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I spent most of yesterday driving from Cincinnati to Stillwater, MN which means I'm still buzzed from my road-diet of chocolate, beef jerky and Mountain Dew. Boy, if a handful of M&Ms and 8 ounces of the sweet green death won't keep you awake, a handful of whites probably won't either – which brings to mind the song Willin', but I digress.

The V-Twin show, held every year in Cincinnati, is now smaller than it was just a few years ago. There aren't as many vendors, and there aren't as many people walking the aisles that separate the Drag Specialties booth from the House of Kolor display.

At first blush, that's a bad thing. A smaller industry means fewer new parts, and reduced job opportunities for people with an interest in V-Twins and hot rod Harleys.

As always however, there's a silver lining, something that became apparent as I walked the show early on Sunday before the doors were officially open for the day. At that time of day, in a mostly empty hall, it's easy to strike up a conversation.

This is what I-94 looks like late at night after too many bottles of Mountain Dew.

What I discovered, over and over again, is that the weeding-out process leaves behind the hard core. Men and women with a true passion for motorcycles. People like Steven Berner, editor for Iron Works magazine, who essentially took a cut in pay to take on what he call his, "dream job." "I find that the jobs that make me the most money leave me pretty unhappy," explained Steve. "This is an opportunity for me. I've known and admired the magazine for a long time, I don’t plan an overhaul, but I do want to make some additions that I think the readers will like. And I want to build a real strong sense of teamwork between myself and the other members of the staff."

Steven Berner, a man with an enormous amount of energy for anything related to motorcycles, riding, and photography.

Up the road, so to speak, Custom Cycle Engineering displayed their line of old-skool-is-cool parts. Everything from ribbed rocker covers to a variety of triple trees and suspension parts. The suspension parts include a spherical bearing retro-fit kit for pre-2002 Baggers, and a upper triple tree kit for pre-2009 Baggers. Both kits are meant to tame the dread Harley-Hula-Bagger dance, subject of past columns here, and many tech articles in the magazines. Started by Randy Smith in 1967, CCE is run today by Rick and Jim Whitehead. When I stopped to talk about the upper triple tree kit, long-time friend to CCE and part time employee, Tim Wallingford, explained not only why and how the upper tree helps cure handling woes, but the philosophy behind all the parts old and new. "Randy was kind of a grandfather to all of us," explained Tim. "The parts we make now are just an extension of what Randy was doing when he started the company."

Tim Wallingford, longtime employee and friend to Custom Cycle Engineering. Also the man who's restoring a number of Randy Smith's old customs.

Before leaving Cinci for my all-day road trip, I attended the seminar titled, Eternal Combustion – opportunity in the wind, hosted by Buffalo Chip and Hot Leathers. This was basically a chance for media types like Chris Maida from American Iron and Marilyn Stemp from Iron works, to question bike builders like Dave Perewitz, Brian Klock, Paul Yaffe and others about what keeps them in the business even when the business isn't real good, and what pearls of wisdom they might be willing to pass on to members of the audience.

The one phrase that came up again and again, was passion for motorcycles. Young builder, Matt Olson, from Carl's Cycle Supply, talked about dragging his feet to finish a particular restoration, "because I loved that particular bike so much I just didn't want to see it leave the shop."

The Eternal Combustion seminar, proved a huge success. Moderated by Rod from The Chip, as well as Michael Lichter and Ken Conte, the panelists helped everyone remember what brought them to the industry in the first place – passion for motorcycles.

We always think that bigger is better, this is America after all. In the case or the V-twin show though, smaller means the best have stood the test. From Hank at the Henry Ham Insurance Agency, to Don Hannon from KustomWerks, and fifty more, these are people who love motorcycles, pure and simple.

Willin’ by Lowell George, made famous by Little Feat

I been warped by the rain, driven by the snow

Fewer booths at this year's V-Twin show might be bad for the show's promoters, but good in the long term for the industry itself.