Easyriders V-Twin Expo Not Merging With Any Other Show

On July 14th, I wrote an article about the Rivalry between The Easyriders V-Twin Expo of Cincinnati and the newly created Advanstar American V-Twin Dealer Show of Indianapolis held a few days later in February 2012. I was informed that the administration of the V-Twin Expo has received calls from people with questions about the option of merging the two tradeshows. They must not be my readers because I was talking about the rivalry, not of the merging of the 2 shows. Anyway, The V-Twin Expo By Easyriders wants all the industry to know that they are not, don’t intend to combine with any other company or show, and sent me the following press release to clarify. I reproduce it as received.

“V-Twin Expo by Easyriders. The Original and Only Show Exclusively Focused on the American v-twin Industry. The 12th Annual V-Twin Expo by Easyriders February 4-6, 2012 remains the industry’s best exclusive trade show serving dealers and manufacturers in the American v-twin industry. Eleven years in the making, the upcoming 12th annual V-Twin Expo by Easyriders is revving up for a solid show in February 2012.

The V-Twin Expo, designed by the v-twin industry for the v-twin industry has stuck to its original mission since 2000. Taking place in beautiful downtown Cincinnati, February 4-6, 2012 at the Duke Energy Center, the V-Twin Expo delivers industry-leading exhibitors to v-twin dealers from across the US and beyond. It is common knowledge that the industry is changing and right-sizing. The key to success for the Expo has been its ability to work with the best exhibitors in the business attracting v-twin focused dealers.
The V-Twin Expo does not cater to all power sports dealers. Its focus is strictly the v-twin focused dealer network.

Already for 2012, the Expo has over 200 exclusive v-twin exhibitors registered. The 12th annual V-Twin Expo will be rock solid. “We strategically selected Cincinnati because the city welcomes our industry with open arms in addition to lower hotel, air, transportation and overall costs for both exhibitors and dealers. Fortunately, our vision/mission has not changed. We haven’t had to re-launch our show because it works. In 2000 we set out to host, educate and present profit opportunities to v-twin dealers. Now, twelve years later, we still deliver on that goal. Our exhibitors plan all year for their presence in Cincy. They come prepared to introduce their newest products, distribute catalogs, sales info, take dealer orders, sign distribution deals and network with industry colleagues and the press. We work hard to provide them the best platform to deliver their message. If you are a v-twin dealer, Cincinnati is the right place to get v-twin focused business done and leave with profit centered ideas” said show producer, Jim Betlach. 

On top of seeing what’s new on the show floor, dealers can attend an assortment of interactive seminars presented by expert industry panelists leaving armed with knowledge and information to increase their shop profits. That’s what the V-Twin Expo is all about. The 12th Annual V-Twin Expo in Cincinnati February 4-6, 2012 is not open to the public and focuses exclusively on the American v-twin motorcycle market. It is the only exclusive v-twin trade show attracting dealers from the US, Canada and world. The V-Twin Expo by Easyriders is wholly owned by Paisano Publications. The V-Twin Expo has not been combined with any other show or company.”

16 Responses to “Easyriders V-Twin Expo Not Merging With Any Other Show”


  1. 1 Rogue Jul 24th, 2011 at 6:27 am

    I will be in Cincy for the V-Twin Expo as I am sure most of the other people who have attended in the past.
    I like the fact that it is for the V-Twin motorcyclist.
    I am not really interested in what the other show has to offer.
    I will admit I did attend it one time many years ago and that was enough for me.
    So I will make my reservations for Cincy and look forward to seeing you there.

  2. 2 B'COOL Products Jul 24th, 2011 at 6:50 am

    I think the V-Twin Expo is the way to go but still not sure why they don’t have the show hours from Fri to Sunday instead of Sat-Mon. The half day Monday is pretty much useless for generating any interest and sales, in my opinion, as most people will travel home on Sunday. Having the show on the weekend is brilliant though as it prevents shops from having to shut down through the week and lose valuable income.

    Also think the show hours could be extended to allow those cramming through on Saturday more time to take in everything the vendors are displaying. Many times I talked to people and they seemed pressured to move on because they still had a lot of show to cover and time was runnning out.

    Randy Briley
    B’COOL Products

  3. 3 Mike Tomas Kiwi Indian MC Co Jul 24th, 2011 at 8:17 am

    The Cinci show does hit a home run for American V twins. I have found Jim to go out of his way to accommodate his venders and make sure all is good with them. Splitting our industry is not good for either but the end result will show Cinci to be the serious contact place. The American V Twin market is different than the rest of the MC industry and we like our own identity.
    My company products are a niche market within a niche market and the Cinci V Twin Expo has allowed me to think outside the usual vintage box, expand and make serious contacts at the supplier, sales and media levels.
    I prefer having a personal contact with people I do business with. Jim, his family and his crew do a great job at accommodating our needs.
    Another very nice feature at Cinci is the ease of loading and unloading. Everyone is accommodating, from the traffic control cops out on the street to the convention center door guys.
    Cinci has been very good to us.

  4. 4 yale Jul 24th, 2011 at 4:53 pm

    I attend every year but it would sure nice if they moved to some place warm. It is tough to spend that much money to fly to Cincy and not be able to add a few days to the trip for vacation. Vegas, Phoenix, Frisc or Orlando would be nice and cheaper to fly to

  5. 5 Kustoms and Choppers Jul 24th, 2011 at 5:07 pm

    Im to far away…

  6. 6 Gary Bang Jul 24th, 2011 at 5:32 pm

    If Jim Betlach is involved or as it states he is the Producer you can take it to the Bank that this is the best show to think of or attend. Gary Bang

  7. 7 Matt Jul 25th, 2011 at 9:19 am

    Arright, so I think you guys may be missing a point here, and that is vendor representation drives the Expos, not overall attendance. While we all know that Cinci is a great show, the motorcycle parts industry is in a state of decline as far as overall sales are concerned. (getting better, but isn’t quite “there” yet) The major parts distributors and many of the smaller vendors are representational in both the V-twin markets and the metric markets, so for a good many of them it will be logistically cheaper and easier to have a consolidated show.

    Dealernews recognized this and acted on it, and I would suspect that they have a pretty fair commitment from their customers that cross over into the V-twin market to display at DealerExpo. In the end the dollar sign rules and the DealerExpo is a huge volume draw as it currently stands so there isn’t much risk on the part of the vendor as far as exposure is concerned. I think that a consolidated show may really stand a serious chance.

    Unless vendors decide to just drop out of Cinci, then it might not effect Cinci this year, but I can certainly see a future where Cinci loses this battle.

    Anyway, this is just my .02

  8. 8 A 1 CYCLES Jul 25th, 2011 at 9:46 am

    MY IDEA WAS TO HOLD THE V TWIN EXPO IN WEST PALM BEACH (MY HOME TOWN) THE WEEK BEFORE DAYTONA…MOST OF THE BIG RIGS ARE HERE OR ON THE WAY AND IT WOULD ADD ANOTHER WEEK OUT FO THE SHOP YES…BUT IT WOULD JUST BE PART OF THE SWING TO DAYTONA..THINK IT WOULD MAKE A STRONGER SHOW OF VENDORS AND MFG. PRESENCE…AND I THINK THE COST WOULD BE REDUCED FROM RUNNING TO CINCI IN FEB. SEPERATELY? ANY IDEAS? PRO ? CONS? JUST A THOUGHT

  9. 9 Ben Kudon Jul 25th, 2011 at 11:37 am

    Rivera Primo Inc. supports the Easyriders V-Twin Expo in Cincy and Jim Betlach. These people present a class show and they are easy to get along with. This is just not the case with the ‘other’ guys.

  10. 10 Toby Jul 25th, 2011 at 12:17 pm

    I agree with Yale, It would be much better, and probably better attended if they were to change the venue from Cincy (sorry Ohio). Many other trade shows flip between Orlando and Vegas. Very cheap airfare and accommodations in both cities. Family vacation one year, and party vacation the next…

  11. 11 F. Brechter Jul 25th, 2011 at 12:28 pm

    If one of the 2 shows is going to disappear, I think it will be Cincy V Twin Expo. Too much based on friendships between vendors and not enough commercial results. Can Easyriders in trouble continue to support the show? For how long? EZ can license the name. But does the show need to keep the EZ name in it?

  12. 12 Mike Jul 25th, 2011 at 1:38 pm

    The reason the shows are in the mid-west is because it’s within a few hundred miles of something like 70% of the whole US population. That means more people attend. If it’s in Florida or Vegas – not a large % of the population lives close, so most people have to fly in, which lowers attendance.

    Load in and load out in Cincy is way better (because it’s non-union, so no teamsters BS like in NYC). But you pick shows to earn you money, not to have an easy load-in. In terms of making money, Cincy is way behind Indianapolis. It just is.

    Cincy is a bunch of real nice cool guys walking around who are there to socialize and meet up with their buddies and chat about V-Twin stuff. Indianapolis is buyers from major companies who are there to transact and to do real business.

    Cincy or Indy… well, do you wanna grow your business and make money, or hang out with cool guys and chat for a couple days?

  13. 13 John Magee Jul 25th, 2011 at 4:26 pm

    I’d love to see it in a warm weather location too. I noticed many of the attendees were geographically local to the show, a warm spot like FL or Las Vegas might bring in a new group of dealers. Both are easy to fly to, right? Cincy is too close to Indy, I think they steal attendees from each other as far as V-Twin dealers.

    But between the two, I’ll go to Cincinnati, to show or to attend.

  14. 14 Blackmax Jul 25th, 2011 at 8:21 pm

    I’ve been to both Indy & Cincinnati as a member of the press. Where Indy really did not give two cents if a local magazine was there or not, we have ALWAYS been welcome with open arms
    (and open access) at the V-Twin, Jim Betlach and all of his staff have been very gracious and helpful to us when it would’ve been very, VERY, easy just to “glad-hand” us & shove us off to the side. Cincinnati is one of 2 chances (if you count the Chillicothe Rodeo) that we get the chance to be “equal” to the national mags with access to the major players in the industry (Ron Finch, Arlen, Cory & Zach Ness, Jay Barberi, John Shope, Rick Fairless and Cyril, himself), to name a few) that we could never reach if they were not here in our “backyard. The fact that we are able to talk to such luminaries brings it just a little closer to home for thousands of our local readers and to know they are not just names in a magazine. Yes, I know Indy is really not that far away from Cincinnati, but it might as well be a million miles away as far as treatment recieved……

  15. 15 Windy Jul 26th, 2011 at 9:35 am

    Move the show to Orlando the weekend before Daytona. Plenty of rooms at good prices, huge travel savings, and most important dealer attendance will be up. Cinci has become a mostly local show and will be gone in 2 or 3 years if something isn’t done. As others have said, Indy is truly a national (and get’s it’s fair share of international visitors too) show with motivated buyers. Cinci is fun, but very little new business happens.

    Moving to Orlando would give dealers a reason to go (warm weather and Daytona), save vendors money (one trip to do both the V twin & Daytona) and put some new life back into the show. Also open the show Monday to non dealers to showcase our new products (it’s been done in European shows for years). I’ve been an exhibitor at both shows for many years, this year will probably be my last in Cinci if changes don’t happen.

  16. 16 Fredp Jul 31st, 2011 at 9:33 pm

    Move the show to Kansas City, Ks. Middle of the country for all vendors and their convention center is outstanding!! Easy highway access, great restuarants and hotels linked to it. Time for a scene change.

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Cyril Huze