28 |AUTUMN2019
at Olympia in theveryearlydays; EarlsCourtin
the lateryears withasprinkling ofBrighton and
Blackpoolyears beforegoing to the NEC.
In those earlyyears thereweresimilarities
betweenroadandcomp bikessomaybethiswasn’t
suchabadthing, even if the similarity amounted to
little morethanthe same style engine and name on
thetank.
Technicallyone could buy competition mounts
from all manufacturers, but having talked to factory
riders fromthateraandchatted with photographer
T
he International Dirt BikeShowhasanew
homethisyear.Thepopular annual off-road
event will nowtakeplaceatStaffordCounty
Showgroundover theweekendofSeptember
28/29, the newlocation offering moreopportunity to
develop thegrass-roots actionelement of the show.
Withchanges afootwethought itwasan
opportunetime to takealook backatthewayour
scenewasportrayed in thedayswhen the UK had a
thriving homeindustryandamanufacturer’sdisplay
always includedthecompany’s off-road offering,
especially whentheyhad
somethingtocrowabout.
The manufacturer’s
marketing teamwould
allude theroadrangewere
basedon suchsterling
machines, theowner
enjoying theexperience
ofamotorcycle capableof
winning prestigiousevents
suchas theISDT and SSDT
amongothers.
With thewinning
machines displayedstill
coveredindirtand just
alittle furtherbackon
the stand sothe public
couldn’tquite inspect them
closely,itwas easier for
the manufacturertoallow
people to think theroad
bikeswerebuilt to the
same standards.
Forwhateverreason, the
off-roadbikeswerepart
andparcel of the shows
