MCN London Motorcycle Show

A few months ago, I got a notice about the MCN Motorcycle Show in London, UK. I thought "how lucky those people who live in places like London that get these motorcycle shows". Then it dawned on me: I was going to be in London this weekend! So I could not miss the show. 

The Royal Enfield stand was right there near the entrance,

There was a row of Classic 350's enjoyed by little kids,

Then were the Meteor 350's,

A few custom jobs (what was going on with the tank in the first one?),

more details in this picture,

Then a row of Super Meteor 650 Cruisers,

These machines really do not have anything to envy the Harley and Indian cruisers. There were a couple of Hunter 350's,

A bunch of accessories and apparel,

The Royal Enfield stand was right next to the Norton one, where they displayed the brushed aluminum framed V4SV, I had never seen one before,

It was interesting that there were stands for Royal Enfield, Norton, Triumph and BSA, I imagine for the first time in the UK since the 1960's, now that all brands are back in one way or other!

There was a Silverstone Auction section with many bikes that had been sold,

which included a Royal Enfield that I could not identify well, looked 1930's,

Here is an overview of the venue, Royal Enfield is the second stand on the left. There was a cordoned off area in the middle where 0-60mph races were carried out every couple of hours,

And here are other views of the Royal Enfield stand,

I was able to sit on all of the Royal Enfield models in display. I have never ridden a motorcycle with forward controls. But I find the ones on the Super Meteor and even the Meteor 350's rather unsettling. It might be that when one actually rides them such feeling goes away. It has happened to me with other forward control bikes like the Honda Fury. Obviously, the bike being static gives an eerie feeling when one puts one's feet forward. Perhaps due to that I am more comfortable on the Interceptor of the Classic or the Hunter. I have to note that the bulbous tanks that the Super Meteor, Classic and Meteor have, although they look good, made my knees a bit too separated for comfort,

I found myself much more at ease with the tanks of the Interceptor or the Hunter (or my aging 2009 Classic C5).

To finish in a note of color, if something went really wrong with your ride, Motorcycle Funerals offered "one final dignified ride" on a black Triumph Sidecar rig,

Update: David Blasco of royalenfields.com tracked down the auctioned bike, it is a 1929.