Bonneville America Forums Forums General Motorcycle Forums Rides, Rallies, & Events No Harleys at the show

Went to the uk bike show today and was shocked that their was not a harley ( or honda ) stand there. Was a bit like you guys over the pond not having a triumph stand at your shows. Is it the credit crunch or are harleys losing out to the great british bikes. time will tell

There was a British Norton stand with 2 models on the stand . Hard times to try to get back into sales at 12 and over 13 grand for a COMMANDO.Reto looking like the older TBA.

But thought alot less bikes over all so maybe it is the credit crunch. ( was good to meet "bluenose" Ivan )
Still a great day out makes you want to spend some £££ and $$$ tho

ATB geoff

I was going to post something about the bike show but I realised that some people had not gone there yet.

To be honest I was pretty non plussed by the whole show.

The Triumph stand was more or less the same as last year and to be honest for all the talk by Triumph of the extras for the thunderbird they still seem to show the same basic model at every event (ok so there was the new limited paint scheme for 2010 there).

I was pretty impressed by the BMW stand - they put a good effort in and the new sports bike looks the buisness.

I did like the Nortons but I think they are grossly overpriced.

If anything I spent ages listening to the police giving riding advice and Steve Parish hosting events on the main stage.

I'll see what the London show is like next year - can't be any worse than the NEC this year.

Well, I did go to the Long Beach(SoCal) Cycle World Show yesterday, and what I observed was a whole lot of action at the Victory exhibit. Yep, just a couple years ago their area seemed almost dead and with most of the folks showing little interest in their products. But NOW, as I said, that place was HOPPIN'!!! In fact, one of the guys who rode there with us on his '03 Harley Road Glide said he is going to sell it and was going to purchase a Victory Vision once he does. And I have to say that that new Cross Country of their's is one nice looking touring machine too.(the base model that is, NOT that friggin' over the top model with all those stupid-azz skulls all over it...just my "humble" opinion there, you understand!!!)

AND, South Bay Triumph(and now S/B Triumph/NORTON) had a VERY nice exhibit goin' on! And MAAAAAN do I want one of those new Norton 961's!!!! They were the CLASSY-est lookin' bikes there by a long shot! And considerin' that those babies are "supposed" to cost(as one never really knows the price of the wares that these "Start-Up" companies will ulitmately charge the consumer once they actually hit the showrooms) around $18,000US, I really don't see that that is all that much to spend for a limitedly-producted and high-quality motorcycle, as heck, one can blow two or THREE times THAT for some of these gawd-awful lookin'(and ridin') specialty-built choppers out there!!!(once again, just another of my "humble" opinions there, you, once again, understand!!!)

Geoff (GTS) thanks for the heads up on the pub - fine pint of bitter! Good to meet you too buddy!

What was good.....

Rocket Roadster
Limited edition Triumph's Daytona and Tripple
Norton agree with Graham pricy but fine quality and all early production has sold out.
BMW - great stand with outstanding bikes - Chalie Whatshisface puts me off them though
Victory - Hammer and Vegas very nice but Batman's bike is just a touch OTT
Ladies astride things

Not so good....

No Honda
No Harley (always good for a laugh)
Royal Enfield - build quality is worse than cr@p!
Didn't manage to get any phone numbers from said astriders

And I managed to pick up a giant shammy for a fiver! Why do I always buy this junk!

Although I don't know the area, being across a very large ocean and all, it does seem stange to not have a Harley there in the show. (By the way, what does a Harley cost over there, anyway?) It's too bad the build quality isn't good on the Enfield. I love the styling.

Yeah, interesting Rich. Ya know Ivan, in my reference to South Bay Triumph/Norton which I mentioned above, I forgot to add that I guess it's now also S/B Triumph/Norton/Royal Enfield. Yep, Matt Capri the owner of that establishment also had three of those bikes at the show here. And I have to say I thought they at least "looked" pretty well made anyway.

So Ivan, what specifically makes you say that about 'em?

(oh and BTW...I had the pleasure to talk with one of your somewhat reknowned countrymen at the show once again this year, famed racer and motojournalist Alan Cathcart, who was hobling around on a cane due to his recent high-siding while aboard a Buell 1125RR at the Barber track in Alabama)

Both Harley and Honda announced months ago that they wouldn't be at the NEC. Harley said that they were going to concentrate on getting people into the showrooms as that's where they sell bikes.....shows don't push up sales figures.
Honda have nothing new to launch so paying out for a stand at Birmingham would seem like wasted money to them.

The NEC show seems to have got smaller and smaller over the years.....the major players now seem to launch new models at the big European events. I wouldn't be surprised to see the NEC show vanish in a couple of years time.

mark this day down.. I agree Speedmaster05 on something..

now I still think the vision is one of thebikes out their.
but the new Cross Country is one ****** of bike compared to it's HD counterpart ..

if you don't believe me go take a look at .. web page

and watch all of the videos....

Ed

Well Dwight my freind...purely a personal and subjective opinion but whilst the Royal Enfield looked kinda nice and retro the general build quality up close looked and felt cheap. At £3,999 new they are but my point is the Royal Enfield mark demands better quality (and a higher price). Retro styling combined with modern technology works for me and I feel they have missed a trick. Norton has, on the other hand, gone the other way. Outstanding quality with a big price ticket (have sold out of early production and received fantastic reviews). Triumph I feel have the quality and the price point just about right (the Bonneville variants sell very well at prices 50% higher for example).

As for the Victory’s the Hammer S looked the part and the build quality there in spades. Like that they have some innovative design ideas – though not for me but impressive none the less (and yes I would like to ride one). They have only been going for a few years and they have done a great job so far.

Nomad, Hardly and Honda will be exhibiting in London (so I understand) and I think you are right the NEC might well disappear for one main show in London. Though I must say the exhibition was packed – way too busy!