According to ANCMA, the Italian Motorcycle Industry Trade Association that owns and operates EICMA, the 80th edition/110th anniversary year saw "over 560,000 people attend the exhibition".
That is some +19% up on 2022, and describing it as a "Gold Medal Edition", that is actually still some 200,000 or more visitors lower than the peak pre-pandemic claims made for the attendance, but, whether an overestimate or not, there were more than enough people there to keep the aisles and booths of the eight occupied halls busy.
That was two more halls than in 2022 and three more than in 2021. Some 2,036 brands were "present" according to the organizers, with more than 700 direct exhibitors - confirming the long and growing list of aftermarket parts and accessory and gear and apparel absentees.
Some 67% or those exhibitors were international, representing 45 countries. EICMA says that more than 30 percent of the exhibitors were "first timers" - another 'tell' in terms of the underlying trend that continues to affect all the major shows in terms of the 'core' international motorcycle industry vendor community, with consolidation, market changes and atrophy continuing to have their effect.
EICMA says there were 39,392 selected and profiled industry professionals present with updated quality criteria that were introduced in 2022 intended to improve dealer (and press) day attendee scrutiny. There were though several tens of thousands more people than that in the aisles on the so-called "Trade Day". Of the "industry professional attendance", 52% was theoretically recorded as "international", from 120 countries.
In media terms, EICMA claims that just over 7,000 journalists, technicians and communication professionals and content creators attended from 62 countries - there were though several thousand more people than that in the aisles on the so-called "Press Day".
Drag Specialties: Hosting several famous name vendors and brands from the U.S. operation as part of Parts Europe's presence at EICMA, 2024 will mark the 15th anniversary of the first inventory being accepted into the custom-built 200,000 sq ft distribution complex in 2019 in Germany. Vendors and brands included S&S Cycle, Klock Werks, Memphis Shades, Motion Pro and Show Chrome; www.partseurope.eu
Puig: The Barcelona based parts specialist (Motoplastic S.A.) has revisited the Diablo 'Everflowing Design' project that it unveiled in 2022 with DIABLOX. The start-point had been to evaluate what features and accessories motorcycles of the future will give us and, in an ideal world, where could free-flowing accessory design creativity take us? Creativity that isn't compromised by factory productionization. EICMA 2023 saw the unveil of a second iteration of its 'Everflowing Design' thinking as a second stage in the translation of design philosophy into design language. The donor bike was a Yamaha MT-09 and parts developed include frontal spoilers, a smart display, height- adjustable seat design and rear seat cowl, side panels, rear spoiler, drag-reducing lenticular rim, side fines that modify the airflow and a fairing with an electronically adjustable windshield and full LED headlight.
The most important boxes that the Puig design studio seeks to tick are to produce accessories that not only look great, but that are fully functional - "without purpose, there is no design"; adaptable - "versatile designs that can be purposed to different uses and needs"; aerodynamic - "the basis of everything"; ergonomic - "designs for every kind of rider"; minimalistic - "designs with nothing unnecessary getting in the way" and 'Smart-Electronic' - "technological, useful and interactive - "a bike that responds"; www.puig.tv
Öhlins: Top-selling suspension products for V-twin applications from the Swedish specialist include its Blackline 49 mm complete front forks with Öhlins NIX technology and 30 mm cartridge kit, 43 mm 120 mm tube inverted forks and STX 36 twin shocks available in emulsion, piggyback, hose and inline versions for Harley Touring models; www.ohlins.com
S&S Cycle: The masters of 'Proven Performance' remain an import part of the custom V-twin performance parts market in Europe. S&S is a brand that is regarded as integral to independent custom bike businesses (and authorized Harley dealers in Europe) alike and is as much a credential for their shops as it is a business opportunity; www.sscycle.com