It’s time to get focussed
Iwrite this during the week after the biggest of the UK motorcycle shows took place, Motorcycle Live at Birmingham’s NEC. And, I’m pleased to say, there seemed to be a really positive vibe to the show, with lots of happy folk both in terms of those on the trade stands, and punters, too. Most years, all I seem to hear from show visitors is how expensive the tickets are, how much parking costs, and how much of a ‘rip-off ’ the food and drinks at the show are, but I heard very little of that this year. In fact, with all honesty, the only real gripe I heard was how many people were upset by the fact that food and drink vendors at the venue wouldn’t accept cash, with only card payments being taken. Now, I’m very much a cash-in-pocket kind of bloke, preferring to know exactly how much money I have left to spend (rather than just waving a card in the general direction of an electronic box, hoping that I’m not unknowingly heading down into the Pit of Overdrawn Doom), but even I fail to see how this issue is a fault of the show organisers.
Incredibly, tickets are already on sale for Motorcycle Live 2024 (November 16-24 if you need to put it in your diary) but, for most of us, we’re not so much looking forward to what the next show will bring us, but are eagerly awaiting the new models that we were shown at the show just gone.
That in itself gives us something to look forward to in 2024, although I would imagine that most MSL readers are more looking forward to a long riding season (and by that I refer to a time when riding is huge fun, and not just entertainment gained by facing the elements head-on, and smiling in the face of adversity) and planning where they’ll head to on their bike. And, while there are uncountable destinations that are suitable for a bike and rider to aim for, may I make a gentle suggestion that we all make an effort to try something a little different this year?
When I had that very thought a smidge over 12 months ago, I ended up buying a cheap 600cc naked bike and doing something that I’d hoped, but never imagined, I’d be able to do. I went racing. And that spawned the ‘More Sport No Leisure’ series that has taken something of a back seat over the last couple of months, once the race season had finished. It will be making a return, albeit focussed on something a little different as I don’t want to bore you all with more reports of me failing to make the grade on various circuits around the land (unless you really want me to?
You know the email address…). Although that’s not to say that I won’t be having an outing or two on the Bandit, as I’ve kept the bike knowing that there is still an itch to be scratched. So, much like the favoured road that leads to a roadside café with the very best coffee and cake, I’ll be getting back out on track at some point during 2024, but there are also other fish to fry.
I have a couple of other ongoing projects that will, with any luck, allow me to try another motorsport or two, and that will also keep me out of the pub and in the shed – I realised very quickly with the little Suzuki that bike preparation and maintenance took up an unexpectedly large amount of time meaning that the ‘no leisure’ element of the series proved to be just as relevant as the ‘more sport’ part! And, at this very point in the calendar, when the trees are bare, it’s dark by 4pm and any kind of precipitation is as likely to be ice in the morning as it is liquid, I think I’ll be throwing some timber into the wood burner (a converted gas bottle that was a winter project about six years ago) and trying to make some headway on at least one of the projects before it’s time to use them.
Yes, I realise that I have been rather vague about what those projects are, and with good reason. Quite simply, I don’t want to make any promises in print as to which one I’m going to get finished in time to use in the MSNL series. Perhaps I need a little more persuasion. So, hill climber? Twinshock trials? Drag racing? Beach racer? Top speed? Flat tracker? Road rallies?
Hmmm… maybe it’s just easier if I give the Bandit an oil change and valve clearance check and leave it at that…