| We arrived at about
10.30, the weather was sunny but bitterly cold.
Like last year, the preview day was busy but
nowhere near as much it will on the regular show days.
There were some revised old favourites and
plenty of new hardware to take a look at. Here are some of
my personal highlights. |
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KAWASAKI
ZZR1200 |
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- BIGGEST
DISAPPOINTMENT
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Of all the bikes at the
show, I expected an update of the grand-master ZZR1100 to
be something awesome... In reality for me this bike
turned out to be a real let down.
Where-as the original
ZZR1100 was the ground breaking leader of hyper bike missile technology,
this latest version seems to be designed to compete with the
competition in a totally different area.
Its got some interesting
bodywork shape but on the whole has too much of a 'jelly
mould' look to it and is just not as hard-edged as the
original bike.
The rear end is a kind of
'starship' reminiscent of the Suzuki RF900, and is not bad and not
good either, just different. But just what the heck is going on regarding
that headlight assembly?! The whole look
reminds me of the 'built to a budget price' Suzuki GSX600F'.
Was it in danger of being
dropped from the range now that the ZX12 has taken over
the high speed reins? Revised to take on the
Yamaha FJR1300 perhaps...? They should have left the
original ZZR1100 alone in my opinion.
On the bike impressions weren't
favourable either. The dash was clear and concise but both
Claire and I found that the seat actually slid us both forward
into the tank, very odd and extremely uncomfortable. Claire
also thought the pillion seat wasn't as big or comfortable as the
Blackbird of FJR1300.
Oh and one final note, the
show bike had a leaking fork seal... I hope the build
quality is better than that when they get these to the
showrooms... |
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HARLEY DAVIDSON VROD |
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MOST DRAMATIC
PRODUCTION BIKE
WOW - A very interesting bike
marking a radical new styling addition for the H-D range |
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A very impressive looking machine, but
I'm not convinced I could get comfortable with the rather extreme laid-back cruiser riding style that the feet-forward footpegs force you into. I
wouldn't mind one for the summertime posing games though. |
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KYMCO HIPSTER 125 |
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PLEASANT SURPRISE |
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| Kymco had a
new limited edition custom style bike at the show.
It was offer at a special show launch
price of just £1995 which compared with the equivalent
Suzuki and Honda models was absolutely excellent value
for money.
It even looked more solid , stylish
and well built than the other regular manufacturers too.
It didn't look like a 'wannabe' bike
either. It looked and felt just right and would
easily be able to hold-its-own in the all important
image games out on the road, from a distance even having
lines resembling those of the BMW custom...
Well done Kymco. |
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HONDA ST1200 PAN-EUROPEAN |
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PERSONAL FAVOURITE |
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| Honda have
given the good old reliable Pan Euro a full work-over
and boy what great job they've done.
It's now shaken off the late eighties
look and has got a style similar to the latest Goldwing
but managing to retain its own distinctive Pan Euro look
in its new lines. It's size makes it much more practical
and affordable that its big brother and has no doubt
created a much more solid market all of its own.
It's huge, stylish, quick and
comfortable and I wish I could have one in my garage as
a summer touring option to the Blackbird. |
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'SNIPPETS' |
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| Bought
a pair of cheapy sun-glasses for £10, very good though
and a viable replacement for my £50 Dirty Dawg's that I
lost under van the other week. |
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| Wanted
to buy a single seat conversion from Pyramid Plastics
but Claire wouldn't let me... |
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| Didn't
buy the intercom system we originaly went to buy because
Claire couldn't handle how expensive it was going to be
to get a Bike-to-Car configuration setup. |
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| Jasmine
didn't draw-in the scantily clad girls like last year...
I guess I'll have to try again next year with the newer
baby. :-) |
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CELEBRITY |
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NICK SANDERS |
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I was only going to buy
one of his books but he somehow convinced me to also buy
a copy of his latest Video 'Road Head' and some
postcards of his travels.
He was kind enough to
sign the book though. :-)
You're a good salesman
Nick, ever thought of selling cars or bikes?
;-)
I tried to tell him how
much I admired his achievements but he was having none
of it and just told me that I should get out there and
do it for myself... I wish I could Nick, I
really do... ___ *
(I've since applied to be considered as participant in
the Around The World
Challenge)
:-) |
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OTHER 'MUST-SEE' THINGS
If you go to the
show, make sure you check out the following things...
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Honda SP2, ST1200 Pan European, VFR800
Vtec, The 2002 V5 GP Racer |
Yamaha TDM900 |
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Ducati 998 |
Triumph Bonneville |
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The FreeStyle Motocross Arena |
Carole Nash Insurance Stand - Concept
Bikes |
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Kymco Stand |
Gilera 600 Sport |
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BMW 'Belt Drive' F650 |
Kawasaki 'Mean Streak' |
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MISCELLANEOUS SHOW PICTURES
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"Something for the boys..."
No report of the bike show
would be complete without some pictures of the delightful
'information sales assistants' :-)
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The return trip was a
nightmare. We left the show at about 5pm but didn't get
back to MK until about 7 due to horrendous traffic congestion
from right outside the NEC and most of the way back home.
However, still a great day and I
could have happily spent another 12 hours up there as I still
feel that I didn't get to see everything for as long as I'd
intended.
I'm Looking forward to the 2002
show already... :-)
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