Category: Events and Shows

1. Manchester Bike Show | 25th - 26th March 2017

   Posted on 10:00am Saturday 4th Mar 2017

    

   Back for its 6th year, giving the motorcycling community in the North West a major indoor motorcycle show to be proud be part of and attend... and in March, with the anticipation of a good summer to follow...

   The event has various zones covering over 22,000 sq meters of space - about the size of four football pitches making the Manchester Bike Show the largest indoor motorcycle show in the North of England. Attending will be a large variety of exhibitors and traders including Ducati​, Chester Harley-Davidson​, Honda, Kawasaki, KTM, Royal Enfield, Suzuki, Triumph and Yamaha, local and national dealers, clothing and helmets, parts and accessories, touring holiday companies, along with many other exhibitors that you would expect to see at a bike show of this size and stature, including THE BIKER GUIDE. 

   Also see 100's of rare, exotic, modern, classic, custom and Streetfighter machines from clubs and private individuals, music and entertainment, stunt shows, DJ’s, special guest stars and much much more...

   In 2016 16,500 motorcycle enthusiasts attended for an unforgettable action packed day and weekend out for all. Since 2012 they have doubled the floor space, doubled the number of trade exhibitors to 120 individual companies, doubled the number of participating clubs to 50, doubled the number motorbikes on display to over 1,000 and doubled the number of visitors.

   Lots of Motorcycle clubs attending, including BMF, Ducati Owners’ Club, Gawsworth Jesters, Goldwing Misfits​, Honda Owners’ Club Manchester, NABD, Rainy City Harley-Davidson, Rigby’s Guardians MCC, Royal British Legion Riders and the Chunky Tread Motorcycle Adventure Club​. Clubs and individuals are welcome to display their bikes. Entry forms on the website. 

   venue: EventCity, Phoenix Way, off Barton Dock Road, Urmston, Manchester, M41 7TB. Free parking. 
   price: Pre-book: Adult: £14. OAP: £12. Child (5-14): £4. Two adults & two children: £32. OTD: Adult: £17. OAP: £15. Child (5-14): £4. Two adults & two children: £37.
   tel: Organisers number 01484 667 776 
   website: www.manchesterbikeshow.com
   facebook
   facebook event
   e-mail: [email protected]

2. Enjoy a ‘Biker’s Special’ meal for just £6!

   Posted on 9:00am Wednesday 1st Mar 2017

   Valid in the restaurant @ The Shuttleworth Collection, Old Warden Aerodrome, near Biggleswade, Bedfordshire throughout March 2017 when you visit on two wheels!

   Breakfast served until 11.30: Full English with tea or coffee

   Brunch from 11.30 until 4pm: Bacon, sausage, fried egg, chips and beans

   Served from 12 noon:
   - Burger or hand battered fish, chips and peas
   - Main meal of the day (including a roast on Sunday)

   For further details visit www.shuttleworth.org/bikers-special

   

    

3. Drive safely in the stormy weather

   Posted on 10:00am Thursday 23rd Feb 2017

   Road safety charity the IAM is offering tips from Britain’s top advanced driver, Peter Rodger. Following severe weather warnings of storms over the coming days, the IAM is advising on how to drive in windy weather.

   In the wind

   · Strong winds can also unsettle your car and even change your direction of travel. Grip your steering wheel firmly and also be ready for the effects of the wind on other road users, particularly motorcyclists and flat-sided vehicles like lorries.

   · Plan your journey – is there a route with less exposure to the weather and less risk of fallen trees?  Choose a sheltered route if you have the option.

   · Strong winds are not constant, they are usually gusty so ensure you hold the steering wheel firmly.

   · Overtaking high sided vehicles or driving past buildings can result in a sudden gust from the side as you clear.

   · Give cyclists, motorcyclists, lorries and buses more room than usual. They get blown around by side winds easily. Even pedestrians can be blown about.

   · Watch trees and bushes on the roadside - their branches can show you how strong the wind is. Look well ahead, that way you don’t need to take your eye off the road and you can see any windy patches before you get to them.

   · Go slow enough to cope with the gusts. Wind can get under a car and reduce its handling and braking significantly.

   · Keep an eye on what is happening to other vehicles – where they are affected will give you a pre warning.

   · Go slowly enough to cope with the tree that has fallen right across the road, just round the bend where you can’t see it.

   · Be careful of debris, try and have space beside you in case you need to dodge it.

   In the rain

   · Before you set off, set your heater controls – rain can makes the windows mist up in seconds. You don’t want to be fiddling with controls when you should be concentrating on the road.

   · See and be seen. Put your lights on – as a rule of thumb, whenever you need to use your wipers you should also turn your dipped headlights on, and before overtaking put your wipers on their fastest setting.

   · Keep your eyes on the road ahead and plan your driving so that you can brake, accelerate and steer smoothly – harsh manoeuvres will unbalance the car.

   · Slow down. In the rain stopping distance is at least doubled. Giving yourself more space also helps to avoid spray, especially when following a large vehicle.

   · If you have cruise control, avoid using it on wet roads – you need to pay more attention to the road surface conditions and alter your speed gently.

   
   Please note the above information is aimed at car drivers. Riding in such weather can be highly dangerous and not advised.
   
   Rodger said: "If the weather is really bad, consider whether you could postpone your journey until it settles down."
   
   

    

   Originally posted on  6th Jan 2014

4. The MAG Hatters Rally | 14th - 16th of April 2017

   Posted on 11:00am Monday 20th Feb 2017

   Large Hall, live bands and Marquee Games. Snatch It Back Rock playing Friday night and Smokeroom on Saturday. Giant Jenga in Marquee. Real Ales and Ciders. Prize for Maddest HAT Ride-out Saturday lunchtime. 

   venue: Eastington Community Centre, Eastington, Stonehouse, Glouestershire, GL10 3SG price: Pre-book: £12.50. OTG: £15. Free patch for first 100 prebooks. £10 car charge. 
   tel: 0117 9442490 
   website: western-region.mag-uk.org 
   facebook 
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   e-mail: [email protected]

   

5. 5 Weeks Until the Manchester Bike Show 2017

   Posted on 9:00am Saturday 18th Feb 2017

   Your weekly update about the Manchester Bike Show, brought to you from the team at Instantfocus Ltd. 
   Big week of news this week with two signifcant updates.

   Introducing our Sponsors

   We are proud to announce Swinton Insurance as our headline sponsor for the Manchester Bike Show and hope that this is the start of a long and happy sponsorship arrangement. Swinton will be on stand 486 in the premium trade hall and their logo will be appearing on all our adverts and our website moving forward. As the name suggests Swinton Insurance started in this area of Manchester and they were keen to get involved in what is their “local show”.

   Harley-Davidson

   Our second piece of big news is that for the first time since 2012 Harley-Davidson will be represented at the show by Chester Harley. Their appearance on site 300 at this year’s Manchester Bike Show is a precursor to the company opening a new branch on the Chester Road in Manchester later in the year. So with regard to the manufacturers most of our flock are safely gathered in with the exception of BMW, but that is a different story and not one for today.

   Trade Exhibitors

   As I write it is the first day of the MCN Bike Show at ExCel we had a couple of trade bookings for Manchester from the floor of the show on build-up day. In total we have added 11 new trade exhibitors since last week, so in addition to Chester Harley-Davidson on site 300 we are pleased to welcome the following companies into the small business area; Discount Workwear on stand 548, Funny Heeds on stand 551, Soldiers off the Street on 553, Steve’s Tools on 593-598, Mal Dawson (The Woodman) on 584 & 585, Small World Motorcycle Tours on 583 and Atomic 56 Clothing on site 558.
   
   It seems that bookings in the more affordable area of the show are now starting to really gather pace, so much so that we have added more stands on the floorplan to cope with the demand. In zone 2 we are pleased to welcome Zulu-Safari.com on stand 311 who needless to say organise tours in South Africa plus Debbie’s Dream House on stand 322. All the large spaces in hall 4 have now been allocated and we have just a few smaller stands still available although two fewer as from yesterday when 1 JAC Ltd booked onto stands 433 & 434.

   Clubs

   There is not much to report on this front since last week but this is not unusual as the more organised clubs and individual entries have already booked some 600 or so display bikes into the show and we are just waiting for the less organised ones to contact us in a panic hoping we have some space left! We will be allocating the actual club stand numbers early next week so if you are a club coordinator please keep your eyes peeled on the exhibitor list on the show website.

   Advance tickets

   For the first time since we started the show in 2012 advanced tickets sales are running at more than double the previous year being 105% up on five weeks from doors opening in 2016.