Festival of Motorcycling

As mentioned in an earlier post, I went down to the MCN Festival of Motorcycling at Peterborough again this year. It’s a chance to see all the new machines from the main manufacturers, although many were also present at the Scottish show earlier in the year.

On the bike front, I tried a couple for size. I am still strangely drawn to an Indian Scout, but also liked Suzuki’s V-Strom 1000XT, Triumph’s Tigers and the Ducati Scrambler, although the Ducati would be pretty rubbish for touring on. 

I also tried sitting on the Suzuki Intruder M1800BZ. It’s huge. This is a ridiculously large machine built for someone significantly bigger than me, and I’m no shrinking violet.

The Ducati Diavel, that rarity, an ugly Italian machine

Indian Brave, 250cc manufactured in UK by Brockhouse Engineering

The club stands at the show are always good value, and I had an interesting talk with the owner of a ‘Flexit’ leaning sidecar. 

I’d heard of them, but never encountered one before. The owner was more than happy to explain how it worked and give a small demonstration to an interested audience. Certainly different.

Usually I end up leaving big shows like this empty-handed. Either there’s loads that I want but can’t afford, or I have loads of money and can’t find anything that I want. This time, I picked up a lightweight jacket with armour in, some summer gloves, and a few other small bits and pieces that will definitely come in handy.

So, all in all, a successful trip.