International Motorcycle & Scooter Show

NEC, Birmingham

8th - 18th November 2001

(Report and Pictures By Nick Lappage)

Well, we have had our third successive year at the NEC Bike show. Everything went  well throughout the week with great business at the VSOC Stand. 81 new members signed in to our club during the show, which was fantastic, and I'm sure that all those of you who visited or helped on the stand had a great time.

If you went to meet the lads and ladies at the VSOC Stand, it was at the Carole Nash Club Corner on pitch CC06 in Hall 20, right behind the Bikersweb stall. Many of you came along and kept the crew happy and on their toes.

It all looked a bit smaller than last year, but that could just be me, although I do believe that there were less trade stalls than in previous years. But never mind that - what about the bikes and the girls and the stands and the bargains.....?

Well there were about twenty new bikes at the show this year, including some concept ones. I really liked the Blue Marlin from Aprillia (Shown here) and Triumph's new Bonneville America. If it was cruisers you were after then you should've popped over to the Honda, Kawasaki or Harley stands, as they had got a great choice.

It looked like Yamaha had only put up one 650 Dragstar as part of their custom bike display for the show, but by Wednesday they had put a much bigger range on the top of their stand. Shame for all the people who missed it during the previous 6 days! They did show off the new Bulldog which looked fantastic with their custom touches.

Kawasaki showed their new Mean Streak which is based on the VN1500 and is put on to the new Power Cruiser class that is just starting to appear. It looks like the Honda VTX1800 (and that's nice too -  I sat on it at the stand - it's gives an enormous feeling of presence), and the Yamaha Road Star Warrior. The Mean Streak just doesn't seem to cut it. Perhaps a better paint scheme methinks?

If you haven't seen the new Harley Davidson VRod, then you must have been hibernating early. Apparently, they're all sold but you need to see one to realize how small it is. Mr Harley and Mr Davidson have also re-released the Springer Softail and an 883 Dirt Track replica.

The Carole Nash stand was showing some lovely bikes this year, with a fantastic fully chromed creation called the "Suzuka". The girl who supported the stand wasn't bad either but I bet she was extremely hot at the end of the day after wearing all that chrome around her.

There was also a superb incarnation based on the Honda 1800cc Goldwing engine. I can't think why Honda didn't bring this out themselves as I can think of a good few people who would buy this absolute nutter of a bike. (Cor, me name's Pete and I must get this one now!!!). Now you do have a reason to wheelie a Goldwing!

Now there are some in our midst (you know who you are) who happen to think that the new scooters are not that bad and have been even heard to say, around the breakfast table, that they might even buy one. Well if that's your bent than you needed to try one in Hall 7. There were lots of these machines on show and the girls seemed to like them... they even go up to a massive 650cc now.

If it was leathers, helmets, textiles and even underwear that you wanted the you probably came away with a bargain. Mind you I couldn't find any decent leather Cruiser biker boots at a bargain price, but I still bought a pair from Bikers Gearbox as it seems that they are the only guys selling them!

You were able to get a few autographs if you were patient, and did anyone see the Sanyo Fashion Show? It was every hour, on the hour up to 5.00pm. I forgot, and it was on the Tannoy system every 1/4 hour! If you got some piccies, send them up to me and I'll post them. Apparently, it's all models wearing leather and the like (why did I miss this??). There was also a great display of Motocross in the Freestyle arena, which is quite breathtaking. More reports to follow as long as the other guys get out their type writers etc...

More Pictures from the NEC 2001 Bike Show

All pictures are in Low Resolution. If you want a copy in High Resolution contact webmaster@vsoc.org.uk