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So did the 2005 'MCN London Motorcycle Show' improve on last years' flawed offering? Bob Pickett finds out. Photos by Bob and Laura Pickett

Click here for the 2004 show review

Ally Pally wouldn't be Ally Pally without some strange custom thing... Another year, another show. Last year we criticised the London Motorcycle Show for not building on the improvements made in 2003 (perhaps lethargy caused by the end of the 020 show?). So were these criticisms taken on board for 2005?

The answer, pleasingly, is yes. The halls at Alexandra Palace were much better laid out - and most importantly, the manufacturer's stands were not all along one aisle. This meant that it was much easier to get round and try out bikes. So well done to the organisers for the improved layout.

ZX-6R - popular with the crowds Talking about bikes, the Ally Pally show has proved to be an excellent barometer for which bikes are to be pushed hardest in the forthcoming year - the limited space means only a small section of the range can be shown. So the bikes that the manufacturer really wants to shift units are going to be the ones on display. So what will the astute 2nd hand purchaser be looking to snap up with 200 miles on the clock when the "Must have… oh I don't really like it" brigade sell it on?

2005 is going to be, even more than ever, the year of the large capacity bike. With precious few exceptions, a litre or above was the vogue for engine size.

New Speed Triple - brutally minimalist Amongst the exceptions was Honda's sales-star CBR125R. Only the R1 shifted more bikes than this in 2004, showing there is a market for a good looking small-capacity machine! Will we be seeing attractive 125's start to appear from the other manufacturers?

Kawasaki are obviously hoping that 2005 will be the year their Z1000 and smaller sibling Z750 take off and establish themselves in the sales charts, with both bikes being given prominent stand space. But the bike that seemed to get the lion's share of 'bums on seat' was the ZX-6R. There seemed to be someone on board every time we passed Big K's stand.

Charley Boorman's 'Long Way Round' BMW Talking attention grabbers, Triumph's revamped Speed Triple and Sprint ST were catching eyes. The new Speed Triple is, at a first look, a triumph (pun intended) of brutal minimalism. The Sprint ST is being mooted by a lot of critics as the bike to take on Honda. If the improved performance is anything like the looks of the new model, then the VFR800 has a real battle on it's hands to retain the sports-tourer crown.

With the "What will be selling" task being such an easy one this year, we were able to pay more attention to the rest of the show. Charley Boorman's still muddy and battered BMW was a highlight of the show (anyone that had seen "Long Way Round" was dedicating a lot of film to this bike!).

Honda Rune - 1800cc, six cylinders... chasing the Rocket III market? The Honda NRX1800 Rune (1800cc six-cylinders and huge!) was drawing punters to the Carole Nash stand all day long. If the Rocket III really does rack up serious numbers, then how long will it be before this bike starts being pushed - and hard - to draw buyers away from Triumph?

Of course, the core of the London Motorcycle Show remains the bargain hunt and this year was no exception, with masses of bargains to be had. And it is only fair, whilst criticising and praising to give a HUGE word of praise and thanks to Bikers Leathers - these guys were friendly, cheerful, helpful and were prepared to take as long as it took to source a suitable jacket for one of us. It isn't often that I'll say this, but I was more than happy to hand over the money.

If only all shops could be like this, then shopping would be an enjoyable experience… unlike the other dealers we bought gloves from - the only way they could have shown less interest was not to bother taking our cash!

New Sprint ST - if it performs half as well as it looks, it will be a winner So the verdict on this year's London Motorcycle Show? Layout was greatly improved - well done to the organisers. As regards the manufacturers, I would liked to have seen a little more variety and larger numbers of smaller capacity bikes on display (Suzuki - how can you show the SV1000S (which looked fabulous in the corporate colours, by the way - without the SV650S? OK, it is a sales star, but does that mean you don't show it off?).

And one final verdict - if you can go in midweek, then do! It is far less packed and makes for a far more enjoyable experience.

Click here to return to the 2006 review



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