Dallas IMS - Who's going?

[Rabidsnipe]

I'll be there Saturday, hopefully drooling over the new Triumph bikes as well as checking on how funky the new Ducati looks in person.

[onetrack97]

Your not likely to see any Triumph bikes, specially the new ones.

They don't have a booth.

Also not likely to see any of the new stuff just announced in Milan.

[Rabidsnipe]

Well crap on my parade won't you. I found out today Triumph won't be there. Hopefully at least the Ninja 1000 will be there.

[Rabidsnipe]

They're also having a DIY "How to Build a Cafe Racer" display.

[onetrack97]

Come on down, the weather will be good on Saturday and the stunt show will be worth a look.

[soonerstan56]

Chase, I'm planning to ride down tomorrow. It may be pretty cool but hopefully dry.
Perhaps I'll see you there.

Stan

[Rabidsnipe]

According to Honda rep, ABS adder for CBR250R will be less than $500. MSRP to he around the Ninja 250

[ADIFW]

NO Triumph, BMW or Motoguzzi at the Dallas show this year...

The good news is that the Triumph factory trucks will be at the Fort Worth Eurosportcycle (demo rides available)
on Saturday and Sunday. see eurosportcycle.com

[Rabidsnipe]

Also really impressed with the CB1000R. Looks really sharp in person.

[DogBoy]

Did anyone take pics?

[Rabidsnipe]

Only crapy cell phone pics:

Of the "new" bikes, I was most impressed with the CB1000R.  It is much prettier in person than the images floating around the web.  Having seen it IRL, I like the rear wheel now.  I wish I would have got a shot of the dash.  Also, the model at the show had ABS and the rep said it was offered in the US with ABS.  Sweet!

The CBR250R seems like it is going to be a hit based on my conversation with Jon Seidel.  He made it sound like they were working really hard to get the MSRP close to the Kawasaki Ninja 250.  Also, I asked what the adder would be for the ABS.  His response, "Not a lot."  "Not a lot like $500?"  "Less than that."  So it sounds like you'll be able to get a new CBR250R with ABS for less than $5k.  That sounds like a good game plan.  Although you're giving up 1.4 gallons to the Ninja, you're losing 16 pounds, gaining ABS (368 curb weight), gaining FI, and getting a Honda.  Plus I think it looks better than the Ninja.

The Ninja 1000 was a nice bike.  I think it fills a nice slot that a lot of people have been asking for.  They didn't have one with bags at the show  The windshield adjustment was easy but I have to wonder how big a difference it makes considering how low it is.  Ergos felt similar to the FZ1.  My heels hit the passenger peg/exhaust bracket with the balls of my feet on the pegs; similar to the 1200 Sport.

The Ducati Diavel was kind of weird.  The carbon model looked sweet.  But the standard model just had too much bland silver plastic pieces to be a Ducati.  Having seen and sat on these in person, I can totally understand the appeal/market for this bike.  You sit really low on the bike  and from certain angles it looks awesome.  But I really think they laid an egg with the styling of the headlight and lower fuel tank fairing on the base model.  It just looks cheap and plastic.

Other observations:
The DIY "How to Build a Cafe Racer" was a useless waste of about 20 minutes of my time.  Read the Wikipedia article on Cafe Racer for more information.

The vendor booths and vendors seemed to be higher quality than last year.  Last year there seemed to be a lot of joker booths with questionable products.

Stunt show was cool!

Suzuki's booth was shameful.  Although I'm glad they were back, it was kind of depressing.  For one, the lack of a significant new model was telling.  Also, their models looked poor.  It looked like some of the demo models had been sitting in a dusty garage for the last year.  There was dirt and dust on several of the models.  The V-Strom even had some surface rust starting on some of the hardware.

The simultaneous lack of Moto Guzzi and presence of Ural was interesting.

Pikes Peak Multistrada


Honda CB1000R




Kawasaki Ninja 1000

[DogBoy]

Thanks for posting your impressions and the pics.  

[Bounce]

I've been underwhelmed the past few times so am not (didn't) go. The discount renewal on my MCNews subscription used to offset the entry fee but it doesn't even do that any more, so i opted out this year.

[Rincewind]

Thanks for posting your impressions and the pics.  

+1, I appreciate it.  That CB1000R is looking good to me.  I look forward to seeing the pricing on that one.

[Rabidsnipe]

+1, I appreciate it.  That CB1000R is looking good to me.  I look forward to seeing the pricing on that one.

I asked but MSRP was still TBD.

They had a deal online where you got a $15 Bike Bandit gift card for buying your ticket. That's "free" enough for me.