I was one of the 195,000 attendees at last week’s Intermot motorcycle show in Cologne, Germany. After a few days to reflect on everything I saw and heard, here’s an overview of my impressions.
Adventure Bikes
For sure, one of the most noticeable categories of machines on display was Adventure bikes and the riding gear and accessories to go with them.
The Suzuki V-Strom outfitted with factory equipment.
BMW has a complete line of GS Adventure models.
KTM is a big player in the Adventure bike market.
My favorite bike of the whole show was this concept version of the Yamaha Tenere dubbed the “1200 World Crosser.” It looks like it could do it.
Dirt Track Look
There were a number of displays featuring the look of our American Flat Track bikes. There is a growing fascination of Flat Track racing in Europe, fueled in my opinion, by the worldwide press coverage of Kenny Roberts’ TZ750 exhibition ride at the 2009 Indy Mile.
A modern Triumph trimmed down to resemble 1970s Triumph TT bike. Well done!
This customized Kawasaki W800 twin looks just like the Flat Trackers of old.
The future of e-Bikes
Battery-powered bikes are gaining momentum and there was a whole hall at Intermot showing off various new market entries. But quietly “lurking” in exhibits of the major “gas and oil” makers were some cool looking machines that appear to be biding their time. Once the market moves past the “Early Adopters” phase, watch for a flood of market entries from names we are all familiar with.
Off in the corner of the BMW exhibit was this Mini e-Bike.
Suzuki had a pretty racey e-machine on display.
A future Yamaha e-Scooter?
Impressive 2011 Models to Note
There were not as many exciting new model introductions as we’ve seen in the past, but a few makers did unveil some cool new models.
The 6-cylinder BMW 1600 looks to be going right after the Honda Gold Wing crowd.
Triumph’s all-new Speed Triple was a big hit.
Kawasaki had a couple of new models with some very modern styling lines.
Ducati’s new 1198 in black trim. It also comes in red, of course.
Looks like a great show!
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