[ST] IMS show pics and info (longish)

["David Pullen" <dpullen@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

I went to the IMS show in Atlanta today - quite spectacular!  Pics are at:

http://www.pbase.com/dpullen/altanta_ims_2005

Triumph was there in force, and had a Daytona 650 available to sit on.  I
talked to one of the reps about why they upped the engine size, and he said
it was just for more horse-power.  I pointed out that they can't race with
the 600's, and that even with the 15 extra ponies they are still
underpowered compared to the Jap bikes; he just shrugged and nodded.  I also
asked about the rumors of a 680 3-cylinder Daytona; he neither confirmed or
denied it.

The new ST and Speed Triple are still inside cages, so no change to hop on.
I will say that the new ST looks spectacular in person.  It's going to be
tough for me not to trade up.  MotoBritalia and the Triumph rep stated that
they hoped to have them in around late Feb/early March.

There were some fairly exotic bikes from just about every manufacturer;
Suzuki had Mladdin's bike on display.  I got so excited running from exhibit
to exhibit that I forgot to take pictures of most of them.  *doh*

I happened to run across Marilyn Navia's booth of "Now Hear This", watched
her fit earplugs for a couple of people.  Nobody passed out, and there was
no pile of ear crud on the floor, so I figure STeve hadn't been to this
show.  I decided to go for it, and had her make earplugs for me (no
speakers, just plugs).  She sticks this small cotton plug in your ear with a
string attached (feminine hygiene products came to mind immediately), then
mixes the color of your choice with a hardening compound and uses a turkey
baster-like thing to shoot it in.  The process took about 30 minutes, most
of which is waiting for them to harden enough to remove without deforming.
Then you come back 45 minutes later (when they are fully hardened/cured),
she shows you how to put them in and take them out, and you're done!  They
fit great, insanely comfortable.  Note that "hardened" just means "not
squishy like play dough"; they are still quite soft and flexible.  They only
offer 29.8 dB noise reduction, but given that they fit perfectly and won't
pop out, they will probably reduce noise better than the 33 dB disposable
plugs I've been using.  I'm going out for some mountain carving tomorrow, so
I'll know whether or not I like them better than my current plugs by the
evening.

Of course, there was the usual fare of "Harley leather, bandana, and
G-string" shops...yes, G-strings.  Maybe they go well with the ass-less
chaps, I dunno.  I was rather disappointed in the exhibits for gear; mostly
it was just a local dealer with their selection of jackets and gloves.  I
wanted to see the Dianese, Teknic and Sidi gear, but they were not present.
First Gear was there, but I was un-impressed.

I also came across a booth for the Zook anti-fog stuff.  The guy yanked the
glasses off my face and smeared this blue-ish crud on one lens, then stuck
them in front of a steam generator.  First I was pissed, then I was
impressed; he did the other lens and handed them back to me, and I was very
impressed at how clear they were.  He did the usual "buy now and I'll throw
in this extra bottle free" sales pitch; I made him double up on everything,
and I bought some.  I've been having problems with fogging, so maybe it will
help.

One booth was giving away the 2-disc Collector's Edition Faster DVD if you
sign up for a $10 magazine subscription.  Sold!  I couldn't even tell you
what the magazine is, to be honest.  $10 for the DVD is an insanely good
deal.

On the whole, the show was MUCH better than I expected.  Prior to this, I
had only been to computer-related shows, and they are always 95% lame.  This
show was only 5% lame; very much worth a visit.

Enjoy,
  - Dave



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