Progressive International Motorcycle Show Highlights

Join us December 16-18 at the Washington State Convention & Trade Center in Seattle

A change is gonna happen―December 16-18 in Seattle, when the Progressive Insurance International Motorcycle Show flows into town. Or would that be Flos into town?

For starters, it's at a new location. Kind of. This year's event will be held at the Washington State Convention & Trade Center in the heart of downtown Seattle. Those who have been enjoying motorcycles here in the Northwest for over a decade might remember that this is where the show used to be held, before the days of the new stadium down south. This location has the same floor space, plenty of parking and easy freeway access.

This land speed racer is one of several to be showcased from local team Sodium Distortion. So what's under the hood? You'll find out when you arrive!
Photo by Chad Derosa

Secondly, we'll see a few manufacturers we haven't seen for a few years with representation at the show. Aprilia, Moto Guzzi and Triumph are all expected to return with a small presence, rather than none, as in recent years.

Expect to see some great displays of rare and vintage bikes from the Vintage Motorcycle Enthusiasts and Sound RIDER!

While some major manufactures' 2012 offerings have been lackluster to date, the heat is on from dealers, and the recent show in Milan saw unexpected new models from some of the big names. It's possible that, with only a month to go, we may see some interesting, unexpected things on the floor―you never know.

Is it really a Honda CB750? Check out this miraculous re-do.
It will be on display in the SR! NW MC Display.

In other Sound RIDER! news, we will be debuting our fourth travel guide for the Northwest. Publisher/author Tom Mehren will be on hand throughout the weekend to autograph the hot-off-the-press copies of our guide to Motorcycling through Western Oregon. If you've enjoyed our Columbia River Gorge, Central & Eastern Oregon and Western Washington Dual Sport guides, you're sure to like this one as well.

Also included during this years show:

• The Smage Bros Stunt Show –Made famous by their popularity on a nationally televised talent competition this past summer, brothers Pat and Phil Smage will take motorcycle trials stunt riding to the next level with a brand new, never-before-seen show that will make eyes pop and jaws drop. The heart-pounding stunt show will wow audiences with the brothers performing wheelies, aerial acrobatics, stoppies and jumps while flying over trailers, ladders and many more stupefying obstacles. Stunt show hours are Friday, at 5:30 p.m. and 7 p.m.; Saturday, at 11 a.m., 2 p.m., 4 p.m. and 6 p.m.; and Sunday, at 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.
• Dream Pavilion – Showgoers are invited to leave their "every-day” ride behind and enter the fantasy world of rare, exotic bikes in the Dream Pavilion, featuring motorcycles from Aprilia, Beta, Darwin Motorcycles, Ducati, Erik Buell Racing, Gas Gas, Husqvarna, KTM, Moto Guzzi, MV Agusta, Norton and Triumph.
• The Learning Curve – An interactive stage will be jam-packed with industry experts presenting a variety of motorcycling topics for both new and experienced riders including adventure riding, motorcycle maintenance, increasing bike performance, seminars for women riders and more.

• Ultimate Builder Custom Bike Show– Returning to the series for the second year, the world’s largest motorcycle builder competition will showcase elite-level custom motorcycles competing for a piece of a $90,000 cash purse prize and a chance to compete in the United States Championship, at the Daytona Beach Motorcycle Show, in March. In affiliation with the AMD World Championship, this competition will feature four classes of competition, a "people’s choice” winner and the chance for attendees to meet the artists who create these custom designs. Additionally, attendees who vote for the "People’s Choice” award are automatically entered to win a custom-built Honda Fury, sponsored by Motorcycle-USA.com. The Honda Fury will be featured at each of the tour stops, located next to the Ultimate Builder Custom Bike Show. One winner will be selected at the conclusion of the tour during Daytona Bike Week.
• Kawasaki Design-A-Bike – This state-of-the-art, interactive digital wall display invites motorcycle enthusiasts to virtually design custom exterior paint and graphics package on a selected Kawasaki motorcycle using exclusive technology from Lumacoustics. Showgoers are invited to use a wireless digital spray-can to choose from dozens of color palettes and more than 10 graphics packages to customize a digitally displayed Kawasaki motorcycle. Custom creations can also be posted to Facebook, sent to an e-mail address or printed out as a show souvenir. 
• "A Century of Motorcycling” Presented by Motorcyclist Magazine – Motorcycle enthusiasts are invited to take a look into the past, as well as the future, with this display of bikes representing every decade since Motorcyclist magazine was founded 100 years ago in 1912.
• Swag Wagon Presented by Allstate– A specially designed mobile two-wheeled rolling freebie-machine, piloted by the show Swag Master, will cruise through the show spreading high-energy and laughs with moto-product giveaways, motorcycle oriented games, contests, prizes, music and more.
• Rider Connection Presented by Allstate– This motorcycle concierge delivers first-class service and hospitality for riders looking to discover local motorcycle riding opportunities, the latest bikes, new products and how to make the most of the Dallas Motorcycle Show experience.

The Seattle Motorcycle Show will be open to the public Friday, December 16 through Sunday, December 18, at the Washington State Convention Center, located at 800 Convention Place, in Seattle. Show hours are Friday, from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m., Saturday, from 9:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission to the event is $15 adults and $6 for children 6-11. Children 5 and under are admitted free. On Family Day, Sunday, all children 12 and under are free when accompanied by a paying adult. For more information, call 800/331-5706 or visit www.motorcycleshows.com.

WANT DISCOUNT TICKETS? For special discount tickets, buy them online and use the promo code: SOUNDRIDER when you check out.

See you then!

SR/Fall 2011