Motorcycle Show!!!

Oh yeah! Melanie treated me to a great weekend last Saturday when we went to the 2009 Motorcycle Show here in Chicago. It was like going to 10 dealerships all in one place. It was great! We (I) had fun just wandering around the bikes, sitting on them, reminiscing, etc. Mel was a good sport. She thinks I'm great when I get all excited about things like this. And she is an extra special, amazing Girl, in that she says it's fine if I get a bike, and that, in fact, she wants me to.

We started off in a section with a lot of road bikes. Fun, but not 'til I'm older.

Oh YES!!! It's Kawasaki's relatively newest model, the ZX-14! Built to rival Suzuki's Hayabusa, the few people I've talked to that have ridden both say that it doesn't disappoint.

Another angle on the ZX-14. I've always thought the slits/stripes/gills on the side look a lot like on the Ferrari 512.

Mmm, hmm. So relaxing. 160hp at the twist of your wrist.

And again.

Like a kid in a candy store. Or me in one, I like those, too.

Here she is! The mighty Hayabusa. With over 165hp, she's rumored to do 0-60 in under 3 seconds. This was the second bike I ever rode, and it was definitely a HUGE step up from the ninja-250 I learned on. Went riding with a friend who had one and hit 155 in no time! I felt a little bad, because my bike dropped off between 140 and 150. Always wear your helmet!

Oh so sexy! The ZX-6 is a decent bike, for sure. When I get a bike again, it will likely be a 600 so that it is cheaper and I can teach Melanie to ride.

What's up, Girl!

BMW makes a good bike, but I've never ridden one. There were also a couple Ducatis there. No MV Agusta, though. That's the bike Will Smith rides in I Robot. My roommates and I looked it up when we watched the movie. You can tell from the signature 4 tail pipes under the seat.

They had a guy doing some stunt riding on a track. Pretty cool. They have the video on their website.

And last but not least, the show bikes. Look at the extension on that back wheel! And if you look closely, that back tire has been shredded in spots.

Mmmhmm. Some people go to extremes with their bikes. This one has a custom paint job, extended back wheel, lighting, and probably other things I didn't notice.

Yeah, like the hugely fat back tire! I saw a guy once at this car/motorcycle gathering that had an in dash TV screen (like 8") up by his gas tank. I don't think he watched when he rode, though.

This one's pretty sweet, too. I think I like the colors.

Okay, I had to throw this in. This is the bike I had before I sold it when I came out to Chicago. A 1994 Suzuki RF900r. I bought it with 39k miles and it had over 48k when I sold it. But it ran strong as ever.

Hope you enjoyed the post. Leave a comment if you have a favorite bike you saw on this post, or if you like motorcycles, etc.