Nec

[chris yeatman]

Im going up on Tuesday 25th if anyone's about.

[Stafford]

Going Wednesday, thanks to Honda for the free tickets.

[uksurfer]

I'm going tomorrow 😃

I got a list of things to get

[coastal59]

I am going Monday

[Kato]

I used to enjoy (well almost) NEC and ExCel shows, however having attended ECIMA this year for the first time, I realise that both the UK show are not only very small but poorly stocked badly organised and rudely staffed, for the price of not attending either show will more than cover my ticket to next years ECIMA

[Dirty]

the price of not attending either show will more than cover my ticket to next years ECIMA

£36 to go to EICMA?

[tricolore]

The NEC is like a car boot sale full of old crap they can't get rid of in the shops - I'm still going though.

[Zimbo]

I'm going for the first time in about ten years, Monday.

[Albie]

I'm saving my money for extras. I will wait for dealer bikes. Patience is a virtue allegedly. I work it plus £100 for me to plonk my ar$E on a clamped bike.

[Jonno]

Monday for me. I enjoy it, get giddy buy something I don't need and eBay it a month later.

[Grumpy]

Was planning to go today, had to cancel my plans to recover a bike of mine which was for sale at Parkinson's Colchester, they are closing down.....unexpectedly!!
Hoping now to go next Saturday.

[pompone]

£36 to go to EICMA?

If you consider cost of travel etc is probably 50 quid more expensive going to Milan for the weekend tbh :)

[Dirty]

Blimey I knew it being the same cost as both UK shows was an exaggeration but I didn't realise Italy was that cheap. Do you not stay overnight in Milan then?

[pompone]

Blimey I knew it being the same cost as both UK shows was an exaggeration but I didn't realise Italy was that cheap. Do you not stay overnight in Milan then?

80 quid easycheap and a couple of meals. Free trade tickets (which both UK shows refuse to give me). The guys that stayed at the b&b paid that, but I got them a decent price on that too as the landlady is a family friend.

[Dirty]

Yeah I thought so. Once you factor in air fare, airport transfers, B&B, meals and tickets it's actually way more expensive than entry and petrol to both UK shows. Of course free tickets and family discounts help sway the total but not everyone can count on that and even then its still way more.

The upshot though is of course value for money. a night in Milan vs a day on the M6. Italian models vs UK models. Italian food vs UK on site catering, Milan in Oct vs Brum in November or London in Feb. :)

[pompone]

So, 300 miles round trip will set you back 60 quid on a good day, 20 quid to get in, 10 for parking and 20 for food. 110 pounds. With 200 I can do 2 days in Milan easily. Dirty, anyone that has visited EICMA says the same: UK shows are just not the same thing. Good if you want a cheap jacket but if you want to know what actual trade trends will be nextyear and speak to business partners you just can't, unless you want to be the 100th shop selling pro bolt. And then there's the scale if it..

[Dirty]

Pomp no one is denying EICMA is by far the superior show. That's a given.

It is blatantly far more expensive though.

It costs me £21 to go to the excel show inc entry, travel and tickets. I'm not eating the crap they sell, I might buy a coffee. Obviously I live close so that's slightly skewed but balanced by the fact I'm far from Brum.

Riding up to Brum costs me about £30 in fuel, parking is free, entry is £20, ditto on the food, so £70 inc coffee for the 2 UK shows

You may be able to do 2 days for £200 Pomp, but most people reading this don't have your contacts/discounts. Most people are gonna be hitting closer to £300 for 2 days. £230 more than 2 days at the UK shows. I'm talking about the average punter here, not your guests.

Now if someone was asking 'is it worth £230 more?' It's not far off what it costs to go to the weekender! From looking at the pics and reading what people say about EICMA then yes, simply as a show it is, then you add the fact that it's 2 days in Italy which is nice any time of year so a win win.

[Kato]

I does not have to be 2 days in Italy, given that its only a 2.5 hour flight, It can take 2 hours to drive form London to Birmingham!!!

I know a few guy's who went on Friday and came back the same day, my return flight was £32 admittedly I had free entry but had I have not stayed for the weekend my cost would have been £32 and I would have had a better experience than attending both the UK shows and saved £8

[Albie]

Me a GT did Ducati factory trip for less than £100 inc flight, food and coach some years ago for a day. I think anyone who goes home or away should just enjoy the experience good or bad. I wouldn't mind doing EICMA but I don't travel well now which sucks big time. Belgium is a nightmare for me.

[Dirty]

I does not have to be 2 days in Italy, given that its only a 2.5 hour flight, It can take 2 hours to drive form London to Birmingham!!!

I know a few guy's who went on Friday and came back the same day, my return flight was £32 admittedly I had free entry but had I have not stayed for the weekend my cost would have been £32 and I would have had a better experience than attending both the UK shows and saved £8

Aha , well that changes things hugely if an over night is not needed. £32 + entry + airport transfers + a bit of food is still more expensive but only by a little bit.

Of course flight time doesn't take into account transfers and getting up at 3am and getting home 24 hours on your feet later. An overnight is still preferable.

[uksurfer]

Char and me did the NEC today for £10 between us and that was parking fee

(Company vehicle and blagged tickets)

[Rally]

I can't remember the last time the NEC cost me a penny with the free tickets I get offered (Yes, I know I'm lucky), but I have still gone to Milan twice and enjoyed the company, the show, the food and the experience far more, even though it costs a few quid.
The two shows are like chalk and cheese.

Those that go are in the know........... :running:

[gary tompkins]

We went to Milan show back in 2007

Even with flights and a cheap hotel it was cheaper than driving up to NEC and paying on the door

Any UK motorcycle show seems lame and overpriced in comparison now

[Dirty]

We went to Milan show back in 2007

Even with flights and a cheap hotel it was cheaper than driving up to NEC and paying on the door

Give us some details please Gary. Sounds brilliant.

[gary tompkins]

Sorry it was 2008 - year the new M696 was launched

http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w169/GeeTee_album/PICT0087.jpg

http://www.ukmonster.co.uk/monster/showthread.php?t=25342&highlight=milan+2008

you need to talk to shuffy as he organised it - or max as he arranges the current trips to milan

[Dirty]

Just interested in the maths really. Obviously the shows abroad are better. Have been since we stopped being a major manufacturer of cars and bikes. Am more interested in how much it will cost me to go next year and how I can do it for less than the price of going to Excell or Brum.

[Shuffy]

It was nothing elaborate, but it came about in much the same way, I went up to the NEC on my own to have a look and by the time I'd shelled out for everything it was a load of money for what was (at the time) a fairly poor show. Talking to GT we both reckoned we could do the Milan show for that, so that was out challenge the following year. A group of four of us went, dirt cheap flights (Easyjet), there was a shuttle bus directly from the airport to the venue, we didn't have press tickets but I don' remember it being dear. Tube train back to the centre of town and a cheap hotel near the station I found online, nothing luxurious, but fine for what we wanted. We did a couple of days because it was VAST! In fact I don't think we saw everything in the end.

A word of warning, as we were carrying our stuff with us, by the end of the day we did get sick off people slamming into us throughout the show, oh and forget being English and polite when queuing for food, no one else does! We managed a morning having a quick wander round Milan which was nice too.

I'm sure anything Max can organise would be vastly superior to our little effort but if you want to keep it simple it was perfectly doable and affordable.

[chris yeatman]

Good day at nec, the weather driving up and back was crap, nearly bought the monnie 1200 and the whole day cost me £30

[uksurfer]

I nearly bought the monnie 1200, cost me £30

I hope it was the ' stripe' version

[gary tompkins]

Just interested in the maths really. Obviously the shows abroad are better. Have been since we stopped being a major manufacturer of cars and bikes. Am more interested in how much it will cost me to go next year and how I can do it for less than the price of going to Excell or Brum.

What you have to bear in mind is we had 2 days at the show plus a 3* hotel

If you work out what that would cost in the UK it was a bargain. Not that you really need two days at the NEC, because I've normally seen everything on show there inside 4 or 5 hours. The EICMA had eight halls the size of football pitches. It is huge and we still hadn't seen everything after spending the weekend there.

It's not a show for shoppers though - very little is being sold on the stands

Make sure you leave your family size shampoo at home though. Kev got his confiscated at Gatwick airport security, and was still moaning his tits off about it on the way home. Why someone with no hair needed that much shampoo for a weekend in Milan is a complete mystery

[Dirty]

What you have to bear in mind is we had 2 days at the show plus a 3* hotel



I'm still struggling to work out how to get there and back for less than a UK show. Just looked at flights and even booking a year in advance they are £40 return.

So I think I'll just give up and accept it's obviously more expensive to go to Milan but a better experience and value for the extra cash.

My favourite is still the Bike shed show though. I went last year and inc entrance, fuel and parking did it for less that £20 :)

[Darren69]

Italy is quite expensive too in my experience and sometimes there are hidden costs. On a visit to Florence last year we were told we had to pay residence tax at the hotel just to stop in the city for a few days!

[utopia]

Yep, and the NEC is like a large bike showroom with a side order of discounted old stock.
EICMA by comparison is like a small town.........and an Italian one at that.
And Max's b&b provision is excellent.

[peter]

well I went on Wednesday and really enjoyed it.
especially when they started up the new h2r, what a sound that made goose bumps all over.
and found a helmet I have been wanting for £100 less than rrp plus a free dark viser . result.

http://red-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2014/06/1680x700/X-802Carbon-1.jpg