Elefantentreffen 2011

I never get around to selling bikes pro actively but my R65 Outfit cruises
nicely at 80mph and handles very sweetly. No charging woes, Electrex solid
state rectifier/regulator. It doesn't use a weedy bike battery under the
seat, being wired into a proper 70Ah unit in the boot.

It cost me £1500 and if anyone happens by with that much cash sometime, it
can go.

 

As a lad I had Eric living just down the road from me. Eric was the older
brother of my mate Chris which is how I got to meet him and with an
interest in motorcycles developed mainly by being mates with Butch who
lived next door but 2 to Eric and who had the older brother with the
Goldie that was either breaking land speed records or being rebuilt the
week after what I have mentioned on here before.

Eric was a "type". If I tell you that Eric worked dammed fucking hard in
his family scrap business and was well rewarded for it you will instantly
get an image of his attitudes towards life the universe and everything. If
I tell you that the family business was scrapping MTB's halfway out into
the Thames estuary on Vange marshes and which yielded brass by the tonne
you will know just how well he was rewarded. The stereotype goes even
further when you take into account his attitudes towards official
paperwork and compliance testing and authority figures particularly of a
uniformed variety, where uniform was not necessarily blue serge but would
also include that which was made from all weather tweed and the likelihood
of him having contact with them in a non social setting.

Needless to say that all the foregoing and the fact he was a Biker Boy to
the tip of his job lot army surplus steel capped boots what his
grandfather kept in one of the sheds he had behind the kennels in their
garden meant that he had to break with long held tradition and get
himself a license. So far and no further I think best sums up his
response to this so he spent his seven and six and got a provisional.
Mobility for the price of 5 pints. Restricted mobility of course but test
free. Restriction as far as he was concerned was to have a modest steel
and allow frame attached to a 650 Thunderbird.

Now this is where my mate Butch's elder brother comes into the story.

You remember my mate Butch's elder brother, the one with the rocket ship
with BSA stamped on the side. He knew how to make bikes go really rather
extremely quick, for limited periods of time but was able to extend his
skills to making then go just rather quick for a bit longer and although
not best mates with Eric was at least neighbourly in nature. What with
that and Eric's ability with a welding torch and access to a ready supply
of exotic metals the result was a very nice combination piloted.

And the roads he had to play on. Forget for a moment that there was less
traffic 45 years ago than those of you who didn't live through it can
imagine, he had miles of dead straight concrete laid by experts which was
good enough to walk on or drive a tank over as needs demand. Uncounted
numbers of low speed 90's and acres of parade ground sized hard standing
with maybe just a modest perimeter road or 5 marking the site of a long
departed temporary building and all of it less than 50 years old and most
the non road bits of it less than 25. The fallout from quickly
accelerating birds, in this case Seagulls by the flock, were amongst the
higher random hazards. Hooligan heaven.

Many tales exist of Eric and events associated with that bike and although
my name is sadly not in any of the folklore concerning them, from my own
experience I have every reason to believe all of them.

From this I have to state that I think it would be lunacy of the highest
order to even consider a trip involving cruising at NSL+ speeds without
the benefit of a machine and pilot of that caliber and, of course, modern
technical aids such as comfy foam for your knees and effective wind
protection across the front of the chair.

 

On 2 mayo, 18:18, (Andy B) wrote:

[snip]

<thinks>

Thunderace, litre bike, fail.

Vespa 160, stroker, fail.

XR600, kickstart, fail (plus large vibrating single engine).

Xmax 250, scooter, 65-70mph cruising (tops 88mph, ton plusing down
hill), shitloads of luggage... uh?

 

Go and wash your mouth out.

 

Cojones.

 

Have you replaced the fucked exhaust system yet? You've obviously done
the charging if you say it's ok so there'll be no need to carry a
booster as you did when you took it to Germany.

 

Add a decent screen and a big top box, should be OK.
The Tmax would be better.

 

Like you'd fucking know.

We'd burn it before it even got near the ferry.

 

It has a full Keihin exhaust system too.

I carry my (new Clarke 1010) booster kit around whenever I can anyway as it
also inflates tyres, boils water and makes me feel better.

 

Go long on Preparation H!

--
Ivan Reid, School of Engineering & Design, _____________ CMS Collaboration,
Brunel University. Ivan.Reid@[brunel.ac.uk|cern.ch] Room 40-1-B12, CERN
GSX600F, RG250WD "You Porsche. Me pass!" DoD #484 JKLO#003, 005
WP7# 3000 LC Unit #2368 (tinlc) UKMC#00009 BOTAFOT#16 UKRMMA#7 (Hon)
KotPT -- "for stupidity above and beyond the call of duty".

 

It has a screen that covers all the body (6 ft, me). Got top-box and room
for two full face helmet under the seat

Less capacity, not in my shed, and too pricey. The small 250 has already
done two trips of 600km and 800km in a single day <pride>.

 

Domenec escribió:

Dos.

 

Steve escribió:

Heer in yoorope, anything with 2 wheels and some sort of engine is a "moto"
and seems to have equal status. Monkey bikes to Hardlys all count.

 

I find it hard to believe that no one points and laughs.

 

Steve escribió:

Noone points and laughs.

 

In Spain, possibly. In France, whilst they all fall under the banner of
"2 Roues" or "3 Roues", it's divided down into either "Scoots" or
"Motos".

 

That Noone's a bugger, inne?

 

tried to curry your favour did he?