Your tips and comments on the NEC Show

Here are just some of your tips on getting the best out of the NEC.

If you have any to add, e-mail them to david.cushman@emap.com with NEC SHOW ADVICE in the subject line.

We had a great day at the NEC on Sunday 11, returning with some excellent prints, clothing, bike parts and accessories, all in all a really excellent day!

Plenty to do and see, plenty of people to talk to, we met Jez and Katja, lots of machinery to drool over and – I hope the missus doesn’t mind me saying this – plenty of

other forms that were equally as pleasing to the eye! Mark Russell

We drove up by car, having never been before I thought it was very well organised, alright we had to queue for about 15mins to park up but once in the car park, no problems.

Bus takes you right to the door and away you go. I have to mention though that the brunette on the MCN stand was the best babe of the day, followed closely by the TWO goddesses.

Products wise, JTS have a waterproof one-piece race suit, so you don’t get wet flying through town, there was also a stand that were selling the Dainese bright red waterproof jacket. By 2pm on Saturday they had shifted almost 100 of them for £150.

I liked the Yamaha Bulldog, and the TL1000 Suzuki. Breakfast was the most expensive thing, £2.70 per burger, and £1.20 for the smallest bottle I’ve ever seen. BMW had a lot of surprises on show, some really good-looking bikes and they were not the usual monsters.

I think I would be tempted to buy Motorex oil going by the ladies on the stand also. If I were to buy a scooter, it would have to be Piaggio, just for the women.

The Africa Twin for me was the bike, great height, and comfortable with it. The KTM’s and CCM’s are great except for their razor type seats. Paul Quill

My missus pointed out that looking at the front of the updated Pan European

it looks like Gizmo from gremlins! And I have to admit she’s right! Mark Rincewind

Went on Preview day and what a fantastic day I had. The models on show were just amazing and the bikes weren’t bad either!! A good tip is if you want a datatool gear change light go to the datatool stand and ask what the show offer is , they should give you a £5 discount voucher to take to one of four stands, to buy the item. The rev lights “apparently” aren’t available for another 7 days, although datatool will say they have sold out at the show. This is strange when all their stockists haven’t seen any yet! Food is expensive at £4 a throw for most things, so go to the “chrispy Chicken” stand near the bogs next to the test ride arena, they do a good size portion of chicken strips and chips for £4.10. ” Ady

I biked up from London on Saturday and although arrived early the queues were huge. my advice is: 1) Go by bike as the traffic queues and £5 parking for cars are a nightmare. 2) Take your MCN Supplement, the area plan is 10x better than the one in the catalogue. 3) It’s hot, so wear something light. 4) The helemt park is free and there are no long queues (as most people appear to go by car). Sean Carroll (Hemel Hempstead).

We loved the show.

There weren’t many surprises on the main stands, but what did stand out was how dull most bikes are looking now. The bikes seem to be going the same way

as cars have done. Take away the badges and most people would struggle to tell the difference between a lot of the faired bikes.

As a sports tourer rider I was looking forward to seeing the new VFR, after all it is getting all the rave reviews, but as soon as I saw its ugly pointed front – doesn’t

matter how good it performs, I ain’t parting with my wedge for a toy from the Blake Seven series. I know motorcycles are toys for most owners now, but they don’t have to start looking it!

The big surprise for me was the R1. Now I’m not an all out sports bike fan, but the design is spot on (looks like someone has been studying the MV closely). The best stand overall I thought was Carole Nash with the MV, Benelli and a couple of specials to give you hope that there are bike designers somewhere.

Something that we nearly passed up was the Sanyo fashion show, which for a quid to get in was very entertaining. You even got a chance to get to see

some of Suzie Perry’s new video before the fashion show. Pete n Sarah – Blackpool