Bristol Classic Bike Show, Bath & West Showground, February 2009
We'd done this show in 2008 and thought it was worth taking part again. We booked a stand and were told we'd get
the same plot as last time, so we decided to go for 8 bikes and extend outwards towards the loading doors a bit. But
when the paperwork came through we found out we'd been moved, allocated a slightly smaller space and only given 8
tickets in total. So we downsized our plans a little.
Mick had been an enthusiastic visitor the previous year so when he offered his tricked-up TDR we immediately said
yes. Chris volunteered his Wrangler 350LC and knowing that we wouldn't be treading on the toes of the LC Club
(who don't do this show) we asked Rob to bring his RD500 along for a bit of a Yamaha-fest. He also brought his
recently-acquired RGV250M. Darin filled the last two slots with the MVX (now featuring the optional bodywork
kit) and his purple KH400.
The weather leading up to the show had been terrible, in fact the previous weekend's classic car show had been
cancelled altogether. But with a few days to go the organisers said it was definitely on, so vans were packed
and hotels confirmed.
We got there later than planned on the Friday but we've got pretty good at setting the stand up quickly now. The
flooring went down, the backdrop went up and the pair of lighting units were plugged in. 3 of the bikes weren't
arriving until the Saturday so with everything in place it was time for takeaway curry and beer. Saturday
morning all we had to do was wheel the other 3 bikes in and give 'em a bit of a polish.
The venue is a bit odd. The main hall is pretty small, there's a bigger one at the back full of trade stands
and all of the various buildings are connected via temporary marquees. It's easy to get lost though, or miss
bits out altogether. There's a definite agricultural feel to it and it takes a while to warm up when the heaters
are switched on. There's a small outdoor autojumble too.
We're a bit 'modern' for this show, even though the newest bike we had on display was 18 years old. It's fair
to say that a lot of people walked straight past without giving us a second glance, more interested in the BSA Bantam
Club next door. But the other side of this is that if you are into 80's Japanese two-strokes, we're the only
people there who've got 'em and we had plenty of enthusiastic visitors both days. The KH400 managed to bridge
this split somewhat, attracting people for a closer look who probably weren't interested in the watercooled bikes
with plastic fairings.
Apart from one of Tim's lighting units packing up, there not much else to say. We managed to avoid the dubious
charms of the glamour photographer wanting to pose his model on the bikes and the worse thing that happened was Darin
losing the KH key. Although he's since found it.
By 4pm on the Sunday it was getting fairly quiet so we copied everyone else and started packing up. With lots
of people helping it was all done very quickly and everyone hit the road. Another fun weekend hanging out
with some great people. Thanks to Mick, Rob and Chris for bringing their lovely bikes along and to Adam for help
with dismantling the stand and loading the vans.
