Beaulieu 2007 - Unlucky 13th
Added on Sunday, June 24th, 2007 by Carole Nash Editor
1981-ish Bonneville
It’s usually one of the most warm and sunny shows on the calendar, but the 13th World of Motorcycling at Beaulieu tempted the rain Gods…and they poured down a monsoon across most of Southern England for the best part of two days.
Still, around 17,000 brave bike fans turned out and despite the weather, there was plenty to see and experience. For a start off, the White Helmets put on impressive display of precision riding aboard old Triumph Bonnevilles. Riding in very, very slippery conditions, including jumping through a gateway of fire, riding on ladders and making the famous `Wallace ‘n’ Gromit’ style human pyramid.
One Army guy even managed to pull a more than respectable wheelie on his 1981-ish Bonneville, which isn’t something I would ever attempt, on wet or dry tarmac. I guess when your day job is dodging roadside ambushes near Basra, popping wheelies on antique Britbikes in the rain is a piece of cake by comparison…
Other arena activities included the Supermoto demo riders, who had their bikes sliding merrily sideways, and front wheels jumping at the horizon, again on very wet surfaces. Speaking as someone who nearly filled his pants when the Guzzi Norge I rode to the show on went sideways at a roundabout, I take my hat off to those who deliberately make motorcycles do these kinds of things, and seem to have the biggest laugh whilst they do it. It’s a talent that some people are born with for sure.
You can see a wide variety of bikes, trikes, kit and accessories at Beaulieu, rain or shine. I loved seeing the trike boys in the club stand area, mainly because these home-brewed creation embody the true spirit of British bodge-ups, backyard engineering solutions and sheer beer-mat fuelled inspirational genius.
I’m old enough to enjoy seeing no end of classic motorbikes, with the machines of the 70’s, like the Honda CBX1000 or Kawasaki Z900 being amongst my faves. But the FN from the early 20th century, complete with its four cylinder engine plus shaft drive, shows how little real fundamental technical development there’s been in motorcycling. Great contrast to a wander around the National Motor Museum, where you can see the original Benz 9mph horseless carriage from 1886, then fast forward to Segrave’s 200mph record breaker of 1927. That’s progress baby!
I always like seeing the latest bikes, sitting on them and dreaming of owning an entire fleet of bikes in my garage. I like the latest Victory Hammer cruisers – bit different from Harleys and there’s nothing wrong with that. Other models that caught my eye included the Aprilia RS125 two-stroke a future classic surely, plus the KTM Super Duke 990 (just hardcore fun) and the Kawasaki ZZR1400 (the Blackbird that Honda should be building now).
I think it would be great to see some of the latest models being ridden around the arena at Beaulieu, with some of the racers, dealership staff etc riding them, whilst the commentators tell the public what modern motorcycling is all about. Great little taster for those who fancy booking a demo ride on the latest machines as well…
Couple of other suggestions;
1. Bikers don’t need telling off for wearing helmets at a wet motorcycle show, we’re just keeping our hair dry, not planning a bit of shoplifting.
2. Why can’t you buy any hot food from the main Beaulieu restaurant until 12 noon? It would be nice to buy a bacon butty at 10.30am after a cold, wet ride to the show.
Hopefully Beaulieu will be back its sunny self next year – see you there.
Pro’s:
White helmets, freestyle stunts, sheer variety of stands
Con’s:
Rainy weather limited overall activities
