The London Motorcycle Show sweeps into London’s ExCeL on February 14, promising three days of the latest machinery, gear - and exciting flat-out flat track racing. Lining up on the purpose-built mini indoor flat track grid will be eight of Britain’s best racers, including 23-time Isle of Man TT winner, John McGuinness, TT lap record holder and British Superbike star Peter Hickman, and a host of otherwell-known motorcycle race stars.

The latest new bikes for 2025 from leading motorcycle manufacturers including BSA, Ducati, Kawasaki, KTM, Honda and Suzuki will also be on display, for riders to sit on, measure up - and admire. Rare classics from the Sammy Miller Motorcycle Museum will also be exhibited at the show for the first time. Models include a multi-cylinder 1957 500cc V8 Moto Guzzi racer, as well as the 1953 ex-factory Norton ‘Kneeler’, ridden by Ray Amm on the way to breaking more than 33 speed records, and an ex-works MZ 125cc GP bike raced by legends Mike Hailwood and three-times 125cc Grand Prix World Champion, Luigi Taveri.

The stage is also set for TV’s most popular motorcyclists, with the ‘The Motorbike Show’s Henry Cole, Allen Millyard and Guy ‘Skid’ Wilson on the Henry Cole Live Stage throughout the event, along with British racing legend Barry Sheene’s former teammate Steve Parrish, hosting proceedings. Attendance record. Globetrotting adventurer Charley Boorman’s Adventure Base Camp stage is returning to the show, with Guinness World Record holders The Sidecar Guys and a range of other experts in attendance to offer adventure riding tips, tricks and inside information.

Nick Sanders, the world’s most experienced ultra-endurance adventure rider will be there too. In a career spanning 44 years, professional adventurer Nick has ridden around the world 11 times, across 168 countries, clocking up one million kilometres. He is planning two major rides in 2025 with a new sponsor to be revealed soon. Iconic Auctioneers are the show’s official auction partner, hosting a sale of motorcycles on Sunday February 16. Lots include celebrity baker Paul Hollywood’s Big Dog Ridgeback chopper, used in the TV series ‘Paul Goes To Hollywood’, a unique 20-strong Yamaha race bike collection and a rare, ‘brand new’ 2005 Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade.

New riding kit, bike accessories, tools and services will also be on offer at the show, while MotoGP’s hot prospect Pedro Acosta will make his UK show debut as guest of honour on Saturday, February 15. Show-goers will be able to meet Acosta and hear stories from inside the paddock, in live on-stage interviews. Well-known motorcycle adventurer and author Sam Manicom (below), will attend the show, where he will be signing copies of his latest book.

As anyone who’s ridden a motorcycle knows, it’s not just the machinery, the ride itself or even where you go that matters. It’s also all about reflecting on the adventure, the people, the chance encounters and cherished memories. Now, veteran motorcycle traveller and author, Sam Manicom, has pulled together a highly readable 400-page book of riders’ memories in a new book, ‘The Moment Collectors, Asia’.

He collected 20 travellers’ tales from what he describes as ‘the world’s largest and most diverse continent’ and, together with hand-drawn images and a handful of photographs, compiled them in one inspiring tome. The stories roar off the pages... As Sam observes in his introduction, some are from hugely experienced world riders, with others from those relatively new to exploring on two wheels. Some authors are relatively well known and have previously documented their own adventures while some are individuals - or couples - writing publicly for the first time.

There’s a foreword from round-the-world motorcyclist Elspeth Beard who notes that it’s the unplanned events that often lead to adventure, in turn quoting the legendary Ted Simon, author of ‘Jupiter’s Travels’, who believes ‘the interruptions are the journey’. And so it proves, starting with motorcycling couple Maria Schumacher and Aidan Walsh, who launch their Indian odyssey after becoming inspired to create their own adventure while visiting the motorcycle show at London ExCeL, for the first time. Their story starts when they land in Delhi with little more than six-month visas, motorcycle helmets - and a plan to buy two locally-produced, second-hand, Pulsar 220 bikes.

Highs and lows. They vividly document both hair-raising and heart-warming experiences as they battle illness, shoddy roads, freezing conditions, altitude sickness, near misses with giant trucks and kindness from strangers. And emerge at the other end, never feeling more alive than in India with its ‘heavenly highs and bottomless lows’. Holding up the other end of the book is Sam himself, with Birgit Schünemann, recalling colourful travels through Vietnam, not astride powerful adventure bikes but rented ‘ladies’ bikes’; 125cc automatic scooters. At $6 a day.