Aston On Clun. A forgotten Great Western outpost.

[Schooner]

Should probably not have laughed at that quite so loud 🤣

[Winslow Boy]

5 minutes ago, MrWolf said:

 

Pro tip: Pouring petrol down the burrows does not guarantee that you will be eating roast rabbit...

So the next instruction then isn't - now strike a match?

 

Like the chap who went looking for the gas leak with his lighter.

[MrWolf]

5 minutes ago, Schooner said:

Should probably not have laughed at that quite so loud 🤣

 

It's okay, I don't think anyone else is listening at this time of night.

 

A friend of mine once demonstrated that it is actually possible to pee yourself laughing.

 

She's now a primary school teacher and probably wouldn't thank me for bringing that up.

 

Though if you live in the Leeds area and your grandchildrens teacher is called Jennifer....

[Schooner]

2 minutes ago, Winslow Boy said:

Like the chap who went looking for the gas leak with his lighter.

 

Not twice, I imagine.

[Winslow Boy]

1 minute ago, Schooner said:

 

Not twice, I imagine.

First time it was co incidence.

 

Second time it was........

[Schooner]

Mind you, Lancashire-born Lancaster-driving W.M.W. Fowler's Countryman's Cooking does include a recipe for cormorant, including the immortal instruction:

 

"Hang up by the feet with a piece of wire, soak in petrol, and set on fire."

 

Oh, get on! Here it is:

 

 

Edited November 26, 2023 by Schooner

[MrWolf]

That sounds worse than eating seagull. (Long and anticlimactic story...)

 

I rather like Cormorants though, so I wouldn't eat one.

 

I do however have a list of specific members of another species that I would cheerfully hang up by the feet and soak in petrol... ☠️

[lezz01]

5 minutes ago, MrWolf said:

That sounds worse than eating seagull. (Long and anticlimactic story...)

 

I rather like Cormorants though, so I wouldn't eat one.

 

I do however have a list of specific members of another species that I would cheerfully hang up by the feet and soak in petrol... ☠️

They wouldn't all be members of a certain political party that favours the colour blue would they? If so it seems we may have an identical list.

Regards Lez.

Edited November 26, 2023 by lezz01

[lezz01]

So back in the day there were four of us renting a house in Hayes and we all worked for Churchill Express out of Acton Town. Three of us were running CX500s and one of us was running a Guzzie La Mans and every week one of us would have to tow the La Mans back from town. I don't know if you've ever tried towing another bike but it sure was interesting to say the least given the CX's handling characteristics. Eventually we persuaded him to buy a CX and work on that instead of the La Mans. Not as cool but much more reliable. In the end I switched to a CB750KZ and swallowed the cost of the chain and sprocket sets in exchange for a bike that handled like a proper bike. I ended up on a Kawasaki Z750 L2 that handled even better as it was a shorter wheelbase. 

Regards Lez.    

[MrWolf]

20 minutes ago, lezz01 said:

They wouldn't all be members of a certain political party that favours the colour blue would they? If so it seems we may have an identical list.

Regards Lez.

 

I'm not prejudiced, the other mob are on the list too, mostly for claiming to represent the workers. 😉

[MrWolf]

4 minutes ago, lezz01 said:

So back in the day there were four of us renting a house in Hayes and we all worked for Churchill Express out of Acton Town. Three of us were running CX500s and one of us was running a Guzzie La Mans and every week one of us would have to tow the La Mans back from town. I don't know if you've ever tried towing another bike but it sure was interesting to say the least given the CX's handling characteristics. Eventually we persuaded him to buy a CX and work on that instead of the La Mans. Not as cool but much more reliable. In the end I switched to a CB750KZ and swallowed the cost of the chain and sprocket sets in exchange for a bike that handled like a proper bike. I ended up on a Kawasaki Z750 L2 that handled even better as it was a shorter wheelbase. 

Regards Lez.    

 

I've only owned two Kawasaki's, a Z400J, which was too awful to discuss and a 1977  Z650 which was a wonderful beast and only recently have they become appreciated since the prices for Z900s and Z1s have really climbed.

I never had any real problems with the Guzzi, it went absolutely everywhere and went back and forth to a friend of mine until some clown pulled out in front of him and he buried it in the back seat of a five door Astra.

I've ridden a new 650 Kawasaki twin recently, and really enjoyed it, though it was a little twitchy on the back lanes, but that was mostly down to a combination of a high C.O.G. and horse muck everywhere.

I prefer the lower seat height and riding position of a British bike and as my right leg can be a little wobbly, I find it much easier to support a lower bike with my left foot when stationary and flick into first gear with my right.

[lezz01]

I really like Jap 4 cylinder bikes but I have had Brits as well. TBH I haven't had a bike for years as wifey don't like them. The last bike I road was a 600 Bandit when my step son was in hospital the other side of town and the only sensible way to get there was by bike so I borrowed the Bandit from a friend so I could get her down to see him but she isn't a great pillion and has the tendency to lean the wrong way but she got the hang of it after we had a long talk at the side of the road with me pointing out that she had to lean with me or book the two beds next to her boy.

Regards Lez. 

[John Besley]

8 hours ago, chuffinghell said:

A bit late to the party

 

 

I don’t read them, I just look at the pictures!

 

Tidy .... neat presentation.... reminds me I need to tidy up my bookcase as well

 

Which reminds me if you had the full set of Mr Men books in the right order you had a Mr Men on the spine

[GMKAT7]

Good morning gents,

 

Many, many years ago I owned a Moto Guzzi Co-Uno, 125cc bike built at the Meriden Cooperative site (previously Triumph Motorcycles).

It was the brainchild of Tony Benn, to keep Meriden producing bikes at the time.

 

Being cheap and not so cheerful it broke down frequently, with an aversion to wet weather. Having konked out at college in Derby a friend from the railway said he'd have a good look over it to see if he could fix it once and for all.

 

Being towed from Derby to Long Eaton behind his RD400 was an experience I didn't want to repeat. But not as bad as riding pillion when he opened it up on the way back to Derby. Nearly new underpants time 😖

 

Cheers, Nigel.

[Graham T]

7 hours ago, lezz01 said:

They wouldn't all be members of a certain political party that favours the colour blue would they? If so it seems we may have an identical list.

Regards Lez.

I think it might be quicker to make a list of the ones you’d be willing to keep…

[RobAllen]

9 hours ago, MrWolf said:

Pro tip: Pouring petrol down the burrows does not guarantee that you will be eating roast rabbit...

This sounds like the voice of experience…

[MrWolf]

1 hour ago, RobAllen said:

This sounds like the voice of experience…

 

I'm happy to promise you that it isn't! 

[MrWolf]

8 hours ago, lezz01 said:

I really like Jap 4 cylinder bikes but I have had Brits as well. TBH I haven't had a bike for years as wifey don't like them. The last bike I road was a 600 Bandit when my step son was in hospital the other side of town and the only sensible way to get there was by bike so I borrowed the Bandit from a friend so I could get her down to see him but she isn't a great pillion and has the tendency to lean the wrong way but she got the hang of it after we had a long talk at the side of the road with me pointing out that she had to lean with me or book the two beds next to her boy.

Regards Lez. 

 

The last bike my father bought was a 600 Bandit, just over 3000 miles on the clock.

He got it from one of his workmates who had traded up to a 1200. Unfortunately for the friend, everyone else was trading up at the time and dealerships were basically offering two cigarettes and a balloon on a stick in part exchange.

My mother stopped riding pillion when I came along as many do.

The first date the Memsahib and I went on involved a trip round the countryside and stops at a couple of posh country tea rooms. She'd never been on a motorcycle and was keen to have a go, asking what she needed to do. I just told her that no matter what happens, to keep her spine in line with mine. I could hardly tell that she was there.

[GMKAT7]

Good afternoon folks,

 

Another motorbike tale from days of yore (early 1980s).

 

My brother was a member of the Griffin motorcycle club in Coventry.

Having a RD200 for a learner bike wasn't enough for him, so one of the old hands persuaded him that he could have a bigger bike with L plates if he rode it with a chair (sidecar).

 

Unfortunately the Z650 he acquired was a kit of parts, so needed a rebuild from frame up. So, as a consequence, our Dad's Mk 3 Cortina spent the winter outside, whilst the Z650 was cosy in the garage.

 

The end result was that Dad's yellow (!) Cortina turned orange and the Kwaker still couldn't by ridden on L plates even when finished 😂.

 

Edit: The couple that lived next door had no children but a dog.

Mister had a Triumph motorbike with a sidecar. Usually Mrs went in the chair, but when they took the dog with them, which was quite often, she ride pillion because the dog had the sidecar 😅.

 

Cheers, Nigel.

Edited November 26, 2023 by GMKAT7
More info.

[MrWolf]

3 hours ago, GMKAT7 said:

Good morning gents,

 

Many, many years ago I owned a Moto Guzzi Co-Uno, 125cc bike built at the Meriden Cooperative site (previously Triumph Motorcycles).

It was the brainchild of Tony Benn, to keep Meriden producing bikes at the time.

 

Being cheap and not so cheerful it broke down frequently, with an aversion to wet weather. Having konked out at college in Derby a friend from the railway said he'd have a good look over it to see if he could fix it once and for all.

 

Being towed from Derby to Long Eaton behind his RD400 was an experience I didn't want to repeat. But not as bad as riding pillion when he opened it up on the way back to Derby. Nearly new underpants time 😖

 

Cheers, Nigel.

 

Hello Nigel,

 

You're one up on me in the motorcycling experience stakes there, I've never been towed and to be perfectly honest I don't think that I would fancy it.

I did tow someone else once, using a 1951 BSA 650 sidecar outfit that had a rigid rear frame like a bicycle. His Z550 had decided it didn't like it's battery anymore.

 

It scared him to death because as usual I was relying on the massive engine braking on a vintage bike and barely touching the brake, so he was having to anticipate every time I slowed down.

 

The rope was tied to the upper joint of the rear sidecar attachment and because the Kawasaki had superior brakes, every time he braked, the BSA would snatch to the left and wobble about.

 

Possibly the least enjoyable ten miles ever!

 

Rob 

[Annie]

May I tell  motorcycling story? 

The worst motorcycling accident I ever had was when a learner driver pulled out of a stop sign right in front of me on a country road and wrecked the Suzuki GT380 I owned at the time.  With nowhere to go I had two choices, taking flight over the roof of the car when the bike  T boned the side of it, or stepping off the back of the bike and trusting to the leather jacket and layers of clothing I was wearing to protect me.

I stepped off, came down bit of a bump well tucked in and all seemed good with me sliding well clear.  My bike hit with a bang and bounced away into ditch where it screamed its poor heart out until someone thought to shut it off sometime later but the engine was wrecked by then.  That wasn't my biggest problem as the learner driver had frozen up screaming their head off worse than my bike, didn't brake, kept jabbing the accelerator and frog hopped the car across the road and cracked me straight in both my knees with the car's bumper.  I still have an impressive scar across my left knee 40 years later, - though it has faded a bit.

 

After all the medical drama, - my Mum demanded that I come back home, - no doubt so she could keep a close eye on her wayward daughter.  For a full day at least I got the 'told you so' treatment and even the old hoary story of the chap down the end of the road who crashed his bike into a lampost and ended up with having a steel plate put in his head was trotted out.

The thing was I was going to need transport once I was on my feet again and I couldn't afford a car. 

Any breath of getting another bike and Mum would have gone into full lecture mode all over again.  Then I saw a Jawa sidecar outfit advertised in the local paper at a price i could afford.  I pointed it out to Mum. 

'Oh that will be nice and safe for you', she says brightly while I'm doing my best to keep a straight face and not give the game away.

 

After the Jawa eventually expired after I could find no more spares for it.  I got a Honda CB350 twin next and put a chair on that.  It also got the GT380's rear wheel with its bigger brake and stronger cush drive as well.  Fitted into the Honda's rear forks like it had been made for it.  That outfit could just about go anywhere and I loved it.  Then (sigh) too much life happened and I had to sell it and bikes faded out of my life.  I really miss riding a well set up outfit (sigh).

Edited November 26, 2023 by Annie
can't spell for toffee

[chuffinghell]

6 hours ago, John Besley said:

 

Tidy .... neat presentation.... reminds me I need to tidy up my bookcase as well

 

Which reminds me if you had the full set of Mr Men books in the right order you had a Mr Men on the spine

 

Less tidy when you stand back 😳

 

[GMKAT7]

Hello Annie,

 

Sorry to hear about your accident but glad you enjoyed your later bike and sidecar experience.

 

My brother ended up in the metalhead club later in life, after riding in Goa without a lid (crash helmet). It was self-inflicted and still gives him gyp many years later. 

 

And I thought metalhead meant rock fans.

 

Apologies to Rob for derailing his thread with motorbike tales.

 

Cheers, Nigel.

[Captain Kernow]

1 hour ago, chuffinghell said:

 

Less tidy when you stand back 😳

 

Then you're clearly not standing back far enough!!

 

That's very tidy in my view!

 

[Tortuga]

2 hours ago, chuffinghell said:

 

Less tidy when you stand back 😳

 

Ah yes, one jar of paint is not with the others.

 

TOTAL CHAOS!