I just got back from the Ally Pally Show, and….

….back in the late ‘80s/early ‘90s, when I started riding motorbikes and working in this industry, it was very strong. Dealers had a tonne of new bikes in a variety of colourways, and more than one model. Then, the licencing laws changed, and not necessarily for the better. To make matters worse, housing became less affordable, so people were (& very much still are) living at home until a fair bit older, so the guy who bought a 50cc at 16, 125cc at 17 and 250 by, say, 19 now no-longer exists because they’ve got to find homes to rent, let alone buy. That, and biking is now far from being an accepted part of society anywhere near like it was back in the day. To add insult to injury, biking isn’t cheap anymore; driving a car is usually more affordable.

Now, because of all this, the market’s aging and to cite an example, sports bikes are hardly sold at all (Harley Davidson sell more UK registered trikes per year than Yamaha sell R6s, would you believe?). By the time you get to buy/ride a sports bike, you’ve probably got a bit of a stomach, past your physical best and am suffering from mild sciatica, so you go for a custom bike, adventure bike, or scrambler-styled bike (or naked muscle bike, perhaps). There’s precisely nothing wrong with this, as whilst the market has shrunk considerably, “niche” has become the new “mainstream”. Offerings from major bike manufacturers are more varied, more interesting and certainly more technologically gifted. It has also started, over a period of the last 6 years, a really interesting underground scene of bike builders who, courtesy of the Bikeshed and a tonne of gifted customisers, have given us some beautifully-created and meaningful builds that have spurred companies like us to sell a variety of products for these styles of bike.

Oh yes; so to the Ally Pally Show. In the as-mentioned late ‘80s/early ‘90s, it was called the Road and Race Exhibition. Loads of bikes, now considered exotic machinery, were for sale. It was bulging with talent and variety, and back then, there was no satnav (bugger me, there was no internet, or mobile phone and to find a venue, you used an A to Z and actually had to concentrate), so if you could actually find the damn place, you’d already won half the battle.

When I walked round the Ally Pally show yesterday, I could have easily said to myself the same thing I say every time someone tries to revive this once-great exhibition…”Bollocks, all I can see are old bikes, stalls selling clothing and other naff stuff, much like Wembley Market for bikers. It’s never anything but dross”. However, reading between the lines and looking at the photos that are included in this blog, there was a vast wealth of classic and customised machinery from the likes of the aforementioned bike builders. All these bikes represent a bunch of deeply passionate sods that ARE this industry. What’s more, Bonham’s were auctioning off many rare and uber-exotic classic bikes from yesteryear, which were a joy to look round. You’ll never see them anywhere else.

What I’m alluding to is that, even with all its difficulties, the Ally Pally show was worth putting on and I hope will grow and thrive. Whether it does or doesn’t will ultimately be up to us as buyers. It’s time to embrace change folks, by promoting our sport and remembering to love your biking in its modern guise, as it’s still got a tonne of wealth to offer.

Go well,

Roy