Ten Reasons To Visit Carole Nash Motorcycle Live
Added on Wednesday, November 24th, 2010 by Carole Nash Editor
Ten Reasons To Visit Carole Nash Motorcycle Live
The nation’s biggest celebration of all things biking is again nearly upon us. This year the organisers have revamped the show to make it all the more exciting and relevant to bikers who flock in their tens of thousands for the annual NEC pilgrimage. New ideas, a new name – Carole Nash Motorcycle Live – and a genuinely stunning range of attractions make it an even bigger must. To get you in the mood we present just ten of the many good reasons to hop on your bike and point it in the direction of the M42.
View The New
This year nearly 40 manufacturers – the highest number ever – are displaying their wares with many revealing new models for the first time to the British biking public. Among UK debutantes will be Honda’s mesmerising VFR1200 Crossrunner, a 800cc V4 hybrid of a naked performance and adventure bike. It’s leading a refreshed Honda charge which also includes a revamped CBR600F. Having already teased us with this nifty little video Kawasaki are also unveiling the Z750R and the eagerly awaited Ninja ZX-10R supersports whilst Suzuki will be displaying its full 2011 range, including the completely new GSR750. The Japanese have some presence. But good ol’ Blighty can hold its head high with both Norton and Triumph making their presence felt, the latter showing off the new Thunderbird Storm 700 power cruiser and revamped naked Street Triple. There will be many more debutantes to drool over, including Ducati’s Diavel sports cruiser and Aprilia’s Tuono V4R, (video of which here). Get in!
Admire The Talent Pt.1
The NEC will once again host the final of the nation’s biggest celebration of everyday bikers’ extraordinary bikes: Britain’s Got Biking Talent. Last year a cool £25k and four years work paid off for Tony Haywood whose stunning JPS Norton NRS588 replica took first prize which saw him jetting off to Brno to savour a VIP MotoGP package. This year’s winner will be revealed on the show’s opening day with a celebrity presentation on the special BGBT display next to the Carole Nash stand. If you miss the ceremony don’t worry, all twelve finalists’ bikes will be on show throughout Carole Nash Motorycle Live giving you the chance to check out the very best machine’s from across the contest’s categories – Sports, Classic, Choppers & Customs, Streetfighters, Concours & Restored and Street Modified.
Admire The Talent Pt. 2
The NEC show is a bit like Top Gear – a tad unreconstructed and less than in thrall to noughties’ political correctness. It’s not, of course, that you’ll find bikers wandering around spewing racial epithets or mocking the disabled. Far from it. As we know bikers are typically an equanimous, lot. But – and how can we put this delicately? – the male of the biking species is among the most skilled and active in the art of admiring the female form. For them the bike show is a post-graduate practical in their area of expertise. It’s a tough assignment as the NEC’s halls present a formidable volume of study material. Always happy to aid the biker’s cause we at Carole Nash will be supporting their scholarly endeavours, as we have in years gone by. Visitors to the Carole Nash stand can even add documentary evidence of their studies by having their photograph taken with what is technically known as a “Carole Nash babe.”
Not So Quaint Customs
Bonkers, beguiling, bewildering, brilliant and beautiful – just some of the adjectives beginning with b that might be hurled at the magnificent machines in the awesome Custom Extreme zone. Specially selected by our pals at Back Street Heroes and Streetfighters magazines, this year’s line up includes Lee Workman’s gorgeous Yoshimura GSX-R streetfighter and Mark Worley’s remarkable high-tailed GSX1400. Over in Hall 3A you can also get up close and personal with Harley Davidson Shaw’s Strike True II, the first ever UK winner of the Sturgis AMD World Championship of Custom Bike Building Modified Harley title. The stunning Softail Crossbones is on the Carole Nash stand.
Freebies, Promos & Bargains
We’re being battered by unrelentingly gloomy messages of austerity. Tighten your belts for a rough ride they say. What better excuse then to snaffle some freebies, try and win something actually worth having and ensuring your hard-earned is spent on a proper bargain? But be quick for this once in a lifetime – well until next year – opportunity can last for only one week (and a bit). Ok, we’ve given it the hard sell, but really don’t need to. The NEC show is the place to pick up all manner of bike gear at genuinely knockdown prices and manufacturers and the likes of us are not averse to drawing you to their stands with tempting freebies and promos. As ever the Carole Nash goody bag will include our much loved calendar featuring all 12 Britain’s Got Biking Talent finalists. Get a quote on stand and you’ll be entered not just for a daily £250 insurance prize draw but a super-dooper £18,000 one in which the prize is a Honda CBF600 and a nippy Honda Jazz hatchback.
Cheap Thrills
We’re not suggesting a bit of sneaky slap and tickle in the bike park but taking advantage of the live biking action – as spectator or participant. The Ramp’d Up arena will get the juices flowing with three shows daily (four on weekends) of freestyle motox antics. Among star riders confirmed are Chris Birch, Kris Brock, Jamie Squib and Frederik Berggren. They’ll be performing all manner of hugely entertaining how-they-do-that stuntery. Dirt Day on Saturday December 4th will bring together trail, enduro and motocross stars for your delectation whilst Jamie Whitham’s also dropping by for a Steve Parrish hosted motox Q&A. You can also get in on the action yourself courtesy of Yamaha’s off road and enduro experiences and even the little uns can have a crack thanks to an inflatable protected track provided by the Suzuki Off Road Experience. All activities in the T+MX and DBR Off Road Zones are free.
Seeing Stars
Biking being what is those that are famous and share our two-wheeled passion don’t tend to adopt sniffy celebrity aloofness. Don’t be surprised to find yourself chatting to, say, Charley Boorman in the queue for a pint and a pie, or Red Dwarf’s Danny John-Jules when checking out the Honda stand. Then there are those who make their living from riding. Things will get off to a cracking start when Moto GP champ Jorge Lorenzo cuts the metaphorical ribbon to open the event. Following in the Spanish riders’ tailwind will be British WSB stars Leon Haslam, James Toseland and Tom Sykes whilst Broc Parkes, Troy Corser and Sylvain Guintoli will represent the superbikes scene. For some more details of who’s where and when click here.
Classic Moments
The Classic Zone takes us back to the days when the Carole Nash used to sit beneath the bunting on a tiny, cramped stand bedecked with classic beauties. Herself was as happy as the proverbially insanitary porcine when meeting and greeting the ‘old boys’ of the classic movement. What was in those days the Classic Village remains a truly tempting prospect even for someone with only a passing interesting in motorcycling’s heritage. This year’s line-up of street and race bikes ranges in age from a 90 year-old 200cc Jean Thomann to a 1989 FZR1000EXUP. In-between you’ll find iconic 60s stars including a Triumph T120 Bonny plus Blue, Scarlet and Yellow Perils, iconic 70s Hondas and much more.
Nicks Flicks
Wild-haired adventurer and all round good guy Nick Sanders is bringing the big screen to the big show. For the uninitiated Nick is a globe-gobbling adventurer who has, among other exploits, ridden around the world no fewer than seven times. Bringing his own cinema back to the NEC he’ll be previewing his forthcoming Anatomy of an Adventurer film. This, you’ll be pleased to hear, is not footage taken from a colonoscopic camera, but a documentary detailing what Sanders describes as “one of the pinnacles of all the rides I’ve done, definitely the best one.” We know what he means. The film and accompanying book will cover the journey in which he attempts to become the fastest motorcyclist in the Americas.
Testing Times
“I wanna go, I wanna go” may be the mantra of impatient, teary-eyed kids but it’s also what goes through many a biker’s mind when presented with a tasty two-wheeler That’s where the Test Ride Zone comes into its own. Over 30 manufacturers are bringing bikes along for you to hop on for 15-20 minute ride on nearby roads. They’ll even lend you helmets and gear. For those who have inexplicably not discovered the joy of biking the magnificent Get On campaign is on hand. In the Get On Learner Zone novices can try out a motorbike or scooter, guided by a qualified instructor during a 20 minute session. It’s all free and a great way of introducing people to the many benefits of biking with which we are all familiar. Do your bit for biking and tell your non-biking mates to get down to the NEC and get on!
Carole Nash Motorcycle Live 2010 opens on Saturday November 27th and runs until Sunday December 5th . Advance tickets can be booked up to 5pm on November 26th and cost just £15.00 for adults, £10 for seniors, £5 for children aged between 11-16 and free for the under-10s. Adult tickets on the door cost £17.00. Click here to book.
