The Irish Motorbike and Scooter Show 2011: The Rest

Having seen everything we could in the indoor exhibition area, we listened to our tummies grumbling and followed the smell of food to the outdoor exhibition area. Seeing that there was some more interesting things to see outside, we decided to walk around the place before satisfying our hunger.


All the standard fare was there. There was some Mini Moto racing going on (presumably for the kids?), the suicidal Wall of Death (an extra fiver which we opted not to do away with), a train how to do a wheelie thingy and my personal favourite, the Evel Knievel exhibition. Having ignored the growing crowd near the dirt track, we realised that we had missed Mai-Lin a top female streetstyle stunt rider. Not wanting to miss out on the next show, we decided to hang around the place for whatever came up next.

Our perseverance was in a way, paid off as some motorbike drag racing was up next. I knew it wasn't going to get comfortable when even hardened old bikers stuffed earplugs into their ears. It was definitely a first for me and like watching a game a cricket, I came away thinking I enjoyed the whole spectacle but never fully understanding the point to the whole thing. Ah well. We decided there was no better way to get rid of the smell of exhaust fumes and burnt rubber that lingered in our mouths than some greasy chips.

After some very sticky cheese fries, we headed out and right there parked amongst all the anabolic steroid pumped equivalent of bikes in chrome and carbon fibre, I noticed this old metal and mostly plastic thing. Arguably, the greatest one of them all (bar the Vespa, of course) and Asia's workhorse, the oh-so humble Honda Cub. What a way to remind us all that outside of the Motorbike Show, the real world awaited us.

Now, that's a proper bike. Respect.

The Irish Motorbike and Scooter Show 2011: The Scooters

Visiting the show, I made the conscious decision of saving the best until the end of the show. Well, what I considered the best anyway i.e. the scooters. As in the last show, the nicer scooters on show came from a joint exhibit between the Vespa Club of Ireland and the Lambretta Club Ireland, courtesy of Ace Cafe London.

Although the scooters on show by the two clubs seldom disappoint, I was left feeling a bit frustrated by the lack of any other scooter-related exhibits or traders. Yes, there were the odd modern scooters thrown in by the Japanese makes on show as well as a full stand of Vectrix electric scooters but other than that, there was really nothing else scooter-wise. I knew full well that LML and Vespa were going to be no-shows given that the local distributors, Bikeworld seem to shun the show but maybe, I was still half hoping that some new LMLs would pop up at the show (I ruled out seeing the new Vespa PX completely though).

Anyway, there were still some very good scooters to see with Mick Ayre's Star Trek-themed Cosa (as seen in Scootering magazine issue #296) being at the top of my list.

Now, let me get this straight, I am no Klingon-speaking Trekkie. The reason I like this Cosa is because its unique and because I admire the understated quality of its paintwork (I am told that it was done by Liam Finnegan and my pics don't actually do it justice). And yes, I don't see why the Cosa needed a head transplant (that's a T5 headset on the scooter, if you hadn't noticed already) but if it adds to its uniqueness then, why not?

Of course, there were other scooters on show too. Here's a few of the rest...

I don't know what it is but I just love the look of trailers on scoots. I also noticed a couple of scooters with very nice looking white wall Schwalbe Weathermans. I had considered getting myself a pair of these tyres some time ago but couldn't justify the extra €10-€20. Having seen them in the flesh this time around, I might just go for them as soon as the Heidenaus that I currently have needs replacing.

One can't just ignore the Scomadi (above) and no self-respecting scooter exhibit would be seen as complete without the obligatory Mod scooter (below). And, that brings us to the end of the scooter bit to the Motorcycle and Scooter Show. Hopefully, it went well enough for the organisers and the exhibitors to convince them to make this an annual event (it was certainly more impressieve than last week's car show if that's anything to go by).

Thankfully, the scootering calendar's only beginning so, there'll be more than enough to keep me occupied for the next few months.

The Irish Motorbike and Scooter Show 2011: The Bikes

I was feeling quite uneasy that Saturday afternoon. It didn't have anything to do with the hundreds of hairy and greasy bikers that had laid siege on the RDS that cloudy day (was it really cloudy or was it just exhaust fumes?). Having left my Vespa at home, I probably felt a bit guilty arriving at a bike show in a friend's SUV (a logical choice considering there were more than two of us heading to the show) and feared that like some wild animal, one of these bikers could sense the lack of 2-stroke lingering on me and point out that I didn't belong there...

Thankfully, this isn't a bike or scooter rally for the purists so, my non-biker friend and I were safe. I had my Dainese jacket on anyway, as insurance just in case anyone had any doubts. Unfounded fears aside, we hurried to get in the show proper but as with most of these shows, the bikes on the outside are sometimes equally if not more interesting than the ones on the inside. I managed to get a couple of snaps before heading in.

I couldn't figure out what make this bike-sidecar combo was but it certainly stood out from the crowd while the rod-style bike below was parked right by the entrance to the main hall. I like the rod look and this one's a very nice example of how to pull it off without making it looking too Disney.

Inside, we were greeted by Ducati's imposing exhibit. Quite fitting really considering that Ducati is seen as the in-thing these days. Here's a Monster 796. I was on the look out for  the Diavel but it was no where to be seen.

Not being a major fan of motorbikes, nothing really caught my attention. The BMW Motorrad stand was busy with loads of interested visitors but being located right beside the Ducati stand, even the normally decent-looking BMW bikes were made to look like dull and plain lumbering beasts. I ventured further away from the Ducati bikes until I came upon the Triumph stand.

I don't know what it is but if I ever had to swap my Vespa for a bike, I'd go with the naked variety (like Ducati's Monsters) or street fighters like Triumph's Street Triple, something with relatively good maneuverability, quick and not too flashy. The ideal traffic-busting vehicle, unlike the one below...

I certainly didn't see the point of riding a bike or scooter if it couldn't tick those boxes.

Next up, The Irish Motorbike and Scooter Show 2011: The Scooters.

The Wrong Motor Show

Nope, there was no real mistake. The Irish Motorbike and Scooter Show is still due to be on next week but oddly enough, I found myself at the RDS a whole week earlier than expected.


It all began on Friday morning. While in the process of getting my gear off at my workstation (sort of a dodgy-looking morning routine if someone passing by wasn't too familiar with it), I noticed something strange on my keyboard. I ignored it at first thinking that it was just another piece of work, soon to join the organised piles of paper around my desk. Some instructions from the boss or plane tickets for an assignment in Inner Mongolia, just to liven up the weekend. Not being able to simply ignore the A5-size cards on the keyboard, I quickly picked it up. They were tickets. Free tickets to the Irish Times Motor Show this weekend. Ah well, one of the few perks of the job.

So, not having any plans for the day, I managed to convince myself and the wife that it would be a good day out for the kids. Yes, unlike the Motorbike Show, the Motor Show was marketed as a family friendly event with lots of things to keep the kids occupied the highlight being something called My First Licence. The thing was basically an indoor track on which the kids could cycle their kiddie cars (red Audis) around and sort of learn the rules of the road. I could already see the potential in some kids - dangerous overtaking, road-hogging and my absolute favourite, idiotic parking. Anyway, the scary bit to me was the fact that having received their "licences" for completing the course, some kids were utterly convinced that they were able to drive their mommy's and daddy's cars on actual roads! Well, good luck to them...


Unfortunately, other than the goodie bag and some other freebies (ice scraper, reflective vest, stickers, etc.), that was as exciting as it got at the show. A friend of mine pointed out that even the normally sexy, scantily clad women that could be found in abundance at these type of shows were sadly nowhere to be seen around the cars (these things need to be pointed out to me, of course). Maybe they'd only come out at night when the kids were asleep. Or, when the wives and girlfriends are nowhere to be seen. Hmmm...


Anyway, here's my pick of some of the more interesting cars at the show...

A Maserati in red, probably to blend in with all the Ferraris around the place?

This horse certainly beats all the Mitsubishi, Subaru and Honda Civics of the world...

...and keeping it all-Italian, here's an Abarth-tuned Fiat 500. Very nice this. A shame the tuning company don't do stuff for Vespa any more. Oh, and gotta love that scorpion logo.

I would've taken more pics but I really struggled to find anything else of interest. Hopefully, next week's Motorbike Show is a hell lot better.

Irish Motorbike and Scooter Show

A couple of things: At this stage, there are still quite a few people asking about when exactly this year’s show will be. Understandably of course since this time last year, we were only a couple of weeks away from the 2009 edition of the show.

Unfortunately, I’ve discovered that the show is actually a biennial event rather than an annual one. The next one being in 2011. Boo!

On the other hand, I’ve managed to dig up some pics I took at last year’s show that never got to see the light of day, until now.

And, considering it was initially just a Motorcycle Show (scooters were a much later addition), here are pics of some bikes.

Towards the end of the show, a mate of mind said he wanted to borrow my camera to take some more pics. He was into Space Cop Gaban-type Jap bikes and the like. So, I assumed he was going to take pictures of those. Little was I to know that he was up to no good...