trials tribulations - eastern fourstroke association · mark gibb at wrabness, by sam mckenzie. 2...
TRANSCRIPT
1
APRIL 2011 Vol. 2 Issue 4
The Eastern Fourstroke Association &The Anglia Classic Trials Club
monthly magazine
Trials&
Tribulations
Mark Gibb at Wrabness, by Sam McKenzie
2
El Presidente....................................................................Ian PreedyLife Vice President....................................................Wilf BraybrookPresident (Vice)..........................................................Chris KearneyChairman............................................................................Ted SmithSecretary Rob Sayers 29 Roman Way, Long Melford, Sudbury, Suffolk, CO10 9LN
Tel: 01787 370180, Mobile: 078556074292E-mail: [email protected]
Treasurer Dave KentCommittee Brian Fletcher, Bob Drane Graham Braybrook,Chris MaceChampionship Recorder Colin TavernerTrials & Tribulations Editor Chris Canham 10 The Close, Waldingfield Road Sudbury, Suffolk, CO10 2QA Tel: 01787 374399
E-mail: [email protected] or [email protected]
Membership Secretary June Kent 30 Clayhall Place, Acton SUDBURY, Suffolk CO10 0BT 01787 379192
email: [email protected]
Disclaimer - The articles and comments published herein donot necessarily represent the views of the Eastern Fourstroke Associ-ation, they are the opinions of individual contributors and arepublished with a view that free expression promotes discussion andinterest.
Advertising Rates Small Ads - free to members, 50p per insertion non-members
Trade - prices on application (page, half page etc)
3
Chris Chapmanwinner of theJim Mason
trophy
Mark Fletcherwith the
Richard Percivalabove 343 cc &
Thumpers trophy’s
John Kendalwinner of theRoger Birch
trophy
Neil Canhamwith the
Gentleman'sMarshall & ForkHandle trophy’s
Colin Sadlerwinner of the
Richard Percivalunder 343 cc trophy
Karen Mace with theLadies Marshall
trophy & Chris Macewith the Shield of
Valour
Dave Spurgeonwinner of the John
Ruth 2-stroke trophy
Trevor Baker winnerof the Po
Rob Sayersthe new
EFA Secretary
4
email: [email protected]
PlonkaroundRaydon Pit, Wades Lane, Raydon, Suffolk (Grid Ref TM043389)
Saturday 16th April 2011Gates will open at noon.
Trials practise for:Pre 65 solos • Pre 65 sidecars • Twin Shocks
Youths/Juniors • Twin Shock sidecars
BOYS - GET A GRIP!The fabulous IRC Trials Tyres
400 x 18 (rear) £65 no VAT275 x 21 (front) £45 no VAT
Tel: DOUG THEOBALD 07767 794749Trade enquiries welcome
ALSO NOW STOCKING THE NEW MICHELIN X LITEAs used by Doug Lampkin and all the Gas Gas team
very soft - very light400 x 18 (rear) £75 no VAT275 x 21 (front) £55 no VAT
Tyres available for collection - by appointmentFrom my van at trials events or by carrier (at £10)
FOR SALEMotorcycle Leathers
Stein Ladies Leathers size 12Black with blue detail
Worn twice£100 o.n.o.
Tel: 07870734859Trevor Baker.
5
Right You Lot!The time is drawing near tonipping down to your localsupplier to get the Autosol andpolishing cloths out, to wakethe toys from hibernation. Weare holding our first ‘Run Out’on Saturday 14th May.Watch this space for furtherdetails.You have been warned!
A message from the management
Mini EditorialJust like to mention the other award winners being;
Challis/Hood shieldGeoff Challis.
Thumpers sidecarP.Fishlock & D. Merrell.
Thumpers smokey (2/str.)James Newstead.
Jeff Fincham trophyGeoff Challis.
Don’t forget put in your diary the charity trial at Great Bromley onMay 26th, entry forms in next months T&T. Wrabness & Chattisham were a couple of cracking trials. TheBraintree LDT was another good day, 80 + miles, green lanes & easyto follow sections.Other headlines - “Frustration in a Boxford household when ACU cd wouldn’t playin DVD player!” “Gentleman member discovers why turning front wheel round byremoving complete front end from yokes and turning 180º is not com-mon practice.” “ACU finally concedes Pre70’s allowed disc brakes following rep-resentation they 1st appeared on 1966 production Honda’s.”
Chris.
6
An 'Inters' TaleBY IAN PREEDY. PART FOUR.
It’s now 1959 and young motor-cyclists were being persecuted
from all sides. The Daily Mirror,Sketch and News of the Worldhad us all over their front pages.We were labelled as hooligans,yobs and vandals. We were ac-cused of fighting pitched battleswith the “mods” in various sea-side towns. These so called bat-tles were grossly exaggerated andmostly fuelled by journalists whowould pay cash to get one startedwhich would be very half heartedaffairs as neither “rockers” or
“mods” would risk not being ableto ride his bike or scooter home!Every night when we went out onour bikes we would be stopped bythe police who would check allour documents, one night Sylviaand I were pulled up five times!We had our own ways of gettingback at this type of victimizationas by this time we were becomingsome-what hostile towards thepolice.
One such occasion that Ihad my sweet revenge on a policeofficer was when I was a youngmechanic working in Moores Mo-torcycles. I was given the job ofM.O.T. tester. The M.O.T. havingjust been introduced at that timeby the Ministry of Transport. Theman from the Ministry gave me abook of rules and told me I “had alot of power” but must “use itwisely.”
In those days there was nobrake testing equipment. To testbrakes we had two railway sleep-ers set side by side with one endrested on a low brick wall, therebygiving a slope of about 1 in 4. wewould have to push the motorcy-cle up the slope where the frontbrake would be applied. If the ma-chine rolled down the slope itfailed its M.O.T! One morning I was in theworkshop when I heard a motorcy-cle stop outside. I opened the doorand looked out, there in front ofme stood a policemen, off-dutybut unfortunately for him still inuniform. He stood beside an oldside valve B.S.A. with a large side-car attached, resplendent in hiscorker crash hat, shiny buttonsand size twelve boots. Withoutany form of greeting he said “It’sbooked for an M.O.T. How longwill it be?” My time had come atlast. I prevaricated and rubbedmy chin, “Can’t rightly give youan exact time mate we’ve got a loton at the moment.” This came asa complete surprise to the othertwo lads I worked with as theyhad just brewed up! “Come backlater this afternoon” I said. Hewent away muttering somethingabout wanting it for the weekendto take the wife and kids out. After we’d had our tea break Iset about testing the B.S.A. Thevery first thing I noticed about it
7
was a pitiful little front brake! Itwould hardly stop a moped letalone a big old B.S.A. plus Mr &Mrs plod and all the baby plodson it! With help I put it throughthe patent railway sleeper test and,of course, it failed miserably. Ifailed his bike three times in all,because of his own bad mainte-nance. The last time he went off ina rage accusing me of being bi-ased! As if!! There is a famous say-ing that “revenge is a dish bestserved cold” Boy did I enjoy that! After my third speeding convic-tion it was time for the old “Inter”to go back to it’s owner in Bedford.The bike was so noisy and differ-ent to look at, a real 1935clubman’s racer, a definite eyecatcher, especially to the law! Themachines that are now referred toas “café racer bikes” could nothold a candle to the mean looksand rawty sound of the “Inter.”Sad as it was to let it go back Iwas in jeopardy of loosing my li-cence if I had one more run inwith the law. Something I couldnot risk because of my job. The day I rode the Nortonback to Bedford I realised I wouldno longer be able to ride it again.It would be the last time anyonewould ever see this great old ma-chine in its true 1935 pre-warguise. I checked I was on a nospeed limit road. Then eased thethrottle round harder for our finalride together…………. What a feel-ing.
To be continued.
The EFA weren’t the only onestrying to relegate 2-strokes tothe dustbin. Back in the early1980’s a chap called Dave Bex-ley of Hadleigh custom famecampaigned a sidecar racingoutfit powered by a Honda 6
engine in an effort to blow the2-strokes into the weeds. Hedidn’t succeed but the outfitsounded great and was very
8
AN
GLI
A C
LASS
IC T
RIA
LS C
LUB
WR
AB
NE
SSPR
E 6
5 &
TW
IN S
HO
CK
TR
IAL
Mar
ch 1
3th
2011
No.
Nam
eM
achi
ne1
23
45
67
89
10
Tota
lH
AR
D R
OU
TEPr
e U
nit
16M
.Fle
tch
er50
0 R
/En
field
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
10
00
23
53
00
12
31
32
26
60T.
Bak
er41
0 M
atch
less
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
01
03
52
22
31
03
35
30
6T.
Woo
ds35
0 M
atch
less
31
23
51
00
52
01
10
00
10
02
20
51
33
53
53
35
33
33
RE
T
Uni
t45
T.H
ill25
0 Tr
ium
ph1
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
10
10
10
21
33
50
31
30
13
332
52C
.Sad
ler
248
R/E
nfie
ld0
05
10
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
01
50
00
01
33
31
33
32
33
343
35C
.Ros
e19
9 Tr
ium
ph0
00
10
00
00
01
00
00
00
00
00
30
10
01
01
53
33
33
31
33
543
2A
.Rob
inso
n35
0 B
SA
00
00
00
00
00
00
50
00
00
00
02
20
53
00
13
33
13
35
03
53
50
27C
.Can
ham
250
BS
A0
21
31
00
20
00
00
10
10
10
00
01
00
01
52
33
53
33
33
33
558
5B
.Dav
ie35
0 B
SA
32
10
10
00
11
00
22
00
00
00
01
12
00
10
35
35
33
33
33
33
58
2 St
roke
54J.
Ken
dall
250
Ari
el0
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
10
20
01
00
11
21
01
00
33
319
59D
.Spu
rgeo
n24
6 G
reev
es0
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
10
00
02
00
00
23
32
02
20
35
328
41G
.Bra
ybro
ok24
6 B
VS
00
00
10
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
11
10
00
10
33
23
35
01
33
31
15B
.Fle
tch
er25
0 S
prit
e0
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
01
02
12
33
33
31
31
33
335
53J.
Bea
sley
250
Gre
eves
11
01
10
02
01
01
00
00
00
00
00
10
01
00
33
33
33
31
53
33
46
Twin
Sho
ck31
G.C
hal
lis25
0 S
uzu
ki0
02
00
00
00
50
00
00
00
00
00
00
10
00
02
33
30
33
30
35
339
3K
.Dav
ie25
0 Ya
mah
a1
00
10
00
00
00
00
00
10
10
00
11
51
11
02
23
32
33
30
23
343
39R
.Wre
ath
all
212
Fan
tic
31
13
00
00
00
01
00
00
00
00
10
00
20
20
35
35
33
33
33
33
54
30B
.Wre
ath
all
250
Oss
a1
00
02
10
52
00
00
01
21
10
10
31
20
01
23
15
22
33
30
33
357
43B
.Har
ber
220
Hon
da2
10
00
00
02
00
11
50
01
00
01
23
10
21
11
35
33
33
32
33
359
29P.
Ru
diti
s32
5 S
uzu
ki1
10
10
05
51
10
11
10
01
00
01
11
51
11
11
33
33
33
33
33
365
49A
.H.K
enn
y32
5 S
uzu
ki0
35
01
00
03
00
00
00
50
00
00
30
12
33
23
55
33
53
31
33
371
1G
. Hill
250
Bu
ltac
o3
03
32
13
05
10
10
10
31
10
51
30
33
12
33
53
53
35
51
33
391
32E
.Ru
diti
s5
32
55
11
33
23
20
30
55
15
53
23
35
33
33
33
35
33
35
33
312
4
EA
SY R
OU
TEPr
e U
nit
40K
.Gol
dsm
ith
350
R/E
nfie
ld0
00
01
30
00
00
00
00
00
00
01
22
11
00
00
00
00
12
32
13
326
25C
.Mac
e50
0 R
/En
field
50
00
20
10
00
00
00
00
00
00
03
01
05
01
00
51
11
33
23
55
47
17E
.Sm
ith
350
R/E
nfie
ld0
01
02
03
32
00
51
00
00
00
00
13
32
15
20
13
33
53
30
33
566
9
Uni
t56
P.S
mit
h25
0 B
SA
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
01
11
02
00
00
55
01
13
25
33
33
13M
.Bro
wn
199
Triu
mph
00
00
03
11
01
05
10
00
00
00
00
33
00
00
00
50
22
51
02
33
41
48G
.Lyn
ch35
0 B
SA
10
00
01
01
31
10
00
00
11
00
20
22
00
13
02
20
23
23
13
35
46
9P.
Sig
ourn
ay25
0 B
BS
00
00
01
01
00
10
00
00
00
00
13
13
15
15
00
11
53
33
03
33
48
24B
.Woo
ds25
0 B
SA
00
00
00
00
20
11
00
00
00
00
15
02
00
00
03
00
53
55
35
35
49
57R
.Ban
nis
ter
250
BS
A2
20
03
30
10
10
03
10
50
20
52
32
32
02
03
12
33
33
33
33
577
11S
.Mor
ris
250
BS
A0
00
55
31
10
51
50
00
00
00
03
33
20
20
00
55
32
53
53
53
381
28B
.Coo
k25
0 B
SA
50
10
55
55
00
10
30
05
00
05
33
33
55
30
35
55
35
33
33
35
111
37P.
Ken
t35
0 B
SA
23
30
30
33
31
33
33
33
11
23
33
33
13
25
23
53
55
33
35
35
114
Rig
id44
M.G
ibb
250
BS
A0
00
13
00
00
00
01
00
01
00
13
20
31
10
20
01
30
25
30
13
340
2 St
roke
8R
.Bon
d17
5 B
SA
00
00
10
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
01
11
01
11
00
30
11
20
33
33
26
10D
.Ken
t25
0 G
reev
es0
10
02
11
10
21
02
00
00
10
00
02
33
31
10
00
01
22
31
03
340
36A
.Dov
e25
0 F/
Bar
net
01
02
35
32
11
30
00
00
00
00
02
13
15
01
03
30
53
33
53
33
68
Twin
Sho
ck26
G.E
aves
125
Was
sell
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
02
00
00
00
00
00
00
01
33
9
12S
.Pag
e20
0 H
onda
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
20
11
00
00
00
50
03
11
35
33
28
4D
.Fie
ld17
5 Ya
mah
a0
10
00
01
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
13
11
10
00
01
03
23
20
33
329
23K
.Bac
khou
se20
0 H
onda
00
01
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
23
22
20
00
00
53
23
31
03
33
38
33J.
Sad
ler
175
Yam
aha
01
00
31
00
00
00
00
00
10
00
23
22
00
00
00
05
31
12
33
33
39
46D
.Par
ker
250
Su
zuki
20
00
00
00
00
20
00
00
00
00
20
20
05
15
31
00
52
10
33
53
45
58L.
Fox
350
Bu
ltac
o1
00
51
00
00
13
00
00
00
00
10
10
10
11
11
32
13
33
32
33
347
50R
.Cla
rke
247
Mon
tesa
00
10
15
21
53
23
50
00
00
50
00
03
11
01
00
00
11
33
12
35
58
38R
.Coo
k17
5 Ya
mah
a0
12
13
51
11
00
10
00
00
10
00
03
13
10
20
50
52
33
32
33
359
7C
.McK
enzi
e25
0 O
ssa
01
01
20
02
10
00
10
50
10
10
13
53
12
13
02
53
33
53
33
33
70
18N
.Hod
gett
s35
0 B
ult
aco
00
00
30
01
01
01
00
00
00
00
12
33
12
55
05
55
35
33
35
55
75
34D
.Mag
gs12
5 H
onda
00
03
15
23
00
13
01
00
00
00
13
33
05
03
02
35
33
25
33
55
76
14J.
Mor
ris
200
Hon
da5
22
50
02
15
50
10
02
00
00
02
53
20
31
10
05
53
32
33
35
382
19J.
Sh
arpl
es25
0 B
eam
ish
55
55
33
52
10
33
53
03
53
53
5R
ET
20J.
Will
is25
0 S
uzu
ki5
23
55
33
55
53
3R
ET
21R
.Ste
war
d25
0 Ya
mah
a0
55
50
00
00
15
35
20
55
53
RE
T
42R
.Ch
apm
an20
0 H
onda
25
02
05
32
31
RE
T
51R
.Her
bert
150
RTX
10
51
00
30
10
05
10
12
13
23
RE
T
Yout
h47
S.P
arke
r12
5 H
onda
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
01
12
00
00
01
03
01
25
23
33
27
55E
.Sm
ith
125
Hon
da0
03
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
10
01
13
11
20
50
03
11
11
13
33
540
22G
.Ste
war
d80
Yam
aha
55
55
55
55
03
53
55
55
5R
ET
10
11
Chris Mace captured these three stooges at the ThumpersHear no.... Speak no....See no....
John Kendal at Wrabness,by Sam McKenzie
Gary Lynch at Wrabness, bySam McKenzie
Chris McKenzieat Chattisham bySarah Pateman
Chris Mace atChattisham bySarah Pateman
12
Roger Birch Trophy Trial
TRIAL: Centre Restricted
DATE: Sunday 17th April 2011 Start: 10:30amVENUE: Hall Farm, Hall Road, Great Bromley, Colchester, EssexGrid Ref: TM 078258ACU PERMIT No: TBAOFFICIALS:ACU STEWARD: TBACLUB STEWARD: Ted SmithCLERK OF THE COURSE: Brian Fletcher (license no: 38513)SECRETARY OF THE MEETING:
June Kent,30 Clayhall Place, Acton, Sudbury, Suffolk CO10 0BT
Tel: 01787 379192JURISDICTION: Held under the NSC and the Standing DisciplineRegulations of the ACU and the EASTERN CENTRE, theseSupplementary Regulations and any Final Instructions which willhave the force of these Regulations. Open to adult and youthmembers of clubs affiliated to the Eastern, South Eastern, SouthMidland and Southern Centres riding Solo or Sidecar machines.START & FINISH: Great Bromley, Colchester, EssexCOURSE: approx 4 laps of 10 sections - multi route course - all onprivate land.CLASSES: Rigid, Pre-unit, Unit, 2 Stroke, Twinshock, YouthENTRIES: Must be on an OFFICIAL ENTRY FORM and sent to theSecretary of the Meeting with a fee of £14.00 Solo, £8.00 Youth andinclude two 9x4 SAE's. Cheque's and POs to be made payable toEastern Fourstroke Association.ENTRIES OPEN: 4th March 2010ENTRIES CLOSE: One hour before the start for EFA members onlyROUTE: Hard/Easy
ACU Membership will be checkedThis entry form to be used only by members of the Eastern
Fourstroke Association .
13
OFFICIAL ENTRY FORM Centre RestrictedEastern Fourstroke Association Sunday 17th April 2010TRIAL Roger Birch Trophy Trial PERMIT No. ACU
This event is held under the National Sporting Code of the Auto-Cycle Union, the Standing Discipline Regulations of the ACUand the Eastern Centre, Supplementary Regulations and any Final Instructions issued for the meeting.
The ACU National Sporting Code and Standing Regulations are published annually in the ACU Handbook.
Entry declaration: I/we the undersigned apply to enter the event described above and in consideration thereof:l I/we hereby declare that I/we have had the opportunity to read, and that I/we understand the National Sporting Code of the
ACU, the ACU Standing Regulations, such Supplementary Regulations as have or may be issued for the event, and agreeto be bound by them.
l I/we further declare that I/we are physically and mentally fit to take part in the event and I am/we are competent to do so.l I/we confirm that I/we understand the nature and type of event we are entering and its inherent risks and agree to accept
the same notwithstanding that such risks may involve negligence on the part of the organisers or officials.l I/we confirm that the machine(s) as described below which I/we compete on shall be suitable and proper for the purpose.l I/we confirm that if any part of the event takes place on a public highway, the machine(s) described below shall be insured
as required by the Road Traffic Acts, or equivalent legislation, and that it/they will comply with the regulations in respectthereof.
l I/we agree that I am/we are required to register our arrival by "signing on" at the designated place not less than 30 minutesprior to commencement of my/our practice or first competition, whichever occurs first.
l I/we enclose the entry fee of £ . . . . . . . . . . .
Acknowledgement of the risks of motorsport: I/we understand that by taking part in this event I/we are exposed to a risk ofdeath, becoming permanently disabled or suffering some other serious injury and I/we acknowledge that even in the event thatnegligence on the part of the ACU, the promoter, the organising club, the venue owner, or any individual carrying out duties ontheir behalf were to be a contributory cause of any serious injury I/we may suffer, the dominant cause of any serious injury willalways be my/our voluntary decision to take part in a high risk activity.
I/we have read the above and acknowledge that my/our participation in motorsport is entirely at my/our own risk.
Rider's signature: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . Date: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DB (under 18) . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
For riders and passengers under 18 years of age - I accept the above conditions of entry to this event and give my approval:
Signature of parent or person with parental responsibility: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Riders and Passengers under 18 years of age who cannot produce a valid ACU Competition Licence/Trials Registration mustalso complete a Parental Agreement form (Single Event) in addition to this entry form.
RIDERSurname: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . First name(s): . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Address: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Postcode: . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tel: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Email: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
ACU Licence/Registration No: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ACU Affiliated Club : . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (of which I am a member)
Class/Grade Entered: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Route . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
MACHINE
Make: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Capacity: . . . . . . . . cc Stroke: . . . . . . . . . mm
E.F.A.MEMBERS
ONLY
14
15
E.F.A.MEMBERS
ONLY
16
17
I have always believed that the keyto a successful days motorcycling
is careful and methodical machinepreparation. Leaving this until thelast minute usually means some-thing gets missed resulting in poten-tial breakdown and disappointment.This has never been more apparentthan the events described here dur-ing our recent visit to the MarchHare Trial in Tetbury. It was my plan to prepare theJames on Friday but other jobs gotin the way. I found myself draggingthe bike out of the garage at 2:30on Saturday afternoon. Well now- itwas running ok at the Red Tapetrial a few weeks before, there wasno deep water there so the wheelswould be alright, just fill the tankcheck the gearbox oil and adjustthe chain – time for a quick test. Petrol on – kick start – bingostarts first kick. It wasn’t runningtoo well at low revs so I decided tocheck the carburettor. Other than afew drops of water in the floatchamber all looked ok and afterremoving the jets and blowingthrough various orifices all was re-assembled. Perfect – a quick plodaround the garden confirmed all ok.Shall I do my normal road test?Nah - too late - getting dark - timeto load the van. Sunday 05:30 – Joe arrives andwe load his bike into the van –06:00 collect Norman from Colches-ter – 09:30 and 195 miles later wearrive at the start. Unload bikes &sign on – time to start. Joe andAndy leave first followed by Normanand myself. The road from the car
park slopes downhill for about halfa mile and the bike runs well untilmore power is required to climb outof the dip. Anything greater than aquarter throttle opening causes themotor to cut out. I nurse the bikealong to the first section and quizmy 3 companions as to what theythink the problem might be and thegeneral consensus is to check thecarburettor. Whilst removing the carburettorit suddenly hits me “I know whatthe problem is – it’s the main jet” Isaid, “What’s the problem with themain jet “ they asked “ It’s at homeon my bench in the shed “ I feeblyanswered. After a short silencedoubts were expressed regardingthe validity of my parentage plusother comments connecting me torange of unsavoury body parts. My situation looked pretty grim,I had thought that there might bean outside chance of bumping intoa main jet fairy wandering throughthe woods, but this now seemedunlikely. Retirement seemed myonly option until someone suggest-ed that as I had managed to getthis far why don’t I try the first sec-tion to see how I get on. The bikeperformed perfectly well and contin-ued to do so for the rest of the trial. Overall I feel the weight savingbenefits gained by omitting to fitthe main jet were far outweighed bythe resulting 20 mph top speed onthe road. Hmm – must be a lesson theresomewhere!
Silly Suffolker
MORE HASTE - LESS SPEED
18
“DICK’s MEMOIRS WW2”FROM THE DIARY OF CHRIS BYFORD-SMITHS UNCLE
PART TWO
11th to 17th March 1942. Aftercrossing the Equator, we are toldnot to drink much water as its get-ting short and the water we tookan board is not too good. We had aconcert on board and its gettingcolder. We saw birds fly over theship and think we are getting nearislands.Got paid 10/- (Ten Shillings equiv-alent to 50p now, about the priceof a chocolate bar!) Kicked up arow about not enough money; theytold us we would get another oneTuesday. We were told we will goashore at Cape Town. Are we excit-ed! We can go ashore Blue orKhaki as it’s very cold. Still sleep-ing on deck.Have travelled 6,000 miles and weshould be at Cape Town on Tues-day. Washing our shirts and press-ing our pants (trousers). Very coldnow decided to put on blue.On standby as enemy subs in vicin-ity and sea is getting rough. Had apay parade today, it’s rough andcold sleeping on deck, hoping toget in tonight.
18th to 20th Mar. Arrived inCape Town South Africa. We wentashore at 17.00 all the food, drinksand Tram rides are free. It’s a won-derful place the people cannot doenough for you, had a great time.(Next day) We went ashore at13.00 people took us round CapeTown, Museum’s, Art Gallery’s eve-rywhere, saw Table Mountain. I
bought a watch and had a wonder-ful dinner free, then went dancing,got back to ship at 24.00 hrsAshore again at 13.00 walkedaround and tried to find curios,bought a few things I thought Imight need for the trip. Had dinnerand went to the pictures, saw MrDoe Club and Pioneer Trail, backaboard at 23.00.
21st to 25th Mar. All shore leavestopped! We move out into the bay,and are all browned off. We aretold that this trip is long and dan-gerous. Set sail at 13.00 the shipis rolling quite allot, got a rottenheadache, got to get sea legs again.We slept on deck and woke up wetthrough; it had rained during thenight.Been at sea one day of next trip,American Destroyer is still with usbut not so many in convoy, theship is still rolling I suppose it willuntil we get round the Cape.It’s getting warmer and is not quiteso rough, I am feeling ok. Saw an-other ship on the horizon and theDestroyer intercepts it. A ship alllit up, passes in the night and theDestroyer intercepts.7,000 miles. HMS Newcastle leavesus and another cruiser joins therest of the convoy. The weather isfine but can’t drink the tea it’s ter-rible.
26th to 31st Mar. Weather stillfine, the sea is rough and one ship
19
leaves us. On guard it’s too hot,it’s hell. A Cruiser comes alongside andthe Ma-rines giveus a tune.It’s too hotit’s like hell.8,000 milesand still toohot! Wewoke up inthe nightsoaking wetwe had runinto a tropi-cal storm.Very warm ,we stoppedto get Oxy-gen bottlefrom Cruis-er.
1st to10th Apr.We crossedthe equatorgoingnorth andit’s stilltoo hot! Anew Cruis-er joins usand therest of theconvoygoes toIndia, onlythree of usleft now,few it’shot! Itrained again last night.
Passed two Islands near the mouthof the Gulf of Aden, saw birds. Ar-
rived atAden butnot allowedashore, stillwarm, tookon fruit,fuel andwater etc.DepartAden earlyin the morn-ing. Aftertwo days atsea we gotall kit bagsup fromhold readyto go ashore.Had sportson deckagainst an-other deck,we won. Payday again,the sea isrough andvery windy.My kit bagnotbroughtout of hold.Everythinglost, I re-port to Or-derly room.
Don’t miss next month collision atsea.
20
21
22
Still Here! Butwith not
muchtore-port
this monthalthough I have enjoyed riding in twogood trials on the ex. Bill Brooker Ti-ger Cub, a great little bike, but I haveto do a bit more tuning to the Villierscarb. that is fitted, some rude personsuggested that I should consult anAtco lawnmower instruction manual!That might be the answer! Back to the trials, I think the boysdid a great job with the Wrabness trial,a couple of new sections and a newlook for some of the old ones provideda good event with a sting in the tail!The mud section in the middle of thewood was in classic, old fashionedstyle, straight from the sixties, a mud-dy blast! The sting in the tail, at sec-tion 10, turned out to be harder thanintended, I can assure you that whenthe section was cleared on the Fridaybefore the trial, that hole of black pri-meval mud did not exist, we musthave been riding over the skin of avery smelly black custard and thenthe skin broke! A great event in bril-liant weather, thanks to all the observ-er who turned out, many from theHarwich MCC. We did however have ascare before the event which couldhave resulted in us losing the ground,not only for this event but FOREVER.The landowner discovered somebodyon the ground, during the week beforethe trial, in a black pick-up andchased him into the village of Wrab-ness, where he was stopped, heclaimed that he was looking for thetrial and that he knew members of theclub. This person is unknown to us or
the Harwich club but the landowner,we believe, has identified him and isdealing with the matter. If this personhad been a club member, we wouldalmost certainly have lost the eventand maybe any future events at thisgreat piece of land. I cannot stress toostrongly that nobody must trespasson this or any other land used for tri-als without arrangements being madethrough the club or in some casesdirectly with the landowner. Someriders have had permission to practiceat Wrabness, I know, but lads pleasedon’t wear out the existing sections bycontinuously riding round & roundthem, put a bit back into the sportplease and trim out some new sec-tions for everybody to enjoy. Rantover! Another fine day and we find our-selves at The Water Run, Chattishamfor an enjoyable trial, now this is avenue that has limited scope for sec-tions and the course plotters have touse all their ingenuity to create some-thing new. However, this time we hadone brand new section and a new lookto most of the others. Another greatevent and clean bikes at the end! Thatshould please the mud haters, can’tunderstand them myself, I thoughtthat was what trials were all about,sign of age again I suppose,before1965 trials were a winter sport!Looking forward to the Roger BirchTrial at Great Bromley on April 17th,now this is a venue of the old style,we are bound to get a good measureof mud & water here, so enter early toavoid disappointment and I am surethe Clerk of the Course would appreci-ate a hand with the event preparation,there will be a working party on Satur-day 9th April 9.00-9.30.
23
KEEPING TRACK! April - May 2011
FIXTURE LIST OF CLASSIC MOTOR CYCLE EVENTS IN EAST ANGLIA & some further afield
Date Club Auth’ty Venue & Event
Apr-15 Essex VMCC VMCC Essex Way byway runApr-16 Mid Anglia MCC AMCA Plonkers PracticeApr-17 EFA ACU Roger Birch Trial, Great BromleyApr-17 Essex VMCC VMCC Essex Bluebell RunApr-17 Cambridge MMC ACU Cuckoo Trial, Elsworth.April 22 Woodbridge ACU Trial, Pre70 champ, BlaxhallApril 22/23 MCC ACU Lands End TrialApr-24 Red Marley HCC AMCA Pre 65 TrialApr-25 Red Marley HCC AMCA Hill ClimbApr-25 Bank HolidayApril 29 & 30 E&DMC SACU Pre 65 ScottishMay-01 P65MX AMCA MaylandseaMay-02 Bank HolidayMay-03 EFA/ACTC CLUB NIGHT at THE ALMAMay-08 Dabbers AMCA Charity Trial, Stowbridge Farm,
Nr ElyMay-14 EFA/ACTC Tim's ToursMay-15 Stratford upon
AvonACU SMP, Sam Cooper Trial
May 21&22 Bexleyheath DM-CC
ACU Battle of Burwash Trial, Kent
May-22 ACTC AMCA Charity Trial, Bromley BrookMay-29 P65MX AMCA Marks TeyMay-30 Bank HolidayThese events have been supplied in good faith but neither the Editor nor the
E.F.A. can be held responsible for errors, omissions or cancellations of any event
Club Subs are now OVERDUE£12/yr adults, £3/yr youths.
Contact June, Membership Secretary
Above is an edited version of Mick Browns’ ‘Keeping Track’ fixture list. For moreinformation or to include an event in ‘Keeping Track!’ contact Mick Brown on :-01206 250462 or email:[email protected]
24