Went to the Australian Motorcycle Expo held for the first time down on the Gold Coast - unfortunately my opinion of such shows has hit a new low.
Whilst a few manufacturers made an effort to display their wares, I thought the whole setup was a rip off - not only were they charging bikes the same price as cars to park, but Honda hardly had any presence, with almost no road bikes available to view. Don't get me wrong, it was good to see some bikes that I really do admire in the flesh (Victory being the main one and some of the Jappers) but the whole thing is a circus, just designed to reap maximum cash from the motorcycling public. There were no "bargains" to be had from any of the manufacturers, there were way too many people in the halls and pricing on food and drinks was ridiculous.
So why go, I hear you say! Well, I like to see what is on the market and also check out bikes that I would not otherwise get the opportunity to touch, sit on, feel. There was a time when events like this were put on and there was no entry fee - it was an attempt by the manufacturers to woo potential customers and also provided the chance for bike lovers to view the products available to them. Unfortunately the money grabbing middle man has crawled out from under his rock and jacked up prices on everything, hoping to skim some cash from the motorcycling public!
There were a lot of stalls selling just about everything that a biker would need, however, it just did not have the atmosphere or feeling of a riders get together for the good of riding. It really felt as if everyone was under pressure to cover their costs.
All I and the motorcycling public of Queensland is asking is that the organisers think a little and look at things such as parking, admission fees and food/drink prices - people will come to see the product, but get mighty pissed off when they know that manufacturers are paying a premium to exhibit and yet the customer has to fork out top dollar to get a bottle of water!!! Note to the organisers - wake up dickheads, people will only put up with this kind of crap for so long. No wonder it wasn't making money in Brisbane and had to be moved down the coast!
Oh, and for the record, I reckon half a day in Moss Street is much better value, so to you guys that organised this event, I definitely won't be back! And I am not alone.
Now, some pics....
Whilst a few manufacturers made an effort to display their wares, I thought the whole setup was a rip off - not only were they charging bikes the same price as cars to park, but Honda hardly had any presence, with almost no road bikes available to view. Don't get me wrong, it was good to see some bikes that I really do admire in the flesh (Victory being the main one and some of the Jappers) but the whole thing is a circus, just designed to reap maximum cash from the motorcycling public. There were no "bargains" to be had from any of the manufacturers, there were way too many people in the halls and pricing on food and drinks was ridiculous.
So why go, I hear you say! Well, I like to see what is on the market and also check out bikes that I would not otherwise get the opportunity to touch, sit on, feel. There was a time when events like this were put on and there was no entry fee - it was an attempt by the manufacturers to woo potential customers and also provided the chance for bike lovers to view the products available to them. Unfortunately the money grabbing middle man has crawled out from under his rock and jacked up prices on everything, hoping to skim some cash from the motorcycling public!
There were a lot of stalls selling just about everything that a biker would need, however, it just did not have the atmosphere or feeling of a riders get together for the good of riding. It really felt as if everyone was under pressure to cover their costs.
All I and the motorcycling public of Queensland is asking is that the organisers think a little and look at things such as parking, admission fees and food/drink prices - people will come to see the product, but get mighty pissed off when they know that manufacturers are paying a premium to exhibit and yet the customer has to fork out top dollar to get a bottle of water!!! Note to the organisers - wake up dickheads, people will only put up with this kind of crap for so long. No wonder it wasn't making money in Brisbane and had to be moved down the coast!
Oh, and for the record, I reckon half a day in Moss Street is much better value, so to you guys that organised this event, I definitely won't be back! And I am not alone.
Now, some pics....
Labels: General
posted by Beaker at 6:17 PM
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1 Comments:
I too will not be back-I was looking forward to it but it was a joke. A few weeks ago on a Saturday morning me and a mate (same mate came with me to the expo) went around 3 or 4 dealers on the northside of brisbane, including morgan and wacker-a kwaka dealer and brisbane bikes-much more worthy of our time! Morgan and wacker even had a FREE sausage sizzle!
$17 bucks to enter plus $5 to park! What a rip! I went with a wad of cash looking for a pair of jeans and some other stuff as did my mate-but to no avail. The accessory companies were suspicious by there absence!
All in all I was damn dissapointed!
Oh well back to moss st for me aswell!
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