startline disaster 1

A startline disaster,is just that

-a reason to pack up and go home.
Getting a good start in life,

making a headstart,

getting it off the line.

getting your nose in front

-all the expressions we use to stress

the importance of initial impetus (or lack of it).
Well I  have to admit I am not a particularly good starter

-not aggressive enough probably

-happy to follow not to lead.

Mid pack is great,towards the rear OK,at the front-TOO SCARY

I was allways a much better enduro rider than a racer-setting my own pace suits me best

(in life in general as well as sport)
I get so wound up and nervous that I take at least 1 lap to settle into it.

I keep telling myself to relax,

loosen the grip on the bars a little,

concentrate on riding.
When I was doing enduros,I allways reckoned to slide off

at least once or twice in the first mile through overanxiety.

After that I could relax and almost enjoy the ride!
The incident illustrated in this post(more to follow)

took place at an AMCA scramble at Morridge Top circa 1977

-on the Moors between Leek and Buxton in Derbyshire.
It was about my 3rd meeting on the AJS stormer 370.
I look like an American footballer

with all that padding!

And check out the Skoda race transporter behind me!

Anyway -I had bought it from an “Expert” rider in our club.
He had beefed up the motor,extended the suspension travel

and in his hands was a very capable racebike.
Not so capable in my “Junior” hands

-it had a nasty habit of losing its clutch if held engaged for too long.

(I became a dab hand at changing the thrust washer between races)
On this occasion we were on the startline,

me with the clutch disengaged,revving up ready for the mad dash.
(thats me on the far left of the grid trying to start her)

TOO LONG TO WAIT.

I KNOW……..
I,ll give the clutch a rest,

knock her out of gear,

wait till the gate drops,

snick it into gear

and off!!!!!!!

-only possible course of action

It was a split second decision that had to be made…….
WRONG CHOICE.
Gate drops,

clutch in ,

bang into1st gear,

release clutch,

STALL Motor
DISASTER!!!!

Thats me frantically trying to start her as the pack disappears into the distance.

WAIT FOR ME…………..

With everyone watching you half a lap adrift,

the pressure is even worse.

kept telling myself over and over”dont fall off-its bad enough already”
It was actually better when the frontrunners caught up and lapped me

-at least theres someone to chase,

and by then your solitary status is swallowed up by pack.
I think the second race that day passed without incident

-at least I must have got it off the line anyway!

Gungha Din

“you,re a better man than I am……….”

Heres a fantastic  picture of Joel Robert caneing a CZ twin port single.

GOD how I wish that was me!

A CZ 360 twin port single 2 stroke

-this was my first scrambler.

I saw an advert in MCN,rang the guy,

and set off the same evening,to fetch it .

trouble was I lived in Stoke on Trent;

he lived in Swindon.

1976-not many motorways.

My pal Trevor had a LWB landrover which would do the job.

We left at 6.00pm ,arrived in Swindon at midnight,

and arrived back in SOT at 7.30am the following day!

We measured the distance

by the number of miles per gallon consumed

-OIL CONSUMPTION  THAT IS!

We probably did 4OO miles and used 4 gallons of Duckhams finest!

ANYWAY

The CZ was a monster

-zero suspension travel,

a wafer thin powerband,

(which as a piston ported /non reed valved motor

would ”gas up” as soon as it dropped”off the pipe”)

I COULDNT RIDE IT.

My admiration for the ”Hard men” of yesteryore was strengthened considerably!

My first scramble was at Brymbo near Oswestry

-an AMCA track,beloved by the local scramble clubs.

I started dead last and tried to catch up with the pack, falling off,countless times.

Settling into a sort of relaxed  riding style-intent on at least finishing,

I was dismayed to be Blackflagged.

“Whats up-the bikes ok,I,M not interfering with anyone

-why have you spoilt my first race!”

It seems that competing in AMCA motocross meetings

is not allowed in NCB wellies(even if they have steel toecaps)

OOPS!SORRY! 

I,d love to hear accounts of anyone else who rode one of these beasts

-especially with non regulation footwear!

weightwatchers

BIGGER AINT NECESSARILY BETTER

Despite what the advertisers would have you believe, size does matter-but not as implied;
On the piste or in the dirt-SMALL IS BEAUTIFUL.
This post concerns offroaders-big blokes on little bikes-the sensible option..To illustrate my point I,ve included below, a photo of my John Banks Replica Honda(taken in 1983)
A simply superb piece of kit-it wouldnt look out of place in the lounge on a pedestal!
Chrome CCM frame(Reynolds Tubing) with banana swinging arm,
Ohlins shocks,
underseat exhausts(a decade before the 916 Ducati launched the fashion for this style.)
A stonking tuned XR500 motor-in its day,and on paper,a WINNER
A winner in the right hands-but not mine-David Knight,Arthur Browning,even diminutive Paul Edmondson would have lifted trophies on this bike…not me I couldnt even lift it up when I fell off it-a regular occurrence!
I could not keep the bike vertical.
Kicking the beast into life demanded a beer crate ,or a fallen log,to stand on just to reach the kickstart.
Once on board it was like sitting on top of a horse-the ground seemed an awfully long way down.
I did the Kerry Enduro in 1983 on the Beast.
I arrived early Sunday morning after a 2 hour drive from the Midlands.
Unloading the bike from the old Klinn trailer(remember them?) a large crowd of admirers soon surrounded us.

”Cor what is it?””What a beauty””can I take a photo” etc-I basked in the reflected glory.
But life likes to bite back,dont it?
Crowd watches wheel spinning start from the line-Amazing cheer from the fans.
JBR, with me hanging on, roars down the start straight,leaves the paddock area,turns into the first ditch as directed and(still within sight of the start) stalls the motor and falls over-another amazing cheer from the fans!
Beaten before I started-this set the pattern for the rest of the day-More often prone than erect.
By now the bike had won.
I was no longer in control of it-It was in control of me!
Like a horse it could smell fear and rewarded that t sign of weakness accordingly.
Blisteringly fast on road sections,it was just too big and too powerful to ride slowly.It demanded skill and confidence-if you were lacking in either,you were duly punished.

A few trail rides later,I had had enough.The Honda was sold.(wonder what it would be worth now?)

By this time my friend Trevor-all 6ft 4in of him-had bought a diminutive imported Prolink Honda XR200.

My how we chuckled!

”When are you getting a real bike-one that fits?”and other wry comments referring to the tiny 4 stroke.
Light weight,nimble handling and a very predictable power delivery,aided by phenomenally frugal petrol consumption resulted in some respectable enduro results for Trev in the clubman class that season.
Yes I bought one,and yes my confidence and success improved overnight.

After the XR200 I went through a green phase-every model of Kawasaki,s KDX200 and even a KMX200;
Similar idea but a better bike-all the power I could handle but allways predictable.
Light enough to wrestle through the bogs,quiet and reliable,good fuel consumption(fewer fuel stops)Nice gentle brakes-PERFICK