New bikes, helmets, leathers and all the other kit for riding a motorcycle ... a biker feast at the NEC. A smattering of old street and race bikes looking relatively agricultural compared to next year’s menu-driven monsters. Yes, bikes have menus and nudge buttons too, that’s great, making options available to the rider.
I checked out my shopping list. 2017 Fireblade, CBR600RR and Z1000SX. I was rather taken with getting on the Z1000SX... the riding position felt good and tight to the bike, it’s a short wheelbase and takes luggage if you need it to. Met up with some GBMCC from outside of London, shopping on the KTM stand.
A few racing bikes on show but even with the many British successes in the MotoGP and World Superbike classes, the sales people haven’t really started to use these to drive sales. Nor any attempt to monetise the cross-over audiences of non-riders who simply enjoy the race sport on TV. Sadly no repeat this year of personal appearances by Cal Crutchlow and Bradley Smith, both recovering from the tough 2016 season.
My photo shows the crowd adoring the Kawasaki Ninja H2 2017, which is not on my list.