2005 ATV Expo and ATV World’s Fair
- Updated: December 10, 2005
While they were sporting the new Predator Troy Lee Designs edition and several new 4X4 machines, there was no sign of the highly anticipated IRS Outlaw. When Polaris finally has it available you can count on ATV Scene for a complete test.
The 2nd annual ATV World’s Fair was again held in Louisville KY. No doubt, the 2004 show was a huge success with Suzuki in the house as the title sponsor. Last year Suzuki displayed their entire line of machines, there was representation from Yamaha and it seemed like as if a who’s who of the ATV aftermarket industry was present. Based on last year’s success, we figured this show was destined to become an annual ATV-maga-event of mighty proportions.
Unfortunately, only in its second year, it looks that the show is already losing some momentum. Rather than seeing an increase in interest from manufacturers and spectators, it looked as though many of last year’s top names had pulled out. While there was still representation from manufacturers such as Polaris, Kymco, as well as a few dozen serious aftermarket manufacturers, it looked as though things were on the decline for 2005. To be fair, there was still some interesting things to see, just not as many as we had expected based on the success of the inaugural event.
To get the inside scoop on this year’s event, we contacted Rick Campbell of ATV Industry Magazine, (the publication responsible for promoting the event) to see how he felt about this year’s event. “There is a 125% increase in retail buyers, (dealers) in attendance. Unfortunately the consumer side fell off by around 600 visitors. In addition, there was a 50% decline in the number of vendors in attendance. Due to Suzuki’s sponsorship of the GNCCs, Suzuki simply ran out of budget. Meanwhile Yamaha had too many conflicting obligations to attend. On the flip side, there was a co promotion with 87 local Dairy Queen stores where we gave away a new Honda Rancher. They received 3200 entries, making it the most successful promotion in their history”, said Campbell. He added, “In addition, The SVIA put 150 people through their introductory training course, a new two-day record for them. To help create more interest in next year’s event, we are looking at a few possible new locations and we’re thinking of adding an ATV race to the event.” Whatever happens, we feel our industry deserves an ATV-only show and hope more vendors get on board.”
As for now, let’s take a look at some of the highlights form the companies that were present this year…
Look out kiddies, Cobra is poised to take over the 50cc limited class with their new ECX50. With all of the high performance tricks that grace the ECX70, the 50 features a fully automatic CVT tranny, making it easier for the young guns to concentrate on riding fast and in control, rather then shifting.
We never heard of DRR ATVs until we saw them winning at the nationals. We recently tested the DRR DRX50 and came away surprised at just how capable the little machine is. Look for the complete test, with video, coming very soon.
Manco, long time manufacturer is growing ever closer to building an all out mini buggy. These carts feature suspension as well as torque converters making trail riding possible.
Dubach Racing Development, (DRD) owned by the legendary motocross star Doug Dubach, have a complete line of exhausts for today’s high performance ATVs
Like the good teacher he is, pro racer, Joe Byrd takes time to grade ATV Scene’s feature on the Joe Byrd Riding School before publishing.
Besides building ATVs, Yamoto is offering pit bikes ready to go. Aaron Meyer, pictured here, attempted to push one out the back door to take home for a test on his pit bike SX track.
Perelli is the latest major tire manufacturer to venture into the ATV market. These sport meats haven’t reached production yet, but we expect something from the tire giant soon.
Dyno Jet kits are a good idea for every ATV owner. Jetting is one of the easiest ways to take full advantage of your machine’s potential power output, and protect your machine from running lean on those cold winter months.
Derisi Racing has a number of top notch products and services for your ATV. From custom revalved and resprung stock shocks, to his new patent pending A-arms, Santo has taken his years of experience on the GNCC circuit and put it to work in the shop.
ALBA Action Sports has become a juggernaut in the ATV aftermarket. They offer nearly everything you can imagine for your ATV from OEM parts to all sorts of aftermarket goodies. They even have their own line of exhausts, chassis components, as well as many
While its not the full size big bore we were hoping for, Kymco has released their new Mongoose 300 for 2006. It’s based on their successful Mongoose 250 unit, with a longer stroke to gain the extra displacement.
There’s no word on Kymco producing anything like this custom Fishers Cycle Mongoose 125, but hopefully they will take some of what they have learned and apply it to their current line of high quality youth ATVs.
We’ve been trying to get our hands on a set of these trick new piggyback AXIS shocks since we first heard that they were coming to the market. These babies look the part for sure!