Progressive® International Motorcycle Show-Long Beach

Well, now that Thanksgiving is a week behind me I’ve finally arisen from my Turkey coma and I realized that I did a few things before Turkey Day weekend…

I went to the Long Beach IMS. Here are some standout bikes that weren’t necessarily on every consumer list, because they were customs and not the latest Scrambler or Africa Twin.

This little baby was bespoke from scratch by a group called IVI from all sorts of components and materials. It’s main reactor was Moto Guzzi and the fuel was in the frame. It had a beach cruiser style that looked and felt like a 1950s throwback. All this in an era where bicycles usually mimic motorcycles!

“Schwein” by IVI

The bike ‘pedals’ housed the LED brake lights and worked the shift and brake controls. It was really well done and deserves a visit in person to appreciate all the craftsmanship and attention to detail that was thrown in.

Another bike that caught my eye was a Harley-Davidson dual sport. I spoke to the Owner/Designer Jim Carducci at length. He told me that he had taken an 883 sportster and had stripped away the glitz and glam until he had the base for business in the dirt. The 883 low-end torque provides plenty of grunt and squat off road, and also cruises at freeway speeds easily.

SC3 by Carducci Dual Sport

Afterward he methodically added all of the elements that it needed to be a truly capable off-road machine. If he couldn’t buy it he made it.
The aluminum tank was rolled on the english wheel by a fellow craftsman. I looked at it closely and couldn’t believe it. The contour and detail was incredible. The tank is the body and soul of the Sportsters since they lack the fairings or styling of their flashier stable mates. He used it as a blank for a plastic version that was milled on a CNC for another bike that he’s built.

Then, of course, I did go to the unveiling of the Africa Twin…. You’d have thought that Honda had a real live leprechaun or unicorn under the blankets at their display. To be honest, I think the Ducatis and KTMs made just as much as an impact on me as the Africa Twin. I think the color scheme was the best thing about it. Sadly, the VFR1200X was overlooked as it sat not four feet away from the Red/White CRF1000L.

Click here to view these pictures larger

    Another interesting mutant that I saw in the customs lineup was this cool racing 3-wheeler from TreMoto. With all of the leaning bike concepts and tadpoles out there like the Honda Neowing, Yamaha MWT-9, Can-Am Spyder and Slingshot I’m guessing it was only a matter of time before some one took it upon themselves to make a sweet custom job. I believe this is their Z1000 powered monster. They also have a Ducati powered one, and I believe there’s a Super Tenere in the works as well.

Some of the other interesting customs were beautifully assembled and wrought with hours of sweat and determination, as well as some primo engineering and craftsmanship. They were truly beautiful to look at and your eye could travel from one area to the next while being delighted with the discovery of each new element.
It’s hard to appreciate how something works or moves when you’re reading words. It’s one of those things that demands that you see the actual components and let your mind process how they work together to function.

The regular media was more or less interested in what the OEMs were spewing since that’s what sells mags and keeps the general public interested in the industry as a whole. I have to say that some of the newer offerings had me interested as well. Only because we made fun of them in our first three podcast episodes. Check those out here. The guest host will talk more about the show in our next episode as well.

The big news from the land of the OEMs was Honda’s highly anticipated Africa Twin. People are going apeshit over this 998 twin like it’s the best thing the emerge from Honda in years. They seem to have forgotten about the Super Tenere, which is only about 40lbs heavier but comes with a punchy 1198cc powerhouse. Yamaha anyone? And if this was Sepang all over again -the poor VFR1200X was the Pedrosa to the Vale/Marquez Africa Twin and RC213V-S respectively. I’ve never ridden the DCT before, but I’ve heard that it’s not great. I’m assuming that it’s too smooth and doesn’t ‘talk’ to the rider like a standard tranny does. Honda has a way of sanitizing everything sexy about a motorcycle (ever seen a Fury?)

The Ducati Scrambler has been selling like hotcakes (and we’ll talk about it more in a sec) but the Multistrada Enduro really caught our eye at the show. It’s not just a Multistrada with knobbies… they actually made it capable of proper dirt exploration (something even BMW can’t claim with their 1200cc land tanks in the GS lineup). The XDiavel also made the men cower and the women lick their lips. It’s expanding the power in power cruiser by stripping back any luxury from the Diavel line, and mixing aggressive sport-inspired styling and ergonomics into a lean looking package. I’m not sure about the Gentleman X Bastard advertising slogan…. ??

Back to the Scrambler, let’s talk Ducati. They have a little sibling running around the garage now with the Scrambler Sixty-Two. This is a scrambler that you can actually scramble on… At 400cc and 400lbs, that’s manageable in dirt and on trails.
I was slightly excited when Yamaha announced the XSR700 over the summer, but when the 900 was announced just before the show I knew that meant no real scrambling would be done aboard the beautiful Yellow and Black speed-blocked machine pictured below.


Not to be outdone, BMW also announced their scrambler -complete with BROWN SEAT. They think of everything. It’s actually a slightly modified R nine T with the accessory pipes that weren’t available in the States. It’s hard to tell at this point how it’s going to come, since their website shows cast and spoke wheels, as well as a single seat w/cowl and a two-up seat that looks the part. However it comes, it will be 1200cc. Not scrambleable at all….

Not to be outdone in the scrambler market, Triumph is still offering their scrambler kits, and I believe you can get a new 1200 water- cooled Bonneville and purchase a scrambler ‘Inspiration Kit’ for it.

I know it’s not a scrambler, but  Twisted Throttle had a pimped-out Bolt this year. They have used a Bonneville scrambler as a test mule in the past. A very nice looking test mule I might add. I was surprised to see the Bolt on the display floor. We know it can be a good candidate for a scrambler based on the build-offs when it launched (in 2013?)

This is going to be all for now. We’ll talk about the show in our next podcast episode. We will make sure to talk about the bikes that weren’t on the hot list and that you probably didn’t see moto journalists slobbering on. We’ll also try to remember to talk about the winners and losers of the show, as well as the race bikes and vintage clubs that made a glorious return to the show after a couple years of stagnation and near extinction.

-Cheers