I went to the International Motorcycle Show in NYC with some friends this weekend. I think it's been about 20 years since I last attended an IMS show, but I'm looking for some new gear and I'll be honest, the new motorcycles I've seen on the internet over the last few weeks sure are interesting.

These are the good old days of motorcycling. I'm just blown away with the quality of the bikes. My friends give me a hard time because I'm kind of myopic when it comes to motorcycles (hey - some of them ride Harley's so they shouldn't talk) but I made a point of looking at everything. Some standouts (to myopic me):

Z900RS - great looking and comfortable. The attention to detail is outstanding.
Royal Enfield - this is not a comment on build quality or reliability, but their bikes are beautiful. The new twin is really a good looking bike and their singles - in all of their different versions - really are interesting to look at.
KTM - the entire lineup - not the prettiest bikes out there - but they do put out a high quality product. I fell in love with the 690 Duke.
Harley - It's no wonder they can't sell bikes. My buddies are always telling me that I need a touring bike (more on that later) so I walked though their line of Electra/Ultra Glides and CVO's. One bike looked interesting to me so I sat on it. H-D salesman approaches me and starts talking about the features. While he's talking I glance at the info card that has the price - $42,000. I ask "is this a custom?" and he says, "no, its a production model". Other then being blacked-out, it's really no different then the $25,000 model sitting next to it. There was one H-D model that looked interesting to me (myopic me), the Street 750. Sat on it, put my feet on the pegs, and declared it the most uncomfortable bike I'd ever sat on. My knees were so bent and so high - it would be unbearable to ride.
Yamaha - the XSR700 is a cool bike. It was designed with customization in mind. They had a stock and two customs sitting next to one another and all three looked great.
Italian Bikes - Pick a brand or a model, simply beautiful. I've always been a fan of the Aprilia Shiver and the new 900 is a cool bike. Anything by Bimota is just porn on two wheels.
Touring Bikes - at the urging of my buddies (who think nothing of riding 12 days) I looked at all of the touring bikes. I don't find them interesting at all - with the exception of the BMW K1600. That is a bike I could see myself riding.

Funniest thing I heard all day - We were standing next to the Suzuki M109's because my buddy had one that he just lost to an accident (got rear ended) and is considering getting another. Just behind the M109's was Suzuki's line of scooters. A couple of guys approach us and ask us "what's the difference between the M109 and the scooters"? This was a serious question. My buddy says "what do you mean?". The guy says "well the seat height looks about the same" and my fried says "if you don't know the difference, then you should be looking at the scooters".

The show specials for gear were very good. Now that I wear glasses all the time I've been in the market for a modular helmet. On my list of lids to check-out was the Scorpion EXO AT-950. Tried one on, fit perfect. The salesman says "we have those on show special" How much"? $180. Cheapest I've ever seen one was $270. So that came home with me. I also pick-up a Sena 10R bluetooth device for the helmet. Regular amazon price is $215, show special $175. Almost everybody in the group left with something.

The IMS is a good time. Sure, you could go to a mega dealer and do the same thing - but they're not happy with you sitting on every bike on the showroom floor. And they don't have the custom built bikes or the $5 hot dogs...I could go on and on....

Let me express my appreciation for the info you provided as well.  Here in east central Oklahoma we don't get the good shows like you do in the Far East of the US