Newsletter
January 2008
Newsletter
January 2008
Happy New Year
Well al the
new year resolutions will have been made (and probably broken
) now. Mine was to eat more, drink more and work less, that way I knew
it would be relatively easy to keep to them for a while. I’ve just had a dry
week (and yes the pink elephants are crawling all over the ceiling) and won’t
be at the meeting this month due to work commitments, so that’s two broken
already plus I haven’t really eaten any more either. One other one I made that
I can hopefully keep is to get out on the Commando more so time will tell.
MVD944L is undergoing a rebuild at the moment the first in 22 years so far I’ve
been impressed with the state of the motor. I did find however a couple of
hairline cracks in the Crankcases on the bottom Gearbox plate mounting. Nothing
serious and luckily on the outside of the bolt hole (the non oil holding part)
this has obviously been caused by the bolt being slack at some time. A few
years ago I was contemplating a strip down as the bike seemed to be getting
rattly. I by chance checked the engine bolts and found most of them slack.
After tightening them up it felt like a different bike, much quieter and
handled better. What I suppose I’m saying is worth checking the tightness of
the engine & gearbox bolts before the start to a new season. It only takes
10 minutes and could save you in the long run.
I suppose
everyone is making plans and thinking about what motorcycling adventures they
would like to embark on this year, it keeps the boredom away during these cold
and wet winter nights. Remember we have the National in July so keep your
diaries free for that one.
Frostbike Run
Lothians and Borders Classic Club held their annual
Frostbike run on the 6th of January, being a masochist I attended
mounted on the Mk3 Commando and helped by the heated jacket powered by a spare
battery in the tank bag. After the very heavy
snow the previous Friday it was good to see almost clear roads,
except of course the ice, gravel, floods and melting snow! A run of around 60
miles on the roads around the Scottish Borders with a break for a cup of hot
tea from the flask (much needed) and a blether with the guys. Around 30 bikes
took part but mainly non classics (unless you count the old bavarian tractors which
to me are not classic just cheap sensible winter transport) Only two Nortons
which was disappointing an old BSA B40 (I think) and an old ex army Armstrong
(which broke down) and a 72 Falcone which looked very clean. My abiding memory
of the day was the amount of freezing cold surface water running down the roads
constantly spraying my feet, amazingly my Alpinestars boots kept out the water
(but not the cold)
A rare day out but
bloody freezing all the same and the Commando was white with salt when I got home.
This all year round motorcycling is hard. First you spend much longer getting
ready applying various layers of clothing which then restrict your movement and
make it difficult to move around. Then when you come home frozen it takes an
hour to clean the bike so that the next time you open the garage door the bike
is still there and not just a pile of rust.
The Tayside
Classic club forum which I recently joined is becoming quite interesting, one
of the comments about the weather last week got me thinking about epic
motorcycle journeys I’ve had in my formative years because I had no choice (i.e
No car) they included;
Leaving a course in Harrogate at 5pm
on a late September night on my first Commando, Leather jacket, wimpy
waterproof trousers and desert boots completed my riding apparel, up the A1
then the A68 cold but happy, no Edinburgh bypass so through Edinburgh city
centre around half 8 on a Friday night, watching the civilians all dressed up
milling about the streets. The thought a a warm
welcome from the young nurse I was dating at the time kept a smile on my face.
Leaving College in
Going to College on my 6 month old Guzzi Le Mans in the winter, Snow
& Ice, a large part of the way at walking pace with my feet down (Desert
Boots on my feet of course) Got there at 11 (3 hours after I left) freezing.
Left at half 1 before the roads started freezing again.
Going down to College in
These were the ones where I had no
choice there were also a few I done through choice.
A run back from the Iron & Steel
Rally (September 78) in gale force winds on my first Commando, the wind almost
blew me off the bike at the A1 / A 68 junction, hairy all the way and wet with
only a leather jacket to soak up the rain.
The run back from the Nuerton Rally
organised by the French NOC a few years ago, winds that you wouldn’t believe,
being blown across the two carriageways constantly. Total bum clenching stuff
all the way from
The run to the Thistle Rally a few
years ago on a BMW R80 I was running as a winter bike, the blizzard started at
Penicuik and I could hardly see all the way down to the Crook Inn for the snow,
the roads were covered all the way and I kept thinking “why the f**k am I doing
this” then putting the tent up in a blizzard
And of course the classic return
from the end of season do at the Drumtochty a few years ago when complete with
hangovers we ventured out into the deep snow, everybody fell off (except Peter
on the ES2) and so I wasn’t outdone I managed to fall off twice.
If any of you
want to write about your epic rides please forward me
the story, all contributions accepted!
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The Small Print
The views and opinions contained within this
publication are not necessarily those of the NOC or of the branch but are
probably mine as I wrote it.
No one accepts any responsibility for
anything, if you have a good time don't say I didn't warn you.
Gino Rondelli