Following the purchase in June 2001 of an old Gold Wing for
spares along with a van load of assorted engine and cycle parts, it was duly
consigned to a corner of the workshop along with all the other bits piled around
it awaiting inspection and sorting out the dross. Whilst looking for something
else with the assistance of my brother, Barrie, the ‘Wing’ had to be moved, and
was duly inspected by us both and we concluded that it was a little too good to
break, the friend that told me about it, Mick Thompson, may he forever be in trouble, the founder and moderator
of a sidecar group on the internet SidecarsUK
of which I am a member, was contacted to keep his eyes open for a sidecar for
the wing, leading links and small wheels were already fitted. A couple of
e-mails and 'phone calls later a chap from Milton Keynes was having to sell his
sidecar due to a house move with no garage available, he could arrange for a
friend to store a solo but not an outfit, he came up to the motorcycle show at
the NEC then on to my house where a deal was duly struck and he went home solo,
then further e-mails and it was suggested that I might like to attend the groups
Mayday Bank Holiday Rally at Applecross. |
By December and fed up of walking round the chair, Watsonian
Monaco single seater, I married it up to the bike, and it was duly tried on the
clubs New Year day run, with Barrie as ballast, the bike performed well but the
front shocks were found to be past their best (knackered would be a better
description) so the manufacturer was contacted in Dorset and I was told these
were rebuildable, surprise, surprise on receipt of said item he confirmed the
previous description but could supply a new set for the thick end of £200, other
suppliers were tried but all were dearer or could offer alternatives that would
require some alterations to the links, not an option, so new ones were duly
ordered, the thought of selling the complete outfit at a modest profit were fast
dwindling. New shocks fitted new rear tyre and all wheels rebalanced, down to
Hanks’s for a new MOT which it past and Roy duly went for a short spin, and gave
it the thumbs up, so I must have done something right, its close to thirty years
since using and fitting chairs to a bike. Taxed from the first of April, now
comes the big learning curve, have I forgot how to ride an outfit, will I make a
fool of myself etc, etc. |
Easter Monday a run to south Wales was planned to do some Round
Britain Rally (RBR) landmarks, on route to the third landmark of the day,
Witchenford dovecote, problems were had selecting gears so we struggled on for a
bit until we got to the shop at Holt Fleet and reluctantly decided to return
home. Upon inspection we found the small spring on the selector arm had fallen off
and was in the bottom of the front cover, this was rectified the same afternoon.
Later in the week the same run was attempted and completed without any further
problems. Plans were made with my brother to go to Scotland for a week prior to
the sidecar rally to enable all the RBR sites north of a line from Blackpool and
Hull to be completed, some 49 landmarks, culminating in a weekend at Applecross,
approachable from two directions, a coast road and over the ‘Pass of Cattle’
which I believe is the highest road pass on the British mainland. On another run
the week prior to going north the bike used all its water, on checking I decided
the nearside head gasket was passing, this was duly replaced, the bike was
tested and found to be ok. |
We left Birmingham on 27th April just after the superb weather
of the preceding 7 days, and the forecast was not good. We escaped rain for the
first 150 miles or so then it continued for the next 4 days, at one stage whilst
at Biggar we had a not inconsiderable blizzard, which gave a generous coating of
snow, pictures were duly taken of the bike after dinner, as the kids wouldn’t
believe us. We had planned to camp at Applecross but had decided by the Tuesday
that we would ‘wimp out’ and B&B it instead. By the Thursday we arrived at
Mick’s and had to do some running repairs to the outfit, carrier had fracture
and was duly welded but of more concern was the noise and vibration being
suffered by Barrie in the chair due to the sidecar wheel bearings not standing
the pace, trailer hub with ball races fitted were not suitable for the side
loadings they were being subjected to. The roads in the Highlands are superb and
encourage spirited riding, which aggravated the problem, so they were stripped,
cleaned, repacked and re-installed. This has now been replaced with a new hub
and taper bearings and modified spindle, this will alleviate any further
problems with this part of the sidecar. |
We all left for Applecross on the Friday lunchtime Mick leading, under completely clear blue skies. On arrival at the pass it was obvious that we were going to cross it in ideal conditions, the view from the parking area is good but the best views are on the way up, so driver doesn’t get to see these until you leave and return on the same road. The weather for the weekend could not have been better and we were wishing we had not booked B&B. In the pub on the night, the MZ owners club who were also holding their rally, as is usual at this time of year, informed us that in the last 10 years they had only had one wet Mayday bank holiday rally. We crossed the pass a further three time before returning home and superb conditions every time, so the seemingly impossible task of crossing the ‘Applecross pass’ in anything other than cloud has now been achieved, now I need to get obsessive over something else, however, I still think the quality of the view is surpassed by the view of the ‘Five Sisters’ from the viewpoint above Sheil Bridge and my brother agrees with me which is somewhat unusual! |