simba_smiles

This is my 1st post on xBhp after more than a year. Reasons for my absence were many, some related to my health, others related to simple issues like the “24-hours-a-day-not-being-enough-time”” syndrome, and being too busy with life and its attached load of baggage. Lately my absence has been associated with my marriage which happened early December, ’09. Yes, I’m happily married now!

“Absence” is not the precise description of my online activity on xBhp…its more to do with my lack of posts…though I regularly have been following the interesting threads out here from time to time.

At the time of typing this, I was enjoying a cold and winter honeymoon in Britain. I certainly don’t intend to enlighten you with my honeymoon details, though. But I’m sure I can take the liberty of sharing details of something to do with motorcycles. The MCN Motorcycle Show…to be precise…

I hadn’t planned my honeymoon trip keeping this London MCN show in mind…it just so happened that my trip and this motorcycle extravaganza both coincided with regards to time and location. A majority of my trip was to be in and around Scotland, with some Europe plans in the fray as well. But unknowingly, I had planned my stay in London round about the same time as this show. My wife Urmila says I was mighty lucky to have been accidentally present at London to be able to witness MCN in all its prowess…I on the other hand prefer to describe these events with phrases like, “This was destined to happen”!!! I guess its more of a self-pat-on-the-back emotion, reiterating to myself how my honeymoon is all the more complete now with this huge motorcycle angle included.

Now moving directly to the MCN show in question, there were 3 things which made this special.

Firstly, it was like an icing on the cake in being able to witness the show with Urmila (who’s a bike enthusiast too) during my honeymoon.

Secondly, though I’ve seen many a fancy bike in person at a lot of foreign locales, I’ve never really visited a show of this magnitude. Coming to think of it, I haven’t even been able to get myself to visit our Auto Expo at Delhi! And now I was staring wide-eyed at this very real prospect of traveling barely 30 minutes and finding myself under this very big roof, a roof under which every single bike I could dream of would be luring me from every direction.

Thirdly, I came face to face with a breed of motorcycles which until earlier, I strangely didn’t have much fascination for; and neither did I have much knowledge about. And this face to face interaction was a jaw-dropping and unexpected form of love from the word go! I’ll come to this detail awhile later.

I’m a bit late in posting this, as I was busy enjoying my honeymoon at places where there either wasn’t any internet, or at places where I preferred not to have too many forms of modern communication available. But better late than never. Hope I’m excused.





On a sunny winter morning, on the 6th of February, Urmila and I set off for Excel Exhibition Centre at London. We were at the Excel venue in no time, and seeing hordes of fully geared bikers from different parts of Britain walking in the same direction as us, it invariably meant that we were right on track. That did set our pulse racing even before we arrived at the MCN hall!

Now coming back to that breed of motorcycles I referred to 3 paragraphs earlier, and which I said was a revelation to me. It was the very first stall I came across at this MCN show; the only stall I visited thrice during the whole day; and the stall where I easily took the maximum number of photographs, as a result boring Urmila to extremes. Here’s the bike manufacturer I’m talking about…..

Presently am a 2003 Karizma owner, yet I’m someone who has all along been an admirer of the powerful Japanese litre class breed…..and in particular the Yamaha’s, with a special and biased inclination towards the R1, in all it’s many incarnations. But post this MCN show, and the BMW stall I bumped into, my perceptions, opinions and attractions seem to have taken a big swing!

I’ve always known of the BMW’s to be that indestructible bunch of bikes, which are great touring machines and can handle any terrain you throw at them. I was totally ignorant of “Long Way Round”, until Sunny recommended it to me around 2-3 years ago. Urmila and myself were glued to every part of the series. Watching it simply reinforced my opinion on the BMW motorcycle brand, and my respect for the bike manufacturer increased manifold. This respect stayed as respect, but it had never turned into a feeling of fascination, and a desire to own a BMW bike some day. And naturally, I have never been too interested in educating myself with further knowledge about their product range. I have always been too involved wanting to know more and more about the R1, recently the Fireblade, and bikes like the Yamaha Fazers and FZ1, or the revolutionary KTM RC8. For some weird reason, the BMW’s never caught my attention; neither did they capture my imagination. I still don’t know why. Probably it required an MCN Motorcycle Show to shake me out of my slumber!!! And boy, am I wide, wide awake now!!!

Considering the way I have started to rave about the BMW’s might give one the impression that this is more of a BMW thread than that of one covering the entire MCN show. My apologies to those who adore machines other than this German manufacturer. But neither am I anywhere near to being an accomplished auto journalist, nor am I capable of delivering a professional level motorcycle show report. So I’ll take the easy way out, and let my ordinary photos do the talking. And as a breather, I’ll talk about the BMW stand at the very end.






The Yamaha Stand:

I was most eager to see the 2010 R1 in flesh. Having heard so much about the all-new engine, and the revised looks, and with the knowledge that Yamaha India was going to make this wonder of a machine available to Indian customers, it was a must-see. And there she was, in all her black glory, complete with golden forks and golden rims. Size-wise, the bike looked marginally smaller than the previous generation R1’s, but it was only after you sit on it do you sense that they’ve made the ergonomics feel more compact than what they appear visually. And the protruding headlights definitely look way better in flesh than in photos. The underseat exhausts also seem more futuristically designed than the previous versions, and in my opinion have that more powerful look about them.



There was a pretty blue XJ6 Diversion F on display, and this seemed to be a really nice package both for everyday city use, and for touring, having a comfortable seat for a pillion as well (something a guy with a bike-loving and travel-loving wife has to consider). This “F” model would also satisfy the full-fairing desire of a lot of Indian biker, as against the XJ6 Diversion model, which has only a half fairing like the Fazer. Add to that a 2003 R6 engine churning out around 75 PS of power, I think we have a winner here. It would be a really pleasant surprise if Yamaha decides to launch this in India, and price it considerately too. By the way, I wonder what XJ stands for. The mighty Jaguar has an XJ too, so it must mean something significant.





And then there was a MT-01, in graphite paint, and it looked more muscular than its black counterpart, although I didn’t fancy the tinge of orange on the tank. The sports tourer FJR1300 was there too.


The maxi-scooters, as they prefer to call them, were on display too. There was the 395cc single cylinder Majesty, and the 400cc double cylinder T-Max, both extremely sporty looking and massive machines, with a host of features to make riding comfortable, easy and fun. The plush looking seats on both these scooters instantly give you that feeling of comfort, and with an illuminated storage space for 2 full-faced helmets under the seats, one would probably not need saddle-bags for a long tour on these marvelous scooters.


Surprisingly, the iconic V-Max wasn’t on display. And neither was there any trace of their upcoming 2010 Yamaha Super Tenere 1200, one of their much awaited 1200cc parallel twin bikes, expected to take on the BMW 1200 GS series. Everybody seems to be wanting to take on the GS these days, especially after the phenomenal success of “Long Way Round” ! The Tenere website is up too…..take a look…

2010 Yamaha XT1200Z Super Ténéré - Go Beyond

(Above photo.....sourced from the internet)


The Triumph Stand:

The first thing you notice when you approach the Triumph stand, and probably the only thing that seems to draw all the crowds at this stand, is the gigantic Rocket III Roadster, a 2010 special from Triumph. The muscles, the chrome, the presence…it simply takes your breath away, and you cant but help spending the next few moments of your life appreciating the bits and pieces making this monster. I’m not even getting into any elaborations on the in-line 3-cylinder 2294cc engine, as this is much more than just numbers and technical details. It’s such a treat to the eyes, and to your camera lens too, so much so that every angle you try to shoot it from makes it look as good as the previous angle you capture it from. A work of art in every respect. And now with ABS too for 2010. The Brits sure did get everything spot on with this monster bike.











Another bike where Triumph claim to be class leading is of course their Daytona 675. Quoting the company…..”Winner of the 2009 Supertest ‘King of Supersports’ award (for the fourth time, no less) and MCN’s Sportsbike of the Year”…..when you have such a great thing going for you, you prefer not to make too many changes. So naturally, their 2010 model doesn’t have any major changes, except for instrumentation, decals and colour schemes.












The naked, twin-headlight Speed Triple, their sports-tourer, the Sprint ST, and their all-rounder, the Tiger were all there too.


The Ducati Stand:

The name Ducati in itself exhuberates a whole lot of pride, class and style. And all of this was there in abundance at the Ducati stand. They also made it a point to have the most eye-catching ladies at their stand.





The new Ducati Monsters, both the 696 and the 1100 ABS models were on display, and they’re a huge change from their previous generation models. Now its not just brute muscle, but a whole lot of oomph figuring in their looks too. The single sided swingarm and the Y-shaped 5-spoke alloy wheels look outstanding, and the new treatment to the underseat exhausts are such candy to the eyes.





Another stunner drawing all the attention was the new Ducati Streetfighter. Its lines and geometry have to be seen in flesh to be believed. I’ve never seen a naked bike looking so sporty, stylish, and so very fast during standstill.






The whole range of their Superbikes were present, and what a lot they have! The 848, the 1098, the 1098R, the 1098S, the 1198, the 1198S, including the 1198S Ducati Corse special edition…..every single one was there to add glamour to their stand. And though at first glance, they all look pretty similar to me, I’m sure Ducati afficionados will read a lot more into the letters and numbers. The matt black 848 caught my fancy though, as far as appearances went.






Despite the huge range of amazing machines on display at the Ducati stand, there was this one bike which was the star of the stand. It was the highly anticipated all new Ducati Multistrada 1200S- Touring. A radically new design when compared to the older 1100 Multistrada, and way better looking too, this was one of Ducati’s much awaited machines this year. Featuring tons of gadgetry and tech onboard, and having features like electronic suspension adjustable at the touch of a button which in turn adjusts throttle response accordingly; traction control and ABS; heated grips; and service intervals at 15000 miles, that’s approximately 24000 kilometres…..that’s one hell of a package coming from the new Ducati. This bike is touted to have sports bike level power on tap, but due to the variable riding maps which are accessed at the flick of a switch, it can effortlessly switch from one avatar to another…..one moment it’s a sports bike, then next a commuter vehicle, then next a long distance tourer, and finally an enduro machine. BMW 1200GS…watch out!!!














Check out this MCN video for a look…..

MCN Viral Player


The Kawasaki Stand:

The futuristic looking naked Z1000 was a bike I was looking forward to seeing, and it certainly was a major change in the way Kawasaki designs their bikes. In many ways mirroring the design strategy of the Ducati Streetfighter, yet maintaining its individuality and uniqueness, this was an aggressive looking looker all the way. Though I seemed to admire the Streetfighter more. Or maybe it’s just the Ducati badge leading to the bias!



The bike we can now call “our own”, the Ninja 250R was there as well, and much to my surprise, it was drawing a lot of visitors. I went on to realize that the 250 is a highly sought after bike even in the developed world and many prefer it as their second everyday use bike. And it’s a beginner’s delight too. No wonder its Kawasaki’s largest selling motorcycle.





Other beauties at Kawasaki were the 2010 Concours 14, the Versys, the ER-6n, and the Ninja 650R. I had heard from some Bajaj sources a couple of months ago that they’d be bringing 600cc range soon to India…..can anyone confirm this news? Though I feel that a bike like the Versys would do wonders in a country like ours, not necessarily in terms of sales volume, but it would be a very able machine to take on the rigours of our road, climate and conditions.




The Victory Stand:

Now this stand was all about grandeur, bling, and exotic looking cruisers. Some outlandish but amazing cruisers were on display, and the craftsmanship behind them was mindblowing. The Victory Vision Tour with its front fairing and headlight console resembled more of a Golden Eagle wingspan, and it seemed to have a seat on which you should be laying down on instead of sitting on. The Hammer S, and the Vegas Jackpot were the other cruisers with remarkable names, and looks to match.

















The Norton Stand:

Another British company making their presence felt, with their bikes having that vintage touch was Norton. The Commando 961 Sport and Café Racer versions were both on display, and despite their not-so-modern designs, were drawing a lot of visitors. Not being very educated about the Norton brand, I was wondering what was so special about these bikes. I’m yet to figure that out. Though the bike did look pretty unique from certain angles, especially the rear. Apologies for my ignorance.








The Harley Davidson Stand:

Extensively covered by fellow xBhp-ians recently at our very own Auto Expo, and now with their range being officially available in India, I’m sure I don’t have very much to say about these guys. Every single bike from their stable was there, and once you have a look at their entire range all at once, you realize that as far as cruisers go, no one comes close. HD definitely rules this category.


There was a new launch though…the HD 48 Sportster 1200. The figure 48 with reference to the year 1948, when the Sportster was first introduced. It was when the war had ended, and American army members bought Harleys, and customized them to the “Bobber” style. Bobber style meaning everything really low, minimal chrome, 16 inch balloon tyres with both rear and front being 150 section, and a stylish but small “peanut”” tank. The 48 on display here was coloured in gloss black, and had its RVM’s hung under the handle-bars, which looked very trendy indeed.


The Honda Stand:

This stand was a touch disappointing. Firstly it wasn’t an official company stand, but a dealer backed stand. Secondly, it was on the smaller and cramped side, and it seemed that the guys at Honda weren’t bothered about putting in much of an effort to put on a good show. Thirdly, not many bikes to talk about. The Honda did have their class leaders on display like the Fireblade, and the CB1000R, but these have been around for a while, and what everyone was hoping to see was their new VFR1200F. But surprisingly, it wasn’t on display. I was really looking forward to seeing this revolutionary bike in flesh, but alas…it wasn’t to be.

The Piaggio Stand:

There was a whole bunch of low and mid capacity scooters here, but the machines which caught my fancy right away were the Piaggio MP3’s. Both the 125cc and the 400cc versions were there, and I certainly would love to ride one of these back in India. They seem to be a whole lot of fun mixed with utility and comfort. Some exciting features which are way different from conventional motorcycles are…..definitely the 3-wheel design; no need for a central stand…instead at the push of a button, the electro-hydraulic front suspension locking systems activates and keeps the bike upright when at rest; and the only scooter of its kind having a unique quadrilateral suspension system capable of 40 degree leans. The way things have been going, I really wonder where technology will take motorcycling to, in the 10 years from now!



Interestingly, a 400cc MP3 LT model is available, which thanks to its larger front tyre track of 465mm, can be ridden by car license holders!!! Phew!


The Moto Guzzi Stand:

Now here’s another company I didn’t know anything about except having heard of the name before, but their stand at the MCN show was an education for me. As they say, there’s no end to learning.



Some of the bikes on display were the 1151cc Griso 8V, and the 744cc V7 Classic. I had never heard of them before, but they were great and unique looking bikes with specs to match. I made it a point to look up their range on the internet later that day. And when I did, I was mighty impressed, and at the same time embarrassed at being so ignorant about such an amazing bike manufacturer. If you visit their website and look at their Stelvio 1200cc, their Norge 1200T, and the MGS-01 you’d be as amazed as me going through the photographs, and looking at the technology behind the bikes. The Stelvio is a bike probably as good, if not better than the BMW R1200GS, and this is something some online reviews get close to talking about. And such a comparo is definitely a pat on the back for Moto Guzzi and their products. Since I happened to mention it, here’s a MCN review on the Stelvio…

2009 Moto Guzzi Stelvio 1200 NTX ABS Review - Motorcycle.com


The Aprilia Stand:

The new RSV4-R was written all over this stand, and it was probably the only bike people were bothering to take notice of. And rightfully so. The first thing which strikes you is how sleek and compact it is, and if it was unlabelled, most would think it to be a compact looking 600cc. It certainly doesn’t look like a litre class. And mind you…this compactness is not an illusion. Take a seat on the bike and you’ll realize how small it really is. On top of that, it’s got the super compact 999.6cc V4 engine. So that’s a small engine in a small body. As a result, power and handling would turn out to be great. Quoting an excerpt from a Motorcycle.com review…..” I’m very tempted to say that the RSV4 is the best handling motorcycle available out there. There are other motorcycles that handle just as solid and safe but not quite with the same overall easiness of it all. The mass centralization is supreme, and all 180 horsepower is kept in check at all times through all the aluminium goodness.” I guess that summarizes what this bike is all about. And the great news for Aprilia fans is that, this bike is a departure from the older RSV4 Factory edition as far as pricing goes, and Aprilia has successfully priced this almost at par with the regular litre class bikes, so that it’s affordable to many more.




The Concepts Stand:

Concepts are almost always about being bold and wacky, and designing a bike keeping the future in mind seems to be the order of the day. And though most of these prototypes never see the light of day as mass production bikes, they’re still worth drooling over, even if it’s just for the moment.



















My favourite was a KTM RC8 derived machine, the Mavizen TTX02 which is the world’s first production electric supersport bike, featuring a host of other gizmos. There was also this very strange looking Moto Guzzi concept, called the Future Concept V12X 1200cc. Strange and unique looking, with a lot of attention to details, and having features like LED headlights, and rear facing camera mirrors, I wonder which category Moto Guzzi wish to develop this in to…..racer, commuter, street or adventure!


The Random Rest:

Here are a few random shots of some of the other bikes at the show, which I haven’t specified separately…..










Riding Gear & Biking Accessories:

There was every kind of gear, armour, helmet, helmet cam, helmet defogger, backpack, wax, polish, exhaust unit, tyre, lamp, GPS, etc, etc and etc available to buy, and great deals were on offer too, with the deals getting progressively better and better as this MCN show closing date approached.



Charley Boorman:

Yup, the Man himself was there…..the man to inspire so many bikers around the globe with his daring, adventurous, wacky and passionate ways. “Long Way Round” needs no introduction for fellow bikers out here on xBhp, and just in case you haven’t seen it yet…..make sure it’s the very next thing you watch on TV.

The Irish biker spoke at length about his exploits, experiences and future plans. On a large screen, he showed everyone his personal photos and video clips of “Long Way Round”, “Race to Dakar” and some of his other popular shows. He also interacted with the audience at length, and offered to answer any question they might have. Finally he talked about one of his upcoming tours in South Africa where he’d be covering around 15000kms in 16 days, starting from Cape Town and ending at Victoria Falls, and invited riders to join him.


And believe it or not, Charlie was recently diagnosed with Testicular Carcinoma, and had a surgery a couple of weeks ago, to remove one of his affected testicles. Yet, presently he’s doing an entire UK tour spanning a month, with over 25 destinations where he’ll be doing live shows. And then in August, ‘2010 he’s doing that South Africa trip. And I’m not even mentioning the numerous things he’s always doing for charities across the world. All my respect to this man!


Those who missed the show entirely:

There were quite a few surprising omissions, and one of the reasons doing the rounds justifying their absence was the recent recession. Supposedly having a dedicated stand at a motorcycle show of this magnitude involves big money and lots of expenditure, and some of these bike manufacturers had their stands at the recent NEC Motorcycle Show at Birmingham in December, ’09. So participating in another large scale show in such quick succession was not their idea of good business. The major absentees were Suzuki, KTM, MV Agusta, and Buell. Honda, as I mentioned earlier, didn’t have a company stand but a dealer backed stand.



(The BMW Stand...continued on page 4 onwards.....)

.....Simba

Aryan

Topic Moved and Approved.

The Simba FINALLY smiles again, and how! Welcome back to xBhp, Simba. I, and many like me who have known you for quite some-time now have missed you and your suave, hilarious posts for such a LONG time. But, now that you are back, I am sure we would be treated to some lovely text and photographs in this thread.

Congratulations, to you and 'Princess' for the wedding, although I am quite late on wishing you on this, but nonetheless. Yes, you two were surely lucky to have been able to visit the MCN Motorcycle show. Icing on the cake, really. And all the better for us, as we would be treated to some tremendous photographs of some mouth-watering machines, I am sure.

It feels really good to see you back and posting again. I can't wait for the rest of your posts to follow.

Thanks,
-Aryan.

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pulsater

congratulations for the wedding though i am not sure why would you choose this time of the year to visit Britain. its dark, cold and wet.

I purposely didnt go to LMS this year because i still regret going to Carol Nash motorcycle & scooter show 2009 which was totally a waste of money, however i heard later that London show was not that bad. i will save it for this year maybe.

waiting for the photos

just a lil flashback:
London Motorcycle show 2008
Carol Motorcycle and Scooter show 2008

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ken cool

Whoa! What an introduction. Typical cutting edge inimitable English from the Simba Man from London. Darn, I did not get to approve this late one in the night either. Aryan just sits up late to snatch these things from me!

I will however keep a keen eye out for this one too. What a teaser man!

Pity that you could not carry out your bike trip as planned.

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BMW Motorrad Days 2011

Xbhp's Indo-French Kashmir-Ladakh Tour

simba_smiles

Hi Aryan,

It's a pleasure to be back and active on xBhp again. Missed you all too. And thanks a lot for the wishes I'm definitely smiling again!

And thanks for that late night approval.

Hello Pulsater,

Thanks for the wishes. About why I chose this time of the year for travel to UK, well....when you've spent almost your entire childhood in that country and have resided there for a total of almost 12 years...that typical English weather makes you feel very much at home, and certainly a million times more enjoyable than the hot and humid weather at Kolkata.

On top of that, Urmila was really keen on going to a cold place where she'd be able to see lots of snow. So what better place than Scotland?

I had seen your earlier coverage of the motorcycle shows...really enjoyed them. And yes, you're right.....this years 2010 MCN show was a huge success and rated as one of the best ever. So my timing was spot on

Howdy Ken,

C'mon, you certainly don't have to go overboard praising my English...I honestly feel it's pretty ordinary.

Will try and time my posts next time so that you can approve them

Yes, it was a pity I couldn't go ahead with my bike trip. But there is always that next time...hope it comes soon.

.....Simba

need4torque

Simba_smiles, Nice to see you back here!
Titus here, remember, Cochin, Michelin tyre?
Congrats on tying the knot. Reading the post presently.

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RIDE IT LIKE YOU STOLE IT!
04' PULSAR 180 DTS-i
09 ZMA-R

ken cool

Your English is NOT ordinary!

Secondly, yes lets plan that trip! Finances permitting of course. But here I am trying to improve afa finances are concerned!

__________________
The Wheel was a great invention; Two Wheels with a Motor in between was even better!


BMW Motorrad Days 2011

Xbhp's Indo-French Kashmir-Ladakh Tour

Aryan

With the launch of the S 1000RR, BMW has surely shook the litre-class bike-market. It's hard to believe that it is there first ever 1000cc superbike! Heck, where were they all these years!?

@Simba: Nice teaser photographs those, bring us the 'real stuff' now.

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...in search of that perfect world - My Travel Blog :)

rachitkdogra

First of All, Very nicely written intro there brother!!

Well I could not resist myself but our stories are very similar related to R1, Fireblade and BMW s1000rr.

I have a 2006 Karizma. Got married in NOV, 2009. (This part also almost matches too).

Since the time I heard about SBK's R1 has ruled my mind.
I used to read reviews/camparisons of every magazine and wished the R1 to come out on top. Now when it is on top I somehow developed interest for Fireblade.

And then came the BMW s1000rr. Reading its reviews has completely made me fall in love with this bike.

This is such a dilemma. Being a R1 fan, paying attention to Fireblade and now falling in love with s1000rr. My loyality has really gone for a toss!!

Anyways, Waiting for the rest of the Pics and write up!!

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Rachit K Dogra

Old Fox

Great to have you back on the scene Doctor Saab . And my heartiest congratulations to both you and Urmila on your marriage. I have fond memories of some good times spent with you both.

And well, what an interesting thread to put up. European marques would of course form the mainstay of the show with the new Beemer leading the thrust. Waiting to see some more pics and other delicious entries, especially from the flamboyant Italians.

Once again..congratulations and welcome back.

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