Nov 2014

November Club Night Eastham Ferry Hotel Ferry Road Eastham CH62 0AU

200th edition of this incarnation of the newsletter!!

Issue No 200

November 2014

W I R R A L A D VA N C E D M OTOR C Y C L I S T S Group Council 2014 Web Site

IAM Group 5115 http://www.w-a-m.co.uk

Chairman

Tim Brown

chairman@w-a-m.co.uk

Vice Chairman

Ken Smith

vicechairman@w-a-m.co.uk

Honorary Treasurer

Lindsay Boston

treasurer@w-a-m.co.uk

Membership

Nina Jeffries

membership@w-a-m.co.uk

Associate Coordinator

Derek Jeffries 07957341692

associatecoordinator@w-a-m.co.uk

Chief Observer

Mike Boston

chiefobserver@w-a-m.co.uk

Honorary Secretary

Rob Cooper 0151 648 4503

secretary@w-a-m.co.uk

Events Organiser

Dave Spotswood events@w-a-m.co.uk

Newsletter Editor & Minute Secretary & WebMeister

Peter Lovatt

newsletter@w-a-m.co.uk

Group Shop

Martin Titley 0151 632 3570

groupshop@w-a-m.co.uk

Gift Aid Coordinator

Rob D’Cruze

giftaid@w-a-m.co.uk

Ride Out Coordinator

Rob Tutchings

rideout@w-a-m.co.uk

Other Council members Ian Roberts Nicole Rigby Carl Mason Cliff Evans

CONTACT WAM

MAGAZINE TEAM:

Rob Cooper Coopers Upholstery The Old Bank Everton Valley Liverpool L5 0RH

Distribution: Magazine Dispatchers and the Post Office!

Editor: Peter Lovatt Duplication: Martin Titley

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Welcome to the November issue……

Did you notice the WAM wheel logo on the front cover? This was the original WAM logo, and was used until about 2001 when we changed to the more updated WAM logo that we have today. It used to appear on some early magazine covers, talking of which, I’ve managed to find some magazines dating back to the days of yore. Why I hear you ask? Well it is there because this is the 200th edition of the WAM magazine in its present format. (And to bring it up to date, now there is a QR code on the cover too!!)

WAM have been producing a magazine since it broke away from the car group in 1982. I do not have any of the early magazines anymore - I’ve had a search! - but do have an early-ish one from 1993. In the early days the magazine was produced in members houses and the actual producing of the copies was done on a duplicating machine….. Obviously well before the coming of the home computer. This 1993 issue had been done on the computer, so the PC revolution was in full swing then. And duplication of the magazine is now done at The Colour Copy Centre (C3) in Liverpool.

Past people involved with the magazine were Bill Slater, Paul Rimmer and Brian Mercer – I think Ged Power and Stewart McCulloch were also, at various times, guilty. I got tangled into the world of the WAM newsletter - of sorts - about the time it was edited by Sue Dade and a bit later by Joe Townsend. Then I became editor (in 1994) and have been doing it (and editing the newsletter) ever since. So inside this issue are some past covers, some past content, and names some of WAM’s longer standing members will remember!

OK, so what’s for November club night?? Well, we have Steve Mort and Mark Owen (from North Wales Advanced Motorcyclists) giving a talk, and don’t forget we have the regular December WAM Xmas meal next month. Thanks to Dave Spotswood for sorting out these events.

We have another write up of another motorcycling adventure - this time it’s Alan Seatwo, and his ride up to the Isle of Skye in Summer.

Finally, I’ve done a guide on how to follow WAM on Twitter, not that I am an expert in such social media mattresses. Guide inside. See you all out and about Pete

Club night Venue Eastham Ferry Hotel Ferry Road Eastham CH62 0AU 3

WAM on Twitter

Yes, become a WAM twit!!

Social networking giant Twitter allows users to let their followers know their thoughts or whereabouts with a few simple clicks.

Signing up with Twitter To create an account: Go to http://twitter.com and find the sign up box, or go directly to https:// twitter.com/signup.

Enter your full name, email address, and a password.

Click Sign up for Twitter.

On the next page, you can select a username (usernames are unique identifiers on Twitter) — type your own or choose one we've suggested. We'll tell you if the username you want is available.

Double-check your name, email address, password, and username.

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Click Create my account.You may be asked to complete a Captcha to let us know that you're human.

Twitter will send a confirmation email to the address you entered on sign up, click the link in that email to confirm your email address and account. https://twitter.com/WirralAMC Following people on Twitter How to follow on the web: Click on a username or navigate to a user's profile.

(Trying to find a particular user? Read this article for instructions on how to find them.)

Click the Follow button when you see it next to a user's profile photo or on a user's profile page.

You can also click the Follow button next to any of your Who to follow suggestions, next to user search results, or anywhere else you see the Follow button on the web.

How to follow via SMS/text message: Send a text with the words Follow [username] in an SMS (text message) to Twitter to start following someone from your mobile phone. For example, text Follow jymminie to your Twitter short or long code.

You will receive a confirmation text letting you know you are now following that user.

Unsure of your short or long code? This article provides more information.

How to follow on mobile web (mobile.twitter.com): In your mobile web browser, go to http://mobile.twitter.com Navigate to a user's profile. If you know an account's username, type it in like this: http://mobile.twitter.com/username to follow @Username.

Click the Follow button, just as you would on the regular website.

How to follow via an app: Open your mobile application.

Navigate to a user's profile or search for a user to follow.

Click or tap Follow on their profile page.

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WIRRAL ADVANCED MOTORCYCLISTS

Diary of Events www.w-a-m.co.uk *************************

November

11th Club Night - Steve Mort and Mark Owen (NWAM) joint talk *************************

This is the link for the WAM Official Forum, set up for Members of Wirral Advanced Motorcyclists ONLY. It is a forum for Associates, Observers, and members of WAM to discuss Official Group Rides out, riding techniques, FLC matters, and similar topics. To join you MUST give your name and Postcode when you Subscribe.

Group name: WAMOfficialForum Group home page: http:// uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/WAMOfficialForum Subscribe: to subscribe to the group send a BLANK email to WAMOfficialForum-subscribe@yahoogroups.co.uk Unsubscribe: to UNsubscribe to the group send a BLANK email to WAMOfficialForum-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.co.uk Once your submission has been approved, you can then post emails.

Subject: Engineers

Two engineering students were walking across campus when one said, "Where did you get such a great bike?" The second engineer replied, "Well, I was walking along yesterday minding my own business when a beautiful woman rode up on this bike. She threw the bike to the ground, took off all her clothes and said, "Take what you want." "The second engineer nodded approvingly, "Good choice; the clothes probably wouldn't have fit."

To the optimist, the glass is half full. To the pessimist, the glass is half empty. To the engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.

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A pastor, a doctor and an engineer were waiting one morning for a particularly slow group of golfers. The engineer fumed, "What's with these guys? We must have been waiting for 15 minutes!" The doctor chimed in, "I don't know, but I've never seen such ineptitude!" "The pastor said, "Hey, here comes the greenskeeper. Let's have a word with him." "Hi John. Say, what's with that group ahead of us? They're rather slow, aren't they?" The greens keeper replied, "Oh, yes, that's a group of blind firefighters. They lost their sight saving our clubhouse from a fire last year, so we always let them play for free anytime." The group was silent for a moment. The pastor said, "That's so sad. I will say a special prayer for them." The doctor said, "Good idea. And I'm going to contact my ophthalmologist buddy and see if there's anything he can do for them." The engineer said, "Why can't these guys play at night?

What is the difference between Mechanical Engineers and Civil Engineers?

Mechanical Engineers build weapons; Civil Engineers build targets.

Three engineering students were gathered together discussing the possible designers of the human body. One said, "It (God) was a mechanical engineer. Just look at all the joints." Another said, "No, it (God) was an electrical engineer. The nervous system has many thousands of electrical connections." The last said, "Actually it was a civil engineer. Who else would run a waste pipeline through a recreational area?"

"Normal people ... believe that if it ain't broke, don't fix it. [Software] Engineers believe that if it ain't broke, it doesn't have enough features yet."

An architect, an artist and an engineer were discussing whether it was better to spend time with the wife or a mistress. The architect said he enjoyed time with his wife, building a solid foundation for an enduring relationship. The artist said he enjoyed time with his mistress, because of the passion and mystery he found there.

The engineer said, "I like both." "Both?" they asked in surprise. Engineer: "Yeah.

If you have both a wife and a mistress, they will each assume you are spending time with the other, and you can go to the lab and get some work done."

An engineer was crossing a road one day when a frog called out to him and said, "If you kiss me, I'll turn into a beautiful princess". He bent over, picked up the frog and put it in his pocket. The frog spoke up again and said, "If you kiss me and turn me back into a beautiful princess, I will stay with you for one week.".

The engineer took the frog out of his pocket, smiled at it and returned it to the pocket. The frog then cried out, "If you kiss me and turn me back into a princess, I'll stay with you and do ANYTHING you want." Again the engineer took the frog out, smiled at it and put it back into his pocket. Finally, the frog asked, "What is the matter? I've told you I'm a beautiful princess, that I'll stay with you for a week and do anything you want. Why won't you kiss me?" The engineer said, "Look I'm an engineer. I don't have time for a girlfriend, but a TALKING frog, now that's cool."

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A blast to Skye - with Alan Seatwo Isle of Skye has been a place that I wanted to visit since 1997 when I read about it from a motorcycle magazine. Although I am lucky enough to travel to many places outside UK, I never managed to come to Isle of Skye.

Last year I picked up a book called ‘Bikers’ Britain: Great Motorbike Rides’ by Simon Weir which listed over 70 good biking routes in the UK. With only three days and a limited budget, I decided to follow some of the recommended routes in the book and have a blast to Isle of Skye.

Preparation for the trip included some more camping gears as I decided to camp instead of B & B. I only ever camped once before (last year, one night in North Wales), so the experience would still be very new to me.

The route is about 440 miles, I aimed to reach there in one go as I did manage to ride more than that mileage before.

Choice of bike is only one: Honda Fireblade CBR900RRV as my beloved Yammy had been sold as a contributing to my study fee next year. I only ever managed to ride the Fireblade for no more than 200 miles a day, so there would be another challenge.

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Set off from home just before 7 so that I can go ahead of the morning traffic. Before lunch I had already covered more than half of the journey. The real joy of the ride started after Glasgow following A82 towards Ballachulish. It’s been described as ‘A Scottish Classic’ – from Tarbet onwards with lots of tight and bumpy turns. After taking a quick pic by the Loch Lomond, I was looking forward to the fun ahead.

I made a wrong turn to A83 and I rode along Loch Fyne instead of following A82.

By the time I noticed my mistake, it was too late to turn back, I must carry on and find my way towards Ford William. I turned to A816 and rode along West coast of Scotland and aimed at Oban. Since I turned to A83, the roads were almost deserted, I hardly came across any traffic and my pace was good. I was very annoyed by my own mistake as I ended up traveling more than 80 miles extra! My piece of comfort was that the roads and the scenery long the route was as good as the original route. After all, I was supposed to be on holiday.

What it also meant was that I would only reach to the camp site much later than planned.

Choosing the most northern part of the Isle didn’t help much neither.

Fortunately the weather had been great, sunny, dry and very hot.

By the time I got back to A82 towards Ford William, I started feeling tired.

I was surprised 9

that I had no arching yet. From Invergarry onwards along A87 the route was spectacularly scenic, it had a mix of majestic heather-clad mountains and glens.

There’s the impressive Eilean Donan castle (the castle from the film Highlander). I finally saw the Skye Bridge knowing I wasn’t too far from the destination. As soon as you stepped on the island, it gave you a magical feeling perhaps it was because Skye itself ‘was the wildest, most inspiringly beautiful part of Scotland.’

Another hour ride, I finally reached the camp site, it had been almost 12 hours since I left home.

The camp site was located at Dunvegan (west coast of the island). It was well equipped and clean. But all I really wanted was to cook and had a shower after such a long sweaty ride. Setting up the camp and get things ready weren’t too bad, however the midges had another idea though: they decided to attack me in a full assault and I was swamped by them. I had anti insect spray, using it on top of my sweaty skin wasn’t a good idea but I had no choice but doing it as counter attack. I did managed to cook but the attack from the midges had a better of me. I declared defeated and retreated to the camp after a quick shower.

The sleep was OK, what I didn’t know was the midges had another plan. When I was on my way to brush my teeth in the morning, I was ambushed. It was so bad that I decided to ride away from the camp right away! After such a long ride yesterday, I planned to spend some time casually riding around the island. The scenery was breath taking, the view from one corner after another was simply awe10

some. Although there were a lot of tourists, everywhere was very quiet. Road condition varies, as the book suggested: Don’t rush it – take time to savour the view.

When I reached the pier at Uig, I needed food and intelligent to ensure my second night in the camp site wouldn’t be a nightmare. A lovely Scottish lady told me everything about the midges: how they move and strike.

I also splashed my budget to seek help from NATO: I bought a mosquito net which claimed to be used by NATO. I would have my revenge tonight. After the meal, I wondered around the pier and continued by ride up the northern coast of the island along A855 towards Portree before turning right back to the campsite. I aimed to take the day easy but I still managed to ride just under 100 miles. When I returned to the campsite, I moved away from the water, got my dinner organised so that I would washed and well covered before sun set. Wearing the mosquito net does make you look odd, well, with more than 15 bites of my face, I’m already elephant man anyway.

Tonight plan was simple: walk to the nearest pub and have a meal. Back to the camp and sit tight. There were some shops nearby the campsite including a baker that claimed to be the oldest on the island. I passed a big house playing with some traditional Scottish music. Three Scottish gentleman wearing kilt stood by the doorway. I asked: ‘What’s happening here my friends?’

‘We are all from the Clan MacLeod. Every four years our people across the world came back to the island and celebrate our long tradition. Tonight is our finale and

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that’s why we had music, drinks and food inside the hall here.’ One of them said with a smile and a sense of proud.

I replied, ‘That’s fantastic. I happened to know something about MacLeod too.’

‘What do you know then?’

‘I watched all Highlander films and I knew “There can be only One!”.’

We all burst out laughing. I wished them all the best and made my way to search for food. I could hear one of them said while I was leaving, ‘He is funny, isn’t he?’

When I reached the pub, I saw two Belgian couple from the camp site walking away from it. I asked them anything wrong, they politely suggested that they were not comfortable with the amount of locals there. Contrary to their fear, I thought it must be a good place to hang out. Inside the pub was full of local men, as I learned afterwards, they came to the pub and have a big meeting. The pub served fresh mussels and scallops. I chose to have an Angus beef steak and a beer. A chat with a man who was also a visitor of the island and watch a bit of the Commonwealth Games on TV rounded up my second night here.

The night in the camp was initially peaceful until later on, more itch and pain had made me more determined to leave at the first light. I planned my move well: pack as much as I could inside the camp; pack the actual camp and take the mosquito next the very last moment just before putting my helmet on. The move was very slick and I hardly made any noise to disturb other campers. When I started my engine and felt really pleased to my plan, the midges came through the gap between my visor. The attack was so bad that I had to stop and tried to fend them off before I could carry on my way out of the camp site gate which was only 200 yards away.

Luckily once back on the road, the nightmare was over, at least I thought it was all over. I focused back on the empty road in the early morning, the temperature was a bit lower than yesterday, and both these elements gave a sense of freshness that encouraged me to ride a swifter pace. I followed the same route back out of the island and this time I made sure I went to A82 after A87. From Glencoe onwards to Crianlarich was the route that I missed last time, lots of fast flowing corners and some flat straight road with excellent visibility. The traffic only got busier when I 12

was close to Tarbet where I saw a Ducati owner club was out in full.

Got a bit lost in Glasgow and once I was back on M74, it was just straight forward route back to Northwest of England. During the pit stops, er fuel stops, the bites went really bad. I could see people faces when I took the helmet off, I sensed it too because it got very painful. My only wish at the time: go home and rest as soon as possible. By 3 p.m. I was back home in Liverpool. The journey back took about 9 hours including stops.

There is a story about what happened about the bites but it will be another story.

The blast to Skye was mostly enjoyable. The scenery along the route was breath taking. The Scottish people that I spoke to were very friendly. Isle of Skye also lived up to its reputation of being one of the most beautiful places in Scotland.

There were only two downsides: mobile signal on the island was very poor and the midges, yes, damn midges. Don’t let them put you off though.

A week later laying on the hospital bed did make me wonder if the adventure had been worthwhile. I could have spend my days somewhere else knowing I was well looked after, but the joy of fulfilling your dream is priceless. A bit of a drawback in an adventure always make it memorable. I won’t be put off visiting Scotland in summer again. In fact I have already started planning for my next trip.

N.B.: This is the dish that I aimed to cook at the campsite but I never had the chance (mood) to do so: Smoked Haddock in Spaghetti. You can use one ring burner and cook it in 10 mins.

Smoked Haddock spaghetti 13

Representation of an early White WAM cover, left, then Covers from the 1990’s below

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Some names from the past…...

And the club has grown over the years, and looking at this from the mid 1990’s, it’s about 100 members.

It’s maintained this figure (give or take a few) for quite some time.

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Some content from past magazines

A charity run from 1997 Trip to Germany in 1997

And a trip to Corsica by Motorbike, below

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Thursday evening ride outs used to be a big thing in the past‌..

We’ve even done some gliding!!!

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Another bit of info that may be useful I've just typed out and put on the Roadrunners Forum that may be of use to WAM. Interesting read. The info came from Ride Magazine. Fuel consumption (mpg) shown below is based on legal speed riding! Mark Palmer 1 - Honda NC700X DCT D-mode 78.5 2 - KTM Duke 690 78.2 3 - BMW G650GS Sertao 76.0 4 - Honda NC700X (non DCT) 75.7 5 - BMW C650GT 71.4 6 - Honda NC700X (DCT S mode) 70.8 7 - BMW F700GS 68.2 8 - Honda NC700X (DCT manual) 67.9 9 - Suzuki Bergman 400 67.1 10 -BMW F650GS 67.1 11 - Honda Integra 65.5 12 - Suzuki V-Strom 650 ABS 64.1 13 - Yamaha T-Max 63.4 14 - BMW F800R 62.8 15 - BMW F800GS 60.4 16 - Suzuki SVF650 60.2 17 - Ducati Monster 696 ABS 59.9 18 - Triumph Bonneville T100 57.5 19 - Kawasaki Versys 650 56.7 20 - Triumph Tiger 800XC 56.5 21 - Yamaha XJ6 56.1 22 - KTM 1190 Adventure S-mode 55.3 23 - Kawasaki ER-6n 55.1 24 - Suzuki GSR750 54.7 25 - Yamaha TDM900 53.9 26 - BMW K1300S HP 53.6 27 - Honda Fireblade 50.5 28 - Yamaha FZ8 50.2 29 - Suzuki Hayabusa 50.1 30 - Triumph Tiger Explorer 50.1 31 - Yamaha FJR1300 49.1 32 - Suzuki GSX-R750 49.1 33 - KTM 1190 Adventure R-mode 48.5 34 - Ducati Streetfighter 848 48.2 35 - BMW R1200GS 48.2 36 - Ducati 848 Evo 47.7 37 - Kawasaki ZZR1400 47.2 38 - KTM RC8R 47.1 39 - Honda Crosstourer 44.7 40 - BMW K1600GT 44.4 41 - Triumph Street Triple R 44.3 42 - KTM 990 Adventure 44.0 43 - Ducati Panigale 39.9 44 - Kawasaki Versys 1000 39.9 19

Professor Pete Writes…..

Interesting, and for comparison, my Tiger 1050 will do about 55mpg, depending on riding style. The on-board computer displays 60mpg at 70mph on a steady throttle

My GPZ500’s will average about 65mpg.

My ER-5’s fuel gauge goes down proportionally to how much the throttle is twisted, and I reckon is less economical than the Tiger. Mind you it’s used as my Work hack, so it’s all low gears mostly and no higher than 4th gear My Pushbike consumes no fuel at all, except the odd pie for the rider…….

DISCLAIMER:-

The articles published herein do not necessarily represent the views of the Institute of Advanced Motorists Ltd, or the Wirral Group of Advanced Motorcyclists. They are the opinions of individual contributors and are published with the view that free expression promotes discussion and interests. So you have been warned.

Interested in doing the Advanced Car Test? Wirral Advanced Motorists are the people to see. Go to www.wirraliam.co.uk