December Newsletter.

The November meeting at Leadburn was well attended for the last meeting of the year on a cold day. Eight members attended, with Irene accompanying Hugh and Colin brought young Craig along with his nifty RobotWars machine (That's Craig's toy, we think; though having seen all Colin's toy motorbikes in his dining room, attributing ownership is only speculative on my part).

Two hardy souls arrived by bike. Bob Young came on his Sprint ST from Mauchline (somewhere in Ayrshire, I understand), and Derek McIntyre from Paisley on his Trophy 900. Bob has been busy running the Ayr Classic MC Club this year but tells me he has just handed over the reins to a Mr Dick Hodge. It's great to see members from the far flung West coming out to meetings.

The NEC bike show was the focus of much conversation between those lucky enough to have been and those who wished they had the opportunity to go. I am attaching a report from Brian McMorland on his visit to the show with Angela. The trip was a surprise gift from Angela. What a lucky man - a weekend away to a motorbike show sounds like heaven. Clearly Angela is a lady who understands the true meaning of romance.

Although Geoff Moore had e-mailed to say he could not attend the meeting there was also much speculation about Geoff Moore's Bonneville rebuild. Will it reappear as the vision in chrome it once was or will understated good taste prevail. I certainly learnt a good deal about the difficult science of removing tatty chrome and replacing it with new shiny chrome. We wait in anticipation.

I have had a good response to the last newsletter. I have one "maybe" and ten definitely interested in a Summer Camp with Hugh Hayes requesting hotel accommodation as a special request. Any recommendations for Lake District / North England locations with mixed caravan/camping and a hotel with accommodation that can also host an evening meal will be gratefully received. I am starting to surf the net to try to track down alternatives but if you know of a good venue then contact me as soon as possible so we can get arrangements underway. If you are interested and haven't replied yet then get in touch.

For those not attending our Christmas party the next meeting on 25 January is at Horsemill. Best wishes for Christmas and the New Year.

 

MOTORCYCLE SHOW NEC BIRMINGHAM

The trip to the bike show came as a bit of a surprise for me as Angela only told me the week before and I think that was only to ensure I got the Monday off work. She’d booked the tickets and accommodation via her computer at work and I was totally in the dark.

We drove down on Saturday 22nd to our accommodation at a Premier Lodge at Sutton Coldfield, about 9 miles north of the NEC. The trip it’s self was uneventful even the traffic on the M6 at Birmingham was quiet. The Premier Lodge was very nice, even better since it was on a 2 for 1 offer and it had a restaurant / pub attached.

The most exciting think of the day was drinking in a bar with the guy that plays Les Battersby in Coronation Street. Well not actually with him but at the same time as he was there, seemingly it’s his local. The crowds turning up to the show on the Sunday seemed just as large as any other time I’ve been and it was the last day. I had thought it might be quieter but I was also worried that a lot of the exhibitors might be looking for an early finish.

I was wrong on both counts, the place was mobbed and no one showed any sign of going early. We didn’t get a show brochure this year as they were charging £3.00 for them, I’m sure they were free previously but I might be wrong. So we picked a direction joined the throng and tried to see as much as possible. I don’t think at any time we were going with the flow but it seemed to take numerous circuits before I was satisfied we’d seen it all. Even then we still spotted something new just as we were about to leave at 5.30.

All the major bike stands were crowded and the Triumph stand was no different. I think it took till about 4.00 o’clock before you could actually see the Rocket 3 without someone blocking your view. The stand was well set out and had plenty of staff. I’m sure all the models were there if not all the colour schemes.

I’m still waiting to see what colour Aston Green on the Sprint ST is. Quite a few of the 2004 bikes are getting factory fitted accessories as standard and that represents good value for money. The Sprint ST certainly looks a good buy at £7499. The new Rocket 3 isn’t on the price list yet but Thruxton is priced at £5999.

According to the staff on the stand all the dealers will have Rocket 3’s available for test rides and were supplying post cards so you could register an interest. No doubt you can contact your local dealer direct.

I took a couple of close up pictures of the Rocket 3 after I’d stood for 10 minutes waiting for the crowds to move away. These may be available for viewing on our web site.

As I said all the major bike manufacturers stands were busy but I got my biggest surprise on the MZ stand. They now do 1000cc sports bikes in yellow and silver. What happened to the their 2 stokes that everyone wanted as a winter bike? Also the Royal Enfield stand is like a step back in time, good value for money if you feel nostalgic.

Another stand that took my interest was the Moto Guzzi stand, they have a Breva 1100 that looks quite tasty. I didn’t see a price for it but the 750 version was less than £5000. I think it’s only at a big show like this that you appreciate just how large some of the manufacturers ranges are, the Honda stand seemed to go on forever.

It’s also quite a laugh watching people get their legs over their dream machines or any other machine that takes their fancy. The best stands for that seems to be the Harley and BMW ones. The only bike I got a long seat on was the Gold Wing and that was only because I couldn’t get Angela to leave the back seat, she seemed quite at home in it. Wonder if you could put it in the sitting room as a sofa?

There was a reasonably good range of clothing and accessory stands but possibly not as many as in previous years. I can’t say I noticed any real bargains but I did notice that if you shopped around you could make savings. Judging by the number of bags that some people were carrying a lot of money changed hands at the show.

All and all it was a great day and a wonderful surprise for me. Plus I can recommend the Premier Lodge if you are looking for accommodation at a reasonable price, also the beds are huge. Don’t know about the food because we didn’t eat there but the beer was good.

Brian