Some of you may know that I was lucky enough to be the spokesperson for the International Motorcycle Shows event series for several years. I was doing that work WHILE I was working for Aprilia and then Victory. It gave me great insights into the differences between the markets in North America, as well as a chance to be a sort of industry -wide spokesperson and be on countless radio interviews, news shows and even the Today Show a couple times. There are key people who STILL work with that show property to this day, and have become life-long friends. I see an understand the struggles that live events have in a receding market - but the International Motorcycle Shows and AIME should be on your list to attend, especially if you live close by. 

I had a thought to get friends together to ride or carpool up to the Dallas show in early Feb - and within 4 hours of seeing if it was possible to do a group buy, Tracy Harris approved and instituted a coupon for ALL of you who are paying attention to the Give A Shift program - good for all the remaining shows. This will also show IMS how many people are paying attention to GAS and attend the show. 

These shows are the winter moto-oasis for many enthusiasts, and yes, there are some challenges in OEM attendance, and booth sizes - but I think that the typical GAS reader is a person who would go see the show and support the industry even if the show is smaller than they remember. There ARE great deals at the show for gear and accessories, as well as displays and products that are not yet in the dealerships. Most OEM's also have product experts who can dive deeper into a specific motorcycle than the average floor salesman. There are seminars where you can rest your feet and charge your brain at the same time and it simply a great excuse to meet up with fellow riders and check out custom bikes, vintage bikes and new models too. 

Simply buy your tickets online and use the code GAS18 to save $3.00 per ticket. 
Here are the IMS city page links to direct users to buy tickets and then enter the promo code:
Cleveland (Jan 26-28) - http://www.motorcycleshows.com/city/cleveland-oh 
Dallas (Feb 2-4) - http://www.motorcycleshows.com/city/dallas-tx-1 
Chicago (Feb 9-11) - http://www.motorcycleshows.com/city/chicago-il-0 
Washington D.C. (Feb 23-25) - http://www.motorcycleshows.com/city/washington-dc-0

Thanks to the International Motorcycle Shows and their enthusiastic staff for getting what it is we are doing with Give A Shift and I hope to see my Texas moto-friends at the show in Dallas. Let's meet up in the “Shift” display at 1:00. Seems appropriate to me!