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Golden Wing Spring 2008.qxp 25/03/2008 18:35 Page 1
Golden Wing Spring 2008.qxp 25/03/2008 18:35 Page 2
SPRING 2008 1
Spring 2008, Volume 46 No. 1
Editor / DesignerTim Lee
editor@hoc.org.uk
Diary Co-ordinatorAndy Stryczko
webmaster@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
Summer IssueCopy Date 1st June 2008
Published by end of June 2008
Printing & Distribution by:LPC Printing Ltd
Hardley Industrial EstateHythe,Southampton
Tel: 023 8084 6334
© Honda Owners Club (GB) 2008
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 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2Editor Says . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4Kicking Back . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7Membership Matters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8Barry’s Bit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10Pidgeon Post . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11Classic Corner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12Down Your Way . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18Reports from: Bedfordshire, Cambridge, Eastern,Gloucestershire, Kent, Lakes & Coast, Manx,Manchester, North London, Northants & MK, NESS,Oxford, Solent, South Wales, Three Shires, WestCoast Riders, West London, Wilts
Racing Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .69A Grand Day Out . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .72Mancunians Abroad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .75Classic Racing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .78Shop@HOC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .82HOConsumer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .83Members Free Ads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .86Members Discounts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .88
PLACES TO GO & THINGS TO DOHonda Expo ‘08 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16Bedforshire Clappers Rally . . . . . . . . . . .21East Midlands Rally . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27HOC Roast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38Northants & MK Charity Day . . . . . . . . .44Diary Dates centre pagesOxford Rally . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52Solent Rally . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .56Three Shires Rally . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .62Wilts Spring Rally . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .68National Rally . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .70
FRONT COVER
The front cover shows Brian on his
Shadow during the Three Shires S’ no
Rally. Thanks to Paul Gbel from Three
Shires for the photo.
Golden Wing Spring 2008.qxp 25/03/2008 18:35 Page 1
2 SPRING 2008
DIBBLES GOT A NEW RIDE
During November I got a newer bike. I
now have a VFR750FV, which carries on the
old registration of F999VFR. It’s blue, and
as with all my bikes shows that it is well
used by the accumulation of miles and road
grime. I have done three and bit thousand
miles on it in the first three months and it has
been out in all weathers. Its first real club
outing was the S’no rally held in South
Yorkshire, so not as far ‘north’ as the Three
Shires like to claim. However in keeping with
the season we actually had Snow. Couple of
inches of it made the Saturday morning look
stunning with the sun shining over the bright
white scenery. Some people said it was cold
over the weekend but I rated it as a little bit
chilly as it was only minus 6!
It was a great weekend, the rally was
well organised and one to be proud of. Well
done Three Shires.
MANAGEMENT MEETING
The minutes of this have been published
and are available from the General
Secretary. The main features were that we
seem, in the main, to have turned the corner
with our finances showing a return to levels
last seen in 2005. Not to be complacent we
are grateful to Erica for her magnificent work
on keeping our advertising revenue on the
increase. We also have a website that is
making life a lot easier to those who use the
Internet for just about everything including
buying our membership and regalia.
Branches represented are in the main
reported good attendance and lively diaries
for the membership to be enjoying. Keep up
the good work all of you involved on that
front.
WHAT ARE YOU DOING?
By the time you read this we will have
been to the National Bike Safe event at Met
Police training HQ Hendon and I am sure
some of you reading this will have joined us
there, so welcome. We will be well on the
way to early summer rallies and of course
the annual pilgrimage to the BMF show at
Peterborough where you can enjoy tea
cakes provided by the members, for the
members, in your own sit down café area. If
you have not already booked it is not too
late either to get in on our National Rally at
Weymouth which promises to be a well
attended event with the promise of at least
warm rain if the weather is not sunny.
So no excuses now it’s time to get out
there and be a part of it
EVEN BIGGER FORUM
The internet website is now functioning
at a good rate with purchasing systems and
up to the minute news. Even more
remarkable is the steady growth of the
Forum which now has over 700 readers and
contributors. If you are not on it have a look.
You can post questions and get answers or
even give answers to others. It’s FREE and
can be fun.
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 Spring 2008.qxp 25/03/2008 18:35 Page 2
3
EEEE ’’’’SSSS OOOONNNN!!!! NOW IT’S THE BOYS TURN
Some of you will have met my lad Jamie
well he turns 16 in April and we have
secured him his CBT booking, a bike and
kit. He does not know this at time of writing
but hopefully it is the start of a biking future
for him, just like his Dad. Never thought I
would be saying things like that.
Ride on but most of all ride safe
Dibble
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 SecretaryGraham Seymour
279 Wisden Road, Trotts Hill, Stevenage SG1 5NR
��01438 357398� gensec@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
Regalia Co-ordinatorJennie Clarke
6 Bugby Way, Raunds, Northants, NN9 6SX
�� 01933 399463 / 07759 805181 � regalia@hoc.org.uk
TreasurerRuth Wingrove,
38 Bower Street, Bedford MK40 3RE.� treasurer@hoc.org.uk
Advertising ManagerErica Gassor,
�� 07799 49 2235 � advertising@hoc.org.uk
WebmasterAndy (Stritchy) Stryczko
38 Bower Street, Bedford MK40 3RE� webmaster@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
SPRING 2008
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)GRAHAM (General Secretary)GRAHAM (General Secretary)
Golden Wing Spring 2008.qxp 25/03/2008 18:35 Page 3
4
EEEEDDIITTOORRDDIITTOORR SSSSAAYYSSAAYYSS ........Hello once again to one and all and
welcome to another bumper edition of
Golden Wing. I hope I don’t tempt fate, but
you should be reading this issue at around
the end of March, for once on time. This is
important as one of our new advertisers
MCN, is advertising their initial MCN Live
event on the 18th-21st April; see the advert
opposite.
Quite a few of you have asked what has
been happening with my house, as the
repairs and renovations were very far from
complete the time I last reported. Well, the
simple answer is we are no further forward,
but this is wholly intentional.
Last Autumn I was standing outside
surveying the area of thick clay that has
been our garden for the last two years trying
to decide whether to squelch through the
clay to finish the wall, or dig in the clay to
start laying the drainage, when Mandy
came out clutching a letter. The letter was
from a local developer who felt our house
was ripe for knocking down and replacing
with flats. Oh how I agreed! For a moment I
wondered if he was a member of the HOC
and had been reading of the difficulties we
were having, but it was later confirmed that
one of my neighbours had initially asked
them to look at a project concerning a
number of our houses. Alas, their plots were
either too small or not the right shape.
So, after settling on a price, and having
formally entered an option agreement, the
developer submitted an application and
plans to the local authority. They had
already warned us that it would be declined
on the first application, but were confident
that it would go through on appeal. The
costs of making such an application are far
more than I would have expected, but
luckily for us, these were all paid by the
developer.
When I saw the plans, I couldn’t see
why they would be declined at the first
application. Yes the building was big, but
from the
front had
b e e n
designed to
r e s e m b l e
t w o
ind iv idua l
houses the
same as
next door.
It was no
h i g h e r
than any
neighbouring property and
placed centrally in the plot, there being no
discernable building line for the road. In
addition the council are some way short of
their new homes target.
How wrong could I be? Despite being
almost totally Lib Dem, the council, or at
least their officers have demonstrated
“nimbyism” to the level I couldn’t believe
possible for an elected body; or perhaps
that’s why. Maybe, and despite the cost
being paid for by the council tax payers, it is
easier for an adjudicator at an appeal to
make an unpopular decision than those
who are hoping to be re-elected. However,
it was not just the council, but many in the
locality who had objections, some of which
were hilarious, or would have been if it
hadn’t been for the fact that they were
serious.
These included complaints that the
extra occupants of the plot would overload
the drainage system and make local
flooding worse; this from people whose
road was closed for two months last year
while Southern Water up-rated the drains!
Another popular one was that the
demolition of our house would see the loss
of an “important local landmark”! Perhaps
we should charge admission or sell
postcards, and should the 2000 piece
jigsaw be with or without scaffolding I
wonder? cont........
SPRING 2008
Golden Wing Spring 2008.qxp 25/03/2008 18:35 Page 4
Golden Wing Spring 2008.qxp 25/03/2008 18:35 Page 5
Needless to say the initial application
was declined, but for reasons which again
are laughable. Evidently, the development
would be out of keeping with the dominant
form of development in the road; I wonder if
the dominant form of development includes
the fire and ambulance station 300 yards
down the road, or the car forecourt 200
yards the other way. The second reason
was that the addition of extra vehicles on
site poses an unacceptable increase in
noise to the neighbours. This again would
be understandable, if it were not for the fact
that we live on a road which is the main
arterial route from the motorway to the local
industrial estates, and can measure traffic
passing the door in terms of HGV’s per
minute!
As I write, the appeal is being prepared,
and we hope that by the autumn we will
have sold and moved. The alternative of
course is that the appeal will be turned
down, in which case I will have to accept
that what I think is common sense is
actually bias occasioned by the possibility
of financial gain, and we will be
staying………I think perhaps digging the
clay to lay the drainage would be the best
place to start. Well, that’s enough ranting
from me for this issue.
On a different matter, if you wonder what
the yellow SS shield are on some adverts
are for. It means the event is a Saddle Sore
qualifiying event.
Once again thank you for all
contributions, please keep them coming,
especially pitures for the front cover.
Keep it tidy,
Tim
Golden Wing Spring 2008.qxp 25/03/2008 18:36 Page 6
SPRING 2008 7
WHAT AGE? REVISITED
Dear Editor,
I read with interest that our contribution
for the autumn edition of Golden Wing was
regarded by Mr. Francis Tarling (at least)
and maybe some others, as
perhaps not being entirely
accurate with regard to our
Mr. Berris – our “almost”
senior member. We were all
thrilled here in North
London that the Biking
Phenomenon known as
Pete Berris is being
followed nationally.
I can place on record
that Pete (aka “OAPete” or
“Pop” as he is affectionately
called) was most
disconcerted with the
allegations regarding his
age.
Unfortunately, because
of his years he finds it
difficult to read all but the
STOP signs at major roads, and writing is
obviously out of the question, so asked me
to respond on his behalf.
According to a recent interview given to
the local newspaper conducted at his care
home in Waltham Cross; where he was
entertaining the old folks with some stunt
riding, Pete was boasting of his age and
mental capacity (this is a common trait of
one advancing in years. He is actually
quoted as saying that he is not sure if he is
114 years old with an IQ of 74, or 74 with an
IQ of 114. Knowing him as we do, we
decided to go with the option A.
So in fact some of the information we
have may not really be 100% reliable. Pete
is an amiable old codger always willing to
take new people under his wing and explain
all about motorcycling to them whilst making
sure he is kept well supplied with his
favourite tipple of a Mackeson and Vimto
cocktail.
I attach a photo of Pete and his live-in
carer, Stuart, who
was helping him get
around the Bike
Show at the
beginning of
February this year.
Yours sincerely
John Saffer
I am reliablyinformed that Stuarthas an unsurpassedrecord in caring forthe elderly, and anyrumor that the choiceof carer wasinfluenced by the
height of applicant or Pete’s search for acure to his long standing “cold ear” problemis purely co-incidental. Ed
KKKKIICCKKIINNGGIICCKKIINNGG BBBBAACCKKAACCKK ................Something to Say - Say it here
Kicking BackKicking BackLetters for the next issue need to
arrive by
1st June 2008
E-mail to editor@hoc.org.uk
or post to:
Golden Wing, Units 1B & 5BKemps Quay Industrial Park
Quayside Road, Southampton. SO18 1AD
Golden Wing Spring 2008.qxp 25/03/2008 18:36 Page 7
8 SPRING 2008
WELCOMEWelcome to all our new members who
have joined us recently, especially now that
we have moved into the 21st Century with
PayPal. 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?We are down to two! Yes, only two
copies of the last magazine were returned
by Royal Mail, so lets try and get it down to
nil! So 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),
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 some time 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 account details (address is
the one printed on your cheques) and we
will do the rest. You won’t have to worry
then about missing a copy of your ‘Golden
Wing’. Don’t forget that the rates are fixed
until 2012, another reason for signing up!
Graham Gull
Membership SecretaryGraham Gull
61 Vicarage RoadWare SG12 7BE
� membership@hoc.org.uk
MMMMEEMMBBEERRSSHHIIPPEEMMBBEERRSSHHIIPP MMMMAATTTTEERRSSAATTTTEERRSS ............
CCCCHHHHAAAANNNNGGGGEEEE OOOOFFFFAAAADDDDDDDDRRRREEEESSSSSSSS
PPPPlllleeeeaaaasssseeee sssseeeennnnddddcccchhhhaaaannnnggggeeee ooooffff
aaaaddddddddrrrreeeessssssss ddddeeeettttaaaaiiii llllssssttttoooo tttthhhheeee
MMMMeeeemmmmbbbbeeeerrrrsssshhhhiiiippppSSSSeeeeccccrrrreeeettttaaaarrrryyyy,,,,
nnnnooootttt ttttoooo GGGGoooollllddddeeeennnn WWWWiiiinnnngggg....
TTTThhhhaaaannnnkkkkssss .... .... .... ....EEEEDDDD
NEW FOREST
CLASSIC RIDE OUT
Open to all Hondas manufactured
prior to 1980
SUNDAY 1st JUNE.
Nice roads with a pub stop for dinner.
Anyone interested please contact
Dave BartonClassic Secretary
classic@hoc.org.uk
53 Northlands Road, Totton
Southampton. S040 3HA
Golden Wing Spring 2008.qxp 25/03/2008 18:36 Page 8
Golden Wing Spring 2008.qxp 25/03/2008 18:36 Page 9
10 SPRING 2008
Welcome to the world of the unseen.
Once you are on a moving motorcycle,
you will be come unseen by all other road
users. It is only when you are stopped that
you will be come visible to most. This gives
them the opportunity to question your
contribution to noise pollution and other
things; your mental state and your
parentage for example. It also gives them to
opportunity to hit you if you should be laying
prone in the road.
Laying prone in the road is a position
often taken up by motorcyclists. This is due
to the basic instability of motorcycles. Rain
tends to enhance the instability especially if
accompanied by braking or changing
direction - doing both at the same time can
almost guarantee the prone position.
Many bikers invest heavily in protective
gear. What the manufacturers do not make
clear is that the various bits of gear are very
good at protecting itself. Apart from when
they protect the rider from gravel rash, when
the gear may well become scuffed, most
gear has the ability to transmit forces that
shatter bones and rupture internal organs
without showing any signs of impact
damage. Helmets can brake necks or cause
the brain to rattle about in the skull whilst
showing little more than a bit of chipped
paint. Boots have been seen to look in good
condition, even when they have been found
with a detached foot inside them.
I tend to agree with the long and
expensive process of getting a motorcycle
license. Not because it makes for better
bikers, but it does tend to give people time
to reflect and to put off all but the most
determined.
There are millions of ‘ex bikers’ out
there, who in simpler days gave biking a try
but decided it was not for them, or they had
the decision made for them. Parents, wives,
girl friends and even the neighbors tend to
frown upon motorcycling as a method of
transport, and with good reason.
Death and crippling injury of a loved
one, can not only be very upsetting it can
also be very inconvenient. The
inconvenience can linger long after they
crying has stopped. For those without
dependents, it need not be a great issue,
but for those with dependents they are not
only putting themselves at risk, they are also
threatening the future of those who are
dependent upon them. Be it aging parents
or young children, suddenly having their
‘rock’ turn to sand can be very inconvenient.
Whatever the cause the very fact that a
motorcycle was involved automatically gives
the event a tinge of ‘self infliction’.
In recent years we have seen quite a
flux of what are called Born Again Bikers. I
think this is great. It suggest that they took
up biking when they were young with no
responsibilities, gave up biking during their
‘responsible’ years and have returned now
the kids are off hand and perhaps the
mortgage paid.
Just remember that for every biker now
on the road, there are thousands of ex
bikers and even more ‘thought about it but
decided not’ people who have made a
different decision than you.
Proving them wrong will not be easy -
now you are among the invisibles.
Good luck - but don’t rely upon it!
Barry Tinson
TO NEW BIKERS!
Golden Wing Spring 2008.qxp 25/03/2008 18:36 Page 10
SPRING 2008 11
General Secretary - Graham Seymour
PPPPIIGGEEOONNIIGGEEOONN PPPPOOSSTTOOSSTT !!........!!........
Hello once again.I’ve now issued three monthly mail outs,
and following on from my comments in thelast Golden Wing, would welcome anyfeedback from the members. Mainly, haveyou been receiving them? Is there anythingelse you would like to see in there? Pleaselet me know.
I’m delighted to see a noticeableincrease in social events on the calendar forthis year that involve two or more branchesgetting together for a run, bowling, AuntSally (?) or whatever. Whilst it is convenientto be allocated to the nearest branch, HOCmembers are entitled to attend club eventsat any other branch, and it doesn’t halfextend your social circle in the process!
As with any club, the ebb and flow ofmembers and the throwing together ofdifferent personalities can on occasioncause friction within branches. At the risk of
making light of such matters, don’t forgetthat the only reason we are all here is toenjoy our bikes and hopefully, each otherscompany. Very few things are importantenough to fall out over! Don’t forget thateither myself or any other member of theexecutive committee will be only too willingto help or mediate if given the chance in theevent of any disagreements. I work in theconstruction industry and we have a sayingthat if you have to reach for the contract youhave already lost the argument. The sameapplies to the club rules!
By the time you read this we should bewell into spring and the year’s activities.Let’s shake off those winter blues and getout there.
All the best
Graham
Golden Wing Spring 2008.qxp 25/03/2008 18:36 Page 11
12 SPRING 2008
In the last magazine I talked aboutthe “ Super Blackbird “ CBR1100XX andsaid that this all started with the firstdouble over head cam in line fourcylinder (not six cylinder) machine theCB900F. Honda had produced the singleover head cam, four cylinder range forjust over ten years, from 1969 – 1981.
It was June 1981 and at the Isle ofMan TT, Honda showed off the newCB750F/CB900F to the world. This wasthe first time that Honda had produced a900cc machine, and this machineneeded to be perfect to take on theworld. To prove the point, the newmachine was being raced in the WorldEndurance Class (RCB 1000cc) andpushed to its limits. This was the first
time that Honda had returned to racingsince winning all the crowns in thesixties. After being the world numberone they had nothing to prove, but nowthey were back with vengeance.
At the time the CB900F gave you awhole new experience for a new“Superbike”. The double over head camengine uses two more chains. The firstone runs from the crankshaft up to theexhaust cam, then the other chain runsfrom the exhaust to inlet cam. Inaddition, and for the first time on thisfour cylinder engine, we have shims tocover tappet clearances and this makesthe valves sit directly below thecamshafts. Both chains have their ownadjusters so they run very quiet. Thenew American design was aimed atproviding high mileage reliability. Withfour valves per cylinder the engineproved to be very free breathing.
Carburetion was by four 32mmconstant vacuum carburettors withacceleration pump to kick you in the
backside for instant throttleresponse. I have seen a CB900Fstood on it’s rear wheel onacceleration so I do know that itworks!
Ignition is by a fully transistorizedelectronic system. The four valvecylinder head gives a centralposition for the spark plug giving thebest efficiency.
Transmission is covered by a fivespeed gear cluster. These are verywell spaced to give useableacceleration, and it also means thatyou can hold on to your speed in topgear, and not loose it climbing steephills.
CB900F
1981
Golden Wing Spring 2008.qxp 25/03/2008 18:36 Page 12
SPRING 2008 13
To keep the plot firmly on the groundwe have double acting front forks with6.3 inches of travel. Rear suspension iscovered by the new Honda F.V.Q. fullyadjustable units with six adjustments forrebound and five spring pre-loadsettings.
To complement the performance ofthe machine Honda have provided threedisc brakes to slow down and keepeverything under control. So in theCB900F Honda had now produced a“Super Sports” machine designed tomake the adrenalin flow and stimulatethe ego for a great deal of fun!
The Americans have an A.M.A.“Street Bike” Class for Racing whereriders like
Eddie Lawson, Kenny Roberts andFreddie Spencer did their teething onthe handlebars of this type of streetbike. In fact Freddie Spencer showed
the world how to spin and steer with therear wheel. So the “Street Bike” Classwith standard road machines gave us allsome amazing racing.
So the replacement for the singleoverhead cam fours was making itsmark on the motorcycle world. HondaClub Members were joining in the funwith a couple of Solent Branch Memberspurchasing the new machines. One ofus Keith Temperly (nick name “Temp”)owned a blue CB900F, and now I will saywhy we called our Keith “Temp”.
For one of the Solent branch clubruns, I had decided to take a group tovisit the West London branch at theirmeeting. So, one nice, dry and brightevening there I am leading the group upto Twickenham on my CBX-6. Followingthe meeting we decided to return homeand during the journey I found myself onthe M3 just past Basingstoke when Inotice that there is no one behind me. Allnine riders appeared to have gonemissing so I slowed right down and kepta vigil in my mirrors.
As I past by Basingstoke there wasstill no sign of anyone, and I had startedto wonder what had happened. I sloweddown to a crawl, and still no oneappeared in view. I reached the pointwhere the M3 and A303 split, anddecided that I would need to stop andwait, and so took up station on the crashbarrier. After a while, all nine ridersturned up together with no obvioussigns of injury or mishap, and so Iquestioned them as to what hadhappened. “Go and see what Temp did”was all I could get out of them, with noone giving any further details. So, withthe feeling that I was being set up, upproceeded down the M£ to Winchesterand back up towards London. As Ipassed the Solent branch waitingpatiently on the other side, I still had thisfeeling that I had been set up, plonker orwhat?
cont......
Golden Wing Spring 2008.qxp 25/03/2008 18:36 Page 13
14 SPRING 2008
I took the exit north of Basingstoke and
started making my way back south. The M3
is concrete at this point and so I kept my
eyes open, but for what? Then I found it.
Right there in the outside lane was an
almost perfect donut produced by Keith
using the back tyre on his CB900F. Now
many thought his nickname of “Temp” was
something to do with his name, whereas in
reality it was simply that we didn’t think he
was going to survive for very long.
Following this, we decided that a group
of us would pay a visit to the Island for TT
Week. As the Solent branch are a scattered
lot we decide to all meet at Winchester for
the ride up to Liverpool. Leaving time
arrived and the “Temp” was missing, so we
waited, and waited, and still no Temp.
Reluctantly we set off with me in the lead,
and all the time I was thinking “any minute
now I will be passed by a CB900F”. Oxford
and Coventry passed by, and on up the M6
past Birmingham we went. We stopped at
Wolverhampton Services for a Jimmy
Riddle, cup of tea and fuel, and I take the
opportunity to phone Keith’s home and talk
to his mum. She says “Hello Dave he has
just left”. “What do you mean just left” I
exclaim “We have a ferry to catch”; I give
up, Solent Branch members are always the
same, dear oh dear!
The rest of the journey was uneventful
and we eventually made it to Liverpool
where we joined in the queue for the ferry.
As we were being loaded onto the ferry a
big grin arrives with a CB900F that had a
“warm glow” about it. “Hello Keith” we say.
Once on the ferry and on our way to the
magic island, I take the dip stick out of
Keith’s CB900F wipe it clean and put it back
in and look, there’s no oil! Keith had
covered over 260 miles in 2hrs 45 minutes
with an average speed of 106 mph and fried
his CB900F in the process.
The lacquer on the engine cases had
gone a burnt yellow colour, and on arrival in
Douglas we pushed the bike off the ferry,
preferring to put some oil in before we
risked starting the bike for the ride to the
Hotel at Peel.
Golden Wing Spring 2008.qxp 25/03/2008 18:36 Page 14
SPRING 2008 15
The “TT” week was a
great week with only one
day’s rain. I never did find out
what Keith’s lap times were
on public roads but he
always seemed to have a big
grin on his face.
The journey back home
was every man for himself in
trying to catch the CB900F
and I decided to let them all
go. Solent Branch club runs,
dear of dear. It’s 1981 and
the “Street Fighters” have
landed.
Let the Good Times Roll
Dave BartonClassic Secretary
Golden Wing Spring 2008.qxp 25/03/2008 18:37 Page 15
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Golden Wing Spring 2008.qxp 25/03/2008 18:37 Page 17
18 SPRING 2008
DDDDOOWWNNOOWWNN YYYYOOUURROOUURR WWWWAAYYAAYYReports from the Branches
Here at Bedfordshire Branch we are
looking forward to the new riding season.
Graham has jumped
ship for the national
committee, so I am now
secretary with big Ian
Parris as chairman and
Jacqueline North as
treasurer.
We started the year
with a party in memory
of our old friend Ian
Turner who is sadly no
longer with us. Held in
Streatley Village Hall,
we had a live band and a Jolly good time
was had by all including a few such as
Barbara and Alan and Stritchy and Ruth
from Solent and Northants. By the end of the
evening we had also raised £165 for the air
ambulance. (I'd rather like to do something
like this every year so shall
have to drum up some
support).
The runs list is slowly
filling up, Big Ian is leading a
weekend raid to Arras in
France in May and more
than 20 of our members are
going.
Young Colin Woods is
organising a trip to
Ryde/Hastings in June.
We have our Clappers
Rally the weekend of the 24th 25th 26th of
may (Cross Keys - Pulloxhill Beds), and
hope to have a large contingent at both the
Solent and National Rally (Weymouth).
A couple of weeks back
we sent a couple of teams
to Northants for one of their
regular quiz nights (thanks
for the invite).
We also celebrated
Grahams 50th Birthday with
cake and nibbles.
I, and quite a few of our
members had a pleasant
open evening at the local
Honda dealer (Thank you to
Steve And Jennie at Coburn
and Hughes for being so
hospitable).
BEDFORDSHIRESecretary: Glen Pringle - 07702 233 524
Golden Wing Spring 2008.qxp 25/03/2008 18:37 Page 18
SPRING 2008 19
Over the last year we have picked up a
few new members who have made the mix
of our members even better than before and
I hope that this year will be at least as much
fun as last. I am making a concerted effort
this year to do as many runs as possible and
shall be cutting down my activities with the
jaguar enthusiasts club to do so, including
selling my Jag to get a bike more suitable for
runs and pillion carrying (unfortunately its a
Kwacker - however I shall
be first on the waiting list for
the new CB1100R if Honda
are wise enough to bring it
out.)
I should also like to wish
Jude Brown and Steve Hill
from West London
Congratulations on
reaching a ripe old age (50).
Best Wishes to all - Glen
(I included a picture at the
top to aid new members to recognise me at
the club)
Glen
Golden Wing Spring 2008.qxp 25/03/2008 18:37 Page 19
20 SPRING 2008
BBBBEEEEDDDDFFFFOOOORRRRDDDDSSSSHHHHIIIIRRRREEEE
HHHHOOOONNNNDDDDAAAA OOOOWWWWNNNNEEEERRRRSSSS CCCCLLLLUUUUBBBB
9999tttthhhh CCCCllllaaaappppppppeeeerrrrssss RRRRaaaallll llllyyyy23rd 24th 25th 26th May 2008
at
'The Cross Keys' Public House, Pulloxhill,
Bedfordshireall night toilets & shower / marquee / band Sat night / pub grub / cooked breakfasts / bbq / superb field
BBBBOOOOOOOOKKKKIIIINNNNGGGG FFFFOOOORRRRMMMMName (s)
Address
Postcode Contact Tel No.
Number in Party ( max 4 per booking )
Vehicle ( car / bike / camper etc... )
Registration No
HOC Membership No. Branch
Nights req’d @ £10.00 / pitch / night FRI SAT SUN (please circle) =
Breakfasts required @ £4.50 SAT am 1 2 3 4 =
Breakfasts required @ £4.50 SUN am 1 2 3 4 =
Breakfasts required @ £4.50 MON am 1 2 3 4 =
Buffet Salad Sat night (for bbq) @ £2.00 1 2 3 4 =
Total =
Please return booking form with SAE and payment to:
Helen Spinks, 89 Suncote Avenue, Dunstable, Beds LU6 1BNTel: 01582 607152
Cheques made payable to: HOC BEDFORDHSIRE BRANCH
A detailed map and directions will be returned upon receipt of your booking.
For Admin use only
Cheque No. Amount Sort Code
No. in party Nights Breakfasts required Booking Ref No.
Golden Wing Spring 2008.qxp 25/03/2008 18:37 Page 20
Golden Wing Spring 2008.qxp 25/03/2008 18:37 Page 21
22 SPRING 2008
Hi everyoneThings are well at Cambs HOC at
present. We have had a change of Landlordat The Swan at Connington, but on firstimpressions we seem to be OK. The onlything with The Swan is sometimes we thinkwe are too big for them; with a regularturnout of 15-20 people and most eatingthere too, it does seem to get busy in thecorner we are allocated, but it's good seeeveryone.
We have had a couple of rideouts so farthis year. Six of us ventured out toHunstanton at the end of January; a simpleride down and of course it had to be Fishand Chips and a welcome mug of tea towarm us through.
Sunday 24th saw us taking a ride to theshop 'Superbikes' at Tottenhill near King'sLynn; nice set up there actually. I had notbeen before, and whereas there is not agreat selection of bikes, the clothingdepartment upstairs is very good. The staffwere very welcoming and interested, notonly in offering advice but listening to yourviews on certain matters e.g. fit of a helmetfor those who wear glasses, and ladies fitclothing too. One bike in particular they hadfor sale was a 2005 BMW K1200S. I knowit's not a Honda, but it was in nice conditionand once we got talking to the salesman it
was advised that this bike was being sold onbehalf of Martin Brundel ex F1 racing driver.So if you fancy a second bike (Ooops notsuggesting a BMW) with a famous previousowner then this is it.
We were invited to Marshal Honda atPeterborough for their open evening onFebruary 21st to promote the HondaOwners Club. We thought was a nicegesture from them but we weren’t surprisedas we, as the club, have quite a goodrelationship with them. Several peopleexpressed an interest and we handed outmembership forms; not sure if anyone willjoin but you never know. People seemedgenuinely interested in what we were aboutespecially the rideouts and meetings twice amonth, but like I say we will have to see ifanyone follows up with a membership butwe feel the evening went well.
Our diary is now complete and the BMFpreparations are underway and if anyonewishes to display a bike or help out thenplease contact us.
Take care and safe riding
Kim
CAMBRIDGESecretary: Kim Woodruff - 01353 740883
BBMMFF SSHHOOWW 22000088 -- HHEELLPPBBMMFF SSHHOOWW 22000088 -- HHEELLPP RREEQQUUIIRREEDDRREEQQUUIIRREEDDShould anyone wish to help us with the HOC stand at this event in 2008then please contact us as soon as you wish - we are looking for older orunusual bikes for the stand next year and if you feel you have somethingto offer then please come along. You can either contact us at
cambridge@hoc.org.uk
or telephone Paul Woodruff on (01353) 740883
or Andy Gilson on (01353) 669116
Golden Wing Spring 2008.qxp 25/03/2008 18:37 Page 22
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24 SPRING 2008
On 20th January Martin and I kicked off
our biking year with our now traditional visit
to the Spalding Motorcycle Show.
It’s a small show supported by local bike
clubs and bike dealers with a number of
retail stands all contained in the Springfields
Exhibition Halls. One of the special guests
this year was James Whitham.
On the way back we paid a visit to Lorrie
who was at Boston Rowing Club, helping to
look after the competitors in a national
rowing event. It was very interesting seeing
something of a sport you don’t get the
chance to see live. Competitors had come
from all over the country and are one fit and
dedicated bunch of people. It you made you
feel cold, just watching the rescue boat fish
unfortunate competitors from the icy water.
The weather on Sunday10th February
was mild enough for me to ride down to the
H.O.C. management meeting at Blaby near
Leicester and for Martin and Graham to
have a run out to Peterborough, via
Mablethorpe, Skegness and Boston. While
in Peterborough they had a look around the
bike dealers before returning home via the
A15 and Lincoln.
We have a new member,
Heather, who is currently learning
to ride on her Honda CBR125. With
Heather riding pillion behind
Graham, Martin, Lorrie and I had a
ride out to the sand races at
Mablethorpe on Sunday 24th
February. After a delayed start
while the competitors waited for the
tide to go out we were treated
some good close racing. Many
bikers had taken the opportunity of
dry weather to take their bikes out
for a run to see the races and enjoy
the quiet roads.
Martin has discovered a
business called Pucka Paint Works in
Grimsby. They have done some excellent
work plastic welding and painting some
fairing panels on his Honda Deauville. This
may prove very useful in the future, as
Martin and Lorrie are now the proud owners
of matching Honda PC800s (Pacific Coasts)
in white. They have even had sweatshirts
printed declaring their love of PC800’s.
We have had a good start to 2008 and I
hope it will continue with a dry and warm
summer. We plan runs to different biking
events and venues throughout the year.
Keep watching the Eastern website and the
Monthly mailout, better still drop by on the
1st and 3rd Thursdays of the month to our
meeting place of the Black Bull in Brigg.
Cheers
John
Secretary: John Hewson - 01469 560306EASTERN
Cut away Honda
Golden Wing Spring 2008.qxp 25/03/2008 18:38 Page 24
SPRING 2008 25
It wasn’t just bikes on show at
SpaldingGraham at Mablethorpe
Neil Tuxworth on his way to victory
Lorrie & Heather
Beach racing
Martin working out how to lock
Lorrie’s PC800
Golden Wing Spring 2008.qxp 25/03/2008 18:38 Page 25
26 SPRING 2008
The quiet time of year they say, not inthe Gloucestershire branch. December didnot see a ride out, but there were 13 of us ata Christmas Meal. It was at the Kings Head,and we all had a jovial time. It was good tomeet some partners who we had never metbefore. Christmas came and went and in theweekend between, five of us went for aneighty mile ride out in dry but coldconditions. We went across country toEvesham, via the southern outskirts ofBirmingham, where we stopped for a hotsnack in a shopping centre, then a blast intothe Cotswolds. We finished by midafternoon with not too many cold extremities
January saw our AGM and there was agood turnout, with members willing to assist.We now have a Photo Meister who will alsoassist in keeping the membership list up todate. Thanks to Rob for that. The other Rob& Karen have offered to assist with keepingthe diary up to date and circulated. Eric hasoffered to help wherever possible and iscurrently assisting greatly with theorganisation of the May trip to the LeMans. Iwas away on holiday for the January rideout and the weather played its part incausing a no go situation. At least we tried.
February saw the inter-branch skittlesevening with Oxford, Wilts and Bristol. Agood evenings entertainment with Oxfordwinning the coveted trophy manufactured atgreat expense by yours truly. It’s amazingwhat you can do with a broken piston and alump of 4X1. I hope you all agree, thatsome sort of mid winter get together will beworth having every year. We donated£95.00 to the Severn Freewheelers from araffle and the proceeds of a killer match,won by Rob from the Gloucester club.
The February ride out saw four turn upwith a couple sending apologies by text.This was a Sunday ride to Abergevenny forcoffee and a snack, followed by a trek intoWorcestershire to cross the Malvern Hills fora lunch, sitting on a sunny terrace overlooking the river Severn at Upton UponSevern. By the end of the lunch the clouds
had gathered and we had a wet ride backinto Gloucester. All in all, a total of 130 oddmiles.
For the next few months we have anumber of ride outs booked. One of these isplanned to be a long ride lasting all day toWeymouth and back. Some of us that aregoing on the LeMans trip, have never donelong days in the saddle and a bum numbing200 + mile ride out will be good training, forthe trip in mid May. We will be attending theBikesafe Event that is being held regionallyat the Haynes Motor Museum in March, andsome of the members that are showinginterest in further training are consideringgoing down for an assessment. On thatpoint, we had a very interesting presentationat our February meeting from Tom Killan ofi2imca. They have a very interestingapproach to both road and off road motorcycle training. Understanding Physics andputting your mind ahead of the logicalreaction can save disasters. Why do we allgrab for the brake when something appearsto be going wrong; it’s not that easy to justlet go and let the bike correct itself, but heassured us he can train us to notautomatically panic.
Finally we are getting underway withorganising the Hoc Roast day in July. At themoment the pub landlord is willing toattempt a re-try after last years damp efforts.(we still raised nearly £500 for local BloodBikes) We will probably keep the sameformula and start praying for fine weather.Bristol, Wilts, Oxford and West Midlandshave indicated they intend to come along forthe day.
By the time we write the next report forthe Golden Wing, we will have returned fromour trip to France. Hopefully, with a detailedreport with photos. I’ll have to try to getsomeone fired up to report on ourescapades. Look forward to letting you seethe outcome.
Ian
Secretary: Ian Nie - 01453 752098GLOUCESTER
Golden Wing Spring 2008.qxp 25/03/2008 18:38 Page 26
Golden Wing Spring 2008.qxp 25/03/2008 18:38 Page 27
28 SPRING 2008
As Spring approaches and with it the
time to give the motorbike a spring-clean
and service, the perennial problem of how to
manoeuvre the motorbike round safely in a
limited space rears its head. British
Turntable could provide the solution, with
The MAT motorcycle turntable.
The MAT is a very useful device that
allows a bike to be turned round quickly and
easily in a limited space – in a garage or on
the drive, for instance - reducing stress on
the bike owner and lowering the chances of
damaging the bike or the garage contents.
It takes very little effort to operate: by
dropping the
centre stand
down onto The
MAT the bike
can be balanced
with both wheels
off the ground
and rotated
gently. And as
The MAT’s
profile is only
12mm, standing
the bike on the
turntable takes
little more
energy than
parking the bike
on the road.
Two versions are available, the 35cm
diameter MAT350 and the 45cm diameter
MAT450, meaning that just about any bike
with a centre stand (recommended weight
up to 300kg) can be accommodated. The
price is right, too: The MAT350 is only
£58.05 and the larger MAT450 £88.36
including VAT and delivery to a UK address.
The MAT has enjoyed considerable
success because of its simple but well-
engineered double disc construction that
makes it easy to use and extremely portable
– it can be stored in the bike pannier for use
away from home.
“This product has changed my life,” says
MAT user David Stevens. “No more 6-point
turns in the garage. No more trying not to
damage the freezer. Just amazing!” And
Honda owner, Andrew Ingram, comments,”
The MAT makes it easy to turn my bike
around in seconds. Within the confines of
my garage there is no other option. I’m also
delighted with the customer service I
experienced from British Turntable – it was
nothing short of exceptional.”
The MAT can be ordered from The MAT
Sales on +44 (0)1204 525626 or online from
the website at www.driveawaymat.co.uk.
All major credit
and debit cards
are accepted,
and delivery is
offered to UK
addresses within
28 days.
O v e r s e a s
c u s t o m e r s
should contact
The MAT Sales
for a delivered
price and
delivery details.
The MAT is also
available from
most UK mail
order motorcycle
catalogues.
The MAT is made by the UK’s leading
manufacturer of display and industrial
turntables, British Turntable, whose
successful 49 years of production and
development has earned the company an
excellent reputation for product quality and
integrity. More details are available from Phil
Childs on tel: +44 (0)1204 525626, email:
info@turntable.co.uk or from the website
at
www.driveawaymat.co.uk.
REDUCE WEAR AND TEAR WITH THE MAT
Golden Wing Spring 2008.qxp 25/03/2008 18:38 Page 28
SPRING 2008 29
KENTSecretary: Mike Gallafent: kent@hoc.org.uk
Hi Folks,
Not much to report for the Golden Wing
this time as the winter months are pretty
quiet in darkest Kent. The membership has
remained constant with the usual suspects
at the meetings (shift work allowing).
We now have the diary dates for this
year and they are now on the website and
should be in this issue. These include two
separate day trips to France (would be a
shame not to use the crossing as we are so
close), various rideouts and breakfast runs.
We have also included evening rideouts too
as some members can’t make the
Wednesday meeting but can make this.
That way they can still keep up with the
latest news.
Everyone is welcome on the rideouts,
we only go as fast as the slowest rider. I
have been told quite a few times that people
are worried that as there are some large
bikes in the club that the rides will be a
``balls out’’ affair. I have tried to assure them
that this is not the case, especially as there
is a large proportion of Classic bikes in the
branch, therefore we hope to see more
people along on the rides.
We will be getting a new branch
Secretary in the near future (a volunteer too,
a rare breed). Mike Gallifent has agreed to
do this as Julie and I will be moving to
Essex later on this year due to job location.
I feel that with the momentum we have
maintained over our first winter and with the
enthusiasm with the people that the Kent
branch does have a bright future.
Keep Safe,
Bill
Golden Wing Spring 2008.qxp 25/03/2008 18:38 Page 29
30 SPRING 2008
Branch Secretaries:
The deadline for the next Golden Wing is;
1s1st June 2008t June 2008
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
LAKES & COASTSecretary: Mike Bell - 07952 777941
For those we haven’t met, welcome, and
those we know already, hi.
As we start another year, the days are
getting longer already, and if you believe
nature, Spring has arrived already! We need
to plan for 2008; have you got any ideas
As a branch we have members
stretching from Southport to Carlisle and
from Holmrook to Kirkby Stephen, and so we
can’t meet in a local pub/café like most
branches do! However with Devil’s Bridge at
Kirkby Lonsdale on our doorstop, it is a
natural meeting point for us to enjoy “the
Most Beautiful Corner of England”. Why not
come and join us?
By the time you read this, our first
meeting of the year at White Scar Caves,
will have come and gone. But there will be
more.
We intend meeting at Knott-End-On-Sea
on Wednesday 2nd April at 7.00pm and
again at Lytham St Anne’s Square on
Monday 21st April, again at 7.00pm. As you
will know these are popular meeting sites on
these nights. How you will find us; I haven’t
got that far yet but please email or call if you
can make it.
I am hosting a BBQ lunch (£5) here in
Windermere on Sunday 12th May from
noon. This could also be a family day, and I
have other ideas to entertain you on the day,
whether they will work, well turn up to see!
During the last week-end of July, the
RAF Red Arrows are flying overhead for
their annual visit to Windermere for the Air
Show, and we intend to go.
The idea is to meet at Texaco Garage,
A6 north of Kendal at 10.00am, on Saturday
26th July, picking up at Penrith and Carlisle,
then to Hawick for lunch, back to Brampton
and Hartside Café, before back to Bowness-
on-Windermere for a BBQ (£5). Taylor’s Fun
Fair will be in the far front garden for those
brave enough. Overnight camping is
available (£10). Next morning, Sunday 27th,
we will have a quick run around the Lakes,
before returning to Bowness for another
BBQ (£5), and Red Arrows display. Last
year, we even had the Chippendale’s
stripping off for us; well that’s what Paula
Tweddle thought they where, why should we
disbelieve her?
In addition to our own plans, we have the
Manchester branch invading our territory at
various times throughout the year. If you
fancy joining up with the, then contact their
secretary Steve Davenport and he will
arrange where to meet up.
That’s all for now, Mike and I will be back
with our normal joint report in the summer
edition
Peter Steen
Golden Wing Spring 2008.qxp 25/03/2008 18:38 Page 30
SPRING 2008 31
Secretary: Karen Angela - 01624 629299MANX OFFSHORE
Hi everybody, M.O.B. here, sorry we
missed the last copy date, things have been
a little hectic over here, but I'd be bored if
they weren’t. First of all I would like to brag
about full attendance at our branch. There
are now four of us on the Island and when I
am home there are four of us at our meet.
Congratulations go to Kim who is now the
holder of a full motorcycle licence, well
done! And as John says, now the real
learning begins.
Last year with all the volunteer work, i.e.
marshalling etc. (John is also observing for
classic trials as well; we can't have the little
fella bored) when there were only two of us
there wasn't much we could do for charity
that wasn't being done already. We did
manage to join in with others and with the
help of a friend the three of us raised £320
selling calendars produced by the Railway
pub in Union Mills in aid of the Joey Dunlop
foundation and Airmed Helicopter.
At the moment I'm managing 3 weeks
on and 3 weeks off Island and I've thrown all
the hall, landing and stair carpet out and the
lounge is about to follow. I can't believe how
much nicer it smells. John's taken the wet
plaster off the walls in the lounge to help it
dry out quicker and now my son who was
going to come over and plaster for us at
Easter can't make it, so hey ho, it’ll have to
be plasterboard. Meanwhile I’ve started
wallpapering the hall, landing and stairs with
the help of John's gadgets to enable me to
reach (as I'm not short, just vertically
challenged). John's still shaking his head
saying we'll never finish it, but the carpets
coming mid May so now I'm on a mission.
How the hell did we end up like this?
One of these days I'd like to take time out to
buy a digital camera then we could have a
website and do all the things everybody
else seems to have time for. I was hoping,
well praying really to be one of the Post
offices up for closure but I've just found out
I'm not so I'm kinda down, running two lives
seemed a great adventure 5 years ago but I
hadn't expected it to go on quite as long as
it has. Still I'm sure in the greater scheme of
things there will be a reason.
Anyway, back to biking matters, some
dates for you diary. Tuesday of race week,
03/06/08 the "QUO are playing at the Villa
Marina and you can guess who's in the dog
house if I haven’t got a ticket. Thursday 5th
June the Moddey Dhoo MCC are once
again holding a bike show on Laxey Shore.
As it was so successful last year, and as
there is no Honda Day at Peel this year,
hopefully we'll make our presence known
with club stand and bikes. Steve Hill from
the West London Branch has been in
contact with regards to setting something up
on these lines, so watch this space.
Coming back to marshalling again, we
are setting up a discount with the Marshals
Association for guests who stay with us and
spend time marshalling at Manx Grand Prix
so anybody interested, you know where we
are and its for a good cause. Long live road
racing! This is M.O.B. signing off, be safe be
happy.
Karen & John.
Golden Wing Spring 2008.qxp 25/03/2008 18:38 Page 31
32 SPRING 2008
Happy New Year to you all, a bit late by
now I know but it’s the thought that counts.
It’s been a good start to the year for us,
our ride calendar is already full and with
rides to spare Gary tells us. We have over
night stop outs in Scotland planned and a
few days away in Ireland to look forward to.
We have three new members already in
the form of a husband, wife and daughter
team and all with their own bikes, keeping
the faith. There are even plans well
underway for a holiday in the Italian Lakes in
2009. It makes me nervous when people are
so well organised as it’s hard to live up to,
but it just shows the dedication that people
have for our branch and our club as a whole.
Two of us, me and Neil, are attending
the Ron Haslam Race School on the 3rd of
June at Donington Park. I took advantage of
the 20% discount offered to the club back at
the AGM so it’s only cost me £218, a
veritable bargain. Will let you all know how
we get on. I am hoping to get detention.
Our first ride out of the year was back in
January to Matlock Bath, a chance to blow
away the cobwebs and for the time of year
we were quite fortunate. It was a bit damp
and greasy but mild, 11c our chairman
recorded. So, 11 bikes with 3 pillions
decided to brave the day.
Setting off and getting the towns out of
the way, the intrepid few found some nice
twisty roads through Chapel-en-le-Frith and
on through Buxton, along the A515 and
finally into Matlock. Park the bikes and onto
the serious business of fish and chips.
After a chat with a friendly bobby, who
informed the club it is ok to park on double
yellows when in a private car park, if you are
the police that is, it was on the road again.
The plan was to go over the Snake Pass,
but it would not be one of our rides if we got
to every destination that was on the run.
Gary missed the turn and Castleton was the
next stop but if you know the road that is a
fortunate mistake to make. A final drink and
for some more food, you know who you are,
then head for home.
For the first run of the year you could not
really ask for a better run or a better turn out,
thank you.
MANCHESTERSecretary: Stephen Davenport - 07970 729384
Golden Wing Spring 2008.qxp 25/03/2008 18:38 Page 32
SPRING 2008 33
Next on the calendar the “World Famous
ManHoc Pancake Run”. Apart from a frosty
start the weather was good and only got
better. A 10.30 start with 14 bikes and 2
pillions. After pre flight checks, Val plugging
her heated vest in, away. Some good roads
were found over the Trough and Forrest of
Bowland, then into Slaidburn for the all
important cup of tea and bacon buttie. After
a short break it was off through Gisburn and
on to the M65 headed for Syke in search of
pancakes.
Alan and Norma had prepared the mix
and chilli filling in advance so the smell was
in the air as all walked through the door,
lovely. As far too much had been prepared
there are quite a few Tupperware boxes with
chilli in, in fridges and freezers across the
North West. Thank you to Alan and Norma
for the catering and to their
neighbours for not minding
over the dozen bikes or so
filling the street, a much
better view from the front
window anyway.
The third ride out this
year was off to
Attenborough Nature
Reserve and a very wet
start. Mind you third run of
the year, first wet day, not
bad. Still 10 bikes and 3
pillions made it out so a
good turn out to boot, one of
which was a new member,
welcome aboard Tommy.
All set off only to find that the road was
blocked due to road works, so a divert
through Knutsford was the best option, then
down through Macclesfield and Leek. It was
decided not to try the Cat & Fiddle because
of the bad conditions. Some decent roads
were to be found before reaching
Attenborough and a well earned lunch. The
weather made it not worthwhile staying too
long, but a visit in the summer would be well
worth it as it looked excellent.
Back on the bikes then, before heading
for home the idea was to ride for a while and
find a pub for a swift half, easier said than
done as most were busy due to the football.
In the end a place was found and the club
had a room all to themselves where
refreshments were abundant. According to
our Chairman in his report, “he ate John’s
biscuit and John retaliated by consuming
Alan’s chocolate stick”, not sure if this is a
euphemism. What goes on when I can’t
make the rides I can’t say but it sounds,
interesting.
As I write this the first round of World
Superbikes is about to get underway after
some surprises in Superpole and MotoGP is
just around the corner, with it’s promises for
another fine years racing. The sun is out and
it looks like another fine biking season is
upon us.
Hope you all have a good year planned
and we at Manchester branch
look forward to reading all
about it the Golden Wing, till
next time.
Keep it rubber side down.
Steve
P.S. Don’t forget to carry
your Saddle Sore entry forms.
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34 SPRING 2008
Since the New Year began we have
been very fortunate in our neck of the woods
(literally, as you are probably now well
aware that we have our weekly meetings in
Epping Forest). Average weekly attendance
at the Kings Oak is twelve regulars who are
grateful for an opportunity to either show
how brave they are by getting on their bikes
for a ride into the woods, or just fed up
watching TV at home and in need of a
refreshing change. The Kings Oak has quite
a motorcycling history as the rear of the
property is where the UK’s first speedway
track was located. Although long since
gone, regular meetings of motorbike and
speedway aficionados take place there; it’s
not just monopolised by us North London
HOC members.
The weather hasn’t actually been too
bad so far this year; we softies get softy
weather and we’ve been spared any snow
and ice, although a fog has brewed up on a
few occasions. The forest can get a bit misty
in the damp/cool evenings (ideal for the
werewolves amongst our group).
At the beginning of February, our first
official ride out took place to Docklands for
the MCN Motorcycle Show at the ExCel
Centre. This was a well attended event with
12 of us meeting at a convenient location on
the boundaries of Epping Forest and east
London for an early breakfast followed by a
leisurely jaunt to Docklands for the
exhibition.
Suffice to say that despite some bad
press before we went along we didn’t find it
as bad as some commentators had painted
it. True, there were some bike
manufacturers that were not showing, but
there was enough to keep most people
happy. This event was subsidised by our
branch funds so at least our group didn’t
fork out too much at one go. As we have a
few new riders in our group, it was a great
opportunity for them to see a large selection
of kit in one place; and they all seemed
happy with their purchases. There was a lot
of squeaky new leather and shiny helmets
around at the following meeting.
Needless to say also, that some of the
younger members of the group (and of
course our resident celebrity Pete B) found
themselves the centre of attention with
some of the young ladies who were making
lots of friends distributing all sorts of
unwanted literature and pamphlets for
things no-one had the slightest interest in
buying. How many Carole Nash calendars
do you need, really?
Contact, John Saffer 020 8505 3664 NORTH LONDON
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SPRING 2008 35
The aforementioned Pete, and Rob (one
of our newbies) decided to get their ears
sorted out and order some personalised
new earplugs. Tthey paid their money
and…. they’re still waiting for the said plugs.
Anyway we have photographic evidence
that they were measured up. Rob also had
an eye test while he was there and was
recommended a pair of specs shown in the
accompanying picture.
Leon Haslam was in attendance on the
Honda stand and was very keen to meet our
eager lads and get in a photo with a couple
of them. The fact that he’s not a very tall
bloke (but nonetheless very friendly) gave
those short-houses amongst us some hope
that size isn’t everything when it comes to
being a champion!
Over the past couple of months there’ve
been a few changes in bikes amongst our
group and some have considered straying
away from Honda but the hardcore of bikes
turning up each week are of that marque. A
sad note here about Nikolay and my new
bikes, both with happy endings though. Niko
bought a brand new VFR in November after
much scrimping and saving but
unfortunately in the middle of January had it
nicked from outside his flat. To date (1st
March) it has not been found but the good
news is that the insurance company have
told him he will be able to replace it with
another new one in the next two weeks or
so. It seems as though this would normally
only apply if the stolen (brand new) bike was
not over six months old. My story revolved
around a pre-V-Tech bike bought at the very
beginning of January, and from day one
almost, had a discharging battery problem.
Suffice it to say that the garage more or less
took the bike to pieces to find eventually 3
small short circuits that resulted in my bike
have a flat battery after a half hour ride. This
was well documented on the VFR internet
forum and our own HOC Owners Forum,
and very useful input was gleaned from
other Honda Owners and also members of
the VFR club. Suffice to say that the garage
were also reading the site in case any good
tips cropped up and Honda Institute was
also involved in supporting the garage
providing additional help themselves. So no
complaints there. I think being a member of
the HOC had a positive part to play and
allowed me to put forward ideas I had
picked up from other owners. Let’s face it,
garages do not like being told what to do by
customers; as I said, two happy endings.
A happy ending also for Dave S who had
very good service from the Baglux company.
At the NEC, Dave was in attendance on the
HOC stand (his photo was in the last Golden
Wing, yes frightening isn’t he?) and he
bought a new Baglux Tank bag from their
stand and even had it fitted by one of their
lovely technicians. Anyhow, he had some
problems with the item and got exceptional
service from Nina at Baglux who arranged
for a new bag to be delivered to his door.
Dave was really impressed with the service
from Baglux and wanted his thanks to them
reported in the Golden Wing.
Golden Wing Spring 2008.qxp 25/03/2008 18:38 Page 35
36 SPRING 2008
By the time you read this we will have
already enjoyed the Ace Café Southend-on-
Sea Shakedown run on Bank Holiday
Monday 24th March, and will have attended
National Bikesafe Day at Hendon where we
will have some
members manning
the HOC stand,
and of course
getting well stuck
in with the Police
and going on rides.
We will have also
had the benefit of
some short notice
Ad Hoc rides on
Saturdays and
S u n d a y s
depending on
who’s around and
what the weathers
like!
Recent Ad Hoc destinations have
included Finchingfield in Essex, famous
for its Village Green Beauty. We
enjoyed tea, sausage sandwich
(excellent) cake (very nice) and didn’t
enjoy Rob’s puncture (not so very nice).
We have also tried Rye in West Sussex
where the day’s ride, in the midst of a
cold spell was, to say the least, very
warm. Guildford (!) was visited by two of
our group who will remain nameless,
and the Rookery Café near Hatfield,
and Sunday breakfast at the Ace Café
round of the selection.
An honourable mention here: our
branch website is now being kept in good
shape and well upto date by our new
second in command webmaster Steve Y
who is working hard to get pictures and
articles added with great speed after being
received by our members. A big thanks to
him from all the branch.
Our planned French Day Trip has now
spawned “Son of French Day Trip” which will
actually take place a little over a month
before our first scheduled trip (so in fact this
will be the prequel)! Historically the NLHOC
has arranged a trip to “Wake Up The Frogs”
as close to Midsummer’s Day as possible,
and this was scheduled for 22nd June.
However, as there were a couple of
members of our group who were committed
that day to concerts, ballet class,
sewing circle and colonic
irrigation, and MotoGP at
Donnington, it was decided to hold
an earlier run on Sunday 4th May,
just before the May Bank Holiday.
This excursion is now attracting
more numbers than the first run,
which you may remember from
above is now actually the second
run phew! Some people are
actually going on both.
Instructions on how to ride on
the right hand side of the road and
how to order
“ d o u b l e -
oeufs, frites
and bay-ked-
a-beans wiv a
c o u p l e - a -
fr ied-sl ices-
darlin’ ” are
now being
a v i d l y
studied.
A report of
o u r
shenanigans
will follow in
due course. I
already have
the title
planned; “How-we-got-lost-in-France-again-
and-all-vowed-never-to-speak-to-each-
other-again-(until-next-Thursday)-and-
whose-SatNav-is-the-worst-and-why-does-
Graham-always-get-there-before-everyone-
else-even-though-he’s-the-slowest-rider”! It
should be great reading!
Cheers from the Monkeys of High
Beach.
John
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42 SPRING 2008
The Northants and Milton Keynes
branch have been quite active already this
year.
January 1st saw 13 bikes and 17 people
head off on our New Years Day chilly run
(led by Stritchy). After 40miles or so on an
surprisingly warm day 2 groups arrived back
having some how lost each other. A warm
welcome awaited us at the 10 O'Clock in the
shape of Jim the chef, Mike the landlord,
mugs of hot coffee and ham, egg and chips.
Next on the agenda was our Christmas
dinner held at the aforementioned pub on
Friday 11th January, when 38 of us enjoyed
a full Christmas dinner. After the food,
cracker pulling and pressie opening, it
was time for the missiles to fly. Just at
the right time Mike (landlord) walked
through the door and was met by a
barrage of flying paper and cardboard.
Great fun, very childish, just how we like
it!
On January 23rd, we had a
presentation from i2imca. Tom (the
boss) gave us an informative and
interesting presentation. i2imca are a
Yorkshire based Motorcycle Academy who
are different to any other 'training school'.
Tom explained how most accidents are
caused by rider error not the bike. For
instance, if you have always been led to
believe that to get out of a tank-slapper you
counter steer to correct the bike, then that's
what you do, but you still end up on the
tarmac. Think of your bike as 2 gyroscopes
connected by a frame. A gyroscope will
always, if left alone, correct itself. Everyone
enjoyed the evening and there were lots of
questions and answers. Several members
expressed an interest in one or more of the
four different courses i2imca. Tom vowed he
would return later in the year if we want and
pledged a voucher for one of his courses for
our Charity Auction in August.
On February 6th, we held our Quiz and
Chip night. This time we were joined by 2
teams from the Bedford branch. 35 people
took part in the quiz hosted by Stritchy, and
ate Fish and Chips from The Star Fish in
Wellingborough. The quiz, a mixture of
general knowledge, history and stupid stuff
was won by a team from Bedford; my team
came last as usual...yeah why break with
tradition.
NORTHANTS & M.KSecretary: Sue Beck - 07863 599992
Christmas Dinner
New Year Day Bikes
Golden Wing Spring 2008.qxp 25/03/2008 18:39 Page 42
Last night
we had the
return of
K e i t h
H u e w e n ,
this time
with Chris
H e r r i n g
( H o n d a
R a c e
Manager), what a
fantastic evening we had.
Several members came over from the
Cambridge Branch, the pub was packed and
Keith and Chris were on top form. They
answered questions, told stories of
yesteryears heroes, today’s heroes and
behind the scenes goings on. At one point I
looked round the room and everyone had an
empty glass in front of them, no-one even
wanted to go to the bar, they were so
enthralled by our guests.
If the barmaid Crystal hadn't kicked us
out we may have still been there now.
Several of us ladies provided some snacks
and Keith and Chris will be back soon
maybe next time with other 'celebs'. I
dread to think how he evening will go if
he turns up with Foggy!
Still to do in the near future are:
March 29th Run to Bike Safe in
London, March 30th Paint balling near
Kettering (still a few places available),
our 1st Everyotherrun on Wednesday
16th April, choice of 2 runs on Sunday
20th April, 1 to Didcot Steam rally the
other to The Vic in Coalville (bikers
market and cheap good grub), Shaz
and Stu's wedding (see last issue), branch
holiday to Southern France 22nd to 31st
May, oh and a Teddy Bears Picnic to Salcey
Forrest on Sunday 29th June. Bears
compulsory, honey sandwiches optional.
Congratulations go to 2 of our ladies.
Shaz passed her Direct Access test on
February 15th and Jennie passed her CBT
on February 23rd.
Ride safeSue Beck
Race Talk
Tweedle Dunn
&
Tweedle Dee
John Reynolds & Tom (i2imca)
SPRING 2008 43
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50 SPRING 2008
N.E.S.SSecretary: Pete Farnham 07931 906394
HI All,
Due to our chairman resigning at the
January meeting and a poor turn out at the
February meeting, we have taken the
reluctant decision to cease meetings at the
Quay Theatre for now.
N.E.S.S branch will continue to run, and
ride outs and other events will continue.
Please email or call me to for details,
and we will try and get advance notice of
events put on the website.
Regards
Pete
Do you provide products or services for bikers?
Have you thought about anadvert in Golden Wing?
For details of alladvertising options andcosts, please contact
Erica Gassor advertising@hoc.org.uk
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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52 SPRING 2008
With memories of a fun Christmas do,
with lots of party poppers, lovely food and
excellent entertainment, we have decided
that Spring is definitely with us and our ride
out season has started at the Easter
Weekend.
This year, among our ride out’s, we are
planning a charity day on Sunday the 6th of
July for the Adderbury Hospice, with a ride
round the beautiful Cotswold countryside, a
BBQ at the local
pub and a raffle
with lots of good
prizes - one of
which is a
mountain bike
for those who
need two
wheels without
an engine to get
fit and have fun!
Anyone or
branches that
would like to join
us would be
most welcome.
Secretary: Erica Gassor - 07799 49 2235
OXFORD
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We also had a fun start to the year with
an inter Branch Skittle Match against Wilts,
Bristol and Glos branches
- excellently organised by
Ian from Glos. The valiant
Oxford team managed to
win the prestigious trophy
and Lyn was second in the
‘killer’ round that followed.
A good evening was
enjoyed by all.
We have already had
interesting presentations
on our Club nights, one
from MAG who are fighting
causes in our area such as
poor road surfaces,
parking and the use of bus lanes. We were
very impressed by their professionalism.
Lots of us toddled down to Abingdon
Honda to see if we had won the Fireblade
on the 21st of Feb but alas, no. However
one of their customers from Witney did – he
is not a member.....yet! All the new bikes
were on display and they had laid on free
food and drinks, a raffle, prize quiz and play
station racing. Good fun!
Looking forward to our Test
Ride day to try out the new
models!
With lots happening for
the rest of the year, we
have fingers crossed for a
hot sunny summer.
Have fun!
Erica
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54 SPRING 2008
The year started off with a new
year's ride out. A handful of hardy souls
braved the cold and wet to do a round
trip of the twisty roads of West Sussex
in the morning ending with a blast along
the A272 to a pub lunch at the West
Meon Hut. The afternoon brightened up
with more 272 to Winchester and
Hampshire's finest twisties to end up
back at Wickham Square in time for tea,
cold but happy.
February saw a stalwart group
attending the London Motorcycle Show
at the ExCel Stadium. It was also Sue
Stamp's Birthday that day and what
more could she ask of her husband Alan
than to be taken to a Motorcycle Show as a
special treat! Alan sure knows how to treat
his lady!
Mind you, Sue got the last laugh,
having met and got a kiss from BSB
superstar Leon Haslam she was then
feted to a birthday surprise cake (well
actually a Tesco's cherry cake but we
won't quibble) by Roland during the
lunch break.
Nevertheless a good time was had by all
and Alan, Dave, Roland and Tom got to
drool over the new Fireblade while the girls
wondered how the hell you get on the pillion
seat without losing your chastity.
February also saw the annual club ten
pin bowling evening. Paul won by a
country mile (must remember to break his
fingers before next year!) with Tom second
and Bill third. Bringing up the rear and
winning the coveted wooden spoon was
Tom's wife Sue. A pleasant evening in fine
company with a good grub buffet laid on.
What more can you ask for during these
chilly winter months. (Well you can ask butyou probably won't get!!- Ed)
SOLENTSecretary -Tim Lee 023 8025 2113
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SPRING 2008 55
In March a visit to the News Centre at
Portsmouth was organised. A contingent of
around a dozen of us were shown around
the new 50 million pound printing plant. It
was indeed a marvellous sight and sound to
be close to the 'roar of the mighty press' and
to see 2 tonne rolls of paper being moved
around by robot machines. We were
surprised to learn that, apart from the local
paper being printed there, they also print
upwards of 6 million papers a week
including most of the papers read on the
south coast and 600,000 copies of The Sun
every night. Our thanks to Tom Anderson
and the staff at The News for arranging the
visit for us.
Just as this goes to press, we will be out
and about on our annual Easter egg run to
the old folks home in and around
Southampton & Portsmouth. This year, I am
intending to take my lad, although the
weather forcast at the moment looks
decidedly “iffy”.
The preparations for our rally are well
under way, with the field being booked, and
the entries coming in already. I know that I
say this a lot, and I am bound to be biased,
but our New Forest Rally is one not to be
missed.
The rally field of the Roundhill campsite
is better described as a glade. Surrounded
on three sides by mature forest and on the
fouth by heathland it is quite literally “in the
forest”. We have been told by a number of
people that the nice thing about the Solent
rally is you don’t need to bring anything
other than your tent/caravan and sleeping
bag. Food and drink is available for all meals
except the Saturday night BBQ, for which
you will need to provide your own meat.
However, you can pre-book your salad for
the princly sum of £1.
If you have children, then this is an ideal
opportunity to get them involved in club
activities. Children are more than welcome,
and if you ever hear “I’m bored”, “Auntie
Barbara” has a miriad of jobs that need
doing. However, if it is not the
lure of the fallen tree in the
forest, which has been
everything from a medieval
fort to a wartime bunker over
the last few years, it will
doubtless be bike riding,
football or looking for frogs in
the pond which keeps their
attention.
Please find our booking
form over the page, or
alternatively visit our website at
www.hocsolent.org , click on
“Rally” and you can open up a
form in Word.
Lastly, my thanks to Tom
Anderson, not only for the trip
round the news, and the efforts he puts into
arranging things for us to do, but for helping
to put together this report and supplying the
photos. Thanks Tom
Keep it tidy,
Tim
Golden Wing Spring 2008.qxp 25/03/2008 18:41 Page 55
SOLENT BRANCHSOLENT BRANCH14th NEW FOREST RALL14th NEW FOREST RALLYY
20th - 22nd JUNE 200720th - 22nd JUNE 2007
BOOKING FORMBOOKING FORMNAMENAMEADDRESSADDRESS
POST CODEPOST CODE
HOC MEMBERSHIP No.HOC MEMBERSHIP No. VEHICLE REG. No.VEHICLE REG. No.
CARCAR
BIKEBIKE
No. COSTNo. COSTNo. OF NIGHTS @ £10.00 PER UNITNo. OF NIGHTS @ £10.00 PER UNIT(TENT OR CARA(TENT OR CARAVVAN)AN)
No. OF BREAKFNo. OF BREAKFASTS ON SAASTS ON SAT @ £3.00T @ £3.00
No. OF BREAKFNo. OF BREAKFASTS ON SUN @ £3.00ASTS ON SUN @ £3.00
No. OF BBQ SALADS @ £1.00No. OF BBQ SALADS @ £1.00
TOTTOTAL OF CHEQUE £AL OF CHEQUE £
RETURN TO:- RETURN TO:- HOC SOLENT RALLHOC SOLENT RALLY CLUB, Y CLUB,
BARBARA PEACE, 17 QUEEN STREETBARBARA PEACE, 17 QUEEN STREET, LITTLEHAMPTON, BN17 6EP, LITTLEHAMPTON, BN17 6EP
CHEQUES PCHEQUES PAAYYABLE TO: ABLE TO: HOC SOLENT RALLHOC SOLENT RALLY CLUBY CLUB
PLEASE WRITE YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS ON BACK OF CHEQUEPLEASE WRITE YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS ON BACK OF CHEQUEAND ENCLOSE S.A.E.AND ENCLOSE S.A.E.
On arrival call at site office for vehicle passOn arrival call at site office for vehicle pass
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58 SPRING 2008
The mornings are getting lighter and the
nights are getting brighter. It can only mean
one thing… Get the bikes out; summer is on
its way!
The year got off to a bit of a wet start. We
had some bad weather initially, but we’ve
still managed to get some rideouts in.
We held our AGM in January and we
now have a new Chairman and Treasurer.
Congratulations to Gareth L Richards,
Chairman and Sonya Salisbury, Treasurer. It
was really encouraging to see so many new
members at the AGM and we’ve had a
steady influx of new members since. This
really looks good for the healthy future of the
South Wales Branch.
The South Wales Branch now has a new
website. This is a temporary website at the
moment, but we are hoping to produce a
more professional version soon. One of our
new members, Mike Jeffs has produced
some great websites in the past and he has
agreed to oversee this new project. Thanks
Mike. We’re pleased to have you on board.
Gareth would also like to express thanks to
Stritchy for his help in putting the new link on
the National site.
The website is already raising the profile
of the branch and our activities. We’re
looking forward to a busy year of events and
holidays. There is a diary included on our
website too, so have a look at it and if any
potential new members or other branches
would like to join us for any of the events, we
will be pleased to include you.
Our first social evening of the year was a
great success. Fifteen of us enjoyed a
bowling and Italian meal night. We had a
good laugh, but no prizes for guessing who
won…again; it was Alun Salisbury. He is so
competitive, and he wouldn’t even share the
wine he won. There was a little glitch when
the meal arrived and Clive’s meal had to be
sent back TWICE for being too cold. You
can bet how
hot it was
when it was
returned to
him for the
third time!
W e ’ r e
now looking
forward to our
next social
night, which
will be a night
at Jongleurs.
Should be a
laugh!
SOUTH WALESSecretary: Donna Richards - 01639 766406
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SPRING 2008 59
We had a very enjoyable rideout last
week, led by Dave Richards. This was
Dave’s debut as leader. We had a tour of the
Gwent Valley, also taking in the areas
around Abergavenny and Monmouth. There
was a good turnout and we had a very nice
meal in a pub in Monmouth. When I saw that
they had Stowford Press on draft, I made a
comment that I could stay there all
afternoon. I didn’t realise that they would
take me at my word. The meal took so long
to arrive that we very nearly were there all
afternoon! (I haven’t mentioned the name of
the pub, for fear of damaging their
reputation. I’m sure it was just a one-off
problem.)
The ride took us on some excellent
roads with breathtaking views, particularly
from the top of The Blorange, a mountain
near Abergavenny. (Yes, it really is called
that – so there is a word that rhymes with
orange.) Thanks again, Dave. It really was a
great day and everyone enjoyed. I’ve
included a couple of photos of the gang, one
at Abergavenny and the other in the pub.
Since the last edition of Golden Wing,
we have booked the club Summer Holiday.
We’ve booked a house in Normandy and it
looks like being a nice ride down. The ferry
we booked through Speed Ferries, who are
now taking bikes again. We had a very good
deal. They‘ve now got proper stalls for
stowing bikes on the ferry, which look really
solid and secure. Give them some support if
you can. They were really friendly and
helpful when I rang up to book. (Just
mention my name!)
We’ve got a variety of other interesting
events arranged for this year, like attending
a fete for a local
special needs
s c h o o l ,
Heronsbridge, to
help them raise
money for
facilities for the
children.
Apart from
Jongleurs, we’re
also planning a
picnic at Pembrey
racing circuit
again this year,
as we all enjoyed
it last year. It
would be great if
any other
branches would
like to join us for this event. We are
arranging a visit to Longleat – (don’t worry,
they’ve got a bus to take bikers through the
lion enclosure, but we haven’t told Alun;
we’ve told him he’s got to go on the bike)
and there’s a possibility of a mini rally come
camping weekend.
It all adds up to a very exciting year. I just
can’t wait. Where’s my helmet?
Live long and prosper
Donna Richards
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60 SPRING 2008
Secretary: Keven Ludlam - 0114 281 7193
Well, what a start to theyear, The ‘s no Rally hasbeen and gone, clubattendances haveincreased, ride outs aremore frequent, and it lookslike our annual charity EggRun for the SheffieldChildren’s Hospital is goingto be the biggest ever.
The ‘s no Rally, wowwhat a week end, the bestrally we have held in a longtime with people from allover the country comingalong. Bedfordshirebranch, Essex members,Manchester branchmembers, Dibble, JennieClarke, old friends newfriends, the usual suspects,it was fantastic and so agreat big thank you to allwho either organised,helped, donated stuff, entertained, cooked,or just came along, without you it wouldn’thave happened.
Temperatures were thelowest they’ve been onany ‘s no Rally at minus7deg at times, it becamedecidedly uncomfortablefor most but one inparticular had 8 (yes 8 !)layers on AND stoodaround the gas heater allnight, only venturing awayfor another tot of rum… nonames no pack drill JennieClarke !!!. (AKA “The IceQueen”)
The day of the ride outwas interesting as weawoke to about 2inches ofsnow on the ground, did itput us hardy soles off ?never… the only thing itdid do, was to slow usdown a little. Kevin & Kateonce again did a sterlingjob of organising the day
as we took a scenic ride through theDerbyshire hills and dales – Kevin alwaysinsists his rides are organised but I suspect
he hasn’t a clue wherehe’s going…stoppingoff for a cup of tea anda slice of cake (and forJC to thaw out) atTideswell beforearriving at CrusaderLeathers inChesterfield for anothercup of tea (anotherchance of thawing outfor you know who) andfor ‘Ski’ one of ourfounder members touse his sellingtechnique on somepoor unsuspectingmugs, I meancustomers…
THREE SHIRES
Snow Bikes!
Kev & The Ice Queen
Golden Wing Spring 2008.qxp 25/03/2008 18:41 Page 60
SPRING 2008 61
Saturday night’s entertainment proved tobe pretty damn good, with a sing along,barracking form the audience (including ourhost Jan) a few drunkenmonologues from Nogand a “TraditionalIndian Curry” made byPeter & Kate to which, ifyou didn’t warm up aftereating this curry – youshould be in aCemetery!
After Sunday’sbreakfast it was time forus to pack our tentsaway and head onhome. Interestingly atthis point Sue’s tent hada mind of it’s own on theSunday morning, sheimpressed every man atthe rally on the Fridaywhen she arrived, witha Throw it up tent, thattook all of 2 minutes toput up and peg down.All the blokes hadstruggled in the bitingwind & freezing coldputting up their tents, some of us fought fornearly an hour in the arctic blizzard withgales in excess of 60mph (?) but Sue did itin just 2 minutes! Six of us immediately said“got to get me one of those” until that is, thefollowing Sunday morning when, watchingtwo women fighting with a spring loaded
monster that jumped out of their handswhenever they thought they had it undercontrol… Six blokes stood and watched (not
laughing honest) andsaid “not getting one ofthose – makes ya lookstupid putting it away”).
The end of a rally isalways sad but for me Ididn’t stop smiling’ forabout 4 days by whichtime, my family, workcolleagues andrelatives were sick ofhearing about the
‘s no Rally 2008.We received some
very good newsregarding our Egg Run,originally scheduled forSaturday the 22ndMarch. James Toeslandcould only make the23rd so with the help ofSouth Yorkshire Policewe have now changedthis to Easter Sunday.By the time this reportis read the Egg run will
probably have been run, and I suspect thatdue to quite a few people’s help andinvolvement this is likely to be the mostsuccessful run so far.
From Y2K we have raised over £21,000for the charity, averaging £3k each year(good at maths or what?) but I have a
feeling this year we will surpass thisfigure.
This year looks like being one toremember for the Three Shiresbranch, due mainly to its membersgetting involved – a successful clubis an active club and an active clubis because of its members. (a bitdeep that,) the Egg Run, Santa Podweek end, Normandy trip, ArcheryEvent ride out, Summer Rally, WorldDoc Pudding Championships(?)…….2008?
BRING IT ON…..
Keven
Kevin & Kate
Derek & His Domino
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64 SPRING 2008
WEST COAST RIDERSSecretary: Phil Bell - 07900 507187
Well it’s that time again. Another mag,
and another branch report from us at West
Coast.
There’s not a lot to report this time as our
ride-outs for this year haven’t started yet.
But, we do have a bumper lot to choose
from. With trips to museums and theme
parks and dog racing all included, it should
be a good year to come along and join us for
1 or 2 if you can. Everyone is welcome no
matter which branch you’re from, if you’re in
the area, come along and see what we get
up to on a Sunday.
We also have a trip to the Le Mans
MotoGP in May, following on the racing
weekend with a tour over to Brittany for the
rest of the week. So, anyone who wants to
come along with us is more than welcome,
but please can you let me know asap, so I
can give you all the details of where we’re
staying and times for the tunnel etc.
For the bank holiday in August, we have
a camping weekend planned for the BSB,
Cadwell Park round. We will be camping off
site at a campsite approx 10 miles away
from the track, so again, if you could let me
know asap if you want to join us, so I can tell
you where we’re camping so you can book
yourselves in etc.
I really hope to see some of
you along the way at some point
this year, and more importantly,
lets hope we get a better summer
weather wise this year!!! Sunshine
always makes the riding so much
better.
You may have noticed in the
last magazine what a great
success the NEC show was at the
back end of last year, so a huge
thanks go to everyone who helped
out…and I’ll be asking for
volunteers again this year, so the
sooner you can get in touch the
better. It’s running from the 27th November
to 7th December, and I’ll probably also need
help with the actual Honda stand again. I
know everyone who helped out on there last
year thoroughly enjoyed themselves, so if
you have a spare few days during the show
to give us your services, then please do. If
drooling over all that new machinery wasn’t
enough, you get in free and if you work on
the Honda stand, they feed and water you
as well, so what more could you ask for.
Let’s hope we get a better position this year
though!!!
Talking of the NEC, as of sending this
report to Tim, we’ve gained 5 new members,
so a big welcome goes to Brian, Les, Andy
and Gordon and his good lady wife, and all
thanks to the NEC. So you can make a
difference to your branch if you come along
and sign people up at these things.
Well sorry it’s so short this time from me,
but we’ll have lots more to report in the next
mag when we’ve done a few ride-outs. So
get those leathers on and come join us for a
few of them. (Give me something to write
about LOL)
Love
Rona & Phil xxxxx.
Golden Wing Spring 2008.qxp 25/03/2008 18:42 Page 64
SPRING 2008 65
WEST LONDONSecretary: Steve Hill - 020 8291 5263
Hi All.
Well last year I had a change of bikes. I
found that my CB600S just didn’t have a
large enough tank and I got fed up having to
refuel so often, so I decided to trade it in for
something with more range – a Honda
XL650. I also had to let my CB1300S go for
various reasons and traded that in for a
GL1800.AA8. It is great to ride and I don’t
notice the weight at all. It seems to be good
on fuel too with 200 miles to the tank.
On the branch front, two of us went to
the Honda open night for the new Blade
and some other bikes at Tippetts. It was
quite crowded. I was supposed to be
meeting Mike there (he comes from
Heathrow) Unfortunately he got lost in
Kingston but we managed to meet up after
a few phone calls giving him directions.
Mike and I hope to do a two day
progress course at some point after Easter I
did
the same course a few years go on the
VFR800I and think it’s time for a refresher.
To promote our branch I had printed up
1000 copies of Club flyers to try bringing in
new members as we would like a few more
people to join us on our evening and
weekend runs.
If you live in our area please come along
and see us at the Admiral Hawke – or
check out our website for our latest
runs list. We welcome all Honda
riders so either give me a ring or just
come down to The Admiral Hawke in
Lower Sunbury any Wednesday
evening from 8.45pm onwards.
As soon as the evenings get
lighter I will restart the Wednesday
night club ride outs to other pubs.
We’ll probably do one a month and
have a Sunday run too.
We had a winter meal at the pub
where we meet - we had good turn
out and the meal (which everyone
enjoyed) took up most of the night –
well that and chatting!
Jude and I are having a joint 50
birthday party around Easter. With
Jude in charge it will go well. We aim
to celebrate our great age in style.
(Look out for photos in our next
Branch report – or on the website)
Steve
Look out for this man in the Admiral Hawke!
Golden Wing Spring 2008.qxp 25/03/2008 18:42 Page 65
66 SPRING 2008
Its January again - that time of the year
when you look forward to the weekend to
get a run out on the bike, only to find the
weather forces you to redecorate the
bedroom instead!
Having moved the Branch to the Red
Lion at Avebury, we were very pleased
before Christmas to be ‘upgraded’ by the
pub Manageress (Kirsty) to a bigger alcove
of the pub where we can hold our meetings
and have a little bit of privacy (we thought!),
yet still advertise our ‘presence’ to all
potential new members – mostly because
Claire (our treasurer) has got us all in ‘team
strip’ now with Honda Wings and White
Horses plastered all over our shirts – so no
chance of being inconspicuous!
In December 06 we had only 6 of us turn
up (it was a foggy night!) for free Christmas
‘finger buffet’ food put on for around 15
people, so this year we learnt our lesson in
arranging a proper sit down Christmas meal
at the Red Lion, which was ‘sponsored’
rather than ‘free’ – and had a great turn out
of 16 members and partners, as our
Christmas piccy (below) shows.
Claire had organised a ‘Secret Santa’
after our meal and as we all began to ‘feel
our presents’ before
unwrapping, we learnt of
another kind or ‘presence’ to be
found in that room, from our pub
manager, Kirstie, prompted by
some recent news that our new
pub has been voted the ‘most
haunted pub in England’.
The ‘alcove’ we have been
moved to includes a capped well
where the body of a previous
landlady (Florrie) was dumped,
after being murdered by her
husband, a soldier, who
returning from war and
discovered she had been ‘playing away’.
WILTSHIRESecretary: John Theobald 01793 853701
The Red Lion, inside the Circle
Avebury Circle (part)
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SPRING 2008 67
Kirstie tells us her ghost still roams the
ancient timber framed pub, and that some
days, when Kirstie is alone in the alcove,
she can feel something touch her arm, and
yet when she turns around, nobody (mortal)
is there!
If you have never heard of Avebury itself,
it has a ring of prehistoric stones around the
village, dating to the same period as the
more famous Stonehenge – and our pub sits
in the centre of that ancient (some say
magical) ring of stones, estimated to have
been placed there around 1600-2000BC.
So the Wiltshire HOC branch now boasts
being based in the most haunted area of the
most haunted pub in England, which is also
in the top ten most haunted pubs in the
world – now that’s bound to drive up
membership! – in fact you might say that on
club nights we probably have Florrie joining
our meeting, whether we know it or not! Not
sure what class of membership I need to
offer her – Graham, any guidance on this?
If you come to the Wilts Rally in May,
you’ll have a chance to visit this amazing
pub and have a barbeque lunch there on the
Saturday ride out.
The latest news on our rally is that we
have live music on all three nights (Fri –
Sun) and a comedian thrown in for good
measure on the Saturday night.
We are working on a North Wiltshire
Rideout on the Saturday and a South
Wiltshire Rideout for the Sunday, with some
breath taking scenery of Wilshire’s gentle
rolling downs and white horses, for all to
enjoy!
The Rally site is very close to the Kenett
& Avon Canal with a towpath, which, for the
sake of a shortish walk, allows you to see
the famous Caen Hill Flight of 29 locks, in
quick succession, leading up into the historic
market town of Devizes, from the west. You
can watch the Narrow boats as they fight
their way up through this amazing run of
locks, as we’ve arranged a pre ride out
excursion early on the Sunday morning, for
those who fancy ‘stretching their legs’ before
a day on their bikes.
On the subject of exercise, we will be
offering a rounders match later on the
Sunday afternoon, after the rideout, for
those of you with some energy left!
Our Rally site this year, the 3 Magpies at
Sells Green, has better facilities than the
previous site, as it has hot showers
available. So we hope that these
improvements may attract some members
back to our Rally, if they previously found
the sanitation arrangements a bit ‘primitive’.
Lastly, if you were not aware, Devizes is
also the home of Wadworths, brewers of the
famous 6 x bitter. So in case you would like
the opportunity of a tour around the brewery
and a chance to ‘sample’ their wide range of
bitters, a tour is available on the Bank
Holiday Monday morning, which we hope
will attract some ‘rally goers’ before they
make tracks for home in the afternoon or
evening.
I very much hope to see some of you
soon.
Regards
Theo
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SPRING 2008 69
WE ARE OFF
We are off! The season has started as
the riders jostle for position with old faces in
new teams and riders moving from one
series to another. The start of the year is a
fascinating time as you have to get used to
seeing the same faces in new teams with
new colours!
The WSB series will be an interesting
one. The extra power that the Ducatis have
has been well debated and can now be
seen in action, is it fair we ask? On the face
of it, the 1200cc twin compared to the
1000cc fours doesn’t seem to be fair
competition but initially the opposition do not
seem to be panicking. Further down the line,
the overall results will, I am sure, cause
further debate.
A while ago the pundits said that the
WSB series was doomed through lack of
support. Lets hope that now that it has the
likes of Haga, Biaggi, Bayliss,
Corser and Xaus in it, not to
mention the newer contingent, it
does not revert to the threat of
teams pulling out as a result of
this new ruling.
Another wrangle looks
about to begin, specifically the
discussions regarding rev
limiters on the GP bikes.
It will also be interesting to
see how the Hondas perform
with experienced riders such as
Checca in WSB and Hayden
and Pedrosa in the GP’s.
Gambling with the new comers
such as Sofuoglu and the tried
and tested guys, hopefully Honda have the
mix right and will get the machines on
stream to give a good performance as the
year progresses, thus compensating for the
loss of Toseland.
The character of the different riders,
their style and ‘querks’ make it exciting for
those watching as they dodge and dice with
each other, some keeping relatively calm in
the heat of a duel and others loosing their
cool.
So lets get planning our trips to see the
racing live, ensure the videos are working
for the ones we cannot get to or watch live
on the box, and prepare for the season to
unfold with its mixture of high’s and low’s for
each team and rider.
The Stiggette
Pedrosa taking 3rd on his Repsol Honda in Qatar
Golden Wing Spring 2008.qxp 25/03/2008 18:42 Page 69
SepSepttember ember 119th, 20th, 29th, 20th, 21s1st & 22ndt & 22nd
HOSTED BY:DORSET BRANCH ATSEAVIEW HOLIDAY PARKWEYMOUTH
INDOOR HEATED POOLFUNWORK PASS INCLUDED
FOOD AVAILABLEBED LINEN INCLUDED
CAMPING ON SITE
BOOKING: PLEASE COBOOKING: PLEASE COMPLETE THE BOOKING FMPLETE THE BOOKING FORM OPPOSITE ORORM OPPOSITE ORDODOWNLWNLOOAD FRAD FROOM wwwM www.hoc.or.hoc.org.uk/2008nag.uk/2008national.html tional.html
AND SEND TAND SEND TO:O:EvEvents Deparents Departmenttment , Ha, Havven Holidaen Holidayys, 1 Ps, 1 Park Lark Lane, Hemelane, Hemel
HempsHempstteaead. Herd. Herts. HP2 4YLts. HP2 4YL
Caravan AccomodationStandard 2 Bedroom 6 persons max £141Standard 3 Bedroom 8 persons max £159Superior 2 Bedroom 6 persons max £159Superior 3 Bedroom 8 persons max £171Superior + 2 bedroom 6 persons max £183Superior + 3 bedroom 8 persons max £195Prestige 2 Bedroom 4 persons max £225Prestige 3 Bedroom 6 persons max £243
CampingEstimated £56 for the weekend based on 4 persons
Golden Wing Spring 2008.qxp 25/03/2008 18:43 Page 70
SPRING 2008 71
BOOKING FORM
NATIONAL RALLY 2008September 19th, 20th, 21st & 22nd
Seaview Holiday Park, Weymouth, Dorset
NoNo ££
Caravan - Please state which type
...........................................................................
Camping Pitch - Based on four persons...........................................................................
Balance payable by 25th July 2008
Name
Address
Branch
No in Party - Adults.......Children...... Membership No.........
Please make deposit cheques for £50 (full amount for tents/tourers) to:
HAVEN HOLIDAYS
and send to:Events Department, Haven Holidays, 1 Park Lane, Hemel
Hempstead. Herts. HP2 4YL
CCOOMMPPEETTIITTIIOONNCCOOMMPPEETTIITTIIOONNDesign the logo for the 2008 National Rally and
win a rally T-shirt
Closing date for entries is 1st May 2008
Entries can be sent by email to dorset@hoc.org.uk or by
mail to the Golden Wing office (address on page 1)
Golden Wing Spring 2008.qxp 25/03/2008 18:43 Page 71
72 SPRING 2008
The ride started at around 8.30. I was
due to meet my mate, Dave, in Coventry
outside the Ducati dealer. Dave is American,
drives a 2CV and met his wife when he
came over with an American Morris dancing
side. This may go some way to explaining
his bike, a 1982 BMW 800. I was aboard my
recently acquired Pan. Dave was heading to
the Classic Bike show/auto-jumble at
Stafford County Showground, I was looking
for an excuse to put a few miles on Marcy. I
should explain at this point that my Pan has
the name Marcy. When deciding on a name
some people came up with Chip or Sauce. I
chose to ignore the heathen who proposed
Bed.
I had decided to venture into deepest,
darkest Mid-Wales for a jolly around the
lanes.
I met Dave at the allotted time or
thereabouts. Actually, he was a few minutes
late due to getting lost looking for the Ducati
showroom. This didn’t bode well for the trip
up to Stafford. I figured that as he was
mounted on a bit of a dinosaur, liable to
break down or explode at any point of the
journey, he should lead. Hmm.
Heading out of Coventry on the B4098,
it became increasingly apparent that I
should have put extra socks on. The day
had started a touch frosty and as we
truckled up towards Tamworth the mist was
feeling decidedly chilly. Visibility in places
was “limited”, which didn’t stop the arrogant
or just down right stupid car drivers from
trying to force the pace from behind us or
appear ahead as if by magic because they
hadn’t switched on their lights.
With this being ploughing season it
came as no surprise to find the road strewn
with mud and muck, usually on the apex of
a bend. Still, we were out and about, and if
the idiot behind would just turn off or
overtake then life would improve
dramatically. Dave was starting to up the
pace a little. We were enjoying ourselves
and the sun was starting to hint at breaking
through the mist. At about this point, Dave
entered a bend with a touch too much
velocity. Deciding that the narrow lane
exiting to the left was perhaps the best
route, he stopped, turned, and rejoined the
main road. I still say that just slowing and
waving the driver behind through would
have been a safer and more logical
approach, but hey, Dave is American. They
do things differently over there.
Passing over the various canals and
waterways that criss-cross the Tamworth
area, mist wraiths hovered just above the
water, lazily dancing when a water-fowl
disturbed the air. The sun was making itself
visible more and more and as we passed
the Weston Hall Hotel, the stand of pampas
grass shone like a beacon in front of the
grey stone façade. As the mist finally gave
up its struggle with the sun, the sky turned a
beautiful azure blue. A solitary hot air
balloon hung virtually motionless in the
windless sky. If we thought it cold down
here, how cold was it up there?
The next few miles to the Showground
passed easily and the temperature was
heading in the right direction. My grin
started to spread. I left Dave turning into the
Showground and I continued along the
A518 through Stafford towards Newport.
Marcy was an absolute pleasure to be
aboard. I took the B5062 from Newport to
Shrewsbury. This ribbon of tarmac gives
some impressive views across the
Shropshire countryside.
Golden Wing Spring 2008.qxp 25/03/2008 18:43 Page 72
SPRING 2008 73
I noticed a lone tree standing in the
middle of a field. Its topmost branches were
bare but the remaining foliage was carried
haphazardly. Like a stag shedding the
velvet from its antlers, the tree was both
majestic and comical. As I took a picture the
sheep stopped grazing and eyed me
suspiciously. I would get to know that feeling
well as the day progressed.
I carried on through the lovely town of
Shrewsbury, picking up the A458 towards
Welshpool.. I stopped for a sandwich and a
slurp of coffee before heading into Wales.
The traffic was light and progress was only
hampered by the never ending succession
of 40mph and 50mph limits. The first
substantial lump of Welsh rock appeared, I
believe it is called Rodney’s Pillar. At one
point a rocky face seems to gaze out from
amongst the tree covered slope, like a
craggy Buster Merriweather, peering out
from behind his whiskers.
Leaving Welshpool I headed for
Newtown, knowing that the more interesting
roads lay not too much further on. Newtown
was busy, but Marcy sliced through the
traffic with an agility which shouldn’t be
possible from such a big girl. I arrived at
Dolfor. I took the left turn onto the B4355
and gained height rapidly. Passing over a
cattle grid the trick is to keep one eye on the
winding road, one eye on the wandering
sheep and one eye on the wonderful
scenery. Possessing only two eyes I missed
much of the views but happily missed all of
the sheep. By now the temperature had
reached double figures. The low sun cast
shadows across the road which made
spotting patches of mud and/or sheep poo
difficult. Progress was leisurely.
Knighton came and went as I continued
on the B4355 but a small navigational error
found me looking at my map in a place
called Discoed. I worked my way through
the lanes to the A44.
Looking across the fields I could see
trees ablaze in their Autumn finery taking
this chance to show off their colour before
depositing their leaves to become a slippery
mess waiting to catch out unwary bikers.
Plastic wrapped straw bails stood in the
fields like large shiny black beasts grazing.
cont......
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74 SPRING 2008
I followed the A44 for a short distance
until a large rocky outcrop loomed into view.
It stood like a guardian watching over the
junction. Turning right I followed the B4594
towards Erwood.
I stopped for a stretch and a swallow of
coffee, watched by the curious sheep. By
now the sun was, if not exactly
Mediterranean hot, then warm enough to
have me shedding a layer or two. I didn’t
see a single vehicle along the whole stretch
of that road. Bliss. By now though the
mixture of huge concentration, squinting into
the low sun and the on/off lighting effect of
the shadows across the road was beginning
to get wearying. Time for a major road. I
picked the A470 admiring the Black
Mountains getting closer. The A479 dropped
me onto the A40, a road I could follow all the
way back to the Midlands.
Passing through Abergavenny I toyed
with the idea of stopping at the Café at the
bus station. Plenty of bikers were there but I
was in the mood to get moving.
Marcy swallowed the miles with
effortless ease, slower cars were dispatched
with a twist of the wrist. As I reached Ross-
on-Wye I found that the A40 was closed so
a quick spurt along the M50 brought me to
Tewkesbury. I stopped once more for the
last of my coffee and knowing that I was only
a short hop from home I was going to read
another chapter of the book I was currently
enjoying. I opened the right hand pannier to
find that I hadn’t tightened the flask lid
enough and the coffee was now sitting
in a pool at the bottom. As was my
book. And my Sat-Nav. Now you may
be wondering why was the Sat-Nav in
the pannier and not on the bike. Go
back to the beginning. Remember I
said this is a recently acquired Pan?
I’ve not got a mount for it yet, so the
Sat-Nav comes with me for those times
when my map reading skills fall
woefully short of adequate. It knows
where I am even if I don’t.
On the positive side I did find out
that Marcy’s panniers are indeed water
(or coffee) tight.
As I sat at the side of the road looking at
the map deciding whether to just blast back
up the A46 or wend my merry (if thirsty) way
across to the Fosse, a gentleman in blue
overalls came wandering down the road. He
had seen me parked up, looking at a book.
He thought I was broken down looking at a
manual and had come to offer his
assistance. Just when you think that the
British are the most ignorant of human
beings, along comes one to restore your
faith in our island race. To you, Sir, I raise
my glass.
Caravans in front gardens in Tewkesbury
brought back images of the terrible events of
the summer. I had been feeling sorry for
myself this year, summer had been a biking
washout. I had had no enthusiasm to go
and get wet for the sheer hell of it. These
caravans reminded me of how lucky I
actually am. I didn’t suffer any material loss.
I arrived home having covered over 300
miles, I had been out for around 9 hours, I
had been cold, warm, happy and slightly
sad. Marcy had behaved impeccably.
For some 300 miles is a quick blast
before breakfast, for others it is a month’s
riding. For me that 300 miles opened my
eyes to a world of riding I have never had
the opportunity to enjoy. I can feel Marcy
and I becoming very good friends.
Kevin Olney
Golden Wing Spring 2008.qxp 25/03/2008 18:43 Page 74
SPRING 2008 75
The day dawned bright as we got upready for our exciting days ahead – forsome, the holiday of a lifetime, for others,just a new experience on the journey oftime. Yes, Manhoc were off to Portugal for acouple of weeks.
The participants:Alan & Norma; John and Judy; Brian and
Mandy; Gary; Keith; Malcolm; Derek; Mark& Cath flew out to join us as did Keith’s wife?
The bikes:We had: A Fireblade, a Pan, a TDM900,
3 FJR 1300’s, a Bandit 1250, a Sprint STand a Speed Triple.
The itinerary:Drive down to Plymouth; over to
Santander; 2 nights in pre-booked hotels onthe way down; 7 nights in 4 villas (luxury!); 2nights back up to Santander. Ferry back tothe UK and then home.
Tuesday.The bikes were ready, the clothes
packed, breakfast over and done with andfinally we were off – but not before a photoor two. Once done, Norma and I set off tojoin the others.
A quick group hug, a check on the routeand we all set off down to Plymouth. Radioskept most of us in contact and the ribaldcomments soon started. Gary was leadingand, as usual, his route was not the mostdirect line to the end.
The first stop, for lunch, was quicklydone and we carried on via Tintirn Abbeydown to the M5 by Bristol. At the next petrolstop, we had our first brush with calamity –Brian got a puncture. Never mind, that iswhat the breakdown services are for. So, he,Mandy and Gary stayed to get it sorted outand the other 5 of us carried on to the hotel.We promised to keep them some food if theydidn’t turn up in time; the hotel staff wereexcellent and kept the kitchens opened untilthey arrived. Good food and drink were
consumed and we headed off to bed.Moment of the day: Gary tucking into a
giant hamburger just before the restaurantclosed.
WednesdayNet morning dawned – very early for
Brian who had arranged for the breakdowntruck to take him to the repair depot at6:30am (yawn). He and Mandy headed offwhile the rest of us enjoyed a leisurelybreakfast. I went down at 9 to make surethey were all OK and we all met up atSainsbury’s petrol station before the finalpush to the ferry.
What we hadn’t realised was that therewere 150 other bikes all heading down toEstoril for the Grand Prix. It took around 90minutes just to load the bikes. But finally wewere aboard, changed out of the leathersand looking forward to a small drink or twobefore dinner. The rest of the day andevening passed in a blurry haze and the bedwas a welcome end.
Moment of the day: All meeting up atSainsburys as if it was planned.
ThursdayFar to early, we disembarked – or tried
to. 150 bikes takes a while to unload. Around10am, we finally reached the Spanish portand our journey could really begin. Spain inSeptember should be warm, so we didn’thave too many layers on; which was amistake as we headed up into themountains. But a quick stop soon sorted thatout and we carried on towards Salamanca.By this time the party had split into two –those who wanted to “make progress”(Keith, Malcolm and Derek) and those whowanted to bimble along and see the sights(the rest of us). Of which, there were plenty.
We had a pleasant lunch in a smallvillage, wandered around taking picturesand then carried on.
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76 SPRING 2008
We arrived at Santander late afternoonand, after checking into the hotel (and someof us having a little snooze), walked into thetown for tea and a wander around. It was agreat end to the first day on foreign soil.
Moment of the day: Walking around themain square in Salamanca and watching allthe entertainment.
FridayThis was, in my opinion, the best days
ride of the whole holiday. We started off welland soon were on the twisties outsideSalamanca. We rode for a while until a cafébeckoned. After a stop and a drink we set off– only to come to a halt as Judy had left hercamera behind. John did the 10 miles backagain to get it – yes, of course, it was in thetank bag all the time. Oops !!!!
The road from there to Evora includes a40 mile stretch of tarmac that is just perfectbiking territory – smooth twisty andswooping bends with no traffic and (cough)no speed limits. But it was soon over oncewe got past the border (stop for pictures)and we carried on via a ghost town (wedidn’t see a soul) to a pleasant, if hot,restaurant. At which Norma decidedleathers were too hot for lunch andproceeded to strip down to her knickers(before putting shorts on). Much merrimentby us and amazement by the locals.
We then carried on into Portugal wherethe roads became somewhat rougher untilwe got to the cobbled streets of Evora. Thehotel was superb and the swimming poolwas welcome. John and Norma got straightin while the rest of us headed for the bar.
The evening was spent by the bar, thepool and the restaurant. We decided that thenext day would be sight seeing since weonly had a short distance left and did notneed to be there until late afternoon.
Moment of the day: The ride across tothe Portuguese border. You have no ideahow much fun that was.
SaturdayWe toured around Evora visiting the
sights (the Chapel of Bones is worth a visit)and stopping for liquid refreshments (Judy’scry of “I’ll have a beer” was well known bythe end of the hols). Around lunchtime weset off for our destination – Quinta Del Rosa.
Keith and Malcolm headed down toEstoril to watch the racing. Gary and Derek
went off so that Derek could pay his toll fine(Derek, you do have to stop at the end of atoll road!) while the rest of us had our normalslow and pleasant ride out.
Of course, we had to stop for lunch inBaja, where we found this charmingpavement café in the middle of nowhere.Weather was warm and pleasant. [Weheard that Derek and Gary got into a flashflood – but they were OK if a little damp inplaces.]
Once we got to our villas, the next stepwas to get the food in. So, a quick trip to thesupermarket and we were set – plenty ofbeers and water and some food to keep usgoing. We ate in the site restaurant whereGary chatted up the waitress (who was verynice).
Moment of the day: The ride into the villacomplex watching the other peoples facesdrop as the convoy approached !!!
Sunday to SaturdaySince we were based at Quinta Del
Rosa, we did day trips out in the morningand spent the afternoon lazing by the pool.Or, at least, that was the plan….. Someselected highlights:
Sunday Sunday was spent trying to find a TV
which would show Eurosport so we couldwatch Rossi’s famous victory as Estoril. Weended up (after a few beers) in Alan’s villawatching it on BBC2 – with more beers ofcourse.
Monday.Some of us went to Silves to look at the
Roman remains. Others stayed at “home”and lazed around.
Tuesday.An eventful day. It started with Malcolm
dropping his bike (no damage) whilst tryingto do a U turn.
Then, we got lost trying to findMonchique and ended up going up anddown pedestrian cobbled streets. Veryslippery as Mandy found out when the bikewent from under her. No damage done(apart from pride and a bent brake lever)and we were soon on out way again.
Monchique was pretty and we ended upat the highest point on the Algarve where (ofcourse), Judy had a beer and we relaxed toenjoy the sunshine.
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SPRING 2008 77
Got back late and headed for thebarbeque at the local restaurant.
Wednesday. Split into different groups. One headed
for a beach on the west coast where superbsardines were consumed followed by Keithstripping off and heading for the water.Another headed for Portimeo to look aroundthe town. We met back in the evening formore beers and a good gossip.
Thursday. Once again, split up. One group went
down to Lagos; Norma and Alan went overto Tavira where it actually started to rain (butonly for 10 minutes – and it was warm).
Once back at the villas, Norma cookedfor everyone and we had a big party. Alanmanaged to burn some pizzas – but the restof the food was superb. Wine and beerflowed (are you getting the picture here ?)
Friday.Last day – and a lazy one by the pool.
The site restaurant did a Candlelit Dinnerwhich we all attended. Good fun.
SaturdayAnd so it was time to depart. All the kit
was packed, the bikes washed and wateredand, after a last look and a group photo, wewere off.
The ride was superb – if a little hot. Westopped off for food at a very pleasant town;found the first café that we saw andwandered in. Lunch was a bit haphazard –we knew no Portuguese and the waitressknew no English (or sign language). Weended up with fish soup and vealsandwiches (and a beer for Judy).
We carried on over some beautifulwinding roads – had to stop for a photoshootby a bridge – and ended up in Colvilla at apink hotel – which matched Norma’s outfitperfectly.
The bar was waiting for us – so weobliged with a drink or two followed by thebiggest meal we have ever seen – eachserving was enough for two. But we coped !
Moment of the day: Riding down thetwisty roads and looking through trees at thelake below. Nirvana!
SundayOur boring motorway day. By this time
Brian was feeling the strain and wanted toget to Leon as quickly as possible. So wesplit into two groups – one group doing the
nice twisty roads and the other groupaccompanying Brian. Not much to say really– the twisty route was brilliant (apparently)and the other way was not!
The meal in Leon was great – the beststeak Judy has ever had, she says. Then tobed.
Moment of the day: Relaxing in adeserted and closed rest area and suddenlyBrian and Mandy turned up with ice creamsand doughnuts.
MondayThe final push back to the ferry at
Santander. We found some wonderfuldriving roads up over the mountains andinto the town. TomTom got a bit confused bythe road works, but we carried on and iteventually sorted itself out. Lunch was at atruck stop but still better than most of thecafés in the UK (and waitresses that anysingle person would lust over). Then, ontothe ferry port and up to enjoy the trip back,which we didn’t.
The weather changed dramatically andthe boat was the roughest crossing I haveever been on. Most of the party retired earlyto avoid the classic “mal de mer” and thosethat didn’t were soon regretting it.
Moment of the day: The ride down fromthe mountains through the twists and turnson wonderful Spanish roads.
TuesdayThe ferry was 2 hours late getting in so
we didn’t get off the boat till lunchtime.Guess what – it was raining. Yes, we wereback in England. So, a quick zoom up theM5-M6-M62 and home.
Overall, a superb holiday; I wouldrecommend the Iberian peninsula toanyone. The roads are great, the scenerysuperb, the culture is awesome and thepeople very friendly. What more could youask for? (“Another beer please” said Judy).
Alan Sharkey
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78 SPRING 2008
CCLASSICLASSIC RRACINGACINGIn addition to Greenwood Minis another
series I have discovered & have been
following this year is the Classic Racing
Motorcycle Club (CRMC) meetings.
The term "Classic Racing" is generally
accepted as defining racing under the rules
and or auspices of the Classic Racing
Motorcycle Club. These rules cater for solos
and sidecars manufactured in the period
1945 to 1972, although the cut off date is
December 1967 for two stroke machines. At
the beginning of 1995 the club membership
decide that a new class should be added to
the programme to cater for genuine Grand
Prix machines manufactured after the
classic cut off dates and is known as the
Post Classic.
Another friend of mine (yes, I have more
than one) Ron Hart & his son Antony are
keen amateur CRMC racers & have been in
the club series for several years. Antony
has enjoyed considerable success over the
last couple of years & a short interview with
him can be read following this article.
So far this year I have watched Antony
race at Oulton Park where he had two
terrific races with the amazing Jamie
Whitham & where they took one victory &
one second place each. Later, at
Snetterton he unfortunately suffered some
expensive mechanical problems but did
manage to finish & bring home some points.
This brings me on to the subject of
sponsors. Anyone taking part in this racing
does so entirely at their own expense unless
they are lucky enough to be sponsored by
someone & anyone who wishes to sponsor
Antony in any small way on his Honda
motorcycles then please contact me in the
first instance. What better way to advertise
our club or your products than on the
motorcycle of an up and coming young rider.
In conclusion, I would just like to say to
all you members out there, if you want to
watch good, exciting motorcycle racing at a
fraction of the cost of BSB, WSB & GP then
get yourselves along to one of the Vintage
or Classic race meetings. The bikes may be
old but they are beautiful machines to see &
they go like stink on the track.
The atmosphere at the meetings is
brilliant with all the riders helping each other
out with spare parts & labour when the need
arises & you can wander round the pits at no
cost. The riders are always friendly & ready
to have a chat about their machines & you
never know who you are going to bump in to
whilst you are there!! It’s the ideal
destination for a Saturday or Sunday branch
run.
The racing itself though is fast & furious
with no quarter given or expected. It’s not a
gentlemanly parade by any means. The
circuits are nearly all ‘parkland’ type & ideal
for a picnic when you arrive. Entry fees are
about £12 & if you are an old gimmer like
me you’ll get a reduction on that as
well…..Try it, you might even like it!!!
You can find out a bit more about the
Classic Racing Motorcycle Club by having a
look at their website:
www.crmc.co.uk
Roy Edwards
Golden Wing Spring 2008.qxp 25/03/2008 18:43 Page 78
SPRING 2008 79
AN INTERVIEW WITH ANT HART
My dad (Ron Hart) started as a
mechanic for Tony Thomson who was
racing cars in the early 80's. He then
purchased a 1966 Cotton 250 single and
spent the next couple of years preparing it
for racing. He raced this bike from 1993 till
2000. In 2000 He bought a 1958 Norton
Domi-racer and rode that
for a couple of seasons,
often finishing in the top
ten.
I did a couple of
motocross races when I
was 16 & I used to go
and watch my dad race
when I could but never
really thought about
doing it myself until one
day in 2001 he said to
me "do you fancy a go?"
Within a few weeks I
was at Cadwell Park on
my dads Cotton 250. I
did 4 sessions on track
and slowly improved in
each one. After that I was
hooked so we purchased a 1979
Honda MT125 as we thought it'd be a
good bike to learn on. Unfortunately
the bike turned out to be very
unreliable at the time so we'd often
take my dad's Cotton along too just in
case the little Honda broke down.
Deciding we needed something
more reliable we bought a Honda 350
K4. In my first race at Lydden Hill in
Kent I finished 3rd and for the
remainder of that season I was a
regular top ten finisher on what was an
un-developed bike. The next year,
2004, we did some work on the bike to
make it more competitive and my riding
improved greatly. Unfortunately at
Snetterton in the wet I locked the front
wheel braking at the end of the start
finish straight and went down at about 100
mph, completely wrecking my bike. Luckily I
was unhurt but it meant that I had to miss
the final two meetings of the year, though I
still finished 6th in the championship and
was awarded the Novice of the year trophy
at the annual award's ceremony.
cont....
Ron & Ant
Golden Wing Spring 2008.qxp 25/03/2008 18:43 Page 79
80 SPRING 2008
Over the winter we had the chance to
rebuild the bike properly from the ground up
& despite teething problems I still finished
5th in the championship and was looking
forward to better in 2006 with our fully sorted
bike. We also decided to bring our Honda
MT125 out of retirement for the 06 season.
The 125 post classic
championship had become a
competitive series so I thought
it’d be a good extra ride for me
at the meetings. The season
started badly on the K4 with two
DNF's at Mallory Park and
didn't get much better through
the rest of the year. The 125
was a different story however, I
seemed to click with the bike
straight away and my
confidence grew every time I rode it. I only
finished off the podium 4 times all year,
taking 8 wins, 4 new lap records, winning
the race of the year and taking the
championship with 1 round to go.
2007 started pretty much as 2006
ended. Handling problems at Lydden meant
I struggled on the K4, but the 125 was still
running perfectly scoring a
couple of 3rd's and a win. I
incidentally got married that
April and had to leave the
honeymoon suit of the hotel at
three in the morning to travel
down to Lydden, how’s that for
commitment! It paid off as I
took 4 wins out of 4 there which
put me back on top of the
championship.
At Oulton Park we had ex
BSB and WSB star Jamie Whitham racing
with us. It was one of the best
moments of my life as I had two race
long battles with one of my heroes,
swapping places 3 or 4 times a lap. I
won the 1st race by less than a
second but he just pipped me to the
post in the second by 0.05 of a
second! We somehow beat the
previous lap record by 5 seconds and
I think I'll struggle to ever beat it
again.
Golden Wing Spring 2008.qxp 25/03/2008 18:43 Page 80
SPRING 2008 81
I managed to get another couple of
podiums despite having to start from the
back of the
grid. One win
and three
p o d i u m s ’
followed at
Cadwell Park
and all was
looking good
to maintain the
championship
for the 2nd
time. However
when we got
to Snetterton,
my bogey
circuit, I had a
large vibration
on the 1st lap
of practice.
We stripped
the bike but
couldn't find
a n y t h i n g
wrong with it,
so decided to go out and race. The vibration
got worse and worse all race long and the
bike got slower and slower. I eventually
finished 9th but as soon as I looked down at
the bike I could see all was not well. It had
split the barrel in half so I was amazed it ran
at all. This meant the championship was all
open again and it was only down to the
kindness of a fellow competitor who leant
me their bike that meant I could
still clinch it. I finished 8th, 6th
and 6th on the borrowed machine
which was just enough for me to
win it again with 1 meeting to go.
The K4, once we got the
wheels lined up correctly
following a crash, also ran well all
year finishing every race it started
including the 350 and 500
national races.
I had a good string of
podiums mid way through the
season meaning I finished the
year in a satisfying 2nd place.
The 350 and 500 national races are
prize money races for
genuine Grand prix
machines, but this year
they let road derived
bikes in and called it a
clubman's class. I won
both of these too so to
end the year with 3
championship wins and
a 2nd I was extremely
happy. None of this
would have been
possible of course
without the terrific
support of my dad who is
my unpaid mechanic &
my mum who comes to
every meeting to do the
‘catering’ & timekeeping!
N e x t
year I will
definitely
be riding
t h e
M T 1 2 5
again and possibly a Yamaha tz350 2-stroke
grand prix machine, unless anything else
comes up in the meantime.
Ant receiving his cup from James Toseland
Golden Wing Spring 2008.qxp 25/03/2008 18:43 Page 81
82 SPRING 2008
£3 plus P+P
£3 plus P+P
£5.95 plus P+P
Contact Regalia Co-ordinator, Jennie Clarke, 6 Bugby Way, Raunds, Northants, NN9 6SX�� 01933 399463 / 07759 805181 � regalia@hoc.org.uk
TEE SHIRTSTEE SHIRTS
ALLALL SIZES INCLUDINGSIZES INCLUDING
LADIES SKINNYLADIES SKINNY FITFIT
£7.99 EACH OR £7.99 EACH OR
2 FOR £102 FOR £10
BLACK ONLBLACK ONLYY
“Living the Dream” “Living the Dream”
on reverseon reverse
Golden Wing Spring 2008.qxp 25/03/2008 18:44 Page 82
SPRING 2008 83
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MOTOGP SEASON REVIEW 2007
By Julian Ryder
Foreword by Wayne Gardner
Now firmly established in its fourth year of publication, the MotoGP Season Review
2007 - in the shops just two weeks after the last Grand Prix - is a must-have Christmas
purchase for every fan of motorcycle racing. The BBC's coverage of MotoGP has
brought the sport to a wider audience, British Eurosport shows qualifying and the races
live, and viewing figures and track attendances
are rocketing. Packed with fine writing and great
photographs, and fronted by TV's top MotoGP
commentator Julian Ryder, the Review details the
entire 2007 season with all the behind-the-
scenes insight expected of an official book.
Hardback, 300 x 230mm, 208 pages, 250
colour illustrations
Price £19.99
ISBN No 9781844254514
Book No H4451
Available online from
www.haynes.co.uk
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Golden Wing Spring 2008.qxp 25/03/2008 18:44 Page 83
84 SPRING 2008
GGGGEEEEOOOORRRRGGGGEEEE WWWWHHHHIIIITTTTEEEE TTTTOOOOUUUURRRRSSSS
In association with George White's in Swindon, Bob Deane, one of Oxford's long
standing members - who has organised lots of trips previously - is now leading tours to
the BSB, WSB and GP Bike racing in the UK and Europe.
They seem to be quite well priced - see the attached for a choice of venues and
prices - contact Bob direct to find out more and book any of the long weekends.
Golden Wing Spring 2008.qxp 25/03/2008 18:44 Page 84
SPRING 2008 85
DDDDUUUUKKKKEEEE VVVVIIIIDDDDEEEEOOOO
Golden Wing Spring 2008.qxp 25/03/2008 18:44 Page 85
86 SPRING 2008
BMFAFFILIATION
CODE
Would all members pleasenote that the BMF affiliation
code for the HOC is
HOC07Y600
MMMMEEMMBBEERRSSEEMMBBEERRSS FFFFRREEEERREEEE AAAADDSSDDSSAdverts must be received by the 1st June for inclusion in the Summer Issue. Email editor@hoc.org.ukWrite to: Golden Wing, Unit 1B & 5B, Kemps Quay Industrial Park, Quayside Road, Southampton SO18 1AD
FOR SALE
For Sale . FIVE (Rare) Honda Motorcycles (Due to garage Clearout)
Honda CBR 250/4 RRMc22 (Mini Fireblade) 20.000rpm
Need I say more .?? Choice of TWO with current MOTs.
£1250 & £1650 Also (TWO ). NSR 250 stroke twins.
One complete One in bits But both OK !!.
£800 the Pair . (ONE ) Mc19 250/4 R Rolling chassis with V5
complete with engine Carbs and electricsWould make ideal Base for Hailwood Replica
£750Now I don't have to tell you that these Machines are very Rareand they aint going to be any more when these have dried up.
So don't Blow IT. No Time wasters PLEASE !!!! Bought As Seen. Plus Boxes of SPARES (Pandora's Boxe's)
also available for the MC17 & Mc19 & Mc22 Models Job Lots only. Please EMAIL for further details!!
(Genuine Enquiries ONLY Please )!! I haven't the time toCHAT!! at the moment !!.
Flexible on Collection So its First come/First Served
Telephone 01924 472969 or email bobsheila1@btopenworld.com
Bob Peck (26609)
HONDA CB750FB1982 (Y)
ONE OWNER FROM NEW.NEED GARAGE SPACE
HENCE RELUCTANT SALE.TAX + MOT.
53,000 MILESNOT STANDARD BUTMUCH LOVED AND IN
SUPERB CONDITION. SEEPHOTO.
NEW TYRES, STANDARDSEAT AND INDICATORS,
REBUILT REARMARZOCCHIS
£975
Tel: 07719 939667Anthony (17003) Nottingham
Golden Wing Spring 2008.qxp 25/03/2008 18:44 Page 86
SPRING 2008 87
ADS CAN BE POSTED FREE ON THE CLUB WEBSITE AT
www.hoc.org.uk/forum.html
ADVERTISING IN MEMBERS
FREE ADS
MEMBERSfree all sections
must statemembership number
OTHERS
FOR SALE (BIKES):
£18 1st insertion-subsequent free
(includes freemembership)
OTHER CATEGORIES:£3 per insertion
ACCESSORIES
HONDA CB400/41976
Private Sale.Blue tank
In excellent original condition.Taxed and MOT.
Only 7246 genuine miles. Reg No LMW 979P.
Has been with the sameenthusiast owner since 1988.For sale due to bereavement.
The bike has always beengaraged and can be viewed
at Brockenhurst.
£1,500
Please contact John Trim on 02380844521 or
email johnbluebar@aol.com
to arrange a viewing.
NT 700Inner pannier bags,
brand new
£30 PLUS POSTAGE
01295 266712email
kj.denney@btopenworld.comKeith Denney (30340)
Martin Helliwell thought we might like a photo of his
1979 Honda F2 CB400/four cafe racer style. He says “I still
have all the original parts in excellent condition (Antares
Red with pin stripes)...goes like a dream with 52,000 miles
on the clock .....looking forward to summer so we can
scare some R6's again”
Golden Wing Spring 2008.qxp 25/03/2008 18:44 Page 87
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