V.M.C.C.
SOUTH WALES SECTION NEWSLETTER
Twinned with the C.M.B. club of Belgium
Talks,
Social Runs, Film shows, Quizzes,
Road Trials, Coach Trips, Displays, etc.
No.220 - Oct
2008
Dear
Member,
September
was a busy month
for us, as usual. Jean and I along with Terry and Dilys had entered the
Isle of Wight
Scurry three day event. We were booked on
the 1pm ferry from Lymington to Yarmouth.
The ferry was a free crossing as Wightlink were sponsoring the event. I
had
entered the 1908 Triumph outfit and decided to also take the Indian
in the hope of being able to get a bit of practice on it as we were to
use the
bike on the following weekend in the Saundersfoot run.
The
run to Lymington was fairly uneventful apart from the customary queue
through Lyndhurst
in the new
Forest. Terry was already in the ferry queue when we got to Lymington
as he was
on the ferry prior to ours. Once on the island we set off for the other
end, as
the camp, where
the event was based, was near Shanklin. Terry and Dilys were in their
camper
whilst Jean and I had booked a chalet, which wasn’t bad at £99 for four
nights.
One
thing that I noticed on the way to the campsite was the hills. The
western end
of the Island was
none too bad, but around
Shanklin and Ryde to the east – by heck there were some steep ones. I
tackled
the guy who set the routes and he thought that I’d have problems with
the
veteran outfit. Lucky thing that I had the Indian
with me – so we decided to use that instead of the Triumph.
Day
one saw around 50 machines set off to ride into Shanklin and out to the
small
airport the other side. I still had a problem with the Indian oil pump
as it
delivered far too much oil, even when it was turned right down to the
minimum.
The bike had a hand pump so I decided to use that and not the
mechanical pump.
Usual thing – a shot of oil every five miles or so. Anyway, with great
trepidation I started the Indian
and Jean and I
climbed aboard. We were a bit wobbly as we set off following Terry’s
Ariel down
the road towards Shanklin. In the middle of the town was a set of
traffic
lights. I found neutral on the Indian
and as the
lights changed put the foot clutch pedal down and then snicked the bike
into
first. The revs on the engine made the clutch re-engage and the engine
stall as
I didn’t have my foot on the pedal. Problem was that the bike only has
one
brake and it’s on the rear wheel and operated by the right foot. So,
how could
I operate the clutch pedal with my left foot as I kept my right foot on
the
brake to stop us rolling back down the hill – all a bit of a night
mare. It
took four attempts and that number of traffic light changes before we
got
moving again. Anyhow, we were soon parking the bike along with all the
others
outside a hanger on the airfield.
We
were treated to a tour of the workshop hanger where they were
rebuilding a Mark
9 Spitfire and several other historic planes. It was all very
interesting and I
was amazed as to just how complicated Spitfire wings were. After the
tour we
set off back into Shanklin to ride to Ryde to display the bikes
alongside a
show of classic cars. I hadn’t oiled the bike since leaving the holiday
camp so
thought that I’d give the oil pump a try. I turned the pump off about
halfway
to Ryde as I thought that enough oil had been delivered to
the motor – Terry confirmed
that by saying that he couldn’t see as he was following us. He also
reckoned
that other riders were falling off on the oil slick that we were
leaving behind;
somehow I think he was telling porkies about that bit. Anyway, the ride
back to
the Holiday Camp
was uneventful and I was sure
gaining confidence with the bike – It was lovely to have such a bike
that just woofed
up all the hills in top gear. The motor would run smoothly in top at
walking
pace and then really get a move on when the throttle was opened and the
ignition advanced. I was pretty well chuffed that evening, I can tell
you.
The
following day was the day of the Scurry – 75 miles for the long route
72 for
the short route, hey ho. The VMCC President was there to wave everyone
off and,
full of confidence, I kicked up the Indian only to have the motor sound
a bit
strangled and for it to pump about 2 litres of oil out of every crevice
onto
the floor. Very embarrassed I pushed the bike back to the chalet and
removed the
sump oil level plug and drained out quite a bit of oil. I had left the
oil tap
in the on position after the previous days running and the bike had
wet-sumped.
A refill of the oil tank and we eventually set off behind all the other
bikes.
There was a lunch stop organised in West
Cowes
for us and the weather was glorious. I was still learning the
intricacies of
managing a foot clutch but I did find that I could ride the bike with
very
little throttle and just use the ignition to speed up or slow down.
Again the
bike just ate up any hills that we came across – lovely. By the time
that we
finished I reckoned that we had covered about 80 miles as we had gone
off route
a couple of times. A very successful day, I must say.
The
next day there was no riding and we had a bus trip organised. As Jean
and I
walked down to the bus I noticed that some kind person had covered our
oil
puddle from the day before with sand, there’s nice of them – a vintage
double
decker picked us all up at the holiday camp and set off for a tour of
the
island. Jean and I and Terry and Dilys managed to get a seat on the top
deck,
gee, when did I last travel on the top deck of a bus – must be well
over 30
years ago. In no time we were soon climbing a very steep hill – a 1 in
6, if my
memory serves me right. Luckily the bus had a crawler gear and even
though it
took an age to get to the top of the hill, we made it. First stop was
in
Godshill, the IOW’s answer to Castle Coombe I suppose. Anyway, it was a
very
picturesque village and after a stop of a couple of hours we set off
for
Havenstreet and a ride on a preserved steam train, along with a tour of
the
engine workshops. We eventually arrived back at the camp in time to
clean up
and get ready for the end of the event buffet.
Home
the following day, Wednesday, after a super event that I will certainly
do
again next year.
Now
for the Saundersfoot weekend on Friday. I decided that the oil pump
really
should work properly and had two days to sort it. Off it came and I
laid it all
out on the bench only to find that there was a small ball valve in the
bottom
of the pump and that I could blow and suck through it – that’s not
right,
thought I. The problem turned out to be that the seat of the valve just
wasn’t
screwed home properly. Everything was reassembled and fingers were
crossed that
it was going to work properly on the following weekend.
Terry
and Dilys with the Ariel and Jean and I on the Indian
assembled on the harbour front at Saundersfoot on the Saturday –
glorious
weather again. I decided to trust the oil pump and see how we got on.
As the motor
has cast iron pistons it wouldn’t seize as it would with alloy pistons
and I
knew that it would just get tight and lose power. So we set off on the
route
and were soon bowling along through some lovely countryside. We decide
to stop
in the small pub on Cresswell quay and have a coffee – it was a lovely
day to
watch the other bikes go past and both Terry and I were not looking for
any
trophies, so, sod the time keeping. The oil pump behaved itself and the
bike
didn’t seize. “Just a small amount of blue smoke out the back” Terry
said.
Perfect. We covered the 75 miles without any problems with me now
getting used
to using the advance and retard lever to regulate our speed. I must say
that
I’ve never had a
bike that has to be ridden on
the ignition quite as much as the Indian.
Sunday
morning we all assembled on the Harbour again and Terry received a
concours
award whilst the Indian
managed to
collect the Most Interesting Machine trophy. Travelling home I did have
a big
grin on my face as I now have a very useable Indian
– which it should have been when I bought it last year of course. Now
to
restore the Corbin Speedo that I found in my garage and fit it to
complete the
bike.
The
last weekend in September and we had the Vale of Glamorgan Road Trial.
Another glorious
day with just over 30 entries. This year I decided to start the event
from the Caerphilly Garden
Centre, reasoning was that the Llanharry club let us down last year
regarding
opening for the use of the toilets and the Caerphilly Garden
Centre is owned by our daughter and her husband – so we would not have
any
problems using it to start the event. Someone asked why the start was
not on Barry Island
any more – that’s quite simple and down to all the ‘red tape’, risk
assessments,
insurance policies etc that the council wanted. To run this event there
are
enough problems and forms in obtaining the obligatory RAC, VMCC and ACU
permits.
Monday
29th Sept saw a good number turn out for Doug
Bailey’s funeral which
I reported on in the last newsletter.
One
thing that Jean remarked on to me was that with all our riding this
year, both
at home and abroad and despite the lousy summer, we had not had one wet
event.
So someone’s looking after me, I reckon.
Apart
from the few events for the tiddlers to ride, we are just about
finished riding
for the winter now. April and May next year will see the Indian
out again. Something worth considering as an event, if you like, is a
week of
riding, similar to the Scarborough week – a laid back type of social
event but
this time held near Weymouth.
The South Dorset section are organising it, so have a think about it –
Weymouth
is not too far to
go.
Bill P
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