It took a trip to court and a good conversation at the Vries town hall, but this weekend motorcycle enthusiasts can still go to the Northern Motor Show. In Eelde, the doors of the auction halls opened this morning to everyone who has something to do with motorcycles.
“It’s nice and busy, the first people were already on the sidewalk at a quarter to ten,” says a happy Fred Maring. The director of the fair has had a few intensive weeks and now looks on with satisfaction as visitors marvel at the Kawasakis, Yamahas and Triumphs on display.
The exhibition floor contains all sorts of things that will make the hearts of motorcycle enthusiasts beat faster. Stalls with motorcycle helmets in all kinds of colors, leather jackets from every conceivable brand and of course motorcycles in all shapes and sizes.
The various exhibitors enjoy all the attention they receive from visitors. “There are many more visitors than I expected from such a regional event,” says Luuk Davids, who sells equipment for adventurous motorcycle tours. “A lot of people come by who want to buy something, so that’s really nice.”
A little further on, members of the Puch Club Nederland are trying to recruit new members, although it is not going smoothly yet. “We are of course an old men’s club, the young people have some different ideas,” says Puch enthusiast Ruud van der Velde. “But we are here for two days, so we will see how it goes.”
In one of the halls, stunt riders give a show and visitors can get their first motorcycle driving lesson. The emissions from the engines will be monitored this year, a condition set by the municipality of Tynaarlo in order to allow the event to go ahead.
Director Maring was at the town hall two weeks ago for the permit application for the motorcycle event. A year earlier, municipal inspectors noticed during the fair that there was a lot of smoke in one of the halls due to exhaust fumes. According to the municipality, there were also too many visitors inside at the same time.
The organization of the fair had to show that it is monitoring both matters more closely this year in order to obtain a permit. That was achieved at the last minute. “We now have counters at the entrance and emissions during the demonstrations are always measured,” says Maring.
The director does not yet dare to predict how many visitors will come this year. “Usually around eight to nine thousand people come. In any case, I see a lot of smiling faces.”