Richard Millington
2020 is not a good year for bike shows
2020 has not been kind to motorcycle shows. Richard finds that a real shame.
It’s no surprise that the bike show season is already well and truly over for 2020. Along with Motorcycle Live at the NEC, many of the local shows and rallies have already been ditched for the year, and I wonder if the big shows will be back? The costs are enormous, and I am not talking just about the tickets. A manufacturer stand is a six-figure investment each time. Will they take the chance to save the money and skip the hassle in future? Will they spend the money on digital media which is all the rage, forgetting that most of us still want to touch, smell, sit on and maybe, just maybe, ride the bike we are dreaming of?
Shows have some big advantages over other media. The first one has to be the supermarket effect. That moment where you are heading for the milk, butter and cheese aisle and pass giant Bratwurst sausages or a pot of Tabbouleh salad. You maybe didn’t know it existed, or had long forgotten it, but as you pass your eye is drawn, the area of your brain where longlost memories are stored stirs and suddenly you are desiring a big German sausage with a fresh eastern Mediterranean salad on the side.
The second is something we are all appreciating more now than ever before: actual physical contact with other people. I realise this is completely taboo at present, but all the digital chat in the world will never replace being in the same room as someone. Bike shows are a great time to catch up with people. People who I have ridden and toured with, people in the industry, old friends and colleagues. I appreciate that running the show and asking everyone to turn up just so I can have a chat with some people I may not see otherwise is a bit of a big ask. However, if we phrase it in management speak as networking, forging business links and engaging with customers 1-2-1 in a physical environment, maybe that will help the argument.
I have been attending bike shows on the work side of the equation for over a decade now. Before that I worked quite a few car shows back as far as the mid 90s. I was lucky to make it through the very first day of the very first show I worked at. Desperate not to be late back to the stand after my allocated break, I was trying to weave my way through the throng of people, until I hit a rolling road block. A line of WWF-size Hugo Boss suits shoulder to shoulder blocking the whole of the aisle. No response to my repeated polite ‘Excuse me’, so I slid my hand between the muscled arms of suit two and three to try and pry open a gap. I managed only an inch or two separation. Just enough to glimpse a smaller, well dressed and groomed chap secure in the middle of a square of nine suits. At this point the gap I had hard won closed, almost costing me the fingers on my left hand, and one of the heads perched on top of the suits turned and stared down at me. Now this doesn’t happen often as I am 6’5”. He said… nothing. His look conveyed everything. Go away, don’t come back, find another walkway. Generally pick somewhere else on the planet to be and go and be there, now. It was then I remembered in the morning briefing we were told the hush-hush news that The King of Jordan was visiting the show. Any enquiries should be relayed to the head of PR. Do not try and engage with His Majesty and DO NOT under any circumstances embarrass the company.
The briefing wasn’t specific about barging through his security cordon, but I am pretty sure it would have counted.
Having survived my first day and many since, a year with no more shows seems odd. Yes there are many, many repeated exchanges, but that’s part of it. Last year, however, a chap asked me a new question. I was fully expecting the oft asked ‘What’s your favourite place to ride?’ but he asked: ‘What is the place you have ridden that most surprised you that you enjoyed it?’ It was a good question and one that took some thought. Lots of research and planning for what we do means that there shouldn’t be too many surprises, even on reconnaissance runs.
In retrospect there is a surprises list and at the top is riding into Hanoi. Carried on a wave of chaos and scooters with nearly all rules ignored and hesitation a potentially fatal error, I had approached it with no small degree of trepidation but loved every minute of it. A close second is riding the Lolo Pass on the Lewis and Clark Trail, but for very different reasons. I had no real expectations; I anticipated a bit of a transit day, but it absolutely blew me away. After all, some surprises are good.
Let’s hope we are not seeing the end of the big shows. If we do all get to meet again at the NEC or Excel or wherever, points will be awarded for the most original question.