Ally Pally Bike show - January 29-February 6 2005

Originally Posted by Mr Toad

What about a new jacket

Another comment about the jacket...

Originally Posted by Vic Reeves

You wouldn't let it lie

Originally Posted by Bob Mortimer

I would have let it lie

Originally Posted by Vic Reeves

But you didn't let it lie

Isaac and I will be there at some point on Sunday 30th. Not sure exactly what time as he has a footy match to play and they haven't told us when or where yet.

BUT we'll be in the car and, seeing as I won't be buying anything, if anyone wants to bung anything bulky in the boot let me know.

[TSM]

I will probably go up on sunday, trying to get a new exhaust 'Road Legal one'.

What time will people be going there? Any plans to meetup somewhere?

For anyone who's going tomorrow (Sat 29th) and is interested, Charley Boorman is going to be on the BMW stand. He'll be signing autographs, if you're sad enough to collect them!

Quick show report:

It opened at 9am. I arrived at about 9:15, having dropped g/f off for college. It wasn't worth driving home and getting the bike as I was only about 10 mins away from Ally Pally. Even by 9:15 the car parks were getting full. I saw very few bikes, most people seemed to be arriving by car. There were no queues for tickets, as there were plenty of ticket booths. After handing over my £14, I was in and heading straight to the Triumph stand to check out the new Speed Triple and Sprint ST.

They are both gorgeous. The Twiple was painted a lovely two-tone blue and silver, with 'tribal' graphics and looked the canine genitalia. There was quite a crowd around it at all times. Everyone wanted to sit on it, from kids, to guys in race leathers, to fat old blokes! The show model had a bellypan and small fairing above the headlight but, oddly enough, no mirrors.

The ST was also attracting a lot of attention. It looked good and well made (someone else here had seen one at the NEC and didn't think much of build quality). There were a couple of things that I didn't like though. It had a silver (chromed plastic) strip on the side of the fairing and matching chrome scuff plates. These looked odd and out of place with the rest of the bike. It also had no bungee points, which seemed a bit odd on a sports tourer. I couldn't see how you could easily attach a cargo net. Perhaps Triumph expect owners to buy matching luggage. The riding position was comforatable and reminded me somewhat of my Ducati ST2. It felt like it would be a great bike for fast, long distance travel. The Daytona's and the Speed Four weren't attracting so much attention. Almost no-one apart from kids seemed interested in the Speed Four, which is a shame since it's a good bike and looked nice with the belly pan and other accessories. The Bonneville range and the Rocket 3 were also attracting a huge amount of attention.

Next door to Triumph was the BMW stand. They had a Long Way Round display with Charley's bike, Charley's riding kit and Charley himself signing autographs and chatting to people. He looked like a friendly guy who was geniunely enjoying meeting and talking to people. BMW had a range of bikes on show, but the GS's were attracting most of the attention.

The best-looking bikes on show were the Benellis, epecially the awesome Cafe Racer. I didn't bother asking how much they cost. The picture doesn't do it justice - you have to see it.


Another superb looking bike was the Powerbronze R1. The newer R1's look great anyway, but this was just amazing. Can someone take a camera and post a photo here?

Suzuki had a stand with several tricked-up GSX-R's in that horrid rizla paint scheme. They had Bandit 650's but no SV's (why not?). They were the only Japanese manufacturer at the show. Yamaha, Kwakasucki (sp?) and Honda decided to stay at home. Ducati were there but I didn't pay them any attention, as I like bikes that actually work in wet weather. There was a hall of Italian bikes, with gorgeous MV Augustas (drool!), Aprillias (yum!), Moto Guzzis (nice!) and Ducatis. MCN had a display of classic bikes near their bimbo stand, with perfectly restored and stunning machines from the 30's to the 70's.

I sat on the Super Duke at the KTM stand, but the seat was extremely uncomfortable. I didn't want to stay on it for more than a few moments. The riding position reminded me a lot of a Buell, particularly the early Buells that tried to get away from under you when you twisted the throttle. It looked nice but I don't think that I'd like to own anything with a seat that hard.

There were lots and lots of lids, pipes, leathers, cleaning products etc. etc. there. I only bought a couple of things. One was a tuffmap, made from waterproof, untearable, washable plastic, similar to the stuff used for Australian bank notes. I'm sick of London A-Z's disintergrating, so I bought the London street map. At £10 (down from £24), I thought that it was pretty good. I was tempted by the UK road map too. The only other thing I bought was a Speed Triple (subject to test ride).

Originally Posted by wyrdness

The only other thing I bought was a Speed Triple (subject to test ride).

Really?

You snuck that in there very nonchalently.

[rictus01]

Originally Posted by Carsick

Really?

You snuck that in their very nonchalently.

1/18th scale perhaps?

Originally Posted by Carsick

Really?

You snuck that in their very nonchalently.

I put down a deposit on one. I've arranged a test ride, once they get their demonstrator bike in (end of Feb). If I like it (and if the g/f hasn't put her foot down), then I'll get it. She said, "I hope you didn't buy a couple of bikes",
"Only one" I replied. She didn't question me further, so I may have got away with it.

Been this morning. Complete pain to park, had to park about 10mins down the road and walk back (up the hill!)

semed good. Got a deal on a new lid which is nice.

Kwak did have a stand there, had a sit on a Nijna6

Dan

Originally Posted by Sudoxe

Kwak did have a stand there, had a sit on a Nijna6

Oh, must not have been paying attention. I am blond, you know. Now you mention it, I do have a vague recollection of seeing green bikes.