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So was the newly titled 2004 'MCN London Motorcycle Show' worth it? Bob Pickett finds out

New year, new name… new show? 2004 saw the renaming of the old ‘Road Racing and Superbike Show’ (a real misnomer, there had been precious little evidence of road racing there for years and it was never limited to superbikes), to the much more grand ‘ MCN London Motorcycle Show’. OK, given that the rival 020 show looks to have been killed off forever (thanks to a very well organised press embargo – generously lifted just too late to attract enough interest to save the day). But if the annual bash at Alexandra Palace is to be London’s main/only show, then it really has to deliver the goods.

2003 saw a marked improvement (perhaps down to the need to make sure the final nails went in the 020’s coffin), so did 2003 continue to improve as the organisers claimed? Not really.

Kawasaki ZX10 - popular The manufacturers stands are still squeezed around one single central aisle, making it difficult to get around (the exceptions being Harley-Davidson, KTM and CCM who managed to take spaces away from the centre. They were still busy, but the potential customer had time and space to view the wares on offer).

But back to the bikes. With much less display space than the NEC (or ExCel Centre), the manufacturers have to limit the displays to the bikes they are hoping will be the big sellers of 2004. Over the last few years, I have checked out the annual sales figures against what was shown at the show… and it has proved to be a very accurate barometer.

So what will those of us who live in the used bike marketplace (if you are reading this review, then it is fair to assume you) be looking to pick up for 33/40% off in a few months time when the “I must have a new bike every year/month/week” brigade have flashed their cash?

2004 Fireblade - looks the part From the looks of things, Litre sportsbikes will be the wheels of choice in 2004. The largest crowds were around the new ZX-10, closely followed by the new Fireblade. The R1 and GSXR1000 were big pulls, but the first two were definitely the ones that had the punters lining up to try out.

The new Fazers also drew a lot of attention, getting some mixed reviews. But it looks as though Yamaha might have struck gold with the naked version – it was getting a lot of attention from female riders, a corner of the market often ignored (quite wrongly) by the manufacturers.

Nobody likes me... CBF500 sits alone in a corner Talking about ignored, without a doubt the winner of the “Nobody Loves Me, I Think I’ll Eat Worms” awards went to the Honda CBF500. No matter when I passed the stand and no matter how busy it was, not one person sat on or even looked at it. Only time will tell if it will generate a fan base amongst the newly qualified/direct access set, but in this setting it was very much the unloved member of the family.

Big trail bikes got a fair amount of attention, but the Supermoto bubble may have burst - 2003 had an entire area devoted, this time just CCM had a stand, but saw serious conversations between punters and salesmen.

It may be that the scooter bubble continues to burst as well - once again there was a distinct lack of them on the stands with no specialist manufactuers in situ.

The Rocket - come a long way since George Stevenson... And finally, over at Triumph, there was always going to be one bike that drew the crowds – the Rocket cruiser. This was certainly THE talking point of the day, not that any two people seemed to have the same opinion! Feeling ranged from bemusement (“What on earth is it?”) to pleased acceptance from one crowd of more venerable bikers (“About time someone put out a decent bike without all that fairing nonsense”). The Thruxton also drew crowds, showing the classic look is still popular.

So new year, new name, new show? To be honest, no. Without some serious rethinking about the way the halls are laid out (preferably to allow more space, not only for more bikes but to let people see the bikes and sit on them – not everyone can make the NEC, so this is their only chance), then no number of new names is going to make any difference.

Click here to return to the 2005 review

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