Originally Posted by Shewie

Some skillz, yo? Just kidding, Bob.

Tony, this is the show that was, in past years, the leather-beaten bagger-fest that had me vowing never to return. As I said though, it is not the show of earlier years. Someone finally pulled their thumb out and got some decent vendors interested. I was quite pleasantly surprised at the lack of both A: flea market booths and B: members of the chaps patrol. Both still present but in vastly reduced numbers.
Aggressive pricing made me spend a lot of money.

Well sounds like a welcome change was made at the show. You remember as I what it used to be like. Unless you knew a particular item could be had at a great price there was not much reason to travel the 4 hours to get there (the weather would be a whole other issue). Glad you had a good day. Maybe we'll hit it again next year.

Tony

I went the last couple years,real waste of time except for meeting people I hadn't seen since I left T.O. back in '03. I've spent too much lately to spend any more,not that I buy anything there,its the $50 in gas mostly.Sounds like a much better show,thanks for the update Shew.I know Kawasaki put up a display.

They did indeed. As did big H. I was finally allowed to sit on a VFR. Feels oddly bird-like, and it is not as big as it looks in pics. Nicely balanced, too. Even uglier in person.
GP Bikes must pay through the nose for their booth - it is enormous, even bigger than previous years, it seems. They had a lot of stuff priced really well.
Pete's Superbike, in contrast, had no more than a 10' x 10' that was stacked FULL of tires. That's all he is there to sell and he's prices accordingly.
Lots of other stuff worth going for if you're looking for gear or gadgets. Unfortunately, you will still fit in if you attend in your leathers.

Wow, like you said Shewie - I bought a set of Pilot Power 2CT's for $260 total with tax in! Lots of new bikes this year. All the manufacturers had big booths and lots of vintage bikes.

Well...I did not score any new tires in Novi....only saw one Michelin Pilot Pure that was not mounted on a bike. Most likely the idea would have been to hit the local dealers home shops around town to get any kind of "show special" pricing. Still,..got to see most if not all the new machines..although BMW were missing for some reason.

Tony

Originally Posted by Daver

Wow, like you said Shewie - I bought a set of Pilot Power 2CT's for $260 total with tax in! Lots of new bikes this year. All the manufacturers had big booths and lots of vintage bikes.

Yep, Pete's prices were quite agreeable. I went for a PP up front and a P2CT for the rear. I'm interested to see how these compare to the Metzlers I have been running. Was his debit machine working when you were there? The vintage bikes were great but the one I was drawn to was old 1000 Kwaki in the Hindle booth - may have been the actual one Lang himself raced back in the 80's, not sure. *edit* just checked and yes, it is one of the two machines he rode to the 1982 Superbike Championship.

Originally Posted by TigreST

Well...I did not score any new tires in Novi....only saw one Michelin Pilot Pure that was not mounted on a bike. Most likely the idea would have been to hit the local dealers home shops around town to get any kind of "show special" pricing. Still,..got to see most if not all the new machines..although BMW were missing for some reason.

Tony

BMW was at the TO show in force. Every model in the lineup was there in pairs it seemed. The big 1600 is an impressive bike - quite narrow for an I-6, but at $28k+ it is highly unlikely to see the inside of my garage.