International Motorcycle & Scooter Show

NEC, Birmingham

13th - 23rd November 2003

Wow! Our 5th year at the bike show! This year we were right in the corner opposite the BMW owners club and next to the Suzuki Bandit Owners Club in the Carole Nash Club Corner in Hall 20 at stands CC23 and CC24.

It was also the first year that our new merchandising officer, Rachel Atkinson had to organise this stand. Let me tell you she was so relieved that it had all worked out well. Only one snag... no electricity when we arrived on the Trade Day - but that was quickly sorted out and off we went for the rest of the day, selling 'Win A Wild Star' raffle tickets and and meeting potential new members  and also current members. Nice chats and plenty of coffee!

There were plenty of new bikes to see including the new Triumph 2300cc Rocket 3 (Ian Catt and I both have test rides booked!) and the Kawasaki 2000cc Mean Streak. Once again Yamaha didn't show all of their big bikes, with the Venture Star, the new Road Star Warrior and the Wild Star missing from the stand, but they did have plenty of Bulldogs around... I wonder what that means?? Honda had the new VTX1300 which is the little brother (obviously) of the VTX1800 released a couple of years ago.

So what were the sights then? Well, plenty of girls including the fast bikes pole dancing!! Also the Custom Extreme section for Low Riders, Choppers and Streetfighters. Load of discounted parts, tyres, clothing - though not in the popular sizes.

As always you should have taken a packed lunch as two baguettes will cost a small fortune, which you could lay as a deposit on the nice new shiny bike you'd been hankering after!

Show-goers could choose from a variety of live motorcycling attractions which allowed them to ride a road-legal machine (in the DevittDA "Try a Scooter" feature), test a mini-moto race bike or watch 12-times World Trials Champion Dougie Lampkin ride a course featuring Europe's only in-door waterfall.

Eighty two different models from 18 separate manufacturers were displayed for the first time in the UK at the show. For Ducati's Sport Classic range it was the first time retro-looking machines had been seen in Europe.

The 2003 International Motorcycle and Scooter Show's attendance is the sixth highest on record. Sunday 23rd November recorded the largest daily attendance-29,099-for this year's event.

Other show features included the MCN Race Paddock offering an exclusive behind the scenes glimpse of the machines and motor homes used by leading motorcycle race teams. Special areas dedicated to the art of customising motorcycles and learning how to explore the world on your machine could also be found at the show.

Dates for the 2004 International Motorcycle and Scooter Show (to be held again at Birmingham's NEC) are confirmed as 4th to 14th November.

"Our aim was to capture and present the excitement associated with riding a motorcycle or scooter," said Exhibitions Director Finlay McAllan. "For approximately one in five of the UK's riders, admission to this year's show has been a ticket to powered paradise."

Pictures of this years events are here and on Page 2.