Moto Salon '99. Parc Floral, Bois de Vincennes, Paris
The theme for the exhibition was 'Le Plus' or 'The Most' ! An attempt to gather the most exceptional two-wheelers of the century under a single roof, and they wanted a Quasar to represent the most innovative British design of the century!
When originally invited to exhibit my Quasar in Paris in December I had some misgivings. It could snow, or rain, and the Quasar would get there looking pretty grubby, I could get lost on Paris's notorious 'periphique' ring road ... but when Hilary wistfully declared that no-one had ever taken her to Paris before, (and the organisers bribed me with offers of hotel accommodation and all expenses paid), I knew that I had no choice but to do the decent thing and uphold the reputation of my country.
There followed six weeks of frantic construction of a trailer robust enough to manage the substantial dimensions and weight, (in motorcycle terms at least), of the Quasar, a task completed just one day before we were due to depart. Thus December 2nd saw us heading for Dover on a trip that was to be not entirely uneventful, and definitely in the best FF touring traditions !
Suffice to say we arrived at the Bois Vincennes late on Thursday night and found the Hotel, which was in a back street some 30mins walk from the exhibition centre, only to find that the proprietor spoke not a word of English and that there was no parking to be found in the area. We were obliged to leave the Quasar, still loaded on it's trailer, parked in the square opposite Chateau Vincennes overnight. We were enormously relieved to find it still there in the morning, not nicked, or even set alight during the night, and delivered it to the security of the exhibition centre forthwith.
The enthusiasm with which the Quasar was received by the organisers was most gratifying, and it was immediately seized by the publishing company that was sponsoring the event and dragged off for an lengthy session of studio photography. We hung around watching everyone else setting up trade stalls and installing an extensive collection of classic machinery until it was time to shift the Quasar to it's display position in pride of place at the entrance to the 'Les plus..' exhibition.
There were one or two other interesting machines in evidence, including a german mono-wheel, a 1929 hub-centre-steered 'Majestic' and a 'Monotrace' looking like an early ancester of the Eco-mobile with it's car-like accommodation and outriggers. Most interesting of the lot was the NSU 'Flying Hammock' which in 1955/56 took fifty-four world motorcycle land speed records. This tear-drop shaped streamliner managed 150 mph whilst powered by a humble 1950s 125cc single-cylinder engine, truly an ultimate Feet-First two-wheeler.
The show also included an extensive collection of owners clubs, trade stands and auto-jumble. I had no idea that classic bikes were such big business in France. There was even one other English exhibitor, Robert White, who was showing off a couple of Brough Superiors.
We were released for the weekend to do the usual tourist bit, visiting the Eiffel Tower, Montmartre, Isle de la Cite and so on, plus loads and loads of expensive shops, (just to give Hilary a break from the bike stuff !). To our surprise we found that most of Paris was plastered with posters for the 'Moto Salon' show.
During these expeditions it was immediately clear that the Parisiennes taste for motorcycling is quite different to our own. At least two-thirds of the two-wheelers in evidence were scooters with many fitted with 'tabards' to keep the rider dry in inclement weather. It seems somewhat baffling that these devices aren't adopted in the UK. Could it be that the Brits are even more concerned about their 'Chic-rating' than the French ?
Returning to the exhibition on Sunday evening we found the area swamped with visitors bikes, the event was obviously going well. On bumping into the organisers representative we were advised that I was to be interviewed for TV in about half an hours time, and presented with a typed A4 sheet of questions for the interview. These covered topics such as the development and history of the Quasar, the story of my ownership of this example, what other bikes I owned, what were the advantages of the Quasar, how I was able to maintain it etc., etc. etc. all in French. Whilst dreading the prospect of having to put over a coherent explanation of what it was all about to a foreign audience, I was considerably relieved to discover that that I could conduct my half of the interview in English and that they'd sub-title it later.
As the show ended on Sunday night a selection of participants and organisers formed a queue to take turns in climbing into the Quasar to try it out for size, their impressions seemed uniformly favourable, (but then they weren't wearing helmets). I was repeatedly asked whether it actually worked, whether the battery was OK etc. so I was obliged to demonstrate with an unnecessarily noisy exit to the car park, honour was upheld.
We decided to skip breakfast in the morning in favour of making a really early start back to Dover. We loaded the Quasar back onto it's transporter in the dark, ready to tow it away at the crack of dawn the next morning. Inevitably, on arriving at the exhibition centre early Monday morning we were refused access until 8am, we sat in the car, freezing and with no breakfast, until 8am, hitched up the trailer and launched ourselves heroically into the Paris rush-hour traffic.
After several un-planned diversions, we eventually found ourselves on the road to Calais, and arrived at the Hover port in good time to enjoy a portion of chips in the cafe before finding out that the Hovercraft had been cancelled due to bad weather. We were diverted to the Sea-Cat from Boulogne, (itself no joy in rough weather), and provided with a route map that had us driving around the port area for some time before discovering the road out. As we drove to Boulogne, cursing the inaccurate directions, other English people who recognised the Quasar from the Hoverport latched on behind in the mistaken belief that I might know where I was going. (The phrase 'Blind leading the Blind' was never far from my thoughts). Happily we slipped into Boulogne from an unexpected quarter, found the SeaCat terminal and were waved straight on board. Thus neatly bypassing the 'used-to-be-duty-free' shop, Bugger !
Once we were on board we were joined by a couple who had followed us from Calais in their camper van. As soon as we left harbour she started throwing up in a sick bag beside us, muttering throughout, 'I'm all right now, I'll be all right now, I'm ....'. Nice. The crossing was a little lively and we were both relieved to get off the damn boat, head back home to Hastings, ('Popular with Visitors since 1066' is our motto).
Would we return for the year 2000 Moto Salon ? I don't know, but we were invited to participate in a speed week-end at the Linas race track at Montlhery, just south of Paris, at the end of May - could be interesting !
Last updated 27th Nov. 2003