MCN / Excel... observations. Long.

Attended the last day. I had my VIP pass and Press accreditation.
Looked at visited every stand. Watched the show twice and oggled the MCN
Babes.
Observations:
* Absolutely no point in having the VIP pass as the 'officials' were not
at all vigilant at preventing the hoi polloi from sitting in the
"reserved" seating area. I was sitting next to some pikey who was
cheering the BMX riders for god's sake
* The trade stands displaying new bikes were very impressive and the
staff knowledgeable and willing to chat even though they must have been
knackered. There was more room to look round the bikes than at Ally
Pally and most stated that it was easier to set up than Pally too.
* There were fewer tat stalls and more bike shop stalls which was
good.... however, the shop stallholders were not at all flexible with
their prices. One stated that he wouldn't make any discount even at the
end of the last day, he would just take it back to his shop to sell....
despite that, all I spoke to had done tremendous trade and were more
than happy with attendance and venue.
* MCN reps I spoke to were more than happy with attendance figures,
trade stands, side stalls, organisations and cooperation from all. All
I spoke to stated they were going to stay at Excel.
* Spoke with about 50 punters. Most were disappointed with the lack of
movement in prices on the trade/shop stalls. All enjoyed the live
events though were not impressed with the queueing. Catering was deemed
inadequate.
* Bikers liked the ease of parking and the helmet park too.
* Most preferred the choice of venue because of the better road access;
appreciated the direction signs and ease of parking.
* MCN organisers were anticipating a record number of attendees. They
were most impressed by the facilities offered by Excel for access to the
exhibition areas for the exhibitors and traders and anticipated
getting out by 2300 tonight with a few hours tomorrow to finish up.
This was stated to be allot quicker and more efficient then Ally Pally.

Personally I found most exhibitors pleasant and helpful even though it
was the last day. The Stewards had little or no knowledge of what was
going on except in their own small area of responsibility and had no
information to hand for directions, they had not been briefed properly
Though, in my opinion, MCN made the right move and would do well to hold
the event at Excel in the future.
The show had enough for a day's visit. The live shows were same as same
as, though the comedy rider was a welcome change. The catering was poor.
The MCN Babes were paraded, gawped at and generally treated like
stock at a .... well you get the picture.

Time to check photos and write articles. Looking forward to the flak
which will inevitably slam into UKRM from this post and would be
interested in any else who attended the show to share their opinions.

 

On Mon, 05 Feb 2007 01:55:44 +0000, Jones

snip>

I was hoping MCN would take a financial battering on this one but
there's always hope for next year.

I'd still like to see a 'racing' type show running at a different time
of year to the NEC show rather than having two similar shows but I
suppose the future of that is down to the people who took stands at
Ally Pally.

Obviously the Superbike show suffered from a lack of publicity
compared to the MCN version but I was surprised how many people didn't
know there was still going to be a show at Ally Pally. The free bus
service from Wood Green tube station was still running all day but
when we went up to the show at about 1pm on the Saturday we were the
only ones on the bus.

 

I bought an Arai Condor on the last day for 180 quid, down from 249,
after a bit of haggling. Can anyone tell if this was actually a
bargain (obviously, I thought it was, but I know **** all...)?

Yup, the live show was great, and there were long queues, but the place
was rammed so what could they do?

Yes, shit overpriced food. But that's always the way at these events.
Packing a couple of tins of beer and packet of sausage rolls in the
rucksack is the way to go.

I enjoyed it and spent a wedge. I wouldn't go every year unless I was
in the market for a new bike or particular bit of kit though.

 

Slower Than You says...

If it's plain colour you can buy them in a lot of shops for £150, if it
has graphics then they're available for £200 if you look around. I'm
looking at buying a plain black Condor when I'm working again, and I
won't pay more than £150 regardless.

 

Bugger. It's plain black. Oh well, it's only money! And it's a
fantastic lid regardless. It's the first non "budget" helmet I've
bought and it absolutely reeks of quality.

 

Slower Than You says...

Normal retail price of a black Condor is £199-99, you still got 20 notes
off retail.

See here, Phoenix are the UK Arai importers:

http://www.phoenixnw.co.uk/arai_condor.html

 

<snip>

Who really GAF? These piss-willy little shows are all a waste of time.
There is *never* anything new there: the major manufacturers haven't
used the UK Bike Show for a launch of any significant new model
(except the Triumph 650 Daytona) for decades, so they won't bother
pissing around with an upmarket boot sale.

The shops selling stuff won't be cutting their prices much because
it's costing them an arm and a leg to attend, so their overheads are
up (and they've got to keep their existing shops open and staffed at
the same time).

The food and drink prices are always ruinous.

Exhibition organisers will *always* tell journos that they're happy
with attendance figures. Or haven't you figured that out yet?

Dimwit bargain hunters will claim they got £20 off a helmet, without
factoring in the cost of getting there, the cost of entry, the cost of
the plastic burger and Coke, and the cost of getting back, and will
always brag about it, because it makes them look clued-up. If you
really want a bargain, go to an autojumble.

So you pay... whatever-it-costs... to look at bikes you could see for
free in your local dealer, talentless tarts tantalising trippers with
their tits, and people doing stunts on push-bikes.

I agree with Bonwick - a dedicated racing show would have a USP,
though whether it's financially viable is another matter.

And to crown all, you complain about your press pass not guaranteeing
you exclusivity. Words fail me.

 

TOG@toil.?.murray.invalid wrote the following literary masterpiece:

<snip>

LOL

You are, of course, wasting our breath, though...

--
Veggie Dave
UKRMHRC#2 BOTAFOF#08
IQ 18 FILMS http://www.iq18films.com
POST PRODUCTION http://www.iq18films.co.uk
Toxic Shock Syndrome Gets More Girls Than Me

 

wrote

Innit normal for automotive manufacturers to launch in their (nominal)
country of birth?

<chuckle>

 

The live show featured Chris Pfeiffer on an F800, two FMX blokes whose
names I don't recall, and Terry Grant. I thought it was really good.

 

On Mon, 05 Feb 2007 01:55:44 +0000, Jones

I'd get somebody who knows how to write and punctuate to ghost your
"articles" for you, iiwy. Oh - and "long" is intended to indicate a
post of 100 lines plus, not a brief transcription of your notes.

 

R-i-i-i-ight, with you so far...

Umm, I'm not sure of your point here.

 

Damn it!

Sorry TOG, our secret's out.

You wouldn't think it looking at him, but he's actually quite a good
shag.

--
Veggie Dave
UKRMHRC#2 BOTAFOF#08
IQ 18 FILMS http://www.iq18films.com
POST PRODUCTION http://www.iq18films.co.uk
Toxic Shock Syndrome Gets More Girls Than Me

 

No. Triumph has done so more than others, of course, and announces new
models in between shows, occasionally giving the first rides on
British tarmac. As far as exhibitions go, though, I can't remember the
last time a major manufacturer chose a UK show to launch a bike (as
opposed to a scooter or 125).

The heavyweight shows are in Cologne, Milan and Paris. Cologne's the
biggest one, and the vehicle of choice for most makers. Milan,
obviously, is used as a launchpad by the Italian manufacturers. Japan
seems to oscillate between Cologne and its own show in Tokyo. I
remember Paris was used by Yamaha to unveil the RD500LC.

 

Thanks for the link. Slapped wristies for the people on the J&S stand
then, as they had their plain Condors priced up at 249 quid, but as I
still got it for below RRP I can't really moan.

 

"The daily sport is cheaper", or something like that.

 

Jones wrote:

I was with you up until the third letter of the subject, then I lost
all interest. MCN can still go and **** themselves.

 

Slower Than You says...

J+S you say?

Check it for an ECER 22-05 standard mark on the chinstrap and a gold ACU
sticker. There have been a fair few imported[1] Arais floating around
and retailed by outlets like J+S at the major shows. These helmets don't
have ACU Gold stickers and ECER 22-05 markings, they also have different
inner liners to suit heads from other cultures[2].

[1] Parallel imports from markets other than Europe, like USA and Japan.
[2] Arai make inner liners to suit a number of different head shapes
depending on the market sold to. Europe is one, Japan and USA are
others. The outer shells will be of different construction to pass
safety tests in those markets, this doesn't necessarily mean they will
pass ECER 22-05 or even the old BS standard.

 

Why does everyone in UKRM appear to hate MCN? Is it just that the mag
is a bit crap or did MCN commit some sort of horrific offence at some
point in the past? Just being nosy...

 

Not separated at birth?