sea change at indy – dealers diversify

ktm all stars harden, blais and lafferty

The KTM Adventure Tour crew of Scot Harden, 2006 third place Dakar podium finisher Chris Blais and Mike Lafferty graced the Techmount booth with a bike and plenty of stories about adventures past and yet to come.

Chris is a tremendously gifted athlete whose representation of the United States in the recently concluded Dakar is a credit to his country and his sport. Chris plans for ’07 include the SCORE Baja 250, next month, and a pretty active race schedule throughout the rest of the year.

A winter wonderland welcomed over 20,000 attendees to the 39th Annual Dealernews Powersports Dealer Expo in Indianapolis February 16th-19th. Winter wonderland? Winter deepfreeze, which earlier in the week virtually shut down surface transportation throughout the area.

Everything’s changed since the days when Bourget and Coddington wowed the crowd with then new adaptations. Crate chops are dead dead dead, as evidenced at the V-twin Expo two weeks prior. On reflection, there were more chops used as attention getters in the booths at the SEMA show last fall than were seen in either of the North American powersports shows this month.

ATVs and scooters outnumbered bikes, and there were seeming dozens of new models of the latter. Given the numbers, branding for the new manufacturers will be impossible and they’ll be left selling a commodity – tough to convert when it comes to luring customers who want to respond emotionally.

Victory’s new bagger(s) hit the demographic bullseye dead center. They’ve put a lot of thought into the instrumentation and accessories while avoiding looking like anyone’s clone. This is a black and white entry – you either love it or hate it. Prediction? By the time it hits showrooms this fall, and a few actually start making it out on the streets, the Baby Boomer Brat Pack is going to trip, stumble and fall on their way to the checkout line.

Dealers, and it is a dealer show, saw a lot of new and/or alternative product to sell. The latest MIC report showed continued (but slower) positive motorcycle growth (registrations), while Asian knock offs of knock offs gathered unprecedented legal attention.

While the overall level of excitement seemed higher last year, the overall buzz seemed bullish on what can best be described as an alternative transportation showcase.