

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749 Dark in this matt black is still one of the most sexiest bikes, but also very uncomfortable.

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This is the second year that I’m totally drooling over the Multistrada 620, but I’m not ready yet. Maybe in the next couple of years I’ll pick up a used one. As much as I want to get a cheap dual-sport like the Yamaha XT225, which would be more for dirt riding, I just don’t see how I can utilize one living in the suburbs of Chicago. I think the Multistrada 620 would be great for what I want to do. I can ride it to Wisconsin to the twisty roads and hit some dirt roads also if they are not too beat up.

BMW

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I honestly have to say, that I would have never thought of the R1200ST as a possible sport-tourer for me until I saw ST.Ns http://rocketbunny.blogspot.com/ Rocket Bunny get one. It’s very comfortable, and has a lowering option. I even like the looks of it too and BMW offers 6 colors schemes for this bike. Maybe when I get bored of pasta and rice, I'll try some potatoes :)

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HP 2 Enduro is one sharp bike although much too tall for me. It’s lightweight and equipped with a race-ready suspension. With 105 hp, it’s BMW Motorrad's first pure dirt bike.

New trend in Japanese bikes… glitter/sparkle paint

I love it. Honda, Suzuki, Kawasaki are all doing it. I didn’t see any Yamahas but that doesn’t mean they don’t have sparkle paint this year.

The Kawasaki Z750 looks sharp in black/silver sparkle, so does the Honda VFR. The silver shimmered on the Suzuki GSXR.

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Kawasaki

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I’ve always liked the Z1000, but this years color is amazing, bright blue with a matte metallic finish.

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The new ZX-14 with estimated 200 hp at the rear wheel is a beast of a bike, big and heavy and made for speed.

Suzuki

I might have been smitten by the gixxers at the show tonight. They look really sharp, I really love the flat tail section, although I’m not sure I care for the graphics. The colors are nice.

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I sat on the 600 and I couldn’t believe how nice that bike fit me. It’s so low and light, very comfortable.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

See... the gixxer is really comfortable. Even on a 700 mile day, like the one back from Sudbury with Rick, I wasn't really hurting. The gix is an awesome sport tourer. Ok, enough of bike-self-praise...