YOU CAN'T please everyone all the time when it comes to the results of polls and votes, but for me this one is just perfect.

Hollywood legend Steve McQueen has been voted the most iconic biker of all time according to a MCN London Motorcycle Show survey.

The 1960s all-action film star took one in every four of the 2,254 votes registered on an Internet site.

McQueen, who died of lung cancer in 1980, saw off a list of motorcycle racing legends, actors and stunt riders in the new year poll.

Second was another departed great, double grand prix world champion and 70s sex symbol Barry Sheene, closely followed by very much still here seven-time MotoGP champion Valentino Rossi.

Daredevil Evel Knievel, famous for his spectacular bone-breaking crashes, was ranked fourth while Marlon Brando, star of one of the quintessential biking films, The Wild One, managed seventh.

Personally I'd have picked Lee Marvin from The Wild One, but Knievel - who is (unsurprisingly) having health problems - definitely brought bikes to mainstream awareness, if only to see if he'd reach the landing ramp in one piece.

Languishing at the back of the table, scoring only two per cent of the votes each, were Mission Impossible actor Tom Cruise and Long Way Round star Ewan McGregor - both well known for their love of riding motorcycles on and off screen.

As well as being a successful racer, McQueen preferred to do many of his own film stunts. For fairly obvious reasons he wasn't allowed to make that famous jump in The Great Escape and Bud Ekins took over, but for most people McQueen is synonymous with both the jump and barbed wire.

The survey is a revealing insight to the biker's mind.

Despite numerous celebrities currently riding motorcycles, a 44-year-old image of McQueen sat on a Triumph is instantly recognisable by many generations, rivalling that of The Beatles on the Abbey Road zebra crossing.

Bike fans should head to the MCN London Motorcycle Show at ExCeL on February 1-4 to see breathtaking stunt action, the very latest new motorcycles, new product launches, hundreds of bike accessories along with a chance to meet celebrity riders and MCN babes.

If you like McQueen and haven't seen On Any Sunday, possibly the best bike film ever made, keep an eye open for it at the show.

Entry costs £13 in advance or £16 on the door. To book in advance, call 0870 7300049 or visit www.londonmotorcycleshow.com.