Editorial
That’s Christmas 2023 over! For those SAM Club members who have been unwell, we hope that your celebrations were as good as possible. In our household everyone had bad colds, so it was separate eating, masks and disinfectant! Much like being back on the hospital wards again.
I wasn’t down last Saturday and there weren’t any photos on our social media feed, so we hope that anyone riding out didn’t get too damp. Throughout the week a number of day groups reported having some great riding, missing most of the wet weather. Most of the riding was for fish and chips on the east coast. It seems that a lot of other visitors had the same idea, so there was no escaping the crowds.
In the news this week we start with a drag race between a Ducati, Kawasaki and a Bugatti. When Pillion and I visited the Bugatti museum in Mulhouse, France, it was the 2010 Galiber that we liked. At £1.25 million, it was just a little bit out of our price range. It seems there is no limit to a biker’s imagination. Stripping down a Lambretta 125 for racing is only eclipsed by turning a Honda VFR800 into a hover bike. Yes, that’s one that flies! Give an engineer a set of spanners and look out, you don’t know what is going to emerge.
It really doesn’t pay to take the law into your own hands. As two people found out, the law takes a very dim view of shooting thieves. Even if they are bike thieves. The sentence was 40 years. More productive was the IAM advice on driving home for Christmas. It can be used on any long trip. Worried about your bike or car losing value when it leaves the showroom? Cornmarket insurance can help as, when spreading payment for GAP insurance, they offer a 0% APR.
I’ve discovered a great new videocast, ‘Tuesday at Dobbs’, where Freddie Dobbs invites ordinary bikers to discuss current topics. It’s very down-to-earth and tackles some interesting questions. For example, is repairing and setting up carburetors really more complicated than working on fuel injection units? Why don’t motorcycle mechanics spend more time problem solving, rather than just replacing parts? Are second-hand bikes becoming more affordable? Like me, Freddie is also a fan of Noraly Shoemaker (Itchy Boots). This week she is riding from southern Nigeria to cross the border into Cameroon. It’s a butt-clenching, bone-shaking ride that is expertly caught on camera. It makes for riveting viewing. Saffy Sprocket, after celebrating her new garage, is riding through a freezing gale and camping on the Lofoten Islands in Norway.
The Whiteknights have been on duty over Christmas. It’s no holiday for their volunteer NHS dispatch riders. They help deliver vital items to help clinical services provide essential patient care. They have been recognised, by the Sheffield Hospital Trust Charity, being given an ‘Outstanding Volunteer Award’. Congratulations and very well deserved.
This week Kevin Williams writes about Yellow Boxes. There are a lot of myths exchanged amongst some riders. Kevin also asks, are we using daytime running lights the wrong way? He adds to this by advising on how to deal with ‘personality clashes’. I always thought that it was two people being stuck in their own way of seeing things. Kevin goes on to write about how to maximise winter by focussing on the future. Lastly, he gives away a free eBook. It’s a riveting read about various experiences with police officers.
Finally, we come to the history slot. This week there is an interesting article about putting tractor wheels on a 1978 BMW R80/7. Well, I did say that you never know what is going to happen when you give an engineer a bike and a set of spanners! You can also read about a very rare Vincent Black Lightning and Bud Ekins. Bud was the stunt man in the film ‘The Great Escape’. It’s a fascinating story. Until next week, happy reading.
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