The BMW Club East Anglia Section

We set of at 8.00 in the morning. There was a light sprinkling of frost as we headed to Peterborough and the temperature gauge read minus four. I had to wonder whether these were the best conditions to offer free rides on one of the worlds most powerful super bikes!

We arrived at Balderstons where there was a full line up of all the demo bikes, including a shiny blue S100RR.

We were greeted with fresh coffee and discussions with the staff about frozen hands and ice on the inside of visors!

The club stand was quickly set up and we awaited the rush. Unfortunately by ten o’clock there were still no more than a handful of punters.

We’d decided that it could be a slow day, it’s a shame that it appeared that the sudden change in weather had killed off everyones interest in the BMW model re launch. We decided to seek solice in the many bacon and sausage rolls on offer.

By 11.00 o clock things had started to pick up and we had several visitors to the stand. It was then steady for the rest of the day.

No one did take out a demo bike. But we did hand out seven membership application forms,
Most to prospective new members, but a couple went to ex members who are looking to renew.

When you set off on these promotion events you can never be sure how effective they will be. But it’s always good to talk to like minded people and if only half these people actually join it will have been worth it and we’ll have "spread the word" some more.

The day started in the car, far too cold and slippery to venture out on the bike, Mike Davies and Myself went to Cannon’s at Braintree for the BMW launch day to provide a presence for the club at the event. The day was busy with a surprisingly large number of people attending and despite the weather, some even braved riding in. We had a number of enquiries and handed out some membership forms to those who were interested. A number of members also attended and came across to have a chat.

The food and drinks were provided by Cannon’s and the hot sausage in a roll went down particularly well, more so with a contingent from Essex Police who were on their way back from a trip to Leicester earlier in the morning, they reported the temperature as being minus seven (-7) when they started out, thank goodness for heated clothing, shame about the frozen feet though!

On display were a large selection from the BMW stable, including Husqvarna which created some interest. The latest versions of the 650GS and 800GS were on display with a large selection of 1200’s including GS, GSA, RT and the special editions.

In all it was a good day with plenty of folk to talk about bikes and the club. Our thanks go to Cannon’s for allowing us to take up space in their showroom, see you at the next launch on the 24th March.

{coming soon, I promise}