Bigger V-Twin Expo Gears Up – December 25, 2006

Get ready for a V-Twin Expo that not only possesses more seminar horsepower, but more exhibitors in a bigger arena.
The site is still the same — the Cincinnati Duke Energy Convention Center — for the
V-twin industry’s biggest event of the year. But the Cincinnati convention center features refurbished areas and has more space than last year.
Scheduled for Feb. 3-5, the seventh annual expo is expected to feature approximately 1,100 booths and 500 exhibitors from around the United States and the world.
All of those companies, along with the trade-only crowd, will see exhibitor booths on the first and third floors. That wasn’t the case last year when construction limited the event to the first and second floors.
As usual, the second floor will be reserved for seminars and meeting rooms. But this year, about 150 exhibitor booths will be on the third floor. That floor, which includes the newly refurbished ballroom, will have a restaurant and new products and registration areas.
Like in previous years, expect to see a range of custom bike builders, from the larger manufacturers like Big Dog Motorcycles and American IronHorse to a host of smaller custom builders. Plus, the 500 companies, a slight uptick from last year, will include a variety of aftermarket companies.
When not checking out those companies’ new products, dealers will find a host of new seminars this year.
“When we first started, one of the remarks that was made by our competitor during an interview was, ‘We don’t do seminars anymore. The dealers don’t want them,’” said Jim Betlach, executive producer of the V-Twin Expo. “That always kind of blew me away.
“What was really happening was the dealers didn’t want the goofy seminars. They wanted the real meat-and-potato seminars. So a seminar on how to decorate your store for the holidays was never very well attended.
“What we did was put seminars on engines, transmissions, fuel injection and stuff like that. And they’ve been very well attended.”
Expect even more of those types of seminars this year. The expo’s seminar topics will include how to repair custom paint jobs to beginning and advanced fuel injection workshops to an engine panel to a discussion on building a custom bike.
Plus, a number of companies are offering show specials for dealers, including trips to Las Vegas and Germany.
Dealers can register online for the 2007 Expo
at www.vtwin-expo.com.