The morning started with me dropping Mark back at University. The weather wasn't anything special and I was in two minds whether to go home and get the bike out or whether to go straight to the show. Finally I decided that the traffic would be too bad to endure in the car so went home and got the Deauville out, made sure it started on the button then packed and dressed for the trip. This all meant that I was running about 20 minutes behind my (mental) schedule.
Had a good run down, got parked up and changed. Indoor parking for free (cars are outside and it costs £8 for the day) and new security measures plus places to leave your gear should you not have the storage capacity that the Deauville has. Paid my £15 entry fee and went straight to the Honda stand just inside the main door - where I was pounced on by Bob & Mick within minutes. Then Steve turned up with a small group in tow. While on the Honda stand we noticed that they have introduced a new adjustable height screen for the 2008 Deauville - which annoyed Steve as he's just placed an order for a new 2007 one. Enquiries revel that Honda GB have only had the bike for a week so nobody really knows any more than we do but the do know that a motorised version will be available for an extra £300 which we all agree isn't worth the extra, but, we do like the way the screen adjusts so top marks to Honda for listening and responding to the customer feedback.
Steve takes off with hi mates leaving Bob, Mick & I to do our thing. We decide to just wander, and have a great time doing just that. Jumping on and off various machines, taking photos of the promo girls and the motorbikes, checking out the gear on sale. We eventually split up at about 4pm when Bob decides he's going to head back to Middleborough (a good 3 hour trip in the car), Mick says he's a couple of stands he wants to revisit and I've just got to find a new pair of motorcycling boots because Sue is getting them for me for Christmas. I eventually find a stand selling the boots I want and I save £40 on the normal selling price - job done!
So who was (and wasn't) there? Triumph, Honda, Suzuki, Yamaha, Kawasaki, BMW, Buell & Harley Davidson and Victory all had big stands in the main hall. Benelli and Royal Enfield had smaller, but still impressive, stands at the entrance to the second hall where Carloe Nash (Bike Insurers) had a big stand. Benelli was the only Italian bike manufacturer there so no Apriliias, Ducatis or Guzzies to ogle at. There were two or three Korean manufacturers there displaying bikes and scooters - some of which is getting pretty good and almost up to European standards so if the Italians stay away many more years I can see the Koreans casking in.
David Silver Spares (Honda bits), Infinity & Gear4Bikers (both mainly clothing) PowerBronze & Skidmarkz (bodywork bits) all had biggish stands while JTS was definitely one of the loudest with some guy on a speaker system announcing special sales items and stuff. As well as the boots I bought a rucksack after the zips gave up on the one I was using on the day (very timely).
Worthy of comment - Suzuki had a Burgman 400 scooter on their stand which had a MRA Vario Touring screen fitted (similat to the one on my Deauville) and it looked good too. The Victory Tour is massive, and impressive but has less carrying capacity than a Deauville or maxi-scooter due to the design being one for style over function. Yes it is excessive but personally I loved it. Not sure I'd buy one though assuming I had £15k to spare.
I eventually left for the bike park around 4:30pm and set off for home at 4:50. It was dark but although the traffic on the motorway was intimidating at first I soon settled down and the 50 odd mile trip home took just over an hour and a quarter as I decided to go cross country from Ashby to Derby and have some fun. I had a great day out and it's good to see that the show organisers have stopped the rot and put some effort into the show - I might go again next year!
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