General Sales Manager Neil, and his better half Mrs Morris attended the 2022 national conference for Honda Motorcycles; here is a little in-sight as to how the event went:
Every year, the fine folk at Honda UK invite noble ladies and gentlemen from across the Great British dealer network to attend the annual dealer conference. For 2022, we holed up at a posh venue (they served still AND sparkling water) in the Midlands to have our wares toasted after what has been a pretty-decent year for all attendees.
Yep, considering all that has been thrown at the UK in 2022….not least Covid, Brexit, US/Chinese trade disputes and Vladimir Putin it has been a bumper 12 months. So what better way to celebrate than by a shindig of modest proportions thrown by those best to throw it.
For 2022, we were proud to accept recognition from Honda UK of our 20 years with the brand. Starting out originally in Morecambe, with forays into Preston and Wigan along the way, we finally set up a permanent and grandiose camp in Blackpool in eyeshot of the Tower and just as proudly dominating the skyline. It’s no mean feat and we aspire to continue our loyal service to the Big H for years to come.
There was plenty of talk about electrification at the conference with plans afoot for some charged machinery coming soon. For those of you at the NEC, you will have seen the new Honda EM1e Scooter with chargeable/removable battery pack. Apparently, there will be more besides for the Honda World.
Don’t worry though as those normally aspirated engines are still very much with us for some years to come. Honda are currently focused on carbon neutrality in the not too distant future to offset the fun of current emissions with some cleaner alternatives added to the range as the years go on.
In between wine and canapes there was the chance to hear from Isle of Man TT Legend John McGuinness proudly showing off his 100th TT Fireblade, 30 of which are being allocated to lucky customers as you read this. McGuinness shared with the audience a new acronym Mrs McGuinness has for him to celebrate his awarding of an MBE in the recent past. We probably shouldn’t share it here, but some of the non-UK participants had to have it explained to them what a ‘Bell End’ is.
The Transalp AND the new Honda Hornet were again being shown off to all incumbents and continue to wow audiences across the country. After their launches in 2022, customer orders are thick and fast for us and that seems to be the same countrywide. The best advice we can give is whatever model you want, order NOW to avoid disappointment.
Lastly, there’s a quick chance to acknowledge that I can still throw some shapes regardless of alcohol consumption and that live music should always feature the whole song and not a Vengaboys style 90 second remix of the best bangers this side of the 1980s.
Looking forward to the 2023 version and the wife enjoyed the afternoon tea. Thanks Honda.
