February 26, 2012

This week we discuss James’ impressions of the Tiger 800, the great customer service he receives at his Triumph dealer, and how Chris hates allergies. The Trophy rumors are rearing their heads again; are they real? Hero of India backs Buell, and two Superbike teams. The Brain is better on a bike, so sayeth MotorcycleInsurance.com.

Gary Budzien gives us his impressions of the IMS for 2012, and Gear Chic’s Joanne Donn talks about Sport bike myths.

Linkedinks below:

We open up the show with some email feedback about recent topics. We discuss what we saw at the NYC IMS and field a question from voice mail about the show, then wrap up with some news and information. Oh, and my computer lost power early in the recording session. A brief public service tech note: when the power cord comes out and your battery is 6 years old, you’ll lose power pretty quickly.

Frankie boy sang about it. Its skyline is magnificent. Millions of people live, work and flock there all the year through. It’s New York, my friends. And we were there again this year to immerse ourselves in the motorcycle awesomeness that is the International Motorcycle Show.

We saw lots of interesting accessories and gear choices, including new additions to the textile riding suit market, a cool Schuberth comms system, and the newer models of helmets. Oh and polishing compounds. Lots and lots of polishing compounds. Everyone wants to be shiny, right?

Kawasaki seems to really have a hit on their hands with the Ninja 1000. People seem to love the bike, and also seem to like its versatility. Time will tell, but so far it’s gaining attention.

Triumph has hit it so far out of the park with the Tiger 800 family, that even the view from high above The Big Apple isn’t enough to see it.  Their Sprint GT seems to be a great freshening of a beloved sport-tourer. The Tiger’s torque curve is nothing short of amazing!

BMW’s R1000 is STILL drawing dense crowds and lots of attention. They really seem to have gotten it right.

When talking about the Yamaha Super Tenere we looked at, we also discuss an email from Ryan with his impressions of the bike as seen at another show. I also give my impressions of the FZ8, completely from an aesthetic point of view. James won this round. I fully agree; the looks are… interesting.

The Shoei Qwest seems to be a great entry in the street helmet market and we look forward to hearing more about it. Anyone have on yet?

James buys some gear and gives us his impression of the CBR250R, and ROK Straps helps us get into the show.

After the IMS discussion, we talk about a news item or two, including the fact that electric motorcycle manufacturer, Zero Motors, is building a new assembly plant.

Scott Bolton takes us out with a preview of the upcoming MotoGP racing season. Thanks, Scott!

Opening music, No Way by Kunk.

We’re planning our trip to the New York International Motorcycle Show! We talk about tiny little bikes and a great big bike. Harley starts “building” bikes in India. BMW is ready to take your money for a new K1600 and the S1000RR beats out the GS for the best selling BMW title. The Mission-R gets naked, Maximum Bob does the Electric Boogaloo and Can-Am gets all hybridy. We also respond to some more feedback from you guys.

Mission-R

• News and Opinion
  • Official pics of the Yamaha FZ8 and Fazer8
  • New Scorpion helmets
    • EXO 750
    • New colors for the EXO 900
  • University study on the effects of wind noise inside the helmet
  • Tires
  • Cycle World IMS in NY
    • I couldn’t dig up the info I was looking for on the HAs. If anyone remembers the story better then I do feel free to record it as an MP3 and send it in.
    • Visit our Facebook page for pics (more will be added this week)
• Music provided by Music Alley
  • Opening music: ‘No Way’ by KunK
  • Additional music: ‘Dig The Rock N Roll’, ‘Fine Sexy Baby’ and ‘Spend A Real Cool Time In Hell’ by The Stockmen (God I love MySpace. I really wish more bands had MySpace pages. That would be awesome.)
• Links
  • Metric Devil Moto

The Pace Podcast