Motorbike Show - New Series

[Rob 131 Sport]

With all the motorbike content on YouTube of varying quality, it’s good to see that the Motorbike Show has returned to ITV for another series.

Whilst the series project bike started out rather disappointingly being some kind of Chopper bitsa, they are going to be restoring an 88/89 Suzuki GSXR 1100, which is one of my all time favourite bikes.

Hopefully at the end of the restoration it will be ridden by someone such as James Whitham who raced them back in the day.

[clive_candy]

Yep, good to see it back.

Henry was enthusiastic about that Beemer and I thought it looked pretty good.

But blimey, you're looking at £25k and there's some higher-spec examples at closer to £30k!

[hondajack85]

Manufacturer lends him a bike and he offers some superfical stereotypical old biker comments
while doing things that pensioners usually do,tea shops,stately homes etc.
Glad they changed tack on the restore,though why not just edit out the first plan,and stop wasting the genius Alan?
The gsxr1100 is more up his street due to nostalgia and being a bit soft and basic compared to modern sports bikes
He wont spend the time complaining about gizmos you dont actually have to use if you dont want to ,or bother to master because he is only going throught the motions for a tv show.
But he is TV number one in a field of one so may as well enjoy it I guess. Well done Henry!

[Biker9090]

It does make me laugh how much absolute virulent hatred is spouted about him on Facebook - yet he's the only one in recent years that's managed to get bikes on somewhat mainstream TV.

[hiccy18]

Thanks for the headsup, I hadn't realised a new series had started. Perfect timing really as I'd just caught up on all other Cole content. I watched his Balkan tour a week or so ago as I'm wanting to take the wife to Croatia, we're going on the bike now, and we're going to Slovenia too!

Which "is what it's all about man": I'll never buy a bike on the strength of a HC review, but I might go down a road or visit a location.

[Mr Tidy]

Thanks for the heads up.

I don't think it is intended to be a proper review of the bikes he rides, he just makes a few observations. And at least it is TV with bike content!

[LARK F1 GTR]

I found the M branding on the BMW bike a bit cringe!

[KurtFlew]

I actually hate how the BMW marketing tentacles have spread to everything. Every magazine, YouTube video and now TV show has an ugly gaudy bike shoved on it that they've got to sing it's praise.

[gareth_r]

LARK F1 GTR said:

I found the M branding on the BMW bike a bit cringe!

It is a "hotrod" version, though. The M1000XR is 30bhp up on the S1000XR.

The M1000RR, M1000R, and M1000XR probably qualify as proper "M bikes".

[MDUBZ]

Biker9090 said:

It does make me laugh how much absolute virulent hatred is spouted about him on Facebook - yet he's the only one in recent years that's managed to get bikes on somewhat mainstream TV.

It takes all sorts, tbh I find him a difficult watch so probably won't.

[romft123]

HC is touring next year. Coming to a venue near me.....£32 + booking fee!

[KTMsm]

romft123 said:

HC is touring next year. Coming to a venue near me.....£32 + booking fee!

People pay to see him ?

[hiccy18]

As Steve Parrish is also with him I can imagine it being a pretty humourous evening, however I am not traipsing 400+ mile round trip to find out.

[black-k1]

gareth_r said:

LARK F1 GTR said:

I found the M branding on the BMW bike a bit cringe!

It is a "hotrod" version, though. The M1000XR is 30bhp up on the S1000XR.

The M1000RR, M1000R, and M1000XR probably qualify as proper "M bikes".

All they did was fit the standard S1000 motor rather than the neutered one they put in the normal XR. Not really anything "special".

[romft123]

KTMsm said:

romft123 said:

HC is touring next year. Coming to a venue near me.....£32 + booking fee!

People pay to see him ?

Obvs yes! I am betting he will tell his life story......drugs, DJing the lot.....Gotta spin it out for 2 hrs somehow I guess

[epicfail]

HC can be a bit of a womble but it's harmless nonsense, old farts on motorbikes - I guess I'm the target audience....

Plus, any programme that gets a bit of Gone Shootin' in the mix is bang on.

I don't care about the project Suzuki, the old Triumph was a bit more my thing - but not as another chopper.

[Bob_Defly]

I agree that HC's voice can get a bit annoying, but it's some of the only decent bike content out there, along with 44T.

I wonder why it's so hard to make engaging bike content, there is definitely an audience for it. I mean Itchy Boots has 2.4M subscribers.

[KTMsm]

Bob_Defly said:

I wonder why it's so hard to make engaging bike content, there is definitely an audience for it. I mean Itchy Boots has 2.4M subscribers.

Her numbers shock me when I see what I consider better content, which may have only 20,000 ish

But she's been around ages and reliably keeps pumping out the content - being a woman helps too

However that's a worldwide audience and most of her content is about the places rather than the bike / journey

[hondajack85]

Is all part of the sausage factory. Just crank out bits that could be on shed and buried/drunk and disorderly/motorcycle show.
A real motorcycle show would never work with actual people aged 20s - 30s (Basically revitalizing the industry) as they would all quickly be branded as hooligans.
So we are stuck with the future. 60yo plus telling everyone how great it is.

[Bob_Defly]

KTMsm said:

Bob_Defly said:

I wonder why it's so hard to make engaging bike content, there is definitely an audience for it. I mean Itchy Boots has 2.4M subscribers.

Her numbers shock me when I see what I consider better content, which may have only 20,000 ish

I s'pose that's my point. If someone is producing good content why have they only got 20K followers? Are people just not interested, or is the content hard to find?