2Wheeltips

I know it has been a few days since the show but we are finally getting a chance to write about the experience. It has been a very busy few days of making calls, following up with the people we met and figuring out what to do with all of the photos, footage and gadgets we got from the show.

Generally speaking, the show was an overwhelming success! We got into New York around 8:40am. After parking, getting coffee and walking 3 blocks to the Javits Convention Center we headed to the press information line. As we were standing in line  it finally hit us.....we are going in as members of the media!


After we let that settle in, we headed down to the press area for more food and to warm up a little. We mingled around a bit and couldn't help but notice that the editors from the major motorcycle magazines were there. It was nice to put faces to all of the names. We met Steve Lita, the editor of RoadBike Magazine. RoadBike highlighted 2wheeltips.com in their Jan/Feb 2010 issue as a new website with good safety tips and information for bikers. RoadBike and 2wheeltips have some new things in the works, so stay tuned!

After the meet and mingle, we went in for some vendor presentations. The first was for a "Ride for Kids" motorcycle raffle. Next was a presentation on the new BMW 1000cc sport bike. A very impressive machine with an equally impressive price tag. Next it was on to Victory where they unvealed a new cruiser.  At the BMW presentation we, ran into some people we needed to interview. Dino continued on with the press pool while Carol and I wondered off to find some of the people we needed to see. We all eventually ended up at the Honda exhibit to see the new VFR.

By that time is was already noon and the show was about to open to the public. We were already tired!! We scheduled a few interviews and wanted to get them in before the big crowds got there. Our first interview was with the Ducati FreeStyle Team. Ernie and Nick let us know what free style riding was about. They stressed that it is not the same as the guy doing a wheelie down a major highway and that free style riding is done in a safe environment away from street traffic.  Next it was on to BRP the makers of the Can-Am Spyder. A very impressive and unique three wheel machine. From there we went over to Campagna motors the makers of the T-Rex. Also a very impressive three wheel high performance machine.

After three interviews and lots of talking, it was lunch time. We headed down to get a bite and to discuss what was next. We had a list of 40 interviews and there was no way we could get through all of them and cover the other last minute interviews. After lunch we interviewed Snell, California Scooters, National Cycles and a few others. Once those were over, we were totally wiped out. It was now 8pm and it was time to call it a day. We had to be back bright and early the next morning.

On Saturday we got there close to 10pm and the show was already packed. We managed to get in a few more interviews and cover some really cool bike gadgets. At lunch we met with Chris Peace from Movoc16:3. He is a 2wheeltips.com member and has a very nice line of motorcycle-inspired t-shirts. Very very nice stuff. If you want some really nice stuff for the upcoming riding season, click on his profile and reach out to him. We also interviewed Gloria Struck from Motor Maids. She is 85 and has been riding 64 YEARS and she is in the AMA hall of fame. She is going to Daytona this year and......she is riding the full 1100 miles from New Jersey. During the interview she said that only "wusses" trailor their bikes. Oh....and she rides a big Harley dyna-soft-classic-fat-cvo something or other. Not some foo-foo pansy bike. We finished up the day just as tired as the previous day and decided to call it quits around 8pm. 

Sunday we got in around 10am again and the show was even more packed. We did the usual interview rounds and took some time to enjoy the show and catch up with some friends. Dr. Heche who writes our hearing protection blog was there and we got to spend some time with her. She is having problems finding a bike (she's about 4ft 9in) and we took her over to California Scooters to get some info. I think she may have found the perfect bike.

It was now 4pm and it was time to call it quits. We had 3 very long but very enjoyable days at the show. We got TONS of information and some very good interviews. We will post them over the next few days so stay tuned.