Whether you own a bike or not the "call of the wild," the glamour of custom, and the motorcycle mystique are undeniably tempting. After making our annual trek to the Cleveland Motorcycle Show I asked Jody Victor to let us in on some of the highlights.
Jody Victor: What I like about this annual event is the ability of manufacturers and visitors alike to see into the future - to imagine yourself riding down the road on a glossy, chrome encrusted, two-wheeled perfection by actually sitting on it. Children of all ages (2-years to 60 and up) were encouraged to look, feel, and sit on bikes of all sizes and models. And there were certainly enough to choose from - Aprilia, BMW, Buell, Ducati, Harley-Davidson, Honda, Kawasaki, Moto Guzzi, Piaggio, Star, Suzuki, Ural, Vespa, Victory, and Yamaha were all there. So we tried out as many as we could - just for fun.
Then we checked out the tallest, smallest and fastest motorcycles in the world. The tallest rideable motorcycle, called Big Toe, is a staggering 15 feet in length and more than 7 feet tall with a 300 hp Jaguar V12 engine. The smallest rideable motorcycle, called Small Toe, has a seat height of 65mm, weighs 2.4 lbs., and is powered by a 0.3 hp engine. Small Toe was ridden for a distance of more than 32.8 feet early in 2003, qualifying it as the smallest rideable motorcycle according to the Guinness Book of World Records. And we were really impressed by the world's fastest mororcycle, the BUB streamliner, which raced to an amazing 354 mph at the FIM/AMA Sports International Motorcycle Speed Trials by BUB, held at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah.
But the best highlight for me was the new Victory Vision Street and Tour bikes. They have futuristic style and custom comfort - unlike any motorcycle before - due out fall 2007 - these you have to see to believe!
Thanks, Jody!