Show Time!
Thousands of off- road enthusiasts, be they trials riders, scramblers or enduroistas on two or three wheels, have one thing in common, they were packed into the International Centre at Telford for the Hagon Shocks Classic Dirt Bike Show 2016.
Wrighty’s show got a new name The Classic Dirt Bike Show and a new sponsor, Hagon Shocks. Were you there? We were and here's our snapshot of the show and the Classic Dinner Bash.
What can I tell you about this year’s show, held over the weekend of February 20-21? It’s easy I hear you say, write about all the great bikes on display, of which there were loads – from all disciplines connected to off-road and racing, with speedway and grasstrack chucked in for good measure.
There were also a few new bikes around; for some reason the trials scene has found a classic show ideal for launching new models. Steve Saunders was there with the new TRS, so new even he didn’t have one to ride in Jersey a few days after the show.
Acklams Beta put on a fine display of all things Beta, while Nigel Birkett had the orangest display ever seen, with the new Scorpa range. Not forgetting classics, as the Drayton stand had all sorts of stuff, with two and four-strokes, singles and twins all ready to go.
Okay, so that’s the bikes. Yes, there were bits too, such as REH’S stand on which Duncan and Judy had their new forks on display and Nick Scott from Motoduro with so many bits for our IT465 project. With all sorts of other suppliers present, if you were looking to rebuild an Evo MX or a classic scrambler, what you needed was in the halls.
Then, of course, there were the people, thousands of enthusiasts who make up the mainstay of motorcycle sport around the world, but also the stars, past and present, who are just as enthusiastic but that bit better than the rest of us. We dragged a few of them up on stage to chat, as well as Jim Aird, Wayne Le Marquand, Nick Jefferies and Briggo. Sammy Miller took to the stage, Bryan Wade too, as well as Geoff Shuttleworth and Darren Hudson.
From the tarmac side of things, former British road racing champion Jim Curry gave his side of the race scene in the 1960s and 70s while also providing inspiration for those tackling cancer.
So, what now? Well, it’s all to do again next year, the dates will be similar, the venue the same so get working and finish your project for the summer, get it used, fettled up and on show in 2017.