After an absence of a year Jeff Brown was able to bring back the ColoradoMotorcycle Expo to the National Western Stockshow complex in Denver. Astandard feature was missing, no MCs were in attendance. The onlymotorcycle organization I saw was ABATE. The lack of the MCs did changethe mood a little, some thought it was a little more relaxed, others saidnot as much fun. I thought more on the relaxed side a better feeling. Now for35+ years the MCs had been attending with no incidents. The show hadbecome annual meeting for some of the clubs and for others it was afunding event and recruiting opportunity. But with one incident, shotsfired and a biker dead, they were not invited this year. We will see ifthey come back. Now per the name, 1% of the biker population shouldn’t makethat big of impact on the community as a whole. An Expo should cater tothe complete community.
For a recovery year the first day of the show did well, with asteady stream through the doors all day long. Custom and restoration builders camein and present a fair representation of the motorcycles that one canchose. Long choppers, big tire twin-v, bobbers, antique Harleys, Vincent’s,BMWs, the list goes on and on. Out of state builders showed and won acouple of categories. The local custom shops were well represented andchatting up prospective customers. If you wanted to buy a patch for yourvest you would have had a plethora of options. If your building or restoring,you could find any part you needed. The swap meet part of the show was ahit, just what was expected. I saw guys heading out with fenders andchrome in tow.
The music was 70’s rock with a good local band filling the dancefloor with well-endowed biker chicks. While listening you could browse thefor-sale bikes and about 40% sold, so a good day for the used market.Only two of the main line dealers graced the show, Indian and Honda.
The crowd really came to life when the wet t-shirt conteststarted. Sponsored by Saloon Cut¹s Barber shop the white t-shirts werefilled out and the water poured freely. Soon the nipples were freed, and awinner was named. It’s not a party till there are titties.
For a swap meet the expo met the goal. As an expo and a conduit forthe community to expand the show fell short. With the direction ofthe industry an event like this needs to reach out and expand thebiker community. We need to bring in hipsters, millennials,teenagers, techies, anyone who is not riding. Not that it’s a bad thingbut most of the attendees at the show were above 50. Now there wasa sprinkling of families and a few millennials but not enough tosustain the show. The over 50 crowd does have the most disposable incomeper capita, but we need to bring in new money, new enthusiasts
.An expo should show the community what is available now and in the future.It should have all the major manufactures. It should have concept bikes.What about scooters, not what you and I think of but the Vespa style. Morethan just a few v-twins bring in the leather clad bunch. They need to advertiseto new demographics and court new vendors.
I know Jeff is trying to head this way as I saw a few new vendorsthis year. An artist with some hot new style paintings and a fewnew motorcycle shops that specialize in restoration.
Now, I’m a traditional Harley rider, I also have a Spider and amthinking about adding a Royal Enfield to the garage. To grow the community,we need to bring in new blood and if you remember back to your first rideI would bet that it wasn’t a Harley. More like mine, a TecumsehMini-Bike, an old beat up scooter and a Honda SL125. I tore the world upon those bikes and it instilled the love of riding and freedom that Istill enjoytoday.
I am looking forward to the future and hope we can turn aroundthe direction of the industry. I’ll be at the Colorado Motorcycle Exponext time and look forward to changes. What else is a rider to do inthe middle of winter in Colorado. It was 45 degrees and I rode to theshow, great to get out and ride…
–David Campbell
Earl’s Garage Motorcycle, Hotrod, and Event Photography
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