Month: March 2017

Pat Coneley Chief Observer TVAM

From the Saddle (March 2017)

Posted on | by Pat Coneley

With Spring just around the corner, TVAM is gearing up for another busy biking season. 7Ws is already oversubscribed, so if you have missed a place this time don’t forget to look out for the Autumn dates here in Slipstream and on the website.

The Rutland Rally, a new weekend trip for members with less experience of motorcycle touring is also fully booked and a few of us will soon be making an exploratory trip to the area to check out some of the great biking roads around Rutland Water.

On the training side of TVAM, we held a second Observer Day at the Coppid Beech Hotel recently with 90 plus Observers and TObs attending a full day of workshops followed by a keynote session by Ian Edwards an industry leader on the psychology of rider and driver training.

By the time this copy of Slipstream goes to print the Training Team will have run the first of three Core Skills Days being held this year for potential new Observers. The CSD is a mandatory one-day training experience for all new TObs before they start their on-the-road training under the watchful eye of a TVAM Mentor. Mentors are National Observers selected for their coaching skills and I am pleased to announce that we have 4 new Mentors this month so my thanks go to Geoff Pretty, Dave Parsons,  Peter Dowlen and Kevin Buchta for taking on this important role.

New Observers are the life-blood of TVAM. As we continue to attract new Associates it is vital that we have Observers available to train them and during the summer months we struggle to meet the demand. Peter Browne who looks after Allocations does a great job with this but he needs more Observers. Only once in TVAM’s history have we had to close the doors to new members and the Committee would hate to be in this position again.

Becoming an Observer is one of the most rewarding activities in the club. TVAM does set high standards for observing but also provides a depth of support during the training. If you feel that you might like to be the proud owner of a gold badge, have a chat to any of the Training Team to find out more.

On a more sobering note, I have recently learned of Sam Doble’s racing incident on track at Catalunya, Spain. Sam is one of our younger Observers in the CLAMs, a passionate track enthusiast and regular with the LLR Team. Those of you who know Sam will not be surprised to hear that in spite of multiple injuries, he has not lost his sense of humour and is in regular contact. We all wish him a speedy recovery.

After months of negotiating with the DVSA over access to the Greenham Test Facility to run an additional Look Lean Roll course I have been informed that planning regulations restrict the use of the site and that we will not be granted access. This is a disappointment, however we have been allocated extra days at the current Farnborough site and I am pleased to announce that Mel Hakhnazarian has agreed to lead a new LLR Team to fill the extra dates. Once the new team has had time to organise and train the various roles we will be offering extra dates on the webshop for this popular course.

It is hard to believe that with the AGM this month I will be standing for re-election to my third year as CO of this great club. The last two years seem to have flown by and the role continues to be an honour as well as a huge challenge and I would like to thank everyone for their support.

One of the prominent news items of late has been the increase in the penalty for mobile phone offences from £100 to £200 and six penalty points rather than three. Many of the Road Safety organisations including IAM RoadSmart have joined in with campaigns to raise public awareness of the dangers posed by distracted drivers on our busy roads but there has been little mention of distracted bikers.

It is worth noting that the rules relating to mobile phones and drivers apply equally to riders and we are seeing an increasing use of wired or Bluetooth connected smartphones and satnavs on bikes. Please be mindful that touching a device in a cradle can lead to a prosecution if seen by a Police Officer. I am not aware of this happening yet so please let us make this one area that TVAM does not lead the way!

Finally this month, I would like to give a special thanks to Richard Tickner who has decided to hang up his bronze badge after many years as a National and former Senior Observer, Radio Validator, Committee Member and all round good egg. I hope Richard enjoys a well-earned rest and continues to enjoy TVAM.

Pat Coneley

Chief Observer

THE LONDON MOTORCYCLE MUSEUM (March 17)

Posted on | by Salli Griffith

It’s a Sunday morning in early November when everything’s suddenly tinged sharp white and it’s official – summer’s gone. The Ducati rattles as I watch her clocks reflecting engine and grips warming. It was my sixtieth a couple of weeks ago and Associate Pete persuaded me to celebrate. Over beer, we decided to visit the London Motorcycle Museum. It’s a place I’ve tried to visit before. In Greenford, West London, an hour away, a year or so ago I’d thought it well placed for an impromptu mid-week trip. On arrival the Closed sign had starkly dashed my presumption of normal working hours. This time though we took eccentricity into account. Minimal research showed only three days a week available to view what we’d heard to be one of the best local collections of old British bikes. We hoped a Sunday wouldn’t find the place too packed. Pitching up around 11 we rolled onto a large gravelly grassed car park, empty bar a car or two. The address is Ravenor Farm and in the 1920’s a farm it was, old barns and stable block reminders of less industrious times, swamped now by the bland modernity of dreary, inexorable, busy London sprawl. These days host to remains of the British bike industry, the museum was set up in 1997 by Bill Crosby, a long since retired London bike dealer who, from 1960 to 1973, hoarded a variety of choice machines. Some 150 are on display here, along with 50 or so other machines loaned by other groups, and it’s a stunning collection.

Pete paid our entrance fee – very reasonable as I’m now a senior, so I headed first for the outside loo at the back of the barn. I made it as far as a pretty little BSA Fury from 1971. There weren’t many of these about then and today they’re rarer than a chilled Trump voter. A 350cc overhead cam twin that could’ve beaten the Japanese at their own game, and this one is in lovely condition. Tearing myself away I’m confronted by a two-wheeled monster with the engine of a Mini Cooper and the frame of a scaffolder. The 1985 Austell, built in Maidenhead, probably best left there. I retreated outside, not least to avoid my straining bladder demonstrating the likely outcome of an Austell rider’s first corner. Returning relieved, Bill himself was in the tiny ‘Derek Minters café’, actually more a kitchen at the back with cabinets full of the racer’s trophies and leathers along with a couple of benches, some packets of crisps, biscuits and a fridge full of chilling cans. As we nursed cardboard cups of instant coffee Bill gave us the history of the museum, from its heyday on other sites in the 1990’s to the sad decline it’s now suffering due to the loss of grants and subsidies. It seems he’s actually having to sell bikes to pay the rent and I was shocked, though perhaps I shouldn’t have been given the equally shocking absence of any other visitors.

Once warmed through, Bill handed us over to James, a younger member of the family who’d just arrived on a characterful (read ‘oily’) 1960’s Triumph twin. He led us first to the restoration shed and oh my, there must have been a couple of dozen bikes sitting there in various states of disarray, from a trio of 1960’s supercharged Triumph racing combinations to a 1982 Thunderbird round the world outfit. We wandered amongst the machines, free to caress the patina of fading paint, flaking chrome and decaying seats, all to James’ running commentary covering every vehicle’s story. A couple of scooters, some drag racing trophies from 1964, an ancient and unique Triumph single in the middle of a rebuild, all with a story he was proud to relate.

Most poignant to me was a 1977 Jubilee Bonneville looking very sad and corroded with just four miles on the clock. It was the same age yet a lot more valuable than my non-Jubilee version and the perfect justification for her current storage in my dining room. Next was the dedicated Triumph barn. James told us it held the biggest collection of old Triumphs in Europe, possibly the world, and yes, there are lots. And lots. From a 1905 500cc single to Bruce Anstey’s 2003 TT winning Daytona via an X75 Hurricane, a Slippery Sam Replica, a genuine Thruxton Bonneville, racers and flat trackers, customs and police bikes, all on accessible display, mostly in very good condition. There are rare prototypes, including the 1965 P1 triple (basis for the Trident, arguably the world’s first superbike), the 600 Daytona, the 1947 magnesium TRW and an overhead cam Rocket Three.

A bonkers but beautiful hand-built 1500cc V6 engine engineered from a pair of Trident lumps lurks in a corner, alongside a complete 1964 TR6 police bike from the Met’s Hendon workshop, carefully cut away and mounted on an electric rolling road showing the engine, suspension and gearbox internals in action at the press of a button. We were treated to Tritons, show and racing prize winners, the ugliest 1970’s ‘styled’ Bonneville you’ll ever likely see, the odd US style custom and the very last Bonneville to leave the Meriden factory.

The variety is stunning, it’s a slice of beautifully preserved modern history that James knows intimately and is delighted to share. Drinking in that lot took a couple of hours and via another cardboard cuppa it was back to the first hall. Here there’s a much more eclectic collection. Amongst them is a 1923 Wooler 350 from a long gone local motorcycle manufacturer, a gorgeous pre-war Sunbeam, a stately Brough, a racing Velocette, a couple of Vincents and various BSAs, not to mention a Coventry Eagle, an EMC, the original Dads Army ARP combo, a Royal Enfield that reached Antarctica and stacks of memorabilia, including period posters, articles, advertising and clothing. Most close enough to touch and all with personal commentary, any question expertly fielded by James or his mother, who had abandoned the boredom of the entry desk to join us. That was another hour gone, and in the whole time we’d been there we’d seen no more than three or four other visitors, most of whom seemed to be friends of the owners. We bought a few souvenirs and, peckish now, cast a last long look over the barn before heading to the Ace Café for a late lunch. Ten minutes away it was, even on this cold dull Sunday, seething. At least fifty bikes outside, some sports, some adventure, some classics, even some pretty little new wave customs, owners milling about outside and inside enjoying the buzz of the Rocker vibe plus delicious food and friendly, efficient service.

As we ride home, replete, through the dank darkening twilight drizzle I wonder if maybe that was why the museum doesn’t get even a small proportion of the Ace’s clientele? Tastes change as customers sample fresher, more reliable fare and these days even nostalgia is not authentic until it’s bang up to date. Still worth the trip back though.

www.london-motorcycle-museum.org

Nick Vale

Riders Ride (March 2017)

Posted on | by Nick Tasker

Welcome to Rider’s Rides! Each month we’ll feature a TVAM member and their bike, talk about why they chose that model, what they use it for, as well as what they like and dislike about it. Want to see your bike featured? Get in touch at pressofficer@slipstream.org

This month we have our Chief Observer Pat Coneley and his KTM:

So what bike are we looking at here?

A KTM Superduke GT.

And what does the GT stand for?

Well, it’s the kind of touring version of the Superduke. The original Superduke was a naked bike – same engine, same frame, slightly lighter. With the GT they’ve engineered some integral panniers, giving it some touring capability. They’re styled with the bike, and as panniers go, they look pretty good. They’re not huge like those on a GS, but they’re big enough. Fortunately they only have to cater for one as Amanda has her own bikes. She carries her stuff, I carry mine.

How long have you had the bike?

I bought it last May, so around ten months  – 13,000 miles.

Did it replace another bike or is this an addition to the garage?

Replacement. I already had a KTM, an 1190 Adventure, for three years. I think I put 36,000 miles on it. I don’t really have any off-road aspirations, so other than a few rocky tracks abroad on holiday it was only ever a tarmac bike. I figured why not try something a little bit more road focused with a smaller front wheel? I don’t particularly like bigger front wheels, find them a bit vague. KTM launched the GT, I tried it, and that was it, I fell in love.

What in particular is it that draws you to KTMs?

Well, if you cut me in half I don’t exactly bleed orange. I’ve had Honda’s, Suzuki’s, quite a range of bikes, but I like V-Twins, I like the power delivery, that punch, and I like the fact that they’re very slim-waisted, which my older ZX-9R was not. I like that slimness, both from a handling point of view, and from a filtering point of view. I like lighter bikes, and while the GT looks pretty big and heavy, it isn’t. It’s not that much more than 200kg dry, so 230kg fully fuelled, and it’s quite a big tank.

And 170 horsepower…

Apparently!

Do you agree that the safety nets on modern high-end bikes are a reflection of a rider demographic that no longer has the strength or skill to handle these increasingly powerful machines?

I do think it’s a factor. Manufacturers are being encouraged to produce bikes of such power that the only way that we can make them rideable for inexperienced riders is to inhibit them electronically, to which you could argue, well why do we bother? I know I’m riding one, but why do we need a 170bhp bike if it needs electronics to reign it in? I made reference to my ZX-9R, that was an old-style full-fat sportsbike; it didn’t even know which gear you were in! If you were daft enough to ask for it, it would give you 140bhp in first gear, which would loop it. The traction control was just my right hand and brain, and there’s something nice about that.

Many bike magazines praise traction control and ABS as a great way to enable us to ride faster than ever on roads, while others dislike them for encouraging people to rely upon the computer too much. What’s your view?

I think anything that makes bikes safer is a good thing. My view is that we ought to develop the skill to not need these things, but developing that skill safely could be quite a hazardous process. Within TVAM we encourage people to develop the skills stage by stage in a supportive learning environment with courses like Look Lean Roll and Advanced Braking. But to put an article in a magazine and then suggest to people they then go out and try all, that is probably not a good thing, and not very responsible.

So they may be good training wheels then?

Yes. And by the same token, if the planning does go wrong, if there suddenly is something in front of you, a truck coming the other way, and instinct tells you just to grab a handful…ABS can be a real lifesaver.

So which dealer got your business in this case?

Premier Bikes in Didcot. I’ve known them for quite a long time, and they’ve been brilliant. And what I liked about them is that they’re very straight. When KTM introduced the 1190 Adventure it was a new bike to them, and what really impressed me was that they were completely honest if they didn’t know the answers to my questions. That gave me a lot of faith in their workshop, which I still have. They’ve been brilliant.

Have you had any technical problems or anything with this Superduke or previous Adventure that needed it to go back to the dealer?

I’ve had a number of recalls as with a lot of bikes, but nothing that stopped me on the road. A couple of punctures, but I don’t blame KTM for that! Some niggling things, like the horn – KTM horns seem famous for not working when they’re hot. They’ve had the pin on the side stand, the bit you hook your foot on – they’ve had a number of those fall out. In fact, mine as well, but that’s not a particularly big deal, they sent me a new one and I screwed it in.

Have you installed any additional accessories or made any modifications to the bike since you bought it?

I put the Satnav mount on it, I put wiring in for heated gear, and that’s about it. There’s the Givi tankbag, but I quite like keeping bikes standard. I’m not a great fan of loud cans, I find them tiring. They sound fantastic when you hear one go by, but if you’re riding it for 300 miles it can get a bit wearing! And the standard exhaust on the GT, it’s got quite a nice sound.

This is obviously more of a road bike than your 1190 Adventure was. Have you found that riding the Superduke GT has changed your riding style in any way?

Yes, slightly. The weight distribution is probably the same as most bikes, but I’ve found it’s shorter, so if I’m snugged up to the tank I’m quite close to the front end. I find it easier to go deep into a bend, counter steer it hard and gas it out, and it encourages that kind of riding. On the Adventure I was a bit more planned about things; I’m not sure if it’s a good thing or a bad thing, but it’s an awful lot of fun!

And the handling is phenomenal; a very easy bike to turn, which translates into some benefits. I can get the bike leaned quicker, so I’ll often find I don’t need to lean it as much, and corners are about average lean rather than maximum lean. You see riders who tend to turn the bike very slowly because they lean their body, so they bring the lean on quite slowly, which means you’ve often got to lean it over quite a long way to get around a corner.

Is there anything you miss from the Adventure?

I can’t do 250 miles between fill-ups, but I don’t have a 250 mile bladder range, so…

What are the least favourite aspects of your GT?

Cleaning it? Like most naked bikes it’s a sod to clean! But you can get in to most of it, it just takes a while. And it’s better than the 1190 – the Adventure had spoked wheels, I don’t know if you’ve ever had a bike with spoked wheels?

Yeah, I avoid them like the plague for that exact reason.

The Superduke has got cast wheels, and they’re quite a nice rounded shape so it’s easier to keep clean than the Adventure was. And the ignition key’s a fiddle to get at with the tank bag on. Unlike most bikes where it’s in the steering head, here it’s set further back in an infill panel in the tank. It’s only a tiny thing but it is a fiddle.

So far you’re pleased with the bike then?

Yeah, it still makes me smile, still makes me laugh after ten months.

Nick Tasker was interviewing Pat Coneley

First published in Slipstream March 2017

London Motorcycle Show (March 17)

Posted on | by Nick Tasker

The London Motorcycle Show is the one I almost never think I’ll attend. Coming just a couple of short months after the trinity of Intermot, EICMA and Motorcycle Live, it’s always going to suffer a little bit from show-fatigue. Whereas the big European events give you the chance to see the latest machinery just days after the press, and Motorcycle Live is the one everyone goes to because it doesn’t require international travel, the London show doesn’t usually offer anything you haven’t seen before.

And yet, after spending the coldest, darkest, and these days, wettest months, either fighting the weather on the way to work or wistfully dreaming of drier days to come, it’s easy to see why so many of us jump at the chance to nip into town and spend another whole day fantasising about what two-wheeled wonder we’ll certainly save up for next.

 

This year I had an additional motive for attending. Two female friends of Rosa and myself, one prepping for her CBT and the other considering a return to biking after many years away, would be joining us. Bringing two newcomers to a modern motorcycle show must be like taking a pair of children to Disneyland for the first time. They want to look at everything, sit on everything, and ask questions about everything. And the excitement is infectious.

 

Some of us have been riding so long that we can take the basics for granted, but to these two, Suzuki’s new GSX-S125 was the most exciting thing they’d seen in years. Do any of you remember shopping for your first helmet or gloves? Turns out it’s pretty damn exciting.

 

It was also interesting attending a motorcycle show with three short women, particularly after Louise Dickinson’s seminar at the Observer Training Day on the challenges finding small, light bikes for those significantly shorter than six feet tall. I led the procession through the various manufacturer stands, pointing out the bikes I thought they might find interesting, or at least useable.

 

And you know, it’s funny – if you spend a day ignoring the high-powered exotica and focus on the smaller stuff you realise that the 200-500cc class has really exploded in recent years, both in choice and quality. I remember ignoring bikes like the Kawasaki Ninja 250 when I was learning to ride. It was cheap and nasty, both aesthetically and in workmanship.

 

But the new Ninja and Z300s are as premium as you like, with quality paint, fittings and parts. Ignore the obvious power deficit and the KTM Duke 390 gives up precious little on its bigger brothers, and Yamaha’s new R3 and MT-03 twins are clearly designed to instill as much pride of ownership as any R1 or MT-10. What’s more, weights are down and power is way up compared to the older generation of post-test tedium. These machines are pushing 44 horsepower at the top end, while barely weighing twice that of the average rider. You tell me that doesn’t sound like fun!

 

Even better, if you’ve spent the last few years coming to the conclusion that £10,000 is the new normal for large-capacity all-rounders, discovering that you could buy two 300cc bikes with change to spare is a revelation, and a real threat to one’s impulse control. PCP payments on bikes that cheap are barely more than the average phone bill…

 

This is really great news for Rosa and her friends. None of them are scared of speed or power, but it isn’t anywhere near as attractive to them as low weight, seat height and price. The fact that there’s more choice than ever for shorter riders can only be good news for all of us. I’ve never been more optimistic about the future of biking than seeing how surprised and excited these women were at discovering that motorcycling wasn’t just for tall, rich men.

And then MCN almost went and ruined the whole thing by showing up with a bunch of stick-thin models in skin-tight lycra, posing for photographs around their booth. Not a great way to make my female friends feel like they were welcome at the two-wheeled party. It was almost enough to make them want to cross the hall to the bicycle and fitness show instead, where women are treated as customers rather than eye candy.

But all in all, it was a great day out, for us and our friends. One has her new helmet, the other has fallen in love with Triumph’s new T100, and I’m trying to figure out if I could squeeze a Kawasaki Z300 in the garage. It is Rosa’s birthday soon…

Nick Tasker