It's that time of the year again, expo season! Trade shows are a good chance to catch up with a ton of brands at once and get a peak at what everyone is working on...and occasionally some brands even launch a product for the first time at these shows. This edition is from the 2017 American International Motorcycle Expo, also known as AIME.
Shoei
It's going to be a big end of the year for Shoei, as they dropped their first new motocross helmet in over ten years...the VFX-EVO. We stopped by their booth and shot a video with Shoei's Matthias Beier to learn more about the new lid.
Honda
It's been a pretty solid year for Honda so far, some great new models and picking up the first Shootout victory of the year...
To congratulate the Honda crew, we brought them a trophy which they displayed all weekend at their booth.
Rekluse
Rekluse has quite a few products in their lineup, and this year they've combined some of that technology into one item, the Radius CX clutch. Basically they've combined their well-received Torque Drive system and their EXP auto-clutch disc to make a clutch that motocross and off-road guys alike can appreciate.
We also heard that they'll bring their Torq Drive plate system to stock inner hubs and baskets soon...basically making a plate and fiber kit that's capable of being a direct replacement of the OEM parts.
It's not a common need...but if you're a rider that could benefit from a hand-operated rear brake, Rekluse has you covered.
CP Carrillo
CP Carrillo does two things very darn well, namely pistons and rods, and as you can guess that's what they were showing off. Their newest products relate more to an ever-expanding line.
To learn more about what CP Carrillo does, check out this tour we did of their facility earlier this year.
Kawasaki
Kawasaki was on hand to show off their full range of bikes, along with a new announcement that sorta fits into the dirt-related market...
A chunk of the dirt lineup.
Kawasaki had some bigger news with the return of the KLX250, which hasn't been on the US market for over three years. The new machine has an all-new engine, replacing the older version's carburetor with modernized fuel injection. This, along with a host of visual and suspension upgrades, bring the KLX more into the modern era of dual-sport machines.
You can even get yourself one of these digi-camo models. For more information, hit up Kawasaki.com.
Motion Pro
Honestly, the amount of tools and goodies Motion Pro makes is hard to justify in photos, so here's a quick video walk around of their display booth. If you really want check each piece out, we highly recommend you head over to their site: www.MotionPro.com
Lectron
With a push from riders buying old two-strokes and doing some serious upgrades, Lectron is seeing a nice boost in sales and interest in their "self-adjusting" carburetors.
Well known in drag racing and other forms of racing, Lectron is making a bigger push into consumer sales again. With a range of product for two and four-strokes, even cruiser/street applications.
DID
We'd smile too if we were the Vital MX viewer's number one choice.
This is one of the coolest displays we saw...carbon fiber rules, period.
Wiseco, Pro-X, and JE Pistons
Yup, all under one roof...well not really, but these three brands all share a parent company. While JE Pistons focuses on the top-end of the piston market, Wiseco is able to focus on more budget-oriented performance gains and the Pro-X brand is their home for OEM equivalent replacement parts; such as brake pads, clutches, brake rotors, sprockets, pistons, rods, etc.
At this booth we took our gimbal around and took a peek at what's on display.
P3 Composites
P3 is becoming quite well known for their KTM/Husqvarna products, especially in the off-road sector where they're the main suppliers of the KTM factory off-road squad.
This includes the standards such as brake disc guards, skidplates, and frame covers.
But they're also pushing out their range to cover all the major Japanese brands/models.
Like these new CRF skidplates, fuel tank covers and even shroud extenders.
These scream factory...
They even add color to their carbon weaves to match the brand of bike, if so you choose.
Suzuki
Suzuki had a sizable booth; with some renewed street product, the new RM-Z450, championship-winning GSX-R1000 from the MotoAmerica Superbike title...along with some concept machines.
With the popularity of Ducati's Scrambler, Suzuki is considering a bike in this arena. The Scrambler-like bike Suzuki presented has a little info module for consumers to share their interest or comments on the bike.
While just a display bike, the new RM-Z450 is coming along in the looks department. This week's Social Scoop has a look at Bogle's newest test bike from a photo shoot and she's drool-worthy for sure.
Suzuki was also proud to show off their latest achievement, the 2017 MotoAmerica championship GSX-R1000, piloted by Tony Elias for the Yoshimura squad this season.
So many buttons...
More buttons!
Mmmm...
Due to the limited track time and consistent conditions, data acquisition in road racing is not only useful, it's key to getting the bike setup quickly.
KTM
The KTM crew had their usual booth; showing off a bit of their little street, adventure and moto/off-road lineups...but the treat was their RC16 MotoGP race bike they brought to show off.
So much drool...
Akrapovic supplies the majority of the MotoGP exhaust systems.
Highly adjustable rear-sets.
A peek at the WP shock and small adjusters.
Do those adjusters look familiar at the base of the fork? They should, they're from WP's Traxx moto shock.
Click on the group photos and swipe through for more drool worthy goodies.
One last exhaust shot...
Polisport
Polisport has a host of products in the plastic world, with plenty of examples hanging out in their booth. We whipped out our camera for a quick run-around, along with a quick look at the Preston Petty Products line of Vintage bike plastic that Polisport is involved with remanufacturing and distributing.
Hinson
Hinson and Technical Touch USA/X-Trig shared a booth as usual, with Hinson showing off their increasing range of clutch and cover related products.
Due to a close connection with the majority of factory teams, Hinson gets an early peak into the newest engines...including Honda's all-new CRF250R.
Due to the new gearsets behind the basket, they needed to beef up the rigidity of the basket itself, thus the material wrapped all the way around the top edge of the basket fingers.
Got a CRF150R that you want to make a clutch swap a bit quicker on? Hinson has a full engine side case that gives the 150 a normal clutch cover. Plus, it's just awesome looking.
GEICO Honda fan? They've got a cover for you.
Technical Touch USA/X-Trig
Technical Touch USA had a wider range of X-Trig triple clamps to show off. The regular ROCS series clamps only come in Bronze while this new "Tech" series comes in different colors for each OEM brand. They're also cheaper...how? They don't feature the changeable offset with the "spin-able" steering stem as the regular version does. So if you're looking to save a few bucks, want a wider range of colors from X-Trig and know exactly which offset you want to stick with...here's your answer.
Technical Touch USA also imports a large quantity of genuine KYB parts for suspension service, along with being one of the few places you can get true "kit" Kayaba suspension. Including AOSS and PSF1 fork options, along with different shock shaft diameter options.
Here we have a short video showing off how the X-Trig ROCS changeable offset works, and even a peak of how to do it while the front end is still on the motorcycle.
Bell Powersports
The Bell crew had their usual vast array of helmets, from street to dirt and anything in between.
They did have a few new colorways to show off, along with the new that the Moto-9 will now come with MIPS for the same price as the outgoing "standard" Moto-9.
Here's a little video walk-around with some of the new product.
New Moto-9 colors above.
Some new colors for the Moto-9 Flex line as well, these two are available now.
The MX9 line also has some new colors along with a big price drop on the retail end.
Check out this oldschool custom Moto III.
Zeta/DRC
Zeta/DRC has one heck of a product lineup...if it can be anodized and fits your dirt bike, they probably have it!
Engine Ice
Long-time site supporter, Dave Kimmey, almost didn't make the show this year and he was stranded down far South in Florida due to Hurricane Irma. But at the last minute he was able to get things gathered and make it up to Ohio.
If you got them, flaunt them.
Dave learned how helpful his new pales are, as he used them to clear water out of his garage and around his property after the Hurricane...yikes!
Arai Helmets
The crew from Arai was showing off updated graphics for their street and dirt lines.
With the VX Pro-4 a couple years old now...it was time for a visual refresh. Swipe below through the group photos to see more.
Ohlins
Ohlins just celebrated their 40th anniversary this past year and for us moto-heads, they've got some updates for the dirt market.
They've released their new RXF-48 "S" model, featuring a bunch of upgrades to their cartridge and damping components, along with updated coatings. We'll have a First Look feature on the fork next week.
Out back, the TTX Flow shock has been out for quite a few months now, and we did an extensive test with it late last year (test can be found here - Tested: Ohlins TTX Flow)...while the First Look for that shock is posted below.
Sidi/MotoNation USA
Sidi's Crossfire Three is selling well and holds some good upgrades over the previous version two. Beyond that, Sidi has stepped up their color game and have a bit more to offer.
Including a new TC222 championship edition...if you've got a World Champion in your product, why not show it off?
Speaking of said World Champion...there's was a cool display showing the raw condition of one of Cairoli's boots from this season.
Akrapovic
Stopping by the Akrapovic booth for some titanium welding lessons. They've got this on lock.
GUTS
GUTS had seats ranging from mild to wild, staple on to Velcro on...
...to some lightweight magic with their Phantom foam; a carbon fiber seat base, and some titanium hardware. All of which are available to the public.
And they're also the graphics supplier for the Rockstar Husqvarna and RCH Suzuki teams. (Get the RCH ones while they last!)
Samco
There's only a few companies in the motorcycle radiator hose game and one of those in Samco.
The British outfit makes their hoses in Europe and supplied Superbike/MotoGP teams other than just motocross. Actually, here in the US we've spotted their products on the HRC bikes, albeit in the standard black color...so they don't really "pop" out at you.
Kite
The quality parts over at Kite's booth always makes for an interesting stop.
While they're well-known as the supplier of Red Bull KTM's wheelsets, they also have some goodies for adventure bikes.
Their product range is really wider than most know, just not all of it is available in the U.S. Although, their full product line can be found through Parts Europe.
Some parts, like their triple clamps and footpegs can be found through Dubya USA here in the states.
Barnett
In the clutch world, Barnett doesn't get the same attention as the other brands who are more involved in racing, but they've got some neat parts laying around.
With their baskets featuring internal steel plates that can be replaced from plate wear instead of replacing the whole basket.
Or pressure plates that have a similar wear-replaceable section, on the inside ridge which butts up against the clutch pack.
Miscellaneous
Want to start your own brand? Hit up the Taiwanese section to get in contact with a factory...how many knock-offs can you spot?
9/25/2017 5:51pm
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