Well, as always it has come round faster than we ever thought possible. The winter equinox and Christmas is upon us, and it’s way past time to update my year on the outfit.
After I got back from France at the beginning of June, I had become so used to being on the outfit that I missed it terribly the few times I had to use the car instead. There was something about riding/driving the bike and sidecar all day, nearly everyday, for those 2 weeks in Francethat had taken me to a new way of experiencing it. It had become a bit of an addiction.
The sound of the engine burbling along and the physical sensations combined to act like a switch whereby I entered effortlessly into a state of concentration that I can only describe as blissful alertness. This is the particular joy that outfit riding, for me, is all about; - complete focus of attention (to keep it going where you intend it to go), and feedback through all the senses (letting you know whether you’re managing it).
Womad (or Womud as it turned out) was the highlight of high summer. I raced up to Malmesbury after work on the Thursday, arriving at the end of the queue of traffic to get into the ground at about 10.30 that evening. Not bad going, - but it took another 2 hours to get into the ground and meet my friends. The pictures give a clue as to why!
The bike was badly overheating after the final thrash along the M4, and smoking so badly that the cars behind in the queue kept their distance – I think wisely!Next day it started fine, and no sign of damage.... hmmm... let it go and just enjoy the ride... see what happens. Not always the best philosophy perhaps but it was the lazy hazy days of summer, and I couldn’t be fussed to get anxious about it.
Me and the outfit were inseparable over the rest of the summer, going to Holifair at Gweek just a few miles away in August, and camping one weekend with my grandson.
Then at the end of August I took an awesome trip to Wales, taking the mountain road to Aberystwyth, up to North Wales around Snowdonia, across to friends in Derbyshire, and back to the Brecon Beacons for the bank holiday weekend.
I will let the pictures tell the story...
Holifair, Gweek. Aug 2007
Brecon Beacons - Aug 2007
Throughout the whole summer the bike performed brilliantly.
A few niggles started to play on my mind.
The heads have never been completely right since their rebuild a couple of years ago; the tappets still closing at the rate of about 2 thou every 1000 miles or so... how long can that go on?! Then there was the problem of the loose spark plug sleeve insert that I discovered just before France. I had ignored it all summer, but I would have to deal with it sooner or later, - like the next time I wanted to change the plugs. Also the overheating meant I probably tend to overwork the engine on a long trip.<object width="425" height="350"> <param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/pQFPdid3Gw0"> </param> <embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/pQFPdid3Gw0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="350"> </embed> </object>
I kept reminding myself that this is an old bike and I really should treat it with a bit more respect for its age, but sometimes... well you know what it’s like...
The final biggie, was the front sidecar mounting (see previous entries for the whole saga). Though the temporary repair was sound, it looks fairly Heath Robinsonesque, and the sidecar setup isn’t right (though it rides in a straight line it has a slight tow-out, which is, strictly speaking, verboten – not something you want to be on a BMW!). Spike said he could get it sorted out over the winter.So...
Oct – Decided to take the bike off the roadInitial plans to get the above sorted, sort of grew and grew until it is now in a state of being reassembled with refurbished heads – done by Motorworks this time, new rocker gear (the quiet post ’85 ones), a 1000cc conversion kit, new little and big ends. So that should be the business end of the power unit sorted as I want it. If it still rattles after that lot I shall have to do the timing chain next.And on it goes!
For a slideshow-movie of my summer go to uTube and watch me there (you even get to hear my ukulele – but don’t let that put you off!!)
Merry Christmas to You All!
