It was great to be back in 2022 attending the London Bike Show at the Docklands Excel Centre after previous events being cancelled due to the pandemic. As someone who lives in Essex the Excel Bike Show is fairly simple for travel by train or by road, with me and few friends opting for former so we could have a couple of pints of beer at the show.
We also took the decision to buy our tickets ahead of time online, which was a smart move given the length of the line to buy tickets on the gate.
What to expect at the London Bike Show
The highlight of the bike show calendar used to be the November show at the Birmingham NEC, however I stopped going a few years ago because it was a very long journey and the weather was usually awful in November, often snowfall cancelled the event or prevented a lot of the lots from being filled. The London show isn’t quiet as big as the NEC but everything you need to see is still here. All the top manufacturers attend this show along with some new brands which you’ve probably never seen before.
You’ve also got an opportunity to buy lots of riding gear, merchandise and tools as discounted prices. You will often find huge discounts available on the last day to save of the vendors having to transport back to the shop or warehouse.
You will also see some celebrities and top riders attend these events, I spotted a few British Superbike and Isle or Mann TT racers on the Saturday, including Peter Hickman asking some kids not to sit too close to his £250,000 amazing Honda RC213V-S.
One of the more chilled out areas is the adventure rider sections where you can see some bikes that have traversed the globe, and some of the amazing stories the riders have to tell. As you would also expect there are plenty of books and DVDs on sale which document the adventures and plenty of advice for budding adventurers looking to prepare for a long bike journey.
The ultimate guide for adventure riding has been the Adventure Motorcycling Handbook by Chris Scott which has been in print for many years. Whilst I’m not really much of an off road rider, the tips for preparation and dealing with problems have proved very useful over the years and well worth a read, also check out some more interesting books within the interesting books section.
Manufacturer stands and new motorbikes
As you expect, the majority of the bike manufacturers had stands to show off their new bikes and some of their classic bikes from previous decades, including lots of very nice race bikes from superbikes and grand prix racing. Suzuki usually go the next level by bringing lots of their grand prix machines and didn’t disappoint this year with some awesome bikes on display. Barry Sheene’s grand prix bikes are a regular at the events and always good to see how Suzuki evolved the two stroke race machines through the ages with the Kevin Schwantz and Kenny Roberts Jr championship winning bikes.
As a Suzuki fan I’m a bit biased towards the Suzuki pictures, however there was plenty of other amazing bikes on display which I’d love to also have parked in the garage or living room!
There were some smaller and lesser known manufacturers at the show with some very interesting bikes. Langen Motorcycles have featured in a few magazines over the years with their beautiful limited run two stroke machines which I finally got to see up close for the first time. If you have £28,000 on a new motorcycle they are now taking orders for from the limited run of 100 bikes they are building.
The Chinese manufacturers were also present with Lexmoto and Vogue. I was very impressed with some of the bikes at the Vogue stand with sensible prices and good levels of equipment. The resell value will drop like a stone but probably some of the cheapest Euro5 ready bikes on the market.
Valentino Rossi VR 46 racing bikes
There was also nice collection of Valentino’s bikes from his early years, with a noticeable absence of the Hondas and Ducatis from the line up. Valentino retired from racing in 2021 after 25 years of racing and winning multiple championships at all levels of grand prix racing. During his early years in the top class with Honda and Yamaha Valentino was virtually unbeatable on two stroke and four stroke machines.
It was fair to say that Valentino did the best he could on the second string Yamaha GP bikes during the 2021 season, however it was clear that it was time to retire from racing with so many strong riders in the top class. VR46 will still be the greatest of all time GOAT to many racing fans and riders alike.
Silverstone Classic Bike Auction
The auction are always has plenty of amazing bikes which are going under the hammer, many of them bringing back memories of bikes you used to own and wish you’d kept many years later. The only downside of the auction paddock was being charged £5 to walk around and look at the bikes. I understand they probably have to pay a premium for the area they use at the show, but it does smack of being a bit cheeky. You could still get some good views of the bikes in the paddock from the general arena areas.
Is it still worth the entrance fee?
For the £20 online ticket price it still represents a good day out looking at the new bikes, custom bikes and classic bikes. There is something for everyone, including some riding demos and racing in the centre area of the arena. There are still plenty of trade stalls attending the show but have started to see a few which don’t have much to do with the motorcycle scene. As far as bike shows go, this is probably the best one for seeing the new bikes going on sale and have a chance to chat with the various manufacturers and dealers.
If you are not interested in new bikes the Stafford Bike Show is probably a better bet with plenty of old bikes and autojumble on site. Will I go again next year? I generally say no then end up buying a ticket in February for the next one so they must be doing something right!
Ride safe
Al (barnfindmotorcycle.com)
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