golden wing - 2007 autumn
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Golden Wing Autumn 2007.qxp 28/10/2007 13:11 Page 1
Golden Wing Autumn 2007.qxp 28/10/2007 13:11 Page 2
AUTUMN 2007 1
When Blade Group was first created by
owner Mike Flanagan with the launch of an
Audi/Volkswagen business in Gloucester
some fifteen years ago, little was it realised
that today there would be more motorcycle
dealerships in the Group than there are car
dealerships.
The motorcycle element of the business
first came to fruition around five years ago
when Mike, who is a lifelong motorcycle
enthusiast, had the opportunity to acquire
Abingdon Honda. Since then the motorcycle
‘stable’ has been joined by Triumph, Suzuki,
Harley-Davidson and Buell. The philosophy
of the Group is one of excellent products
associated to excellent customer service
from bike enthusiasts who care about and
understand their customer’s needs and
wants.
Earlier this year a second Honda
dealership was added to the Group in
Bennett Road, Reading. The town had cried
out for a Honda Motorcycle dealership and
after many months of planning Honda
Reading Motorcycles was born. Something
of a wolf in a lamb’s clothing the inside of
this 21st century showroom has to be seen
to be believed.
The two teams at Abingdon and Reading
work closely together under the stewardship
of Darren Neal (who himself races a Honda
CBR1000RR Fireblade) and Stuart Yardley.
Both carry the entire range of Honda
Motorcycles and if the exact model that you
want to test ride isn’t available at one, they’ll
arrange to get it from the other for you. Both
also have state of the art workshops, MOT
facilities and extensive parts and
accessories shops.
Reading Honda Motorcycles and
Abingdon Honda – probably the best Honda
showrooms in the country!
PROBABLY THE BEST HONDA SHOWROOMS IN THE COUNTRY!
Honda Owners ClubANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
I hereby give notice that the 2007 Annual General Meeting of the Honda
Owners Club (GB) will be held on Sunday 4th November 2007 at
DDoonnnniinnggttoonn PPaarrkk RRaaccee CCiirrccuuiitt
CCaassttllee DDoonniinnggttoonn
DDeerrbbyy
DDEE7744 22RRPP
Commencing at 11.00 a.m.
WWiitthh SSppeecciiaall GGuueesstt RRoonn HHaassllaamm
All nominations for the Committee posts or Resolutions to be considered
must be made in writing to the General Secretary
Nominations for Committee positions must include a proposer and seconder.
Andy “Dibble” YoungHonda Owners Club (GB) Chairman
Golden Wing Autumn 2007.qxp 28/10/2007 13:11 Page 1
2 AUTUMN 2007
Autumn 2007, Volume 45 No. 3
Editor / DesignerTim Lee
editor@hoc.org.uk
HOConsumer EditorMark Clargo
hoconsumer@hoc.org.uk
Diary Co-ordinatorAndy Stryczko
biged@hoc.org.uk
Advertising Co-ordinatorErica Gassor
advertising@hoc.org.uk
Thanks to all contributors
All feedback regarding the content and delivery of Golden Wing should be addressed to The Editor at the
address below or e-mailed to: editor@hoc.org.uk.
Golden WingHonda Owners Club (GB)
Units 1B & 5BKemps Quay Industrial Park
Quayside RoadSouthampton
SO18 1ADTel: 023 8022 6045
Web Page: www.hoc.org.uk
Winter IssueCopy Date 1st December 2007
Published by end of December 2007
Printing & Distribution by:LPC Printing Ltd
Hardley Industrial EstateHythe,Southampton
Tel: 023 8084 6334
© Honda Owners Club (GB) 2007
We believe the contents of Golden Wing to
be correct at the time of publication. The
Honda Owners Club (GB) cannot be held
responsible for any errors, omissions, or
for subsequent changes to details given in
this publication or for the consequence of
any reliance on the information.
The views expressed in this publication
are not necessarily those of the Honda
Owners Club (GB) or the Executive
Committee
ARTICLES
Dibble Rattle’s On . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
Editor Says . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5
Membership Matters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
Kicking Back . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
Classic Corner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12
Down Your Way . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16
Reports from: Bedfordshire, Eastern, East
Midlands, Gloucestershire, Lakes & Coast,
Manx Offshore, NESS, North London,
Northants & MK, Northumbria, Oxford, Solent,
South Wales, Three Shires, West London,
West Yorks, Wilts,
Soapbox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .62
Lure of France . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .64
Honda Festival Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . .68
Racing Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .70
HOConsumer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .71
Members Free Ads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .74
Members Discounts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .76
PLACES TO GO & THINGS TO DO
Devon & Somerset Camping Weekend .14
Diary Dates centre pages
FRONT COVER
Phil Bell on John Jeffery's original 1987
CBR600 F at Colwyn Bay.
The CBR 600 is 20 this year.
Golden Wing Autumn 2007.qxp 28/10/2007 13:11 Page 2
AUTUMN 2007 3
BEEN IN TOUCH YET? If you want to be a part of this just send
me an email to the address at the top. I willlet you know the news as it comes to usregardless of whether you are at a branch ornot
IMPORTANT NEWS
AGM DATE CHANGENOW THE 4TH NOVEMBERThe reason is we have again got the
support of Honda UK for our meeting whichthis year will be at Donnington Park. We willhave the business meeting followed byrefreshments and a chance to visit themuseum followed by a chat by Ron Haslamwith a chance for you to ask him questionsand share some memories no doubt.
A polite request; if you are coming to theAGM that you drop me a line SOON so wecan gauge the catering front appropriately.
THE GOOD NEWSWe now have a new set of T shirts
available and some of you will have seenthese going about at recent events. To getyours just drop me a line and we can sortthem out for you.
My missus; Di; has volunteered to assistwith getting the regalia stuff moving againand we will be introducing a limited range atreasonable prices over the next few months.I also have another volunteer at theNorthants branch to help on this so weshould be able to get along to at least themain events with stock.
I will at this point express thanks toJustin who has been doing the regalia nowfor the past few years.
MORE VERY GOOD NEWSThe 5th of August.saw our first Honda
Festival at Gaydon. The show wassupported by over 500 attendees whoenjoyed the scorching weather. Due to erroron the part of the museum we were a littlecramped into the rear of the venue but stillmanaged to run the test rides people askedfor (sorry about no Pan). We had a limitedclassic show of bikes but some very fineexamples they were. The day was roundedoff with a series of short seminars by safetyand Honda related groups.
As a result of Erica and Marks efforts,this year’s show was the first ever to show abig plus to club funds, as well as provide anevent to still be developed. Welcome tothose who came, saw, and have now joinedthe club.
I would ask however, that in future, if youare attending or want to attend such anevent and have a bike that might be worthyof others seeing, then please contact theorganisers beforehand so we can get you tothe arena. This years display of machineswas sadly mostly in the bike park as you didnot contact Erica or Mark beforehand.
EVEN MORE GOOD NEWSThanks to the efforts of many of you we
are now supporting Air Ambulances all overthe country and in the past few weeks alonewe have managed to raise and donate wellover £12,000 to these fantastic people. Ihope sincerely to never have to use thembut really support what they do and the livesthey affect. That is in effect 12 flying hoursfully supported! Which does not sound a lotbut it is really worth much to many
cont.........
CCCCHHAAIIRRMMAANNHHAAIIRRMMAANN DDDDIIBBBBLLEEIIBBBBLLEE RRRRAATTTTLLEEAATTTTLLEE ’’’’SSSS OOOONNNN!!!!from Andy “Dibble” Young - Club Chairman
News as it happens? Join News as it happens? Join Andy’Andy’s email list by sending an email tos email list by sending an email to
chairman@hoc.org.ukchairman@hoc.org.uk
Golden Wing Autumn 2007.qxp 28/10/2007 13:11 Page 3
4
NEC
We have agreed to be at the NEC againthis year in its new set up arrangement ofhalls. In the past we have struggled forstaffing, but this year we have just aboutcovered the stand for the ten days. Howeveranyone else will be welcome and we have arare opportunity to assist on the mainHonda stand as they would like a couple ofpeople each day to be there to speak withpeople about the machines they ride andthe pros and cons of them. Obviously,Honda want really enthusiastic experiencedriders, with a loyalty to the brand. Pleasecontact Rona Bell of the West Coast Ridersbranch who is organising the event staffing.
Ride on but most of all ride safe
Dibble
COMMUNICACOMMUNICATETEDo you need to get something in Golden
Wing, and on the website, and in theMonthly Mail Out all at once. Do it with one e-mail sent to;
new@hoc.org.uknew@hoc.org.uk
Your message will automatically go to;
TIM (Golden WTIM (Golden Wing Editor)ing Editor)STRITCHYSTRITCHY (Big Ed, W(Big Ed, Webmaster)ebmaster)
MARK (General Secretary)MARK (General Secretary)
PresidentTrevor Thompson
Vice PresidentsDave Barton,Tony Eldridge,Graham Gull
ChairmanAndy ‘Dibble’ Young
1 Severn Way, Kettering,Northants. NN16 9H
�� 01536 412086 � chairman@hoc.org.uk
General SecretaryMark Clargo
9 Hendred Way, Abingdon Oxon OX14 2AN�� 01235 523483 � hoconsumer@hoc.org.uk
Membership SecretaryGraham Gull
61 Vicarage Road, Ware SG12 7BE� membership@hoc.org.uk
Saddle Sore Shield Co-ordinatorStephen Davenport
�� 07968 810435 � saddlesore@hoc.org.uk
Display Materials Co-ordinatorChris Wright
16 Auckland Road, Mexborough S64 0AN�� 01709 582740 � display@hoc.org.uk
Regalia Co-ordinatorDi Young
1 Severn Way, Kettering,Northants. NN16 9H
�� 01536 412086 � chairman@hoc.org.uk
Acting TreasurerRuth Wingrove,
38 Bower Street, Bedford MK40 3RE.� treasurer@hoc.org.uk
Advertising Co-ordinatorErica Gassor,
�� 07799 49 2235 � advertising@hoc.org.uk
WebmasterAndy (Stritchy) Stryczko
38 Bower Street, Bedford MK40 3RE� biged@hoc.org.uk
BMF Liaison OfficerJim Peel-Cross
11 The Green, Wilcot, Pewsey, Wilts. SN9 5NN�� 01672 563450
Classic SecretaryDave Barton
53 Northlands Road, TottonSouthampton. S040 3HA
AUTUMN 2007
Golden Wing Autumn 2007.qxp 28/10/2007 13:11 Page 4
AUTUMN 2007 5
EEEEDDIITTOORRDDIITTOORR SSSSAAYYSSAAYYSS ........I hope you enjoy this issue, as it very
nearly didn’t make it. Having previouslynarrated the ongoing saga with my house(we wont go there), and last issue havingtold everyone about the troubles with mybike, I though that this issue I would tell youabout the problems with mycomputer………On second thoughts, thatwould be way too boring, so I will just say Inow have a new printer, a replacementgraphics card and a monitor which works!
However, what I don’t have is very muchin the way of content. I mean I have enoughfor this issue, but that’s it then.
Over the years, I have been luckyenough to have enjoyed enthusiasticcontributions from many of you, but of latethis seems to have dried up, along withphotos for the front cover. In this issue wewere down to a single letter for KickingBack. This wouldn’t be too bad if there werehoards or you joining in the website forum,but whilst it is growing, the number ofregular members is tiny in comparison withthe membership as a whole.
So please, do send in letters, and if youfancy putting pen to paper and writing anarticle I would be very happy to receive it.Please don’t think you have to be a buddingauthor or journalist either, just have a go;we can ammend if necessary.
Now for the technical bit: Please take pictures for the front cover
with the highest quality setting you have onyour camera. When you come to email thepicture it should be at least 250kb in size,
preferably over1mb. If you endup with a hugefile, such as6mb or more,don’t worry,you have justmade my joba whole loteasier.
W h e nyou take thep i c t u r e ,turn thecamera on its side soyou take an up and down portrait photorather than a side to side landscape. This isessential as I need room at the top for theGolden Wing title, and room at the bottomfor the Issue number. You would not believehow many good front cover pictures I havebeen unable to use because there is nospace top and bottom.
When sending articles, using Word orWorks makes life easier, andWord willcorrect most mistakes as you go. Butplease, please, please, send photos for thearticle or report as separate attachments,not pasted into the document itself.
To finish, I hope to see you all at theAGM for what I am sure will be anothersuperb meeting courtesy of Honda UK.
Keep it tidy,
Tim
HOC CALENDERS AVAILABLE SOON
Full colour A3 sized calendar with pictures of members and events from the HOC year.
An ideal Christmas present for those members who seem to already have everything
Buy at the NEC for £5.99 (excl p&p)
Mail order for £7.99 (incl p&p)
Buy from the website for £8.50
For mail order enquiries please contact calendar@hoc.org.uk
or telephone 01438 357398
Golden Wing Autumn 2007.qxp 28/10/2007 13:11 Page 5
6 AUTUMN 2007
MMMMEEMMBBEERRSSHHIIPPEEMMBBEERRSSHHIIPP MMMMAATTTTEERRSSAATTTTEERRSS ............WELCOME
Welcome to all our new members who
have joined us recently including at various
shows we have attended. I hope that you
join in with club activities to get the most out
of your membership. I know that some of
you have already been along to your local
branch, and have received a warm
welcome.
MOVING?Don’t forget if you move, let me know,
and no other club official, as I keep the
address files up to date, (You can write or
send an email). We get several copies of
each magazine returned by Royal Mail each
issue so don’t let it be YOU who we lose
contact with.
DIRECT DEBITWe have now had the system set up and
in use for over a year now and a lot of
members are signing up. When you receive
a renewal form, all you need to do is let me
have your bank details and we will do the
rest. You won’t have to worry then about
missing a copy of your ‘Golden Wing’.
ANOTHER LIFERCongratulations to Geoff Moore of
Southend on Sea, whose trusty CX500 has
now over 100,000 miles on the clock, for
achieving 25 years membership and so
receiving Life Membership. Many of you
who organize events will know that when
you are beginning to pack up, Geoff will
arrive!
Graham Gull
Membership SecretaryGraham Gull
61 Vicarage RoadWare SG12 7BE
� membership@hoc.org.uk
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aaaaddddddddrrrreeeessssssss ddddeeeettttaaaaiiii llllssssttttoooo tttthhhheeee
MMMMeeeemmmmbbbbeeeerrrrsssshhhhiiiippppSSSSeeeeccccrrrreeeettttaaaarrrryyyy,,,,
nnnnooootttt ttttoooo GGGGoooollllddddeeeennnn WWWWiiiinnnngggg....
TTTThhhhaaaannnnkkkkssss .... .... .... ....EEEEDDDD
CCCCOOOONNNNGGGGRRRRAAAATTTTUUUULLLLAAAATTTTIIIIOOOONNNNSSSS22225555 YYYYEEEEAAAARRRRSSSS
NNNNEEEEWWWW LLLL IIII FFFFEEEE MMMMEEEEMMMMBBBBEEEERRRR
GGGGRRRRAAAAHHHHAAAAMMMM SSSSPPPPIIII LLLLLLLLEEEERRRR
Congratulations to Geoff Mooreof Southend on Sea, who
achieves 25 years membershipand qualifies for honorary
membership.
Golden Wing Autumn 2007.qxp 28/10/2007 13:11 Page 6
AUTUMN 2007 7
OXFORD RALLY
Rain rain rain! floods; well what a start
for the rally. Don't think anybody will come in
this weather, better go just in case
somebody turns up!!! I do not think so.
Got there at 12.30pm sat in the bar, nice
and dry. Hang on what is that? it sounds like
a motorbike. Yes two riders, what heroes
they have made it through the rains. Mick
and Keith from Wilts paddled in through the
door like two drowned rats.
Still torrential rain! an hour later in came
Barbara and Alan from Solent, from then on
more riders arrived and they kept coming.
Later Graham arrived looking slightly shell
shocked.
By now roads were being closed off
making it harder to get through because of
serious flooding. Graham had to venture out
again to find Jax who was caught in a long
queue and could not get through. He found
her and was able to guide her through side
roads.What a hero.
Well now we have some campers we
had to erect the hospitality tent so out went
our brave souls in the teeming rain,
Mark,Jimmy,Julie,Alan and Dave. Our
visitors also were out doing the same.
7pm now in the pub for the evening
feeling a lot drier,so let's have some beer.!
Okay let's order some food say we, but oh
no a power cut. That put paid to that, and
there weren’t even any sandwiches as we
couldn't get the bread defrosted!!!!!!
Some one has to go out in the rain, who
will do it? hooray for Jimmy who is going to
brave the storm to get fish and chips; don't
all shout at once.! So there we all were
sitting in the candle light for the evening, the
power returned about 11.30pm. That put
paid to our quiz nite.
During the evening, many people who
were stranded came in looking for B&B.
Saturday morning and it’s still raining so
no ride out today. Some braved the
elements, but did not stay out too long. But
what's this still more campers arriving telling
their tales of how bad the conditions were.
Lunch time the SUN showed it's face but
not for long though. At least the rain kept off
for our BBQ.
In the evening we were entertained by
Chris Odey who kept us all dancing so we
forgot about the weather. Lucky he got
through the floods.
Sunday morning the sun is out drying the
tents what luck. To all you brave souls who
made it through and those who got so far
and had to turn back we say thank you for
your efforts. We think those of you here
enjoyed the week end at least we hope you
did.We thank you all for coming, shows what
a great spirit there is in the HOC. Love you
all. Got to go now and start planning for next
year.
Ride safe and upright.
Jimmy & Betty
KKKKIICCKKIINNGGIICCKKIINNGG BBBBAACCKKAACCKK ................Something to Say - Say it here
Kicking BackKicking BackLetters for the next issue need to
arrive by
1st December 2007
E-mail to editor@hoc.org.uk
or post to:
Golden Wing,
Units 1B & 5BKemps Quay Industrial Park
Southampton. SO18 1AD
Golden Wing Autumn 2007.qxp 28/10/2007 13:11 Page 7
8 AUTUMN 2007
"SWEET DREAMS"
That's what you'll be having once you
know all about the fantastic Honda
Supercentre that's recently opened in the
heart of Derbyshire!
It really has been a long time coming,
but the Motorcycle world has at long last
caught up with the car world... Gone are the
days of the tiny oily showrooms that you can
hardly walk in - let alone try a bike for size
for fear of knocking another one over!
B & M Honda opened it's doors to the
public earlier this year. Since then, the word
has rapidly spread amongst the biking
community about this all new experience -
particularly the sheer size of the place and
indeed the superb quality of the showroom.
Honda UK has played a major role in the
development of the site, which benefits from
the brand new Honda branding and
corporate image. Basically, Honda wanted
everybody who walked through the doors of
the new B & M Honda Supercentre to
experience the 'wow factor'.
"The reaction has been astounding" said
dealer principal and founder director Dave
Munt, who has worked in the motor industry
all his life. "We're absolutely delighted with
the response - exactly as we'd hoped and
people genuinely seem to appreciate what
we've achieved here" Dave concluded.
OPEN WEEKEND :
29 TH AND 30TH SEPTEMBER.
MEET JOHNNY REA!!
If you're interested to find out more
about the all new B & M Honda
Supercentre, then this open weekend
presents you with the prefect opportunity do
exactly that! Go along and find out what they
have on offer.
Everything you'd expect from an open
weekend – amazing deals on bikes,
clothing, accessories etc… and of course an
extended demonstrator range so you can try
as many models as you like, as many times
as you like! All you need is your motorcycle
license and another form of ID. Oh, and
you'll get to meet the talented Factory
Honda rider Johnny Rea!
MOTORCYCLE TOURS
If you've ever fancied a tour on your
motorcycle, either around the UK of further
a field to the Alps , for example, then B & M
Honda is the place to contact. Earlier this
year, they ran two tours - the Alps on 26th
May and Scotland on 21st July. Everyone
had a superb time and there are now more
tours in the pipeline for next year. Find out
more on their website at
www.bmhonda.co.uk
or pop down and enquire in store.
TO CONCLUDE
When all's said and done, the whole
ethos at B & M Honda is to provide the best
possible service in the industry. Only used
bikes of the highest quality are on offer –
you'll find no lemons - and the clothing
brands are top notch. The staff are
enthusiastic and willing, and the whole
buying experience is one that leaves you
with a smile. Once you've bought from B &
M, you'll find yourself magnetised to the
place, and very likely to keep popping back
for no real reason whatsoever! Or as one
happy customer said, " just for a chat and a
burger…"
If you're local to B & M Honda in
Derbyshire and haven't yet been down, it
really is worth a look! If you're from further a
field, Derbyshire has some incredible roads
and amazing viewpoints, so why not make B
& M your destination one weekend as they
will be able to give you an itinerary to make
the best of a weekend in the peaks!
B & M HONDA
Golden Wing Autumn 2007.qxp 28/10/2007 13:11 Page 8
Golden Wing Autumn 2007.qxp 28/10/2007 13:11 Page 9
Devon and Somerset H.O.C. Weekend
SANDY GLADE HOLIDAY PARK
BURNHAM ON SEA, SOMERSET
2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, May 2008
BOOKING FORM
Name: ____________________
Address: ____________________
____________________
Phone: ____________________
Price £100 for a caravan that sleeps up to 6
Please make cheques payable to:John Fowler Holidays
Send to : Pat Jennings, John Fowler Holidays
Marlborough Road, Ilfracombe, Devon EX34 8PF
No later than February 29th 2008
WE LOOK FORWARD TO MEETING YOU
Golden Wing Autumn 2007.qxp 28/10/2007 13:11 Page 10
Whether you are looking for a relaxing
holiday in a beautiful area of Germany, a stop
over on the way to other areas of Germany or
Eastern Europe, try Vine Cottage.
Nestled in wooded countryside just three
miles from Wissen, this pretty cottage hotel
offers bikers a warm and friendly welcome in
lovely surroundings.
Whether you fancy riding some lovely
roads on the bike, taking a gentle walk around
the area or catching a train from Wissen to
one of the major Germany’s historic cities,
there is lots to do and see.
Vine Cottage is only 54 miles from the
Nurburgring. The ride is beautiful - through
Linz (a medieval walled town), over the Rhein
by ferry and then up the picturesque Ahr
Valley, one of the Red wine producing areas
of Germany. A great ride that takes approx 1
1/4 hours and then the fun of riding
Nurburgring when you get there!
With the Saxonring only a day’s ride away,
Vine Cottage is an ideal stopover whether
you are going into Europe to see the bike
racing or just looking for a relaxing holiday
The house has four bedrooms, all with
ensuite shower and toilet. The Family room
consists of two rooms: a large double bedded
room and a separate childrens room with
bunkbeds.
The old "family" room, where once the
whole family would have slept, now has a
kingsized handcarved bed and probably
looks as it was 200 years ago, with the
original oakfloor and it's beamed walls and
ceilings, ideal for that romantic break.
We look forward to welcoming you, and
for those with GPS the co-ordinates for Vine
Cottage are N 50 46765 E 07 42349.
VINE COTTAGE
Golden Wing Autumn 2007.qxp 28/10/2007 13:11 Page 11
12 AUTUMN 2007
In the last magazine I talked aboutthe release of the “New Generation”Honda water cooled in line fours. TheCBR600F in June 1987 and then theCBR1000F in November at the NECshow. The CBR1000F replaced theCB900F that had been in production forsix years.
The CBR1000F and its smallerbrother the CBR600F were the firstproduction machines to be fitted withthe unique wrap around body designs togive the rider total isolation from the
distractions of wind, noise anddiscomfort. This allowed you toconcentrate on the sheer enjoyment ofthe ride and speed. The CBR1000F hadthe most powerful engine in its class andfrom 4,000 rpm gave you loads oftorque. All this meant that this SportsTouring machine provided sufficientstaying power for those long all dayrides, and would go on and on
Honda gave the CBR1000F 132ps, anincrease in 37ps over the CB900F. Thisincredible (sorry officer Dibble)increase in power has been produced byrefining the engine with improvementsto the intake, combustion and exhaustefficiency; taking the shortest,straightest and least restrictive pathpossible.
CBR1000F
1987
Golden Wing Autumn 2007.qxp 28/10/2007 13:12 Page 12
AUTUMN 2007 13
The engine size, weight anddistribution played an important part inthe advances made. The width of theengine in particular was kept to aminimum by slimming the distancebetween the cylinder sleeves and watercooling, and the alternator was mountedbehind the cylinder block. Trimming andweight saving in the engine meant that abalancer shaft was fitted to eliminatethe secondary vibration, giving thesmoothest possible power delivery at allengine speeds. The engine also carriedaluminium water and oil radiators toensure that the engine stays cool whenthe going gets hot! Carburetion wasprovided by four 38.5mm CV carbs,giving a clean instant response fromanywhere in the rev range.
As we know, power is only a part ofthe performance picture. The balanceand handling also have a large part toplay in the overall feel of the machine,and with Sports Tourers and SuperSports this is even more so.. To ensurethat the CBR1000F achieved the elusivebalance of handling and performance,the frame was a lightweight box sectiondiamond configuration that surrounded
the engineand providedextra rigidityand strengthin handling.
The Pro –Link rears u s p e n s i o nhad beenredesigned togive evenbetter feel tothe road, andthe 41mmfront forkswere fittedwith theHonda TRACanti – divesystem to
ensure the best handling for a SuperSport. Braking was provided by twindouble piston callipers for the front withsintered metal pads and single disc rear.
Dry weight was 222kg (489.4 lbs)compared with the naked CB900F 242kg (533.5 lbs)
Which meant that Honda haveproduced a full fairing machine withover 30% more power that weighed 40lbs less than the machine that itreplaced. Anyone who owned a CB900Fwill tell you that it was an amazing streetfighter. So Honda have gone back to the“Think Tank” and produced a perfectSuper Sport touring motorcycle.
Golden Wing Autumn 2007.qxp 28/10/2007 13:12 Page 13
14 AUTUMN 2007
The CBR1000F will average
40 to 50 mpg with a fuel
capacity of 21 litres (4.6 gal),
it gave you a range of 200
miles without stopping.
This enabled you to cover
500 or 600 miles a day
with ease, making the
CBR1000F a true “Super
Bike”. We know that the
CBR1000F has been
replaced by the “Blackbird”.
So now we can all learn to fly
Let the Good Times Roll
Dave BartonClassic Secretary
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16 AUTUMN 2007
DDDDOOWWNNOOWWNN YYYYOOUURROOUURR WWWWAAYYAAYYReports from the Branches
What a summer that was eh! Not that it
felt like it, wading through 12+ inches of
water outside Chipping Norton on the way to
the Oxford rally!
Despite all that, members from Beds
branch have attended several of the other
branch rallies this year, and I think I can say,
have thoroughly enjoyed all of them. Our
thanks to all the various organisers for their
efforts. We will also be at the National Rally
in Foley next week (at the time of writing).
Judging by Stritchy’s premonitions of
attendance for this years rally, we’d best
contact shell and BP to draft additional fuel
supplies into the area, and we’ll be needing
an artic to deliver the rally shirts! Can’t wait
to see the write-up!
Since the last “Wing” we have voted to
stay at The Chequers for the immediate
future on Wednesday’s so I can safely say
that any visitors can find us there from 8pm
if they feel so inclined to “check us out”. I’m
pleased to say that there has been an
increase in the number of new members
coming to our meetings over the last few
weeks, and hey, some of them even come
back!
Strangely, the last few runs of the year
have been the better attended after a slow
start in the spring & early summer, despite
most of the early runs having missed the
worst of the weather. We had over 20 bikes
for the run to the Honda day at Gaydon
motor museum on what turned out to be a
cracking day, both weather and
entertainment wise. If we can start next year
the way this year seems to be closing, it’s
looking good.
This will be my last piece as Beds
branch secretary as I’m stepping down at
our AGM in November.
It’s way past time for
someone else to have a
go in any case! I’d like
to thanks all those who
have given me their
support over the last
seven or so years and
helped make Beds the
branch it is.
See you around
Graham
BEDFORDSHIRESecretary: Graham Seymour - 01438 357398
Gathering for the Gaydon run at The Chequers
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18 AUTUMN 2007
The few active Eastern Branch members
have been getting out and about on their
bikes, despite the wettest summer on
record.
In June Graham, Sue, Lorrie and Martin
enjoyed good weather on a run to Whitby.
Martin and
myself endured
wind and driving
rain on the Tan
Hill run, finishing
off in bright
sunshine on the
r i d e
home.Graham had an acute attack of
tightness on a run with Martin and Lorrie to
Skipton Castle. The attack was so bad he
found himself unable to pay the entry fee
into the Castle. They had to make do with a
visit to the Skipton Castle public house
instead!
I attended the Lincoln Bike Fest
organised by Wolds Bikers. Luckily the
weather for this one-day event was
excellent this year and the turn out very
good. This event deserves to go from
strength to strength, held
as it is at the excellent
location of Brayford Pool
in the heart of the city.
On the 8th of July
Martin had a ride down
to the Vintage
Japanese Owners
show at Uttoxeter.
The same day
Graham and I met
up with the East
Midland branch of
the IMTC
( I n t e r n a t i o n a l
Motorcyclist Tour
Club) at Caenby
Corner on the
A15, for a run to
the Great
Central Railway
near Loughborough. This
proved an excellent destination for a run,
even for a non-train buff like me. Graham
particularly enjoyed the guided tour of the
engineering workshops.
Graham discovered Lincolnshire does
have hills on a very wet ride with Martin and
me to the Aviation Heritage Centre at East
Kirkby. cont........
Secretary: John Hewson - 01469 560306EASTERN
Graham & Martin at Whitby
Tan Hill
Lorrie, Sue & Graham at Whitby
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AUTUMN 2007 19
Graham & Lorrie at the ‘Castle’
Graham & Martin at the ‘Castle’
Great Central Railway
Custom bike at Lincoln bike fest
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20 AUTUMN 2007
It is a most thought provoking
destination, you can’t help but reflect on the
bravery of the thousands of young men who
went out night after night on bombing
missions, when they new their chance of
survival was very slim. It is worth the £5
entry fee to hear and feel the roar of the
Lancaster’s four Merlin engines.
The Eastern Branch share our third
Thursday of the month meeting place, the
Black Bull Inn at Brigg, with WIMA
(Women’s International Motorcycle
Association). On a number of occasions
they have took pity on our small turnout and
invited us to accompany them on runs. So I
took them up on their kind offer and enjoyed
a spirited run out to Rutland Water. They
had a good turn out for the run and it was
one of the few times I had been on a run out
when the drop off system worked faultlessly.
Barton Bike Night enjoyed good weather
this year and this ever-popular
event attracted over 8000 visitors.
Martin and I enjoyed a good
ride down to the Honda Festival at
the Heritage Motor museum at
Gaydon, travelling down some of
the Roman Fosse Way on route.
This event was blessed with the
hottest day of the year.
Unfortunately the helmet park was
a good half-mile walk from the
bike park and for someone like me
who doesn’t walk that well it was a
long hike before I could leave my
gear and walk around. Life riders
is a charity I support, however I feel £4 for
leaving one
bag is getting
a bit on the
e x p e n s i v e
side.
On a
personal note,
after an
e n f o r c e d
seven years of
not riding
bikes it is
great to be
back riding
again, even if
it’s not on a
Honda. As I
finish writing this I am looking forward to
riding down to the FIM Motocamp in
Slovenia, which starts on
26th August.
Cheers
John
Graham on the IMTC run
Honda Fest at Gaydon
WIMA run to Rutland Water
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22 AUTUMN 2007
I’m writing this having only recently
returned from my summer holiday and
already looking forward to our ride from
John O’Groats to Lands end, which we start
tomorrow morning.
In the next couple of weeks we also
have our annual poker run planned while
another group is heading over to Germany
for a break. Following September some of
our members also have a weekend break in
October to look forward to.
For this edition of Golden Wing I only
have a couple of newsletters to plagiarise;
my holiday meant I didn’t produce one for
August. However this doesn’t reflect a dip in
activity and in this period there has been a
bit of activity in the form of a couple of ride
outs which I’ll include in our next submission
to Golden Wing.
In the meantime the following excerpts
will give you an idea of what we’ve been up
to including our rally in July.
From our June letter…..
Having been spoilt by an exceptionally
warm April the couple of very wet weekends
we had in May seemed so much more of a
hardship than usual. As you’ll see from the
write ups below the club runs that took
place during May coincided with the worst
of the weather.
In addition to the activity described
below there was also Alan’s pub ride out on
the 20th May and the piloting of the EM
HOC’s stunt school. Bikes were supplied by
planet bikes, training by Micky with the first
pupils being Paul and Andy. Award for best
(unplanned) wheelie on a Pan goes to Andy
while Paul simply receives a certificate of
attendance. Paul now has his sights set on
a CB1300 while Andy is looking for
something with less of a hooligan streak
than a Pan.
13th May - Thundersprint
Given the weather reports this event
was well attended by the club with three
different groups heading over (one by car)
to Cheshire. I think at least part of the
reason for this was a lack of contact details
(an updated list is included with this
newsletter, albeit in a pretty basic format).
The official group, the one that started with
tea and biscuits from The Beeches,
included a couple of new faces courtesy of
Dave.
Before we set off we lost one of our
number –muttering something about gravel
and grit Martin disappeared off to spend the
rest of the day close to a toilet.
Consequently only about six or seven bikes
set off from The Beeches.
An incident on the A50 where a BMW
driver tried to share a lane with one of our
group saw John saving the day by
employing a riding style usually reserved for
Moroccan lorry drivers. Apart from this the
journey out was uneventful and we arrived
in a dry Northwich intent on finding
somewhere to eat.
The café we descended on met and
then exceeded our requirements when the
waitress took a liking to one of our group.
We left the café refreshed but wary of next
years run by which time the waitress will
probably have left school.
After refreshments we had a wander
around the stands and displays;
manufacturers, clubs, custom bike builders,
tools and all sorts of kit. John was sizing up
his next bike at the BMW stand, quizzing
them on the new 800GS. We also had a
look around the “paddock” area and saw the
start of the procession of new and old
machines. Some of the older bikes
struggled with the stop/start nature of the
procession and this resulted in Micky
helping push start of the bikes.
Secretary: Tim Reardon – 01827 280200EAST MIDLANDS
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AUTUMN 2007 23
After the procession we had some lunch
and then bumped into one of the other
groups; Terry, Steve & Rita before heading
over to the sprint itself. The apparently
straightforward task of walking over to the
race was blighted by the clubs traditional
game of hide and seek as our group got
split up in the crowd. Eventually most of us
met up again to see an FJR1300 wheelie
down the track and a 250cc riding Spaniard
dominate the races. A 250cc Suzuki looked
like it would do well with a very fast start but
after nearly dropping the bike at the first
corner as a result the rider then delivered
some of the slowest lap times.
The end of the races marked the start of
our return journey and it was to be a wet
one. Throughout the day the weather had
deteriorated and we arrived back at the
bikes wet, having to pull damp helmets over
wet hair.
My memory of the return journey is
water, the M6 was more like a sea than a
road and I found my thoughts alternating
between (a) worrying about not having put a
new front tyre on the day before and (b)
wondering whether or not you could get an
electric shock off heated grips with this
much rain.
Anyway by 6.20pm (sorry Sue, I know I
said 5pm) two of us had descended on a
house recently cleaned by my better half
and were eating a Sunday dinner.
27th May - Welsh National Motorcycle
Show
It’s 1.38pm on a Sunday afternoon in
late May and I’m aware of the rhythmic
lapping of water at my feet. Unfortunately
I’m not relaxing on a beach somewhere but
instead am being reminded of the limitations
of Frank Thomas’ Aqua Pro riding boots on
a very wet A5. I glance in my mirror and can
see from his hunched posture that Andy is
probably experiencing similar limitations in
his kit.
I had left the house that morning shortly
before 7.30am to head over to Ashby intent
on riding over to Builth Wells for a bike
show. Good intentions were as far as my
planning had got, so once again I was a little
behind schedule and didn’t notice the dark
clouds as I raced for a rendezvous at Ashby.
By the time I arrived at Ashby my leathers
were damp with rain & I belatedly dragged
on my water proofs.
From the empty car park it was clear
that almost everyone else had checked the
weather forecasts the previous evening. I
say almost because when I met up with
Andy “It’s only a light shower” Bailey we
agreed to carry on with the ride over to
Wales (I suspect that his uncharacteristic
optimism was due to the alternative being a
day spent gardening).
On the M42 it became clear that the light
shower was going to be a heavy torrent and
I can only think this water was the cause of
my pressing need to call in at the first
services we came to on the M42. Andy
waited patiently as I dashed in to the
services, struggled in and out of water
proofs before returning to my bike. I climbed
back on the bike pressed the button and
nothing happened – f**king Honda, this
shouldn’t happen, ok it has a few miles on
the clock but it’s a Honda and should be
able to cope with a bit of water; build
quality’s obviously going down the pan. I re-
tried it and still nothing – by now Andy’s on
his bike with the engine going and is waiting
for me to stop messing about.
Pressing the starter button for a second
time has exhausted my initiative and I’m
now getting warm, my visor has steamed up
and I’m thinking of calling the AA – then I
notice the position of the kill switch, I flick it
back to on, press the starter button and the
bike fires up – good old Honda, quality
machines. I look over; Andy hasn’t noticed
anything, I think I’ve got away with it.
We press on, picking up the A44 after a
short stretch of the M5 and don’t stop until
we get to the A49. Andy’s body clock takes
the lead and we have to pull in for breakfast
at this point – thanks Andy. An American
style diner staffed by eastern Europeans
benefits from our custom and keeps Andy’s
appetite in check for a little while longer.
cont.........
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24 AUTUMN 2007
Having warmed the water in our boots
we are just about to leave when a group of
bikes roll in, apparently they have been
camping but the weather is even worse in
Builth and so they have cut short their
weekend.
On hearing this we revise our plans and
change course, heading up the A49 to
Shrewsbury in the hope it will be dryer a
little further north. Shropshire turns out to be
just as wet as every other county we’ve
ridden through and so we decide to head
back home and for the second time in as
many weeks my wife is faced with two club
members dripping on her carpets.
From our July Letter….
Having compared notes I know my
experience of June was shared by at least
one other member of the club because, with
the exception of a lot of very wet commutes
and nearly having my house flooded, my
June was marked by essential bike
maintenance. This means the milestone of
my CBF’s 32,000 mile service. While I took
on the less intimidating service jobs in my
own garage the task of checking the valve
clearances took place under the watchful
eye of Micky’s brother Dennis.
Clearances were all fine & no shims
needed replacing but I was interested at his
comment that the timing cover didn’t look
like it had been touched before. The
implication being that the dealer who had
charged me £220.00 for a 16,000 mile
service had omitted to check the valves!
Dealer name available on request.
My wife, who, at Martin’s request (see
rally write up), is writing this with me this
month, has just reminded me of the other
milestones in June; my eldest Daughter’s
16th Birthday and completion of her GCSE
exams.
As you can see from the recent ride outs
not all weekends have been blighted by bad
weather but one ride out has prompted a bit
of envy in me. In May I tried & failed to get
over to Builth Wells for a bike show that
featured custom bikes and stunt displays. I
was therefore a little jealous to see that not
only had Captain made it into Wales but he
had also managed to include a custom bike
on the run and to persuade one of the group
to lay on an impromptu stunt display. For the
benefit of those not on the run the stunt
display took place in a car park and was the
result of a forgotten disc lock. The custom
bike was the result of the unplanned stunt
display.
The purpose of this newsletter is to keep
people informed and not to embarrass
anybody. It would be unfair to mention any
names and the stunt rider will therefore
remain nameless.
For anyone that is concerned or
offended I’d just like to say I checked with
my informant that Terry was ok before
mentioning the episode with the disc lock.
My informant also told me that our clubs
ability to turn a ride out into a game of hide
and seek, though absent from the outward
journey, once again manifest itself towards
the end of the day on the homeward leg:
two groups returned to England.
9th June – Poker run preparation
Whoever said you can’t teach old dogs
new tricks had obviously never met Martin
or Captain. Last year the planning for the
poker run had seen them lost around Stoke
and riding around the peak district late into
the evening looking for pubs with landlords
or landladies willing to take on the
responsibility of being a dealer for the poker
run.
This planning is hard work apparently -
well that’s what they told me.
In contrast this year’s planning run was
a breeze. Martin had been busy, in the
preceding week, ringing around pubs and
checking whether they were willing to be
dealer while Captain had come prepared
with pre-set sat-nav equipment.
This meant that my duties that day as
secretary were no more onerous than
hooning around the peak district and
stopping off at the odd pub.
Having set off from my house a little
later than planned Paul & I arrived at
Rosliston to find Martin & Captain were half
way down cups of tea, with the second
cigarette of the day nearly down to the filter.
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AUTUMN 2007 25
With no time to waste before setting off
Paul & I ordered drinks, breakfast and
nipped to the loo.
This delay allowed for one more
cigarette each before finally donning kit to
the tune of revving engines.
I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed
the ride that day, the weather was beautiful
and our main problem seemed to be the
number flies attracted to our visors.
Captain led the way as we set off and
thanks to the “off road” setting on his sat-
nav we were soon exploring the back lanes,
farm tracks, fields and unspoilt landscape
that make the peak district such a tourist
attraction. Having travelled exactly as the
crow flies we reached the first pub in no
time at all. The landlady was under a bit of
pressure that day and in order not to outstay
our welcome it was just a quick stop to
provide a briefing and say thanks before we
were back on the road.
The approach to the second pub was
marked by some great biking roads that
really tested our cornering skills – at least
one of our number was a little surprised by
how tight one or two of the corners were
(nothing that Sue couldn’t get out in the
wash though). If anyone at HRC had seen
us though I’m sure they’d be after us to
advise them on the setup of their 800cc
Moto GP bike – maybe.
This second pub must have the steepest
car park I’ve ever used, so all bikes were left
in gear and our walk over to the pub was
punctuated by the occasional concerned
backward glance to check on the bikes. The
landlady here was very pleasant and having
provided instructions and our thanks for her
support we found a table and enjoyed a
relaxing drink.
Once refreshed we returned to the bikes
for the third leg of our ride. Once again
brilliant Derbyshire biking roads led us to
the next pub, pub number three which
provided spectacular views over the peak
district. It looks like a good place for lunch
but it was very popular with most tables
taken.
Preferring open roads to crowded pubs
we didn’t stay long and were soon on our
way to the last pub. This was the only one
that was on last year’s run and provided us
with a good welcome. Having ordered
drinks we weren’t allowed to pay for them –
they were on the landlord, so we ordered
crisps as well. He seemed very happy to be
involved and keen to support the club.
This was a nice way to finish the day
and it was from here that we set off for
home – I think all of us having had our
appetites whetted for the poker run in
September.
1st July - Pontcysylite Aqueduct –
Thanks to Captain for the write up (Story
with accompanying pictures is available on
our club’s website)
5.45am Sunday 1st July 2007 and it was
hammering down. “Why does it always rain
on my parade” was being played from some
obscure radio station as I turned the set on
to get a weather forecast. Bl- - -y good start
to the day thought I as I put the bread in the
toaster. I was going to do this ride out last
year and it hammered it down all day them.
Still John Holtham told me that he would be
there come rain or shine.
Breakfast over, time for a wash and
brush up. Into the bathroom – Hold on – that
looks like blue sky I see through the frosted
glass, No it can’t be. B - - - dy Hell, it is blue
sky.
7 am bike out on road, dressed up in the
gear. Started to sweat, some power in that
sun even at 7 am. Roads a little wet but not
too bad. Off to the Breeches. Arrived and
found Steve Bancroft sitting on his BMW (1),
then John Holtham rode up and parked his
BMW (2) next to Steve. The landlord stuck
his head out and told us that
the bar was open for us to use. 2 G & T’s
pleasae – no sorry – is the coffee on – Yes.
Still the rain held off albeit a few spots but us
hardened bikers could stand it !!!! Just about
to go into the bar when Andy Bailey pulled
up on his Yamaha, Ah well 4 bikes – one
Honda – OK!! Just got the coffee poured
when Adrian from Coventry turned up on his
new Blade, Ah well 2 Hondas.
cont......
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26 AUTUMN 2007
Just about to leave when I had a text
messages from Terry Magee and Jan to say
that they would meet us at the breakfast
stop along with a phone call from Paul Aust
who stated he would also see us at the
breakfast stop. So with the prospect of 3
more joining us, the four of us set off.
Few spots of rain enroute to the
breakfast stop but nothing bad. 9.50 am
pulled into the Café at Peers Heath to a
large Full English, I won’t say who had the
gut busters but one BMW & one Yamaha
rider did not have much more to eat during
the day.
Just sat down when Terry pulled in on
his VFR (3 Hondas) then Jan arrived on her
new aquisision – A Yellow BMW (3) shortly
to be followed by Paul Aust on his new bike
– Yes you guest – A BMW (4).
So at 10.55 am The East Midlands
Branch of the HONDA OWNERS CLUB
pulled out of the breakfast stop for the last
30 miles to the Pontcysylite Aqueduct.
6th-8th July – EM HOC Rally, Belvoir
– Sue Reardon
On the 2nd July Tim seemed unusually
cheerful for a Monday as he headed off for
work. The usual moans about a too short
weekend and work coming around too fast
were absent as he was looking forward to a
short working week followed by a relaxing
weekend away on his bike.
With June being one of the wettest on
record and July shaping up to be the same
I found this foolhardy optimism incredible,
even for Tim. I certainly could not share it
and was not looking forward to a weekend
in a wet field, on a thin foam mattress in a
damp tent.
I kept my options open all week – Tim
was going but I thought I’d stay at home
with the kids. As Thursday dawned there
were news reports of fields that were so wet
crops were rotting, I knew Martin was
already at the site so I got Tim to give him a
call to find out about conditions before
committing myself to going.
As we headed up the M42 and I saw the
clouds and felt the rain I was sure Tim had
lied to get me on the bike. Less than 20
minutes on the road & we had to stop –
once for petrol and once for a cash point.
For goodness sake couldn’t he have done
this last night?
We hadn’t got much further when an
uncharacteristic emotion over came Tim – I
think he may have felt guilty - so he pulled
over and bought me lunch. From the way he
devoured his meal, I think hunger and not
guilt was his real motive. Anyway the lunch
was nice and it was a lovely little canal side
pub. When we emerged we were greeted
by sunshine & blue skies. It was this fine
weather that was the backdrop to the
weekend.
We arrived at the campsite to see one or
two tents already up, Tim seemed not to
need my help & instead Martin helped him
get it up. This meant I soon had somewhere
to change. However, I did point out to Tim
that, once again, his was the smallest and
he was the most ill equipped of all the men
there.
I think it was this that prompted the next
event; we rode over to Grantham and I was
finally able to persuade Tim to part with £10
to buy an air bed. Maybe he’s not a scrooge
after all.
I shared a space in Micky & Phil’s tent
while we waited for the lads to fetch us Fish
and Chips from a chippy over at Bottesford.
The night was rounded off for me by seeing
Tim caught filling up a fluffy blue hot water
bottle in the marquee – he claims it’s not
his, well it’s definitely not mine.
Saturday began with breakfast in the
Pub before getting ready for the ride over to
Foxton locks. Dave led the ride which was
punctuated by a stop off for someone who
had taken a wrong turning I think. Our time
at the locks was pretty relaxed – Tim was
happy - I think he may have avoided paying
for car parking but am not sure.
Our group soon dissipated allowing Tim
& me to enjoy the scenery while having a
hot drink and a bite to eat from the café at
the top of the locks. We then found time for
a walk around before enjoying some more
drinks, this time from the free house at the
bottom of the locks.
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The journey back was much quicker but
included a stop at Tesco to pick up stuff for
the BBQ. I managed to steer Tim past the
burgers and sausages and managed to find
some salmon, pasta salad and couscous for
our tea.
Back at the site Tim didn’t do a bad job
with the cooking but he did over do it a bit
with the drink and was well already acting
silly by the time we walked over for the
evening’s entertainment.
Martin had arranged a good singer and
she did put on an excellent show for us; she
didn’t seem to take a break all night and
seemed more than capable of keeping any
unruly men in their place.
It was an interesting night as well as an
entertaining one; Martin won a competition
dancing to “so macho” very enthusiastically
– he should be careful at his age. Micky
came a close second. I think he might have
won but for the fact that the singer had
already christened him Penfold.
I’m not sure what was going on between
them but next morning I was told that Martin
had been seen in the night shining a
spotlight on Penfold. At the time Penfold
was only wearing his boxer shorts – I think
that’s really sweet you two!
Sunday morning dawned to the sound
of Tim purging his system of the previous
night’s indulgences. By 8am he was ready
for breakfast and we made our way over to
the pub. The rest of Sunday morning was
spent packing up, chatting and saying
goodbye to everyone.
Cheers
Tim Reardon
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28 AUTUMN 2007
HOC Gloucester - Autumn. 2007Due to the wonders of the Internet etc.
The Gloucestershire contribution for the last
edition got lost in cyberspace or someone’s
computer. Therefore this one is going to be
a double edition. I hope you can all stay
awake and find it of interest. Both
contributions contain celebrations. Sadly the
first is a celebration of a life lost. The
second, a celebration of a future life
together.
HOC Gloucester Branch Summer. 2007*************************************************
Andy Parsons. Andy sadly lost his fight
against Cancer on the 1st of May 2007. He
only joined the branch earlier this year, but
had already attended meetings and our
February ride out before he was taken ill in
March. We wish his wife Becky well for the
future.*************************************************
After the sad news above, I have some
great news. I haven’t got anything to moan
about!!! Yes, Things have really turned
around. I even have members fighting to get
their names down for special ride outs. As
ever I would always welcome any non-
participating members to contact me with
their e-mail details so that I can keep them
updated on a local basis on what is going on
in the branch in the hope that they might see
or hear of something that might
interest them. I’m sure the address
will be given later but my personal
e-mail address is
lief.group@tiscali.co.uk
We are having our meetings on
a regular basis and have had a
couple of guest speakers after the
formal part of the meetings. Colin
Bailey the service manager of
Bransons the local Honda dealer
gave us a presentation around basic
maintenance, and Mark Godsland from
Bikesafe gave a security presentation
explaining the multiple considerations that
you need to consider preventing bike theft. A
fascination statistic is that a bike worth a few
thousand on the re sale market has a value
of £1500 in bits if it is dismantled and sold
on for used spares. Tagging is the simplest
way to address this area of security. I was
pleased to be first to answer the test
questions at the end. Although there were
some other members close on my heels.
This led to my XL 1000 having Data Tag
fitted. It really is good value
A regular seven to nine people turn up to
the meetings as well as others when work
permits etc. The formal section allows us to
catch up on what needs to be chatted over
and ensure we don’t miss anything. The ride
outs so far this year started with our ‘Cold
Bitz 1’ run to Fowlers in Bristol. Most of the
eight of us that attended had never ventured
there before and were delighted with the
Café menu and retail therapy opportunities.
The management made us very welcome
and showed us around the then to be
opened Honda Hub. There was the launch
on that day of the Suzuki GSR 1000 R and
as you can see from the photo, we were all
very impressed. (I don’t think so).
Secretary: Ian Nie - 01453 752098GLOUCESTER
Golden Wing Autumn 2007.qxp 28/10/2007 13:13 Page 28
AUTUMN 2007 29
Andy Palmer can be seen at the far right
of the group. We found that there was a free
draw being run over the weekend. One of
our group established that there were no
participants at that time. We all duly gave
our details and as far as I know three of us
have already received a prize. ‘Cold Bitz 2’ saw eleven riders’ head for
the wilds of Kidderminster. Four of the riderswere not from the club and had seen thedetails in the MCN. We took a scenic B roadroute with Chris Hearn acting as sweeper inour ‘Drop Off System’ Sadly he took the titleto seriously and picked up a two inch shardof metal that caused him a very long slowride home which had to be abandoned northof Tewkesbury, to be collected by a recoveryvehicle. Thanks to Les for keeping himcompany on the ride back to Gloucester.Grub at the Steam Museum is fair tomiddling and the activity of the station withworking steam trans running to Bridgenorthis worth the ride.
The following weekend saw us manningthe stand at the ‘Bikesafe Event’ atCheltenham Race Course. Well not justmanning. Vicky Parker was there as shownin the photo. Photo DSC01134.
Andy Young (Chairmen) came along onthe Saturday and gave a hand. Others in thephoto are yours truly in the bright jacket, andChris Hearn ‘the sweeper’. Thanks also toLes Jevins who helped out on the standover the weekend. A few new memberswere signed up and many prospectivemembers spoken to. Even Graham Gullslogged over from the east to see what will
have to be done next year when the eventgoes to Hendon Police College. Mostexciting moment of the weekend was whenthe whole tent arrangement lifted three footoff the ground with people holding on fordear life. Now recorded as the biggesthanglider in Gloucestershire. A very windyweekend.
Finally, the Cotswold ride saw eightriders’ head for the hills on another B roadride that took us up onto the Cotswold tovisit Stow, Chipping Norton, Burford, Bibury& Cirencester. A good dry run with sunshineand roller coaster roads. Even I wasimpressed at what we found, and I wasleading the ride. Ended up at the fine eatingestablishment of ‘Greasy Joes’ atCirencester for the obligatory fry up and amug of tea.
So, as stated. No moaning. I feel quiterefreshed writing positive news, but wecould still do better!!!! SORRY, slipped intoMr Grumpy mode there.
HOC Gloucester Branch Autumn. 2007************************************************
Congratulations to Karen & Rob whomarried on September the 3rd at Stroud
registry office. We wish youboth much happiness for thefuture and your ongoing lifetogether.***********************************
Well, Mr Grumpy isdefinitely a thing of the past (Ihope). We have had someinteresting unusual ride outs aswell as guest speakers atmeetings. We are also makingplans for things to do in 2008 aswell new members getting intouch. Most encouragingcompared to this time last year.
The May run was toAbergavenny. It saw a turn out of around 4with Dave & Gill meeting us at the busStation on their Gold Wing with unusual hubsteering. The run there was along mainly Broads with coffee and a snack at the café.The ride home saw a scenic diversion toTintern Abbey.
cont.......
Golden Wing Autumn 2007.qxp 28/10/2007 13:13 Page 29
30 AUTUMN 2007
At the following meeting I gave a
presentation of the local branch of
FreeWheelers that has been set up to
cover North Wiltshire, Gloucestershire,
Hereford & Worcestershire. For those
that have never heard of the
organisation please visit.
www.severnfreewheelers,co.uk . At
other meetings the members have
seen the bikes they use. Initially a Pan
but sadly now BMW rt1150’s. I will not
comment!! Visit the website and see
what you can do to help. There are
local EVS groups in other areas of the
country including London, Bristol & Oxford
In June, 8 of us braved a damp day to
ride to the depths of Oxfordshire to visit the
Renault F1 factory. Some on four wheels
most on two. The factory is built in a disused
quarry, it was like going down into a scene
from Thunderbirds or at least Dr Evils HQ.
One of our members Mike Adams is an
engineer that builds, calibrates and
maintains the shock Absorbers on these
cars. They are tiny, no longer than the
cardboard centre of a tissue kitchen roll but
only 2cm thick. We were allowed full access
to the factory except the development area,
wind tunnel etc. We were allowed to
photograph, except the engine. To see the
craftsmanship in the exhaust manifold and
carbon fibre pieces that make up the car,
you wonder where all the money comes
from.
The trophies are pretty
impressive to. I would be happy
with an exhaust manifold on one of
my walls! I think everyone that went
will remember the trip for a long
while. Thanks go out to Mike.
National HOC Roast Day for us
grew from a get together for lunch
into a full blown HOG Roast with a
bike show, raffle and auction and
live music. That was the plan, but
the bad weather we had in July was
just starting and the day stayed
dampish. The Landlord actually
closed his restaurant and put on
the Hog Roast at his cost as well as
paying for the music. It really was at his
cost. Financially for him the day was a
disaster. However thanks to the efforts of
Bikers Nite www.bikers-nite.co.uk we were
able to raise £435.00 that was donated to
the previously mentioned Severn
Freewheelers. Members of Oxford and
Wiltshire turned up and I hope they enjoyed
the day. Although it was a dis-appointment
to us all, we all mucked in and helped on the
day and we are considering a repeat for
2008. Even the pub landlord is up for it at
the moment. So maybe South Wales, East
Midlands and Bristol could have an event for
next year’s calendar.
The following weekend was the
weekend of the rain and floods. On the
Friday I was in Warwick having Autocom
fitted to a bike. It took me three and a half
hours to do 90 miles on the M42 / M5.
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AUTUMN 2007 31
However, Les got the best trip home
from work leaving Cheltenham and getting
home to Gloucester 26 hours later. From
that day we had Vicky getting washed out of
her home and having to live with relatives
with no water for just over a week. I and a
few others lost water on the following
Tuesday for seven days. It really is a
grounding experience not having water
when you turn the tap on. I’m sure you will
all wish Vicky well for her eventual return to
her home sometime in the next six months.
She really has put on a really brave face
The afore mentioned storms in the
Gloucester area, some what washed all
thoughts of the ride out to meet up with the
Oxford Branch Rally near Moreton in Marsh.
Sorry about that, but I know they had a good
time without our presence. Early August saw
about eight of us trip up to Warwick for the
Honda Festival. Great ride out day with a
good cross country trip there and back.
Finally in mid August another wet days ride
saw 4 of us abandon a ride to Lynbrianne in
Wales and settled for our swimming badge
qualifier ride to Ludlow somewhere over in
the Wales direction. I as an ex Boy Scout
even lost all sense of direction. Amazing
view till the cloud came in and rain started to
pour. Thanks to Rob for leading the ride and
I hope he will have a happy and lasting
relationship with his new Ninga Turtle
waterproof riding gloves that he bought on
E-bay that Saturday evening. Sorry about
the lack of ongoing photos but no one has
an underwater camera.
Things to come, a ride out to the seaside
led by Vicky, A trip to the Motor Museum,
possibly attend Weston Beach Race
weekend. Visit to the NEC Show in Nov /
Dec. Most exiting of all is the 2008 plan to
visit the Lemans Moto GP. Thanks go out to
Eric, who is researching and organising the
weekend. It looks as though up to six of the
regular attending members are up for it as
well as a good few people from outside.
Those members that do not attend regular
meetings might now consider the value of
attending.
We were also successful in the sale of
the late Andy Parsons Firestorm. Widow
and purchaser seemed happy and I have
not heard any complaints so far. I myself
have been able to meet the requirements of
the afore mentioned Karen & Rob (Tied the
knot recently) by passing on some hard
luggage for their future touring exploits (it
also lifted the subsidence risk in my garage
and partly financed my winter spanner
project, more of that next time). Who says a
club doesn’t work.
Ian Nie (Alias Ex Mr Grumpy) (for now!)
VVACANCYACANCY - GENERAL- GENERAL SECRETSECRETARARYY
After many years of sterling service, Mark Clargo is unable to continue in the post
of General Secretary and will not be standing for re-election at the AGM this year.
The role of General Secretary is one of the key roles on the Executive Committee,
and I would be very pleased to hear from any member who feels they may be able
to take on this role.
Please call me on 01536 412086 or email me on chairman@hoc.org.uk
Andy “Dibble” YoungHonda Owners Club (GB) Chairman
Golden Wing Autumn 2007.qxp 28/10/2007 13:14 Page 31
32 AUTUMN 2007
LAKES & COASTSecretary: Mike Bell - 07952 777941
According to the dictionary summer is
“the season after spring and before autumn,
when the weather is warmest.” So this year
has lived up to its own definition as warm it
may have been, wet it certainly was, the
wettest since records began in 1911, so we
are told!
We are lucky here in the Lake District, as
we have very good natural drainage, which
no one has played around with building on a
flood plain. Windermere is the longest
natural waterway, but is linked to the coast
by the country’s shortest river, the Leven. So
even when it has rained, we have sent it all
out to sea within an hour!
If we did a 4 points run to the branch’s
boundary, it would entail a ride out of 265
miles, that is Carlisle to Waberthwaite, down
to Preston, then up the east side to Appleby,
before arriving back in Carlisle. So most
meetings have been right in the middle,
since Windermere is appox 45 miles to all
four of those points!
We held a very good BBQ on the last
weekend in May, before it started raining,
and held another at the end of July, when it
stopped for a few hours. Had a great run up
to Hawick via the A6 and A7, then back
along the side roads to Brampton, Alston,
Hartside, Ullswater, and returning to
Windermere for a Saturday evening BBQ,
when we had a fun fair on the far front lawn.
Dodgem Cars where popular, so was the
Waltzer and Merry Go Round, and some
even went on the bungee ball! Sunday
lunchtime saw another BBQ, this time the
Red Arrows did a fly past right over us, and
then we had the new Eurofighter doing its
stuff, both slow and quick, but it was very
loud. Paula through I had also organised the
Chippendales – 4 very fit, young men in
Police uniforms arrived, started to strip off,
and sat down for lunch. 1st time I heard her
quiet for more than 5 minutes! Actually it was
my son and the rest of the duty shift stopping
for lunch, as the village was gridlocked
because of the Red Arrows display.
Also had an afternoon tea party, but Mike
and I forget to tell the rest of the branch,
even if we now 50% on email – Sorry, you
missed a great afternoon of Tea and Cakes.
Mike also did a trip up to Scotland for a
few days, but forgot to tell me until he got
back, so we must schedule it for next year.
Tried to meet the Manchester branch at
South Lakes Animal Park, but we seemed to
have missed them. Hope to meet them in
October at Rabys Castle.
Apart from that, we haven’t done much,
because it just won’t stop raining. Not that
we object to riding in the wet stuff, but all the
views disappear behind the clouds, so if you
can’t see the magnificent countryside that is
“The Most Corner of England,” what’s the
point of going out anyway! That’s my
excuse, I’m sticking to it!!
Hope to see you soon
Peter & Mike
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AUTUMN 2007 33
Secretary: Karen Angela - 01624 629299MANX OFFSHORE
Hi M.O.B. reporting in, sorry we missed
the last edition, I know we had twelve
months warning but T.T. still hit before we
were ready. I have to say it was a once in a
lifetime experience and I would not have
missed it for the world, although by
Thursday of race week we were flagging
somewhat.
It was like T.T. and M.G.P. all rolled into
one this year, all over the Island there were
vintage bikes rallying as only they know
how, criss crossing all the modern biking
events. As John is in the vintage lot, we
tagged onto a couple of their runs, even
taking homemade lemonade and nibbles on
the Lieutenant Governors lawn where he
gave a very nice speech on behalf of Her
Majesty and we all had our picture taken
with him (very cheesy). The other non race
event we attended was the all makes Bike
show at Laxey organised by our local club,
The Moddy-Dhoo. This was very well
organised and attended with every
conceivable type of bike, trike and sidecar
on show to the public.
The whole week truly was an autograph
hunters paradise with countless racing stars
past and present easily accessible in the
pits and paddock. From current fastest man
John McGuinness (Honda mounted of
course) right back to Geoff Duke and John
Surtees. Those of you who were here know
how great it was, those who weren’t missed
a fabulous, never to be repeated historical
occasion.
July was quieter as we enjoyed what
passed for summer this year and all too
soon August brought the Manx Grand Prix.
This nearly didn’t happen at all as an acute
shortage of marshals threatened to force it
to be abandoned. This was caused largely
by new ACU ruling meaning marshals have
to retire at 70. Several top TT riders
including John McGuinness volunteered,
and coupled with desperate recruiting calls
for help on local Radio, saved the day, only
the weather caused some delays. Next year
we are considering offering reduced rates
for guests who do marshalling, more details
in the next Golden Wing. We did all the
practice sessions and race days this year
and had a great time, well worth the effort
as you become part of the event, not just a
spectator.
The M.G.P. is very different from the TT,
much more Johns forte, as his youngest
bike was 30 this year, (yes the BMW) The
different classes including classics attract
many more visitors on old bikes and this
year the Vincent Owners Club were very
prominent and managed to get a parade lap
on closed roads all to themselves. Over two
hundred Vincent twins and singles all
together being used as the makers
intended, ie hard, makes an impressive
sight (and sound). The Norton Owners also
held their International rally here so Nortons
were everywhere you looked, how about a
Honda International rally next year.
Speaking of Hondas, my CB250N was 15
years old on the glorious twelfth, a classic at
last! (John says its just old! He’ll be sorry,
very very sorry).
By the time you read this the National
rally will have come and gone, sorry we
can’t make it this year, but as you can see
things have been rather hectic and we
wouldn’t have had it any other way, don’t
forget, the kettle’s always on.
This is M.O.B. signing off, be safe, be
happy.
Karen & John.
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34 AUTUMN 2007
N.E.S.SSecretary: Pete Farnham 07931 906394
As I write this article, the sun is out for
the bank holiday Sunday. NESS are on a
ride out and I am stuck at work but at least I
had the empty roads of the early morning
ride-in, except for the pigeons that seem to
wait until till the very last second before
taking off, causing me to duck down to avoid
being hit in the face with one.
Since the last Golden Wing, one lady
biker has contacted me and hopefully we
can get her and friends to come along for a
ride out sometime as the group is ticking
over, just.
The group meetings have had a poor
turn out of late with only five attending in
July and four in August so it is difficult to
organize future rides and I feel that unless
the situation changes, I do not see the
group surviving much longer.
Of the ride outs I have been able to
attend this year, we have had extreme
weather variations. I led a ride from Suffolk
via Essex and in to Cambridgeshire during
the early part of the year. It was a lovely
sunny day but the winds were very strong
which made for some interesting cornering
in Essex. As we got to the Fens, I felt like a
teenager again as I had to tuck my arms
right in and lay over the tank as we did back
then to squeeze a few more mph out of our
mopeds, but this time it was trying to keep
the bike upright in a straight line.
Colin led a ride out but due to the
torrential down pours, we ended up in a cafe
in Felixstowe and after the hundred and
twenty mile round trip, my bike gear seemed
damp for ages after that. John led the ride to
High Beech in Epping recently and the
national news stated that it had been the
hottest day of the year, so the point being
that in this country you need to get
experience in all weather conditions on a
bike as you can never be sure if or when it
may change. So for any new riders that
might read this, it is always nice to ride on
warm sunny days but it is important to see
how your bike feels in different weather
trends.
As someone who does most of my riding
on my own commuting to work and such, it
was a little strange when I went for my first
group ride with NESS as some of them had
been riding together for years and as the
new boy (so to speak) I felt that I had to ride
a bit harder than I perhaps would have done
had I been on my own, so as not to let the
group down. This way of riding was ok on
the whole until one day I was following the
lead rider on an identical bike to my own,
and as we went into a left hand bend I got it
wrong so had to stand the bike up and
brake, which then caused the rider behind
me to have to react to my mistake. Because
of that one mistake which scared me, I did
not enjoy the rest of the ride and nearly
packed in my group membership but
because of the friendship within the group
and an email from that lead rider showing
concern, I am happy to say that I stayed.
The important lesson I learned from that
near miss was that there are riders of
varying abilities even if riding the same
machinery so only ride to your own level of
confidence and don’t try to keep up if it
means riding outside of your comfort zone.
The rider in front will be checking their
mirrors and if you get too far back they will
be aware and will slow up at some point
before any turn offs. So just enjoy the ride at
the pace that is safe for your ability as the
whole point of the group ride is for the fun
with a group of friends.
Regards
Pete
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36 AUTUMN 2007
The highlight of our social calendar (after
the weekly meetings), has to be our annual
group ride to France and back. A one day
jaunt to see Johnny Foreigner in his natural
surroundings and marvel at how such
dreadful people can have such nice roads
attracts a good response from the North
London group members
Our mid-summer excursion was more
like mid-winter when we set off from
North(ish) London and because of this, and
the previous two weeks’ weather, seriously
cut into our numbers - but in the end we had
close to 20 people invading Calais; and then
on to Boulogne (for café) and Le Touqet (Le
Toupee as one kept calling it) for lunch.
What was particularly irksome was that
soon as our train pulled in to Calais we had
wonderful weather and great riding
conditions we hadn’t experienced since
April.
Le Touquet provided a lovely break –
good food at reasonable cost which was
subsidised by our weekly meeting
subscriptions. After those that wanted to
stretch their legs had had enough, and
those that wanted to make sandcastles had
finished, we headed off for more country
roads and “grown up” fun...
Using a combination of maps and Sat
Navs (that all disagreed with the maps) we
successfully reached our afternoon
destinations but sometimes our group
became 2, 3 or even 4 groups where we’d
only started as one. This is part of the day’s
entertainment and led to extensive
arguments about whose Sat Nav was right
and who wanted to stick with Graham and
his maps – always right but turning up
everywhere as we were ready to leave (only
kidding Graham). One group on the way to
Arras led by Steve K and his Sat Nav, found
themselves stuck in a forest with the route
barred by a substantial “gate” and we had to
wait half an hour before moving off. It would
have been quicker but being so close to
nature, one of our party felt the urge to go
for a wander and look for a “rest room”. If
he’d been a little less embarrassed about
these things he could have gone behind a
bush like everyone else rather than go on a
2 kilometre trek to find some privacy and we
could have got to our tea a bit quicker. Arras
was a pleasant stop-off for an early meal
and (very French) pizzas were devoured
with relish by those that knew good Haute
Cuisine (!).
The final leg of our tour – very well
organised in the main by Mike T –
assisted by Dave (The Plum) and
Steve K (and a big “Thank You” to
them) was hampered by a sudden
downpour resulting in a mad rush for
shelter and our waterproofs. The race
up the motorway to Calais for the train
was difficult; as we were effectively
heading more or less Westwards and
straight into the sun with a wet road
underneath us. Much concentration
was required.
Contact, John Saffer 020 8505 3664 NORTH LONDON
A summers day in North London
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AUTUMN 2007 37
Suffice to say that our group did get split
up again just at the train because the
Channel tunnel authorities were more
concerned with their schedule than letting
us go as one group - so we had a forced
split. Anyhow, we all got home safely -
about 18 hours and 375 miles or so after we
set out. Roll on next Summer.
A number of our group undertook a ride
out to the HOC Roast with the Cambridge
and Beds branch by way of some lovely
country lanes in Essex and Herts. where the
Head Boy had been on training sorties with
his Advanced Riders groupYiggy
demonstrated his skill at using the Drop Off
system of route marking - and by the time
we realised we’d lost Graham; we found him
waiting at the end of our first section!
The next stage section
was to the (in) famous
Silver Ball transport
caff on the A10.
(Incidentally don’t ask
for Branston with your
cheese sarnie! If looks
could kill…). From the
caff most of the group
went on to the lunch and
had an entertaining ride all
of which was written about
in great detail and humour
by Steve K on our own
website.
A number of our
group also entered the
East Coast Challenge
in June where they
had to visit a number
of towns in Suffolk in
one day, but despite
having good weather
ran out of daylight and
decided to do it again
later in the year. It was
highly recommended
and we hope a better
attendance next time
will be achieved.
Our regular weekly
meetings are still well attended and new
members continue to come along and we
get on average 10-12 people each week -
sometimes more.
Steve Y. and his wife recently hosted a
barbecue at his house in Historic Waltham
Abbey Town and put on a great display of
food for those that were able to attend mid-
week in poor weather. Well done that man.
We have a small spotlight this issue on
one of our not so junior members: Pete
Berris. Pete is a very keen member and has
been in the group since 1906 when he was
a mere 13 year old. He still rides regularly
and we have a lovely picture of him from the
early 1960’s negotiating a bend whilst
making Good Progress. We
also show a lovely picture of
Pete as he is now. He
recently completed a
Bikesafe course and proves
that you can never know it
all and we all have
something to learn. Pete
also had the unnerving
experience of having his
garage broken into and
two of his bikes nicked
by some local yobbos.
It’s OK though
everyone, one of the
bikes was an MZ and the
other a BMW. THE Honda was safe...
Pete Berris circa 1961
Pete Now
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38 AUTUMN 2007
By the time this edition of Golden Wing
is out we will have had about 10 members
participate in a Rider Skills Day run by the
Met. Police, as part of Bikesafe. We will be
heading off early to “The Warren” near
Bromley in Kent for observations and
guidance on how to ride like the coppers
and enjoy it at the same time. Should be
good.
Finally, congratulations go to:
*John for persuading his wife to go
pillion on a bike trip for a few days in the
USA, and for passing his Advance
Motorcycle Test.
*Nikolay for finding his
way from “Somewhere in
France” all the way up to
Helsinki and back to London
before we even got to the
Dartford River Crossing.
(Nikolay has run up about
25,000 miles in the last 18
months since passing his
test)
*Pete for paying for eye
tests for the kids that nicked
his MZ.
*Graham for safely
returning from visiting every
country between here and
Transylvania (to visit his
family) losing only his wallet
containing his bus pass Nectar
card and a second class stamp
with Queen Victoria’s head on it.
*Steve K. for surviving two
“spills” this year - one on a high
powered bike in Docklands with a
big audience of his mates, and one
in the pub when his pint of Stella
nearly landed in his lap...
*Paul W. for completing the day
trip to France and then a trip to
Germany to ride the famous
Nurburgring track which he’d been
looking forward to for some time.
Our diary currently has the
following events coming up – so if
you are in the North/East London
area or affiliated to our group – don’t be a
Stop-at-home “Get on Yer Bike!
Sunday 7th October
Run to Copdock Show, Ipswich
Thursday 18th October
Branch AGM at The Kings Oak
John
Some of the Crew
A selection from display day at Walthamstow
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AUTUMN 2007 43
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44 AUTUMN 2007
With more and more new members
joining us every week the Northants and
Milton Keynes Branch is growing rapidly. At
this rate we will soon be needing an
extension building on the pub.
Bank Holiday Monday 27th August saw
us run our now annual Charity Auction and
Bike Show.
Although I managed to get free
advertising on BBC Radio Northampton,
Connect FM and Northants 96, I for one
never expected such a huge turnout. There
must have been about 500 bikes turn up as
we filled the car park, the garden and the
road. We had over 120 lots to auction off
including a signed helmet from James
Toseland and signed photo's from Casey
Stoner and Nicky Hayden. Other signed
photo's were of Colin Edwards, Pere Riba,
Shinya Takeishi, Johnny Herbert and an
exclusive one of Nobby Stiles from the
winning world cup team of 1966.
We raised £2700 from the auction and
bucket collection, a third up on last year, and
then, when we thought things could not get
any better, we received an anonymous
donation of £8000 bringing the total to a
massive £10.700 for The Warwickshire and
Northamptonshire Air Ambulance Service.
The Best bike at show went to Mark
Reeves with his beautiful NS400R while
Alan Knight won the worst bike with a
CX500!!! aptly named basket case.
Skipper proved that although he can't
make potatoe salad he's does a mean
burger.
Thanks to all the ladies who baked some
lovely home made cakes and everyone who
kindly donated items and time to make this
a spectacular day.
Now for next year we'll ................
With the good weather of late our
everyotherruns have been very popular with
between 20 and 26 bikes turning for an
evening's bimble about the country roads.
Over a dozen of our members enjoyed
the Sunday dinner run hosted this year by
the Cambridge branch.
Bedford and Cambridge branches have
been invited to our watering hole on 10th
October for an evening of quiz and fish &
chips, the last one was a great success.
November 31st see's us embarking on a
Halloween ride out everyone is most
welcome to join us ride
round some spooky
places each with a
chilling tale behind it.
Ride safe
Sue Beck
NORTHANTS & M.KSecretary: Sue Beck - 07828 200466
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AUTUMN 2007 45
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46 AUTUMN 2007
NORTHUMBRIASecretary: Graeme Burrough - 07050 158 381
The Northumbria Branch has had a very
active summer this year. As well as the
regular ride outs the branch was in
attendance at two of the regions major
motorcycle events.
The first event we attended was
Bikewise which is an annual event that is
organised by the Durham Police Force. As
always the organisation of Bikewise was
first class and there were between 12,000 ~
14,000 biking enthusiasts in attendance
(official estimates). Considering the event
coincided with the Sunderland Air Show this
was a remarkable success. Our stand was
pitched in the same position as the last two
years; this made our own preparation much
easier as we made improvements on the
previous attendance's (we do strive for
perfection you know!!) The objective for our
attendance were twofold, firstly to promote
HOC (GB) and secondly to recruit new
members for the Northumbria branch. The
interest we received was excellent and
surpassed the interest shown in 2005 and
2006.
The second event that the Northumbria
branch was in attendance was the Whitley
Bay Motorcycle Festival that was held on
the seafront between Whitley Bay and
Tynemouth. This event is new so we have
been in discussions with the organisers
since Feb 2007.
We set up stall on the Thursday evening
in readiness for the Friday, Saturday and up
until 12:00 noon on the Sunday. The main
interest in the club was at a peak on the
Saturday and as with Bikewise we had a lot
of interest and some firm commitments from
motorcyclists wishing to join the
Northumbria branch.
Have a look at the photo of stunt riders
from Whitley Bay Show of (pic 1002) the
only folk in Europe that can ride in a sphere
and at any angle including upside down -
also our stand at the show (pic 0956 &
0957)
Our thanks go out to the members who
gave up their valuable time to support both
of these major events and the club is quietly
confident that our presence at Bikewise and
at the Whitley Bay Motorcycle Festival will
prove positive.
Ride safely,
Mick Brennan. (Treasurer HOC Northumbria)
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48 AUTUMN 2007
NORTHUMBRIA RIDE OUT THROUGH
THE BORDERS - SUNDAY 9 SEPT
Arriving as usual at MacDonald's our
regular meeting place, I found a number of
bikes already waiting at 9:30am.. after some
chat, 12 bikes left for a tour through the
Scottish Borders along the stunning
Northumbrian coastal route on way. The
run leader was Keith Madder who
seemingly was pressed into leading at the
last club night meeting. Keith has lead
before and we all knew his ride would be
one of character. At 10 am we all left to
head north and Seahouses would be the
first "pleasure" break for a coffee. The sun
even shone for all of us. If you've never
been to Northumbria and fancy a visit, then
you must ride the Coastal Route - its
perfection from end to end!!
After Seahouses, we headed north past
the infamous and perfectly preserved
Bamburgh Castle (see pic) and on through
Buddle Bay with stunning views over to Holy
Island and Lindisfarne Priory - magic!
Joining the A1 for a short while, heading
over the border in Scotland, we arrived for
lunch at St. Abbs head, a place that's filled
with divers in search of exploring the many
wrecks off the coastal shores. Pulling into
the small car park, it was short on space for
all 12 bikes and Keith Heslop decided to
ride around the corner in search of a space.
His wife Karen returned shouting Keith's fell
off!! We all ran to see what's up, a found
Keith on his bum with one red Blackbird
virtually upside down as the camber was so
severe. Keith emerged a little battered and
bent, the bike righted, damage inspected
and we all reassured him that it was fixable
and crossed over to the cafe for some
lunch.
The road out of the car park is steep and
can catch folk out but we all escaped
without any further issues and set off
towards Coldstream right on the border. A
quick blast down the A697 and another
coffee stop at Millfield's cafe saw the day
almost completed. Good-byes said and it
was off on the last 40 odd miles back home.
A perfect ride on a perfect day meant
everyone enjoyed themselves (Keith is
excluded of course) and thanks to Keith
Madder for another "interesting" day out -
well done
Graham Burrough(Secretary HOC Northumbria)
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50 AUTUMN 2007
Well it has
definitely been an
eventful summer
with the major player
in 'events' being the
weather. Just have a
look at the letters
page for an honest
resume of our rally
from our stalwarts
Betty & Jim.
At Oxford we
have enjoyed lots of
excellent ride out's
and activities, some
of which have been
affected by the lack
of summer, but all of
which have been
participated in with great gusto - the saying
that biker's are a hardy bunch is very true of
our members!
We have been lucky with the weather for
our trip to The Shambles olde worlde
village, the evening ride to see the Poole
Harbour display
of bikes and the
trip to Slimbridge
WWT and the
Durlston Castle
Biker Cafe.
Our Summer
Poker Run and
BBQ/Disco was
however rather
blighted by the
weather but
s e v e r a l
bedraggled folk
still did the ride
and then turned
up for the indoor
BBQ and disco
in the evening|
cont.......
Secretary: Erica Gassor - 07799 49 2235
OXFORD
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52 AUTUMN 2007
And then there was our Oxford Rally -
which took place amidst the notorious floods
which resulted from the infamous freak
downpour.
Several of those coming to the Rally
where thwarted by the weather and had to
turn back but amazingly some folk got
through with tales of daring (if scary) riding
through flooded roads and various long
winding detours. Wet and cold but
undeterred the Saturday evening BBQ took
place - in sunshine - and the evening
entertainer played the night away whilst
everyone danced with much enthusiasm, if
not talent!!
With the
continuing good
attendance at our
meetings and
several new
faces to welcome
to the throng,
p r e s e n ta t i o n s
from organisations
such as eBike
Insurance and
Nik Wax have
been much
enjoyed.
Those who
went on the
second Oxford
overseas trip, to
the Czech
Republic Motor
GP at Brno, have just returned with tales to
tell of good racing and cheap beer!
With plans afoot for some joint events
with our near neighbouring Branches and
further ride outs etc, our bike year is dashing
by with great haste and lots of fun.
Cheers all
Erica
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AUTUMN 2007 53
DOES YOUR BRANCH KNOW YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS?
This is so that Branch Secretaries can organise events and rides at the last minute and
inform as many members as possible. These are private lists, and will only be used by the
club. Contacts are below:
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54 AUTUMN 2007
It has been business as usual over the
late summer period, if a little more slowly
than usual. Many of our members have
been off rallying with other branches with
Alan and Barbara Peace braving the floods
to be one of the first to turn up at the Oxford
Rally; it would take weather of biblical
proportions to keep Barbara from a rally!
As a branch we had a ride out to the
Honda Festival at Gaydon back in August,
and a good time was had by all. We were
blessed with one of the best days of the
summer, and Dave Irving led us on a very
enjoyable jaunt through the countryside
taking in many little villages and the twisty
roads in between with a half way stop at
Wantage. In fact the day was so pleasant
that on the return journey a majority decided
that as the sun was still up and it was still
nice and warm, they would postpone the
arrival home and detour to take in the
A272….it’s funny how many club runs either
include, or detour to include the A272!
It was at one of our rest stops that we
started discussing the various merits of our
different machines, especially in regards to
longer runs. Fuel tank capacity in particular
was seen as a potential problem on bikes
such as my Fireblade which I have to fill up
every 110 miles or so. It was then that Dave
uttered one of those truisms which beats all
other arguments into submission; “it is
irrelevant what the tank range is, I’ve only
got a fifty mile bladder”.
As far as future events are concerned,
keep an eye on our website or come down
to our bi-weekly meetings at the Rowing
Club in Woolston. At the time of writing we
still have our alternate mid-week
Wednesday night runs to “somewhere nice”,
and we will soon be putting dates in the
diary for our Halloween and Bonfire night
festivities and our Christmas dinner and
party.
If you live in our area and have yet to
come and meet us, please don’t hesitate, we
would love to see you.
Keep it tidy
Tim
SOLENTSecretary -Tim Lee 023 8025 2113
Solent Branch member “Metal Mickey” with his very nice Hornet
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56 AUTUMN 2007
Well, what a poor summer it has been,
weather-wise. Luckily, in recent days it has
picked up tremendously and meant we’ve
had more chance to get out and about.
Not that the club has let the weather put
a dampener on the events of the summer.
We’ve still managed several excellent
rideouts, weekends away and a summer
holiday.
There was a very successful weekend
away to North Wales in June, organised by
Wayne Williams. A great time was had by all
and the hotel was superb, by all accounts.
The summer holiday to France had to be
cancelled unfortunately, but as an
alternative, some members went to
Churston, near Brixham for a long weekend.
It was a very enjoyable weekend and an
account of the weekend, written by one of
our members, Karen Vaughan-Jones,
appears later in this issue.
Another cancellation this summer was
our annual barbecue – nothing to do with the
weather this time! Alun and Sonya had
graciously offered to host the barbecue.
Unfortunately, poor Sonya went down with
shingles. Happily, she is well recovered
now and we are hoping to rearrange the
date for some time soon.
Heartfelt congratulations are sent this
summer to Wayne and Carole Williams on
the birth of their new granddaughter,
Sophie. We wish them all the best.
On a different note, I am sad to report
that our chairman, Wayne Williams has
resigned from the post. Wayne has done a
lot of good work for the club since he
became a member and has been a major
force in the organisation of events, rideouts
and parties. The club would like him to
know that they have appreciated the good
things he has done during his time in office
and are saddened by his decision. We all
hope that he and Carole will continue to give
the club their valuable support as members
and would like them to know that they are
still valued as friends.
Until the next time…
Donna Richards
SOUTH WALESSecretary: Donna Richards - 01639 766406
Branch Secretaries:
The deadline for the next Golden Wing is;
1s1st December 200t December 20077
These pages are your advertising space, to let
members who are local to you know the real
benefits of active membership. Tell them what is
happening in your area
Golden Wing Autumn 2007.qxp 28/10/2007 13:16 Page 56
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58 AUTUMN 2007
Secretary: Keven Ludlam - 0114 281 7193
Honda Festival(Richard, Keven, Carl, Martin,
John and Paul)With the sun shining we had six riders
for the trip down to Honda Festival, even
Carl got his bike out for this one. Richard's
knowledge of twisty roads meant an
entertaining ride down was had by all. Even
with the odd mistake in the buddy system
leading to a little confusion and a bus
driver's lack of judgment forcing a second
lap of a roundabout we all arrived with large
smiles on our faces. With Martin winning 3rd
prize in guess the mileage of the six
Blackbirds, a great day was had by all. So
special thanks to all the organizers of the
festival I’m sure it was a resounding
success.
Skegness (Richard, Ian, Paul and Lisa)
Lisa's 1st 'Ride Out' with the Three
Shires. Due to heavy rain in Leeds the
planned ride out with West Yorkshire was
cancelled so the four of us decided to hit
Skegness for some Fish and Chips...(Lisa
expecting to eat on the 'Sea Front') and to
see the damage caused by the recent fire.
With a little rain on the way down, and a
stop at Lisa's parents caravan for a cup of
tea we headed for Skegness for our dinner.
Once there Paul's CBR overheated spitting
out coolant onto the floor later found a blown
fan fuse (Bit to heavy on the Jet Wash). And
to Lisa's dismay the Fish & chips were in
Flippers cafe on Chip Alley and not the sea
front (Sorry Girl!)
Northants & MK Charity Day(Richard, Brian, Derek, Paul and Lisa)
Another Sunny Day and with 5
Members, Richard again provided the route
which gave everyone a happy smile on our
faces when we arrived at the Ten O'Clock
pub......even with the little old granny
causing an issue on the same roundabout
which caught Richard out only weeks
before. The turn out on arrival was better
than last years with over £10,500 raised by
members of the HOC for The Air
Ambulance....., some of this could have
been helped by Paul's constant bidding on
Items..........
Great Yorkshire Bike Show, (Paul and Lisa)
We went to support West Yorkshire
HOC at the show to find out that they had
decided not to attend due to some issues,
never the less Paul and Lisa had an
enjoyable day, Lisa even got serenaded by
Titan-x (a 6'+ walking Robot).
Classic Japanese Bike ShowTrip down to Lotherton Hall for this
event, mainly because Matin was showing
his CB900 Custom – Richard led the way
again, his knowledge of roads never fails to
amaze us, avoiding motorways to get to a
place 15 miles north of Leeds is an
accomplishment in it’s self. A good event
enjoyed by all who attended.
Along with all these our members have
been busy on Bikesafe Courses and
meeting other branches. Taking into
account the poor weather of late the Three
Shires have had a busy last few months with
great prospects ahead.
On a personal noted I would like to thank
everyone who has shown understanding,
care and concern towards both my wife and
I in our recent “set back”. Jill is doing OK at
present and is hopeful of a full recovery, the
next few months will tell.
That’s all for now....Keep smillin’
Keven
THREE SHIRES
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AUTUMN 2007 59
WEST LONDONSecretary: Steve Hill - 020 8291 5263
Well, what a summer it was with all the
rain! We only managed to get out on a few
weekends, but those we did manage were
very enjoyable for all.
On Sunday the 15thy July we took a trip
to the Army display at Aldershot. There was
plenty to do and take part in, and lots of
stands. The Army displays and music in
particular caught our attention, and although
the weather was overcast we did manage to
stay dry.
On the 5th August we decided to take a
trip to the Honda Festival at Gaydon, just off
the M40. It was a change for us; having
been responsible for organizing the HOC
Open day for the last five years, with the
help of Jude and the branch of course, it
was nice to be able to pass the reins to
Mark, Erica and the crowd from Oxford.
I was asked to look after the CBR 20th
anniversary competition, and I have to say I
had a great day with some great weather to
boot. Here’s looking forward to next year
Mark!
On August the 11th & 12th, we had a
long weekend away at Cheddar Gorge, and
ended up just the other side of Minehead.
All this was due to the lack of Bed and
Breakfast available because of a weekend
beer festival. We actually ended up in a little
place called Polock, but there were plenty of
pubs and other places to visit.
The weather had changed for the better,
and we had an excellent ride down on the
Friday. On the Saturday, we stayed at a
place called “The Cottage” and spent the
day taking a veteran train journey on twenty
miles section of restored track between
Minehead & Taunton.
On the Sunday we went to Wookey Hole
and caves, which for me was overdue. I had
previously visited some fifteen years ago,
and we enjoyed a stay of around five hours
before wending our way homewards. With
luck, the good weather might be here to stay
awhile.
Steve & Maureen
Do you provide products
or services for bikers?
Have you thought about an
advert in Golden Wing?
For details of all
advertising options and
costs, please contact
Erica Gassor
advertising@hoc.org.uk
Golden Wing Autumn 2007.qxp 28/10/2007 13:16 Page 59
60 AUTUMN 2007
WEST YORKSHIRESecretary: Big Steve 01274 772970
The West Yorks have a new Home; It's
the Wellington in Bradford and Nigel and
Christine are our hosts. And do they look
after us? Well Nigel is a biker himself and
has Rock nights and Moto GP days; check
out there web site in the links on our site.
Anyway the meetings are going great with
loads turning up for the monthly meeting
(first Monday of the month). We managed to
get four new members at the Pyeratz Open
Day and had a lot of people coming to the
stand and chatting.
The runs are well supported when it’s
dry and we have had some very good ones
this year, again all
details are on the web
site.
By the time you read
this we will have been to
the National Rally and if
previous years are
anything to go by we will
have had a great time; I
hope our run on the
Sunday goes well.
Our day at Gaydon
was great and our thanks go to Erica and all
the organizers at the event. Me and Maria
got to ride a
Goldwing as well
and boy did we
like it.
Check out
the photos of us
at the Pyeratz
Open day and
the September
meeting on our
web site. That's
it, if you haven't
been to a
meeting get
down to one for a
chat and a pint,
we don't bite
(well most of us don't) we now have our own
branch T-shirts and you can get them
through the site.
Big Steve
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AUTUMN 2007 61
Down here in deepest Wiltshire, there
have been some major changes to our
branch, since our July AGM.
As a group we have been torn between
continuing to meet at the Bruce Arms, Near
Pewsey or relocating to another pub which
was more central to where members live -
giving more people a chance to come along
to an evening meeting after work, without a
long journey.
Finding a pub with a ‘separate’ room is
also not easy these days, but we have
compromised by relocating to the Red Lion
at Avebury, which is already an established
‘biker pub’, which is ‘knee deep’ in bikers
from miles around every Wednesday &
Saturday nights throughout the summer. We
have been lucky in getting our own ‘alcove’,
which they reserve for us on the 2nd
Tuesday of each month.
Our August meeting was well attended
and the change of night from a Thursday to
a Tuesday has also allowed some new
members to attend, so ‘mission
accomplished’ so far.
Like most modern pubs, the Red Lion
does bar food, so another advantage is that
members can come straight from work if
they wish and treat themselves to a bar
meal instead of needing to cook that night.
Another Major change we made at our
AGM was to decide to use a different venue
for our May Rally 2008 – the 3 Magpies at
Sells Green, Near Devizes. This pub has
better facilities than the Bruce Arms, namely
hot showers, bar meals available each
lunchtimes and evenings, plus live music on
both the Friday and Saturday nights over the
Bank Holiday – so stick it in your diary right
NOW and we will guarantee you a great
Bank Holiday Biking weekend!
The 3 Magpies is also situated within
spitting distance of the Kennett & Avon
Canal and allows you take a walk along the
towpath to the historic town of Devizes,
passing up the famous Caen Hill flight of 29
Locks, where you can watch the ‘Bargees’
beavering away, working their narrow boats
up through the locks to travel east through
Devizes and onward towards Hungerford
and Newbury.
Needless to say, we will also be doing
our best to show you some of the best
examples of Wiltshire’s glorious ‘rolling
downs’, on the Saturday and Sunday ride
outs – so if you have not come along to the
Wilts Rally before, (or for some time), next
year will be ‘different’ and will provide a
great ‘kick start’ to the 2008 HOC Rally
season!
Theo
WILTSHIRESecretary: John Theobald 01793 853701
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62 AUTUMN 2007
On Friday 3rd August eight individuals
and four bikes set off for Churston in South
Devon, via the scenic route. Two wheels
were certainly an advantage as we carved
through the extended road works outside
Cardiff. After an overcast start the sun
broke through for our arrival in Cheddar, and
we enjoyed the first “Cream Tea” of the
weekend. (Sorry you didn’t have any
strawberries with yours Terry and Lynne,
they were lovely!)
Back on the road we passed numerous
scenic villages. Unlike Vinnie Jones we
sailed through Crapstone, and DID NOT
have to call out the RAC. (Get a Honda
Vinnie!) Our next stop was at a Pub in
Bickleigh where we all enjoyed the views of
the river. This is where Lynne Jacob was
able to alleviate her discomfort. She had
been perched on the back of Paul’s
“Fireblade” with very restrictive knee pads.
A quick visit to the Ladies Loo saw said
knee pads assigned to the bin and Lynne
walking normally again
We then headed for Exeter on A roads.
After Exeter a blast down the M5/A380 saw
us arrive, in the sunshine, at Churston Court
Hotel. This is a 12th Century Grade 1 listed
Manor House, full of character with great
food. After depositing our belongings
we headed to the bar for an ice cold
“Magners” or two!
On Saturday we ventured to
Morwellham Quay on the river Tamar in
Cornwell. This is a Victorian copper
mining museum and visitor centre. On
arrival Deryl had to be restrained from
trail riding in a rather “rural” parking
area.
We had a number of interesting
experiences including a train journey
into a copper mine during which Wayne
waxed all nostalgic recalling his day’s
underground.
SOUTH WALES HOCCHURSTON WEEKEND 3RD – 5TH AUGUST, 2007
Pub at Bickleigh
Views of the river
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AUTUMN 2007 63
We discovered the art of Coopering and
learned how the Victorians prevented rats
chewing their boots and cockroaches eating
their food. We all swapped our biker gear
for Victorian dress, and as you can see
some of us looked better than others. Of
course, it was Cornish pasties for lunch
which had run out by the time Karen and
Deryl were served. (Thanks to Terry and
Lynne Lloyd for sharing theirs.)
At lunchtime the sun
came out. We left
Morwellham late
afternoon, and ended
the day with the
obligatory fish and chips
in Paignton, followed by
an ice cream and a stroll
along the seafront.
After the full English
on Sunday we made a
futile attempt to burn off
the calories by going for
a walk through the
environs of Churston.
The coastal route home
took us through Torquay
and Dawlish. Another
blast on the M5 found us
back in Cheddar in
scorching sunshine.
Paul’s bladder capacity
was tested to the limit and another “Cream
Tea” was consumed with relish. Lynne
Jacob bought a fetching white T-Shirt to
replace her thermals and Carole “Posh
Spice” Williams secured a Radley handbag.
We had a clear journey home from Cheddar
in what is a rare experience this summer,
sunshine.
An excellent weekend was had by all,
and when I get off this diet I can’t wait to do
it again. I big thank you to Wayne
Williams for the time and effort in
planning and executing another
thoroughly enjoyable weekend
break.
Karen Vaughan-Jones
Terry, Wayne, Paul and Deryl
Lynne L, Lynne J, Carole and Karen
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64 AUTUMN 2007
OXFORD TRIP TO LE MANS 2007: HOW SIX BECAME THREE
Tuesday the 15th of May, 19.30, and I’m
at Chievely Services waiting for Richard
Lack. One cigar becomes two, there are no
messages on the mobile and I’m meeting
Richard Slater at Portsmouth at 21.00 to
catch a ferry to Le Havre. At 20.00 I give up
and set off, meeting Richard, as arranged,
at the pub outside the terminal. The mobiles
become red hot as we attempt to track the
missing Lack down. He’s at work, got the
days wrong, missed everything, we leave
tickets and instructions, but he’s given up.
Young Matt Peevor from Scotland had also
booked to come but his bike blew up a few
weeks before and he couldn’t come.
It was a grey morning at Le Havre as we
wobble down to Couterne through the
Normandy countryside. The gendarmes
stop us near Argentan because Richard is
doing 116 kms in a 90 limit. He gets a
wigging and we are allowed to continue,
though I was granted a look through the
radar which confirmed the speed. I was not
clockable because I’d passed
the car Richard was overtaking
and was not a clear target. The
lady gendarme was very
attractive but refused to smile.
We pause for coffee at one of
the cheese towns and arrived
just after midday. The cottage
was opened up, the water and
electricity turned on and we had
a coffee while we waited for
Andy Reynolds and Chris
Tempest – Roe to arrive, they
came on an early ferry via
Dover, and text messages
advised us they were en route, though Z750
riding Reynolds can only manage legal
speeds before wind blast affects him. A new
supermarket had sprung up outside
Bagnoles and Richard and I found the less
than 10 item checkout manned by an
attractive English girl, whose boyfriend was
a biker, and who let us through with about
30 items. Andy Reynolds has a cookbook,
’99 Things to do with Mince,’ needless to
say I tried to keep him away from the
cooker, and we had chicken and chorizo.
Thursday was damp so we set off on the
back roads to Fougeres where we had
coffee but found the castle closed. We had
travelled away from the Le Mans direction
but it was early so we found a route and
rode to the circuit. Charlie, a friend from
Team Roberts, sourced some passes for us
so we visited the pits and saw the bikes
which had just been built. Pedrossa’s bikes
next door were being warmed up which was
noisy but we enjoyed it.
Golden Wing Autumn 2007.qxp 28/10/2007 13:17 Page 64
AUTUMN 2007 65
On Friday we rode down and watched
practice from the stand above the pits, then
went down the road for an early entrecote
before visiting the Team Roberts hotel for a
beer.
The hotel was in a new
development unknown to Garmin so
we did more laps than Junior did on
the track before I spotted a TR tee shirt
on the pavement and got directions.
We set off for the cottage when it
started raining and I led us into Le
Mans and got hopelessly lost. I
stopped by a couple of rather
attractive girls, out clubbing, to get
directions, they didn’t stop and we
kangarooed along for some way
before they agreed to talk. One spoke
excellent English and the other knew
the way, but we managed to get sorted
and leaving town even found a
petrol station open that took cash.
English credit cards now work in
French pumps which is progress.
Strange things happened on
Saturday morning, I woke to the
sound of a Sprint ST going down
the lane, and not wanting to miss
the breakfast croissants dived
towards the shower. Breakfast
didn’t arrive; the sound was Chris
T-R going home! His son has an
accident a few days after passing
his test and he was away. The
original party of six was now three;
it was getting like Russian roulette,
who was next? Incidentally I only visited the
bakery once, I explained the girl in the shop
was both friendly and attractive, and was
trampled in the rush. Andy Reynolds spoilt
the illusion by pointing out that she had false
teeth. We rode up through the Suisse
Normande to Avranche where we visited the
D Day museum. Coming back via St Lo a
Suzuki overtook us on the by pass making
116 kms look like very small beer, but the
helicopter seemed not too bothered. We
had a table booked in Lassay for supper and
just made it. We were the only diners, when
a couple of cyclists looked at the menu the
door was shut, they were far too thin,
wouldn’t have got past the starters, practical
people the French, one look at Reynolds
and Slater and they could hear the cash
register tinkling.
Golden Wing Autumn 2007.qxp 28/10/2007 13:17 Page 65
66 AUTUMN 2007
At last, race day. The
morning was warm and misty
and apart from a small blemish
where I came out of a T junction
and reverted to driving on the left
all went well. A lorry came over
the brow and as I cursed him for
being on my side it all became
clear, my life flashed in front of
me, and normal service was resumed. At
the circuit I decided to demolish my jacket
and removed both the
waterproof and thermal
liners. We joined the
throng sat on the bank by
the campsite opposite the
giant screen, and were
abused when we stood up
to watch the racing, the
locals think that bringing a
seat and watching the
screen is enough. Not for
us, we could have stayed
at home and done that,
anyway Bradley Smith
was doing well and
needed a wave. When he
caught the leading group I
thought he might go further, but he clearly
settled for third and his first podium. One of
my ambitions is to be at a GP where the
national anthem is played, I know the Italian
and Spanish ones too well. The 250’s were
hairy, nothing like a couple of Spaniards
who don’t get on, and then we got to the
Moto GP. The clouds rolled in, Team
Roberts even started Junior on wets. The
race was great, mad Frogs ignoring the lack
of adhesion and zooming into the lead then
the gravel. Valentino being Captain
Cautious and going backwards, Vermulen
winning and Stoner came third. All the time
I was getting wetter and wetter until I was
soaked. We had to give up on the post race
meeting with TR and limp to the bike park.
With waterproofs on in the
jam it was like sitting in a
hot bath, but the rain had
stopped, speeds increased
and hypothermia set in as
we rode back to the
cottage. I lit a cigar and sat
by the log fire after my
shower and warmed up.
We had no mince so Andy
Reynolds cooked his other
signature dish, black
pudding omelette, which
was a triumph. Only then
did he advise us that
Tempest – Roe had been a
chef in a previous
incarnation, he kept that quiet.
Golden Wing Autumn 2007.qxp 28/10/2007 13:17 Page 66
AUTUMN 2007 67
Monday was naturally sunny as the GP
had ended, so we went to Sees where
Reynolds wanted to visit a cathedral. It was
locked, most things are in France on
Mondays, so we went for a coffee and then
to the French National Stud where huge
draught horses called
Percherons were bred.
One of the stallions
liked the look of Slater
and was getting a little
excited. The thought
crossed my mind that
locked in a stable with
four hooves, and the
mares in the field, was
only going to lead to
rampant frustration, he
had my sympathy. That
night we rode into
Bagnoles for supper
and were joined by a
party of Brummie bikers, they
were the worst advertisement for
a) bikers, and b) Birmingham, you
could imagine. They even abused
us for having top boxes, we paid
up and left. They behaved like
something you would have seen in
Monty Python 20 years ago, and
which with cheap air travel you
can’t believe still happens, still
they will never get to Brno. Unless
they go to a stag weekend in
Prague and get lost. You would
think with all the technology about
today that something would be
tripped by their tags and ASBO’s
as they try and leave the country.
Tuesday was departure for
Andy Reynolds and after he set off
Richard and I decided to catch the
17.00 home and so we packed
and left. The forecast was poor
but at Le Havre the sun shone and
the crossing was flat, home by
10.30. We had a good trip,
heavily subsidised by the non
arrivals, the lesson to be learned
is take out travel insurance, LD
Lines tickets are non refundable.
Bob Deane
Golden Wing Autumn 2007.qxp 28/10/2007 13:17 Page 67
68 AUTUMN 2007
HONDA FESTIVALHONDA FESTIVALThis year the “Focus Machine” for our
Classic Gathering was the CBR600F
introduced in July 1987. It seems hard to
believe that Honda released the first of the
“Pocket Rockets” twenty years ago! So
it was felt that this year we would mark the
arrival of a modern machine for our classic
event.
Erica Gassor had commandeered Mark
Clargo and the Oxford Branch team to
organize and run the event with a little help
from their friends, including the Gold Wing
Owners Club, Pan European Club,
CBR110R Owners Club, Vintage Japanese
Owners Club, Historic Honda Collection,
British Motorcyclist Federation and Institute
of Advanced Motorists
This year we used the “Historic Motor
Museum” at Gaydon just south of Warwick
for this event and it proved to be an ideal
location which we hope to use again. We
also managed to try and keep all the visitors
busy with machine test rides using eight
press fleet machines supplied by Honda. In
the main
c o n f e r e n c e
centre we held
t h r e e
seminars on
Rider Safety,
Visibility and
Honda History
covering the
beginnings of
H o n d a
in t roduc t ion
and the Honda
Owners Club. I
will admit that I
felt my age
when I was
talking about
life with Honda
almost fifty
years ago. So when you think about classic
models you should include some of us older
members as well?
Five hundred Honda owners attended
the event with over three hundred
motorcycles and car owners. This is a good
increase over last year’s event and it was
held, as it was on a perfect summer’s day;
let’s hope that we can have the same for
next year.
We held two separate concours
competitions covering the “CBR Range” and
“Classic” machines. Once again the
standard on the machines entered was very
good. I also found that if you talked to the
owners, you found that their enthusiasm
shone through for the machines that they
had restored and entered, which is all part of
motorcycling. Well done everybody. It was a
great day and I now look forward to next
year’s event.
Dave BartonClassic Secretary
Rob & Joy Monschau with their winning CBR110R on the right
Golden Wing Autumn 2007.qxp 28/10/2007 13:17 Page 68
AUTUMN 2007 69
Alan Rutterford with two winning machines
1st CB750 K2 1972 2nd CB550F 1972NSR400 (above)
A 1987 CBR600F which took 3rd
place in the CBR concourse
The RCB1000RR (HRC Engine) that
Ron Haslam won the 1981 British
Superbike Championship on
and a 3 cylinder NS500
CBX 6 (below)
Golden Wing Autumn 2007.qxp 28/10/2007 13:17 Page 69
70 AUTUMN 2007
KEEPING IT RUBBER
SIDE DOWN!!
With the racing season coming to a
close once again (doesn't the year go
quickly!) winners and losers are emerging.
Despite valiant efforts, several of last
year's hero's are struggling this year and no
longer in top place with young new comer's
emerging to take the titles.
In BSB it does look as though Honda are
in a win/win situation with either Kiyonari
retaining his title or Rea taking the crown on
his Honda. If Toseland wins the WSB and
with the World Supersport title being held by
Kenan Sofuoglu, a rider with the Hannspree
Ten Kate Honda team, the Honda bikes
have not had a bad year, although they
have been less fortunate in the GP's.
I have to admit to having a lot of
sympathy for Haydon and Pedrosa as they
have fought their way through the year but
then with even the once seemingly
invincible Rossi having problems, no one is
immune from the changing fortunes of bike
racing.
'So near, yet so far' is a thought which
often springs to mind as you watch
championship leaders have technical or tyre
problems or a 'racing incident' as they strive
to win the title and whether you particularly
like a rider or not you cannot help but have
sympathy for those who's efforts have been
thwarted during the year.
Tyre choices and performances have
played a major part in the success or failure
of several riders this year and I am sure the
manufacturers will be working hard during
the closed season to try and overcome the
problems of the year.
Tyre performance and development for
the track are an important part of any
manufacturers development for their
general road tyres and they cannot afford to
be seen to have poor performances
From the rider's point of view also, I am
sure that the 'lottery' of who will ride which
bike during 2008 will also include a lot of
discussion around tyre choices and
compounds.
The Stiggette
Golden Wing Autumn 2007.qxp 28/10/2007 13:17 Page 70
AUTUMN 2007 71
CCCCIIIISSSSTTTTRRRRAAAAKKKK
DUDE, WHERE’S MY CAR?Christmas is here again and so begins the annual search for the perfect present for
your nearest and dearest. As there’s always someone who’s impossible to buy for, this
Christmas there’s a solution that will not only satisfy their inner ‘gadget geek’, but will
provide them with protection for their most prized possession.
CISTRAK is a great interactive vehicle tracking device which allows motorists to
locate their car or bike anywhere in the world using only a mobile phone and without
having to call a monitoring station first. All you need to do is call the device and less than
10 seconds later you’ll receive a text message telling you exactly where your car is!
You can also track your vehicle online - simply log onto www.CISTRAK.co.uk to see
a real time satellite view of your vehicle within moments.
CISTRAK is suitable for all vehicles, including motorbikes and works using a GPS
system which locks onto satellites orbiting the earth to obtain a pinpoint position
worldwide. The GSM system in the CISTRAK then reports the information to a mapping
platform via the internet or to a mobile phone.
So whether you know a dedicated petrol head, someone who’s overly protective of
their bike or someone who’s been known to lose their bike in an unfamiliar town, the
CISTRAK is an ideal present and, unlike other trackers, the device is transferable so
CISTRAK really is for life, not just for Christmas!
CISTRAK is available at £399 fitted plus VAT (SRP) from www.CISTRAK.co.uk and
authorised resellers. Stockists are listed at www.CISTRAK.co.uk.
For further information on CISTRAK or CIS contact;
Ceri-Jane Hackling Helen Lumby
Cerub PR Cerub PR
01494 461784 01494 463992
Ceri@cerubpr.co.uk Helen@cerubpr.co.uk
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or e-mail it to hoconsumer@hoc.org.uk
HHOOCCHHOOCCOONNSSUUMMEERROONNSSUUMMEERRCompiled by Mark Clargo - HOConsumer Editor
Golden Wing Autumn 2007.qxp 28/10/2007 13:17 Page 71
72 AUTUMN 2007
CELEBRATING 75 YEARS OF DREMEL®
This Autumn sees Dremel celebrate its Diamond Jubilee with the release of a Limited
Edition Tool Kit set to hit the shelves in September. For 75 years, Dremel has produced
ingenious, award winning tools used in hobby and craft work across the world.
Albert J. Dremel founded Dremel Manufacturing Co. in the US in 1932 – his premier
product being the first electric razor blade sharpener. Over the last 75 years, Dremel
has continued to produce ingenious tools that meet customers’ evolving needs
Albert Dremel held a wide
range of patents: 55 in all. They
included everything from electric
erasers to the first design of the
now standard rotary lawn mower.
Perhaps his greatest invention
ever was a high-speed rotary tool
dubbed the Dremel Moto-Tool.
Compact, lightweight and
incredibly versatile, it was an
instant success with hobby and
craft people who gave it various
nicknames including the "pocket
machine shop" and the "electric
Swiss Army knife."
An alternative to larger, bulky
products, the Dremel Moto-Tool was the ultimate problem solving tool and it put Dremel
Manufacturing Co. on the map. The tool proved so popular and useful that it was
adopted by the army and used during World War II.
Some of Albert’s other inventions included the electric shoe polisher, an electric
screwdriver, a whole line of power sanders and scroll saws, and even an electric fish
scaler. A few of these inventions have survived the test of time, for example, there are
still shoe polishers around everywhere.
As inventive as Albert was, it was nothing compared to the amazing ways people
found to use their rotary tools. Military doctors pioneered techniques to reduce scar
tissue from battle wounds. The Dremel rotary tool was also enlisted as an electric tattoo
remover. Podiatrists have since adopted the tool for use on shoe inserts. Dentists use
it for crafting dentures. It even had a bit part in the movie "Jurassic Park," appearing at
the dig site of actors Sam Neill and Laura Dern !
DDDDRRRREEEEMMMMEEEELLLL
Golden Wing Autumn 2007.qxp 28/10/2007 13:17 Page 72
AUTUMN 2007 73
Albert passed away in 1968 and in 1973 Dremel Manufacturing Co. was acquired by
Emerson Electric, which brought additional depth to its management, engineering and
manufacturing. The acquisition allowed the Dremel brand to modernise its
manufacturing process and expand the product portfolio to include a compact table saw
and a multi-use disc/belt sander.
1n 1993 Dremel was purchased by Robert Bosch Tool Corporation joining the ranks
of other industry leading names such as Bosch and Skil. The acquisition was a key
milestone for Dremel as it allowed the brand to spread into Europe for the first time.
Today Dremel products are designed by a dedicated engineering and design team
located in Illinois, USA who continue to add to its rotary tool line with speciality tools.
The success of the Dremel brand comes from a desire to serve professionals,
homeowners, craftspeople and artists alike who use Dremel tools every day around the
world to craft, create, refurbish and so much more.
To that end the Limited Edition Tool Kit launched by Dremel this September
comprises the Dremel 300 Series Multi Tool, the new Multi-Vise, Flex Shaft, getting
started DVD and two accessory cases containing 75 high quality accessories.
Enthusiasts who purchase the Anniversary Kits will be able to take part in a diamond
hunt game with a variety of prizes up for grabs including Grand Prix tickets and Dremel
merchandise.
DDDDRRRREEEEMMMMEEEELLLL
Golden Wing Autumn 2007.qxp 28/10/2007 13:17 Page 73
74 AUTUMN 2007
CD 125 BENLY 1982200CC ENGINE
37,000 miles, much loved andused for nine years, largely
idle since I turned 67!Kept in garage, red, classiclines, new battery/tax/MOTTop box & Oxford panniers
(for trips to Scotland,Cornwall etc)
£25001452 527484
MargaretGloucester
MMMMEEMMBBEERRSSEEMMBBEERRSS FFFFRREEEERREEEE AAAADDSSDDSSAdverts must be received by the 1st December for inclusion in the Winter Issue. Email editor@hoc.org.ukWrite to: Golden Wing, Unit 1B & 5B, Kemps Quay Industrial Park, Quayside Road, Southampton SO18 1BZ
FOR SALE
VFR-FV 750March 1997
GreenI am the second owner
since April 1998.12700 miles approx.
Taxed and MOTNew rectifier 2 years ago.
Recent new batteryKept in garage
Honda tool kit and manualDatataggedOld MOT's
Excellent condition.
Has been a second bike andreally is not being used like it
should!
£2000 ono
01489 799946
mark@athome.flyer.co.ukMark
Hampshire
HONDA SS50 ZE1973, 100 miles on speedobut never used or registered
for the road.This was the training bike
used at Maulden College totrain Honda mechanics.
Owner has passed away, sogood home needed withenthusiast. Price open to
negotiation.
£800 - £1,00001323 485682
Mrs CuttsEastbourne
DEAUVILLE 6502005 Red
Mint conditionvery low mileage.
Owner passed away.In addition the following items;
Xspeed helmet in bagGivi Monokey
Leather boots, size 11.Hein Gericke Gortex Jacket & Trousers
Imara Gortex JacketAllseason Cordura Gortex
trouser.
£4500 ono01604 403091
annenicholson@fsmail.net
Anne NicholsonNorthampton
Golden Wing Autumn 2007.qxp 28/10/2007 13:18 Page 74
AUTUMN 2007 75
ADS CAN BE POSTED FREE ON THE CLUB WEBSITE AT
www.hoc.org.uk/forum.html
ADVERTISING
IN MEMBERS
FREE ADS
MEMBERS
free all sections
must state
membership number
OTHERS
FOR SALE (BIKES):
£18 1st insertion-
subsequent free
(includes free
membership)
OTHER CATEGORIES:
£3 per insertion
WANTED
WANTED BYENTHUSIAST
CB72/77, CB92,CB175 K4
or Black BomberMust be in good standardorder - call David above
£Waiting01270 841032David Poole (30205)
Cheshire
HONDA MONKEY1974 Z50 J1
Excellent condition, runssvery well, collectors item.
£1,500
01270 841032
David Poole (30205)Cheshire
BMFAFFILIATION
CODE
Would all membersplease note that theBMF affiliation code
for the HOC is
HOC07Y600
REMINDERREMINDERREMINDER
4th November 2007HONDA OWNERS CLUB
AGMDONNINGTON PARK
WITH SPECIAL GUEST
RON HASLAMAND POSSIBLY
BSB CONTENDER
LEON!
CX500 W REGNo tax but loads of test, new
tyres, good condition, lowmiles.
£800
0113 242 489507972 371705
Kevin Hitchings (29837)
Golden Wing Autumn 2007.qxp 28/10/2007 13:18 Page 75
Golden Wing Autumn 2007.qxp 28/10/2007 13:18 Page 82
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