The IMS Outdoors tour kicked off in July at Sonoma Raceway.

For nearly four decades, the Progressive International Motorcycle Show traveled from city to city from late fall to early spring, setting up shop in cavernous convention centers in major urban areas. The IMS show was where motorcyclists from around the country could kick tires on the latest models, ogle over outlandish custom bikes and spit-shined vintage machines, shop for aftermarket gear, and get inspired for the upcoming riding season.

This rider was stoked to get a demo ride on the 2022 Yamaha YZF-R7.

Back in the late ?90s, when I started riding motorcycles, I went to the IMS show in Philadelphia. The show was in February, so it was icy and gray outside. My VFR750 was covered and chained up for the winter, and I took public transit to the massive convention center near Chinatown. Even at 25 years of age, I was like a kid in a candy store. I got to sit on a Ducati 916, and I got an autograph from racer Steve Rapp. (Almost 20 years later, while on an Arai press launch, I got to ride with Rapp, him on an Aprilia RSV4 and me on a KTM 1290 Super Duke GT, on my favorite backroad, California Route 33.)
Riders line up for the final IMS show, held in Costa Mesa, California, last November.

In late November or early December, the IMS tour would kick off at the Long Beach Convention Center near Los Angeles, and it was an annual tradition for those of us who work at various motorcycle publications to attend ...