The doors swung open about 40 minutes ago here at the Progressive International Motorcycle Show in Greenville, SC, though I've been here all day. There's nothing like getting in early to get some unobstructed photos of the fancy motorcycles on display.
It's also a good time to talk to some of the crew that will be busy from now on. I had a question I wanted to explore, kind of a theme I had in mind, but that didn't pan out. This is the next to last show, and from here they all go to Daytona for Bike Week. Was the Greenville show, I wondered, the scene of peaking excitement with Daytona just ahead? Building to a crescendo, as it were?
No. "No, it's just another day of work for us," one of the guys with the Yamaha exhibit told me.
Fine. But he did tell me about the other shows, some of the highlights and some of the quirky things. For instance, when they did the shows in Chicago and New York they had to abide by strict union rules. Do something as simple as plugging in a DVD player, rather than having a union electrician do that for you, and you could be in deep trouble. One place, he told me, they have a glassed in observation level where they watch you through binoculars to make sure you don't commit such a heinous offense.
I talked with some guys from the local chapter of the Vintage Japanese Motorcycle Club as they were setting up their bikes on display. Unlike many of the vendors, they don't go from town to town with the show, they're local and they're just here for this one. Nearly all of the bikes, I was told, have been totally restored, and they look very, very nice, but they're intended for riding. Can't see any reason to restore a bike if you're not going to ride it, you know?
Then I ran into Gin Shear and Sue Slate, of the Women's Motorcyclist Foundation. They have long been connected with the shows and this year for the first time they have a large space set up to display clothing and products aimed at women motorcyclists, as well as to put on seminars and training sessions on a variety of topics. I'm figuring I'll be sitting in on several of those and passing the word along to you. Sue told me, by the way, that most of their sessions are decidedly NOT gender-specific.
So anyway, today is day one of three and I'll be back. More to come.
Comments
Cool pictures! It looks like most of the builders there at Greenville are professional builders. Am I right?
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