Last Friday found me at the Birmingham NEC, at the Motorcycle Show 2007. Not being a motorbike aficionado, I thought it would all be a bit overwhelming…..swarming with tattooed, long-haired bikers. How wrong could I be?
Not being a biker myself, here’s a view of this year’s motorcycle show from a “biker chick in training”…….
There was a buzz in the air from the moment I walked in, faced with a magnificent Carole Nash stand. Some guys really go to town on custom bikes…imagination knows no bounds it seems. Every feature is there for impact…. and all practicality goes out of the window! Bright metallic purple bodywork and strong shapes are the order of the day. These are not so much bikes, as works of art. My camera was working overtime, the results of which can be seen on flickr.
But the show wasn’t just about customised bikes. All the big names were there – Harley, Kawasaki, Suzuki, and of course Ducatti – with their latest models. Presented with a lot of fanfare, dry ice, and women in provocative clothing….. a part of most motoring events that always puts a smile on my face. It was refreshing to hear a man’s viewpoint on this aspect of the show “…If I want to see girls simulating being touched up, for the amusement of drunken blokes or not, then I’ll go to a sex show….”.
But it was a great opportunity for visitors to climb onto their favourite bikes and maybe indulge in a little dreaming.
I’m not going to talk about individual models of bike – I don’t know enough about bikes, and there are plenty of other blogs that would do it far better justice than I can here. For me, the highlight was getting up close to the bikes ridden by Charley Boorman and Claudio von Planta (cameraman) in Long Way Down. I was even able to get on to Claudio’s bike… awesome when you think about the 15,000 miles and experiences that bike’s been through! Having watched a lot this fascinating journey on tv, it was a real treat.
Didn’t see any great motorbike number plates, though…..
So why the bike show? Call it a fascination for shiny metal in all shapes and colours….. and maybe a little bit of a penchant for leathers.
