The 40th Annual Tokyo Motor Show was not just about cars but motorcycles and commercial vehicles, too. I didn't spend a lot of time looking at dump trucks and buses, but I did spend some time with the motorcycles and am glad I did.
The general feeling from my colleagues who attended the show is that this was a bit of a down year. Sure, Nissan officially launched the GT-R, but we've been seeing that car for several years now. Likewise with Mitsubishi and the Lancer Evo X. Honda's CR-Z was very cool, and concepts from Mitsubishi (Concept LT) and Suzuki (Kizashi 2) were well done.
Plus, there were a few wacky concepts and podlike contraptions, something Tokyo has become known for. But there was not a lot of meat in what was shown or in the information uncovered.
But walking through the North Hall of Makuhari Messe, where the motorcycles are, revealed that there is a lot of forward thinking going on about things on two wheels.
Motorcycle designers would appear to have a much smaller palette with which to work. Two wheels, no roof, not much of an "interior," not to mention a much smaller overall platform.
Take, for instance, Suzuki's Biplane, one of the coolest contraptions at the show. Just to prove that car designers don't have the corner on the market for all things wacky, there was the Yamaha Bobby. Having said that, I wouldn't mind having a Bobby for around town, or maybe at racetracks.
Honda, Kawasaki, Triumph, Ducati and Harley-Davidson all were present on the show floor, with new designs and new technology on display.
Oh, and lest you think the talk of alternative power is the sole domain of the automakers, Suzuki showed a concept motorcycle powered by a fuel cell.
My little tour through the motorcycle hall had me wanting to get my motorcycle endorsement.
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