THE International Motorcycle Show at the NEC Birmingham has to be the most important date in the diary of just about every British biker. And it is on now - until November 14. It really does have something on offer for everyone, writes Simon Nix.

And that involves quite a few people. So far this year there have been 134,487 new motorcycle and moped registrations. Sales this year have rocketed a staggering 30 per cent. Statistics prove that the UK is Europe's fastest growing market.

Now, to top all that, the NEC bike show is unveiling about 100 new bikes, never seen by British riders before, to whet our appetite even more.

Pride of place went to Triumph - the manufacturer that puts a Union Flag on every machine it makes. After investing over £4.5million and two years of hard work, the factory revealed the TT600. The 108bhp bike, which will be available in the spring priced around £6,500, will take on the best middleweights the Japanese can offer. With a claimed top speed of around 160mph, it may even leave its opposition behind.

Talking of top speed, the Kawasaki ZX12R also drew crowds. This is the brand new bike that has been designed to snatch the mantle of the world's fastest production bike from the 200mph Suzuki Hayabusa.

The other sparkling star was the Honda VTR1000 SP-1, the big V-twin that was built for the road but with the race track in mind. Honda is retiring the RC45 this year, so watch out for the thundering VTR in the World Superbikes series next year.

Our five lucky competition winners, who will each receive a pair of entrance tickets, will be among the expected crowds of 200,000 plus to see these and 1,000 other glories at the NEC. Our winners were: Dave Smith, of Giles Road, Littlemore; D. Hunt, of Bradstocks Way, Sutton Courtenay; D. Banham, of Herschel Crescent, Littlemore; Carole Lang, of Lower End, Leafield and A. McLean, of London Road, Headington.

Story date: Wednesday 10 November

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.