Bring On The Spotlight

This weekend is the Indiana Motorcycle Expo, which is gearing up to be quite awesome.  In years past, I hadn't really heard my buddies give it much notice, but it seems that everyone is going to show up this year.  Maybe it's because this winter has been absurdly dismal, and there's been only a single non-gray day in months.  Maybe it's because the hosts upped their marketing budget.  Maybe it's just that there's nothing else going on that weekend.  Whatever the reason, I'm getting excited.

There's a few things that I'm REALLY stoked about - Norton is going to be there.  I've been drooling over the new Nortons for almost ten years, and haven't yet seen one in person.  At $25k for the bottom model, it's no wonder.  I'm still going to sit on one and pretend that I have unlimited disposable income, 'cause why not?

The international bikini team.  Bikes and boobs go together like pork chops and applesauce.

There's a great lecture about riding in the smokey mountains and the Tail of the Dragon, which is perfect for my ride in April.  That's actually a talk I could learn something from.  There's a couple other talks about early dealerships and the future of motorcycles on Sunday, which look to be interesting, too.

The vendor area is always interesting, and even though I've put together a hell of a decent kit for my bike trip, I might happen upon something fun that could be useful for my trip, like a solar powered seat warmer or fancy flashing brake lights.  I can't help but admit - I get excited about stupid gadgets.  I'm definitely in the market for a tank bag, however.  That's big sauce.

The big thing about the show for me, however, is the biker showcase.  This year it's all about vintage bikes, and even though the BSA isn't ready yet, the motor is pretty damn sexy, and Mark wound up getting in touch with one of the organizers to display his hill climber in the concourse.  Even better, is that we are bringing his Triumph motor and MY BSA motor, which will go on a big engine stand as part of the display.  How awesome is that?  There's supposedly going to be a little plaque with my name on it and all that stuff, but I'm 99% sure that it's all going to wind up being 1 little sign with Mark's name on it, and I'll probably have to pay for my own ticket to the show, but whatever.  To be fair, without Mark's guidance and patience and expertise, none of this would have happened, so even though it's my motor, and I physically did all the work and put in all the hours, I still feel that it's a "SwemBuilt" bike.  If I get a nod, all the better.  If a certain young lady who plans on being there sees it, and it makes her swoon a bit, that doesn't suck either.

All in all, I'm ready for a good weekend.