Chicagoland Sportbike Forums banner

IMS Show

3K views 62 replies 41 participants last post by  Thunderstruck 
#1 ·
Make sure to stop by JDA customs booth and to vote for the bikes in the ultimate builder comp
 
#7 ·
sorry man but i couldnt, most of their bikes looked like garbage to me. Was yours there tho, thought one was but if so you've done a lot more to it since i saw it last.
 
#9 ·
This - Updates for the lazy and uninspired?
 
#26 ·
I went on Saturday and attendance was way down from last year, plus there was no BMW presence there. I kind of wanted to see the 1000. According to a BMW travel booth there is only 1 BMW dealer left in the Chicago area and they are located in Barrington. All the others have closed.

The Suzuki display was very small and they didn't have any full line brochures, only small tearoff ones at some of the bikes. It looks like they are hurting for money. By 4:00 pm there weren't many people there and you could walk around without bumping into anyone and you could sit on almost any bike without waiting. I've been going there a long time and have never seen the attendance this low.

The only motorcycle displays that had any amount of people around them were the Harley's (of course) and the Ducati's. There were a lot of people around the Ducati Divale which is their new 162 HP naked bike. The Duc reps there kept saying it was their fastest accelerating Ducati ever and that it would go 0 to 60 in 2.5 seconds.

It seemed like they had a lot more vendors that were selling vests and chaps and so forth. It's starting to look a lot like a Harley swap meet in spots. This show is probably not worth the money to go see anymore as it's becoming more lame every year. It's something to do but little else.
 
#13 ·
I thought it was good, pretty similar to last year. Mostly factory booths. Not a ton of customs, but the few that were there were nice. Stunt show was pretty slick. Never seen anyone bunny hop a sport bike :1pimp
 
#21 ·
I brought my son up there today hoping to get some new gear for him but there really wasn't any motox stuff there for him or I. So, we stopped by DGY on the way home and stocked up on what they had there. I'm pretty sure that's my last trip to that show for a while.
 
#27 ·
i had fun. saw some sweet bikes, including the new CBR250. Ninja 1000, and the Dieval ... friendly folks and all in all a rather good time. also got a KILLER deal on some Sidi Streetburners (i needed a size larger than the ones i have which i will be selling shortly for a steal).

the custom bikes to vote on, while nothing really "cool" (to me) were at least something that was kinda hard to look away from. especially the monstrosity with the 26" front wheel. i liked the transformers bike, and got to talk to the guys at Gatorglass about their work as well. LOTS of helmet displays and try-ons. and a very fun stunt show with whoever that MTV stunt rider dude is. i had fun.
 
#28 ·
I went yesterday. Got there at around 10:30a. It was too crowded to walk through when I was there. Now the crowds may have thinned later in the day but between 10:30a to 12:30 it was a cluster. The Suzuki display was mostly cruisers. Triumph did have a nice display. Honda and Kawasaki had nice diplays. Harley. Well if you like them they were there. I typically go to have a look at gear. If you know prices and what you are looking for you can normally find a few things cheap. Yes much of it looks like a Harley swap meet. If you want patches vests and bandana's you shouldn't have too much of a problem finding something.
 
#29 · (Edited)
I was there from 1:45 to about 4:30 and enjoyed it. As always, it was cool seeing the ChiVinMoto/TonUp folks there and bumping into friends. The stunt show was cool (I was skeptical, but it turned out to be alright).

Every year, it seems like one manufacturer fails to show. No BMW, No KTM, No MotoGuzzi, No MV. Boo, Hiss!

Having the custom bikes bisect the whole show made up for the lack of manufacturers and was a nice way to 'spread out' the room, making it easier to navigate the show. The Green bike that was 'first in line' on the customs was my favorite of the customs. the greyed out Hayabusa didn't belong there in the custom area. I wish they would bring back the Cycle World 'locally owned classic bikes' display. I always enjoyed seeing the older bikes.

The new Ducati Diavel didn't do anything for me, but I did dig the 'fully retracting rear peg' feature. Nice touch, but the bike still pales to the Hypermotard in my book.

Cobra had two very slick v-twin 750s that were so well done, they looked factory (The RS750 had me drooling).

As for Parking, I always use the Blue Line parking lot and take the shuttle bus in. You can't beat $5 and a free ride.

I just wish (for once!) they would offer better beer than the sh!t they carry. Michelob Amber Bock? Shock Top? Gross.

I agree that the 'bandanna/leather/patch' booths have increased in number, but so what? They pay their bills and help attract visitors. I may not care for their stuff, but I DO appreciate being able to buy sunglasses super cheap! :laughing:

I was told by a guy at the Chicago BMW Owners Club booth that BMW is only showing at the Coastal shows (LA and NY, I think). Boo, Hiss! The kind of idiots who ride year round in Chicago tend to be BMW guys for the most part, so BMW is missing out by not being here. Oh well, their loss.
 
#30 ·
The only reason I went was to try on helmets and to see friends in town. Mission accomplished.
My review: The flea market vendors continue to spread to the left side of the show like a virus. Less and less participation from high-end OEMs year after year. Stunt shows -- same stuff we've seen for over a decade on Sunday afternoons in vacant corporate parking lots. Its obvious the stunt-world is dying in main stream public attention. Some custom/concept this year, but not as good as in the past. Just a line up down the center walkway for voting. Couldn't find the vote box, lost interest. I miss seeing the large roped off areas of 100k custom displays. One thing I did appreciate was the emphasis on cafe-style and vintage showcasing like by Indian, Harley and Ural. I liked seeing the race bikes. It was cool to see the Harley race bikes. And I was glad to see the Honda 250 finally make it in the game. It seemed to grab a lot of attention. The biggest booth at the show was Progressive Insurance...which directed the show to everything "possibly" motorcycle. ...going down the path of a wedding-like expo. Kinda sad. The people watching was surreal. I felt like I walked into a bad eighties biker film where the styles all remained, but the actors all aged 30 years.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top