Motorcycle and Powersports Show ready to rev things up

By Al Beeber - Lethbridge Herald on January 16, 2025.

Submitted photo - Area motorcycle enthusiasts will soon have a chance to see what's new in the world of two-wheeled motorsports when the Calgary Motorcycle and Powersports Show opens its doors at the BMO Centre in Calgary's Stampede Park.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDabeeber@lethbridgeherald.com

Get your motors running, head out on the highway!

With southern Alberta’s long riding season, motorcycles are a popular form of transportation for both recreation and commuting.

And soon area motorcycle enthusiasts will have a chance to see what’s new in the world of two-wheeled motorsports when the Calgary Motorcycle and Powersports Show opens its doors at the BMO Centre in Calgary’s Stampede Park.

The show runs from Jan. 31 until Feb. 2 and is the second since the event got revved up again after the COVID-19 pandemic shut it down.

Show hours are 11 a.m. until 8 p.m. on Jan 31, 10 a.m. until 7 p.m. on Feb. 1 and 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. on Feb. 2.

The show is staged by Moto Canada, formally the Motorcycle and Moped Industry Council which was founded in 1971 to represent the interests of motorcycle and scooter manufacturers as well as retail outlets and manufacturers of related products.

The Calgary show has long been a popular event with Lethbridge enthusiasts who regularly make the trip north. And Alberta, according to Landon French, CEO and president of Moto Canada, Alberta is prime country for motorcycling.

The Calgary show is one of four to be staged in Canada this year. The first opens in Vancouver on Friday and runs through Sunday.

An adventure bike enthusiast, French says Alberta is a province that can provide opportunity for a wide range of riders and their diverse interests.

The Calgary show will have a special attraction in an ATV Zone which will appeal to sportsmen, outdoor enthusiasts and people in the agricultural industry who use all-terrain vehicles.

Show visitors, said French in a phone interview, can expect to see the latest in motorcycle and scooter styles and the innovation that is going into them.

And while the pandemic put the brakes on motorcycle shows, the Ontario-based French said the industry is getting back up to speed.

Among the more popular styles of motorcycles now are the so-called adventure bikes which have more ground clearance and suspensions tuned more for trails and off-road adventures, machines which can be ridden to work during the week and taken into the wilderness on weekends.

Adventure bikes come in various displacements and are now sold by a range of manufacturers from the venerable Harley-Davidson company to manufacturers in Europe and Asia.

“A lot of innovation is coming” into the motorcycle world, said French. Among those innovations are electric motorcycles which have a shorter range than their gasoline-fuelled counterparts but which can be ideal for riding in the urban environment.

French expects interests in electrics to grow in North America with their popularity already soaring in Europe where motorcycles and scooters are often used as main sources of transportation as well as devices for recreation.

And there are also more electric-powered scooters coming into the marketplace as well, French added.

At the show, buyers and enthusiasts can also expect to see traditional cruisers, the motorcycles that are associated with comfort and long-distance riding. French said the market for cruisers is stable and manufacturers are working to broaden their attraction to a wider range of riders.

“You can see a lot of innovation and subtle style changes,” he added.

“This industry has done a fantastic job in having different features and price points, he said, a strategy to diversify which French said he believes is working to attract new riders.