It was the 40th anniversary of the largest business-to-business trade event for the powersports industry in the world. Over a thousand companies in the industry were on hand showing off their latest must have goodies. ATVs once again dominated the show especially the UTV segment of the All-Terrain-Vehicle. If it was available for the Ranger, Razr, Rhino or the newly released Terryx you better believe it was on display in Indianapolis this past weekend.
A lot has changed since year one in Anaheim, CA in 1967 when you could get a nice hotel room for just $20 and a good meal for five. Advanstar Communication (Dealer News) certainly has come a long way with their Dealer Expo 40th birthday.
With $36 million of buying power at the show over the course of the four-day show, business continues to march on. Here’s what we learned…
Best of Show
Best of Show was Quinn Michael’s Outta Control Spider Quad, which he built for DWT (Douglas Wheels) to help promote their new Spyder Wheels. As if the small attention to detail wasn’t enough, Quinn put live tarantulas, giant millipedes and scorpions in the headlight, battery box and in aquariums under the Spider Quad. More important than Quinn’s artistic quad builds is the message he is trying to send by completing them. You see, Quinn uses his custom quads to spread the word of Jesus Christ. In addition, Quinn’s Outta Control Racing Ministries provides outreach services for youth all across the nation including juvenile detention centers, summer camps, and youth rallies.
You might remember our Best of Dealer Expo feature last year, when Quinn and his Outta Control Indianapolis Colts Quad also won our Best of Show. Quinn tells us his Colts Quad will be on permanent display in the new Lukas Oil Stadium, which replaces the current RCA Dome. Congrats Quinn!
outtacontrol.breakawayoutreach.com
Best New Product
Saving you from serious injury is a serious matter. We want to show our appreciation to this wonderful new product. It is not actually brand new but this is the first time Leatt has had a booth at the show. Congrats to Leatt for this quality innovative neck brace that is designed to not allow the head to move too far from side to side or front to rear. It also redirects impact away from the neck area. Many riders are investing in this new products. In the last ten months alone they’ve sold 40,000 of these babies. At $395, it’s a bit pricey but just may be the best money you ever spend if you happen to crash and land on your head. leatt-brace.com.
Factory Race Team of the Show
Suzuki, the only manufacturer of the big four with a display at Dealer Expo, rolled out the red carpet with a full on press conference regarding their Team Rockstar/MSR/Suzuki/Yoshimura/Pro Taper/Makita Tools 2008 program, which now includes cross country star, Chris Borich. Borich has been dialing in his new LT-R450 and says he’s got it set up better than his old Honda and looks forward to a successful year with Suzuki. He will be pulling double duty for Suzuki by racing a King Quad 750 in the WPSA QuadTerrain Series.
The motocross team of Doug Gust, Chad Wienen and Dustin Wimmer will compete at the first three GNC events then concentrate their efforts on a WPSA championship.
New for this season is the addition of Makita Tools, JB Racing, Motorex Oil, CV4 and Xceldyne. Kory Ellis has been promoted to Team Manager, while Kevin Mummah of Lost Creek Cycle fame will assist Ellis as the team’s crew chief. Jeremiah Jones is still on board as a rider coach and consultant. Ryan Cox, (JJ’s former mechanic), will once again handle engine duties with fellow Yoshimura employee, Gilbert Lujan. Doug Gust’s former mechanic, Rob McClure is no longer with the team as he is now wrenching for Rockstar Makita Suzuki Factory Racing’s David Vuillemin. He is replaced by Casey Greek. Theo Lusardi will spin wrenches for Chad Wienen, while Michael Jackson handles the 191 machine of Dustin Wimmer. Lastly good ole friend John Shelburne returns as the team truck driver extraordinaire.
This year marks Suzuki’s “First on Four Wheels” 25th Anniversary.
Sharpest Girl
After thinking long and hard on this we decided to give the nod to Ohio’s Jessica Reustle. As you can see she has grown even more beautiful since her Miss Scene Sept 2005 photos. Jessica is rightfully blowing up all over the Motorsports industry from Powermadd to Toyota. You go girl!
Coolest Race Quad
This quad “Parties” like a pro because this is none other than Ryon Partee’s blinging TT race quad. Ryon’s Fischer Cycle Racing backed 450R features some trick-looking Maier carbon fiber plastic, JB Racing components, TCS Suspension and much more. There’s not a part on the machine that hasn’t been polished and honed to perfection. As you can see this bad boy has more bling than Paul Wall’s grill.
Coolest Mudder
This is One Big Bad Mudder Trucker! Actually it’s the biggest quad in the world! It’s built by our bros at Gorilla Axles. What’s up? Do you think they are trying to compensate for something? Check out those massive tires! They’re Silverback line of mudding tires built by ITP. We helped Gorilla load their monster quad after the show and considered crushing a few cars parked outside but going to jail out weighed the temptation. gorilla-axle.com
Best Side by Side
Let’s see… video screens, a custom dually rear end, an enclosed cab, wheels and the list goes on and on. This SxS Conversions Polaris Ranger is so luxurious we would drive our Grandmother to church in it while she wears her best Sunday dress. Talk about Pimp My Ranger! It was built by Wide Open Company, Inc. Check them out at rangerwarewps.com.
Best Mini Quad
We were going to go with the knock-off Kawie 50 in the RCA Dome but then the dealer farted and the wheel fell off so we scratched it off the list and went with this incredible hand-built Fischer Cycle Racing CRF 150. Check out more on this mind-boggling mini that is about to create “Shock and Awe” to the mini race scene this season in our recent ride review here. Kudos to Bud Fischer for this ATV masterpiece!
Hardest Partier
Unfortunately the winner of this title is the same reason this story is a little late. The boys at Quad Magazine once again threw down at Indy with another legendary private party that left a lot of people exhausted for days after. This time, thanks to folks at Quad, ATVers took over the Hard Rock Café. Neither sleet nor snow nor freezing wind could keep us from this year’s VIP shin ding. Hat’s off to Quad Magazine’s main man John “Doogie” Howell. After a 4am Friday night outing we wondered if he would even be awake for Quad’s Saturday night festivities. Needless to say he did not disappoint and once again got the nod for ATV Scene’s Hardest Partier. A close second went to Hinson Racing’s Ron Hinson, who according to CT’s Allen Knowles brought it on home for four consecutive nights.
Newbie Award
Seen here is Indy virgin Quad Magazine editor and ATV Scene test rider, Lance Schwartz. He’s seen here trying to find his way through the never ending displays at enormous Dealer Expo. He might as well have been wearing a blind fold at times, at least that way he would have had an excuse for running into all those cute promo girls in short skirts, (just kidding). Good to see your face in the place Lance – yours too Dave Porzi! And watch out future newbies we’re watching.
Best Message of Show
This title goes to Dealer Expo Sponsor, Fasst Co., makers of the popular Flexx handlebars, for putting up a sign that beautifully displays the bootlegging message that absolutely needs to be said. What’s more it’s written in the appropriate languages so the guilty have no excuses. It threatens foreign imposters, who use Dealer Expo to shoot detailed photos so they can create coppy-cat knockoff products and machines overseas. fasstco.com
Best Advertisement of Show
More props go to Cole Townsend and Chris Tidwell, the owners of Fasst Company for their good-looking Flexx Handlebars advertisement and the creative way of displaying it on this set of stairs. We’re fans of this original high quality product, which was debuted at Dealer Expo 2002. Fasst Company’s patended Flexx Bars are hands down the best bars you can get for your bike or quad. They absorb shock and vibration, reduce fatigue and help with arm pump.fasstco.com
Worst of Show
No this isnt a hot new Polaris sport quad or a new Kawasaki. The many knock-off ATVs and now UTVs seemed to flood Dealer Expo more than ever this year. A word to the wise. It may look similar to that shiny new Yamaha and cost less money but buyer beware – you get what you pay for. So again this year our Worst of Show goes out to all those unoriginal companies and manufactures. And like we did last year, we remind you to just buy a real Raptor 350 or Polaris Outlaw and save yourself a lot of headaches.
Most Number One Plates
Is it possible to have too many championships? If you’re Hinson Racing it is. They can no longer fit all the championship number one plates they have in their booth, so this year they just displayed the ones they won in 2008, which is just about every championship possible including ATV championships from John Natalie, Joe Byrd, Wayne Matlock and Harold Goodman.
Year of the Shock
We wished we would have counted all the different shocks on display and available for today’s ATV. As if there isn’t a ton of ATVs to better suspend, there’s now several new Side by Side vehicles on the market. Present were old stand by shock makers; Custom Axxis, Ohlins, Works, iShock, Fox (pictured) and others. One could argue Tire Balls offer shock-like ability and they had a display – so why not include them on the worthy shock list as well? We also learned about new shocks at this year’s Dealer Expo. New shocks are available from Tech Extreme, Halo Innovations and HLS, which is a partnership effort between GT Thunder and HMF Engineering. Bottom line, there are a ton of shocks available for your quad or SxS. With lots of choices available it will be interesting to see this market advance in the next few years. Expect lower prices and better suspension than ever!
Innovative New Air Filter
Motoworks was displaying an all new air filter. It’s a bit pricey at $130 retail, but they say you’ll get more air flow than any aftermarket filter available and it’s said to filter out more dirt than any other filter. And get this, there’s no oil needed ever and they back it with a lifetime guarantee. The design is similar to a K&N unit in that it uses similar pleats, but it eliminates the need for a heavy wire mesh frame. Since it is an oil-free filter it can be cleaned in minutes using mild soap. We’re told it has been tested successfully at the recent Baja 1000. We’re also told that Mike Cafro and the Honda Temecula Motorsports Team will be switching to this new filter this year. motoworks.com
Foam Filter Outerwears
For those that think Outerwears pre filter covers are made just for K&N filters, think again. Outerwears makes affordable covers for your foam filter too. Now there’s no excuse to not treat your engine properly. Filter your intake to the best of your ability. It’s the smartest and cheapest way to mod your quad. outerwears.com
William Yokley 2008 GNCC Champ?
We ran into one of our favorite pro riders, William Yokley. His new program is pretty impressive and worth mention. He will be chasing points on a new Honda 450R with plenty of backing from the National Guard and his own Yokley Racing. He said he has a personal trainer and he is more than ready to win his first GNCC pro championship. Lookout Ballance and Borich, Yokley is prepaired and fired up for 2008. Also congrats to William and wife on their newly born twins.yokleyracing.com
More of what we learned at Indy…
A interesting fact we learned about in Indy is that CV4 has over 40 million dollars worth of machinery and technology in their manufacturing facility. The ATV industry probable knows them best for their radiator hoses, but they produce so much more than that. The V in CV4 stands for Vicors. The owner is the dad of the driver of the Red Bull car Brian Vickers. Check out their site at cv4.net and see how into ATVs they are….
ATV Scene got word that Fox Racing Shox is coming out with a new improved rear shock for the Can-Am DS 450…
AMSOIL is the creator of Synthetic oil but did you know that the president of Amsoil was a jet fighter for 25 years? He took the technology in the jet plane oil and transformed it to be sold commercially. He hired the top chemist in the world and formulated synthetic motor oil. You might consider switching your truck to full synthetic (tranny and engine oil). It’s well worth the effort…
PWR is a technology driven company that creates the maximum protection of engines through their radiators and oil coolers. The Baja 1000 winners ran the stage 3 cooling kit…
Tech Extreme is a new suspension company out of Italy. The Air ATV shock resembles the Fox Air Suspension a lot but other than that we really don’t know that much about it…
Quinn Michaels spent over a thousand dollars on spiders, giant millipedes and black scorpions. One of his spiders was large enough to kill and eat a bird. He made the head light and battery box into a miniature aquarium and held a spider in each…
Lastly, four days of Dealer Expo is exhausting and cost a lot of money, but we’re already looking forward to visiting all of our friends at next year’s show.
