Classic Mechanics Show, Stafford, October 2016
10 years we've been doing this now ! As per the last couple of years, we had a stand in Side Hall 2 with 6 bikes on.
Brilliantly, we had 3 club members displaying a bike with us for the first time. Andy brought his NSR50 gag bike, a later model in original Repsol colours. Pete's AR125 showed how to combine a nut-and-bolt restoration with some cool mods, and Andy brought the R1-Z that we'd been admiring at the Cadwell trackday back in July. All 3 of them appeared on the stand at various times to talk to the punters about their bikes and help spread the quirky 2-stroke message.
Regular participant Rob brought his Mk.1 RG250 Gamma and mint RD500LC. So mint in fact, that it won a Highly Commended rosette from the judges. And Darin loaned us his KR250, though he spent the weekend manning his own stand promoting his Endurance Legends event (we'll be at that too).
Sara and Nic ran the stand all weekend, handing out cards and selling T-shirts, keyrings and stickers, plus the new pens, bags, coasters and bottle-openers that magically appeared from somewhere. Rob hovered nearby, dispensing valuable wisdom to anyone with a technical question, and Tim bored everyone in earshot about his 750RK being on display amongst a gaggle of priceless factory racers in the Team Classic Suzuki tent.
Saturday was mega-busy, and as soon as the show closed at 6pm the main contingent hit the all-you-can-eat Chinese buffet and then grabbed an early night. Sunday dawned to a downpour which quietened things down a bit, though luckily the sun came out late morning and order was restored.
Loads of members and friends came by over the weekend to catch up and eat our sweets, which was ace - this is why we do it. Jerry Lodge from the Historic Honda Racing Club popped in too - in a convoluted way that's too complicated to go into here, Diff'rent Strokers wouldn't exist without him. We greatly enjoyed chatting to engineering genius Roger Moss (we hope to have his Scott Flying Squirrel racer in a future display) and two-stroke god Stan Stephens who had very amusing and honest opinions about some of the bikes on our stand...
A common theme at this show is the exhorbitant prices being asked for bikes on sale. Equal honours this year went to the trade stands of Craigs Honda and The Bike Specialists, who both had some desirable and rare machinery on offer at lottery-win prices. And how much would you pay for an as-new Suzuki X7 ? Thought not. There are still plenty of realistically-priced bikes available though if you know where to look, not least the KR250 on our stand (get in touch if you're seriously interested).
So once again, another great weekend spent in the company of like-minded people. Huge thanks to everyone. We've already been talking about a theme for 2017 and we'll need your help to pull it off...
