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Brilliant racers and bikes get the party started in style at NEC show
‘The show opened with a celebration of top talent’
Motorcycle Live 2018 kicked off at the weekend as thousands of bike fans poured into Birmingham’s NEC to meet their heroes, pick their next bike, or simply bag themselves a bargain.
The show opened with a huge celebration of some of the very best motorcycling talent the world has ever produced. On stage there were none other than Jonathan Rea, Tai Woffinden, Ana Carrasco, Dave Thorpe, Ron Haslam, Leon Haslam, John Reynolds, Niall Mackenzie, Carl Fogarty and Ben and Tom Birchall. Between them they’ve amassed an incredible 30 British Championships and 24 World Championships. Not a bad haul. Then there’s the bikes.
Now we couldn’t possibly name every single bit of metal on display, but there are some serious headliners for 2018, and you’ll have to get your elbows out if you want some quality time at the front of the crowds. In at number one has to be the new Norton 650 twins: the Atlas Nomad and Ranger. They’re gorgeous to look at (if you can get near them), should ride beautifully, and the Nomad starts at under £10k, so they’re affordable too. Based on the size of queue to look at them, we’d suggest getting your orders in now. Or if you really want to win a lightweight TT, how about the new Norton Superlight? It’s dripping in carbon fibre, Öhlins and electronics, but will hurt your wallet to the tune of £19,950. Keeping the British theme, the CCM stand is something to behold. Not just because there’s the new Foggy Edition Spitfire to ogle, but there’s also an actual Spitfire, too. Then there’s the class-defining Arc Vector electric bike, the Ariel Ace and Triumph’s new Scrambler 1200.
If you prefer a more international flavour for your sportsbike, you can’t miss BMW’s new S1000RR, Ducati’s mind-blowing Panigale V4R, the new Kawasaki ZX-6R, Honda’s CBR650R, the Suzuki Katana, Kymco’s incredible SuperNEX concept, and the Aprilia RSV4 1100 Factory. And they say sportsbikes are dead. There’s plenty of adventure bikes to tempt you, too; including the new BMW R1250GS Adventure (which you can see live in action in the Dual Sport Arena), KTM’s 790 Adventure R, Yamaha’s greatlooking new Ténéré 700, Honda’s CRF450L Rally concept plus the much-awaited Moto Guzzi V85TT. The show runs until this Sunday, November 25. Book your tickets online now at 2018.motorcyclelive.co.uk to avoid the queues.