Dallas International MC Show 2011

[Atitalongtime]

Attended yesterday, I didn't go last year, but this years event was disappointing.
I'd guess 3/4 size as far as booths. All the majors were there, but so many were not or were just dealer booths and not factory deals.
No factory Ducati, BMW, Victory, Husky, KTM, MG, etc, etc. Triumph had a nice display, but I think it was a dealer effort.
They tried to make up for it by expending the customs and old bike display space... actually I liked that better.

Selling vendor count was down as well, there was a few, but I'd guess half of a few year's back, economy induced for sure.

Cycle World involvement was gone, and open bars were in.

No test ride rigs, but it was raining anyway.

Entertainment was the Smagee Brothers Trials guys from America's Got Talent, good but not as great as Jeff Aaron, better than the steel cage mini bike boys a few years back.

Dream List wants mounted... Ducati Daivel, would make this 60 year old go hooligan!

[Kneescrubber]

Yeah, the show in Dallas has been going down for quite a while.    I lived in Dallas (for the second time) from '98-'11. Even when Cycle World was involved it never got a lot of advertising in the DFW area. There would be a lot of people there but the factory effort began to decline.

Was Moto Liberty there? How was their booth?

[Fred]

The way the Dallas show has shrunk~is shrinking, I wouldn't be surprised if it isn't on the schedule next year. Didn't see Moto Liberty, don't think they were there.....?

Triumph had the best looking girls   . J&M just had a display, no people or parts. No-Mar tire changer demo guy was just going thru the motions - but that demo tire he uses is so stretched out from all the shows it's been thru he could probably R & R it by hand. Gerbing rep told me to take my business local. Shoei rep knew the Neotec helmet was approved for Europe, and would be expensive when it comes to the states...

[Biking Sailor]

Triumph had a factory guy there with the new Explorer (prototype).  It looked pretty good, but he did say it was not what would actually be offered, but close.  Looked like it had a huge street bias so more 1050 Tiger than 800XC.

Disappointing in that not much there that you couldn't see spending the day hitting all the local shops.

I did get a pretty good deal on a set of T-Rex stands, only cause that they threw in spools for a couple of my bikes.

[photojojo]

Last few shows I went to were bad so I haven't gone in a couple of years. Are the Houston or OKC shows better? I assumed they would all be the same.

[Atitalongtime]

It looks to me like shows later in the schedule are better.... or it may be because of a larger market.

[Morgan Buchanan]

There IS no OKC or Houston show.  Dallas is the last show in the entire region.  It's not that the Dallas show is going down hill, it's that the economy has kicked the crap out of the industry.  They're ALL hurting.  In the US, bikes are toys, and when it's hard to pay the mortgage, the toys go first.  Hopefully the economy turns around.  You want the show to get better?  Go buy stuff.    And go to the show and support it.  Because the smaller it gets, the harder it is to get back to "awesome."  I think a lot of manufacturers are going to the "road show" model for