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2010 London Motorcycle Show(s) – Bob Pickett and Kevin Turner split forces once again to review both shows

With photos by Laura Pickett, Bob Pickett and Kevin Turner

Click here for the 2009 show review Triumph Rocket III - a huge draw, whatever the year

Another year of London bike fans having to choose between two venues. It is unlikely that many people chose to go to both, so Motobke.co.uk once again split the show-going duties.

2010 MCN/Carole Nash Excel motorcycle show – Bob Pickett gets the East London assignment

The Excel show is always where Motobke.co.uk does it’s “Lets see what will be available as low-mileage 2nd hand bikes” review. So why break tradition?

Trends this year would seem to be: making longer rides and touring holidays, with attention being paid to larger capacity touring machines. Otherwise,large naked and mid-range, do-it-all machinery seemed popular.

BMW S1000RR - THE bike of the moment, looks good in road trim What I did notice this year, was the number of female riders, left alone to make their own choices rather than pushed at bikes people ‘think’ they would like, looking at larger capacity stuff – plus knowing, in real detail, what they are looking for. I listened, fascinated, as two girls discussed the merits of a CB1000R and how it’s ergonomics related to what they wanted from a ride... a level of attention most male riders would do well to copy.

But back to the “what is going to be bought now,but traded in about September” review! Main avenues of attention at each stand were:

Attention at each stand was as follows:

BMW K1300R - quirky perhaps, but shows the popularity of large naked machinery BMW: S1000RR was getting lots of “bums on seats” (not surprising, being most powerful production bike etc), but sitting with intent was aimed at the R1200RT, plus K1300R demonstrated the increased popularity of big nakeds, as we all look to protect our licences, but still want something worth riding.

Tucked away in a corner, the F800ST was still quietly drawing them in.

Moto-Guzzi: The Griso was the main drawer, but interest was spread through the range.

Harley-Davidson: As ever, hard to get real feel, as the H-D stand is “kiddie central”, with doting dads sticking junior on the bikes and encouraging them to make engine noises. But again touring looks the theme, with the Electra-Glide getting real attention. The new XL1200X Forty-Eight was also popular – oddly everyone that sat on it felt compelled to sound like the cast of ‘Dukes of Hazzard’!

Norton 961 Commando - if show interest turns into sales, Norton has a bright future Norton: The return of the classic name drew huge interest, with the stand swamped for most of the day. The base 961 Commando was definitely the photo draw of the day, but the whole of the (small) range was getting serious interest. If the amount of questions being asked of the sales staff translates into deals, then Norton will have an exciting future ahead of them.

Honda: Not at the show themselves, so the stand was populated by Motoden and HGB. This was interesting, as a dealer-supported stand changed tactic. The CBF range (which is pushed in your face by Honda normally) took a (very) quiet back seat, with the CBR600RR and Fireblade dominating attention. That said, the possible surprise of the day was the CB1000R – perhaps not the first bike you’d think of when asked to recommend a ‘Ladies Bike’, but during my time at the stand, this was the pull for a number of female riders, who as I said earlier knew their stuff, were very specific about their riding needs and whether the ergonomics of the bike suited.

Victory Hammer S - this thing just oozes quality Victory: Like everyone else at the stand, I had to spend time looking at the Vision again. This feels like the biggest thing in the world! It also has THE most comfortable, ergonically designed seat ever created for a motorcycle; as the Victory Rep said to me “Has your backside just landed in Heaven, by any chance?” A test ride will have to be arranged...

But after that, the Hammer S muscle bike was the main male draw, with (again possibly a surprise), the favourite bike of female show-goers being the Cross-Country (clearly, the ladies are looking to tour in style in 2010).

Kawasaki: The ER-6 range again dominates, but the touring factor was in evidence with the GTR1400 and ZZR1400 being discussed at length with the staff. Not quite sure about the reaction to the revamped Z1000; seems a real ‘Marmite’ bike - some loved it, others just looked at it from a distance, turned on their heels with nose in the air and walked (hurredly) away!

Kawasaki Versys - the ER-derived range all proved popular, showing we're looking to have fun, but keep our licences in 2010 Ducati: Situation normal. 1198, got lots of “ooh”, “vroom” etc. Big surprise was the Hypermotard being utterly ignored. But the Monster 696 is, as ever, looking like the bike of choice for a number of people who want a good, enjoyable mid-range naked. There are times you just get it right – and the Monster continues to fit that bill.

Triumph: Cruising looks like a 2010 angle, with the America and Bonnevilles seeing serious attention, with, of course, the Rocket III drawing punters like a magnet. The Street Triple is still pulling them in). The touring angle was also supported with the Sprint ST getting real consideration.

Yamaha Diversion - this and it's naked sibling XJ6 look like being a real sales success for Yamaha Yamaha: Another dealer stand. But where the Honda stand was there to fulfil a show function, with the bikes well labelled and informing the showgoers, George White used it as a sales stand.

There were no labels on bikes, so the uninitiated has no idea what they’re looking at. If all you wanted to know was “This bike is for sale”, then this was the stand for you. But if you wanted to know some specifications... or even what bike it was? Tough tooty. Go find a sales assistant and have him try and sell the bike to you.

Away from the complaint and back to the bikes; the creation of the Diversion and it’s naked sibling the XJ6 looks to be a masterstroke, as these were seeing the most attention at the stand (XJ6 being very much the ladies choice). The Fazer 1000 also quietly pulled them in.

Triumph Bonneville SE - proving that the retro look (but with modern specs) is still a popular option Verdict: Fantastic attendance this year, showing bikes are not losing their popularity (were poor sales at the end of the year down to snow more than we all thought?) – for the first time ever, there were touts selling tickets!

The layout is still good, but I do have a concern that the bike stands are starting to squeeze together again. That said, where a number of stands were next to each other was along an aisle, so space was still reasonable, but this is something to bear in mind for future years. Lets not go back to the mistakes of the past where the bikes all ran down one central avenue, meaning no-one could move as everybody was squashed into one small area.

Sorry, but this just is not good enough. Information panels on the bikes please, George White The only real complaints come from another no-show by Suzuki. Why not get one of your main dealers to run a stand? Honda was very well represented by HGB and Motoden. If only the same could have been said of Yamaha and George White. Sorry to harp on about this, but the show is a window to the world. Yes, I accept you are out there to sell bikes, it is how you make your living. But turning the Yamaha stand into one giant shelf covered in “This is for sale” signs with no other information was poor design. If you run it next year, please inform as well as sell the bikes.

Now lets see what Kevin Turner discovers at the ‘other’ show…

Ace Cafe Ally Pally Motorcycle Show 2010 - did Kevin Turner asked the question "Will bringing the skills of the Ace Cafe improve the show?" - so what is the answer?

Lavish paint job... The Ace Café have put a lot of effort into making this year’s Ally Pally show a real event - as opposed to the third-rate trade show of previous years - with the Café hosting various parties and ride outs to promote the occasion. It’s good to see because they could quite easily have slapped their name all over the ads and left it at that. As it is, the Café has chosen to redefine the Ally Pally show, from a pale imitator of the now dominant MCN event into a far more specialised show, focussing on actual riders – particularly the custom contingent. To be fair to the Café, it was a brave move because they ran the risk of alienating pretty much everyone who didn’t fit into that niche; so did it pay off?

On first glance it has to be said, not a lot appeared to have changed. Bar the very impressive line of customs in the West Hall (more on these later), the rest of the show was just as it had been for the last two or three years; row after row of discount leathers, lids, gloves, tools etc. All well and good if that’s what you’re after, but pretty uninspiring if you’re just want a fun day out.

Lone sportsbike... but you can't sit on it? Shurely shome mishtake? I don’t want to sound too dispiriting here because the Ace Café has really tried to grab this ailing event by the scruff of the neck and turn it into something a bit different, and maybe they need more than one shot at that. In terms of distractions to the bikes on show, there were some novel, if slightly half-hearted attempts to liven the atmosphere: a stage in the Great Hall featured break dancers (why?) and also played host to a slightly embarrassing ‘fashion show’, with models parading around in new leathers; above the stage a huge screen showed an X-Box MotoGP game for visitors to play. Unfortunately, it all came off a bit low-rent and last minute. There was also a small cinema showing “The Harbortown Bobber” - which I’d like to have watched but didn’t have time - and a stunt show, of which I’ve seen plenty over the years so didn’t bother with.

But what about the bikes? This is after all a bike show and yet again, in terms of new machines and manufacturer stands, it was pretty thin on the ground. KTM had once again made the effort (well, Dave Berkshire KTM anyway), with their RC8, the new 1190 and trials and off-road machines attracting quite a bit of attention (relatively speaking, there weren’t actually that many people there). With the exception of KTM’s offerings, sports bikes were almost exclusively represented by a sole MV dealer, whose small display featured the F4 and Brutale, but naturally visitors weren’t allowed to sit on them. Seriously, why bother bringing these things along if you can’t touch them? Visitors might as well look at them in a magazine.

Reinforcing the 'Look But Don't Touch' concept... Elsewhere, Norton was in attendance, showing off their new range of Commandos, and Royal Enfield, Triumph, Victory and Ducati London displayed their vintage-styled machines. The Japanese however, were conspicuous by their absence yet again.

It’s pretty obvious that the ‘big four’ have given up on the Ally Pally show, which meant that if you liked anything but choppers and café racers you were in for a disappointment. Even the local outlets like Metropolis and HGB were only showing the classic range of their bikes, so if you’d planned to see what a new CB1000R or a Speed Triple – let alone an R6 or a Blade - felt like before buying, you’d be better off going to the showroom.

Close up of the less than polite don't touch sign. Nothing (literally) like making your customer feel wanted I have to assume this was a conscious decision on both parts; the Ace Café has decided to re-brand the Ally Pally show a custom and classic event, if not officially then at least for all intents and purposes, while the sports bike contingent has all but abandoned it anyway in favour of the MCN show. If the Ace Café can turn a profit, then fair play to them, and at just £10, the entry price was pretty reasonable (especially if you were on the look for some new tools, leathers or bits of chrome, dealers of which occupied 95% of the Great Hall).

The West Hall however was where the Café really made clear its intentions, with a very impressive line up of custom bikes that couldn’t fail to impress. Even the Hells Angels had a stand. Some of the machines on show were bordering on the grotesque but the engineering involved is mind-blowing and the opportunity to view these bikes close-up was worth the entrance fee alone.

Nice piece of classic machinery - so lets give this kind of bike it's own show So there you have it; the Ally Pally show is dead; long live the Ally Pally choppers and customs show. The Ace Café should brand it thus so next year’s visitors know exactly what they’re letting themselves in for. Forget pocket-sized MotoGP replicas and track-day glory, California dreaming’s where it’s at. If the Ace Café can only liven up the Great Hall next year, they should be on to a winner.

Editor's overall verdict:

So it looks like the battle lines are finally being drawn up in a way that could benefit London's bike-show going public. If the MCN show at Excel devotes itself to modern bikes (notably, the classic stand was the smallest I've seen in years) and the Ace Ally Pally show devotes itself to customs and classics, then you've got two shows offering up something different. But both shows still need the peripheral stuff, ie. the trade stands. And by lumping both shows together at the start of the year, you're punishing the trade stands as they've got to either choose one to exhibit at (so losing the other set of customers) or exhibit at both... which means they've got to stump up a lot of money in one go, rather than spreading their costs.

Simple solution? The one we at Motobke.co.uk have been suggesting for years. Let the MCN show run at Excel in February/March. This is when it needs to be, so that people can put bums on seats just before the new models land in the dealers in April. But move the Ace Ally Pally show to mid-year - if it is going to be a custom and classic show, then running it when the weather is better (hopefully) would suit it's aim much better.

And who knows? The public might get well served by it's shows, rather than making their life more difficult.

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