It was good to see several of you turning up at 7pm for a short ride before the meeting on the 2nd, and its something we will carry on with until the nights draw in. As you heard I have been tasked with what to do with the section windfall. My feeling is that it should be used to encourage the use of AJS and Matchless motorcycles by members of our section.It was something that John was passionate about, and I feel privileged to have accompanied him on three long distance rides that I would never have done on my own. With that in mind I think there is overwhelming support for a memorial trophy for the most notable trip by a section member on an AJS or Matchless. Extending it to other makes defeats the object in my view. I know the idea of insurance to protect those leaders of organised runs from litigation is controversial, but you need to ask yourself the question, if I lead a run and something goes wrong, am I prepared to lose my house? If the answer is yes, or you never lead or take part in a run, thats fine. But if its no,then thats exactly how i feel. I enjoy planning these trips, as do some others, but its not fair to put us in that position.
We have recently had this same discussion with the Hadleigh and District Classic Bike Club, and it was decided that we would take out this sort of protection via the BMF,even if it meant putting up the annual subscription.Given that we wont be asking members to contribute directly, I hope we can get approval from our section members to do the same. If approval is not forthcoming I will have to consider stopping from organising runs for the section. That may appear to be selfish on my part,but I find myself leading quite a lot and while i do try to use the safest routes, we are all aware that motorcycling is a dangerous pastime. I didnt see anyone raising a hand to do a run in June so there will be a run on June 21st leaving the Alma at 10-30 , finishing at Shotley Marina for lunch. What to do next now gets more difficult and this is where we ask you all to come up with suggestions. Free beer on club nights is not an option! Please get your suggestions to me ASAP at gordon.levett@btinternet.com , so we can discuss them at the next club night. If in the future the section goes into decline, then we feel that the remaining balance should go to the Air Ambulance.
As I write the TT has got off to a record breaking start, but also on a bit of a sad note as last week a rider died in the Classic race and yesterday a sidecar driver. Also there was a fatality at the Moto GP meeting in Spain in the Moto 3 practice session. Just a reminder of the danger of our favorite pastime.ITV 4 are doing excellent coverage as well as documentries, and also covering Moto Gp so i must make room on the recorder.Finally, just a couple of comments on Colins MOT experiance. Firstly, if you want excellent friendly and efficient service use Sean Davies Motorcycles on Gosbecks Road. www.seandaviesmotorcycles.co.uk Its less than half a mile from my house so you can also pop in for a cup of tea. Secondly one of the problems with skimming brake drums is that if they are turned in a chuck then thats enough to distort even substantial car drums, yet alone skinny AJS ones. when released from the chuck there will be low spots where the jaws gripped.They must be fixed on a face plate using the same fixing holes used to fix them to the wheel. Lots going on for all classic machines so I hope to see you at one or two.
Gordon