How far would you travel to look at motorcycles? Any further for an International Show? This last weekend we found out we'd travel 8.5 hours (370 miles - 595 km) each way.
Four of us, PolarBear, his wife SweetPea (Andy & Karen), Troubadour, and I had a couples weekend and attended the Vancouver Motorcycle Show in Abbotsford, British Columbia. One country to the north and a one-day drive away.
It was a whirlwind trip. No time to visit with, or even alert the locals to our presence. Andy & Karen picked us up at 7:30 Friday morning and we headed North, stopping for lunch and petrol along the way. We arrived at the Lynden border crossing at about 3:30 that afternoon and managed to make it to our hotel in Abbotsford around 4 pm. The border crossing was typical - Where are you from? What is the purpose of your visit? Are you exhibitors or spectators of the show? Are you staying with friends or a hotel? We were surprised that he was giving us options as opposed to making Andy come up with the answers. Thank you for driving Andy!
Our hotel room was larger than expected and had a mini-kitchen. It was also one of the cleanest hotel rooms I've ever been in.
After a Chinese buffet dinner and a smidge of shopping we turned in for the night with plans to meet at 9:30 am Saturday to head to the show.
We arrived at the Tradex to find a line already forming. Well over a 100 people were waiting for the 10 am opening. Along the building and around the corner into the street.
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| (There were a lot of people in front of us in line) |
Once the doors opened the line moved quite quick and we were inside and looking around. We were greeted with some eye candy for the gentlemen.
We were quite interested in seeing models that were not available in the USA or that were hard to find. Here are some pictures. We didn't take as many as we normally do and the lighting was odd, but I couldn't be bothered to compensate for it with the camera.
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| (Troubadour on a Grom - he's been wanting to see one in person for a long while) |
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| (SweetPea on a BMW Nine-T - only pic I managed to get of Karen on a bike) |
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| (Trobairitz on a Sym Wolf Classic 150 - it's so little) |
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| (Polar Bear on a Grom - only pic I managed to get of Andy on a bike) |
We went outside to the staging area for the shows. We watched the stunt show by Ernie Vigil and Nick Brocha of Team Empire on their modified Street Triples and also the trials demonstration by Jordan Szoke. It was beautiful and sunny outside and we were able to enjoy the shows in just our t-shirts without a jacket.
TEAM EMPIRE
JORDAN SZOKE
Back inside we had lunch in the cafeteria and wandered some more.
There were a few vintage bikes on display.
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| (1971 Norton Commando Roadster) |
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| (1953 Ariel Square 4, Mark II) |
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| (1971 BSA B50SS with colorful Triumph in the background) |
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| (Triumph Scrambler in Matte Pacific Blue) |
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| (Triumph Speed Triple in Matte Caspian Blue) |
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| (Yamaha FJR 1300 in Metallic Brown) |
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| (Random Moto Guzzi) |
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| (Moto Guzzi V7 Classic 'Racer') |
While in the Moto Guzzi booth a little 73 years young (he told us his age) Italian gentleman proceeded to tell us of his adventures at the age of 14 of borrowing his brother-in-laws Guzzi for a late night cruise looking for girls and subsequent crash. He never did tell us his name, but I'd like to think it was Giuseppe. His stories were one of the highlights for us.
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| (Honda CB500X) |
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| (Honda CB500X) |
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| (CCM 450 Adventure bike) |
We did walk by the Ducati booth. I only took one picture as they seemed to have the same thing on display in every show. Sleek little Italian numbers.
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| (Ducati display) |
I think the most colorful bike we saw was a customized Yamaha Bolt. I am not a huge fan of them, but they do fill a niche I guess. This one was completely customized and surprisingly stunning in person.
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| (Photo by Dan Schawmann) |
Even with all of the pretty blue Triumphs on display I think my favorite color combination and classiest profile award had to go to the new white Vespa 946 with the cantilevered red leather seat and red leather hand grips. The more I look at it the more I think it looks like a curious/angry cockatoo, but I still think it was pretty neat. Orin from Scootin' Old School recently did an in-depth post on it. You can read it HERE.
W left the show just before 5 pm after seven hours of wandering. We were greeted by a vivid sunset.
We went back to the hotel to freshen up and find some dinner ideas. We decided on the Old Spaghetti Factory. After eating entirely too much (no food porn pics - we were too hungry) we retired to the hotel agreeing to meet at 7:30 am Sunday for the drive home.
Sunday morning, after a quick stop at Tim Hortons we headed South and watched the sun rise.
After pit stops and a stop for lunch we made it home at 4 pm. All in all it was a wonderful weekend with great friends. Thank you for driving Andy!
Next up...... The One Motorcycle Show February 7-9th in Portland. We attended last year and you can see my post HERE. This year it has moved to a larger venue which should make it more enjoyable.
I am still hoping if the weather cooperates we'll get out on the bikes this weekend. We'll see. Supposed to have sunny afternoons but temperatures hovering around freezing in the mornings.
- Au Revoir
" We are each the star of our own situation comedy, and, with luck, the screwball friend in someone else's." - Robert Brault
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I gotta agree with you on the Vespa. It looks pretty stylish and nice color combination. It sounds like a wonderful trip. Out of curiosity, no problem finding suitable food at a Chinese place or the Spaghetti Factory?
ReplyDeleteThe Chinese place had a lot of veggies and veggie chow mien so that was easy. The spaghetti place was a little trickier but we'd seen the menu ahead of time. Spaghetti with marinara and mushrooms, soft bread w/olive oil for dipping and a side salad. The tricky part was the show - we split a lunch of one order of onion rings and one oder of fries. Lunch of champions, lol.
DeleteI can relate to some of this. I had been to the IMS a few years in a row in Long Beach, CA and always found it fun to see and sit on the new bikes. But I hated the long lines and crowds. And, I've been through Abbotsford on my way north to Alaska. But I never stopped there. I do remember, however, how inquisitive the border patrol agents are on the Canadian side.
ReplyDeleteI think the Seattle show was more crowded than the Abbotsford one. The bikes seemed to be more spread out in Abbotsford and people didn't seem to push and shove as much. We were disappointed at the lack of swag and vendors compared to Seattle though.
DeleteTrobairitz:
ReplyDeleteGlad you had a good time. Our show is generally well attended. I actually planned to go and got my cameras ready and I wanted to buy a set of custom ear plugs but at the last moment I decided not to battle the traffic to get there. From home it's probably close to 2 hours each way which I just didn't feel like going by myself. What a surprise it would have been to see you all there.
You posted so many photos it's like I really didn't miss anything, except for the opportunity to actually touch and sit on them. So glad you had a good time. I was hoping that one day you could come to one of our shows.
bob
Riding the Wet Coast
I thought you might be disappointed that you didn't know we were there, but we really didn't have time for much else besides the show and eating. It was a good trip though. Not one we'll do every year but it was nice.
DeleteThanks for all the pics, and for taking us along for the show.....
ReplyDeleteYou sir, are welcome.
DeleteGreat pics of the Vespa! I haven't seen the BMW 9T yet. I had to chuckle at the "couldn't be bothered to compensate..." Sometimes, snapshots are all you need. I believe I saw the Grow at our show, but didn't want to deal with the hoardes to see it up close. The Sym Wolf Classic is cute, but tiny!
ReplyDeleteAll in all, it sounds like you had a fun weekend. I enjoyed the report. I hope you do get out this weekend. :-)
The Groms are flying out of the showrooms here, that is if they aren't sold before they even arrive. The Nine-T was really nice. I'd been drooling over them in magazines so it was nice to see one up close.
DeleteWe had a great weekend, it was nice to get away.
Looks like it was a worthwhile effort! And good weather, too! For something like that I generally take a ClifBar or ProBar and that's good snacking for an event like that.
ReplyDeleteThe weather was beautiful. We really lucked out. Had some fog around Seattle, but it always cleared up the further north or south we traveled. I had a CliffBar in my purse at the show as back up. (Took six with us for the trip as well as trail mix and then peanut butter for the bagels -continental breakfast) We don't usually leave home without Cliff Bars and keep them in the car too..
DeleteYou went to those lengths to attend an m/c show...yet I can't be bothered to attend the one 7 miles from my house. I think that's because it is the same tired exhibits here with the same Harley Trikes and battle of the usual BMW's.
ReplyDeleteThat being said, that CCM is cool. You pegged the Vespa on the feather. And I'm glad you had fun. :)
Lori!! Have you thawed out yet? As long as you don't mind a lot of people the shows can be fun. Did I mention there are a lot of people?
DeleteThe Vespa ... so, artistic but the yellow Bolt? The customization seemed to demoralize the entire Bolt concept (not that I like it, but I understand what it is and that one wasn't - anymore.)
ReplyDeleteI think the Bolt is a fine entry level cruiser that is less expensive that the Harley 883 for newer riders. The yellow customized Bolt shouldn't even be called a Bolt at that point. The Bolt was just a donor for this and wouldn't really be recognizable without the vintage yellow and black Yamaha colors.
DeleteHeh, heh, that Honda suits you...time to go adventuring...The Guzzi (I've always liked Guzzi's) and Bolt specials don't look too bad - I hate it when people go over the top with things. I'd still prefer an MT-01 though...
ReplyDeleteNot a lot of that sort of thing over here. I've been to a few and as long as there was a good ride (on the bike) to get there then pretty much anywhere in NZ is fair game...
Definitely time for adventure. We are looking for a used dual sport to go with the XT250 so we can both head for the hills and dirt/gravel trails.
DeleteWould have been nice to ride to the show but with unpredictable weather and the shortest way being 8.5 hours on the straight interstate, cage was best.
The show is here this weekend but unfortunately I'll be winging my way south for a few days and will miss it. So instead I was enjoying your visit and the pictures until I came to that Norton and its horrid paint job. Really? A sparkly purple Norton? Yuch! Some of the others looked pretty nice though - especially the Guzzis.
ReplyDeleteHopefully you are heading south to warmer weather.
DeleteNot sure who decided that shade of sparkly purple was right for a Norton, but it did get my attention.
Glad you went through with your plans, and made it to the show. I remember that you had wanted to go there. I think the Tradex fair is a good one, even better than the Seattle show. At least that was my impression from having visited both events several times.
ReplyDeleteI have also been eyeing the Grom. Reminds me of my humble beginning at riding pillion on a Honda Monkey. Maybe something to play with in the (Black) Forest...
We had been interested in getting up there for a few years, this just happened to be the year. We appreciated a few things in Abbotsford vs Seattle and that was that the bikes were further apart so sitting on them was easier. Bleachers to watch the shows so we could actually see the action was nice. People didn't seem to be pushing and shoving so that was a plus too. What Seattle has over Abbotsford is that they gave away a lot more freebies and I think there were more vendors. Or at least seemed to be.
DeleteWith the 9 hp of the Grom you could definitely putter around the Black Forest and see the sights.
So few questions at the border. When we arrive in Fort Myers from Toronto in May if it is that easy to slip into the US I'll be very surprised.... and the British being such a good ally of the US.... The $14 ESTA might help pave the path with gold.....
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by Paul.
DeleteWith a UK passport, it is hard to say what the border will be like. Only a camera or two at the Canadian side going in, but coming back down there were probably 15 cameras, our picture was taken, and we drove through an x-ray machine coming back into the USA. I am sure they could tell what we'd had for breakfast before we got up to the booth.
I have been wanting to get to the International Motorcycle Show in New York City for some time now. Your post is encouraging me to make that trek part of my bucket list. Great pictures too ,thanks for sharing
ReplyDeletePat!! The shows can be fun. Not necessarily every year, but we use them as an excuse for a weekend away since they don't have one in Oregon.
DeleteThat is a big drive to just look at some motorcycles, are you thinking of upgrading soon?
ReplyDeleteI suppose with the weather you guys have been having its the only chance you get to do something with motorcycles, except of course riding your dirt bike through the snow.
Yeah we are crazy that way. Will travel for motorcycles. Finally had a beautiful day today. Brad and Andy went out dirt biking so I didn't get out at all. Maybe tomorrow before the freezing weather comes back.
DeleteReally great photos, Trobairitz! I reckon the Honda CB500X is going to be a fantastic seller for Honda this year. The timing couldn't be better. A mid-range bike, fairly lightweight, great road-holding and super economic (65+ mpg) for these recession-like times and costing miles less than the Honda NC700X / NC750X. I was considering trading in my Suzuki Inazuma 250 for a Honda CB500X last month but they are still around £5399 ($8870) to buy new over here in the UK. The thing about motorcycle shows is that there are always one or two bikes that catch your eye and make you think whether you should trade in your current steed. After all, a biker can never ride enough different bikes in his or her lifetime! There's always that temptation to get another! In the end, with the prospect of having to spend around £1000 ($1640) for the full Honda luggage setup, I decided to keep my Suzuki Inzuma and just spend a fraction of that figure to get full Givi luggage for it instead and just pretend I'm riding a Honda CB500X! It would have been a taller, fully-upright seating position which I would have liked but it would have also meant that I would have been sticking up in the wind more and highway speeds would have been harder to maintain, I'm sure for long-distance touring. As for off-road use, well, they're not really like the bigger adventure bikes with flexible, spoked wheels for rocky use, maybe just good enough for a short, gravelly road at best. The smooth matt black on the Honda CB500X has been described as awesome. What a pity!
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by Walter and welcome. The Honda CB 500 does look like a great bike and has received good reviews here across the pond. Not sure of the price off the top of my head.
DeleteOh, and you are correct, always one or two bikes out here we see we'd love to add to the stable. Now let me see, where did I put that darn money tree again, lol.
You look good placed on the CB500X and they really are good value! Hmm... But then, you'll need a screen to go with it, to comfortably go much above 60-70mph in the wind... then there's the luggage boxes to get to bring your change of gear... Yep, it all adds up! I sat on a white one last month and it felt just right. They say that the matt black one is the one to get - really cool. On the downside, no gear indicator, unlike my Suzuki Inazuma 250 and rather shortish pegs. But on the whole, it's a great little machine for a mid-weight and it'll do 99% of what you want a bike to do and to have. I must stop looking at it and thinking about it - I can't afford it! :-) Most of the time, whatever motorbike you have, it'll probably do the job fine. It's all to do with that thing called desire and thinking "Oh, if only I had this or that, my life would be SO much happier!" until the new 2015 Bike Of The Year comes out! See you.
DeleteSomething tells me that you really like that CB500. It was pretty nice. My Suzuki Gladius has the gear indicator and it sure is nice. No wondering what gear I am in and no dancing on the shifter at a light making sure I am in 1st. I'd hesitate buying one without it, but at the same time you could add an after market gear indicator like Bobskoot did on his Suzuki V-Strom.
DeleteI am inclined to agree, there is always a new bike coming out to make us go oooh and ahhh and our hearts beat a little faster. Self control is the hard part. Damn our fiscal responsibility.
The Vespa is sweet! Love the blue triumphs. Of course who doesn't love a Moto Guzzi in orange and black. As for the bolt it looks kinda ticky tacky, but someone probably loves it and it would be highly visible. It was a beautiful sunny weekend last weekend, you couldn't gave picked a nicer one to come up here.
ReplyDeleteWe really lucked out with the weather. Couldn't believe it was that nice in January. We'll see what the weather next weekend brings. Supposed to get cold again.
DeleteVespas and cockatoo's....how did you ever make that connection? But so appropriate! The profiles are identical! Looks like fun time. I haven't been to a motorcycle show in a few years. The International show no longer comes to Houston.
ReplyDeleteIt's funny. When we were looking at the Vespas in person I didn't think cockatoos. Wasn't even on the radar. But the minute I uploaded the photos on iPhoto it is all I could see playing them back. And every time I see a picture of the Vespa in a magazine, again it is all I can see now.
DeleteBummer the show doesn't come to Houston anymore. Maybe you'll have to plan on attending a marathon in a city that one is being held in the fall. Two birds - one stone.
Bike shows are great to be able to actually sit on the bikes and feel them out. That 150 will probably fit my short body. LOL! That Vespa seat however... not, it looks like it would throw me off riding over a bump. Its just too big and bulky.
ReplyDeleteYou're so tiny, if you hit a bump on the Vespa your butt would probably lift off the seat, lol. Could be entertaining for you.....and us. :-)
DeleteThat looks like it was one great trip. If I drove for 8.5 hours I'd be somewhere in the North Sea. I don't think you can drive anywhere in Great Britain for that long unless you go round in circles (or get stuck on one of our over congested motorways). Thanks for sharing the great photos.
ReplyDeleteI'd rather it didn't take so long to get places than it does. Oregon is bigger than a lot of countries and we had to drive through Washington too to get there.
DeleteI envy those that can travel through a few countries in one day. So many more interesting things to see that the interstate. Or even the east coast of the USA where you can at least travel through a few different states in one day.
Wow, what a great read, enjoyed it a lot. Never heard of a Grom, a Sym Wolf Classic or a CCM Adventure bike. Interesting lot and would like to know more about the CCM Adventure bike in particular.
ReplyDeleteThey have the Groms here in the USA if you can find a dealer that can keep one in stock for longer than an hour, but I don't think we get the Sym or CCM here. I grew up knowing CCM as a hockey stick and sports equipment manufacturer so it was funny to see a CCM bike.
DeleteLove the Squariel. Rare even in my extreme youth.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely nice to see those rare old bikes. A stupendous weekend.
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