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Motorcycle Accessories News
Live from the 2005
Powersports Dealer Expo in Indianapolis, Indiana - February 19-21, 2005.
More:
2005 Dealer Expo Page 1 |
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| 2006 Dealer Expo
Here we go - all the latest news, photos and
information about all the new helmets, clothing and
motorcycle accessories as they're released to the U.S.
motorcycle dealer network!
I'm touring the vast halls of the Indiana
Convention Center and RCA Dome, taking photos, meeting
all of our friends and seeing what's new for 2005.
The Dealernews International Powersports Dealer Expo
is the largest, most comprehensive trade show of its
kind in the world for dealers, distributors and
manufacturers of aftermarket powersports products. The
strength, growth and success of the show have earned it
the distinction of being a "Must Attend" event for
dealers across the country.
I'll upload photos and information as often as I can
and I'll provide a commentary in the evening as I
rest my tired bones. It's hard work, but somebody
has to do it!
This is a wonderful show and a great opportunity to
learn about all of the new products that will be
introduced for the spring 2005 motorcycle season.
Feb. 19, 2005 - 13:35: Finally made it out, no
thanks to the TSA...but that's another story.
Everyone has a strategy for visiting a show like this.
Some attendees study the floor plan weeks in advance,
and I've actually seen people following the lines
they've drawn on their map, going from one display to
another. Then there are the "zone people" -
they'll work one zone per hour or day, making sure they
cover every single booth.
I've become more of a wanderer. I'll start at
the front door (actually the registration booth where
everyone has to pick up their badge) and then I'll turn
around and start walking towards whatever interests me.
It's the same way a little kid would approach it -
running to whatever looks cool and interesting.
One thing leads to another, and another...until I find
myself back where I started.
The show is just so huge, and there are so many
people, that it's hard to know if you've ever really
seen it all. It doesn't help that it's broken up
across several huge rooms in a couple of different
hotels plus the big RCA dome.
Feb. 19, 2005 - 16:20: I'm already beat and my
feet are killing me. Back to the hotel to upload
this file. Sorry for the delay - I had some
"technical difficulties" until I realized that the hotel
gives free wireless access!
I've seen tons of great stuff already.
The crowd seems slightly smaller to me than last year.
I'm surprised at the unobstructed photos I can get -
last year it was impossible to get near enough to
anything to get a photo.
In the webBikeWorld tradition, I'm trying to find
the unique, the weird, the stuff that no one else knows
about. Not sure if I've succeeded, but here's a
sample from my random walk. I'll try to get some
of these products for an in-depth wBW review.
Note: I haven't validated all the websites but will try
to get more information later:
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All text and photos ©
webWorld International, LLC 2001-2007.
All rights reserved. |
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| Flame Sliders are
translucent frame sliders with internal LED
lights. They can be spliced the the
turn signals or other light. They're
made from polycarbonate and the slider
portion can be replaced if it really does
get used as a frame slider. Available
in Amber, Blue, Green, Red or White from
Diamond Powersports. |
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| The Chinese were out in
force, as usual. They have a
couple of rooms just devoted to Chinese
manufacturers of scooters, ATVs and
other powersports equipment. The
scooter manufacturers started making
motorcycles a few years ago, and some of
the bikes aren't bad looking. This
Zongshen ZS200GS is a 200cc, single
cylinder motorcycle with front/rear disk
brakes, electric and kick start and the
quality isn't bad at all. Since
all the other motorcycle manufacturers
have given up on the beginner bike
market, maybe the Chinese will use it to
get a foothold. Zongshen
motorcycles are made in Chongqing,
China. |
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| It seems like every
wheel manufacturer is coming out with
anodized wheels for supermoto, dirt
bikes and street bikes. Excel
wheels are available in several colors,
with matching anodized hubs and
nice-looking stainless steel spokes.
They're distributed in the U.S.A. by
FTM Enterprises, Inc. |
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| Shoei is out in force;
it's sometimes difficult to tell the
Shoei display from the distributors of
Shoei helmets, because some have
displays bigger than Shoei! The
Z-II (or TZ-R?) has some new paint schemes for
2005. There were lots of blue
helmets at the show; I'm not sure if
this means Yamaha is having a great year
or if blue is the color for '05.
This paint scheme was cool-looking, and
the blue tinted visor finished it off
nicely. Shoei will be releasing a
new visor with anti-fog inserts.
They work like racing tear-offs, but are
stacked on the inside on little tear-off
type pegs. They promised to send
us one for a review. |
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