South West Motorcycle Show

[cantbarsed]

Morning.

Did anyone go this weeked? What did you think of it?

C

[graham22]

Waste of money - used to be good but hardly anything there now. Stunt competition was good to watch - what you could see of it past the trees.

[TLS-Moose]

Very disappointing inside - very few trade sellers, and just one or two club displays (a decent turn-out of Yams, a collection of old drippers, and two Honda's) and bu**er all else. Jam was outside doing his thing with the Dyno, and the stunt guys were pretty fair (though they could have done with a small grandstand or something).


First time I've been for a fair few years, and to be honest it's no better than when I stopped going 'cos it was just the same-old, same-old ....... Will I go next year? doubt it .....

[deej]

so out of curiosity what would make the show better for everybody ? what would you expect to see/buy at a show like the westpoint one ?

[Milky]

Same as the last 3 years ive been I expect. Didnt bother this year

[DynaMight]

Bring back the drag strip I say

[TLS-Moose]

so out of curiosity what would make the show better for everybody ? what would you expect to see/buy at a show like the westpoint one ?

More/larger trade stands - perhaps something like the GW "outlet" set-up, now they're local
Better viewing areas for the stunts - why not get it made a stunt "championship" event
Evening entertainment/bands
Bike/cycle trials riding demonstrations like they did at the NEC - there's possibly enough space to set up a quad "off-road experience" area
Given how Westpoint is set out, how about dealer test-ride areas
I wanted a tinted/iridium visor for my Arai - yet could not find one shop selling such things

There seems to be an element of dealer "Apathy" towards the event - the cost of pitches and disruption to normal business are not deemed worthwhile for the returns they get The trouble is, down here competition for the dealers is comparatively scarce - to challenge GT/GW or Bridge you've got to travel to Bristol or Bournemouth, and they know it, so what incetive is there to make the effort. Even with SP, where else locally sells Aprilia/MV? why should they disrupt normal business when folks will go to them anyway?

It's catch-22 ..... the show needs large numbers of people to come through the gates to get the big-boys interested, yet until the big-boys are there, people won't want to attend ......

One of the things that made the old Bath & West show great was you could make a week-end of it, camp over, bands/bar at night, etc., ..... there's none of that at Westpoint

[cantbarsed]

Yes, the show was pretty poor. The trouble is when you get this kind of bad word of mouth, who's going to bother next year? Real shame.

C

[deej]

i worked on a customers stand there 4 years,back when SWB had a stand outside.my customer whos only a small independent trader paid out £1100 for the pitch which was the size of a large gazebo/awning and then they wanted another £100 on top for electricity. £1200 for a weekend without the loss of shop business plus the fuel up and back for 4 days meant he lost about £1500 that weekend as the takings were so minimal they didnt cover any costs let alone wages and lost bike sales.

due to the stupidly high costs there wont be any bargains to be had or much to look at.

as moose said why should SP pay out over £1500 for a large indoor tent when they have a new showroom not 5miles away,its a nobrainer as to why the shows arent successful and its down to the organizers costs.

moose what happened to the old show you used to go too,has that gone tits up too ?

[TLS-Moose]

haven't been to the Bath & West (at Shepton Mallet) for a few years either .... but it is now run by the BMF I beleive

[Daresay]

Was the shepton mallet show on this year? I normaly go to it but i never saw anything about it this year.

[jam]

The event organisers are unfortunately at the mercy of the venue owners, regards costs, the figures bandied about of £1200 are a little extreme to say the least, I can't go into actual amounts as it is commercially sensitive info, plans are afoot to improve things, some of the traders were complaining about the stunt show dragging people away from the trade stands, so it's a catch 22 really major attractions draw people in but keep them outside. The southwest show is worth supporting as when it's gone people will moan there's nothing around the southwest.
I personally don't make a lot of money down there but I firmly believe that I should give it my support as it is our local show, as for the sprinting efforts have been made to bring it back but as I understand it the venue owners are the people who stopped it, not the event organisers, both Billy and Howard would like to see it back as it was always popular with visitors.
If anyone has any constructive ideas regards improvements to the show then please PM me and I will pass them on to the relevant people, please don't send loads of PMs slagging it off, just any constructive ideas would be helpful.

[graham22]

Interesting points Jam regarding cost. Another point regarding stands/costs is that GTs (now GW) JD Ocean etc also support Paignton Show & Plymouth bike nights so I guess something has to be missed to save costs.

The venue and facilities at Westpoint are idea - after all it is a purpose built show ground.

As much as I like live groups, the band seemed to be competing with the tannoy, in the end it became just a noise distracting from the tyre/exhaust noise/spectacle of the stunt show.

Stand wise, would like to have seen more club stands - the Yamaha one was impressive but would the owners be happy with a outside display if it rained?

Would have been nice to see some accessory dealers - I was looking to buy some cans but no one seling any. I guess the GW 'jumble sale' was a bit last minute what with the take over, however there were some bl00dy good bargains there - but then again are we getting spoilt, I bought a new Arai at George Whites in Bodmin the week before on a 'normal trading' day.

Perhaps have the indoor area as a retail/product display area. Outside to be used as a club/show area. Perhaps have a 'ride in' show/competition. Some people could watch your dyno all day - put this in a more prominent position (appreciate noise may be an issue) and have an outside display screen showing bhp/speed with a Top Gear style power chart etc.

Tone the live music down a little but put the catering vans near it, happy to listen to a group whilst sitting eating a burger.

Overall, canvass the dealers and people who 'service' the bike industry & see what they can bring to the show.

Sorry if this sounds like critisism but we made a weekend of it to go to the show, by the time I paid for B&B in Exeter, food, petrol & show entry it cost £150, money on the face of it could have gone towards a holiday or even the NEC show later in the year.

[deej]

jam those figures were genuine figures from 3 maybe 4 years ago and for a indoor pitch. maybe my customer was ripped off maybe thats why hes not been back since and doesnt intend to go back.

no disrespect to graham but he wants a deal on stuff yet how can a retailer offer any good deals when westpoint are charging extortoinate fees to small independent traders. theres no logic in a shop paying out all that money to then give stock away for free.

it seems the public want one thing from it,the dealers dont want to support it and westpoint just want to make a shed load of money out of it.

once georges whites is up and running and doesnt have the commitments that GT already had in place,will they support it when they have 6 shops and 2 discount centres already,do they even need to support it ??? we'll all go there anyway as theres no competition left in south devon and cornwall bar damerells and pgh

[jam]

The outside display screen is being sorted for next year, as I've now found a monitor that is suitable to use outside, there are some modifications to do to the awning first to ensure that no water can get down the side.
A results board is a good idea and I'll look into getting a simple white board to post up power and top speed results, the highest of the weekend was a BMW S1000RR, all stock motor except for an Akrapovic can which made 181bhp at the wheel, but was runng a little lean all the way through the rev range.
As for location the dyno has to be where it is because of noise, but also to allow people easy access from the bike park without running their bikes through the pedestrian area, the location is the best place in terms of both.
Unfortunately until the venue owners reduce the costs involved in hiring the place that will take the biggest portion of the costs putting on the show, The electricity supply costs are also determined by the venue as it is only to be done by their approved contractors, this is why I bring my own generator as the costs of a simple 16amp hook up is too expensive.
I appreciate what people are saying and I welcome the suggestions and will pass them on to the relevant people.