February
2025
I am a bit behind with sorting things out post trip
to India and the fun I had there riding a Husqvarna. When I got back the first
venue was Wey Valley Observed Sunday. The weather forecast was frosty and
knowing how treacherous the roads can be I set off in the C3 for warmth and
safety. It took ages to defrost the car
and I arrived at Cobham village hall about a quarter to nine. I was told then
that Observed Sunday was cancelled due to weather conditions. The committee has
a mandate to ensure the safety of riders. Temperatures below five centigrade
pose a risk and rides should be cancelled. This didn’t help me, the
notification wet out by email at 08:13. I had left long before that and so did
quite allot people as well. For a cancelled meeting it was quite busy and so
was the shop. I did my usual round of photos to mark the occasion with long
shadows and receding frost from the grass.
Although the weather was cold, damp and gray I checked the cars and bikes for battery charge and tyre pressures and put the Burton and El Cid on top up charges. To my surprise both batteries were in good condition and they fired up once the fuel had got to the carbs. Such is the joy of not having fuel injection. I caught up with hospital appointments that were delayed until after our India visit and the damage caused by the first Covid vaccination in March 2021 causing stroke like symptoms. The damage is in the area of the pons and has caused all my symptoms. There is a long list causing referral to most of the specialists at the hospital. One of my old work colleagues did not fare so well and I went to his wake.
On a happier note Valentine’s day came along with the London Motorcycle show. I had a mission to check out suitable luggage for the Kawasaki and sit on a few bikes that took my fancy and to see what surprises Sammy Miller had on his stand. At the end of the afternoon Henry Cole was hosting the interview with Sammy Miller along with Skid and Allan Millyard who happened to have brought Nemesis along and fired it up. Now that is a howling V8.
Shopping went quite well with Gita buying a leather
waistcoat and a new helmet. The old one was ten years old and was no longer as
comfortable as it used to be. I had a success with Shad luggage for the
Kawasaki we found something that I could adapt. From an enquiry to buying soft
luggage and the carrier on the day and even more of a surprise getting it
delivered the next day. I installed the Cardo Spirit system to Gita’s new helmet and got her phone
paired as well.
The luggage arrived and my brain went into overdrive. In the next few days I bought extra long high tensile socket bolts, 20mm spacers and 25mm by 4mm mild steel strip. I needed the long bolts and spacers to move the mounting plates away from the grab rails. I drilled 10mm holes for the 8mm bolts to give me some wiggle room and 8mm stainless button head bolts to attach the plates to the carrier frame. 4mm steel is tough to bend so I used 15mm bar for a curve to make it easier. Two of the brackets had right angles and the other two were at an angle to match the frame. I had to do a couple of adjustments to the positioning of the frame to make the saddle bags clear the pillion feet and footrest. I need to do a test ride to make sure.
I had an email from the Citroen Car Club to say there was a French Car Meeting at Blackbushe Airport early Saturday morning congregating at the cafe there. It was damp and miserable when I left home in the El Cid. I brightened as the morning went on. It was not good for pristine classic cars but enough people turned out to make it all worthwhile, including a super dark green Citroen cabriolet. There was a collection of Renaults but it was best supported by local twoCVers even one from Bristol who came for breakfast. I can’t think of a better way to spend a Saturday.