NEC - Poor Show

What a waste of money and time.

I usually get there at 10 am leave about 4 pm having taken everything in, but after arriving at 10 am I was hard pushed to fill my time until 2.30 pm. It will be along time before I go again.

However, I did look at some bikes. I didn’t bother sitting on any sports bikes as that is not where my money would go. They had a Bandit 1250 kitted out with all the touring stuff, but when my wife and I sat on it we both agreed that there was very little room and the seat was uncomfortable.

The Honda CBF 1000 was also kitted out in full touring and we both agreed that it had more room and the seat was comfortable. The Suzuki 650 GSXF looked like a good cheap buy and was okay comfort wise. The new Honda Transalp was also decked in full touring kit and that was really comfy.

One bike that caught my eye was a BMW R1200 with the right bits on it. If I had the money I’d certainly consider a road test. The Ducati 1098R looked drop dead gorgeous. Shook hands with Colin Edwards and got a signed poster.

Had a chat with Jamie Whitam – what a nice guy.

Total lack of freebies compared to previous years that I have been. 2001, 2002 and 2004 were really good i thought. There was no show guide. A PA systen that was hard to understand so you had no idea what was going on where.

And having paid £15 to get they then wanted me to pay another £4 to see a bike stunt show. Did I mention the £8 for the car park?