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Helmut Visor · Dec 5, 2022

beerkat said: ↑

Well I enjoyed the NEC show. I went on the Monday, not deliberately because England were playing (I'd forgotten) but it meant there was plenty of room. Having been several times before I know the hazards and hassles of driving there and parking (in contrast, the two Stafford shows are easy and free), so I let the train take the strain. Fortunately there were no strikes and I booked far enough in advance to get a return from Stockport for £30. For anyone that doesn't know, the station is at the NEC, and a 5 minute (indoor) walk gets you to the halls.
I'd made a list of stands I wanted to check out and because it wasn't too busy I could try out a whole range of bikes for size. I don't know anywhere else where you can fondle, fiddle with, and chuck a leg over, such a variety of bikes all in the same place and be encouraged to do so. I am not very long in the leg so was pleasantly surprised when I could confidently straddle bikes with seat heights between 810-820mm, partly because of the narrowness of the seat. I don't think I'd have discovered this from visiting showrooms or reading reviews, only in this sort of environment.
We all know that internet shopping has affected the degree of discounts you can now get from shops, so I wasn't expecting any great surprises in terms of cheap bike gear at the show. Which pretty much turned out to be the case. But you do get a chance to have a butchers at a mountain of stuff and try on a few bits and bobs. I didn't go with the expectation of buying anything and didn't.
I had interesting chats with other show-goers, particularly around the section showing classic 90's bikes, mainly sports bikes. My era (ok, along with the 80's) and my type of bikes, including the first FireBlade, R1, YZF, RC30 and Ducati 886. Everyone a winner!
One of the chaps on the CCM stand almost sold me one of their Spitfires. Almost. Gorgeous bikes. He left me with the words 'Just drop in to our Bolton showroom and ask for me, we can always do a deal'.
I was there from 11.15am until 4.30pm, when I strolled to the station and caught the train home. A very enjoyable day, I didn't get wet or feel ripped-off. I even had a rather good Cornish pasty and reasonable pint of beer.
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Just as a word of caution, a number of manufacturers use lowered machines at these shows so still worth trying again in a showroom environment

Sir Trev · Dec 6, 2022

Helmut Visor said: ↑

Just as a word of caution, a number of manufacturers use lowered machines at these shows so still worth trying again in a showroom environment
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Good point. The Tiger GT Pro at the NEC show had the low seat on it but the muppets on the stand assured me the other Tigers there did not. The Transalp display had one standard, one lowered and one with lots of options so tricky to tell. Meanwhile, on the BMW stand, their description boards told you the seat height "as displayed", which I thought was a nice touch.

When it gets warmer again I'll see if one of the dealers vaguely near me has a Tiger on demo I can try in the real world.

beerkat · Dec 7, 2022

Helmut Visor said: ↑

Just as a word of caution, a number of manufacturers use lowered machines at these shows so still worth trying again in a showroom environment
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The sneaky buggers.

tim scott · Dec 11, 2022

Ok side lines about Monster Munch (Flamin’ Hot for me) and the NEC ( yes I did go Sunday, parked a fair way away but at least it was dry, bought nothing but mouth watered at those Nortons, that Chrome Thruxton & oh my that ‘91 TZR 250 ) my slightly cynical prediction came true - Sportsbike Shop dropped the Daytona 2 to a not unreasonable £279 - so I bought one.
The leather is soft, smells amazing & the jacket is beautiful. I’m quite kidnap resistant so a UK 50 (EUR 60) did the trick. The armour is unobtrusive but present in all the right places, has a decent thermal liner and fits snug and nice over a thick jumper / sweat shirt. Top marks to Richa & to SBS for their usual superb service. It’s back to £339 now so I don’t feel cheated in any way - the £30 increase on last years Black Friday sale price is just the price of my own indecision. Peace all

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