Triumph Thruxton quality cock up.
This week I was able to visit the UK's largest motorbike show at the NEC.
All the usual glamour and glitter was present with young women in tight fitting skimpy outfits handing out leaflets, and some motorbikes were displayed too.
Gone are the days of the universally applied rule that states you can look but don't touch. Although this rule still applies to those ladies, many of the bikes on display are intended specifically for you to climb aboard and test the feel and fit. My favourite among these companies was Morgan, they had two of their three wheelers on show and they were only too pleased to let you sit in their £30,000 beauties. Its the first time I have ever seen Morgan at a bike show and I expect they know that they have less chance of making sales than most other exhibitors present. The people on the stand were really friendly and open about their products. Like many others I took away a form to register for a factory tour and test drive.
It's no doubt a good thing that the build quality of bikes these days has eliminated the need for carefully assembled show specials, what you expect to get these days in the showroom at your dealers is the same as what you saw at the motorcycle show. This confidence in the product does however seem to have led to an outbreak of complacency and sloppiness among some. For instance look at the photo above, the line on the tank of this Triumph is supposed to go down the middle, not start on the left and finish on the right.
This Triumph Thruxton is a really handsome machine but the distinctive yellow stripe down the centre of the tank was on the piss. We pointed this out to a Triumph staff man who admitted no one had noticed. I only hope they take more notice when they put the rest of their bikes together.
Some other examples were the Moto Guzzi V7 Classic which still had its handlebars rotated through 45 degrees to lay flat above the tank, just as they would have been when the bike was in its shipping crate. At least the other one on display was put together correctly.
Then there was the Husqvarna Nuda with the protective plastic seat wrapping still visible around the edges of the seat. Clearly preparation for the show was just ripping the protective covering off rather than removing the seat first to release it.
I do note I didn't spot any of this type of thing on the Japanese makers' stands.
I did have to smile at this little gem on the Vespa and Piaggio stand. Written up on a card next to a pretty little yellow Vespa was the following statement. "Quality sheet steel and aluminium construction - a first for Vespa." Well I always suspected they used to be crap but I didn't expect them to confirm it in writing.
John
http://www.eastnorthantsclassicmcc.co.uk/
All the usual glamour and glitter was present with young women in tight fitting skimpy outfits handing out leaflets, and some motorbikes were displayed too.
Gone are the days of the universally applied rule that states you can look but don't touch. Although this rule still applies to those ladies, many of the bikes on display are intended specifically for you to climb aboard and test the feel and fit. My favourite among these companies was Morgan, they had two of their three wheelers on show and they were only too pleased to let you sit in their £30,000 beauties. Its the first time I have ever seen Morgan at a bike show and I expect they know that they have less chance of making sales than most other exhibitors present. The people on the stand were really friendly and open about their products. Like many others I took away a form to register for a factory tour and test drive.
It's no doubt a good thing that the build quality of bikes these days has eliminated the need for carefully assembled show specials, what you expect to get these days in the showroom at your dealers is the same as what you saw at the motorcycle show. This confidence in the product does however seem to have led to an outbreak of complacency and sloppiness among some. For instance look at the photo above, the line on the tank of this Triumph is supposed to go down the middle, not start on the left and finish on the right.
This Triumph Thruxton is a really handsome machine but the distinctive yellow stripe down the centre of the tank was on the piss. We pointed this out to a Triumph staff man who admitted no one had noticed. I only hope they take more notice when they put the rest of their bikes together.
Some other examples were the Moto Guzzi V7 Classic which still had its handlebars rotated through 45 degrees to lay flat above the tank, just as they would have been when the bike was in its shipping crate. At least the other one on display was put together correctly.
Then there was the Husqvarna Nuda with the protective plastic seat wrapping still visible around the edges of the seat. Clearly preparation for the show was just ripping the protective covering off rather than removing the seat first to release it.
I do note I didn't spot any of this type of thing on the Japanese makers' stands.
I did have to smile at this little gem on the Vespa and Piaggio stand. Written up on a card next to a pretty little yellow Vespa was the following statement. "Quality sheet steel and aluminium construction - a first for Vespa." Well I always suspected they used to be crap but I didn't expect them to confirm it in writing.
John
http://www.eastnorthantsclassicmcc.co.uk/
