Just back from the Milan show and thought I'd share my experience, I won't go into all the travel details etc but just cover the show itself. I'd never been before so didn't know what to expect, Douglas and Andy who I was with had been before so getting to the show was painless via train probably 45 minutes from the centre of Milan. Being a Saturday it was going to be busy, it was extremely busy! As posted on here previously you could register for a free trade pass which we truly did and the queue for this was longer than the rest! Needless to say though it did move quickly and what became apparent was you didn't have to show ID or a business card which was listed on the application form. On Saturday the show opened at 10am and closed at 8pm. The show is HUGE, I had been warned but until you are there you cannot appreciate the size. Going to the NEC show for years and always being dissapointed as it gets smaller each year this was a revelation. In size terms I would "guess" at being at least 5 times larger than the NEC with a combination of halls that you can travel between at ground level or from a mezzanine (if you want to get from one to another quickly). There was a huge outdoor arena and demo area spanning the length of several halls but we didn't venture outside to watch although from the mezzanine you could see what was going on. What you do notice quickly is the huge range of stands the likes of which you will never find in the UK, examples.. an Ohlins stand, Marchesini stand, Rizoma, ASV stands etc not just a reseller like Harris etc, plus plenty of aftermarket manufacturers which I've never heard off with some very nice stuff on display (maybe no UK distributor?). From a manufacturer point of view everyone is represented although trying to find them is harder than you think given the absolute scale of the show, for example it took us over 3 hours to locate the Ducati stand which was huge! and we had a tip off where it was then!! Plus the size of the displays are many times bigger than here I guess because the show is so much bigger!! Seemingly smaller manufacturers or importers have grand displays there, i.e Bimota, Moto Guzzi, MV. Onto the meat of the show then... Ducati!! Huge display, probably 30+ bikes out to look at from 796 Monsters all the way through to Nicky Haydens GP12, I didn't even look at the Diavels I have to say simply because I have no interest, I did however try to the Hyper and as with the air cooled models it just doesn't fit me, it looked really nice although there does seem to be at least 3 different termi options available. The 2013 multi looks nice, I jumped on one and there isn't much different from the cockpit, only noticeable changes from my 2010 model were a new starter slider, right hand cubby hole has a now clickable closed lid, and the adjustable screen which is very tight to adjust I'm not sure you could do it while moving with your gloves on if I am honest. The skyhook forks don't show much but there is only a single cable from the left hand fork leg now (looks identical to the BMW S1000RR HP4 system). The 848 is starting to look a little dated around the Panigale's but compared to the Japanese offereings it still looks new. Onto the Panigale's... well they look unchanged but having never ridden one maybe there are some subtle changes from MY12 to MY13, I guess the star of the show was the 1199R and when it was announced a week or so ago I felt deflated R's usually ooze goodies and on paper it didn't sound too exciting, however in the flesh it's stunning so much more detail and bling over the other models, I'm sure most of us would never get anywhere near the limits of the base model Panigale anyway but you'll always lust after the R simply awesome! We also got ushered into the hospitality area for some R&R free drink and food then a certain Mr Checa appeared so we had the obligatory photo and wished him well next year (we'd also seen Gulliano at the show milling around earlier), then a certain Andrea Iannone appears with much papirazzi to boot. Other highlights, well I like my KTM's and sure enough they had the 1290R superduke on display (still covered in rubber and dirt from the PR video) and again this was stunning to look at, rumoured to be out towards the end of next year unfortunately so we're going to have to wait. We stayed until 8pm and probably only saw 70% of the show, the last 2 hours were bliss though as the crowds vanished and we could easily get to all of the bikes and check them out - handy tip if you decide to go. Anyways some snaps I took..
Obligatory eye candy Husqvana stand was one of the best Lots to twiddle with on this Moto2 bike Cough
Good to hear you enjoyed it. So going again next year?? I would recommend going on the trade days. Hugely reduced crowds and you can still buy things as we found out this year..... I would like to do a two dayer next year; Day 1 fly to Bologna and do the factory/museum then drive down and do Milan show on day 2 and fly back.......
