How's this for great service?

I've owned the Street Triple for 18 months from new and my admiration for it still remains undiminished from when I posted the extended rider review in August 2010.  Fast?  Plenty for the area I live in.  Handles?  Has brought a new dimension to cornering ability.  Ergonomics?  An amazingly comfortable bike for a 5'8" old fella!

Despite all the positives, towards the end of winter, I noticed what seemed to be small rust bubbles appearing on the mirror stalks.  You know how it is when you're familiar with something, you tend not to notice day by day change but  last week, I suddenly noticed that the corrosion had spread.  This was quite disappointing given that the bike is garaged and has an inordinate amount of fuss lavished on it, including good quality wax.

Right mirror stem

Left mirror stem

The greatest corrosion on the right stem is on the locknut with only small pitting on the stem itself.  The left stem has more corrosion on the stem and a little less on the locknut.  Both stems have corrosion beneath the rubber boot where they attach to the handlebar mount. Root cause is problematic.  The majority of the corrosion is at the front, suggesting that the weather whilst riding could have had some influence but why isn't it apparent on other forward-facing parts of the bike? Everything else is in excellent order.  It's possible that the metal could have rusted before painting but looking at the paint on the locknuts and stems, it looks VERY thin indeed and I'm not actually sure there's any primer/base coat!

Be that as it may, the first instinct was to rectify it myself as it was hardly a big job.  However, after a bit of thought, decided to email the Triumph dealer in Hamilton with the photos above, asking for their opinion.  Next day, I received a reply from Heath, the dealer principal saying that it was well worth notifying Triumph NZ and that he'd ask Matt, the workshop manager, to get onto it and see what eventuated.  Two days after that, I got a call from Matt saying that Triumph were happy to replace them and that a courier pack had just arrived with 2 new mirror stalks.  Because it was a warranty job, they were required to fit them and was I likely to be in the Hamilton area anytime soon?  Isn't that extraordinarily good service?

Always a good excuse to ride to Hamilton with most of the 160-odd km being on largely deserted back roads so last Friday, it was up early with clear skies and cool air...... perfect!  Pulled up outside the workshop 2 hours later to be greeted by cheery waves and a handshake from both Heath and Matt and then straight in to replacing the mirror stalks.  I felt pretty special and guess that's the sign of a top dealership where all the clients are made to feel so valued.  I'd seen comments on a local website bike forum that Triumph NZ were difficult to deal with.  Indeed, one person said that they "moved with glacial speed" on complaints.  I mentioned this to Heath in light of my outstanding service from both them and Triumph.  He replied that there was a formal process which they followed and there had never been any problems.  Maybe it's all in the approach - I can't speak highly enough of them. The corrosion issue hasn't actually disappointed me as it's more than outweighed by the fact that once the problem was acknowledged, it was resolved without delay -  the sign of an organisation which has systems and processes which work.

As the whole business had been settled at quite the opposite of "glacial speed", I didn't spend as much time in their wonderful showroom as normal, but here are some shots:

Triumph Sprint GT

I was very much taken with the new Sprint GT.  Beautifully finished and a true grand tourer.  Very good value for money with ABS and a whole host of goodies.  This is what my Honda Super Blackbird should have evolved into rather than the fuggly over-priced VFR 1200 with abysmal range.  No wonder world-wide sales of the VFR are poor and it's nearly NZ$8k more than the Sprint GT too.  Got it badly wrong, Honda San!

The legendary Bonneville

My current preference is for something a little more sporty but there's no denying that the Bonnie in black looks absolutely stunning.  Maybe later???

A brace of Thunderbirds

I couldn't resist the semi-arty front end photo of the two Thunderbirds - black and chrome looks soooo classy! Going for a big capacity parallel twin to differentiate the T'bird from a sea of V twin cruisers seems to have paid off handsomely in terms of market share.  Data from the UK market  indicates that Triumph sell more bikes there above 500cc than any other manufacturer.  There are strong rumours that they'll soon be entering the small capacity market which should worry the Japanese manufacturers, particularly with sales into S-E Asia where bikes are essential family and commercial transport.

As homage to Triumph's design team, a few photos of componentry from the Street Triple whilst it's clean!  If you didn't know what sort of bike it was, I'd bet that more people would pick it as European rather than Japanese origin.  Not that I'm anti-Japanese bikes in the slightest but as has been remarked previously, they seem to have lost their way a little in the last year or two in terms of innovation compared with Europe.

A sensuous tangle of piping!

Predator mates with Short-Circuit!

Each component a design gem

A lady with curves.....

As an aside, my route home from Hamilton was slightly different from the outbound run.  Going down a long straight  in the country miles from anywhere, my radar detector started to chirp - no big deal as I was legal or thereabouts.  The detector had picked up a brand new fixed speed camera on a pole by the roadside! (Presently puzzling as I thought that fixed cameras weren't operated by microwave).  Anyway, the point is as far as I'm aware, this area isn't a hazard black spot and has clear visibility all around for miles.  In the absence of data to the contrary, it's probably safe to assume that revenue collection is the primary objective given that it's in the middle of a nice long straight.  I suppose the one good thing is that in NZ, speeding fines incurred by cameras don't carry the additional penalty of demerit points against your license!  I fully expect one of the rural locals to have taken a hacksaw or shotgun to it shortly - if they haven't done so already.

Finally, I was delighted to meet for the first time yesterday a couple of really nice people from Auckland, a father and son; who have been reading this blog for a while.  They were holidaying in the area and I got an email from them asking whether they could drop in and see/chat about my Street Triple as they were thinking of getting one in due course.  We chatted for the best part of an hour and a half about the Triple and about motorcycling in general and it reminded me that informal networking like this is one of the special things about motorcycling - it draws people together irrespective of background, cultural or any other differences come to that.  Wonderful!

Cynicism, scepticism and other odd stuff

Whilst I have an optimistic outlook on life in general, scepticism is nonetheless alive and well in the James household, particularly when it comes to topics which don't have a whole bunch of data to support some pretty outrageous claims. You should see me froth at the mouth at most TV adverts - devices for allegedly improving vehicle fuel economy, magic creams for restoring lost youth and that's just for starters. On top of that, so-called clairvoyants, televangelists and so on - all good for raising a head of steam.  Jennie just sighs and says that's just one of the downsides of living with an engineer who has dealt in facts and data all his life.    However, I might, just might, have to eat a slice of humble pie.  Feel slightly uncomfortable in talking about it, but never mind; I've got broad shoulders to take the expected teasing!

Someone near and dear says that sometimes (mostly??) I have the maturity of a 5 year old. I'm not going to debate that here but would dearly love the physical resilience of a 5 year old.  Overall, I'm in good nick for 63 not-so-careful years but old sports injuries to my knees a give a fair bit of grief.  Fortunately, this shows up when walking, not riding so we can be thankful for small mercies.

We're off to Vietnam, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore in March.  There will be a fair bit of walking involved and some concerns about how well my knees will handle it.  A couple of months before Xmas, a local friend who is a fellow biker and ultra-keen cyclist was suffering from a hip ailment that had curtailed all forms of riding.  To cut a longish tale short, he bought one of those "power" wristbands endorsed by numerous sporting personalities, which apparently work on acupressure, magnetism, voodoo or Lord knows what.  Within a very short time, he was running around like a spring lamb and said that when he left it off for a few days, the symptoms started returning. Improved dramatically when he wore it again. Hardly rigorous medical evidence of course but my friend is a smart, well-grounded guy with a healthy dose of scepticism so wasn't inclined to pull his leg.

Fast-forward to last weekend when I had to run an errand to the nearby town of Whitianga.  Sun shining, so decided to take the Street Triple as it was early morning and the lunatic holidaymakers would hardly be out of bed, let alone getting on the highway and spoiling a great day by choosing which side to drive on at random.

Last Saturday's shopping trip to Whitianga - a tad hot in full leathers!

The main purpose of the errand was knocked off in double-quick time and for no strong reason,  remembered that my mate had purchased his power wristband at a shop not far from where I was parked.  Sidled in to enquire about them, being met by a young female shop assistant.  Not quite with the embarrassment of a guy buying a marital aid or Viagra (only guessing, hehe), but still felt a bit uncomfortable about the whole business.  The assistant was remarkably unfazed and down to earth and as they weren't outrageously expensive, decided to buy one.

Slipped it on a wrist when I got home and forgot about it until a couple of hours later when I realised that my knees were nowhere near as sore as they usually are when standing or walking about for longish periods.  The improvement has continued all week.  Not a cure, but a significant lessening in the pain.  Placebo effect?  Possibly, but isn't a sceptic supposed to be largely immune to the placebo effect?  The claims of why they work may well be pure horsesh*t, but that doesn't mean that they don't work for another, unknown reason.  Whatever has caused the sudden improvement , I'm simply grateful for it. Just hoping it lasts until Vietnam!

Finally, there have been a few recent posts by motorcycle bloggers from around the world, me included; where feline members of their family featured prominently. A recent thread on a local bike forum brought back memories of a Kiwi guy, Max Corkhill; who adopted a kitten whilst living and working in Canada. Max and Rastus were inseparable, with Rastus travelling in an open tank bag on Max's BMW throughout Canada and the USA. There are some wonderful tales of their adventures in North America. When Max returned to NZ, Rastus came with him and the two of them raised a not inconsiderable sum for charity. I had the privilege of meeting them both at a classic bike meeting in their home province in the 90's - absolute characters. Rastus clearly regarded himself as Lord of All He Surveyed and wasn't alarmed by anything.

Tragically, Rastus, Max and his partner were killed instantly by a careless driver in the late 1990's. The affection in which they were held is clearly shown by the huge motorcycle presence at the funeral cortège. Here's the link to a very good article on their life and times: Rastus and Max

Rastus and Max Corkhill - what a partnership!

Using a GPS - what do you really need?

We've owned a GPS for 4 years and a joint Xmas present recently saw the acquisition of yet another.  Not because we really needed one, but simply because it was something we both readily agreed on as being handy.  In other words, mainly a "want" rather than a "need" or put another way, a new toy... 'nuff said!

By and large, navigating on sealed roads in NZ doesn't require a GPS.  It is, however, useful for city driving, particularly when there's no navigator in the seat next to you.  NZ has a lot of unsealed back roads, off-road tracks, paths for tramping (hiking) and plenty of bush to get lost in so a GPS is extremely handy for these activities as well. A pure automobile GPS won't necessarily meet some of these broader requirements.

This post isn't intended to be a rigorous comparison of an older style GPS with something brand spanking new, merely some observations by a motorcycle owner who now has experience with both of them.  Nor does it cover all the features of  each; those are readily available from the Garmin website.  Some of the following comments are motorcycle-oriented, some of them general.  I've also tried to be honest about "fitness for purpose", i.e. features which are essential compared with those which which are merely "cool"!

Let me admit right now that I'm not a big lover of too many "farkles" on a bike (radar detector excepted), which biases my views.  The personal attraction of a bike is that it's a simple, uncluttered means of travel (carefully avoiding the word transport).... far-removed from the general purpose of something with 4 wheels.  IMHO, adorning it with too many farkles moves it inexorably towards a 2-wheeled car!  Get the drift??

This is the older GPS:

Garmin 76Cx

We bought it in 2007 with versatility in mind so it was already something of an overall compromise.  It was to be interchangeable between the bike and car and also to be used on foot, both in NZ and travelling overseas.  The 76 Cx fitted these criteria quite well with the following features.

• It's waterproof and rugged.
• Replaceable AA batteries with a practical life between recharge or replacement of at least 10 hours if not connected to a power source.
• Compass and other options associated with travel on foot, especially in the back-blocks.
• Some specific marine applications for use on a boat.
• Garmin MapSource software is supported by the NZ developers of Open Source maps (free on line) should we ever want them at a future date. (More on this shortly)

Its 1.6 x 2.2 inch screen is small by modern standards but is surprisingly readable on a motorcycle, in part due to the auto-adjusting map scale.  Excellent visibility both at night and in bright sunlight.   There is a 3D view option but it's pretty basic.  Having said that, the plan view (2D) is perfectly adequate. I have the GPS hard-wired into the switched ignition circuit but it's pleasing that battery life is pretty good, particularly for use on foot.

Plotting an entire route with waypoints, as opposed to simply an end destination, is a bit cumbersome and is much easier done using the Garmin MapSource software on a PC, then downloading it to the GPS.  I used this approach for last October's 1000 miles in 24 hours ride involving a complex back-road route and it worked just fine. On that ride, in the middle of the night miles from anywhere when I was a little on edge, watching progress round the route was surprisingly comforting!

RAM GPS mount, adapted to fit in steering headstock of Street Triple

The 76Cx doesn't have voice direction capability but just beeps when approaching waypoints, turns or other trigger points; also throwing up a text warning and direction arrows on the screen.  I don't use an earpiece and a visual cue is just fine for open road riding if you periodically scan the scrolling map for turns.  It's a little more tricky in urban areas where turns may be more frequent.  Not a good look to mow down a pedestrian or tail-end a stationary vehicle whilst looking at the GPS!!!

Our maps on the 76Cx were getting a little dated and we were recently caught off-guard with a new road being opened from the Auckland Southern Motorway out to the international airport. As it's only been open for a few short months, commercial map software won't show this change for some time yet and by the time it does, there will be route changes elsewhere; principally in and around the cities.  This is where NZ Open Source maps ( http://nzopengps.org/ ) enters into the scheme of things.  They are totally free auto-routing maps for all Garmin GPS models and have direct and on-going input from the user community in NZ.  This means that error corrections are almost instantaneously fixed and updated, as are the inclusion of new roads, roundabouts and the like.  I recently downloaded them and am extremely impressed with the level of map detail, points of interest and so on. Easily a match for the best commercial software in terms of accuracy and being current. They use Garmin MapSource as the base.

And on to the latest GPS, the Garmin Nuvi 3760........

We wanted it for the family cars, not the bike.  The only 2 criteria we had was voice directions for city driving and a reasonable size screen.  To be honest, there wasn't a lot of difference between Garmin, TomTom and Navman brands in terms of  features. Sure, the Garmin looked cool at less than 9mm thick in machined black aluminium but that didn't count for a whole lot. The deciding factor was a limited time offer for lifetime updates of map software for both NZ and Australia. The 3760 "T" version has the additional feature of voice-activated destination commands but we didn't go for this option as the extra cost wasn't considered value for money.  Besides, I'd feel like a Captain James T Kirk wannabe...."Computer, plot a course to Auckland - warp factor 10".  Err... and the withering scorn from the Executive Officer in the Starship co-pilot seat would be hard to take too.

Garmin Nuvi 3760 (bike icon chosen!)

The large hi-res screen at about 4.3 x 2.5 inches is nice, as is the capacitance-activated screen (as opposed to pressure).  The Aussie/Kiwi female voice is pleasant even if Maori name pronunciations are a bit mangled, but had one been available; I'd have willingly parted with extra dough to take orders from the English actress Joanna Lumley, who has the sexiest voice on the planet.  Unfortunately, there would have been a fight with my Chief Financial Officer, who would have issued a counter-demand for Sean Connery.

The 3D graphics are stunning, if not strictly necessary.  A lot of the other features, including pop-up drivers-view photos of key motorway exits etc fall in the "nice to have, but not essential" area too. Especially given that motorways in NZ are nearly as rare as rocking horse poo.  These extra features are quite good in the car  to tinker with and help relieve boredom, although largely unnecessary in a bike.  Haven't tried the bluetooth option. Oh, and the 3760 isn't waterproof so it's not the best option for a bike without a plastic bag or similar waterproofing aid.

Garmin claim a 4 hour battery life but so far, practical experience in this neck of the woods shows that it's less than that.  Given that recharging is via a mini-USB port, its use is essentially limited to where continuous power is available.

The one feature I really like is that the screen refresh rate is a lot faster than the 76Cx.  This is a real bonus where there are a series of turns to be made in rapid sequence. In fact, the refresh rate is almost continuous it's that good.

There's an on-line review of the 3760, including a video HERE.

Conclusions:

Given the earlier statements about preferences for keeping a bike pretty pure and simple, the 76Cx still meets my "fitness for purpose" criteria, despite having now used most of the bells and whistles of the 3760 in the car. That's not to say that they wouldn't be nice to have with a top of the line bike GPS, it's just that right now;  I'd sooner spend my money on other things (a new pair of boots in the coming months being one of them)! Oh, and one other thing......  when you are set to buy a GPS, think about the cost of updating maps.  I've already mentioned the NZ Open Source maps for Garmin which are free via the internet.  I don't know whether a similar arrangement exists for other brands of GPS in other countries but the cost of commercial updates can add up.  Keep your eyes peeled for special deals.  When we bought our 3760, there was a deal to get lifetime updates for about NZ$100 above the price of a bare GPS.  This has represented good value as updates seem to come on average at a quarterly frequency.  We simply plug the GPS into a PC, log onto the Garmin website and away it goes.  The package is for both NZ and Australian maps so they update at the same time.

And now for something different...
Finally, a couple of photos.  A few of my fellow bike bloggers enjoy posting photos of beautiful food encountered on their travels. Here's one of food straight from our garden!  I've been doing long overdue work in the garden for a few days until the roads empty of summer holidaymakers from the big cities, along with their crazy driving habits. Two winters ago, we had all our fruit trees heavily pruned by professionals and boy, has it paid off!  Several hundred peaches on one tree with the first picking due in the next few days.  Several other variety peach trees  plus apples will ripen over the next few weeks and we'll be giving bucket-loads away as usual.   Native parrots that live in the local bush fly in and help themselves to the upper layer but that's fair payment for watching them perform.  Also got lemons, limes, blueberries and mandarins in the garden. So there ya go Bob and Co - food doesn't get much fresher than this!

 

Over-run by healthy food! 

Some areas of our garden are heavily shaded by tree ferns and it's been difficult to find stuff which will grow under them.  We recently discovered that Bromeliads love the conditions in our area so splashed out on some tiny ones by mail order and planted them in late winter. They're growing ever larger, are developing spectacular colours and will soon start flowering and multiplying.  A small selection below, although we have dozens dotted about.  I'm all for attractive low maintenance gardens!

Bromeliads - spectacular lovers of shade

Discovering slow riding

Salutations from the first country to reach 2011!  Time travel at its best.

I've always liked to "press on a bit" and it was getting to the stage with the Blackbird where true involvement was at speeds which sooner or later were going to cost serious money if I got caught, not to mention the inevitable Disturbance in the Force at home which would follow - I know which would be worse!  I'm going to kick off this post by mentioning  a ride some 18 months ago which will hopefully provide a bit of background to the main point.  Ummm... if there really is a point, that is; other than wanting to scratch a mental itch which has been present for a while!

Going back in time, my attention was caught by a thread on an NZ motorcycle forum by a couple of young Kiwis.  Their plan was to undertake an epic ride, flying to the south island, laying their hands on a couple of small, old 2 strokes and riding them about 2200 km home to Auckland in the north island via a circuitous route, scrounging accommodation along the way.  Who said young people today lack a sense of adventure?  Errr...  I probably did - on numerous occasions!

Anyway, their ride should merit a story here in its own right, with the Suzuki A80 expiring before leaving the south island and the two strapping lads completing the rest of the journey 2-up on an 80's Honda H100S 100cc 2 stroke, complete with a lightly-silenced expansion chamber!  That story can wait though.  When they got near to the Coromandel Peninsula, I met them and rode "shotgun", escorting them home, putting them up overnight; then seeing them safely off the peninsula the next day en route to their Auckland homes.  The following 2 photos show the lads and their wonderful Honda which survived such a prolonged caning whilst grossly overloaded.  Whilst following, the frame flex was so obvious that you could see the wheels moving in and out of alignment!

Overloaded Honda H100 - being ridden with verve and imagination

The trusty 1980's Honda 100

Waiting patiently for the little Honda to climb a steep hill!

Moving ever closer towards the point of this post, whilst I was riding with these 2 lads; they rarely passed 90km/hr, even on a downhill grade with the wind behind them.  This speed was significantly less than my normal rate of open road passage and I was genuinely surprised how much more of the surrounding local countryside I took in and appreciated, as opposed to just the normal mandatory scanning for potential hazards and threats on any ride.

I penned a piece for an NZ bike magazine on "Why we ride" which received some good reviews, so reproduced it in the blog just over 12 months ago: Why do we ride motorcycles? .  Most of the reasons listed still seem perfectly valid but reckon I missed a few.  There probably isn't much argument that we're more aware of our surroundings on a bike than in a cage but does that relate more to risk assessment than simply appreciating our surroundings?  From a personal viewpoint whilst riding bigger capacity, faster sports-oriented bikes, riding challenging roads at pace with precision constituted most of the pleasure; enjoying the scenery was an altogether more rare experience.  Bikes like the Blackbird are capable of being ridden slowly but they can get uncomfortable quite quickly in this mode and to be perfectly frank, they're boring unless being operated in what might be termed their design performance envelope. (A technical euphemism for coming to the attention of the Highway Patrol in a big way).

Starship Blackbird, the Warp Speed Express

Whilst a good, fast fang is still excellent, especially with trusted friends; a naked bike such as the Street Triple with superb ergonomics has undoubtedly broadened my riding pleasures.  Being able to drift along at slower speeds sitting more or less vertically with minimal load on the wrists or neck has opened up a whole new dimension on the world.... and actually stopping for longer than rapid refuelling and a quick gas station pie is suddenly ok!!!!  Ok, so those of you who don't currently own sports-oriented bikes will quite rightly say, "Took your bloody time to figure that out, didn't you?"  Maybe it has nothing at all to do with age or maturity, and everything to do with the versatility of the Street Triple.  The point is though, there must be a whole world of riders like me who simply haven't really experienced how enjoyable riding at both ends of the performance spectrum is.

Having ridden for over 40 years and taken all this time to gradually cotton on to slow riding on isn't something I feel awkward about; it's actually rather exhilarating to realise that you never stop learning about new ways to enjoy your passion! (Like the previously reported riding of a scooter for the first time ever in 2009!)

  Stopping to contemplate and enjoy the scenery is ok!!!


Happy and safe riding in 2011 !

For the Northern Hemisphere bloggers!

Well, it's Christmas Eve Down Under.  I have a task list a mile long courtesy of my CEO and am under orders to have all tasks completed by the time the family starts to arrive in a couple of hours.  Our daughter is bringing her new(ish) boyfriend whom we've yet to meet.  I'm under orders to be nice to him or the carving knife will be used on me rather than the Xmas ham!  Perhaps not a good occasion to push my luck :-).  Anyway, one of Victoria's protective brothers recently met him and said that he's a really nice guy.  That's high praise indeed from someone who is not noted for diplomacy when it comes to her boyfriends!

The excellent Troubadour had a dig at us Southern Hemisphere types regarding the weather, trees and everything else in his recent post, showing a complete lack of sympathy for the warmth, blue skies and approaching the longest day of the year.  I took the photo below just for him and the snow-bound British bloggers on the way back from collecting the Christmas ham from town **sly grin**.  Xmas day and Boxing Day have temperature forecasts of around 30 degrees C, so we'll drink a toast to you at the evening BBQ!

Jennie's MX5, just 200 metres from home

All the very best from Upside-Down Land and catch you after Xmas.

Classic racebikes and other stuff

Decided to slip in a quick post before Xmas whilst I was sorting through some photos!

For a country with a 4 million-odd population, it's surprising just how many gems from the automotive and aircraft world lurk in people's sheds in NZ.  As an example from the aircraft world, there's an elderly guy at the top of the south island who bought some surplus aircraft in the decade following WW2 and stored them in a huge barn on his property.  All he does is go and sit in them and one is a De Havilland Mosquito.  How much would that be worth to a restorer????? Virtually priceless I guess.  Amazingly, there are four Mosquitoes reputed to be under restoration in NZ, one at an advanced stage.

Anyway, onto things automotive and motorcycling in particular; there are a huge number of classic race bikes which come out to play now and again, many very rare or one-offs.  In the latter category is the original Burt Munro Indian (World's Fastest Indian) and some of his other bikes.  They are permanently displayed at a hardware store in the south island town of Invercargill where Burt lived. Here's the link to photos of the real bikes: E Hays Hammer Hardware .  They even sell Burt Munro memorabilia.

 Some of Burt Munro's bikes

The February 4-6 International classic meeting at the Pukekohe track in south Auckland is not to be missed because classic racers come from all over the world to take part.  I'll be there snapping away in 2011 but in the meantime,  here's a few interesting local ones I photographed at various domestic meets over the last few years.  The fact that they're still in existence at all is wonderful, but that they are wheeled out time after time and given a real caning on the track is both testament to the bikes themselves and the care and time which the owners lavish on them.

 A brace of Excelsior Manxmen

Built in the 1930's in England in 250cc, 350cc and 500cc sizes, they were overhead cam driven and really innovative considering that Japanese bikes tend to be popularly thought of as introducing OHC to production bikes in the 60's.  The Excelsior closest to the camera has had the girder forks replaced with telescopic units.  Great to see 75 year old bikes still being raced and raced hard at that!

A Norvin

The Norvin is a British Vincent 1000cc engine shoe-horned into the legendary Norton featherbed frame.  Considering that the first Vincent V twin appeared in the mid-30's, they have remained remarkably plentiful and there are plenty of specialist companies around the world dedicated to keeping the name alive.  Wicked-looking bike and they sound magnificent with straight-through pipes - nothing politically correct about a racing Vincent engine!  As an observation, the twin leading shoe front brake would have its work cut out hauling up a Norvin from speed.

NSU Sportmax

The German NSU 250cc Sportmax racing single from the mid-1950's was a pretty uncomplicated racebike with pressed steel leading link forks. However, it's yet another example of a pre-Japanese overhead cam motorcycle.


The final photo isn't a racebike (you don't say!) but I photographed it at a classic meeting.  It's a Triumph from the early(ish) 1900's which has been impeccably restored.  It wasn't the bike which took my breath away but the beautifully made sidecar in green buttoned leather and woven cane.  Most regular readers of this blog will have gathered that I love the work of what might be described as "traditional" craftsmen.  This sidecar most definitely falls into that category - what a magnificent piece of work. Hope that the Health and Safety morons haven't seen fit to interfere with its ability to traverse NZ's highways.

1915 Vintage Triumph and cane sidecar

Finally, nothing at all to do with classic racebikes.  I'd like to mention a book which I read over the last week which may well appeal to motorcyclists everywhere, given their love of interesting challenges and a healthy disdain for conformity and boring normality.  This book was so funny that frequent hysterical snorting and choking, followed by wiping of eyes and blowing of nose was earning me sighs, tuts and rolling of eyes from my nearest and dearest whilst in earshot.

The book has an unlikely but true storyline. It's about a battery-powered domestic milk delivery float, built in the 1950's with a top speed on level ground of perhaps 20 mph or a tad more with a storm-force tailwind. Three guys decided not that long ago to drive one from the most easterly location in England to the most westerly part.  Not for a charity or any purpose other than it being good fun.  Adding spice to the tale, they did it with little or no forward planning - an interesting proposition considering that the batteries require re-charging every few hours.

If you enjoy a tale of quirky human endeavour coupled with the very best English wit, then you could do a lot worse than reading this.  You'll laugh yourself sick.  Here it is:  Three men in a Float, by Dan Kieran and Ian Vince - ISBN978-1-84854-015-6.  I was lucky enough to find it in our local library, but I know it's available at a modest price from at least a couple of international web-based booksellers.  The human race would be all the poorer without people having crazy ideas like this.

The non-human members of the family...

Following  Nicos' recent post about his soccer-averse moggie and Trobairitz'  photo of the majestic Squire Basil, plus seeing that it's close to Christmas, warm fuzzies and all; I thought I'd take the opportunity to introduce our non-motorcycling feline layabouts, Henry and Thomas.  For tenuous reasons, we have cats named after people from the literary world.  Pushkin was our 18 year old black Persian who passed away 11 years ago.  Henry (James) has just turned 11 and Thomas (Hardy) has just turned 9. Like cats everywhere, they're an integral part of the family and have very definite and diverse (psychotic?) personalities.

After Pushkin passed away, Jennie wanted another cat and spied a kitten at the local vets.  The vet nurse told her that blue-eyed white cats were invariably deaf but she was hooked anyway.  I was less happy because of the worry about it getting run over but was naturally over-ruled.  This is Henry a few days after collection from the vet:

Henry, the chocolate box cat in 1999

Henry promptly repaid Jennie's affection by completely ignoring her and attaching himself to me - he's been that way ever since!  For a deaf cat, he's remarkably talkative - how does that work????

After being ignored for a couple of years, Jennie lost patience and visited the local cat rescue, finding an abandoned Russian Blue cross kitten.  He had one bent ear and slightly runny eyes which triggered a typically  "aww...." response from my Chief Executive.  Now there were 2.....  Thomas immediately bonded utterly and completely with Jennie and it's been that way ever since, although he does acknowledge my presence when he's hungry.  This is Thomas on the day we picked him up:

 

A little waif with runny eyes and a bent ear tip - awwww....

Like most cats, they have their moments of insanity.  Here's Thomas, killing the cat flap:

Pure insanity!

Before we retired and moved permanently to our beach place, they used to come with us at the weekends and holidays, loving it there.  So much so that they developed a 6th sense for when it was time to go home and would promptly disappear into the undergrowth just before we were due to leave.  Thomas did a runner for 5 hours on one occasion and nearly had to fend for himself or scrounge off neighbours until the following weekend.

A few weeks after that incident, Henry got wind of imminent home-time and sprinted up a tree on a steep slope in the neighbour's garden.  I managed to coax him onto a lower branch then lunged.  At the same time as I grabbed his fur, my feet lost grip on the slope and we both rolled down the bank, flattening small shrubs and accumulating a lot of mud and debris in the process.  I couldn't let go of  Henry as we were ready to leave and he'd just bolt for hours.  Jennie witnessed the whole sorry affair and was in hysterics.  Mustering as much dignity as was possible covered in mud and leaves,  Henry got thrown in the car; followed by me. The cats and I had to endure muffled sniggers for the whole 2 1/2 hour drive home.  After that debacle, we resorted to shoving them in a bedroom before packing the car for the trip home and an uneasy truce existed until we moved full time.

Thomas also enjoys a walk on the beach just behind our place and spends ages investigating the rock pools.  He's an 8kg solid muscle Alpha Male and initiated an unprovoked attack on a neighbour's Weimaraner dog once - highly embarrassing having to apologise for that episode!!  A couple of years ago, he dragged a highly ticked-off live pheasant through the cat flap which then proceeded to poop and flap all over the house.  Nice of him to bring home fresh food though although it's pleasing that headless rabbits have now stopped appearing on the lounge carpet first thing in the morning.  His alias is "Zarg the Destroyer" as we're certain that's how he thinks of himself.

Zarg the Destroyer patrolling the beach

Henry's much more of a pretty boy with fewer bad habits, although he does enjoy regularly ambushing me out in the shrubbery and drawing blood, the bastard. Maybe as retribution for the tree incident.  He loves travelling in the car, grinning out at surprised pedestrians and following motorists.

.

Butter wouldn't melt.......

Whether it's us or any of the neighbours, the cats always know that boats being towed back up any of the driveways equates to a completed fishing trip and they're there as soon as filleting starts.  They don't scrounge, just sit there with big, soulful eyes - they really know how work a crowd!

Orderly queueing for scraps

Inspecting a neighbour's Snapper catch!

Now, I've already mentioned that Thomas is the alpha male of the district but there's one cat who has totally got his measure.  This is Minka, our neighbour's Tonkinese.  She's 13 or 14 years old and diminutive but has such authority and class that she can stroll in and eat Thomas' food when she feels like it with absolutely no repercussions.  She has that famous stare which all females instinctively posses (hereafter known as THE LOOK)  which of course is guaranteed to make any guy's eyes water!

Here is Minka:

Minka - Supreme Ruler of the Cat Universe

So there we are, indolent members of the household who don't do any housework, are suspect in terms of guarding the property, and don't do anything else particularly productive.  Hmmmm... sounds like our kids before they left home!

Currently, it's around 30 degrees C (90F) and Jennie and I have just been digging up and stacking about 30 sq meters of small block pavers in the garden ready for someone to come in and properly level the area.  Both overheated, dehydrated and stuffed.  A cold beer followed by a nana nap methinks!

It's my last post for the year so......

Wishing you all a wonderful Xmas with all that you would wish for yourselves.  May you also have a magnificent 2011!

Pohutukawa - the NZ Christmas tree

Bikes and Planes - a great combination

Some spur of the moment rides can often be some of the most memorable....
 
After having visitors from the UK for a few days which was great fun but didn't involve 2 wheels, I was itching for a ride.  Woke up early, decided to go for a blast, grabbed a shower and the heavens immediately opened - couldn't believe it as the forecast was supposedly for great weather.  Resigned myself to aborting the ride and doing something productive indoors, only for the sun to come out after a few minutes and start drying the roads.  An hour later, I was on my way.

Decided to ride to Ardmore airfield, south-east of Auckland.  Ardmore is the home of several flying schools for various types of aircraft and it's also home to the north island chapter of the Warbirds - WW2 aircraft or thereabouts.  You never know what you'll see up there!  The 320-odd km loop through the countryside to get there and back is almost continuous twisties with minimal traffic - what more could you ask for?

320 km of heaven!

 The intent had been to head inland and approach Ardmore from the south but travelling down the Coromandel coast, the rain which cleared from home earlier seemed to be heading across that way, so going anticlockwise and travelling north up the western Firth of Thames coast road seemed a sensible option.  Beautiful warm weather with a mixture of cloud and sun, deserted roads..... magic!  A quick drink stop in lovely Kawakawa Bay and then on to Ardmore. A Highway Patrol car was discreetly tucked away near a hedge along a tempting country straight near Clevedon but the officer was being lazy and not using "instant on".  My detector picked him up the best part of a kilometre away which saved any grovelling explanations to Jennie.

Kawakawa Bay - not a soul in sight

Arriving at Ardmore, what struck me is the completely relaxed nature of the place considering that it's an operational airfield.  You can wander right up to the aircraft and whilst there must be some degree of discreet security, it's certainly not obvious and long may it be so.

First port of call was to the far end of the airfield where the Warbirds hangar is located.  Unfortunately, the hangar was shut so it wasn't possible to see what treasures were inside but right outside, there were some Harvards and Russian Yaks being readied for flight.  Alongside them was a PBY Catalina flying boat, one of a handful still in flying condition.  A rare treat to see it close up!

PBY Catalina and Yakolev aerobatic aircraft

The pilots started walking towards the Yaks, so it was time to scoot down to the other end of the airfield to see them take off.  However, just as I arrived, 4 Harvards were taxiing down the approach and parked in formation waiting for their turn to take off.

Clearing its throat or practising laying smoke?

Formation lift-off.  Big radials sound magnificent!

Low pass before flying off into the wide blue yonder

Ardmore has a slightly genteel air about it.  A vintage Bentley cruised slowly past whilst I was munching a bag of corn chips.  I think the occupants looked down their collective noses at someone in leather eating junk food.  The occupants were in period costume - strawberries and champagne for them rather than corn chips methinks; perhaps in the beautifully-restored DC3 which does charter flights around the Auckland area.  The genteel atmosphere extended to the photo below.  It looks like an English cricket pavilion but is in fact the Ardmore Flying School

Caviar and a cigar before your next flight old chap?

Shortly before I left, an aerobatic aircraft came out for a bit of practice.  Hard to see in the photo below but they're tiny little things - more like a home-built than a serious competition aircraft. It had only rolled a few metres before it took off - power to weight ratio must be enormous.

Tiny little aircraft but really, really fast

Finally, I couldn't resist a photo of the Triple against what remains of an English-built Bristol Freighter transport plane.  Hard to accept that these were front line cargo planes when I was a kid!  They had clamshell front loading doors and were pretty basic in their construction.  One Kiwi pilot likened it to 40,000 rivets flying in close formation!

Old meets new - pity about the vintage rider on the new item

The ride home through the Hunua range of hills was magic - literally two or 3 cars in 50 km and also pretty light for the rest of the run home, perfect for behaving irresponsibly (well, just a bit).  Guess we have to thank the nation's wives for keeping their husbands off the roads and busy on domestic tasks before they're allowed out to play.  My turn will come tomorrow but what a great day today has been!

Definitely the last embarrassing photos

Well, Sonja and Bob in particular have come to the party regarding their old photos, so I'll throw in a handful more to finish off my contribution then it's back to the much safer world of motorcycles!  Bob, my Agfa Snapscan 1212 scanner must be close to 10 years old and works just fine, no software problems at all *grin*

We start off in 1963 when I was 16.  The standard school photo taken in the library at the local technical grammar school in the UK.  Passed (to the complete surprise of everyone including me) all my national "O" level exams and my maternal grandparents must have been especially surprised and thankful as they kickstarted (sorry about the pun) my motorcycle ownership with a present in the shape of a Suzuki 50!!  It was certainly better than going everywhere by bicycle, even if it did only have 5 horsepower.

 Oh dear.....

My other great love as a teenager was building model aircraft of all types. Here we are in 1965 (I think) with a glider.  Forty-five years later, I can still remember that it had a black fuselage and yellow lifting surfaces, even if I can't remember what I had for dinner last night :-).

Lousy clothing choice - a lifetime problem!

The following photo was taken in 1968.  Heavily influenced by the Mods (on scooters) and Rockers (on bikes) era in the UK where the opposing sides would regularly meet in the coastal town of Brighton to kick the living daylights out of each other.  Being a devout, practising coward; I avoided the antisocial stuff. Besides, our next door neighbour's son was a Mod and he was a cool guy!

White silk scarf, waxed cotton jacket, fur-lined flying boots - what a jerk

A very special day in 1972 in the county of Kent, UK.  Hair a bit long, but otherwise tidy.  Mother-in-Law definitely DID NOT approve of a dark brown suit with flared trousers and a cream shirt.  Never heard the end of it. The other person in the photo totally eclipses me of course.

A very proud moment

Fast forward 20 years to 1992.  Big hair and big glasses and a silk trouser suit were apparently the "in thing" for females. Why oh why did I have a crew cut?  Probably as an embarrassment to our kids!

Hmmmm..... one of us looks ok......

Still with an excruciating crew cut, this photo was taken in 1996 when on secondment to our parent company, International Paper in the Southern USA.  Judging by the "Do not Feed Alligators" sign, the relaxed pose was a very fleeting one! Certainly wouldn't trust the colleague taking the photo to give me any warning!

Absolutely no intention of donating a limb to the local 'gators!

That's it folks - laugh all you like!