Daytona Bike Week 2008 Report - LONG w/PICS

[mrbones]

Hey everybody,

Last weekend I headed out to Daytona to see the latest offerings from the big manufacturers for ATVs, motorcycles, jet skis, etc. In case you have never been there before, you can go to the Speedway and see all this stuff for free. The show is still going on until this Saturday, March 8th.

So, here's the run down on what I saw.

Honda - A big disappointment if you were there last Saturday because just like last year, their tent wasn't ready. The pic below was all I could see. In the past, they show all the current year's models and bring a number of historical bikes to show. If you go this weekend, you will be able to see all of that. They do have a little pond for test riding of their jet skis which is pretty cool.



Kymco - Not a bad display at all. Not very big, but not bad. Their bikes seem to have come a long way in recent years. They are also cheaper than any other brand and always have a good number of kids quads to choose from. They did have a so called cruiser motorcycle that was almost laughable in its execution and quality, but hey, they got to start somewhere. Their scooter look ok, too.



Suzuki - The Suzuki tent was a little sparse for the dirt. Nothing really new to report, but you can check out their quads and dirt bikes. The street bikes for Suzuki is where its at because their new B-king Vmax killer definitely has a different style, like a transformer like bike (sorry no pic of that one).





Yamaha - Yamaha had by far the best display for the dirt enthusiast. They had a mini dirt track setup for testing of their ATVs and Rhinos. Very cool. They also had a lot of their aftermarket products on display. Cudos to Yamaha.























The BIZARRE - Now for some stuff that defies all reason.

First off, a Shredder F-80 Quad. A street quad with a 357hp engine. It's $90,000!









A twin turbo Suzuki Hyabusa nicked named the TriaBusa. Crazy!!





A General Lee custom/chopper. Yee Haw! I don't think we'll see this thing doing fish tails in the dirt, though.



Check out the paint job on this Harley Electra Glide. It's a piece of art! Beautiful.





And to end the report. What could be better than a row of springer and girder forks glistening in the sun?




Ok, that's it. I wish I could've spent more time there. It was a lot of fun. If you got the time, head on over there and check it out. It's worth it!

And one more editorial comment. OCC was there with a trailer and some of their production bikes. There was hardly anybody there! 3 years ago it was a circus when Paul Sr & Jr showed up. Even though they weren't making an appearance on this day, I think the buzz is long over. Their display was a ghost town. Good luck to Vinnie & Cody for starting their own company, V-Force customs. They were showing off their first bike near Destination Daytona but I missed it. Maybe they can make a fortune like the Teutuls without all the BS.

[Mudneck]

It looks like a good place to see them all at once.Cool pics Bones

[SkyHighT100]

Most of the tents seemed pretty disappointing this year.... not a whole lot going on. As for the BKing, they are definately a crazy bike and from what the guys at work have said, they ride amazing. Then again, they do have the busa motor in them, lol. Heres some pics (and yes we've got some in the showroom)

[Young Gun]

So is the OCC Crew going to be making an appearance?  This might just be something I'll put mah pants on for'

[mrbones]

The OCC guys will be there for the rest of the week. Here's the schedule.

Meet the guys from OCC March 6, 7, 8

    * March 6th
          o 10AM -12PM - Jason and Rick
          o 12PM - 1:30PM - Mikey and Paulie
          o 2PM - 4PM - Jason and Rick
          o 4:30PM - 6PM - Mikey and Paulie
    * March 7th
          o 10AM - 11:30AM - Paulie and Jason
          o 12PM - 2PM - Rick and Mikey
          o 2:30PM - 4PM - Paulie and Jason
          o 4PM - 6PM - Rick and Mikey
    * March 8th
          o 10AM - 12PM - Jason and Rick
          o 1PM - 4PM - Jason and Rick

I honestly can't stand Jason, but if you want to meet him, now's your chance!

[Fox17]

we just got back from up there. it was a blast. it was my first time on a bike up there but ive been the last few years. we went to sonnys  then went to the track. the only tent i went to that was outside was Honda. the 08 CBR1000RR is sweet. we browsed around there for a few then rode through the tunnel (id hate to be in there with no helmet, it gets loud when everyone on harleys are reving them up). we even saw one guy jump his harley out of it. crazy. but we sat in the infield and watched AMA superbike practice and qualifying. we had a blast. we will be back tomorrow for SX and then sat for Superbike and the 200. cant wait.

[mrbones]

Anybody else go this weekend?

[wilburz]

i got back yeseterday. had a blast! will post pics soon.

Did anyone see the OCC Army chopper? verynice.

[Bigscrb15]

Most of the tents seemed pretty disappointing this year.... not a whole lot going on. As for the BKing, they are definately a crazy bike and from what the guys at work have said, they ride amazing. Then again, they do have the busa motor in them, lol. Heres some pics (and yes we've got some in the showroom)

Yeah, we have them in our showroom too. Noone wants them. We can't even sell them for a discount.

[wilburz]

occ army chopper

[wilburz]

nice bike

[wilburz]

these were 3 wheelers with motorcycle engines. $40,000.00

[Busta Nutt]

what's that army chopper got for a seat?

[AmericanRobster]

Awesome Pics bones! I got pictures of Vinnie and Cody last night at Quaker Steak and Lube. I will post them soon.

[Da_Mtg_Man]

Awesome Pics bones! I got pictures of Vinnie and Cody last night at Quaker Steak and Lube. I will post them soon.

They were there last night? I go every freakin wed night and last night was the first time in 3 months that I didn't go. 

[AmericanRobster]

Awesome Pics bones! I got pictures of Vinnie and Cody last night at Quaker Steak and Lube. I will post them soon.

They were there last night? I go every freakin wed night and last night was the first time in 3 months that I didn't go. 

Yes they were there. I just took pics of them and I had to go because I had class last night. Night school sucks! lol

[mrbones]

Did the bands improve on Main St throughout the week? On Friday and Saturday night they were pretty awful. Either the sound was mixed all wrong or they were just plain bad. Last year the band "Highway to Hell" an AC/DC cover band was real good. This year the band members changed but the lead singer was the same. To put it nicely, they stink real bad. It would've been nice to see some new, good bands.

[wilburz]

Did the bands improve on Main St throughout the week? On Friday and Saturday night they were pretty awful. Either the sound was mixed all wrong or they were just plain bad. Last year the band "Highway to Hell" an AC/DC cover band was real good. This year the band members changed but the lead singer was the same. To put it nicely, they stink real bad. It would've been nice to see some new, good bands.

i was 2 bands at the full moon bar. one played alternative cover songs and was real good. the other i saw inside , in the back, was some older , long hair guys that played , blue grass i guess. like lynard skynard kinda. they were real good. did not see any othe bands.   

[mrbones]

Hmm, I missed those guys. They do sound better. You'd think it would be easy to be a band and sound good to a relatively drunk crowd, but....maybe not.

[SWAMP_DONKEY]

 I love the Gen Lee Chopper.... I am sending this to John Schneider. He will get a kick out of it.

[mrbones]

Me and my bro at Destination Daytona. I pulled these photos from a guy just taking pics then giving a card. Of course I'm too frugal to buy them to get the "Proof" removed. LOL.

[AmericanRobster]

I really like the Bourget bikes. I had a picture taken with Roger a few years ago. He is a really cool guy!

[gtnwood]

The Teutuls, specifically Sr. and Jr. suck Donkey Dong. I saw then blow off an 8yr old kid cuz the timer went off for signin autographs, and the kid had been waitin with his dad for hours. O.C.C. needs a big douche and their bikes aint no better than any other custom builder worth his salt

[686RAPTOR]

i thought i was the only person who thought occ wasnt all that. they build nice theme bikes but i dont think their the best builders. nice to see someone not on the occ band wagoon.