The Audio-Talk Motorcycling thread.
- Dave the bass
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#376 Re: The Audio-Talk Motorcycling thread.
Its a fair ol' way from your place but worth it Mike (IMO).
"The fat bourgeois and his doppelganger"
#377 Re: The Audio-Talk Motorcycling thread.
Don McClean who lived in Dunstable was one of the earliest members of the present club and was the second club secretary after me. I also produced and edited the first four copies of the club magazine, The Gun. The first chairman was my friend, Dave Davies with whom I established the club back in 1976/77. Dave Bogg, who I see is still an active member was the second chairman. Not being a member now, I can’t access many of the clubs website pages, hence my question.
We set up the club because at the time their was a healthy number of serviceable Enfields in the Bristol area because a local company called L&D Motors had bought at auction, most of the RE spares when the company folded. I even bought a brand new crankcase for the souped up Continental GT I finally built evolving from my original Crusader Sports.
Dave Bogg is/was a real character. Back in the 70’s, it seemed anything RE was simply his religion. At the time he lived in Barnsley and I can well remember hiring an Escort van to visit him and buy a dismantled Continental GT. Dave Davies came with me for the ride and at the same time, unexpectedly, bought from him a completely assembled Meteor 700. We had to jam it into the van at 45 degrees to get it to fit.
As the club was successful in Bristol, we advertised through Motorcycle News and quickly the club grew with several branches being established in the U.K., with further members arriving from abroad. This was pre Indian Enfield imports into this country.
In the early days we arranged club trips to motoring museums and camping weekend get togethers locally and further afield.
The other strong branch was in Telford. Their membership were mostly into Constellations complete with Airflow fairings which invariably meant engines overheating and clutches slipping.
At the time I worked at Bristol Royal Infirmary and lived in staff accommodation. One of the features of my accommodation was that the fire escape could be used to wheel a motorcycle from the road into the building and 1st floor bathroom which became my garage in terms of maintenance, something my original Crusader Sports needed frequently. I used this bathroom to completely strip down the Crusader Sports and paint strip the frame, then respraying it with epoxy resin paint. Bloody hell, the spray mist in that bathroom was so thick, you couldn’t see the walls.
On one occasion, we arranged a meet up with the Telford branch for a camping weekend in their neighbourhood. Club members congregated at my place in the early evening. As we were about to set out, Dave Davies’ Meteor would not start. Infact the engine was completely jammed and would not turn over. We wheeled it into my bathroom garage and had to completely strip down the engine (including crankcase splitting) to find that a piece of broken metal swarf (I don’t remember where from) had jammed one of the camshaft cams against the housing wall. We fixed it and reassembled the engine and had it back in the bike within eight hours. The bike fired up on the second kick. Amazing what can be done when everyone chips in. By now it was 3am, but with youthful enthusiasm, we set out for Telford for our club weekend.
When I moved out of hospital accommodation, the authorities threatened me with a commercial cleaning charge to sort out the bathroom/garage. I managed to clean it up sufficiently on my own and avoid the charge. Bloody hard work though.
All fond memories........
- pre65
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#379 Re: The Audio-Talk Motorcycling thread.
I'm up for it Greg.
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.
Edmund Burke
G-Popz THE easy listening connoisseur. (Philip)
Edmund Burke
G-Popz THE easy listening connoisseur. (Philip)
#380 Re: The Audio-Talk Motorcycling thread.
Me too..
The tube manual is quite like a telephone book. The number of it perfect. It is useful to make it possible to speak with a girl. But we can't see her beautiful face from the telephone number
- Mike H
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#381 Re: The Audio-Talk Motorcycling thread.
Greg, lovely story
Sure is! Checked it out on Google maps - however is fairly close to a campsite I want to do again, so who knowsDave the bass wrote: ↑Sat Apr 20, 2019 8:30 pm Its a fair ol' way from your place but worth it Mike (IMO).
"No matter how fast light travels it finds that the darkness has always got there first, and is waiting for it."
- Dave the bass
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#382 Re: The Audio-Talk Motorcycling thread.
Aah, I see, ta for explaining. I'm not that familiar with many members of the REOC, I've only met the local Kent Branch once.
"The fat bourgeois and his doppelganger"
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#383 Re: The Audio-Talk Motorcycling thread.
Thank you Dave. I'm grateful. And just to demonstrate that my rivet-counting faculties remain razor sharp, I have to point out that if the bike is ex-Danish army - and very many are - it is lacking the Smith's chronometric which was standard issue. If it is of civilian origin, then the headlight is incorrect and it still lacks a speedo which was mounted in the appropriate headlight shell, but not this type. Norra lotta people know that.
Not being British, Nimbi don't leak, vide the drip tray from which you might eat your sarnies. However, It is from these trays that Nimbus owners are served canapés.
Quite some time ago, the museum had a Morane Saulnier MS880B (Rallye) parked in the front field. It's registration is in one of my flying logs from a long time ago. Is it still there?
The Bullet is coming on well and a credit to you. The timing side reminded me of my father who in the early 'fifties bought an Enfield. A lawnmower! And he chose this because Atco, Ransomes et al employed chain drives. He liked the Enfield because it was all gear driven, which must have made it expensive. I like it too - so much more elegant than a crappy chain, don't you think?
Last of the late brakers.
- Dave the bass
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#384 Re: The Audio-Talk Motorcycling thread.
Fear not! Your rivet counting prowess was never in doubt Baggy
I haven't got any piccies of the Plane but if you click that link below you should be able to see a google map piccie of it moored-up (I speak-a-da-lingo) in the front field..
https://goo.gl/maps/1gvgDj3zwRytaLw89
Ta for the praise re-The Bullet. I finished putting the timing side together yesterday, "tah-dah" <jazz hands>
Static timing sorted...
Buttoning it all up...
Getting there.
I haven't got any piccies of the Plane but if you click that link below you should be able to see a google map piccie of it moored-up (I speak-a-da-lingo) in the front field..
https://goo.gl/maps/1gvgDj3zwRytaLw89
Ta for the praise re-The Bullet. I finished putting the timing side together yesterday, "tah-dah" <jazz hands>
Static timing sorted...
Buttoning it all up...
Getting there.
"The fat bourgeois and his doppelganger"
- Mike H
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#385 Re: The Audio-Talk Motorcycling thread.
That's a proper amount of timing gears. Is it magneto ignition?
"No matter how fast light travels it finds that the darkness has always got there first, and is waiting for it."
- Mike H
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#386 Re: The Audio-Talk Motorcycling thread.
OK, apparently not - but usually a convoluted drive train was needed to run a magneto, because it was a self contained unit.
What is all the dross at the bottom of the timing cover?
"No matter how fast light travels it finds that the darkness has always got there first, and is waiting for it."
#387 Re: The Audio-Talk Motorcycling thread.
I have to make a confession. Mrs L and I watch the ITV show 'Heartbeat'. The plots are silly as they come but in every episode there are delightful bikes, cars and vans from the sixties and before. I love to hear the copper's BSA A10. There's a very pretty Velocette in the storyline at the mo too. It's worth recording on ITV3 just to whizz through and see the hardware.
#388 Re: The Audio-Talk Motorcycling thread.
Michael L wrote: ↑Fri Apr 26, 2019 2:14 pm I have to make a confession. Mrs L and I watch the ITV show 'Heartbeat'. The plots are silly as they come but in every episode there are delightful bikes, cars and vans from the sixties and before. I love to hear the copper's BSA A10. There's a nice Velocette in the storyline at the mo too. It's worth recording on ITV3 just to whizz through and see the hardware.
https://www.imcdb.org/m101114.html
Lots of pics of the vehicles - not big images unfortunately. Lots of dramatic deaths in this series. Nearly all the doctors snuff it. Obviously job opportunities arose frequently.
- Mike H
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#390 Re: The Audio-Talk Motorcycling thread.
Good lord!
"No matter how fast light travels it finds that the darkness has always got there first, and is waiting for it."