Event Reports

Manchester Bike Show - Event City 2015 - Saturday 28th March 2015

Fantastic, stupendous, exiting, exhilarating, interesting, well that's enough about me, those that know me will have already known all that, so what about the bike show I hear you ask ....

Well to start at the beginning would take too long so I will commence from after the dinosaurs became extinct and fast forward to Saturday 28th of March when me and my very old mate Mart set off from sunny West Yorkshire to the rainy and windswept Lancashire, over the hill on the M62 on to the M60 and off at Event City next door to the Trafford Centre.

The conditions on the motorway were horrendous at times, visibility was down to a few yards how glad we were that we had taken the decision to go in the car. Arriving at our destination we joined the queue for the car park which was already quite full as there was an angling exhibition on in another hall and as we passed the entrance there was a large crowd gathering for both events. Rather than stand out in the rain getting soaked waiting for the doors to open me and Mart parked up and sat in the car drinking coffee and chatting about our aspirations for the forthcoming day's events.

The rain eased off and we made our way to the entrance, fortunately we already had our tickets having printed them off several days previously so were able to make our way straight into the exhibition hall to be greeted by a rather attractive young lady offering a bag of assorted goodies.

Looking to our right our gaze fell upon the lavish stands put together by Indian and Victory as we drooled over the Chief and Scout and marvelled at how such a big machine could feel so light when sat upon.

Indian Scout

Moving on to the Triumph stand I managed to bag a bargain off the clothing rail with much of their branded clothing having been reduced to affordable levels. We were struck by the new Bonneville's on display and so it seems were plenty of other folk as it was a very busy stand.

New Bonnie

Kawasaki was next not so much for the bikes as for the birds although both had very attractive bodywork and were appealing on the eye.

Kawasaki's ... very attractive bodywork and were appealing on the eye

We meandered on to Yamaha and Suzuki and Honda but I was quite taken by the Piaggio MP3 500cc 3 wheeled scooter.

Piaggio MP3 500cc 3 wheeled scooter

At the risk of losing all my street cred built up over the last 30 odd years (Ed: Street Cred !?!?!? ..... Really !?!?!), I have to say I wouldn't actually object to riding one of these although I would have to wear a disguise LOL.

Onward into the next hall where there were many more clothing and accessory stands and Mart managed to prise open his wallet and bought a cap and jacket for a lot less than a good night out. There were also many club stands where members old and new stood around chatting and meeting old friends. I spent awhile talking to the guys on the MAG stand who were positioned next door to the BMF ! I wonder which joker planned that ? ... however all the cross stand banter was of a good nature.

For the round the world on a moped nutters there were adventurers in attendance signing books and selling DVD's etc, I couldn't help wondering if these guys actually had a job and if so how did they manage to get time off and fund these trips of a lifetime experiences. I have obviously gone wrong somewhere along the line !

After another few circuits of the show taking in the sights we went to the Angling Show, what a result, my two main hobbies and pastimes both having exhibitions on at the same place on the same day .... can life get any better than this !

In conclusion, I am happy to report a very good day out I would recommend this event to anyone especially as you can be there in an hour or less, the parking is free and the tickets not exorbitant. I think this event will become a must see for bikers in the north of the country as it's much easier to get to and far cheaper than the NEC. Maybe I will see some of you there next year.

Ride Safe
Mick