Visit to the Thames Valley
Velocette Owners Club
Tuesday 11th June 2013.
I was late
getting to the Museum on Sunday morning. Last night we were at the Lion Rally. I
almost leapt out of bed at 9:40 am and made good progress to the Museum on the
Valiant. I was there before 10:30. This Sunday there was an exhibition by
motorcycleart.com with hand painted views of many of the classics. A
photographer was present to take appropriate pics of paying customers with some
of the bikes from the Museum. I spent nearly all day talking to visitors and
little time to have a chat with the artist. Even at lunch I was talking to
people between mouthfuls of sandwich. When I came to go home the Valiant
refused to start, the plugs were wet. Even when dried off it took a push start
to get it going. I got home fine. I was back in again on the Monday morning but
when I arrived the Valiant was peeing petrol over the ground. The float bowl
needle had stuck and even when I turned off the petrol tap it still kept
peeing. Finally a whack with a spanner on the carburettor stopped the flow. I
still could not turn the fuel off. This was the reason for the wet plugs
yesterday. One of the petrol taps was not working properly. That was not the
only tale of woe for today. I struggled to get the bike on the stand.
Eventually I did. At lunch time around 1:30 after the morning visitors had left
and I had consumed my lunch I had another look at the Valiant. The centre stand
was cockeyed. I pushed one of the legs into a safer position and then inspected
why this was so. The cross bar that is welded to each of the legs had broken
away from the right leg. Secure enough to get home safely but would
need repairing before I next went out on it. Off home as soon as I could, the
Valiant started fine and there were no more problems with flooding. Once home I
drained the fuel from the tank, cleaned the carburettor removed the Ewart tap
to find a little nick in the cork seal. I turned the cork around to a better
position and this now sealed. The stand would wait for another day.
Tuesday was on,
off drizzlely sort of day so I thought I would try to repair the Valiant centre
stand. I have never encountered so many bits involved with a centre stand it is
no wonder Velocette went bust. Just look at the photo and even then the 1/2inch
square bar that it all sits on is still on the bike being a temporary stand
pushed out one side. With my inexpert welding I spent most of the morning
getting the leg back in place. Cleaned up, I give the stand a coat of primer
and discover the other leg is breaking away too. By lunch time it is all welded
together and with a bit of rod that had long gone now replaced with a bolt
shaft, painted and I am waiting for the paint to dry so I can refit the stand.
I wait for a
couple of hours and catch up with Moto GP. The best time to fit this stand is
when you have a bare frame to handle so you can turn it upside down like a
bicycle. I struggle with it for a couple of hours and finally get it back
together. Another job done and I get ready for my evenings visit to the
Velocette Owners Club who meet up at the Plowden Arms at Shiplake not far from
Henley on Thames. I set off about 7:30 on the Buell and again into bright
sunshine like last Tuesday and the visit to Wycombe MAG. I almost go by the
Stag but turn off just before and enjoy the country lanes to Marlow and Henley
and then out on the Reading road. I arrive at the pub and am welcomed by the
guy who I spoke to at Kempton Park. I take some picture of the bikes.
They are all
impressive and look in showroom condition. There was a 250 BMW single from 1964
there too and when he rode off it sounded very sweet. I handed out a few fliers but more
applications for the BMCT, a deal not to be missed and in return I received
invitations for the Velocette day at the pub for next weekend and Bike Night at
Stoke Green Cricket Club on Wednesday 19th June and the Jam Pot
Rally at Reading Abbey RFC over the August Bank Holiday.
I’m not sure
what I will be able to get to. A very pleasant evening talking Velocettes
before heading home following the directions of TomTom that lead me towards the
A404 and then towards the M4. It starting to get dark so I follow the motorway
only to find the slip road for the M4 closed so I fight my way through the
traffic that has backed up and I go back up the A404 to the M40 avoiding the diversion and come home
that way. I have done 76 miles in the evening and enjoyed every minute.
No comments:
Post a Comment