Went yesterday and met up with some riding buddies. Looked at custom vintage and race bikes. Got to see my buddies turbo sleeper in person. Was almost seduced by a gorgeous 4-2-1 stainless SOHC Hindle pipe at the the Rock City Racers booth. Missed the wall of death but caught some free style jumping and flipping. Skipped the flea markets and then went for half price wings at Hooters.
I'm chalking it up as a good day. YMMV.
Most of the stuff I go for wasn't there this year and it was much smaller. Very few dealers except a couple Harley places., no Canadian Vintage Motorcycle Group overall display or sections, very few bikes in the history of MC display and even the former custom hall, maybe a dozen bikes in the for sale area, none of Bar Hodgson's collection on display, no vintage bike related vendors, only a couple make or model specific clubs or groups and the riding clubs with booths were mostly Harley-focused or touring or Christian.
It's obvious the organizer had a lot of unsold space to fill, which he did with stuff like window replacement/renovation contractors, financial advisors, a pot seller with 2 large displays, the obligatory shoe polishers and a bunch of other stuff not related to motorcycles. Even with this filler the floor space was dramatically reduced from previous years.
Incidentally, there was only 1 cured meat seller and their products are actually good, though I've bought them in a deli and not at the show.
As another aside who in their right mind with anything more than a few bucks in their pants is going to engage with or trust a financial advisor who dresses up a little like some old-time gangster and solicits business at a bike show? I'm sure he's a nice fellow and he might even be good at his job but WTF?
Hopefully the February show will be better. At least the manufacturers will be there, but it will be interesting to see which dealers and clubs have a presence.
Is there anybody who posted in this thread who has never been to this show before?
i am willing to give up my winning tickets if you have posted in this thread and have never been to this show before
fyi @cutekill
Update: Since there are no takers, I will use this myself
Highly recommend going once in your lifetime to EICMA bike show in Europe ( this year in November). You will never call Mississauga event "super show" ever after. Yes, I understand our bike scene here is a tiny droplet comparing to any of the big European markets, so big companies don't really care about their presence here.
But hey, on the bright side we pay highest bike insurance rates in the universe and we get a chance to buy cheap South Asian leathers every January.
Hopefully the February show will be better. At least the manufacturers will be there, but it will be interesting to see which dealers and clubs have a presence.
Lots of people. By 1:30 the aisles were choked with visitors.
Lots of Harleys, lots of Harley enthusiasts.
The number and variety of bike dealers and late model bikes for sale was way down. The private area had about 12 bikes, most were well priced.
There was some interesting vintage bikes, but not nearly as many as past shows. I did spy an air cooled 70s Kawi 2stroke with 4 cylinders, nobody in the booth, still scratching my head.
There were fewer vendors selling on the floor, the usual compliment of inexpensive MC leathers, jewelry and helmets. Not much in the way of farkles or quality gear.
I suspect bike dealers dont have bikes to sell, gear dealers may be unsure traffic would be heavy enough after a couple of down years.
I'm guessing the show is regrouping after the Covid years. Once vendors see this years attendance numbers, I'll bet they return next year.
It is the Harley show. If you are not into Harleys then don't go. Also 20% of the vendors have nothing to do with motorcycles. One was selling windows for your home. Too many people and almost no dealers and very few places dealing in gear unless you are looking for vests. To me, it was a complete waste of money.
Went for 10am-ish this morning with my gf, sister, and BIL, out by about 1:30? We walked really slow, browsed some areas quite heavily, sister picked up her custom upholstered seat from a purchase a couple months back, gf got some Kevlar tights and heat pad things, I got some hot meat sticks (wink) and olive oil (from Greece?) that someone mentioned earlier and was pretty good, bunch of us got some liqui-moly, sat on *some* cruisers/sportsters.
It was different for sure, better than the March shows, least amount of actual motorcycles and gear than I've seen before. RidersChoice was definitely the most prominent vendor, but lots of empty stalls and closed off halls compared to preCovid times.
Looking forward to the Feb show to see and sit on more bikes, buy another thing of oil, maybe some gear specials, and the motorcycle draw for ladies night is always a funny thing to see.
I definitely could've spent my Saturday morning cheaper and differently, but I had an OK time for sure.
Forgot to mention that well watching the freestyle guys I was struck by how many people come to see a live event and then watch it on their phone while trying to get video they likely won't watch.
And of course they need to hold the phones up and block the view of others trying to actually see it. Benchods!
Forgot to mention that well watching the freestyle guys I was struck by how many people come to see a live event and then watch it on their phone while trying to get video they likely won't watch.
And of course they need to hold the phones up and block the view of others trying to actually see it. Benchods!
Just got back from the show with my dad and son. Thanks @cutekill and GTAM we enjoyed it.
Lot of Harleys and I’ll say a lot of Harley gear (both legit and Cheap pleather). Also lots of insurance companies and for some reason a company selling protection for gutters.
Went by the GTAM booth about 2-3 times and it was empty which is too bad as I wanted a tshirt for me and my son.
He loved it, and my dad also enjoyed it so overall it was a good experience for us.
I counted like 5-6 Harley dealerships lol.
Atleast Voss had a few Aprilia bikes apart from the bunch of used motorcycles scattered in the halls.
Came across this but no one was there this afternoon:
I counted like 5-6 Harley dealerships lol.
Atleast Voss had a few Aprilia bikes apart from the bunch of used motorcycles scattered in the halls.
Came across this but no one was there this afternoon:
See that Yellow shirt sitting at the GTAM picnic table? That's redneck... my husband, pulling double duty while I ran to bathroom, out for a smoke, or down to the Ride for Sight booth.
Very disappointed in the show. No representation from Honda Suzuki, Yamaha or Indian. How can you call it a motorcycle supershow? Super Salami Fest would be more accurate.
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