Motorcycle Live attracted 103,702 visitors this year, maintaining the close link between footfall and the respective year’s registrations. The total was 3370 down on last year and failed to meet the growth target of the organiser, the MCIA, of 2.5%. Registrations for 2018 are also on course to be down on last year’s 105,467, and well below the 115,000 predicted by CEO Tony Campbell last November.
Speaking with BDN on the Monday of the show, Campbell said it had been a good first weekend. “I think we have got one of those better years where we have got enough new products coming to market so the show becomes appealing. Although there are a few members of the public who will travel to Milan as an annual pilgrimage, people rely on the NEC show to get their first glimpse of the latest bikes.”
Campbell praised the “small guys” who basically camped out waiting for EICMA to end so they could pack everything into vans to attend Motorcycle Live, and the efforts put in by the MCIA organising events division and the manufacturers. He gave special mention to British companies CCM, which had an impressive stand featuring a full-size replica Spitfire aircraft to help promote the bobber variant of its limited-run model named after the famous Second World War fighter, and Norton, which decided at the last minute to add the Superlight to its launches of the Atlas Nomad and Ranger machines. Norton had been intended to hold back the launch of the Superlight -which uses the same 650 engine as the Atlas but in a V4 RR-style carbon race bike – until the London show in February.
“With Triumph, Norton, CCM and electric motorcycle manufacturer Arc in one area, it is the first sign to me that the British motorcycle industry is starting to emerge,” he said.
He also highlighted the presence of Kymco and its ground-breaking SuperNEX electric sports bike, and although there were slightly fewer manufacturers exhibiting compared with 2017 but “most importantly, all the main players are here”.
More in the December issue of BDN.