International Motorcycle Show Media Day in New York City
BMW, Ducati, Harley-Davidson, Honda, Kawasaki, KYMCO, Suzuki, Vectrix, Vespa, Victory and more have all utilized the Cycle World International Motorcycle Shows® to unveil new motorcycles and concept vehicles to the world. Although the Cycle World International Motorcycle Shows take place in 11 major US cities, only two shows are host to Media Days: Long Beach and New York. A West and East Coast location offers national media two opportunities to be first on the scene to report on the industry’s latest. The 2010 New York Media Day was on Friday January 22nd and it was very exciting.
Cycle World, BMW, Victory, Suzuki, Yamaha Star, Honda, Harley-Davidson, Ducati, Hardcore Choppers and TapouT all gave fifteen minute presentations to the media. Pieter de Waal, Vice President of BMW Motorrad USA, gave a very persuasive presentation of the 2010 S 1000 RR Superbike. This German engineered superbike is rated at 193 horse power and top speeds over 125 mph. The S 1000 RR introduces the first genuine racing ABS which is fully adjustable to match the road conditions and rider skill level.
Victory unveiled the limited edition 106cu 6 speed Vegas LE. This bike was inspired by Gregor Moe, Laura Klark and Matt Waring who have taken Victory motorcycles to the Salt Flats to set world speed records. Victory will only build 100 of these. To buy one you have to choose one of four color schemes and place an order on their website. Then you take your order confirmation to a dealer and put down a deposit. Order by February 15th and take delivery in March.
Honda garnered a lot of attention with the introduction of the VFR1200F with their revolutionary dual clutch transmission. Ducati put on a dynamic fashion show with long legged models, music, lights and a lot of Italian panache! The 2010 Ducati apparel collection was very nice but the fashion show was outstanding!
Harley-Davidson took advantage of their media time by unveiling a brand new model 1200 Sportster that was kept under a black cloak prior to the unveiling. The 48 is the newest in the Dark Custom line and is called the 48 in recognition of the peanut style gas tank first introduced by Harley in 1948. The 48 features fat tires front and back, a thin solo seat and under handlebar mounted mirrors.
As the IMS opened up to the public at noon, the media were given a short preview of the stunt show performed at the IMS by the Ducati Freestyle Stunt Team. Then the masses stormed into the Jacob Javits Convention Center to check out the latest in motorcycle technology and enjoy everything the 29th Annual Cycle World IMS had to offer.
