What can you do if you’re a motorcycle enthusiast, but the weather’s colder and bleaker than the heart of a Wall Street CEO? Head to a motorcycle show.
Curiously, you can also head to a motorcycle show, if you’re a beef jerky enthusiast. I don’t know why beef jerky vendors always set up at the edges of any motorcycle show floor, but they do, and God bless them and their dedication to the meat arts.
This winter’s motorcycle/jerky show season starts this weekend in Toronto. The action will take place in the South Building of the Metro Convention Centre, from Friday, Dec. 9 to Sunday, Dec. 11.
This is the show run by the manufacturers, via its Motorcycle and Moped Industry Council (MMIC). After Toronto, the MMIC show makes stops in Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver, Quebec, Moncton and Montreal.
Avid motorcycle types know that Toronto hosts two major motorcycle shows.
The other one happens after the New Year, bills itself as the Supershow, and takes over the International Centre by the airport. No sense arguing over which one rules, let’s just revel in the fact that we have two high quality cyclefests to check out when it’s too chilly to ride.
Topping the list of bikes I want to check out at this weekend’s show is Norton’s addition to their Commando 961 line up – the Cafe Racer. Not quite as pretty as the original, but pretty darn close.
Retro is big business these days, but especially in the motorcycle industry, where the average buyer is in their mid-forties!
Where are the younger riders?
I put that question to Neil Graham, editor of Cycle Canada. While he is not sure where they are, or how big a group they currently comprise in the marketplace, he is “encouraged” at least by the industry’s efforts to reach out to them. He cites all the new small, entry-level bikes currently in the marketplace. Bikes like Honda’s CBR125R and CBR250R, Kawasaki’s Ninja 250R and Ninja 400R, and the just released Suzuki TU250.
Women buyers are also still scarce on the ground. But Graham believes the number, however small, is at least trending up. No surprise then that the MMIC show in Toronto is “young rider” and “female rider” friendly.
She Rides Night (on Friday evening) will be a celebration of women who ride or who are considering taking up the sport.
And the Yamaha Riding Academy will be on site, to give 6-12 year olds a spin on a Yamaha TT-R off-road motorcycle, and to teach the older-folk (16 and up) how to ride a scooter. (Yamaha will also give away a motorcycle or ATV to the lucky winner of a show floor draw.) But rest assured there are plenty of testosterone-friendly events and bikes too.
Harley-Davidson will role out its heavy metal thunder, and also present an autograph session with UFC fighters Jake Shields and Brendan Schaub, and “Octagon Girl” Brittney Palmer. BMW will show off the S1000RR superbike and its new line of super scooters – the C600 Sport, and the C650T.
Honda will bring its new NC700 parallel twin, and the beautiful MV Augusta F3 675 will make its first Canadian appearance at the show.
Those are just a few of the cool bikes that make the show scene this weekend. According to MMIC there will be over 140 exhibitors. So surely something for everybody then, whatever your budget, desires, or meat eating tendencies.
