Motorbike trip to UK and Europe July/August 2018

  Vincent Comet Runabout Nicely Modified 1990 "Red Wing" Honda RC30 600cc 2 stroke Scott Squirrel at Braddon Bridge Couple of  Crazy Yellow BSA's My first motorcycle in 1967 was one of these Honda C72's The owner of this Turbo-charged Hyabusa claimed 400 hp Classic Triton at Kirkmichael Kick-starting a BSA "Goldie" at Kirkmichael Honda RC45 on the Douglas seafront Bultaco Metralla at the Bungalow NSU Quickly Moped - Alan's first motorcycle. The original Postie Bike - BSA Bantam in red. Douglas Dragonfly outside Murrays Motorcycle Museum Bimota Kawasaki at Ballaugh Elgi Vincent at Ballaugh MV 350 Twin at Calf of Man Nice Norton International at Brandywell   

Kms today 142 Kms to date 11,148 Margaret cooked us all bacon and eggs for breakfast, with potatoe bread!  She will be gone before we get back from dropping the bikes off at Bournemouth.  So we made our farewells after breakfast.  She is not keen on travelling to Sydney for Carol's wedding, so dear knows when  we will next see her. We left about 9 am and I asked Alan to set up the GPS to use the same route we did when we picked up the bikes through the back roads to Bracknell and down through the New Forest.  But instead we got Mabel's fastest route using Motorways.  Ironically we hit a huge traffic jam just outside Bournemouth  There was some soil investigation drilling going on for a new overpass, but they had closed one lane on the dual carriageway for 2 miles before the drillers, who were right off the road anyway.  This resulted in a 30 minute delay as two lanes of traffic tried to funnel into one lane and so completely unnecessary....

Kms today 442 Kms to date 11,016 We got up to a forecast of rain all the way back to Twyford.  But when you looked at it more closely there were rain bands and with luck we might be able to miss most of them.  We left at 8 and headed down the M6, which was relatively free of traffic.  We branched off along the M56 to Chester to avoid the traffic and wound our way down A41 to Whitchurch for refreshments.  It was raining off and on all the way so we were a bit bedraggled.  Then on through Telford and Kidderminster.  Once we got there we let Mabel take us home.  It's too difficult to program the interesting routes on the GPS and it takes us along motorways mostly.  These were not my favourite routes but going other ways really needs Google Maps and a lot of stopping to check the map. We got back to Pennfields at 3.  Margaret shouted a birthday dinner for Alan and I at the George and Dragon in Wargrave.  Alan's birthday is tomorrow but ...

Kms today 88 Kms to date 10574 This is our last day on the Island and Betty cooked a big breakfast of liver and bacon.  Unfortunately I felt queasy again but I worked out it was the Aspirin that was making me fell that way so they went in the bin. We rode to Jurby to check out the Manx Motor Museum.  The museum was excellent and had some  unusual exhibits including a Car/boat, a 75L 24 cylinder rotary Pratt and Whitney engine that produced 4,300 HP and a space capsule!  Amazing 24 Cyl Pratt and Whitney rotary engine A space re-entry capsule made for the Russians! The bikes were stacked 3 high in shelving and included an Aprilia just like mine and several of Joey Dunlop's race bikes.  An Aprilia RSV Mille R, just like mine! They had a Kawaski Z2 which was a JDM version of the Z1 and a bike that had gone down at Bonneville with all the scrapes and gouges on the bodywork. There was a memorial to Bob McIntyre with a Gilera 500 four. ...

Kms today 10 Kms to date 10,486 The weather was wet today and I had developed another cold, so I went down to Ramsey to get some lunch and some Aspirin.  It was dry down there.  I bought Ethan a TT shirt and a young chap in the shop had fallen off in practice and was nursing a few injuries.  Sort of brought home how dangerous the circuit is. When I got back I went to bed! Betty, our host, meets Darth Vader

Kms today 171 Kms to date 10470 Last race day on the Island and we rode round to Ballaugh Bridge to see the bikes jump.  It was a sunny day, the best so far, but a big cloud over Snaefell delayed racing for an hour.  The first race was the Lightweight/Ultra Lightweight so we knew what to expect.  The 2 strokes sounded crisp and purposeful.  The Senior MGP was the last race on the program.  It had a mixture of 600 Fours and we could hear them coming up at max revs before jumping the famous bridge.  There were a lot of different jumps with front wheel landings, rear wheel landings and belly pan crushing landings.  A few riders nearly went over the bars, but everyone kept rubber side down.  I got lots of good photos.  James Chawke was fastest again and his leap was one of the longest.  James Chawke, winner if Manx Senior chases a slower rider. Danie Ingham got it completely wrong and nearly went over the bars After the race I s...

Kms today 112 Kms to date 10,299 We started the day at the Ramsey Sprint an 1/8 mile track along the seafront.  The bikes were amazing from a 50cc step thru to a turbocharged nitro breathing Hyabusa.  The most impressive bike was a record breaking BSA Bantam with a big bore and reed valve conversion.  It went like a rocket! A very special BSA Bantam launched off the line at the Ramsey Sprint Then we had lunch at the Ginger Hall Hotel and carried on to the ARE Motorcycle museum in Kirkmichael.  This was in a private house and the VMCC were there too on a run, so the car park was full of interesting bikes too.  The collection was all British, lots of Greeves and included a Hesketh, the ill-fated 1000cc V twin produced by Lord Hesketh and a couple of DMW's.  A DMW Cortina - Betty might have built the wheels on this one We then went on to Murray's Motorcycle Museum near the airport south of Douglas.  This had a much wider variety of bi...

Kms today 38 Kms to date 10,187 Betty prepared Manx Kippers for breakfast and then proceeded to complain about the smell in her kitchen!  We rode to Ramsey and then up onto the mountain. The weather was grey and races had been delayed.   There were big signs warning us that traffic was 2-way on the mountain because apparently its 1-way during the TT.  The roads were unrestricted once we got out of Ramsey so I gave the V-Strom the berries up through the hairpin, the Gooseneck, the Waterworks, Guthrie Memorial, Mountain Mile, and the Veranda - all famous names to the Bungalow, where we were going to stay for the days racing.  The V-Strom is a bike that doesn't like being revved hard and so it was not as much fun as I hoped. We had a magnificent view down the valley to Laxey and Snaefell was up behind us.  The Trolley tram was operating from Laxey, but not going across the track and up Snaefell.  There was a café closed because of asbest...

Kms today 74 Kms to date 10,149 There were extra races today because of delays. We decided to watch just before Kirkmichael at Douglas Rd Corner.  Then we could get away quickly to ride to Peel to see the House of Mananin;  recommended by Betty.  We got a good position and could see the bikes coming down from Barregarrow, site of Guy Martins fiery crash in 2010,  and swooping into the village of Kirkmichael, which they passed through at high speed before heading off to Ballaugh. The Manx GP is for riders who are new to the Isle of Man and have not won a major race.  The bikes are pretty pedestrian with Kawasaki  ER5 Twins and Suzuki SV650 V twins the hot ticket, plus a few Yamaha R6's - not very inspiring.  There were a sprinkling of Honda VFR400's and two strokes to keep the pack interesting.  The classes were complicated by newcomers races as well as Junior and Senior races, Lightweight and Ultra Lightweight classes.  In...

Kms today 48 Kms to date 10,075 We are still the only guests in Betty's house though she has room for more.  She was recovering from cancer so may be taking it easy.  She used to have a full house every TT and Manx including such luminaries as Bill Smith, who raced works Hondas in the 1970's. We had an early breakfast and headed off to Braddon Bridge.  It cost 8 Pounds to park in the church yard and we were early enough for a prime seat right at the front wall.  The church also provided refreshments in the church hall behind us and we enjoyed soup, pasta and cakes through out the day.  I fell into conversation with Donna the woman beside me and we chatted during the long periods waiting for racing to begin due to the weather  A very dapper German gentleman was sitting behind us and he had a Phil Read replica helmet branded Premier; which was the brand Phil Read used to import back in the 1970's. The racing was supposed to start at 10:15 but...

Kms today 86 Kms to date 10,027 Rain was predicted for today and that's what happened.  It was not a race day and the only event was the Jurby Festival held on an airfield the other side of Ramsey.  The festival was built around special race bikes that do laps around a simple circuit.  Neither Alan or I relished the thought of getting a soaking so we stayed at home and caught up with the blog.  Betty had her helper, Derek, light a fire in the lounge room for us as it was bloody cold. However the weather brightened in the afternoon so after lunch I set off to see what was going on a Jurby.  Things were winding down when  I got there, but there were still a number of bikes circulating and quite a few in the pits.  One bike I noticed was the same 750 Suzuki single in a special frame that we saw at the Faugheen 50 in Ireland.  Rob North Racing Triumph triple with the home built Suzuki 70 single behind at Jurby I got to sit on a beautiful 4 ...

Kms today 38 Kms to date 9941 Betty produced another of her monster breakfasts although it wasn't as big as yesterdays. She showed us the best way to get to Hillberry to our grandstand and we got there early.  We had a great view up the road to Brandish corner and could see the bikes coming down the hill flat out until they snicked down a gear to take Hillberry very fast and off under the trees to Signpost Corner.  Although we had prime position and a seat, the ordinary punters could view the racing over a wall just beside us. They like to get close to the action on the Isle of Man There was a mixed practice session before the Classic Senior race started.  The main interest was if McGuiness could still be competitive given his leg injury.  We needn't have worried because he stretched the field and won by over a minute taking Hillberry flat out on the quick Paton.  John McGuiness took out the Senior Classic TT on a Paton Maria Costello on a simil...