Sacramento IMS Show

[jerrycon_imp]

It was worth the money I spent on tickets ($9 each after discount) and parking ($10) and drinks ($4 for a Coke).

Memorable Bikes

HONDA

CB1100 - Very conspicuous in its absence.

NC700X DCT - As delivered, extremely comfortable/ergonomic. I've ridden it. I like it a lot.

Grom - The wife does not dislike it. She seems quiet happy when she sits on it. Could this be the way to get her into riding?

NM4 Batmobile - It's even uglier than when I first saw it, and still just as non-functional. No storage. Too low to the ground. Why does it exist?

SUZUKI

V-Strom 650 - As delivered, extremely comfortable/ergonomic. Looks good in red. Good price.

V-Strom 1000 - Cannot justify the $13K or so sticker price. I like it, but it is not $5K more useful to me than the 650.

TU250X - This 49-state bike never submitted for California emissions was hidden behind a curtain. (No need to display it in the state where it cannot be sold.) It was sad for me to see it because I love it so much, and I cannot have it. It looks even better in the flesh than it does in photos. Sits great. Even has the old-style odometer. If it were for sale here, I would have one. When it first came out, I used to dream of it being certified for California the following year. It never happened. It never will happen.

YAMAHA

Super Tenere - Now priced out of my league at over $15K.

FJ-09 - This was standing next to the Tenere, and it looks good and sits good. A lot of bike for the money. I could see myself riding one.

SR400 - I wouldn't buy one, but I sure do like it a lot. I salute Yamaha for selling it here.

KAWASAKI

Versys 650 LT - Very nice. Reasonably priced.

Versys 1000 LT - Very nice. Reasonably priced.

MOTO GUZZI

V7 - I used to like this one quite a lot, but it just doesn't feel substantial enough to me anymore. Maybe my Guzzi fascination has passed.

DUCATI

Scrambler Icon - Like! Like! Like! Sits great. Looks good. Feels like it would be a great bike for local use.

MOTUS

MST and MST-R - If the Motus folks had shown up, I would have shaken their hands, or saluted, or bowed to them, or something. Respect to Motus for delivering an American-made V4 sports tourer that I would really, really love to own. I sure did hope to see some of these bikes at the show...

BMW

R9T - Don't know why, but it doesn't do it for me. Which is a good thing in view of its price tag.

CSC

RX-3 - 250cc made in China adventure bike. Something like $4500. They looked okay. Distributor or dealer was up from Azusa, 8 hours away from Sacramento. I hope these bikes and their distribution keep improving. I like the idea of a small adventure bike.

Harley Davidson

Ape Hangers - This was the first time I was able to sit on a bike that had them. It feels to me like my arms are about 60 cm (2 feet) higher than where they should be in order to steer the bike. It feels very freaky to me. I don't know how guys do it.

The motorcycle show is over for another year. I'm glad they had it in Sacramento this time so that we didn't have to drive 2 hours to and from San Mateo in the oh-so-precious-these-days San Francisco Bay Area. Crowd was good. No posers to speak of. Hope to go again next year.

[Cormanus]

Thanks jerrycon.

[LongRanger_imp]

We have the TU250X and SR400 at the dealers in Denver. I've never seen one on the road, either in urban or suburban locales. I did see someone commuting on a Grom last year, however. I agree with you on the RNineT. There are lots of them around here.

[bflint]

Thanks for sharing. More excided to be going to Long Beach IMS this month.

[furious_blue_imp]

"NM4 Batmobile - It's even uglier than when I first saw it, and still just as non-functional. No storage. Too low to the ground. Why does it exist?"

The official 2015 NM4 production run sold out so Honda whipped up a 2nd batch, officially a 2016 model, a few months ago...

The 2016 exists.. so that I could get a new one this year !


"Ape Hangers - This was the first time I was able to sit on a bike that had them. It feels to me like my arms are about 60 cm (2 feet) higher than where they should be in order to steer the bike. It feels very freaky to me. I don't know how guys do it."

I raised up the factory 'mini apehangers' on my Softail by 2" so that the handgrips would be closer to 'real apehanger' height. I would have raised them even more but I was too lazy to change out all the cables and hose for longer ones. Apehanger handlebars only really make sense with a very upright riding position. I prefer to have a small windscreen up front, else it's just too much wind fatigue on longer rides..

[Cormanus]

When you ride behind a chap on a cruiser with ape hangers, you can see why they call them that.

[ClassicVW_imp]

When you ride behind a chap on a cruiser with ape hangers, you can see why they call them that.

Especially when he's wearing a sleeveless t-shirt.

True ape hangars are illegal in the states. Handlebars cannot be any higher than the rider's shoulders when seated.

[LongRanger_imp]

They're not illegal in Colorado. You see them everywhere. In fact, bikes aren't even required to have turn signals here.

[Shinchan_imp]

I think that the majority of the TU250X's made are sold to rider schools

We have the TU250X and SR400 at the dealers in Denver. I've never seen one on the road, either in urban or suburban locales. I did see someone commuting on a Grom last year, however. I agree with you on the RNineT. There are lots of them around here.

[furious_blue_imp]

I think that the majority of the TU250X's made are sold to rider schools

We have the TU250X and SR400 at the dealers in Denver. I've never seen one on the road, either in urban or suburban locales. I did see someone commuting on a Grom last year, however. I agree with you on the RNineT. There are lots of them around here.

The TU250 is a nice looking bike. When I was shopping for a 250, it would have been on the candidate list, if only it was available in California :-(