Motorcycle Live at the NEC in Birmingham has just finished, and everyone I asked what they thought of the show said they had enjoyed it.
I can understand exhibitors telling me the show was a success for them, regardless of what actually happened, but the visitors had no need to hold back. All the visitors I spoke with were positive, yet there was a reservation to their praise.
Almost universally, everyone I chatted with was left wanting a little bit more.
So here is the question: Given the world that we live in, where global communication is as easy as YouTube live; where we are (mostly) all connected to Twitter or Facebook or that the very least have email and the internet – Are motorcycle shows still relevant?
So … Kettle on. Tea made. Time to get to it.
Who wants to go?
The popular view of motorcycle journalists and their editors is that we spend all day riding motorcycles while receiving invitations to fancy lunches. Yes, having a legitimate excuse to ride a motorcycle and call it working is a privilege.
The bit you don’t see is the endless emails and form-filling that goes with enabling those days when riding is the required activity.
Therefore, I was surprised when I was applying for Media Passes to Motorcycle Live to discover I was the only person interested in attending. For my colleagues, their areas of interest were already being addressed through other channels. Whereas a day looking at motorcycles is always great, there was nothing they wanted from the show they didn’t already have covered.
Good for me as it meant less paperwork, and I had a great time at the show. Looking at my notes, I spent most of the day talking to new manufacturers and anyone who was not Honda, Suzuki, Yamaha (more on them in a minute), BMW, Triumph or Kawasaki.
Mainstream Manufacturers
Shortly after Triumph unveiled the production version of the Tiger 1200, BikeSocial, MotoBob and Bike World all had videos on YouTube. The videos were all shot on the same set and used the same Triumph produced promotional video material.
BikeSocial and Bike World both asked Triumph’s Chief Engineer, Stuart Wood, pretty much the same questions, while as usual, MotoBob presented everything you would want to know about the Tiger 1200 in his own engaging style.
Three different points of view, all available from the comfort of your armchair and not requiring you to visit Birmingham. And even if you were in Birmingham, with a pocket full of cash, you couldn’t actually buy a Tiger 1200. For that, you need to visit a dealership.
The Dealer Experience
Earlier this year, I rode through Holland and Germany on a Suzuki V-Strom. One of the questions I was answering was why everyone buys a GS when the Suzuki V-Strom XT is a perfectly capable motorcycle.
There are obvious differences with the GS, not least 30BHP, yet the V-Strom matches and betters so many bikes in that class.
By chance, it rained the sort of rain you get in the Rheinland region. Showers that consist of big fat and heavy raindrops and last for about 15 minutes before stopping. So, I wimped out and went looking for cover
Also hiding from the rain that day was a gentleman on a GS, and we started talking motorcycles and buying experiences. He had a GS because BMW sold him one. Once in the dealership, there was no way out except with a GS.
Yamaha hadn’t brought any bikes to Motorcycle Live, opting to bring a retail unit selling Yamaha clothing instead. When I asked the obvious question, “Where are the bikes?” the reply was – “In a dealership”.
Exploring this further, Yamaha has recently asked dealers to refresh their showrooms and move closer to a Yamaha Experience rather than being just a Yamaha Dealer.
Yamaha’s logic seems to be that bringing motorcycles to a motorcycle show may stop you from going to a dealer. A much more focused and customer-centric approach is for Yamaha’s marketing department to tempt you into looking and then allow the dealers to provide an excellent Yamaha experience at their respective dealerships.
Webbs of Lincoln is my local Yamaha dealer, where I cheerfully parted with my own cash money in exchange for a Yamaha Tracer 9 GT in Icon blue and silver ~ naturally. Any excuse to drink tea and talk motorcycles with Ben and Paul is always welcome, and yes, the makeover to the downstairs Yamaha dealership is impressive. Every inch the motorcycle showroom and not a motorcycle storeroom.
Cosmetic changes will not alter Webbs approach to their customers. They have been a family run dealership for over 50 years. Yet, if Webbs – with all of their experience – are evolving the “dealership experience”, there is (or has been and I missed it) a change in how motorcycles are sold.
New and Niche
Meanwhile, there were no shortage of visitors to Motorcycle Live, all keen to get up close and personal with recently released motorcycles, and a primary target for many was the new Suzuki GSXS1000GT.
I was standing at the rear of the Suzuki stand when the doors opened, and the 1000GT was most definitely at the top of many peoples “Must Do” lists. And interest didn’t wain throughout the day either. Every time I wandered back to the Suzuki stand, the GT was surrounded. Some were sitting on the bike, while others investigated every nook and cranny and compared spec sheets.
Elsewhere among the leading manufacturers, interest was keen but not as intense on the days I visited. Then again, I wasn’t there when Triumph released the Tiger 1200. My photos are of the preproduction model.
BSA and their new Goldstar were also drawing a lot of attention at the show and on social media. If the preproduction bikes at the show are anything to go by, BSA has a success on their hands. The Goldstar was gorgeous.
Contrastingly, if I judge the expected level of interest by the size of the stand, Voge, Lexmoto, Energica and Ultimateear (the custom hearing protection people) were having an excellent time at the show. Their stands always appeared to be buzzing, and the five minutes of serenity I enjoyed while having a new set of earplugs made was most welcome.
The volume of interest compared to the size of the stand was often outstripping some of the more prominent exhibitors.
Randomly chatting with other visitors, most had not planned on visiting those stands but were intrigued by what they could discover.
Voge, for example, had brought along one of their bikes that had been ridden for a year, jet washed and then put on display. Not exactly what you would expect at a motorcycle show where gallons of Motul Shine & Go is often consumed.
Yet, the Voge display on the outer edges of the halls attracted a lot of interest and people poking around the fasteners and the welds admiring how well the bike had stood up to a year on the road.
Market Place
In the days before SportsBikeShop, one of the primary reasons to visit Motorcycle Live was to get a deal on helmets and clothing.
With remote purchasing, next-day delivery, an excellent returns process, and highly competitive pricing available all year round, there are no longer the retail deals to draw us to the show. So perhaps it is no surprise that the once-massive retail section of Motorcycle Live has contracted somewhat.
Schuberth – who had just released the C5 – was attracting a lot of interest, but I’m not sure if they count as a retailer or a manufacturer. I couldn’t buy a C5 from their stand, so which category do you put them in?
Future Motorcycle Shows
So, what does all that mean? With my rose-tinted glasses on, I’d like Motorcycle Live to be the landmark event it once was. Billy and I spent a long and enjoyable day there a few years ago sizing up all sorts of different motorcycles, and it was an experience worth being a part of.
That ship appears to have sailed, and now the question is whether shows can retain the relevance they once had.
The reach of social media and quantity of reviews on platforms such as Youtube, coupled with the desire to attract motorcyclists to dealerships for a “purchasing experience”, makes me wonder if the age of the motorcycle show is fading.
One Response
I always look forward to Expo Shows because I feel like I am in Disneyland when I get there. Motorcycles, motorcycles, and more motorcycles every where, oh my! Hell I get excited just thinking about it. Not to mention the tons of products. Some which I had no idea that even existed. Some shows even have entertainment. Plus the posters, brochures, stickers, etc.
But the best thing bout shows is that I can find all the bikes I like and want to see in person under one roof. Not only is that great, but going to dealers to look at bikes suck big time. The moment you walk in the vultures (sales people) move in on you as if they were moving in on their prey for the day. Some are very persistent. Some follow you around for whatever reason.
And some are downright idiotic, not to call them sexist. Yamaha not taking bikes to shows and expecting people to go to dealers to look at bikes is a bad idea.
Yes we I could spend all day looking at pictures and videos of bikes. Trust me I’ve done it. For days on end. The Suzuki V-Strom was one of the bikes I was considering buying because the Ténéré 700 is nearly impossible to buy in the States. Huge waiting lists and they sell before they hit the showroom.
I have to say, seeing the bikes in person is a different story. Specially sitting on it. The V-Strom felt very heavy when I took it off the stand. The wheel base is very long. And there were some other things I didn’t like but only noticed it when I had the bike in front of me or I sat in it, not from pictures or videos.
On May 30th I won the lottery, OK not literally. I was on my way to buy an used bike and decided to stop by a Yamaha dealer on the way to buy a helmet. The moment I walked in early in the morning the vultures moved in. Supposedly their website said that they had a Ténéré 700 in stock. I had seen that in many dealers’ sites and when I showed up nothing, not bike. It was all BS. So I told the guy that they supposedly had one. To make a long story short they did had one just out of the crate. I went to see it in the shop and the moment I stood next to the bike I realized how huge it was. The tallest bike I had ever sat on. Very intimidating! It looks so “normal” in videos and pictures. It really shocked me how tall it was. My point is that videos and pictures can be very misleading…. VERY!
In case you are wondering, yes I bought the darn thing. For days I felt I had made a mistake because the size of it intimidated me. But I pushed myself to keep riding it and now I LOVE it. I didn’t even have it lowered. Just the way it came is fine. Even though some times I feel that I would be better off with a lower bike. But I LOVE the darn thing too much to let it go. It’s my baby and I called her Rosie.
Talking about the dealers, when to told the salesmen that I wanted it, he went to tell the sales manager and that guy asked him, “why would she want a bike like that? Does she even know what those bikes are for?” My sales man told him that I was planning a trip through Central and South America. Then it made sense to him why I want such a bike. The point is that that was an idiotic commend. Why a girl wants such a bike is none of his business. And it’s not the first time that someone at a dealer had questioned my choice in bike.
In 2000 I walked into a Hollywood, California dealer wanting to buy a Kawasaki ZX-9R. My dream bike I had dreamed with since I first laid eyes on a GPZ900, the original Ninja 900 when I was like 14-15 years old in the 80’s. The sales man told me that that bike had too much power and he was not sure if he wanted to sell it to me. Because he would lose sleep thinking that I could go and kill myself of such a bike. I walked out and went to another dealer where a female sales lady sold me the bike at a great deal.
When I went to look at the Honda Africa Twin, the guy told me, “really, you want one? Have you ever seen one? That is a big bike! I think the EX500 would be better fit for you.”
Hmm, I am 5’8″ (used to be 5’10” when I was younger. Don’t know what happened) and 215 lbs. I used to be a competitive bodybuilder so I am not a little girl. If I get those stupid comments, I could imagine what short and smaller women are told.
Sorry Yamaha, but not taking your bikes to shows is a deal breaker for me. Shows I can enjoy all the bikes, oftentimes I can sit on them and touch them and explore them, without feeling watched, pressured, or or being at the receiving end of stupid commends. Of course it doesn’t happen every time and not all sales men look at my funny when in-tell them what bike I want. But just the idea that I may have to put up with some bull, is enough to keep me away from dealers.