I'll be going to this with my father. (Link to their website here),

Anyone people going to this and want to meet just to say "Hi" and put a face to a name? I think it'd be cool to meet some of y'all. I'll post tons of pictures from the show when I get back.

So I'm in Houston right now. My father and I just got in and we're staying at his brother's house for the night. We're going to be heading out to breakfast some time around 8:30 or so and then head over to the show. My father is probably going to hang out either on his own or with his FZ1 and work buddies he is meeting there. I'll be wandering around EVERYWHERE. I'm meeting a friend who goes to school here, and we'll be taking tons of pictures. Had anyone replied to this mesage I could meet some GSTwinners from the Houston area, but NOOOOOOO. Bums :lol:.

Soon as I get back on Saturday night/Sunday morning I'll post up pictures from the show.

Awwwwwwwwright! So I'm back, and I took a lot of pictures (somewhere in the neighborhood of 300).

You can see all of them here:
https://webspace.utexas.edu/bah562/Photos/IMS2005/

Highlights from the Yamaha paddock:

Yamaha YZF-R1 LE. It looks and feels wonderful. Gorgeous. Wow.


The new YZF-R6 is a bit uncomfortable for me when I sat on it. The plastic things by the tank poke into my legs when I'm sitting on it with both legs down. Put my feet up, however, and it feels divine.


The new FZ1. If only they offered it in the naked version...


The workings of the Yamaha cruiser engine. Nifty.


One of the new "Retro" Stars. I like it, really.


The speedometer for the previous bike. Looks nice, eh?


Road Star Warrior drag bike. If I was to ever get a cruiser, I'd get a Warrior. Check out the wheels...

Suzuki brought along a lot of nice stuff. I felt obligated to take a lot of pictures of their stuff, and so I did. Not going to post them ALL here!


The new GS500 is actually GORGEOUS. I really like how they added the contrasting black on white on the lip of the fairing (the part that goes towards the frame from the outside.


That.


The new GSX-R600 speaks for itself. I really really like it.


I'm kinda dissapointed at the new SV650's red paintjob. It seems so blah and Honda Red to me.


The new teal color isn't really that color. It's a bit more greenish. I don't like it, either.


Still loving the SV1000S. The dual exhausts are killer.


And check out that gorgeous metal flake paint job.


The new GSX-R750 has a nice maroon color. I could never buy it though. A&M is our rival.


The 'Busa looks frighteningly awesome in white.

Whoa!!  :mrgreen: Fantastic pics!!!  Thanks for sharing those!!!  

The Kawasaki arena had some nice stuff as well. Not to mention some of the gaudiest things I've ever seen.


The new ZX-14 is ugly. It's awkwardly long from the bard to the front of the bike, and it is ugly.


The Ninja 650R still looks weird. I don't like how the rearsets are integral, and I don't like how the tail looks like it was just kinda tacked onto the seat. It has nice guages though, and a very useable speedometer.


See?


I'm still in love with the Z1000, despite the bad paintjob.


What can I say? Those exhausts do things to me.


This Kawi chopper wasn't so bad. A little tasteless with the graphics (buxom beauties with bouncing bosoms), but not too bad. I really wanted a Dreamsicle after seeing it though.


I nearly threw up when I first saw this thing. Eugh.


It's got a 180/55-18 front tire. Yes. FRONT tire.


A flamer Ninja 636.

Ok San Jose people, keep your callenders open for that Dec 16-18 weekend.  I'm not sure how parking is going to be but we might consider taking light rail from a planned location.  It drops off across the street from the convention center

Sweet pictures

The Ducati area was very nice. Not many bikes, but that didn't stop me from taking too omany pictures!


The new Sport Classic Paul Smart Ducati. I'm not big into the style of it or the teal frame... but that silver paint is to die for.


*drool*


They had a custom Monster competition. This was the one I voted for. VERY well done. No carbon fiber. 350lbs. 900cc engine. Whoah.


The guages on the new Sport 1000 are retro, functionable, and totally sexy.


The 999 feels pretty nice when you're sitting on it and feet up, but it just feels awkward with both feet down. I guess that's a sign to pick your feet up and ride, eh? The tank shape was really nice for supporting myself hanging off (There was a guy there to hold it up for people who were skinny enough to try. Yay me!)


The Supersport 800... I think I found my next bike...

All I got to say is I want a set of those blue wheels off of the GSXR and the exhaust would be nice too.

Honda didn't have many intersting things to offer. One 919. One 599. Not even a lot of sportbikes. Ass loads of cruisers though.


The new 919 has a nice color to it.


I still don't understand why the 599 is still carburated though.


The FormulaXTreme race bike. Duhamel's or Zemke's. I don't remember.


A very stupid looking CBR600RR.


The RC51 likewise has paint to die for. Beautiful. Subtle. Gorgeous.


It's a good bike, from what I hear.


Poof!

Poof![/quote]

look a barf bag is included!

MV Agusta arguably has some of the best looking motorcycles ever. The Brutale and F4 are simply stunning. The F4 feels REALLY REALLY good to sit on, too.


It speaks for itself.


It got a little blurry on me... but the bike is still gorgeous.


Custom painted body work, carbon fiber bits, and new wheels. If only I had the money...


The Brutale is absolutely mean lookin'.


Looks good in blue, too.

The Beemer Booth was pathetic. One R model, 2 K1200Rs, 2 K1200Ss, and a few F650GSes. Dissapointing.


I totally didn't realize how hideously large the can is on this thing. I am digging the single sided swingarm though.


Look! A GS! Only sorta...


I really like the layout of the controls on the K1200R.


And the clip-ons.


Everything looks best in blue. It's always the fastest color.

Coming to Seattle too:  http://sea.motorcycleshows.com/imssea/v42/index.cvn

$12   :dunno:

good write up, alpha.

you have to give some credit to kawasaki. they sure do know to make ugly bikes.

i agree. mv agusta are the sexiest bikes ever.

how does the red 06 fz1 look in person?

Quote from: JetSwinghow does the red 06 fz1 look in person?

I like it overall. I extremely dislike the exhaust though. It looks better in person than on the site, but I still think it's ugly as sin. The lines really work, and it looks REALLY agressive. The big hump in the tank makes it look like it's kinda arching forward, ready to pounce. The tail section is great, too, with the exception that the grab rails aren't removable. The split seat is going to do wonders for the sporty appearance. The naked version would look hot as hell. The drag bars feel way better than the stock ones from the previous years, too.

The red is a gorgeous red, too. Similar to the color my dad painted his, but not as dark.


As for Kawi making ugly bikes... it's true... with the exception of the Z1000. I really really like it.

this is the white/grey 600?? I think I'm in love.  Can't wait to see this in real life.  Thanks for all the pics!!  

i was driving the 91 yesterday and saw an 06 gixxer 1000 in Red/black behind me ...that thing was sick...never saw that combo before...let him pass...thought it was the new 600...moved to right side and saw the exhaust and was like...cool its the 1000...hope..i can handle the new 600 by the time they get out  

Victory had some cool paint jobs, too.


Looked good from far away, but when you got close the paint quality wasn't really all that great.


I'm a sucker for metallic paint, as you can tell.


This one had a nice pearl to it, with the orange and yellows. Nice paint, but I could only live with it for a week or so, if that.

I took a look at the Buell bikes, just for the hell of it. I've ridden with one before, and they don't look all that bad, aside from being insanely short. Problem with the ones I've seen is that they shake like a kid with epilepsy, or an old dude with parkinsons; or both.


The brake discs are pretty cool though, I gotta admit. That looks pretty trick.


However, Buell doesn't seem to know about this thing called "countersteering". I would have gotten a picture of me on this thing, but the whole lack of countersteering made me change my mind. Stupid Buell.


This one didn't look so bad... but something looks familiar about it...


Buell usin' GS wheels? No way...