Progressive International Motorcycle Shows Dec.31.2011 Being # 1 is cool, we must be special because the San Francisco Bay Area is the first show of the 12 stop nationwide Progressive Insurance motorcycle show tour. As usual it was held at the San Mateo Fairgrounds, located about 30 miles south of San Francisco. It seems it rains every year, but that does not stop visitors from going to the show to get a first look at the manufacturers new models and latest industry offerings. Hope you didnt miss it. Unsettled weather may have led many to 4 wheel it down, luckily there was many breaks in the weather for the devoted ride in any weather motorcycle riders. Progressive, the show’s main sponsor, had photo ops where you had a pick of custom designs on a T Shirt, printed while you wait. Kawasaki interactive Design a Bike was pretty neat, starting with a blank white Kawi, paint it to your liking with the wireless digital spray can! (Hey kids a spray can you wont get in trouble with) After you put your custom touches, you receive a print out tee to take home. Harley Davidson gets some props too for their Jumpstart Experience. ANYONE could fire up the HD bike and get into gear and ride. Wind in your hair, no helmet, the catch…. well it was stationary, but judging by the big smiles coming from users experiences, the machine was a hit. Extra Exotic bikes were in the Dream Pavilion. Good to see the Eric Buell Racing Machine among the exotics. The Century of Motorcycling display presented by Motorcyclist Magazine was fitting being they turn 100 in 2012. For those who like customs there was the Ultimate Builder Custom Bike Show which will have a $90,000 prize to be awarded when the tour concludes at Daytona next year. A couple that caught our eye, the litlle Kawasaki KH100 "Squid", the extremely wild 76 Honda CB "Sentoh" and a red BSA single was pretty sweet too. Even a scooter was competing, a Harley Topper. A very cool and informative part of the weekend’s experience happened up on a stage dubbed the Learning Curve… There many subjects were covered, from buying your first bike to going racing. Sunday SFs 1077 the Bones Nikki Blakk met with fans, but no sign of Sully who would have been volunteered for the Smage Brothers Stunt Show. The brothers did some cool tricks with their Sherco Trials Bikes. With their climbing structure they did wheelies and stoppies high above the asphalt. Supermoto USA set up a racetrack on the fairgrounds vast asphalt parking and ran races in the rain on Saturday and Sunday. Getting out there on my Kawasaki on Friday, in the light rain, after the California Supermoto Schools session, was a treat. Hope you got to say hello to us at our Urban Moto Booth across from Yamaha, fitting since we had one of our own, 14 time Isle of Man road race competitor Wade Boyd, displaying his Subculture racing “DT” R1 flat tracker at the booth all weekend. The bike got a lot of attention as it is considered the only road racing superbike to be transformed into a professional flat track machine… hence the “DT” for dirt tracker. San Mateo’s Westside Boxing Club fitness instructor Lynette hung out and made some fans. UM contributor, ASBN founder and Bonneville Salt Flats announcer, retired Oakland Police Officer Mike “The Woz” Wozniak, was a sight to see… he was sporting a different checkered flag outfit each day of the show. He saved his best for Sunday, a checkered flag tuxedo. Great IMS this year in San Mateo….I will see everyone at the Long Beach IMS before Christmas. Stay tuned.