I went yesterday with a pal who, 20 years after passing his bike test, has decided that perhaps he should buy a bike... We had gone to look at the new Triumph Street Twin, but he left feeling slightly underwhelmed by that. We sat on a whole host of machinery, but the one which seems to have piqued his interest is the Moto Guzzi V7 Stone in matt black. Bought himself a load of riding gear including one of those fancy Shark flip front helmets, which is also certified as an open face helmet with the chin bar up.
Stuff that I liked: That Africa Twin does look interesting, but the one I sat on seemed to have an auto gearbox option, which was a little weird. Saw a GS and and R Nine T on the Watsonian stand with side cars fitted...
Saw the new Tiger Explorer with added gizmos such as electronic suspension adjustment. There were some bonkers looking Bimotas and some saucy looking MV Augustas. That Moto Guzzi Griso still tickles my fancy, but not as my only bike. If I could justify a second bike for sunny day bacon sandwich runs, that would fit the bill, but I don't think it I'd want to tour for a week on it. The marketing word of the year seems to be "Scrambler". Everyone's doing one...In the market place area were was a much better ratio of good stuff to tat than I remember from previous visits. I bought some great jeans for myself from Road Skin which are fully lined with some fancy abrasion resistant Kevlar/Aramid lining. Check out the web site link. They were selling all their jeans at the show for £99 and threw in upgraded knee and hip armour for free if you paid cash. The ones I bought with their "Titanite" lining go for £199 on their website, so quite a handy saving.
All in all a good day out, I though.
Cheers,
Paul
