Just got back from the Denver show. First off, I was disappointed with the Honda booth. Tiger stripes on a 600RR and an airbag for the Goldwing. Big deal. There's nothing to replace the Blackbird. Where's the CBR 1400 or VFR 1200? And I wasn't the only one asking. The only bikes I liked were the 1000RR and 600F4i. A local Honda dealer at the show had a new 2003 SuperHawk for $5700.
And Suzuki. It's hard to believe, but the busa is now the best looking of the gixxers. The wasp waist and wing shape on the tail section, introduced last year on the 600-1000 GSX-R's, still looks bad. I thought the 2005 red and black Hayabusa looked terrific, but the 2006 white busa looks even better. I also liked the 650 V-Strom. I don't know if I missed them, but I didn't see any Bandits, and only the 750 Katana.
Yamaha had the most black bikes, and they looked terrific. The R6, in good-looking black or yellow, actually felt quite comfortable, as did the R1. The two bikes I liked last year, the FZ1 and FJ1300 have changed. The FZ1 is too "modern" looking, and the FJ, to fix the massive amount of heat it gave off to the rider, has awkward-looking side panels. And the handlebars are still too high.
Kawasaki had some taseful bikes, but just one that I drooled over. The ZX-14. They had it in red or black. It's not going to be introduced until March, but it felt great. I can't wait to read a test on it.
Triumph was missing, but MV Agusta was there. You couldn't sit on their bikes, but they looked hot. One guy was buying one and put down his credit card. He must have a high limit on his card. I wanted to like the Aprilia Mille, but the edges of the seat cuts into your inner thigh. There were more local chopper-makers than last year, and lots of cruisers. The Victory looked the best of the cruisers, but the Harley V-Rod, set up as a dragster, felt the best. It was a great show and I had a terrific time.
The first picture is my friend Neal on a Harley we both agreed we would like to have. The second is of No Worries trying to hold down the front end of a great looking white Hayabusa. The third picture is Neal on the ZX-14.
