IMS Motorcycle Show America - Motorbikes Reviews, News & Advice

A glittering mix of customs, prototypes and production bikes greeted visitors to the latest instalment of the Progressive International Motorcycle Show (IMS) in Minneapolis (MN) on February 3-5.

The 2011-2012 IMS program consists of 12 shows across America, and it will all come to an end at Daytona Beach in mid-March

Just like we'll see at the upcoming Australian Motorcycle Expo on the Gold Coast, all the major protagonists came out to play in Minneapolis, including the Japanese, as well as Harley-Davidson, Polaris, Victory, Ducati, Husqvarna, MV Agusta, et al.

Victory’s all-new Judge cruiser was there, officially launched at the New York IMS show on January 20 and also the reason why the Bikesales Network is in America – we’ll be riding ride the bike in Palm Springs (CA) on February 9.

The Judge, due in Australia around May 2012, speaks a different design language to any other Victory, particularly through its tank and slim waist. It’s also got drag bars, mid-mount foot controls and a much smaller rear tyre than the Hammer powercruiser, which means less unsprung weight and momentum-spoiling inertia – just the ticket for some of the twisty passes around Palm Springs.

Zach Ness, part of the famous family which is Victory’s custom design partner, hasn’t wasted any time in putting his own stamp on the Judge, and in Minneapolis we saw one that had basically been cut in half, with Ness going to town mostly on the back half. It looks trick.

As expected, customs came from every angle at the show, which is no great surprise considering that there’s plenty of prizemoney up for grabs in a dedicated competition. Over $20 million of customised madness featured in Minneapolis, across four main classes: Freestyle, Modified Harley, Performance Custom and Retro Mod.

New production machines included the Triumph Explorer, MV Agusta F3, Victory Hard-Ball, Kawasaki ZX-14R and Honda NX700C, while the full range of Indian cruisers were there – the company now owned by Polaris and destined to reach Australia in a few years once a new suite of models are developed.

There was also a generous helping of nostalgia, with bikes like the 1909 Thor single-cylinder board track racer, and an array of snowmobiles and side-by-side vehicles.

The Bonneville Performance Street Tracker also caught plenty of attention with its suite of custom goodies, including a 44mm Mikuni carburetor kit, forged aluminium wheels, slim-line Beringer brake calipers and 43mm Yamaha YZF-R6 forks. Power is a sabre-rattling – as far as a Bonnie engine is concerned – 104hp, with 123Nm of torque produced from the 1200cc engine. Ideal for the Sunday morning flat track…

If you’re in America over the next month, the IMS show will now move to Chicago (IL) on February 10-12, followed by Charlotte (NC) on February 24-26 before the finale at Daytona Beach (FL) on March 14-17. Visit www.motorcycleshows.com for more information.

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