Motorcycle Live 2025 – Yes, No or Maybe? #MCL25

Sitting at Motorcycle Live 2025 – #MCL25 – looking at the worn-out faces of the staff, organisers and vendors after nine full-on days, the scale of the event comes into focus.

I’m certain that somewhere, someone is already planning MCL 2026, taking the feedback from this year’s show and working out what worked and what needs work over the coming months.

While the “talking heads” finish their pieces to camera, the celebrities talk to James Whitham one final time, and the ever-smiling, resilient Alison from Motocom deals with the media; this is what stood out to us.

Motorcycle Prices

The price range for the same motorcycle style has been dramatically different this year.

The Voge 900X that we rode a few winters back has crept up in price and is now over £8,500 without the luggage, which will cost you a further £700, plus the on-the-road costs.

Priced at £7,000 plus the on-the-road costs, the 96BHP 700cc triple – the ZT703F – comes with the offer of three-piece metal luggage, engine bars and rally lamps for a further £1,000 if you are quick off the mark and take advantage of the launch offer.

Honda – Suzuki

Meanwhile, over at the Suzuki and Honda stands, we stood and watched potential buyers wander back and forth between the Honda CB1000GT (£12K), the Suzuki GSX-S1000GT (£13K) and the GSX-1000GX (£15K) – links and outline specification comparison below.

Honda has put everyone on notice with the CB1000GT. Even allowing for the normal Honda pricing strategy of low-balling the price when the model launches and then edging it up on March 1st, when the season opens up, and the new UK registration numbers are available.

The very small print on the Honda website suggests it must be bought and registered by 5th January 2026

Suzuki had already reacted to Honda’s strategy by including luggage as standard on the GT and GX, increasing the warranty to 10 (yes, 10) years or 70,000 miles, and offering finance at 5.9%. Honda offers a six-year warranty and financing at 8.9%

The Honda has the edge on sticker price, but if you are financing the bike, the Suzuki may work out to be less overall due to the lower interest rate.

Cost/Feature Comparison

All Prices are the manufacturer’s list. Some may include the OTR costs, others may not. Prices correct at publication.

Kawasaki – Ducati

Strangely, the Kawasaki Versys 1000SE Grand Tourer (the model with the luggage) will set you back a staggering £17,349. If you want to go your own way with luggage, spotlights and a few other items, then the stripped-back Kawasaki Versys SE will lighten your wallet by £15,649.

Of course, none of these prices even come close to what a Ducati will cost you, and the various marketing departments will have the BS generator well into the red.

Expect phrases such as Holistic ROI, Cost-Efficiency Paradigm Shifts and Strategic Value realisation to be bandied about, while someone in the Kawasaki accounts department works out how to take £4,000 off the price, without alienating everyone who has already bought one.

As for Ducati, the vanilla V4 Multistrada starts at £17,895 with finance at 7.9%. After that, we stopped looking. I could have had a vanilla Multistrada V2 starting at £14,500, but I was already smitten by the glorious white colour scheme on the 2026 V-Strom 1050DE.

Riderr

Moving on from the motorcycle manufacturers, the number of resellers at the show was up on last year – or it felt like it. All of the normal stuff was there, but in the manufacturer’s area, flanked by Suzuki, Royal Enfield, KTM and Honda, was Riderr.

Having gone from zero to success in 18 months, Riderr – owned by Chris and Lucy Crutwell – is filling a gap in the market for a single-source supplier of quality, durable motorcycle accessories.

Whereas most retailers focus on high-end items – boots, helmets, jackets – Riderr focuses on the essential items you never really think about, until you find you don’t have them.

Asking the normal dumb journalist questions, including “What are the most popular items?”, Chris points at the long handled, long bristled detailing brushes (a snip at £10 for 5) and the 1080P, IP67 waterproof, 8 hours of recording, Sony Starvis sensor and lens, action camera for £90.

There are rumours of a 4K version under test, so we volunteered to do our “worst” and take a preproduction model for a long winter ride.

Angle Grinders

The award for the most-used strapline has to go to “Angle Grinder Proof”. Anyone and everyone with security products on their stand was claiming the same thing.

In the same way as there isn’t a legal definition of the term waterproof, it is a subjective measure; I’m guessing anyone can use “Angle Grinder Proof” in their advertising. After all, a used newspaper could claim to be waterproof, just not for very long.

Hiplok – see Beating The Daily Grind – were there, backing up their angle grinder claims with their Sold Secure Diamond and ART Foundation certifications.

Any protection is better than none, and short of bolting our motorcycles to the garage floor and then bricking up the doorway, making a motorcycle thief-proof is impossible.

Yet, a recognised security rating that applied universally to disk locks, chains and anchors would be welcomed, in the same way that hydrostatic head pressure tests are appearing on waterproof clothing.

Motorcycle Live Photo Bomb