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Essex Advanced Motorcyclist Group
June 2015
Welcome to TUG Dear Members, I am disappointed to say that the effort of putting TUG together is becoming more & more difficult due to lack of content. If it wasn’t for the extra effort of a few, TUG this month would have been deferred to another month. If the group wants to keep TUG then it will need more contributors for forthcoming issues so again I make a desperate plea for people to send in articles. To date not one person has contributed even a photo for the Picture Gallery - only Chris Johnson’s efforts keep these pages going! Anyway, Summer is almost here & despite some big thunderstorms and awful weather as i finish writing this, I’m looking forward to some great riding!
Chairman’s Piece
2
Test Passes
4
Membership Info
7
Observer Coordinator
8
Riders for Health
12
Steam Tug Brent
17
Dates for the Diary
20
KTM v Triumph
27
Picture Gallery
28
WW2 European Tour
30
Events Report
36
Destination Rated
41
Further Training
42
Ride safe & remember email any articles, pictures or other stuff to cchilds@eamg.org.uk. Colin
Editor
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And follow us on Twitter.
Essex Advanced Motorcyclist Group Promoting Excellence in Motorcycling Since 1982
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CHAIRMAN’S PIECE June 2015 Firstly, a big thank you to everyone who attended the Super Sausage run over the Easter weekend. It was a great success and despite leaving last, the 'least progressive' group, by devious route planning and careful group management arrived in Potterspury about 10 minutes before Richard Parker's Group! As a result, the 'slower' group reaped the benefits of a small queue and short waiting times. To be fair, the staff did well and dealt with the influx of riders very well, far better than in previous years perhaps due to a change of management. They even took a Group Photo to advertise on their website! There's a first!! The only disappointment on the day was discovering that the B4525 from the A43 near Syresham to Banbury had a new blanket 50mph slapped on it, ruining one of the nicest riding roads in the area. It would appear that we were the only ones pretty much obeying the new limit so all that Northants and Oxfordshire's council had succeeded in doing was criminalising 90 per cent of the road users on it !! Reducing speed limits rarely, if ever, reduces casualties. Better training, road design and driving education is the way forward. - But it doesn't win votes at the polls. Unfortunately, we have had to reschedule the first 'Slow Skills Day' at Ford's, Dunton Research facility due to it clashing with dates for an Observer Training Seminar in Wales. Instead of being on Sunday 14th June, the event will now take place on the following Saturday, 20th June at the same venue but we will be using the Special surfaces track as we did last September. Please come along and practice your slow control skills, emergency braking and 'blip and click' gear changing skills. Just a few hours spent honing these vital skills will make an enormous difference to your confidence on your machine and make you a much more rounded and balanced rider. The Observers have now received their new radios putting us ahead of our 'competitors' and at the forefront of advanced training in Essex. After a short in house training period, the Observers will be able to use them for all training within the Group allowing for more timely feedback, quicker training times and higher quality training. The launch of the Young Rider's Academy in late April / early May didn't go exactly to plan. Jill Winn and I did a short live radio interview on BBC Radio Essex which went well but hindsight tells us that it was probably the wrong medium to get through to young riders However, we won't give up on the concept and we shall continue to promote the academy. The Herts Air Ambulance / Essex Motorcycle Show on Sunday 3rd May revived some faith in the idea and several riders under the age of 25 were engaged with and two came along to the May Group Night and thoroughly enjoyed the evening with one joining EAMG on the night. A positive step
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in the right direction. Sadly, one of the events that traditionally has proven to be a good source of new members, Boys Toys, at Hylands Park on Fathers Day has been cancelled by the organisers so we will miss that opportunity to recruit new members. Finally. this year's MotoGP has truly lived up to expectations with Valentino Rossi leading the Championship after the opening 4 rounds with wins in Qatar and Argentina and two third places in Thailand and Jerez. If, like me, you don't have BT Sports then you are relegated to watching the highlights on ITV4 on a monday evening. By the time this article has been published we will also know the result from Le Mans in France. Would it not be truly amazing if VR46 could win the World Championship for a 10th time to become truly the GOAT - greatest of all time - having won championships on 125's, 250's and 500 two strokes, 990, 800 and hopefully 1000cc four strokes. Miss it all at your peril.................... Chris Remember, it's not how fast you ride, it's how you ride fast.
Essex Advanced Motorcyclist Group Promoting Excellence in Motorcycling Since 1982
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CONGRATULATIONS Recent Test Passes
John Murphy 3rd April 2015 RoSPA Re-Test (Gold) Examiner Mark Anderson
Paul Reynolds 9th May 2015 RoSPA Test (Silver) Examiner Mick Jones
John Tipper 28th April 2015 EAMG Observer Re-Test Assessor: Richard Parker
NEW MEMBERS Recent New Members Robert Spinks - March 2015 Steve Lindsell - March 2015 Ian Mott - May 2015 Michael Augood - May 2015 www.eamg.org.uk
MOTORCYCLE TYRES AND TUBES RIDE IN RIDE OUT FITTED FREE
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Autosafe Group—MOT Classes 1-2-3-4- 5-7
RIDEMASTER PO BOX 859 Aylesbury Bucks. HP22 9FJ
T: 0844 888 0999 F: 0844 888 4190
www.ridemaster.co.uk “If you have a crash and it wasn’t your fault we can manage your claim free of charge. That means we will represent you and communicate with your insurance company, the at -fault insurance company, your repairer and, most importantly, YOU to resolve liability in your favour and manage your claim until your bike is back with you, fully repaired. In the unfortunate event that a bike is damaged, bikers may not be aware that once their insurer is notified, the insurer will arrange for their approved repairer to collect their bike. This may not be ideal for a number of reasons, that’s why Ridemaster will work with your chosen local repairer where they know you and know your bikes’ history. Call Ridemaster first and we’ll take the pain out of a bad day.”
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Membership Information Dear Members & Prospective Members, The membership form is on the website or page 22 if you wish to join or if you are renewing. If you have paid up and haven’t received your membership card please let a committee member know. Please also note the feedback form on page 18 it will be most helpful if as many members as possible can fill one in and get them to John Tullett. Also please remember to spread the word about EAMG, recommendation is such a valuable tool and current members are always the best advocates for what a good group this is.
Membership Fees for 2015
New Associate Members
...£55.00 (Includes AGT Training)
Associate Member Renewal
...£40.00 (Includes AGT Training)
Full Member Renewal
...£25.00
Social Member
...£25.00
Full Member Training
...£20.00
(For more information on Full Member Training see page 42)
Membership
Number
Full
119
Associate
43
Social
1
Total
163
Essex Advanced Motorcyclist Group Promoting Excellence in Motorcycling Since 1982
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OBSERVER COORDINATOR John Tullett EAMG has always sought to 'promote motorcycling excellence' by offering the most extensive range of training options to Associate and Full members of the Group, which are provided by the most comprehensively trained and rigorously tested team of Observers. As Chris Reed mentioned in his column in April's TUG, we will shortly be introducing the option for Observers to use radios, where appropriate, to enhance our current training system. Since becoming an independent group in 2005 it has been possible for us to introduce even more training options and it is possible that some Group members may not be fully aware of exactly what we do offer, particularly when we sometimes use three or four letter acronyms to disguise what we are talking about. So for the sake of clarity and, I hope, the benefit of newer members I would like to run through the list of training options available:1-to-1 Observed Rides One to one observed rides form the core of Associate training within EAMG, with an assigned Observer focussing on addressing your personal training needs and aspirations. Associates are requested to make a ÂŁ10 contribution towards Observer expenses on 1-to-1 training rides. Before you can participate in rides with a 1-to-1 Observer EAMG requires you to complete a New Associate Training Process (NATP), which covers the prerequisites for safe participation in training. This may either be carried out by your 1-to-1 Observer or at an AGT. Associate Group Training (AGT) AGTs provide Associates with the opportunity to attend a short Roadcraft presentation followed by an observed ride with a different Observer and are held at 09:15 on the Sunday after the Group Night meeting, which is always held on the first Tuesday of the month. Our venue is Moulsham School, Chelmsford, post code CM2 9ES.
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Associates should be aware that they may attend AGTs at no additional cost, as this is automatically covered by their standard membership fee. All Associates are eligible to attend as many AGTs as they wish, regardless of whether or not they are also allocated to a 1-to-1 Observer. If you have not recently attended an AGT you should be aware that we now hold our meetings in the Sixth Form Common Room at Moulsham School, which is located on the first floor above the Refectory (the room that we used in previous years). The entrance is via double doors and a staircase located to the left of the Refectory. Flexible Observed Rides Flexible Observed Rides were launched in June 2014 to provide Associates wishing to progress their 1-to-1 training more quickly with an opportunity to arrange additional observed rides with an Observer who has spare capacity. Flexible Observed rides are intended to complement and not replace rides with your allocated 1-to-1 Observer. If you are interested in Flexible Observed Rides please let me know when you will be available (e.g. weekends, weekdays or anytime) and I will try and match you with a suitable Observer. Associates participating in Flexible Observed Rides will be requested to make the standard £10 contribution towards Observer expenses for each ride. Further Training for Full Members (FTFM) FTFM provides Full members with an opportunity to attend training with a personal 1-to-1 Observer, in the same way that they would have done as an Associate. We request Full members to make a £10 contribution for each ride to help offset observer expenses. Your Observer will be at least RoSPA Gold level. The majority of Full members sign up for FTFM to help prepare to take a RoSPA test or retest but FTFM can also be used to help address specific riding issues or to develop your riding skills further. Your Observer will be seeking to train you to a standard where you can achieve a good level RoSPA pass. You can sign up for FTFM when you complete your membership form or pay your additional £20 at any time during the year, whenever it is most convenient for you. FTFM is designed to be flexible, so if you want to pay when you submit your membership form but to commence your training later in the year that is no problem.
Essex Advanced Motorcyclist Group Promoting Excellence in Motorcycling Since 1982
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If there is sufficient Observer capacity at AGTs Full members signed up for FTFM will be able to attend an observed ride, but we will give priority to Associate members (as Full members also have the option of attending a social ride at the AGT). FTFM is proving to be increasingly popular with 15 members signed up so far in 2015. Full Member Training (FMT) John Tipper has been running FMT days for many years and these offer a great way of enabling full members to identify and address any bad habits whilst developing their riding skills. More details on remaining 2015 dates can be found elsewhere in this issue of TUG. You will be riding with a RoSPA Gold (or higher) level Observer and, usually, one other Full member over a predefined route of around 200 miles. This will give you an opportunity to ride on some unfamiliar roads and periodically 'take a break' while the second Full member is being observed. You will be debriefed during the ride and given a comprehensive ride report form. Several refreshment stops are incorporated into each route. The cost to attend a FMT day is £45. Great care is taken to ensure that each 'pair' of riders are matched in terms of their experience levels, ability and aspirations. Many Full members have attended FMTs prior to taking a RoSPA test or re-test; to check their riding skills; or to prepare for Observer training. Young Riders Academy (YRA) The YRA was launched in May 2015 to encourage young riders to become involved in post test training. EAMG will not charge a membership fee for those signing up for the limited number of YRA places available, beyond requesting a contribution of £15 to cover the provision of copies of Motorcycle Roadcraft and the Highway Code. If any members know a provisional license holder who could benefit from some additional training then please let them know that this option is now available. Slow Riding Days We run slow riding days for the benefit of all members twice a year and charge a modest entry fee of £5 to cover the provision of biscuits & water and help offset
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our expenses. We always endeavour to offer as wide a range of activities as possible, including emergency braking; manoeuvring exercises; and the slowest rider race - to win the much coveted 'snail' t-shirt. We will also provide 1-to-1 assistance to address specific issues as required. Our next Slow Riding Day will be held at the Ford Dunton Test Track on Saturday, 20th June. If you wish to attend please let me know beforehand, to help ensure we have sufficient numbers of Observers (and biscuits) available. No Waiting List for Training We do not have a waiting list for training at present, so if you have not been contacted by myself or your 1-to-1 Observer within a few weeks of signing up then please get in touch with me and I will ensure you are allocated as soon as possible. Should any members have any training related queries then please contact me on 01277 623860 (before 21:30 please), text 07570 992801, e-mail jtullett@eamg.org.uk or send me a PM via the Message Board.
Essex Advanced Motorcyclist Group Promoting Excellence in Motorcycling Since 1982
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RIDERS FOR HEALTH John Tullet The idea to invite Gary Taylor to an EAMG Group Night meeting had come from Sarah and Nick Jackson, who are signed up to attend an Experience Africa trip in 2016 (see related article in February's TUG for more details). As a long-term Riders supporter and volunteer I had been really looking forward to April's presentation and was delighted that the talk, which was provided by Gary, Paul King and Nick, was both entertaining and informative. Paul provided the main presentation and in between recounting his experiences from his first Experience Africa trip, he also introduced a number of snippets of information that I had not previously been aware of. For example, Gary - who is the Riders Training Manager responsible for ensuring participants develop the necessary off-road skills before they visit Africa - is the son of Dave Taylor, who was very active in promoting motorcycling road safety and perhaps best known for completing a wheelie around the TT circuit in the late 1970s. Drifting slightly off track there is an entertaining you tube video showing Dave trying to encourage John Noakes of Blue Peter to ride up a hill in the Isle of Man without falling off too many times. Shep, who was attentively watching, did not appear overly impressed. See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8cTRSV6dLI His first ride clearly had a profound impact on Paul, as he has signed up for a second Experience Africa. Paul said that raising the ÂŁ4,000.00 funding necessary to pay for his first trip had been hard but not quite as difficult as he had anticipated. I suspect that virtually all Group members will be aware that Riders for Health was founded by Andrea & Barry Coleman and Randy Mamola in the late 1980s, to deliver effective health care in Africa by providing reliable and well main-
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tained transport. Training also includes ensuring that health care workers are able to ride safely and carry out daily machine checks, to enable services to be delivered to every community, regardless of how remote it is. For more information on Riders please see the separate overview kindly supplied by Emily Meikle or take a look at http://www.riders.org/ Riders is an unusual charity in that it has very close links with the motorcycling and, in pa ticular, racing community. It is also the official charity of MotoGP and fundraising events are organised to coincide with the races. The largest of these is the Day of Champions, an annual event held on the Thursday before the British MotoGP race weekend. If you would like to find out more about the Experience Africa rides either have a word with Nick or Sarah or visit http://www.riders-experience.org/ Participating in Experience Africa takes serious commitment but there are many other ways in which you can support Riders. You could, for example, attend the flagship event – Day of Champions. Last year the Day of Champions attracted around 4,000 fans with 100 volunteers assisting. Attractions included a MotoGP auction, live music, quizzes and stunt displays as well as the opportunity to access the paddock and look behind the scenes of MotoGP. The 2015 event will be held on 27th August at Silverstone and you can book via www.silverstone.co.uk You could also make use of the Riders Helmet Bus at major motorcycling show and events, which enables supporters to store their helmets & leathers safely for a nominal fee.
Essex Advanced Motorcyclist Group Promoting Excellence in Motorcycling Since 1982
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www.eamg.org.uk
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Essex Advanced Motorcyclist Group Promoting Excellence in Motorcycling Since 1982
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St Lawrence House 2 Gridiron Place Upminster Essex RM14 2BE
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Steam Tug Brent TID No 159 Article 2 One of 182 tugs constructed of the same design between 1942-46
Tony Seaman
In the last article I had just left a Maldon Barge after a one day foray into restoration and that was that as far as I was concerned. It was during 2014 I found myself down on the water front again as part of a local run on the bike and it was as I passed the Steam Tug Brent that it became apparent that some work in the form of painting had taken place, this lead to me contacting the trust web site which resulted in an invitation to come along and meet the other volunteers. It so happened that I was due to head out to Eastern Europe on the bike about that time so it was mid- September before I went on board and the start of my association with the vessel. On the 1st April I visited the EAMG club for the first time and had a provisional assessment ride with John on the following Sunday after that I was with Geoff up until I headed east for a holiday during August / September. In Early June while playing cricket I pulled the Achilles tendon in my left heel, thinking ”wrongly” that it would heel on its own I did not go for treatment and ended up not playing again for the remainder of the season as I was hobbling around like an old man, although it did not stop me riding the bike. 28th August I was up early to head east, stopping in Luxemburg for the night, the following evening I was at my friend’s house, south of Vienna having ridden in wet conditions for most of the afternoon and early evening. It then rained steadily for the next 4 days so our walking and climbing plans did not take place. I took my leave in dry warm weather and by evening I was in Budapest hooking up with the cricket club who were on tour. I was there for a week during which the weather was warm and dry and so I did a fair bit of sightseeing that include a guided tour of the centre and then up to the presidential palace and a very relaxing day on a river boat as well as umpiring a couple of games of cricket. By the end of the week my tendon was a lot easier. I then headed for home, but changed the
Essex Advanced Motorcyclist Group Promoting Excellence in Motorcycling Since 1982
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planned route to head straight for the entry point I had used on the way down instead of doing a southerly loop. Suffice to say that on the way home I was to hit a lot more rain, in fact I experienced more rain on this holiday than all my recent excursions to Eastern Europe put together. On what was to prove to be the last (early finish) day of my holiday, the reason was that I had planned to stop the night in Sedan, France a town I had used as stopover on a previous occasion. The previous day I had arrived at a hotel in Pforzheim looking like a drowned rat , with the receptionist not turning a hair and being most helpful with bike parked under the entrance canopy, after having spent the whole day riding in continuous rain. The following morning I left with dry kit but under heavy but drying skies and therefore decided to re-join my planned route of mainly back country roads. 5pm that evening, after a pleasant day’s riding I entered Sedan to find the place stuffed full of traffic, it turned out that there was a county type show on that week and was not part of my planning. At that point it seemed pointless to try and find a hotel so I moved onto Charleville- Merzieres. This was to prove a fruitless move as I tried several hotels that were either closed or claimed to be full (it was Saturday) with one place being positively rude, I do not speak the French language. One chap in a bar did try and help but to no avail. At that point I decided I had, had enough so hit the road for Calais. So what had been until 5pm a pleasant days gentle ride suddenly turned into a high speed hack by re-programming the Sat/Nav for the fastest route, this was to take me out of France on the N5 to Charleroi in Belgium I arrived in Charleroi, Belgium just as the last on the light was going at about 7.30pm. I then hit the Autobahns to the port, at one stage I had to stop at a service station to recharge the unit and take on fuel for myself, as we both needed recharging, I had again lost external power to unit. On hindsight I perhaps should have looked for a hotel in Charleroi, but the sat/nav was giving out and I was by then set on getting to Calais and home. Perhaps two heads are better than one in situations like that? I arrived at the terminal after the last ferry had long departed and there was not another until 7.30 the following morning as it was a weekend, and no rooms available, what a country to live in, so spent the night on a bench in the Calais terminal (475m), 554m by the time I arrived home at 9.30am the following morning. After returning from holiday I headed for the tug on the 20th September to meet the other volunteers, it was during this period that I learnt some of the history and the plans for the full restoration of the Steam Tug Brent, while at the same time it became obvious that she needed a lot of work and money to get her back into full working order.
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We work on her generally at weekends with me managing to get a couple of days on board to help with the preparation for the Maldon Regatta at the end of that month. On the day of the regatta we had over a hundred members of the public come on board and raised over ÂŁ300. By the middle of October we had done as much as possible to make her watertight for the winter although I did take the captains stool home for refurbishment which gave me something to do during the down time. In early December we sheeted her up for the winter as no work is carried out during the winter months. In October I went to the club and came away with a very useful contact as my heating boiler had decided to stop working and it was not very long before the advice I received had the boiler working again and I could stop feeling like an Eskimo. Since returning from Holiday I have been out on my assessment rides during the week with Graham, generally having a pleasant time as the routes chosen have been more suited to my type of riding and bike, but having said that the same faults have been highlighted by any number of different assessors I have ridden with so the standard of the assessors in the club would appear to be high, but I am getting there. 2015 and work has restarted but that is for the next article. I will also delve into the Steam Tug Brent History in more detail as it covers part of my life as well as being in my view an interesting story that was largely the reason I chose to become involved. Tony http://www.steamtugbrent.org
Essex Advanced Motorcyclist Group Promoting Excellence in Motorcycling Since 1982
All Full Member Rides will leave Sainsburys Springfield, Chelmsford, at 9.30am
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2015 June 2nd 6th 7th 15th 20th 21st 25th 28th 28th
Group Night Isle of Man TT Race Week Starts AGT & Full Member Ride (9.15 Start Moulsham School) Ride to Work Week Slow Riding Day Boys Toys @ Hylands Park Goodwood Festival of Speed Richards Full Member Ride (Depart from Sainsburys, Springfield 9.30am)
July 5th 7th 12th 19th 26th
Richards Full Member Ride (Depart from Sainsburys, Springfield 9.30am) Group Night AGT & Full Member Ride Observer Peer to Peer Ride Full Member Training
August 2nd
Diary 2015
4th 9th 23rd
Richards Full Member Ride (Depart from Sainsburys, Springfield 9.30am) Group Night AGT & Full Member Ride Audrey & Johns Social Ride
www.eamg.org.uk
Building, Civil Engineering and Maintenance
Extensions - Garages - Loft Conversions
Blockpaving Driveways - Patios
All Types of Roofing
Carpentry - Brickwork
Water Main and Sewer Repairs and Renewal
Fencing - Replacement Windows (uPVC, Hardwood, Aluminium)
uPVC Cladding, Fascias, Soffits
Underpinning - Landscaping
Painting and Decorating Fully Insured (But not yet Needed!)
For free no-obligation quote, phone Clint on
01621 828276 (Office) 07836 277223 (Mobile) Domestic and Commercial Work Undertaken Insurance Work also Welcome Member of The Federation of Civil Engineering Contractors Flagstaff Farm, Green Lane, Althorne, Essex, CM3 6BQ
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1st 6th 6th 11th 13th 13th 20th
Group Night AGT & Full Member Ride Air Ambulance Run (Departs from Ford Dunton) Goodwood Revival Richards Full Member Ride (Depart from Sainsburys, Springfield 9.30am) Slow Riding Day
October 4th 6th 11th 18th 25th
Richards Full Member Ride (Depart from Sainsburys, Springfield 9.30am) Group Night AGT & Full Member Ride Full Member Training Observer Peer to Peer Ride
Group Nights @ 19:30, AGTs @ 9:15 am
September
November 1st 3rd 8th 8th
Richards Full Member Ride (Depart from Sainsburys, Springfield 9.30am) Group Night (Hideout Leathers) AGT & Full Member Ride Moto GP Final Race
December 1st 6th 13th
Group Night AGT & Full Member Ride Richards Full Member Ride (Depart from Sainsburys, Springfield 9.30am)
Diary 2015
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KTM v Triumph Dave Iszard Having read Chris Johnson's 'Year with KTM' it's obvious he has made the wrong choice. My self of course having chosen a Triumph Explorer, unkindly dubbed Exploder by some, have made the correct choice. Lets go through the Triumphs superior qualities. PATRIOTIC. This has got to figure high, a good solid British product all made in house at Hinckley but I do believe one or two parts are made abroad. I think China makes a few bits and India might make the odd part or two and probably Taiwan makes something or other. So yes there you have it, some of it is made in the UK, I think? THROTTLE. Like Chris's KTM the TEX has fly by wire which delivers excellent throttle control, no low speed roughness and spot on through the rev range and has never given any bother. It did on three occasions cut out completely though. The first time it just stopped, the second time it cut-out mid junction throwing me on the floor and the third time it cut out mid junction causing Nicki on a brand new KTM to run into the back of me and she bit the dust that time. Clearly it was the KTM's fault this time. It couldn't be the Trumpets fault cos back at the dealers no fault code was found but they put on a new 'throttle position sensor' on anyway. TRANSMITION. No messy KTM chain here, shaft drive don't you know, fit and forget for life. It was so good Triumph wanted it back, came and collected the bike just to give me a new shaft but I'm sure this time they fitted a Brit made shaft not one of those Taiwani items this time. And I have a special first gear indicator. On engaging first gear there is an enormous 'kerrrunch' clearly an advancement over my fifty five year old BMW which engages first so silently you don't know you are in gear, whoa! hazardous. CENTRE STAND. comes as standard but Triumph put a new one on cos I think the paint fell off, I think the Italians made that bit and the the new one is a Brit bit I'm sure. PROP STAND. Triumph wanted the bike back to the dealer to fit a new pivot bolt, they thought the Cambodian one might break so just to be sure I think they fitted one made in Angola. ENGINE. the engine would take me around the world and back and Triumph were very good to me here, at five thousand miles they took the bike away to take off the Chinese cylinder head and fit one that I'm sure is made in Britain - I think. TRACTION CONTROL. It's there for my own good of course. I do fear without it, on full throttle the bike would wheelie. I'm so glad things are under control I would never cope otherwise. HOOTER. much better than KTM's can be clearly heard until the engine runs. CLEANING. In a fifty shades of fog grey the Triumph still looks dirty after a good wash but I know this to be a theft deterrent cleverly painted by those crafty chaps in Poland. LUGGAGE SET. Made for stability, weighs more than its own safe load limit. I could go on but I'm sure you get the picture. Chris, next time do the right thing and buy something made nearer to home, fly the flag. and Nicki's KTM - - completely made in India. Dave Iszard
Essex Advanced Motorcyclist Group Promoting Excellence in Motorcycling Since 1982
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Picture Gallery ■ Picture Gallery ■ Picture
Super Sausage Run
Milton Ride
www.eamg.org.uk
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Gallery ■ Picture Gallery ■ Picture Gallery
Riders for Health Group Night
St Ives
High Beech / Bishops Stortford
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WW2 European Tour Jacques Deklerk
gested I try a pony tail Lol.
What a combination this tour was, from the obvious horrors of the concentration camps, the amazement of the daring escapes from the POW camps to the sheer audaciousness of the dam raids and amazing Krakow salt mines as well as a combination of superb roads, fantastic weather it was amazing. The tone for the entire trip was set from the off, as my new and improved personal hair styling had the regular gang amused and it was sug-
With a mixture of rufty tufty bikers, a mixture of everything from hyper sports tourers, super sports, adventure, tourer, grand tourer, sports tourer and even a cruiser (a Harley no less) aboard whom sat Patrick, aptly named (Patrick O Harley), I already knew it was going to be an interesting trip. Day 1 - 347 miles An early tunnel crossing had the gang on our way with a section of Autoroute to clear the rather flat and boring sections of Northern France to CambraI, from there the roads were certainly entertaining for the journey to our first overnight stop, the Hotel Du Parc in Thionville. Day 2 - 308 miles A long distance on flowing and progressive roads, little traffic and great scenery, with a reasonably early start we headed off to our destination of Dachau, a sombre but fascinating place, we got to the hotel at a reasonable 7.00pm. Weather was good, in the low 20's and only a couple of obligatary u-turns en-route. Arriving at the hotel we discovered Dave & Lorna's VFR1200 decided to take a piss, dumping it's rear shock oil over the tarmac, this occurred twice more on the trip and leaves some questions as to Mr Honda‘s design of the unit. For dinner we all trotted
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off to the local restaurant, what followed was the biggest blowout dinner of all time which even had our resident Big Albert defeated. No photo could do what followed justice, the tray was manhandled from the kitchen with a struggle and Albert nearly fainted with pleasure when he saw it. Day 3 - 612 miles Well ok for myself only, the rest of the gang decided to explore the historic sights around Dachau or ventured off to Hitler's mountain retreat, The Eagles Nest at Berchtesgarten. Having been there once before, I headed off to play on the Grossglockner in Austria and the Dolomites in Italy, far be it for me to shy away from a challenge. Only once I’d played up and down the Grossglockner and arriving at the dolomites mountain range around 13:30 for lunch, did I realise I may have bitten off more than I should, but not wishing to admit defeat, I soldiered on for the day bimbling along the most fabulous twists, turns ands swithcback mountain roads. Left the hotel at 04:30 in the morning and returned to much applause and free beers from the gang at 21:55 the same day. Exhausting Yes, blown fork leg seal eer Yes, would I do the same again OOOH YEAH, but maybe not every year!!! Day 4 - 5miles. Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial Site. This camp served as a model for all later concentration camps and as a "school of violence" for the SS men under whose command it stood. In the twelve years of its existence over 41,500 persons from all over Europe were murdered here and in the numerous subsidiary camps. It opened my eyes as to what was to follow at Auschwitz, the first of Hitlers camps, I won't go into detail, you can read all about what went on there on the internet far better than I can hope to explain it. However, what you can't read on the internet is
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the atmosphere, it wasn't a death camp like Auschwitz, but there is still a sense of hugeness about not only the physical size of the camp, but the sheer scale of what they did at Dachau. Day 5 - 285 miles The weather was stunning and we set off early from Dachau to Znojmo in the Czech Republic, first half hour was a bit of a drag due to rush hour traffic (Yup the Europeans suffer it too) but once we got going and across the border into Austria the roads got very interesting and there was some superb riding to be had. It was beautifully hot in the low 30ths (others didn‘t share in my enthusiasm for the heat) I quite liked frying in my leathers, though at a nice bimbling pace I had air-conditioning on board, it’s amazing what bikes come with these days. A good long ride to Znojmo was had by everyone and our overnight stay at the Bermuda Hotel, its like a lego hotel in colour and even I, the one of bright clothing and loud voice needed sun shades to cool the eyes. Znojmo is a stunning city, with church towers, small cobbled streets and a huge town square it was a joy for the eyes. Day 6 - 220miles The ride was a day full of interesting sites, from Cattle and carts, to luxury cars and lovely scenery, the ride took us out of the Czech Republic and into Poland to Oswiec (Auschwitz). The roads for the most part aren’t too bad, though they are more suited to the cruisers and naked bikes, ole Patrick O Harley loved watching the sports bike brigade bouncing around as he wafted along in comfort. The main roads are heavily used by lorries which are a bit crap, but once you get off those on to the lesser roads they're generally smoother and twistier, meaning we got some reasonably good riding in, arriving at about 5.30pm at our hotel which was, quite literally, across the road from Auschwitz I camp. Day 7 - 0 miles Auschwitz and Auschwitz II Birkenau. We had a guided tour booked for our small group at 2.00pm, so most of the morning was spent dossing about, with the keen ones getting their bikes washed by a local place. Satisfyingly,
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it rained later and they got all dirty again. So, with the hotel across the road from Auschwitz we walked over and met our guide for the afternoon. They have a very good system there of communication, where we all wore headphones plugged into receivers which are on an individual channel, which enabled our guide to broadcast so we can hear only her commentary as we walked around, and the tour itself? Indescribable in truth, it's really impossible to describe this place, the things you see, the things you are told are just so mind boggling and immense you cannot comprehend how people could carry out such things to other people. Seeing the mountainous piles of clothing, shoes, hair, luggage is something I will never forget, the numbers are immense. 400,000 Hungarian Jews processed through here in just 2 or 3 months, let alone for the duration of the war. You see the facts, the figures, the numbers, the huge scale of the place, but you still can't comprehend it all. Then you get on the shuttle bus, travel the 3 kilometres to Aushwitz II - Birkenau and BAM! It hits you. The sheer size and scale of the place. The mass of chimneys, standing like a forest before you, all that remains of the hundreds of wooden huts housing the prisoners, for usually just a few weeks or months before they either died from exhaustion, malnutrition, disease or were taken and killed. It is mind blowingly immense. Day 8 - 110 miles
A visit to Krakow and the Wieliczka Salt mine. We all became bus tourists for the day and hired a minibus to take us to Krakow. Good decision not to take the bikes as we could enjoy a few beers with our al fresco dinner in Krakow. The salt mines just south of the city were stupendous. Absolutely unbelievable how vast this complex of shafts and caverns is. You must visit here if you're anywhere near Krakow, it's a World Heritage site and deservedly so. Here's a weblink which explains
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it so much better than me. http://www.krakow-info.com/wielicz.htm Day 9 - 260 miles Another good journey today, we seemed to be chasing the rain clouds but never quite caught up with them. The roads up to Zagan were a mix of some very good, some adequate and some pretty poor roads - especially the cobbles, but we did the journey in good time with no problems to our hotel and a good nights rest ready for the next day and a venture to Stalag Luft 3, the site about which the movies The Wooden Horse and the Great Escape were based. Day 10 - 6 miles An easy place to miss, and we only looked around for an hour and a half or so. Could have spent longer, but it was a bit damp and I guess once you've seen the remains of the base of one hut, you've pretty much seen them all. Worth the trip though, everyone was glad they'd seen it, especially Harry’s tunnel . Oh, and the mock up of Steve McQueen's Great Escape bike I'm being stupid on is just off the main pedestrianised area of Zagan. Day 11 - 160 miles Another day, another POW camp! Colditz Castle now exists as a visitor centre and Youth Hostel. Our journey was leisurely but interesting along some superb biking roads. Day 12 - 0 miles Well what can be said, the legendary Colditz Castle complex that, despite the claims, proved not to be the escape proof building that it was thought to be, great guided tour, many stories where the truth is far more interesting than fiction, it was like a palace prisoner camp for officers, a must if your ever in the region. Day 13 - 245 miles. A superb ride along some tight and twisty roads that snake through the Saxony countryside brought us to our base for the next 2 nights in Warstein, also home of
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a well known German beer! Of which we all had to taste and taste again and again and again. Day 14 - 35 miles Some of the group, including myself, decided to venture off to be the dam busters, 617 Bikers oracle Squadron takes to the ......er... roads! A thoroughly relaxing day visiting the Mohne dam, one of the dams successfully breached in the Dam Busters raid. Day 15 - 317 miles Some of the group chose to take the more direct route to Warstein in the Maissin district of 200 odd miles, whilst some, including yours truly, devised a twisty route of flowing, mountainous and taxing roads to our destination for the evening. What a day of superbly surfaced twisty turny German roads with barely a straight to be seen anywhere. I reckon that has to have been one of the all time best day's riding I have had outside of the Grossglockner mountain pass. Little traffic, great roads and not a single stretch of more than 500mtrs of straight roads from beginning to end and our fantastic hotel for the evening of Le Chalet sur Lesse, a lovely family owned hotel. Day 16 - Sunday, Eurotunnel 190 miles The final morning arrived and with the heavens releasing a deluge upon us, 2/3rds of the group chose to ride the motorway back to Calais, I together with 4 others, chose to ride the mountain roads up to Cambrair for lunch, a delicate hand was required as the roads were flooded everywhere and overbanding abounded, however riding to the conditions, those of us on the mountains enjoyed the morning at a rather sedate pace to Cambrai and a lovely lunch in the town square. Suitably fed and watered, I left the rest of the group and took the flowing back roads back to Calais at a steady pace rather then the Motorway for the last leg of my journey, determined to enjoy my holiday to the end. One of the best tours I’ve done to date, its going to live on in my memories for years to come. Jaques de Klerk Aka Jaq-Ass
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EAMG Events Report! Chris Johnson This report kicks off with the traditional Super Sausage Run on Easter Saturday, 4th April. It was a grey day and the temperature varied between six and nine degrees. Despite this I counted 46 bikes. We had three groups, led by Chris, Richard and Dave. Chris advertised his as one of moderate pace for riders of all abilities, Richard promised an exciting new route which avoided Milton Keynes, and Dave just got on with it without any publicity. I chose Richard's group; partly because it had Geoff with his distinctive yellow helmet as back marker. The new route lived up to its hype. We started off on the A120 and headed for Bedford. Then there was Yardley Hastings, a stint on the B526, Stoke Bruerne, and a final descent upon Potterspury. It was quieter than usual there, and the service was quick. Someone wrote on the Forum that the food had improved, but by contrast I found it curiously flavourless. There was a photo session where the staff issued us with Super Sausage mugs and then took a group photograph. We were not allowed to keep them. There were three return options. Dave continued with his no-nonsense approach and just returned directly to home territory, the Tippers carried on to their beloved Cotswalds, and Chris did the Silverstone loop. This is traditional, but the loop has now developed a nasty rash of 50 mph limits, and it may be time to establish a new tradition. On the plus side in Woburn Deer Park, which normally seems devoid of deer, we had to stop while four of the creatures crossed the road, including a bound and antler-toss by one whose sole function must have been to impress the onlookers. At the petrol station in Grafton enquiries about the toilet were apparently answered with a laconic "Out the back". This led to a situation where at least three elderly gentlemen were independently wandering around in
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ever-increasing circles, occasionally passing each other with a "Well, it's not over there" comment. It appears that "Out the back" actually meant "At the back". Happily this was eventually revealed before there had been any visible unfortunate accidents. We finally arrived back at Buntingford a little after 3pm in good order, having covered 173 miles. No reported incidents, although a few who had taken the Cotswald option were stopped by the police on the A507 for a 'free-ranging discussion on a variety of motorcycling topics'. It was a good day. After the AGT on 12th April, in the absence of any better offers, I reprised a run to Milton from last year which had only one other participant. This time there were seven of us and the weather was fine, although it was very blustery. Inevitably we started on the B184, then onto the B1052 through Linton to Brinkely, where we turned left onto a very fast unclassified through Six Mile Bottom and the Wilbrahams. A brief stint on the A14 took us to Milton and the Costa cafe at Tesco's. There was a grumble about a bump on the road to Six Mile Bottom. However, had we continued past Brinkely and taken the next left we would have encountered, concealed by a dip in the road, a real bump which would have put that little pussycat to shame and there would really have been something to complain about. We returned by the same route to end the ride at Dunmow after 95 miles. No incidents, apart from the bump. Richard Parker's Full Member ride on 26th April should have been a novel, and very long, ride to Melton Mowbray. However he felt that it would have been prohibitively long unless the weather was fine. In the event the weather was very definitely not fine, and so the ride was downgraded to a run to St Ives. We had 13 bikes, and Spider acted as back marker for the trip out. The worst of the rain was actually over by the time we started out, and near St Ives there was even a brief period of very weak sun. Richard introduced some interesting route variations so that the ride did not feel stale. We stopped for coffee at Red Lodge, and then once we got to the
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Local Cafe discovered that the rumour, that the central island where we normally parked had been transformed into a no-go zone policed by a squad of zealous wardens with pens poised to write tickets, was completely unfounded. The Local Cafe's liver and onions is excellent, and when later in the afternoon my family posted Facebook pictures of themselves wining and dining at the very upmarket Galvin La Chapelle restaurant as guests of the management, I could counter with a picture of my even better and more exclusive lunch venue. By this time the roads were drying up nicely. Fred Hardy acted as back marker on the way back, and proved his mettle when half the group took a wrong exit close to the A10. The errant sheep were rounded up and brought back to the flock very efficiently. There were no other incidents, if you discount the blocked toilets at Red Lodge. I left the ride at Dunmow to get a shorter run home, by which time we had covered 170 miles. The next ride was Geoff Preston's annual French jaunt round the Pas de Calais on Sunday, 3rd March. I had booked in the KTM for this. After the run the previous Sunday I had noticed that I was losing pressure from the rear tyre. No obvious puncture but it was well worn and due for replacement anyway, so I ordered a new tyre and on Tuesday went to Watling Tyres have it fitted. When, on Saturday, I took the bike out to check it over before the French trip I discovered that the rear was completely flat. Normally I do not use my air line because it is quicker to add a couple of psi with a foot pump than to drag the line out, but it comes into its own for a flat. The trouble was that soapy water sprayed onto the tyre showed no problem with it. Eventually I accidentally sprayed onto the rim, and a spoke nipple started to bubble. In fact all the spoke nipples bubbled. The sealing band inside the rim had a fault. Back to Watling Tyres where the guy who had fitted the tyre, and knew about KTM's and the care needed with the band and the pressure sensor, took it off again. The band seemed fine and was seated correctly, so the problem was almost certainly around the valve stem, which was masked by the pressure sensor. This was going to be a warranty job for InMoto, the KTM dealer. By the time I was home it was too late to switch the shuttle booking and foreign insurance to the Blade and I resigned myself to not getting up at 04:30 to ride out in foul weather, and posted my apologies on the Forum.
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I expected details of the run to trickle back but the only Forum post was from a name I did not recognise stating that he had turned back on the M20 because the weather was so bad. At Group Night Geoff was not present and nobody had heard anything until Richard said that 'Little Gary' had been on it. I cross-examined Gary. He and his wife had not found the group at Thurrock, or at Ashford, or at Calais, or at Cassel. At that point they decided to go off to Ypres instead and visit the memorial cemetery there. It transpired that there was no group to find since, possibly because those who liked riding abroad were already over there for a longer jaunt, Geoff was last man standing. Unfortunately he wasn't standing for long, because somewhere short of Cassel he was involved in an RTA. He was knocked out briefly and remembers nothing about it. Fortunately the hospital, after extensive tests and scans, could find nothing wrong with him apart from bumps and bruises and after six hours he was released into the care of his son and daughter-in-law, who had travelled over when they got the news. The final run was happily free from that sort of excitement. After the AGT on 10th May, which featured Chris Reed on Emergency Stops and included at my request the psychology of emergencies and the role of the reptile brain, I dragged a dusty, but faithful, run out of the depths of memory. Seven of us set out in delightful weather for a first stop at High Beach via Abridge and Theydon Bois. There were disappointingly few bikes to examine there, but the troops seemed very happy just drinking tea and consuming sandwiches. Two who only wanted a short ride left then. The remainder continued up to Epping and we then made our way to Bishops Stortford via the B181 and Stansted Abbotts, and to the inevitable Tesco Costa Cafe. Three more then wanted to take a quick route home, so only one accompanied me to ride the B1051 to Thaxted and then the B184 to Dunmow, where the ride ended. I think it was about 70 miles. I felt pretty tired when I got home, because I was riding the Blade for its first real outing this year. InMoto, having received the KTM, had apparently taken a long time to work out that the rim seal was faulty, and had tried to persuade KTM that a warranty replacement of the entire rear wheel was called for. KTM were, unsurprisingly, reluctant to do this. InMoto have at time of writing ordered a new seal and, with luck, I may get the bike back in the middle of next week. A fortnight away for a 20-minute job. I despair.
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DESTINATION RATED Anchor Pub & Restaurant - Rowhedge Quay
The Anchor, High Street, Rowhedge Quay, Rowhedge, Colchester, Essex CO5 7ES Mon - Fri 12 - 3pm & 5.30 - 11pm, Sat & Sun 12 - 11pm Relax on the Quayside overlooking the river & watch the world go by! Food 4.5/5 Excellent menu both Snacks or full menu with full roast beef that was absolutely delicious. Service 3/5 Menu is chosen from the boards on the wall with ordering at the bar, staff were pleasant & no long waiting for lunch. Price 3.5/5 Bar snacks were around £5 - £6, Main courses around £8 - £12. Capacity 3.5/5 Average size inside but lots of tables outside. Parking 2/5 Not easy to park but the bikes can be lined along one side of the road. Would be a struggle on a hot sunny weekend day to get lots of bikes in.
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Further Training Opportunities for Full Members Have you ever wondered if your riding skill is still as good as it was when you passed your IAM or RoSPA Test? Is your RoSPA Retest fast approaching and you feel you’d like a refresher to check that bad habits have not crept into your riding? We are all only as good as the day we are actually riding our bikes. How good our riding was last year or even last month may not be as good as we think it is; complacency can be fatal. EAMG provide two Further Training Schemes for Full Members: Full Member Training (FMT) – One-day training courses available four times a year Further Training for Full Members (FTFM) – Assignment to an Observer for 1 to 1 training These courses are provided to check riding skills haven’t deteriorated, for those wishing to take a higher grade of test such as RoSPA or for those preparing for qualification as an EAMG Observer. Full Member Training Four FMT Courses take place during ‘summer time’ between March and October. Participation is entirely voluntary and those taking part do not have to join each ride. Training is for your benefit and enjoyment; it is not a mandatory requirement that you go on to take a RoSPA test. To ensure the highest possible standard, Observers undertaking this training will hold a current RoSPA Gold certificate. You will not be riding in one large group. Where possible you will be riding with an Observer and one other Full Member giving you the opportunity to have a 'rest' while your partner is being observed. Every effort will be made to match your riding experience, ability and aspirations with your partner, any miss matching being addressed at the first refreshment stop. The routes, approx. 200 miles, will cover a variety of roads and include several debriefing stops and two refreshment stops. Joining details will be sent by email or post a few days before the event. Events this year:
Joining Fee
29th March
24th May
£45.00
26th July
18th October
Contact John Tipper, 8 Carlton Ave, London N14 4UA. Email: jtipper@eamg.org.uk Tel : 0208 360 8590
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Further Training for Full Members You will be assigned to an Observer and rides will be arranged on a one to one basis when mutually convenient. Although not mandatory, unlike FMT, the training will be structured as preparation for a further test such as RoSPA. To apply to join this scheme: Apply to the Membership Secretary either at membership renewal or during the season. You will be asked to pay an additional Membership Fee (details below). Your Application will be passed to the Observer Co-ordinator who will assign you to the first available Observer. Where feasible, geographical location will be considered. You will be expected to pay the Observer a contribution (details below) towards fuel costs. Participation must be renewed annually.
Name: Address:
Post Code:
Tel:
Email: Riding Experience:
Aspirations:
Typical annual mileage:
Machine:
FTFM - 2015 Membership Secretary
Observer Co-ordinator
Teri Olley
John Tullett
tba
jtullett@eamg.org.uk
Additional Membership Fee
Contribution to Observer
ÂŁ20 pa
ÂŁ10 per ride
Essex Advanced Motorcyclist Group Promoting Excellence in Motorcycling Since 1982
ESSEX ADVANCED MOTORCYCLISTS GROUP Colin Childs, Editor University of Essex Printing Services, contact Hannah 01206 872822 for more information. Please mention EAMG when replying to advertisers - it identifies you!
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Disclaimer and Copyright Notice: The articles published herein do not necessarily represent the views of the Essex Advanced Motorcyclists Group. They are the opinions of individual contributors and are published with a view that free expression promotes discussion and interest. Any spelling or grammatical errors are the responsibility of the editor and a society that pays footballers more than teachers. Inclusion of adverts is not to be construed as EAMG endorsement, although most advertisers are excellent, but seek personal recommendations.Text Š EAMG 2011. Illustrations Š EAMG 2010, except where indicated otherwise. Group material may be reproduced provided acknowledgement is given to EAMG and the original author.
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Essex Advanced Motorcyclist Group Promoting Excellence in Motorcycling Since 1982