More International Rally links

Well, the Exhaust Notes blog is on the Netherlands website now - the link is on this page:

BSAOC Netherlands

Also, linked from that page you can find some great pictures from Kevin Dean on the following link:

Kevin Dean's photos

And a bit more searching on the Brit Bike forum led me to Wade's photoalbum from the International.

Wade's slideshow

Myles on film! At the BSAOC International Rally 2009

I can't claim credit for this film - it is by 650Triton on YouTube, where there are a couple more films of his from the International Rally. If you right-click on the film, then select Watch on YouTube it will take you directly to YouTube where you can find more films by 650Triton. Enjoy! The other two films have now been added below. I think these are all by Kevin Dean - see the photo link above. Kevin, if you see this blog, I hope you are happy for these links to be here. If not, let me know and I will edit them out.

Update!

Well, I have shamefully neglected this blog for a long time. Having now started a blog especially for the North Staffs BSAOC, I think I should resurrect this one for any non-BSA club biking stuff.

Since the last post on here, I have acquired a 1946 BSA B31 and also Jon's B40 (in a B25SS chassis) both of which are in project form at the moment.

The B31 needs registering, the rear chain alignment is amiss (after various problems with sprockets and wheel spacing)and the front forks and wheel need some attention. It has been painted purple and matt black at some time and it will be staying that way for now, although I have been swayed by a lovely satin-black Empire Star in Holland and may eventually go for a similar finish. It ran when I got it so, fingers crossed, that side of things should be ok. It will have a daytime only MOT (no lights).

The B40 is in the process of having the engine stripped, so will need rebuilding. I'm thinking of having the front wheel re-laced to a 21" rim and I'll be painting the frame black. I'm quite tempted by an all-alloy clutch, trying to make the bike as light as possible. I recently put a black plastic mudguard on the Tribsa, which I'm very pleased with so will probably get a pair of them for the B40.

BH now has a very nice 1954 B31 which gets ridden every day and, now it has a Triumph clutch, is proving very reliable.

And here's the Tribsa with its new single seat and short rear mudguard:

Stephen Martin's bikes

Stephen has emailed me these piccies of his gorgeous BSAs, together with a short write up:

Hi Hazel.
Thought you might like to see my 1950 D1 factory Competition model. It was one of the first of the plungers and retains quite a lot of the original finish where it hasn't been blown over with some lighter green at some point in its life. The tank has a slightly adapted cream panel, which was again done by a previous owner, nicely this time with the correct mist green, but the bike is physically bog standard. It sports (ha) roller bearing front hub, decompressor head, skeleton guards, 2ins seat riser frame, skeleton chainguard, gear indicator, adjustable footrests and an upswept exhaust. The gearing is standard. The rear light is the hens tooth spun alloy Wipac which I sourced from Canada and the incorrect front half coconut headlamp the bike is wearing in the pic is soon to be replaced with my recent aquisition, an early spun alloy shell and rim headlamp with correct Wipac bowden cable operated dip system. I do have his original log book as the last owner sold his number. I am usually against this, but as I know his history (Thetford) and like his recent number so I'm a happy chap. Thats Taz (Tas) that is.

Sarge is my 1939-45 war horse WM20. He looks disgusting/splendid, but having been through the mill of war and only allowed demob in 1968 what can one expect. The front frame is actually 1944 but the rear frame is early 39 and the engine has no real number except for 499 stamped on it. Standard practice to mix and match/upgrade parts off the shelf with little or no consideration for originality. Some parts like the carb and rear stand are early too. He wears battle scars and shows drab green beneath the sand paint (date unknown possibly 60's even). I rebuilt the gearbox which had sand plugging every screwhole and the bushes were so badly worn, that the bike would change from 1st to 4th (think it was) with one prod plus some crunching. The box had sand inside too and under load the whole shaft was lifting. Sarge runs like a top now on +60 though he balked a bit when I offered him an Italian piston and even though he is filthy due to the oil covered paint, it is how he will stay with me until its time to pass it on to the next Custodian. I think he is a real character and he takes great pleasure in kicking me in the leg when possible, as nothing is rounded or soft about him. I remind him, whilst rubbing the bruise, that I too wore 3 stripes once, but he mutters somthing about desert and flies and younger people today as he turns over in his charpoy. Hope the pictures are of interest. My apology for any spelling errors but the brain fog you possibly remember with ME/CFS doesn't help with creativity. The bikes don't get out these days so it would be nice for them to be noted as existing. I have other machines too you see. They keep me going.
Regards. Steve

That WM20 IS splendid, heaps of character! And Taz is lovely too.  Thanks for sharing those pictures with us, Steve.

Norwegian Motorcycle Safety Video

Check this out!

Click here for bizarre viewing

Mishap!

Derek has had a blow-out on the way back from the International Rally.  He has been at Stafford hospital but is at home now and Jon and Myles are on their way to rescue his bike.  Hope you heal quickly, Derek, and I hope everyone else made it home safely.

Fame!!!!!

On the Nederlands BSAOC website there is a television clip of the line up in Maastricht - the first bike in the clip is Myles's B40 but Jon's B31 and Derek's A7 can also be seen briefly.  Hooray!!!

http://www.bsa-oc.com/

BSAOC Int Rally - Friday 12 Sep 09

The weather was back to being bright and sunny so it would have been nice to ride the bikes but because we had to get up early on Saturday morning to go home, we decided to get them loaded on to the trailer.  We also wanted to go on the toboggan slide in Valkenburg and thought that if we went in the car we could put everyone elses bike gear in there while we all went to play.  Jon and I, Myles, Jess, Derek and Josh went into Valkenburg then all went up in the cable lift.  We then had a few rides on the toboggan run - this was great fun.  You weren't supposed to race but Josh did!  After the toboggan run, we went for a drink, then walked to the top of the tower - Jon stayed for another drink and a chat with Ray and Norma.  I didn't count the steps but there were lots and lots and lots.............the view at the top was worth it though and we were able to look down at Jon and try to spit in his coffee.  Not that we did, we are not that badly behaved!  Then back down the tower and back on the cable ride down to the town.  It was time for some lunch so we headed back to the same cafe as yesterday as the food had been lovely.  This time I ordered a lasagne which was not only delicious but, as can be seen in the photo, had been decorated with a face!  We hadn't realised what the time was and wondered why some fellow BSA owners were laughing at us and saying what huge appetites we must have (especially Myles, who was shovelling away everyones leftovers).  When we checked the time, we realised there was less than two hours to go before the rally BBQ and we were already full up.  We set off back to the campsite, did some packing and then headed for the marquee for the BBQ.  The queue was long, which was probably a good thing, but there was an impressive range of food on offer and the BBQ tickets entitled each person to a more than generous amount of food.  I couldn't manage to eat all three portions of meat so I only took two and then struggled to eat them - what bad planning!  I went back to the caravan to finish off as much packing as possible then we returned to the marquee for the entertainment of the final evening.  There was a very good band called The Puchs, who had re-named themselves for the evening as the Bantams.  They lined up their Puch mopeds (with outrageously high handlebars) accross the front of the stage for a while but removed them soon after, probably due to fire regulations.  There were presentations (longest distance, oldest rider, youngest rider etc) and then a raffle.  Most of our group hadn't realised there was a raffle but still cheered enthusiastically whenever anyone went up for a prize.  There was a generous amount of prizes, including some very nice paintings of BSAs for four lucky winners.  After this, the band resumed and there was more dancing, chatting and general hilarity. The Dutch organisers had decorated the marquee with lots of BSA posters for the dinner and dance on Thursday and at the end of Friday evening, these were available to buy so I selected a couple of favourite ones to take home.  The balloons now seemed to be fair game so we got to play with them at last!  Then it was time to say goodbye to new friends and old and get a (comparatively) early night so we could get up early in the morning ready for the drive home.  What a sad moment, after what was probably one of the most enjoyable holidays we have had, thanks to the hard work and hospitality of the Dutch organisers and the sponsors, the beautiful surrounding countryside and places to visit, not to mention the excellent company of fellow BSA owners from all over the world.  Still, all good things must come to an end.  Sadly, we can't all make it the next International Rally in New Zealand but I'm sure we are all looking forward to the next event.

BSAOC International Rally - Thursday 10 Sep 09

In the morning was Silly Games (sorry no piccies) and a decent autojumble.  This was the only day that the weather wasn't warm and sunny but was damp, grey and drizzly so Myles, Jess, Derek, Bernie, Jon and I decided to go for a short ride to Valkenburg.  We enjoyed a very nice lunch (Goulash soup with pork balls for most of us) then a stroll around the shops, where we spotted a very nice German Triumph and a beautiful Moto Morini Corsarino (that I would have liked to take home).  For a bit of culture, we decided to take a look at the castle ruins and were all surprised by the amount of grafitti carved into the castle walls, the dates ranging from 1855 to the current year.  Derek remarked that the only person who hadn't vandalised the castle seemed to be Kilroy.  Later on, we found the words "Kilroy was here".............We speculated as to how people had managed to carve some of the grafitti in such inaccessible places and concluded that it was done by a highly trained monkey on a stick.  This opened up all sorts of ideas for possible uses for a Monkey on a Stick - any more suggestions will be gratefully received.

Myles had taken quite a shine to a statue of a naked young lady gazing at the river from a bridge so we had to take a look.  She was protected by a gate and barbed wire so I assume she had previously been subjected to improper attention.  There are several interesting sculptures in public areas of Valkenburg and most of the private gardens and yards are tended with such attention to detail that there seems to be a general acceptance that tourists will be nosing at them.  Some of them almost seemed like a stage-set.  You couldn't imagine the householder appearing on their balcony in slippers, they would have to spend at least half an hour dressing and primping before venturing out into the open air. Still, it is a very picturesque and fascinating town and well worth at least one visit.

Three Countries - the official ride!

Today was the organised route to take us into Holland, Belgium and Germany.  Jon was leader of the gang today so it was up to him to follow the directions and deliver the North Staffs contingent safely to the lunch stop at Waimes-Malmedy.  Some bits of the route were familiar from our unofficial ride yesterday but others were new.  Jon navigated well and led our group to the Campsite Familial for a very tasty and welcome baguette lunch and a refreshing drink.  He threatened to run away and leave everyone to find their own way back but John had cleverly blocked Jon in by parking his Starfire behind the B31. Soon it was time to head back through some more lovely countryside, taking in a 10 mile stretch of what was the old Francorchamps racetrack.  Jon and Arthur, in particular, enjoyed being racers for a while and I, tailing along at the back, happily chugged slowly but surely up and down the hills.  We had planned to stop for a drink at the same bar near Barrage La Gileppe but it was shut so we kept going until we returned to the campsite where the bar was a welcome site and our backsides were glad to have a break from sitting on BSAs!  A lot of effort had obviously gone into organising the route and making sure the instructions were clear and easy to follow so a big thanks to the organisers for ensuring a very enjoyable day out for all.

The evening entertainment was provided by a drag act called Gisele who appeared in a wide selection of outrageous outfits and kept everyone laughing, sometimes until they cried.  Gisele's impression of Samantha Fox's "Touch Me" involved rubbing various (rather large) bits against Polly Palmer who, later on, further contributed to the evenings entertainment by singing lots of Rugby songs - and we were shocked to find that Lynne Schuker knew all the words! In keeping with tradition, Franz made a dramatic entrance riding his BSA into the marquee and was Told Off.

Three Countries Ride!

Today Derek, Bernie, Jon and I went on a ride that took us through three countries - Holland, Belgian and Germany.  The scenery was lovely and the sun was shining (temperature was up to 34 degrees this afternoon) and I was feeling very pleased to have the Tribsa running at last.( BIG THANKS TO MYLES FOR HELPING TO SORT IT OUT SORTING IT OUT FOR ME AND TO DEREK FOR PROVIDING THE SPARK PLUGS!!!!)  Top speed seems to be about 60-65 but it was nice to have it back to first-kick starting and ticking over properly too.  We took a scenic route and ended up in Monschau in Germany.  We've seen Monschau before, from a higher road that looks down over the town, and said we must go back and have a proper look.  It looks like a town from a Grimms fairytale, cobbled streets and ancient buildings.  I imagine that September is a better time to be there than in July or August when it is peak holiday season - it wasn't too crowded and we enjoyed a pleasant walk through the town.  American BSAOC member Keith seemed very taken with Monschau and the timber framed buildings.  There was a sculpture park which, although we didn't go in, looked very interesting - we could see a bear and some goats and some HUGE spiders on the wall (I hope they were sculptures anyway).  We had a very tasty and reasonably priced lunch served by a very eager to please, friendly young man then looked around some of the shops before heading back to the bikes.  I had piled some dead leaves under the Tribsa in an attempt to avoid soiling the streets of Monschau but the oil had overcome the leaves and managed to make a bit of a mess anyway.  Sorry Monschau!  A small child was pointing down at the bikes and saying "moped...moped".  I thought this probably warranted a Good Telling Off for the misguided child but couldn't be bothered, it was too hot.  We took a slightly different route back, equally scenic, but which took us through what must be the roughest bit of road in Belgium.  Although it was mostly straight and should have lent itself to opening up the throttle for a good blast, it was so bumpy that if you tried to go fast you were bounced around so much you couldn't see straight. I think the Tribsa was running low on fuel at this point too because it felt a bit rough-running anyway (when we stopped soon after to fill up, I got about £12 worth in the tank -  I've never put anything like that amount in before).  When we got back to the site there were lots of North Staffs members sat outside the bar (Surprise surprise!) so   we stopped for a refreshing cold drink before heading back to the caravan.  Arthur had apparently insisted on stopping at every bar on the way back from the train station.  As it was more than a few minutes walk from the campsite bar to his caravan it seemed rude not to invite him to call in for a beer!  After a pleasant time sat in the sun drinking and chatting, we went to collect our directions for tomorrows organised three countries run and to watch the participants setting off on the Lucas Night Run.

Just added a couple of piccies of the Lucas Night Run