NEC don't dig off-road sport
By TMX Archives on 3rd Dec 09
This week JD takes a look at the NEC show and tells you just how hard the industry finds taking dirt bikes seriously
WELL, off-road showtime was given an edge this year by the mighty NEC Show announcing that it was to step-up its off-road content and thus challenge the Dirt Bike Show's dominance of the scene. Welcome words after a lifetime of indifference to dirt bikes as it dutifully paid homage to the roadrace replica. If you couldn't talk Fireblade, Gixxer, Ninja and R1 then you needn't have bothered wandering into the NEC.
T+MX has, several times in past years, urged the MCIE (motorcycle industry association) organisers of the NEC spectacular, to encompass the off-road industry (including the smaller trials importers and dealers) but to zero effect. All politics aside, surely it makes sense to showcase ALL aspects of motorcycling under one roof? But as we all know, reality is somewhat different and it was the MCIE's indifference to off-road that brought about The Dirt Bike Show some 30 years ago. You can never push politics aside of course and The Dirt Bike Show itself has gone through several incarnations via different promoters and various venues. The one constant is that it has always been supported by the fans and thus by T+MX. Whatever else it is the Dirt Bike Show has become ‘our' show and support was as strong as ever this year at Stoneleigh.
End of short history lesson – and it doesn't mean that we still shouldn't pursue the dream of a genuine off-road presence at the industry-run NEC Show.
Which brings us hopping and skipping to the NEC – and to disappoint you right now I'm going to defer commenting on the off-road content in general and the Off-Road Zone in particular until after the full run of the show – and it doesn't finish till Sunday...
What I will comment on is something that whacked me over the head like a hammer as I stalked the various stands last Thursday, which was press and trade day. And that is the fact that the major manufacturers – and I don't mean the specialists like KTM and Husky – still display depressingly little interest in off-road. The bikes are plonked on their show stands and that's that. I spent around ten minutes on the Yamaha stand perusing and taking pics of the brand new, ground-breaking 450F, all on my own and not a single member of staff came within shouting distance. But when I approached the plastic rocket section there was a whole phalanx of smiling, pilot-shirted corporate faces eager to talk top speeds.
And I'm not just picking on Yamaha. It got worse on the Suzuki stand. The yellow team had three new models to launch, a couple of the inevitable road burners and the exciting, for off-road, new RMX450Z enduro model. So, along with the faithful I dutifully stood through the introduction of the road bikes and endured the inevitable interviews with road race personalities, some of which I'd heard of and some not. Never mind, we'll get to the RMX shortly.
And so we did. To Suzuki's credit they had arranged a little theatre with a curtain unveiling and a puff of smoke – before the anouncer finished with, "...and if you want a word with Paul Edmondson he's over there...and that's all from us.”
What! That's Paul Edmondson, one of the all-time enduro greats. He's four times World Enduro champ and has won more ISDE Gold Medals than anyone. Ever. That's an incredible 16 in total.
A 17-year-old road racer was worthy of an interview for the gathered press but not Fast Eddy? Paul being Paul, he laughed it off, but I felt like he had been slapped in the face and was frankly embarrassed by the snub. Suzuki had a fantastic chance to spread the off-road word to a group of journos who, very likely, had little previous off-road interest but Eddy's infectious enthusiasm could just have sowed the seed. Believe it or not, after that little lot, I still applaud the NEC organisers for their efforts to integrate off-road.
The problem, as can be clearly seen, is getting the manufacturers to actually take advantage of the change. It is obviously not going to happen overnight but the opportunity to spread the off-road word is now there. Let's use it!
Meanwhile, hats off to KTM for having the guts to develop a truly ground-breaking machine, the SX350 that was presented to the world at the NEC and which will be unleashed in the MX1 class in 2010 by the factory – and presumably for production in 2011. People tell me that the powers that be won't change the MX1 rules just for one manufacturer – but they did for Honda with the 150F in the Youths so I can't see why not!
If you are into bikes there's a hell of a lot to see at the NEC Show – and you have until Sunday to get there...with Supercross on Saturday night!