Touring questions ?

That'll be good. Friday night Portsmouth - Le Havre?

 

What are the dates?

 

I like that crossing - get yer head down, then early start to rock
across france.

We could take a brace of turbos!
--
Please add "imo" to above post.
Champ
GSX-R 1000, GPz 750 turbo, ZX7RR Endurance Racer x 2
GYASB#0 BotToS#2 BOTAFO(T|F)#35 WG*#1 DFV#8
Team UKRM Racing : www.team-ukrm.com

 

Memories of that road to the south are:

1/ So this is what a good road surface is supposed to be like.
2/ Considerate of the authorities to put straw bales in front of
anything solid.
3/ In the mornings going on the 'baguette' run, why does every French
guy returning to the track on a sports bike have a standard accessory of
a petite bird with a cute arse and a mini rucksack sat on the pillion to
carry the bread.
4/ Going as fast as I could (with some caution) with a bunch twenty of
others on the way down being overtaken by a French guy on a very old H-D
sparks flying everywhere as he grounded out everything on corners.
5/ Going down the hill, very fast, on the back with B-I-L on the front,
being overtaken like we were standing still by a guy on a teams spare
competition bike.

 

I met him but you forgot to mention the rear wheel being hung out on
every corner.

 

I hope Bernie the dwarf rots in hell, but I'd forgive him everything if
he let the Bol return to Circuit de Castellet.

No there's not..................................:-(((

 

15 - 17 July

 

<checks diary> Coo - that doesn't clash with any KRC dates, so should
be a go-er.
--
Please add "imo" to above post.
Champ
GSX-R 1000, GPz 750 turbo, ZX7RR Endurance Racer x 2
GYASB#0 BotToS#2 BOTAFO(T|F)#35 WG*#1 DFV#8
Team UKRM Racing : www.team-ukrm.com

 

I might come back for it.

Get the 400 Four MOTed and running, etc.

 

Do that. Go on, g'wan, g'wan. Stick the new seat, tank and panels on
it, and I'll bring mine as well, and we'll have a Red 400 Four Fest[1].
Leave Friday afternoon, decent hotel for a binge Friday night.
G'wan, g'wan.

[1] Bet mine's faster!

 

I hope so. The Bol is not the Bol unless you are on the south of France.

 

Do that. Go on, g'wan, g'wan. Stick the new seat, tank and panels on
it, and I'll bring mine as well, and we'll have a Red 400 Four Fest[1].
Leave Friday afternoon, decent hotel for a binge Friday night.
G'wan, g'wan.[/QUOTE]

Hmmm. A brace of 400 Fours. A brace of 750 turbos. This is starting
to look like fun.

--
Please add "imo" to above post.
Champ
GSX-R 1000, GPz 750 turbo, ZX7RR Endurance Racer x 2
GYASB#0 BotToS#2 BOTAFO(T|F)#35 WG*#1 DFV#8
Team UKRM Racing : www.team-ukrm.com

 

Some mates used to rent a mobile home type thing on the beach for
buttons each year. There's no need to get a heli into the circuit -
cos the event lasts about 4 days (well, the race proper starts at 3pm
Saturday, but people start turning up on Thursday), there's people
coming and going all the time.

All the above should be in the past tense, however :-(
--
Please add "imo" to above post.
Champ
GSX-R 1000, GPz 750 turbo, ZX7RR Endurance Racer x 2
GYASB#0 BotToS#2 BOTAFO(T|F)#35 WG*#1 DFV#8
Team UKRM Racing : www.team-ukrm.com

 

In the early 1990s, with a bunch of mates, I rented a FOAD villa near
Draguignan for two weeks encompassing the Bol.

We left The Wimmin on Friday morning, did the Bol, and got back to the
villa on Sunday evening for the usual eye-watering post-Bol dump,
shower, and a swim. Lovely-jubbly.

I remember I took a BMW K100LT. A total barge. A really, really
dangerous bike on some of those roads...... Niall was on the pillion at
one point and was watching my hands appear into his field of vision and
disappear as the bars oscillated. Oh, and then there was the front
wheel tucking under on one mountain bend..... Horrible bloody thing.
The 1100LT was supposed to be much better.

 

happening?


The real problem is that the circuit has been made bike-unfriendly.
It's been massively revamped, and on all the corners the French have
installed some sort of high-friction surface designed to stop cars
quickly rather than have them spinning into the scenery.

As the run-off areas at Ricard were always pretty big anyway, these
anti-skid pans (does anyone know if there's a name for them?) are
*big*.

I think if a bike racer hit them, the effect would be the same as if
he'd unloaded at a ton onto a cheese grater.

As everyone probably knows, Paul Ricard is used exclusively for vehicle
testing (both race and road) now. No racing at all. It's owned by
Excelis, a French company, which is ultimately owned by Bernie's family
trust. Toyota signed a contract a couple of years ago to test cars
there. I don't think bikes are even allowed there now, but ICBW. Can't
recall a launch there in recent years, and Ricard was always a popular
venue.

Massive investment has been put into the "infrastructure" - the airport
has been improved (I think Boeing 737s can land there now!) including a
five-star luxury hotel for teams and bigwigs....

My guess is that this brings in a lot more money - more than racing.
There aren't that many such facilities in the world. I mean, some
manufacturers (notably the Japs) have their own test tracks, but
they're still relatively rare. This must be a licence to print cash.

So..... I can't see racing returning to the circuit while Bernie is
alive. After he's popped his clogs.... maybe.

 

He... I smoke proper fags not them froggy ones.

 

TOG@toil, ,

OK, then.

I'll get a man in. Swift's of Laindon, to be exact. I might go wild
in the aisles of David Silver spares, too, to get it in top notch
nick.

Sounds like a plan, I must admit.

Not if I let the fucking tyres down.

 

**** it. Fill me with claret and I'll do it. especially if your ma
serves more of that Dundee cake. Rope your dad in too - I like him. I
really liked that black 400F and would actually enjoy fettling it.

As for bits, what more do you want? It's got decent guards, as-new tank
and panels, brand new seat, the exhaust is pukka, ISTR the wheel rims
are fine....

Oh - has it got the original tooltray wiv lid under the seat? Because
I've just acquired one, c/w original toolkit (well, almost all of it,
but minus the little placcy bag).

 

And have *two* breakdowns this time.

 

<hopes no-one buys an H1>

--
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