Words by Robin Bradley
Pictures by Sara Viney
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 prepandemic 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 organisers , 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 ". www . eicma . it
Puig : The Barcelona based parts specialist ( Motoplastic S . A .) has revisited Yamaha ' s MT-09 with an update to the Diablo ' Everflowing Design ' project ' that it unveiled in 2022 . 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 production . The answer that the Puig design team came up with was its ' Everflowing Design ' concept as showcased by the original ' DIABLO '. EICMA 2023 saw the unveil of a second iteration of that thinking - ' DIABLO X ' - as a second stage in the translation of design philosophy into design language . 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 fins 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 www . idnmag . com INTERNATIONAL DEALER NEWS - JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2024 25