RDS bikeshow..youre experiences here..

Max Headroom

Was a bit samey for us.....no Kawasaki stand ..wtf..???.....some nice customs, lot of very talented people on this little island....losts of REAL bikers snarling at other REAL bikers....:p

Fiskar

Saving myself for the show in Belfast next time round, Ireland (south) is 3rd world country where bike and car shows are concerned.

serious3

Enjoyed it, got a couple of bargains, had fun flirting with the rep from volt motorcycles, sat on a few nice bikes, commented on the lack of Kawasaki, ogled the continental gt (twice) marvelled at the flying millyard, entered a couple of competitions, watched the sand racing wondering what a s1000r on methanol powered sidecar goes like, watched a bit of stunting, will I go on?

Wonda-Boy

Terrible show IMHO, and organised arseways in true Irish fashion. Apparently this year the powers to be at the RDS were charging €6-€8 for "SECURE" parking and there was a a rake of cars broken into and lids and parts robbed off bikes!!!!

I did here of lids being taken of bikes last year....so at least the show is consistent.

650Ginge

Won't be going again. Enough is enough.

Hotblack Desiato

Been a few years since I was at it, but they offered a free helmet park inside then. Don't recall having to pay for bike parking, either (I was on a freebie ticket in working on a stand, but went into the main 'car' park same as everyone else)

Unfortunately (to misquote Forrest Gump) scumbags is as scumbags does, some will be out for easy pickings, unlocked top boxes and the like, some out to do damage just for the sake of it, I have to ask how were these lids 'secured' to the bikes? the helmet locks that flip out from under the seat can be bent with a wet piece of string, and the true scumbag doesnt care if he has to cut the strap off a lid, it'll still get him past the rare garda checkpoint on his stolen moped.

Max Headroom

If i have one real critisism its as to WTF do groups of people decide to stop for a chat in the middle of an aisle ..i dont get it...beep beep move to the side people....:mad:

Nodster

Wonda-Boy wrote: »

Terrible show IMHO, and organised arseways in true Irish fashion......and there was a a rake of cars broken into and lids and parts robbed off bikes!!!!

Any ideas how the Show could be unarseways? I enjoyed it as did many others

As for stuff being half-inched, I only heard of one van being broken into and the scum were disturbed and nothing missing - unless you can kindly let us know about other instances - the floors yours

Max Headroom

Nodster wrote: »

Any ideas how the Show could be unarseways? I enjoyed it as did many others

As for stuff being half-inched, I only heard of one van being broken into and the scum were disturbed and nothing missing - unless you can kindly let us know about other instances - the floors yours

+You cant please all the people etc etc..

To say the show was badly organised "in true Irish fashion" is way off the mark....youre comparing it to the UK i suppose, never a good comparison...it is what it is, if you didnt like it dont go again.....but you probably will..;)

rock22

Wonda-Boy wrote: »

Terrible show IMHO, and organised arseways in true Irish fashion. Apparently this year the powers to be at the RDS were charging €6-€8 for "SECURE" parking and there was a a rake of cars broken into and lids and parts robbed off bikes!!!!

I did here of lids being taken of bikes last year....so at least the show is consistent.

Were you at the show?
i found it enjoyable. What exactly was arseways??

underwaterdog

We had a great day at the show for the first time. Car park was expensive (€6) and it was a tight squeeze getting around at about lunch time/early afternoon but after the stories I had heard around here on the run up to the show I was more than pleasantly surprised.

For €25 for two tickets, with under 12s in free, we will surely look to go next time.

The_Chap

If you've never been to the bike show at the NEC you need to go to see how a proper bike show is done

Went to RDS once, it's like its run in someone's back yard in comparison

gerrowadat

Wandered around for a while yesterday. I think for a new enough biker the ability to gawp at gear, sit up on new bikes, and see some stunts and nice classics is worth the money. Probably not worth it if you've seen it all before.

One thing I did notice is that aside from people's kids, there wasn't a soul below 30 in the place, it looked like. I was talking to an exhibitor and he said on friday night the /average/ age would have been 50.

Plus got about 70 quid off a lid I'd had me eye on for a while, so ticket paid for itself if you're looking at it that way.

Max Headroom

The_Chap wrote: »

If you've never been to the bike show at the NEC you need to go to see how a proper bike show is done

Went to RDS once, it's like its run in someone's back yard in comparison

Been there twice years ago...cost of flight etc made it not worth it....Everythings bigger alright but wouldnt bother going ever again....
Keepin it local....
BTW...if youre comparing not-like with not-like ,go to the states....NEC looks like a sh1thole then....;)

Wonda-Boy

Nodster wrote: »

Any ideas how the Show could be unarseways? I enjoyed it as did many others

As for stuff being half-inched, I only heard of one van being broken into and the scum were disturbed and nothing missing - unless you can kindly let us know about other instances - the floors yours

I have been to many a bike show both here and the UK and Europe including the RDS. And it is run and organised badly. Both inside and out, and it deffo not the 1st time stuff has got robbed. Went with the family last time and had to go outside to the car to get items and the hassle I had getting back in as the missus had my band, took me twenty minutes to get back in as they would not let me go in with one of the goon squad to retrieve my band. Missus had my phone could not call her and would not let me use their phone!

Max Headroom wrote: »

+You cant please all the people etc etc..

To say the show was badly organised "in true Irish fashion" is way off the mark....youre comparing it to the UK i suppose, never a good comparison...it is what it is, if you didnt like it dont go again.....but you probably will..;)

I am not comparing it directly to the UK I am comparing it to basic standards, I went twice and IMHO its deffo not worth the money to get in simples. Most people moan about this country doing things arse ways, but stick it in writing and the patriotism comes flying out ffs!

rock22 wrote: »

Were you at the show?
i found it enjoyable. What exactly was arseways??

No I did not go this year as experiences from previous years were not good. But couple of my mates went and reports were mediocre at best.

The_Chap wrote: »

If you've never been to the bike show at the NEC you need to go to see how a proper bike show is done

Went to RDS once, it's like its run in someone's back yard in comparison

Very true, NEC is brilliant and the London bike show is out of this world. But its not even that. Its the little things and the attitudes which cost nothing that are not even in place.

Good to see Cotters had a stand there this year all the same.

Wonda-Boy

Max Headroom wrote: »

Been there twice years ago...cost of flight etc made it not worth it....Everythings bigger alright but wouldnt bother going ever again....
Keepin it local....
BTW...if youre comparing not-like with not-like ,go to the states....NEC looks like a sh1thole then....;)

I got return tickets to the NEC this year for €18 return incld all taxes. And the tickets in for €15 bought online before hand. Factor in the free moto cross experience on the yamaha bikes for an hour and the really good free haul of goodies you can blag (I got wool shoei beanie hat and shoei water proof jacket)

And the bargains are unbelievable TBH.

The_Chap

Max Headroom wrote: »

Been there twice years ago...cost of flight etc made it not worth it....Everythings bigger alright but wouldnt bother going ever again....
Keepin it local....
BTW...if youre comparing not-like with not-like ,go to the states....NEC looks like a sh1thole then....;)

Its not even that, granted it's never going to be the same size, but the whole experience left me feeling very meh, I've been to better bike rallys

thecivvie

Comparing Irish shows to Uk or other shows is wrong. The organisers have to cater to the number of bikers here in Ireland. They don't cater for UK bikers or continental bikers (Show on this weekend in Holland). How many bikers in comparison to the UK are there.

As for theft, that can happen anywhere, look at all the bikes stolen from "secure" parking. Scumbags will know that there is a show on and head over, sure they more than likely pay the €6 for parking so they have an excuse to be in

Max Headroom

thecivvie wrote: »

Comparing Irish shows to Uk or other shows is wrong. The organisers have to cater to the number of bikers here in Ireland.

Then theres the ones that wont go or dont bother going..imo the amount of good experiences will far outweigh the bad....

Note to organisers...if you want more Irish trade stands to participate , give them more of an incentive, rather than giving the foreign ones huge stand discounts...;)

Nodster

Wonda-Boy wrote: »

I have been to many a bike show both here and the UK and Europe including the RDS. And it is run and organised badly. Both inside and out, and it deffo not the 1st time stuff has got robbed. Went with the family last time and had to go outside to the car to get items and the hassle I had getting back in as the missus had my band, took me twenty minutes to get back in as they would not let me go in with one of the goon squad to retrieve my band. Missus had my phone could not call her and would not let me use their phone!

Now Wonda-Boy, I'm a very reasonable fella and challenged you in my original post on a couple of points. No evidence of "there was a a rake of cars broken into and lids and parts robbed off bikes!!!!" and as for your hassle of nipping out to the carpark.......that sounded like a badly organised plan! Get over it and be thankful we have a large biking exhibition that comes to town every two years that the majority look forward to

thelawman

Sounds like Wonda-Boy wouldn't know organisation if it jumped up and bit him on the arse, "the missus had my phone". "the missus had my band"

Zascar

I enjoyed it. Wasn't expecting anything spectacular. I'd prefer to have paid €10 in but sure it was fine. Some interesting stuff. Did anyone else see the bike jack on wheels?? Sat on the 1299 Panigale. Savage. 30k though!

Edit - this is the 1Jac: http://www.1jac.com/

landmarkjohn

It's a handy place to buy gear if you need something. Most if not all of the biggest retailers on the island are there as well as few from across the water. Helmets and bike gear cannot be bought on line IMO, you got to try it on for fit. I needed (wanted?) a new textile jacket and the choice was from €50 entry level to €1250 for an armoured Rukka with Kevlar! I think there was some value on offer. 3 of us travelled to the show and we all enjoyed it and bought something, parking was easy and reasonable at €6.

The stunt riders were good, proper stunt bikes, the kids there seemed to really enjoy that, they were talented lads.

I didn't see Michael Dunlop with Steve Parrish at the scheduled 12:30 interview, whether he was at the 16:30 interview I don't know. It's not fair to compare with NEC, we are a much smaller country with small population in comparison to UK. Overall I thought it was a pretty decent show, it's nice to wander around and mingle with likeminded.

Zascar

Here is a video of the stunt bikes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juP8ILFn3gg

prunudo

Just back myself and I enjoyed it. The €15 price doesn't bother me, I spent over 3 hours so as things go that's not bad for an afternoons entertainment. Met and got pictures with Jack Kennedy and John McGuinness, not everyday you get to meet top sports people mingling in the crowd and genuinely willing to interact with their fans. How much would a ticket for the Ireland/England match cost?

Yes the show has its faults and not as big as other stuff in other countries but we are only an island of 6m people and only a small % of them are interesting in motorbikes so we should be thankful we have a show at all. We're very bad in this country at knocking everything and saying it's not as good as this, that or the other. Maybe if we started supporting local we wouldn't have small bike shops and workshops closing left right and centre.

arybvtcw0eolkf

Zascar wrote: »

Here is a video of the stunt bikes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juP8ILFn3gg

And here's the lads training at an undisclosed location in Dublin (I brought KTRIC and his GF up and issued invites to a few others).. Watch the aerial shots from a GoPro mounted to a drone :cool:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dW0Qgg3U_c

Zascar

Saw that before, great video! I deffo intend to join you some day soon, dying to learn to wheelie

arybvtcw0eolkf

Zascar wrote: »

Saw that before, great video! I deffo intend to join you some day soon, dying to learn to wheelie

They're not there any longer.. I haven't been with them in awhile, and my bike is sitting in my garden with a f*cked up clutch :mad:

Clutch went last week, on most Jap bikes I'd have replaced it at lunch time ~ on a BMW its going to cost me an absolute f*cking fortune (cheapest quote so far is €900).

But when I'm back on the road we'll hook up over the summer for a bit of craic

Wonda-Boy

thelawman wrote: »

Sounds like Wonda-Boy wouldn't know organisation if it jumped up and bit him on the arse, "the missus had my phone". "the missus had my band"

This post isn't very P.C!!!! Very constructive post I must say. Next time someone asks you penny for your thoughts.....SELL!

Wonda-Boy

Nodster wrote: »

Now Wonda-Boy, I'm a very reasonable fella and challenged you in my original post on a couple of points. No evidence of "there was a a rake of cars broken into and lids and parts robbed off bikes!!!!" and as for your hassle of nipping out to the carpark.......that sounded like a badly organised plan! Get over it and be thankful we have a large biking exhibition that comes to town every two years that the majority look forward to

I was there at the show last time the stuff got robbed and lads on the warpath, as for the badly organised plan **** happens with young kids and you can't plan for that. But when you pay in and you can't even try to explain that you did its piss poor. Give a goon a radio and an ear piece and they think they are in the ERU.

Talk to enough people and you will hear about the **** going on. You enjoyed the show I didnt simples. If you are happy with mediocre events bully for you......

Max Headroom

Wonda-Boy wrote: »

. If you are happy with mediocre events bully for you......

I hope the organisers can come on here and personally apologise to you pal...you seem really upset ....chillax..:p

Dont EVER go to the classic car show in Terenure if youre offended by wanton vandalism..it happens everywhere kids (read ; scumbags) are allowed.;)

Wonda-Boy

Max Headroom wrote: »

I hope the organisers can come on here and personally apologise to you pal...you seem really upset ....chillax..:p

Dont EVER go to the classic car show in Terenure if youre offended by wanton vandalism..it happens everywhere kids (read ; scumbags) are allowed.;)

On the contrary I could not give a rats ass, its others who seem very upset that other people found the show average at best but I actually posted it.

Hotblack Desiato

Yosef Odd Broom wrote: »

They're not there any longer.. I haven't been with them in awhile, and my bike is sitting in my garden with a f*cked up clutch :mad:

Must be all the wheelies

Clutch went last week, on most Jap bikes I'd have replaced it at lunch time ~ on a BMW its going to cost me an absolute f*cking fortune (cheapest quote so far is €900).

Ah jaysus. Dry clutch and a longitudinal engine, it's an easier and cheaper job on most cars than that! P**s easy job on any wet clutch transverse engine bike, but that's no consolation to you

Wonda-Boy wrote: »

But when you pay in and you can't even try to explain that you did its piss poor. Give a goon a radio and an ear piece and they think they are in the ERU.

It's simple. You pay in and go past the point where you pay in, if at any event you want to go back past the point you pay in, then talk to the lads/lasses at the door to make sure you'll get a pass back in. Any event will have p**s takers trying to sneak in for free, you can't blame them and at most music events you would not be let back in no matter what. You should've sorted it out before you went outside.

The_Chap

Thread should be renamed "post your good experiences here"

arybvtcw0eolkf

Hotblack Desiato wrote: »

Must be all the wheelies



Ah jaysus. Dry clutch and a longitudinal engine, it's an easier and cheaper job on most cars than that! P**s easy job on any wet clutch transverse engine bike, but that's no consolation to you

I don't clutch a bike up, I've always done it off the gas (bad habit I got into and drop changed).. I've about 85km on it and do a bit of two up riding so I'm not altogether surprised, I'm just sick about the price.

bitch/rant

Zoo4m8

I like to see the custom and classic/vintage sections which seemed bigger/ better this year..the rest as far as I was concerned was, to put it politely , definitely average. Nice to see John McGuiness though..
And howdy to the lad on the VW trike with the WX reg, saw it walking into the show and then passed him on the Bray bypass on the way home in the lashing sleet and snow, hard man..:)

Max Headroom

Zoo4m8 wrote: »

I like to see the custom and classic/vintage sections which seemed bigger/ better this year..the rest as far as I was concerned was, to put it politely , definitely average. Nice to see John McGuiness though..
And howdy to the lad on the VW trike with the WX reg, saw it walking into the show and then passed him on the Bray bypass on the way home in the lashing sleet and snow, hard man..:)

Real biker..............:)

Yeah it would be nice if they combined this show with the Leopardstown classic show......you'd still get people pi$$ing and moaning though..;)

rock22

Wonda-Boy wrote: »

On the contrary I could not give a rats ass, its others who seem very upset that other people found the show average at best but I actually posted it.

you have already admitted that you did not even attend so it is a bit much to come on here complaining about the show.

For me, things I saw and I hadn't seen before :-
Honda range of 700cc twins . Also upgrade to 500 twins.
Royal Enfield. very nice classics. Really like the new models.
BMW seemed to have their full range there. All worth a look.
Indian. ( the new Indian) Not sure when this range was introduced. To me , they really seemed to capture the look of the old Chiefs.
Suzuki, Ducati, Harley and Yamaha all had good stands. Yamaha showed R1M ( behind glass case).
KTM 390 cc single. I was unaware they made a 390cc single.
Volt motorcycles launched a full range of electric motorcycles and scooters. These are Irish made. Not sure when there was last a launch of an Irish made motorcycle - certainly I don' t remember it.
Good to see Fox engineering there. They supplied man y hard to find bearings for me in the past.
Classic show was interesting. The Celtic, Harry Lindsays old Irish made bike was displayed. Something you don't see everyday. And a beautiful A65.
Custom bikes, while not really my scene , was interesting as usual.
i was particularly interested in the travel companies as my interest is more towards travel than sport. There were at least 5 different companies there. I discovered services I was unaware of, such as bike transport ( thanks overlanders.ie) which i will use in the future.
I also had a chance to meet Michael Dunlop and John McGuinness and they were both happy to talk to everyone. Much more accessible than guests at the NEC show. I also saw a guy starting a 5000cc twin with a kick - how often do you see that?
Another big benefit was that every stand was targeted at the Irish motorcyclist. Often in NEC and other foreign shows, you find services or products are not available here.

And all for €15

Obviously, WondaBoy, you are entitled to your opinion. However, in order to give at least the appearance of objectivity, next time could you at least attend before writing such a negative review.

P.C.

It was a good day out.

Like most things in life, it is what you make of it.

zubair

I was too hungover to go for a spin on the bike so decided to go to the show instead, I dragged the brother in law a long and he really enjoyed it. He doesn't have a bike but enjoyed the fact he was able to sit on the different bikes on show, I did too, once I spotted the Yamaha tracer.

There were some good deals too, I picked up some gloves and tools at a steal. The show was probably best if you you were looking for some cheap gear. On that note, cotters are doing free fitting on tyres until the end of March so I'm tempted to try out the PR4s now.

I understand where Wonda is coming from, it is far from being a great show. The layout was brutal, food was crap and the entertainment was pretty weak, if you could find a place to see anything. Most stalls were selling something rather than displaying something of interest, which has its pros and cons depending on whether you plan to buy something. Some stalls were selling the most random crap unrelated to bikes but all exhibitions (in Ireland anyway) seem to have that. Otherwise, the fact i wasn't out for a spin yesterday it fulfilled all my motorbike related needs for the day.

Wonda-Boy

rock22 wrote: »

you have already admitted that you did not even attend so it is a bit much to come on here complaining about the show.

For me, things I saw and I hadn't seen before :-
Honda range of 700cc twins . Also upgrade to 500 twins.
Royal Enfield. very nice classics. Really like the new models.
BMW seemed to have their full range there. All worth a look.
Indian. ( the new Indian) Not sure when this range was introduced. To me , they really seemed to capture the look of the old Chiefs.
Suzuki, Ducati, Harley and Yamaha all had good stands. Yamaha showed R1M ( behind glass case).
KTM 390 cc single. I was unaware they made a 390cc single.
Volt motorcycles launched a full range of electric motorcycles and scooters. These are Irish made. Not sure when there was last a launch of an Irish made motorcycle - certainly I don' t remember it.
Good to see Fox engineering there. They supplied man y hard to find bearings for me in the past.
Classic show was interesting. The Celtic, Harry Lindsays old Irish made bike was displayed. Something you don't see everyday. And a beautiful A65.
Custom bikes, while not really my scene , was interesting as usual.
i was particularly interested in the travel companies as my interest is more towards travel than sport. There were at least 5 different companies there. I discovered services I was unaware of, such as bike transport ( thanks overlanders.ie) which i will use in the future.
I also had a chance to meet Michael Dunlop and John McGuinness and they were both happy to talk to everyone. Much more accessible than guests at the NEC show. I also saw a guy starting a 5000cc twin with a kick - how often do you see that?
Another big benefit was that every stand was targeted at the Irish motorcyclist. Often in NEC and other foreign shows, you find services or products are not available here.

And all for €15

Obviously, WondaBoy, you are entitled to your opinion. However, in order to give at least the appearance of objectivity, next time could you at least attend before writing such a negative review.

Did you even read my posts I have been to the RDS numerous times....nothing has changed. I go out biking with a rake of lads and they went and I was talking to them about the show. So you want me to be a hypocrite and go AGAIN pay and then my opinions would be more valid in your eyes. :rolleyes: My presence at the show was not necessary to form an opinion of a show I have been to before. I dont need to go to war torn Ukraine to know its not for me.

If I was to come on here and say I did not like the Belfast show or indeed the NEC or London Shows (which I have attended twice also) as its not in the south of Ireland or Ireland in general nobody would bat an eyelid......LMAO.

Have a nice day good sir.

dre_jspeed

It wasn't a bad show to fair but in saying that I got a free ticket for the Friday evening. Parking was free which I thought was nice and I got to throw the leg over a few nice bikes.
The only issue I had with the show was we a lad on one of the stands had a comment to stay about my hi-vis under his breath when I walked by. He was in turn told to go fist himself.

The hi-vis I was wearing was one of those Polite think bike ones.

The star of the show for me was the Volt.

Max Headroom

dre_jspeed wrote: »

The star of the show for me was the Volt.

Knew nothing of these until the show...very dear though....€9k for the equivalent of a 125 petrol..:eek:
Although it felt as big as a 600 when i sat on it...

P.C.

It is OK to say that you don't want to visit a country without going there.
But if you are going to criticize an event or something that people have organized it would be good if you have first hand experience of the event.

If you criticize the way something is done, then you have to say what is, or was done wrong, and how it could be done better, or how it could be done differently.

If you just say that something was done 'arseways' without saying how you think it should have been done, then I think you are just having a moan for the sake of having a moan.

dre_jspeed

Max Headroom wrote: »

Knew nothing of these until the show...very dear though....€9k for the equivalent of a 125 petrol..:eek:
Although it felt as big as a 600 when i sat on it...

Is that how much they want for them?

Mr Sheen!

I think it was very poor that kawasaki had no stand. If memory serves me right, the last show Phillip Mccallens had a huge stand just inside the door with Triumph, Kawasaki and KTM.

Wonda-Boy

P.C. wrote: »

It is OK to say that you don't want to visit a country without going there.
But if you are going to criticize an event or something that people have organized it would be good if you have first hand experience of the event.

If you criticize the way something is done, then you have to say what is, or was done wrong, and how it could be done better, or how it could be done differently.

If you just say that something was done 'arseways' without saying how you think it should have been done, then I think you are just having a moan for the sake of having a moan.

I HAVE 1ST HAND EXPERIENCE OF THE SHOW I HAVE BEEN THERE TWICE BEFORE. DID YOU EVEN READ THE THREAD BEFORE YOU TROLL MY POSTS

Rinse and repeat what others have said for a troll. How original....:rolleyes:

Wonda-Boy

Mr Sheen! wrote: »

I think it was very poor that kawasaki had no stand. If memory serves me right, the last show Phillip Mccallens had a huge stand just inside the door with Triumph, Kawasaki and KTM.

Well at least you got a small plain hotdog for €5 with no sauce for your trouble!

:pac::pac::pac:

Mr Sheen!

Wonda-Boy wrote: »

Well at least you got a small plain hotdog for €5 with no sauce for your trouble!

:pac::pac::pac:

There was sauce actually mustard and ketchup, sure what do you know you were not even there FFS!!!

I see your point though I think the show is very half assed even the women could do with an overhaul!!!!
I don't think its worth the 15 euro in, however I was prepared to pay it in the hope that it will bring the show in and they will improve year on year.

I was doing nothing else saturday and it was an excuse to take the bike out and meet up with a few lads for a laugh.

listermint

Wonda-Boy wrote: »

I HAVE 1ST HAND EXPERIENCE OF THE SHOW I HAVE BEEN THERE TWICE BEFORE. DID YOU EVEN READ THE THREAD BEFORE YOU TROLL MY POSTS

Rinse and repeat what others have said for a troll. How original....:rolleyes:

So you weren't there this year then? or were you?

Btw increasing your post size does nothing for your point, it just makes it look pig ignorant tbh.

Wonda-Boy

listermint wrote: »

Btw increasing your post size does nothing for your point, it just makes it look pig ignorant tbh.

What does it make you then, with a comment like that...you dont know me. You could be an arse hole for all I know. But I will hold judgement until I meet you and confirm it.

Jaysus think of my feelings ffs!