The Cycle World International Motorcycle Show made it’s way through Detroit last weekend and I had the pleasure of attending the show with my BIR & NTBF buddies. I was struck by the re-occurring ‘retro’ theme offered by most of the major manufacturers. My first stop was at the Harley-Davidson display, primarily to say Hi to my local dealer buddies. My favorite two models from Milwaukee are the Heritage Softtail Springer, which echoes styling clues of the 1948 FL Knucklehead and their new 35th Anniversary Dynaglide. I could be very happy owning that Dynaglide, although the first thing I’d do is pitch the contemporary rear fender and fit the old fiberglass Boat Tail fender/seat unit.
My next stop was at the Ducati booth, which was my highest priority to visit. I’ve seen the new Sport Classic Paul Smart already at a local dealership and I was hoping to get my first in-person look at the GT1000. Unfortunately, Ducati did not have a GT on display. Apparently Ducati didn’t feel that Detroit was a significant enough of a market to have the one display bike in the US shipped in for the show. Too bad, as I wanted to throw a leg over one in the worst way. I did straddle the Sport 1000 and I liked the proportions, although Ducati made (in my humble opinion) a critical mistake of installing a set of custom mini bar-end mirrors in lieu of the standard bar-ends. Totally out-of-place and mine wasn’t the only critical opinion overheard.
Yamaha’s new Star line of mega cruisers where absolutely eye-popping. Kudos to the design staff for their Art Deco styling. Not exactly my cup of tea, but I fully appreciate the execution. And the Kenny Roberts paint scheme on the R1 sportbike is spot-on. Other notables include Kawasaki’s cruiser with the Indianesque skirted fenders and the Moto-Guzzi with the chromed tank side panels.
So if the retro themes exhibited at the MC show wasn’t enough to get you longing for the simpler bygone days of cheap gas and big horsepower… please step this way to the North America International Auto Show. The Dodge brand rocked the media with the introduction of their Challenger concept car. Baby, it’s 1970 all over again right down to the pistol shifter handle. And not to be outdone by Mopar & FoMoCo, Chevrolet rolled out their new Carmaro concept car as well. I applaud all three makers and I hope and pray that the powers that be at the Sports Car Club of America are taking a hard look at these retro-racers. You know where I’m going with this… Trans-Am racing! Paint ‘em up like Mark Donohue’s Penske/Sunoco Camaro, Parnelli Jones’ Mustang and Sam Posey/Swede Savage Challenger’s and you would have to beat the crowds off with a stick. But I digress.
posted by RaceDweeb @ 7:14 AM
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