#MotorcycleShows

BMW and KTM AG announced this week they will not be taking part in the industry’s two largest motorcycle shows due to the novel coronavirus pandemic. Intermot, in Cologne, Germany, and EICMA in Milan, Italy, are still months away, but the two European companies say there’s too much uncertainty to properly plan for the trade shows.

Another show season, and another year for that matter, is screeching to an end after exciting announcements from plenty of manufacturers. Intermot delivered the unveiling of notable models such as the 2019 Indian FTR1200 and the 2020 Suzuki Katana, while EICMA, as is usual, showcased new models from 15 major OEMs, making it the show to watch for new models releases. Between the two European shows, the US’s own AIMExpo was used to release new iterations of Kawasaki’s ZX-6R and ZX-10R as well as Yamaha’s revamped R3.

Okay, the days are getting shorter, and the temperatures are staying lower. Perhaps even the leaves have started to turn in your neighborhood. That’s great news! Why? Because the Model Year 2019 show season is kicking off today in Cologne, Germany, at the bi-annual Intermot convention. That’s right, in even-numbered years, we don’t have to wait until the EICMA show in November to begin seeing what all the international motorcycle manufacturers have up their collective sleeves. While your actual riding season may be drawing to a close, we hope to keep you daydreaming about motorcycles with a list of new temptations.

The following public motorcycle events and rides are happening in July 2017.

Beginning with Intermot on October 3rd, moving on to AIMExpo October 12th, and EICMA November 4th, we come to the final rounds of the moto show season, the Progressive International Motorcycle Show (IMS) leading off in Long Beach, California. For the moto-public the Progressive IMS tour has six more dates ending February 12th in Chicago. With all the new 2017 machinery to be seen, we recommend attending because the Progressive IMS is the only place you’ll find everything motorcycle under one roof.

Comfortable shoes. It’s the foremost important aspect of enjoying any large consumer or trade show. Comfortable Shoe Editor, Troy Siahaan, and I had this exact conversation the morning of attending media day at Long Beach IMS. We both rode to the show, but whereas he brought sneakers to change into, I put a new pair of Bates Adrenalin Riding Boots to the ultimate comfort test by wearing them all day during the show (the most comfortable riding boots I’ve ever owned, I might add – full review coming soon).