IT'S THAT TIME OF YEAR AGAIN – the annual pilgrimage to the NEC in Birmingham for the bike show (or Motorcycle Live, as I still struggle to remember to call it). I've been coming here for more than 30 years now and I still enjoy the buzz of it, the bustle of it – the pure, celebratory bike-ish-ness of it. I do think this year's event felt smaller than previous years, but it was still a fantastic place to spend a day.
My partner in crime this year, Geezer, kindly took the photos as we breezed around. We started in my happy place: the Kawasaki stand, or more specifically the saddle of the SX. I've done more than 65,000 miles on my 2017-plate Z1000SX so I was keen to get a feel for the latest Ninja 1100 SX… and it still feels like home. Sporty but comfortable. Exactly as a sports tourer should. New for this year is an SE model: all the good bits of the SX with some added better bits in the form of radial Brembos and an Öhlins rear shock.
Perhaps the most-talked about machine at the show was, inevitably, the new BMW R1300GS Adventure. Early pics of the big-boy's version of the world's best-selling adventure bike hadn't exactly picked up many fans, but when it appeared in dealers social media was awash with people saying "It looks much better in the flesh". And it does – it really does.
There are lot of nice little touches on it – I particularly like the way the tankbag hinges up. The riding position seems to be as roomy and comfortable as ever, it has all the toys. It is eye-wateringly expensive, of course, but that's why PCP deals exist. It has everything I'd want – except a single button to reset the trip. You still have to scroll through a mile of menus to do that...
Of course, that wasn't the only new adventure bike I wanted to sit on. The KTM 1390 Super Adventure felt every bit as comfortable when sitting – I could see myself demolishing a lot of miles on that, very easily. For me, the S with its old-fashioned manual clutch felt like everything I'd need on the road… I'm not sure I'm ready for the technology or cost of the S Evo with its AMT transmission.
There wasn't a radical shake-up of the big 1200 Tiger range to check out on the Triumph stand, but the new Tiger Sport 800 looked cracking. While I like the new-rider-friendly Tiger Sport 600, it's never been a bike an old-lag like me could fall in love with. The 800? Maybe – especially in the yellow. But I still wish they'd build a 1200 with the Speed Triple engine in it...
I wasn't bowled over by newness as Geezer and I poked around the Honda, Suzuki and Yamaha stands. Okay, Geezer was tempted by the new Suzuki DRZ400SM but it's compact enough that I make it look monkey bike (no photos!). I continue to love the look and comfort of the Yamaha Tracer 900 GT. I ran one of the first-gen Tracer 900s for a year when I was on RiDE and I loved it. The build quality of the new ones really seems to have gone up (though so has the price, of course). Even so, it's a lot of bike for the money.
As ever, I did find myself drawn to the Ducati Multistrada V4 range, which are bikes for a lot of money. I did a few thousand miles on the Rally this spring and loved it, but I can't justify the expense. And definitely not the £27,795 (before extras) for the V4 Pikes Peak, which really tickled my fancy...
Much more pocket-friendly are the Royal Enfields. I'd been most interested in having a closer look at the new Bear – the scrambler-style machine using the 650 twin from the Interceptor – but I'm afraid the paint options succeeded in driving me back towards the Himalayan. I think I'm still too big for it, but it's a great-value bike.
There were lots more models to see and sit on – from Nortons to CCMs to a host of Chinese-made machines (from CF Moto, Kove, Benelli and more) that actually look like they've been screwed together properly and could be great value. And of course there were electric bikes (excuse me while my skepticism roars back).
There were stands selling clothing and lids and accessories as well, though perhaps not so many as in previous years. Even so, it all added to the atmosphere. There's something about being in a big space like this that's entirely given over to bikes that I find heartening. It's one big, varied, entertaining community and Motorcycle Live is our chance to celebrate it. Parking's bloody expensive, though…
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