Shiny Side Up 2023 to return to physical events

With Covid-induced disruption slowly retreating into the rear-view mirror, 2023 marks the return of Shiny Side Up. This popular series of free events is a real drawcard for riders, whether at the big Bike Fest days or attending the more intimate Talk Series. If you’ve been in the past you’ll have an idea of how things run, but there are new speakers and new presentations for the coming year.

The open-air Bike Fest events are at Kapiti’s Southward car museum on the 26th of February and (awaiting confirmation) Whangarei’s Kensington Park on March 5th. With an exciting mix of riding demos, talks by motorcycle personalities, tech workshops, competitions and fun entertainment, plus food trucks to keep everyone fed and watered, it’s a great day out.

Some of the key international personalities you can look forward to include the ever-popular suspension guru Dave Moss, Dr Chris Hurren of MotoCAP and renowned motorcycling ‘brain’ Kevin Williams. As before, Dave Moss will be ‘on the tools’, teaching in groups while helping riders set up their bike. Dr Hurren will explain his testing methodology and expose a few interesting results (in between discreetly shopping for samples to take back to his lab at Deakin University). At the same time, Kevin Williams will share some revealing insights about the accepted wisdom around safety.

With eight Talk Series events scheduled, from Invercargill to Auckland, there’s plenty to look forward to. Dave, Chris and Kevin will feature at all of them while Amber Uhrle, AKA Chaotic Blonde, will attend as many as work commitments allow.

Whether you’ve been before or not, the return of Shiny Side Up is a welcome splash of good news for New Zealand’s motorcycle scene. Visit shinysideup.co.nz to get the full line-up of activities, dates and venues.