NAIAS - The Shape of Things to Come???

[motogman]

The Detroit, or properly, the North American International Auto Show, has been having a few motorcycles on display the past few years.  I thought I would share some of what is there this year...

Is the future electric?  Apparently Victory has bought out one of the electric cycle companies and is now showing this...







YES -  That is $20 large for the electric bike.

Victory also had a 2016 Victory 8 Ball - 106 CI - $15.5k...




Seems to me the Star Wars theme is going just a bit too far here...






Maybe this Indian is a bit closer to what this site might find interesting...



I am not quite sure how or why a show bike would be put on the stand like this but I thought someone had good humor when they saw it and here is the result.  Perhaps this reflects how fast they move off the show room floor?



There were a few more "normal" bikes.  Not too surprising that Ducati and BMW had some good representation.





Still pretty normal and a great machine but getting a little Star War ish...




Then there was this new Ducati cruiser.  165 HP @ ~ 550 lbs.  A horrible monstrosity (no pun on Monster intended) in my opinion. 








The mood and atmosphere was more upbeat than it has been since 2007.  Lots of hybrid and electric vehicles.  Some nice vintage and race cars but the generic car world is pretty blah these days.

There you have it from Detroit.

[drlapo]

Damn that Indian scout is one fugly bike

[canuck750]

With the NM4 I think Honda wee looking at the Ariel Leader, Yech.....

[canuguzzi]

Air cooled engines and the bike designs necessitated by them aren't the future, that much seems pretty certain. The market for other designs keeps increasing. It will take a while for manufacturers of both cars and bikes to realize that electrics don't need to look like bugs. Tesla figured out as much and eventually others will follow. On the motorcycle end, when the big names start selling electrics we'll likely see a whole new type of rider get into the market.

Even Moto Guzzi's days of making the engine types it does now are numbered IMO.

[Jim Rich]

My son thought the Honda NM4 (the one you sit in like a Dan Gurney bike), the coolest thing he had ever seen.  The big BMW GS is starting to look like a lunar rover but I guess that is the whole idea.

[Arizona Wayne]

Damn that Indian scout is one fugly bike

Many disagree with you on that.   To each his own opinion. 

Now the Honda NM4...........defin etily fugly!