Road to the Show
By TMX Archives on 30th Nov 12
Headed to the NEC at the weekend to check-out Motorcycle Live, as it is the biggest motorcycle show in the UK. Due to reasons beyond my control I ended-up, against my better judgement, heading to Birmingham on the Sunday.
In the good old days I used to visit on press and trade day.
It worked well as you actually had time for a few meaningful conversations with the movers and shakers of the motorcycle world.
Well, you could if you sneaked up on them before they saw you coming – or perhaps that was just me!
Alas, press and trade day was one of the first casualties of Austerity Britain and while I can recognise it is no great loss in the great scheme of things, on a purely selfish level it didn't make my job any easier.
So, I made it to the NEC in time for the 10am opening and bang, £10 just to park the car!
Okay the show organisers arranged a £2 refund but it makes you appreciate the Dirt Bike Show's free parking. The NEC are doing nicely out of that considering there's no other option.
On to the Show, bearing in mind I'm at least going through the motions of trying to work and take a few meaningful Show pics with which to illustrate the feature in this week's edition.
The bottom line is that Motorcycle Live was absolutely heaving – bursting at the seams. The organisers (and the NEC, with those car park takings) must have been mighty pleased.
I'm not entirely convinced that all the standholders were quite so chuffed though.
Yes, there were thousands milling around but what value you get from hordes of pre-teens sitting on what are very expensive motorcycles designed for adults, whether road or off-road, I really can't see.
Many Sunday parents simply treated the show like a theme park and just let their kids run loose to climb all over the bikes, twist throttles until they wore out the slides, jumped on gear pedals until the selector forks screamed in pain and were
generally a bloody nuisance.
I know it persuaded me that buying an ex-Show motorcycle is something to be avoided at all costs.
Over nine days those parts which could be twisted, pulled, pushed, jumped on and generally fiddled with will have done the equivalent of 12 months' hard work.
The big plus point of the day for me was the Try Our Sport features proving a very real hit, with the Yamaha Off-Road School and the ACU/ BUMPY Try Trials features fully-booked and doing a great job with people who were clearly genuine first timers.
They are very hard work for those doing the teaching but if anything is to grow our sport then it surely has to be initiatives like these.
The bikes are at least being worn out in a good and worthwhile cause...
