Shows running neck and NEC
By TMX Archives on 2nd Dec 11
Motorcycle Live, the big industry run bonanza at the NEC is the subject of JDs editorial this week. So was it any good?
Motorcycle Live, the big industry run bonanza at the NEC is the subject of JDs editorial this week. So was it any good?
LAST Saturday saw an early (well, it was still dark) start and it was off down the M6 to Motorcycle Live, the big industry-run show at the NEC. To cut a short story even shorter I was amazed how busy it was, the halls were packed, even allowing for the fact that Saturday would be one of the busiest days. I was on-site 20 minutes before the doors opened and the queue to get in was already impressively long. Turns out that the nine-day Show saw an incredible 14% rise in visitor numbers over last year, which translates to a mighty 112,000 punters through the doors, happily echoing a similar rise in visitors to the recent Dirt Bike Show.
ou can attribute that impressive rise in numbers to whatever you like. Without doing any research on it whatsoever, apart from keeping my eyes and ears open, my gut feeling is that many of us have had, yes, a gut-full of the daily diet of doom and gloom we are force-fed by the national media and a visit to the bike show was seen as a blessed relief. A whole day to forget about all our troubles and simply wallow in two-wheel revelry. For once It mattered not whether you were into the sheer speed and glamour of MotoGP, in life's show-lane with feet-forward Harley Davidsons or checking-out the exciting-looking off-road scene, there was a genuine
feel-good factor.
I've been as critical as anyone over the years regarding the NEC show and its attitude to off-road but this year, perhaps for the first time ever, I was genuinely impressed. I thought it was much more integrated. The Suzuki and Yamaha Experience try-outs were right in the centre of things, not stuck out on the uninhabited periphery like two-wheeled lepers and there was lots of interest in getting started in off-road. It was highly amusing at times as well with some spectacular crashes, especially on the surprisingly adventurous Yamaha track which actually contained a mini double. I only watched for 10 minutes but even so saw two bold lads attempt the double - without a clue what they were doing - with spectacular results. I don't think Yamaha's hard-pressed Barry Johnson was too impressed with some of the antics, especially when one lurid crash into the barriers almost took him out! Little real harm was done though and it did do a great job of showing what fun riding off-road can be.
The Suzuki and Yamaha Experiences compliment each other really well with Suzuki for genuine beginners while Yamaha can handle those who can already handle a bike.
TMX and DBR sponsor the Off-Road Zone and are proud to do so. We are not trying to
impress dyed-in-the-wool off-roaders, the whole idea is to attract new blood into the fold and I genuinely believe that after a couple of false starts this is now happening, mainly thanks to Suzuki, Yamaha, the ACU/BUMPY trials zone, all of which were flat-out fotr all nine days, now being fully integrated into the show.
The Ramp'd Up Freestyle performances was another Show winner. Doing their thing several times each day in front of at least 2000 people each time the half dozen riders put on a brilliant show. On its own you could dismiss it as a circus act, something designed to give the punters a 20 minute sit-down before heading back into the hurly-burly of the packed halls, but with the Suzuki and Yamaha try-out right outside I reckon it did a super job of drumming-up trade from the younger visitors.
Even the manufacturers
displays somehow ‘included' off-road on an equal footing this year, rather than shoving them round the back, or under the stairs, anywhere really as long as they kept out of the way of the race replica plastic rockets. TImes change and no longer are the big hitters exclusively chasing old guys with thick wallets who think they are better than Valentino Rossi. A sale is a sale these days and all-comers are treated equally as customers. This certainly wasn't the case even a couple of years ago where certain stand-staff at the Show were simply plain rude to anyone who wasn't drooling over high-profit race replicas.
Whatever, maybe hard times make everyone up their game and without knowing exactly how much genuine business was completed the overall impression is that Motorcycloe Live was a very positive event.
BY now I guess most of you know that the subject of the last two Page 5 columns, the British Trials Championship, is to see major changes implemented for next year.
There's much to hammer out yet, not the least of which is who will be running Championship rounds and where they will take place. Basically, the Trials Committee has agreed to run the 2012 series under no-stop rules - as proposed by the British importers - and to ban minders. The thought is they will not be needed in a physical sense as sections will be marked-out easier than previously. A faster-moving, more dynamic event is the aim with more riders attracted to the Championship class - simply because it will be possible for more riders to attempt the sections.
We'll keep you posted.
