THE SHOW MUST GO ON!

You don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone

– or so sang folk singer Joni Mitchell in her 1970 hit Big Yellow Taxi. Joni was talking about trees or something being built over by a car park, but we like to think she could just as well have been talking about Motorcycle Live, the NEC bike show. There we were in autumn 2019, being all snide and cynical about the questionable burgers, the whiffy toilets, and the price of parking at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham. Then, before we knew it, the NEC was turned into AN ACTUAL FIELD HOSPITAL WITH MILITARY TRANSPORT PLANES LANDING OUTSIDE, and the world was seemingly ending before our eyes.

We would have given our right arms for a nice day out sitting on Fireblades going broom-broom and buying a cheap paddock stand last November. And, to be honest, we still would. Luckily for our limbs, it looks like normality is returning, and Motorcycle Live is all set to return this year, from December 4 to 12.

The exhibitor list is already looking very saucy indeed, with almost all the big firms listed as attending – only Yamaha is missing from the show website at the moment. Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki, BMW, Triumph, Ducati, KTM, Harley-Davidson, MV Agusta and Indian are all there, as well as smaller brands like Langen, Norton, VOGE, CCM and Husqvarna. There are test rides available on the day, as well as the usual stage shows, racers and celebs to meet and pester for autographs, and plenty of bargain retail stands – and those lovely burgers we’ve been missing for the past two years.

Discounted tickets are available online now, costing £19.50 for adults and just £1 for kids aged six to 16-years-old (under-fives are free). Adult entry on the day will be £25 so it’s well worth booking in advance – and if the show is cancelled for any reason, the organiser is promising a full refund.

More on the show at the official website: www.motorcyclelive.co.uk