golden wing - 2008 spring

Golden Wing Spring 2008.qxp 25/03/2008 18:35

SPRING 2008 1

Spring 2008, Volume 46 No. 1

Editor / DesignerTim Lee

[email protected]

Diary Co-ordinatorAndy Stryczko

[email protected]

Advertising Co-ordinatorErica Gassor

[email protected]

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:

[email protected].

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

[email protected]@hoc.org.uk


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 � [email protected]

General SecretaryGraham Seymour

279 Wisden Road, Trotts Hill, Stevenage SG1 5NR

��01438 357398� [email protected]

Membership SecretaryGraham Gull

61 Vicarage Road, Ware SG12 7BE� [email protected]

Saddle Sore Shield Co-ordinatorStephen Davenport

�� 07968 810435 � [email protected]

Regalia Co-ordinatorJennie Clarke

6 Bugby Way, Raunds, Northants, NN9 6SX

�� 01933 399463 / 07759 805181 � [email protected]

TreasurerRuth Wingrove,

38 Bower Street, Bedford MK40 3RE.� [email protected]

Advertising ManagerErica Gassor,

�� 07799 49 2235 � [email protected]

WebmasterAndy (Stritchy) Stryczko

38 Bower Street, Bedford MK40 3RE� [email protected]

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;

[email protected]@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)


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


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


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 [email protected]

or post to:

Golden Wing, Units 1B & 5BKemps Quay Industrial Park

Quayside Road, Southampton. SO18 1AD


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

� [email protected]

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

[email protected]

53 Northlands Road, Totton

Southampton. S040 3HA


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!


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


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


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......


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.


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


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


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


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.


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

[email protected]

or telephone Paul Woodruff on (01353) 740883

or Andy Gilson on (01353) 669116


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


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


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


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:

[email protected] or from the website

at

www.driveawaymat.co.uk.

REDUCE WEAR AND TEAR WITH THE MAT


SPRING 2008 29

KENTSecretary: Mike Gallafent: [email protected]

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


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


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.


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


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.


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


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.


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


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


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


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 [email protected]

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:


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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.


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!


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)


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


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


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


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

Email

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 [email protected] or by

mail to the Golden Wing office (address on page 1)


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.


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......


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


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.


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.


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


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


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


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.


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


82 SPRING 2008

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Contact Regalia Co-ordinator, Jennie Clarke, 6 Bugby Way, Raunds, Northants, NN9 6SX�� 01933 399463 / 07759 805181 � [email protected]

TEE SHIRTSTEE SHIRTS

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on reverseon reverse


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

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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.


SPRING 2008 85

DDDDUUUUKKKKEEEE VVVVIIIIDDDDEEEEOOOO


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 [email protected] 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 [email protected]

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


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 [email protected]

to arrange a viewing.

NT 700Inner pannier bags,

brand new

£30 PLUS POSTAGE

01295 266712email

[email protected] 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 - 2008 spring

Documents

shires rally

golden wing spring

wilts spring rally

solent rally

national rally

sno rally

rally waswell

delivery of golden wing