Oh, Canada!

Impressions of the Toronto Cycle World Show
by Pete Cline

I’ll let you in on a little secret. When I was growing up in Cleveland and being a young aspiring musician I dreamed to play bass guitar in Bryan Adam’s band. No, not Ryan Adams. Bryan Adams. You know, “I’m Gonna’ Run to You,” “Cuts like a Knife,” “Summer of ‘69,”et al. There… I feel better. My dirty little secret has been revealed. At that point that’s all I knew about Canada. I mean, there’s the band Rush, beer, and bacon jokes, eh! But it was not until 2002 that I got to really know Canada, when the band I was in at the time played a music festival in Toronto. Despite problems at the border (paperwork problems, but nothing DEA- or ATF-oriented!), I had a blast in Toronto and found the city to be as good as, if not better than, Chicago. So when the North American International Motorcycle Super Show came to the Toronto International Centre on January 2nd through the 4th, Catherine and I headed to the “Great White North.”
After breakfast [the morning newspaper had a road test of the new Kawasaki ZX-10R and a section on women’s gear!] we headed out to the airport. The drive from downtown Toronto to the International Centre was about 20 minutes, and the show itself was located in about 4 sections of the pavilion. This meant a whole bunch of space was set aside for us bikers. When we got to the show Friday our expectations were very high. Catherine and I were waiting to see something along the lines of the N.E.C. Show that we saw in England last year. Unknown to us the big new model show was a month earlier at the Metro Toronto Convention Center. So if you are looking for a new bike show with manufacturers’ displays and the latest, greatest in bikes and gear, then you have come to the wrong show. So when we showed up, I was let down. Not an easy let down - more like a Led Zeppelin in flames let down.
So we decided to get the skinny on what the event was really about. The North American International Motorcycle Super Show began as a club event, and grew in size and attendance from that. According to sources it seems that at one time the new bike show was combined with this “club” event. But over time the two parted ways and became separate events competing for the attention of the motorcycling public. We saw that there might be a smaller motorcycling population in Canada, but it’s a hardy group that is very enthusiastic about the sport.
Given this info and a new, altered perspective on the event, we headed in to get our bike and gear fix. We began at the back of the show and worked our way forward. There were groups galore. Every motorcycle club that you could think of (and then some!) had a booth and bike on display. Some of the highlights were the following, by no means is this in any particular order, and I’m sure we missed quite a few clubs:
Supermoto Canada: this racing series had a few motards on display, decent flyers and not to mention that I was drawn to them as I own a KTM Supermoto myself.
The Ontario VFR Club: they had a nice, clean example of a Honda NSR500 with Rothmans livery out for people to look at. The club info booklet was neat and to the point.
The Vintage Japanese Motorcycle Club: Michigan resident Scott Timoff and his friends had some nice vintage Honda bikes on display, as well as a rare CB450 Police Special.
Vintage Road Racing Association: Canada's classic and vintage road racing association had a very nice display setup with a whole slew of vintage bikes. Included was a vintage Ducati 851 raced and signed by Doug Polen.
United States Classic Racing Association: The oldest vintage road racing series in the States had bikes on display from racers living in New England and the Mid-Atlantic region.
Canadian Motorcycle Heritage Museum: Large selections of German made NSUs restored by Kurt Boeckmann were the marquee bikes on display. Other bikes were also included in a substantial area in the main section of the show.
Ride Scooters: Ian Halley and Stoney Smith had some neat vintage Vespas with raked-out front ends, a “street fighter,” racers, “flamed” scooters, and a few restored scoots as well. Scooter trash unite!
As we moved along through the show there were more than a few colleges and schools advertising rider education courses approved by the Canadian Safety Council (the equivalent to the MSF). It was interesting to see that the cost of rider courses ranged around $250-$300 Canadian. One school not only had Rider Classes for beginners and an Experienced/Refresher course, but also put on a 15-hour Motorcycle Maintenance Course and a 30-hour Harley-specific maintenance course. I thought this was very interesting, given that I’m familiar with the Ohio’s MSF program.
The custom bike/chopper display was located near the main stage where the fashion show and live bands preformed. We knew this was where the food court would likely be located, and we were able to fill up on brats. We were a little bummed that we couldn’t get any Canadian bacon sandwiches while were there, but made a note to get one when we got back in to the city. The accumulation of major clubs, local dealers, and a huge gear sales section made the show seem like the Easyrider/Dealer Expo/Vintage Meet all put in one blender and set on mix.
There were the typical stunt bikers with their “extreme street videos,” but I didn’t see any moose jumping or stoppies through snow drifts. Working past HUGE sections of gear on sale, I got sucked in and bought a new pair of Joe Rocket Revolution gloves. When I did the math the price seemed pretty good, as the US dollar was clubbing the Canadian dollar like a trapper clubs a baby seal. Not the best analogy, but considering the exchange rate it was hard to keep the plastic in my pocket! If you need gear next fall, go up north and hit this show. Cheap, cheap, cheap!
And speaking of Joe Rocket, they had a very cool section. Steve Crevier (holder of more racing titles than on other Canadian), Jordan Szoke and others were doing a meet-and-greet at the display. Some of the actual racing leathers shown were from Miguel DuHamel (his AMA Superbike/Team Honda suit) and Nicky Haden (the Suzuka 8-Hour and MotoGP suits). I saw Steve Crevier walking through the hall and he stood maybe 5 feet tall, or so it seemed. Man, he could have fit in the palm of my hand - he seemed that small. It was amazing to think that he’s one of the best racers across the border, but yet he’s had limited success in the AMA National Circuit. And I need to remind myself that Miguel DuHamel also comes from up north.
We worked our way through the masses and looked at the few new bikes that were out for the show. The new Honda CBR1000RR was not out on display, but the “new to North America” Honda 599 was there, as well as the Yamaha FZ6. We caught a glimpse a custom Victory Vegas, the new Suzuki 1600cc Marauder cruiser (loosely based on the Kawasaki’s 1600cc Mean Streak) and an actual Benelli Tornado Tre 900 Superbike. Manufacturers without bikes on display were Aprilia (the bikes are not imported to Canada) and BMW (which has a corporate-owned dealership downtown).
We kept filtering towards the front and ran in to the Cycle Canada magazine booth. We picked up some free sample issues of this full-glossy, monthly publication from Brenda Cyr. Inside were some great articles, photographs and a flowing layout. And they were nice enough to toss us a few free shirts as well. Whoot! A smaller publication entitled Ride had issue No. 4 on display. Jessie James was on the cover and an interview lead of the ‘zine. Overall, Ride was a nice blend of bike culture, touring, and sport bike interests in a smaller glossy format. It’s interesting to note that despite the shorter riding season, the Canooks try and stuff as much riding in the short period that’s allowed. This is reflected in the articles and in the passion that they have for their bikes.
As we left the show I think we got a sense of what our visit gave us - Canada’s strong bike culture. We forget that Canada is not part of the U.S. [at least I do], and we might not think of the country as foreign as say… France. And it might seem very American when you are there, but scratch below the surface and there’s a blend of European heritage mixed in with American influences. If you have an opportunity to travel to Toronto for the North American International Motorcycle Super Show - or just for a weekend - it’s a trip well worth making.