Thumper Club Forum
Club House => Chatter => Topic started by: Ian on January 08, 2022, 09:10:15 AM
-
Whilst searching through many memory sticks for a particular photo, I came across this gem. I'm sure it will give many a muffled titter. Taken 51 years ago. Bike was bought from Eddie Grimstead and cost £159.19.6d on the road. Road tax was £2.10s. Insurance was about £7 fully comp. Not a particularly popular model but I used to leave the local Brits of larger capacity behind, and it used to run on 2* fuel. Passed my test on this bike...AHH the memories 😊🏍👍
PS. Bought the jacket off a mate for a fiver!
-
Rockin them chinos Ian 😉😉👍.... cool photo. 👍
-
Is it a SS125? Not a CD175?
I used to run a SS125 as a second bike in the later 70's.
Very period whatever bike it is!
-
I didn't think anyone would guess the SS125 🙄. I couldn't afford the CD175 at the time!
-
Great photo and anecdote thanks.
The bike styling still looks good too.
-
I had the brochure for the ss125 but ended up with a Vespa for a couple of years, then I bought my first motorcycle, many happy miles on this Velo, one memorable ride being towed form Bamburgh to Gateshead by a mates Honda 750, after I dropped a valve, which was a regular occurence, after this I carried a spare cylinder head if I was going to a rally.
-
I didn't think anyone would guess the SS125 🙄. I couldn't afford the CD175 at the time!
I had mine in 1977. Not sure of the mileage but it was well worn........It used to smoke like a two stroke. A mate who was a lorry driver got me a set of rings on his travels from Frettons in Coventry but I can't remember if this improved matters?
Before this I ran an even more knackered C92 as a second bike which I bought from a friend who was trading up to a CB77 after passing his test. He acquired the CB77 off his sister's boyfriend I think who had replaced the Honda with a Velo-not sure if it was a 350 or 500.
Happy days.....
-
after this I carried a spare cylinder head if I was going to a rally.
Impressive dedication and a great pic. Love those Velos. Great thread.
-
after this I carried a spare cylinder head if I was going to a rally.
Impressive dedication and a great pic. Love those Velos. Great thread.
Yes let's try to dig out some of our old bike photos and post up on here . I'm off up the loft to see if I can find my albums......
-
1988 at Top Farm HD rally.... sorry about quality
-
My last competitive trial, around 1983 i think....
-
1988 at Top Farm HD rally.... sorry about quality
Competition or back from the pub with supplies?
-
The Commando resting in front of a hotel in Pisa on my way to Greece. 30 years ago now!
(http://www.iansoady.org.uk/images/pisa.jpg)
And snow on the Katara pass - same trip:
(http://www.iansoady.org.uk/images/Katara%20Pass.jpg)
I was never a competitive trial rider.....
(http://www.iansoady.org.uk/images/trial2.jpg)
But I did start my motorcycling at an early age.
(http://www.iansoady.org.uk/images/early%20days.jpg)
-
Very good pics, but the trials shot looked competitive to me !! lucky that old tower thing didn`t come down as well
-
I agree with spooky, Ian your very competitive to me👍
-
Looking very composed, if not nonchalant!😎👍
-
I agree with spooky, Ian your very competitive to me👍
Not always....
(http://www.iansoady.org.uk/images/fall.jpg)
(http://www.iansoady.org.uk/images/mud.jpg)
-
Serious bit of mud your stuck in there Ian 🤦???
Ps.. what was the montesa model you had, I used to run a montesa 200 back in the early/mid 80’s.
Used to compete (not competitively) on the Wednesday night’ers at the local’ish trials club.
Cheers, Michael
-
Seriously great pics! Did you manage to get out of the mud, unassisted?
-
I did get out by strenous paddling eventually but seem to remember I was exhausted and had to lie down for a while to recover....
The trials pics were taken by Mary Wylde whose husband Deryk was a leading light in the pre-65 trials world. I have a feeling that Mary passed on some years ago but have lost touch with the whole scene.
-
Hi Ian
Were any of those trials Midlands Classic Club trials? People may not know that our paths crossed many years ago when we rode a couple of MCC trials at the same time. I do remember you being on a Royal Enfield and I was always on my home-brewed CZ 250 single. I was very definitely not a competitive rider!
Loving the old piccies chaps, memories of a better time.
Spartacian
-
Is there a photo of the CZ home brew bike then ?
-
Is there a photo of the CZ home brew bike then ?
Ooo now you're asking. I will have a squint around to see if I can find any old photos and then post one if one turns up. It was basically a 250 single that I had removed various bits like the large speedo, side panels etc from and built a 21" front wheel for, fitted a small headlight and rear light, plastic mudguards etc. Most of the bits I used like the speedo and shorter exhaust pipe came from other CZ models as I was a real fan of JAWA/CZs in those days. The front wheel I built using a CZ hub and a rim from an old Suzuki trail bike which I joined with a set of spokes I had made up by a company called Clarkes in Carlton, Nottingham which is no longer there. The real trick bit was painting the frame red with Dulux. Well I did do an apprenticeship as a painter and decorator.
Spartacian
-
Morning Spartacian,
The real trick bit was painting the frame red with Dulux.
The ultimate competition performance improvment for any competitive machine! ;)
I was fortunate to acquire in 1976 an Ariel 500 HT, attached to a chair that had seen serious use by the Kissack brothers in I.o.M. It was stripped and rebuilt, with some ingenuity by myself and Chris Rowe (RIP), as it had been heavily modified by the Kissacks. We decided upon the red frame, polished alloy finish and it looked a treat. However, it was a beast to control over rocky ground, whilst the obligatory "Charge through a swamp!" as demonstrated in Ian's image was always a pleasure. There was also an HS bottom end and piston for "Spares!". Needless to say I only used it solo, in the IoM VMCC recreational events of the time and others had wee shots on the beast, but no images survive of it.
It was sold, with sidecar and all it's spares, when I left the Island in 1977, to John Bullivant (RIP), one time builder, Peel boarding house keeper, bored out Honda 400/4 racer and brother of the Bullivant from Finland who wrote in MS back in the day. It sat in his builders store at Tynwald Mills, which at the time was semi-derelict and was only used a couple of times before his untimely death. Where the old bird went to after that I have no idea.
The original idea had been to put the Duke in the chair and ride the whole outfit, carrying my worldly goods back home. But that wasn't to be and as usual I needed the funds for my next college year. If I remember correctly £150 was the purchase price and £250 was the sale price. ::)
Bill
-
Hi Ian
Were any of those trials Midlands Classic Club trials? People may not know that our paths crossed many years ago when we rode a couple of MCC trials at the same time. I do remember you being on a Royal Enfield and I was always on my home-brewed CZ 250 single. I was very definitely not a competitive rider!
Loving the old piccies chaps, memories of a better time.
Spartacian
Hi Ian.
The photos were taken at various rounds of the pre-65 championship trials like the Harry Perry and the Wyegate, where I don't think I ever managed to come higher than last - on the occasions when I completed the course. They were great events but they attracted serious riders - Sammy Miller turned up for some - so the standard was very high.
I remember the MCC colonial trials well - the best bit was usually lunch in the pub. I've dug out some of the results sheets and names other than yours & mine are Roger Gagg on his 750 Triumph outfit, Roy Robinson on a unit Triumph twin which was very standard, Mick Worthy on his Pink Panther, Paul Asher on a side valve Norton etc. I remember once you had a puncture and we all "assisted" you to fix it...
Great days.
-
Hi Ian
As you say great days indeed. I do remember the puncture episode as I think my back tyre went flat twice in the same trial. Was it you who donated me a spare tube the second time? I know some kind soul did.
I remember Roger Gagg well (another painter) as his son Steve ran his own fabrication shop in Bulwell, Nottingham and did several jobs for me back in the 80s and 90s. He also competed with the MCC and last I knew he was racing a BMW K100 outfit in VMCC races. I remember Roy Richardson too and Paul Asher but not the chap with the pink Panther. Paul's Norton had the most battered petrol tank I have ever seen.
Lovely era to go out trialling and some very interesting bikes. My CZ fell victim to my divorce of my 1st wife as I had to clear out quick and as it was in pieces at the time it just got carted off to the local tip. Oh how I still mourn that.
Spartacian
-
I may have given you a tube as I usually carried a spare but can't remember now. Shame about the CZ which seemed quite well sorted, at least for the MCC events. The worst bit about them was (for me) getting up at an unearthly hour to load the Enfield on the trailer and get from south Brum up to the peak district.
Better stop now as everyone will be jealous!
-
Not a bit of it Ian. Yarning on and chewing the odd old inner tube is what this forum is/was intended for, I thought. ;)
Used to use the inner tube band to hold the leggings up on the old Dunlop Safety wellies, with the cooling fins down the front and the steel toecap that ensured your toes were frost bitten, whilst standing at a section! ;) ;D ;D ;D ;D
Good health, Bill
-
Hi All
I'm still searching for a piccie of the old CZ, but yarning as you say Bill reminded me of another incident whilst riding with the Midlands Classic Club.
They used to run enduros for classics at a place called Duffield in Derbyshire and I did a few on the CZ. During one competition I got my foot caught in some deep mud and when the rear wheel lost traction it spun the bike around which twisted my knee very badly damaging the ligaments. I needed to be taken to hospital along with another unfortunate who had broken his shoulder blade. Off we went in the St John ambulance to A&E check in at Derby. The nurse on duty asked the other guy for his details, nature of his injury and how he'd done it then turned to me with the same questions. When she asked how I had injured my knee I pointed at the other man and said 'chasing him on a motorbike'. She gave me a look that just said 'MEN!'.
Happy days.
Spartacian
-
That's why I stuck to the trials being something of a softie (then and now).
When I first started trial riding I too used a pair of the Dunlop wellies. My shins and ankles were black and blue for the following weeks so I quickly saw sense and bought a pair of proper trials boots. The wellies came in handy for commuting in later years - together with a Helly Hansen bib and brace I could have them off & sat at my desk in seconds. What my visitors thought of the malodorous pile in the corner was never mentioned
-
Hi Ian
Were any of those trials Midlands Classic Club trials? People may not know that our paths crossed many years ago when we rode a couple of MCC trials at the same time. I do remember you being on a Royal Enfield and I was always on my home-brewed CZ 250 single. I was very definitely not a competitive rider!
Loving the old piccies chaps, memories of a better time.
Spartacian
Hi Ian.
The photos were taken at various rounds of the pre-65 championship trials like the Harry Perry and the Wyegate, where I don't think I ever managed to come higher than last - on the occasions when I completed the course. They were great events but they attracted serious riders - Sammy Miller turned up for some - so the standard was very high.
I remember the MCC colonial trials well - the best bit was usually lunch in the pub. I've dug out some of the results sheets and names other than yours & mine are Roger Gagg on his 750 Triumph outfit, Roy Robinson on a unit Triumph twin which was very standard, Mick Worthy on his Pink Panther, Paul Asher on a side valve Norton etc. I remember once you had a puncture and we all "assisted" you to fix it...
Great days.
I used to be regular at the Wyegate and other rounds when Sammy Miller was sponsor. Couldn't afford a proper pre65 so I ran a trail bike (DT175MX)
-
Ian,
The wellies came in handy for commuting in later years - together with a Helly Hansen bib and brace I could have them off & sat at my desk in seconds.
I thought everybody wore that type of clothing! ;) In my job as a forester/site/soil surveyor, wellies and a pair of mountaineering salopettes was my everyday wear for weeks on end, the three items being made as one by the inner tube bands at the ankles.
I just had the vision of Billy Connolly in his incontinence trousers sketch!!!! ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
Good health, Bill
-
Just been out to look for my NCB rubber `trials` boots, still got them but couldn`t find them, I was going to take a photo so the youngsters on here would understand what us oldies are on about !! I did find my Stihl chainsaw wellies though, been looking for them for ages.
-
I do smile to myself when I see modern motorcyclists dressed up in all their expensive, padded, brightly coloured gear, which they can't pop to the shops without. My first outfit for riding a bike was my step-dad's old pit boots, my jeans and a sweatshirt, a donkey jacket and a four quid Centurion open-face helmet. I did upgrade to Dunlop wellies and a Belstaff after about a year, but still don't wear much more now. Para boots have replaced the wellies, a Richa rain jacket over an old snug-pak coat and a Spada open-face helmet are my usual garments of choice.
I find it interesting just how much bike clothes cost now. When I bought my Belstaff it can't have been too expensive as I bought it on an apprentice's pay, which was not enormous. Now the damn things cost hundreds of pounds so the wax jacket I use in summer is a cheap knock-off. As for the cost of helmets! I know my head is precious but some of them really take the mickey.
I don't wish to come across as an 'in my day' moaner but I do feel new motorcyclists now are sold the idea that unless they spend big on a whole outfit to go with the style of their bike they are somehow not real motorcyclists. A friend of my wife has recently taken up biking and she asked me about my thoughts on heated gloves. I said that I thought the electrical system on her Lexmoto may be a bit marginal for plug-ins so she could either buy ones with a separate battery or learn to suffer as she is riding a bike in England not Florida. Jaded me? Never.
Spartacian.
-
I do smile to myself when I see modern motorcyclists dressed up in all their expensive, padded, brightly coloured gear, which they can't pop to the shops without. My first outfit for riding a bike was my step-dad's old pit boots, my jeans and a sweatshirt, a donkey jacket and a four quid Centurion open-face helmet. I did upgrade to Dunlop wellies and a Belstaff after about a year, but still don't wear much more now. Para boots have replaced the wellies, a Richa rain jacket over an old snug-pak coat and a Spada open-face helmet are my usual garments of choice.
I find it interesting just how much bike clothes cost now. When I bought my Belstaff it can't have been too expensive as I bought it on an apprentice's pay, which was not enormous. Now the damn things cost hundreds of pounds so the wax jacket I use in summer is a cheap knock-off. As for the cost of helmets! I know my head is precious but some of them really take the mickey.
I don't wish to come across as an 'in my day' moaner but I do feel new motorcyclists now are sold the idea that unless they spend big on a whole outfit to go with the style of their bike they are somehow not real motorcyclists. A friend of my wife has recently taken up biking and she asked me about my thoughts on heated gloves. I said that I thought the electrical system on her Lexmoto may be a bit marginal for plug-ins so she could either buy ones with a separate battery or learn to suffer as she is riding a bike in England not Florida. Jaded me? Never.
Spartacian.
I love this. When I see the Sunday morning brigade on their super bikes with matching coloured leathers and helmet, it always makes me smile. Buying a new bike must be incredibly expensive for them too as clearly that will itself necessitate the purchase of a “new outfit” to ensure colour compatibility.
My Hein Gericke fluorescent jacket and gloves are still going strong after 22 years.
-
. As for the cost of helmets! I know my head is precious but some of them really take the mickey.
Spartacian.
As usual Ian I (mostly) couldn’t agree more. However being on the receiving end of my accident a few years back, I’m sorry but I just don’t agree with the helmet bit. I was told by three separate medical types while I was in hospital that my helmet had almost certainly saved my life, it had definitely saved me from being permanently brain damaged. I still suffered a bleed on the brain so I seriously dread to think what the outcome would have been had I been wearing a cheap’er helmet.
I was wearing an arai Corsair at the time. Needless to say I went out and bought a new one once I was able to ride again.
So don’t skrimp on the helmet front. You only have one swede. Look after it I say 😉
Cheers, Michael
-
I'm far from convinced that more expensive = better in terms of helmets. The standard ECE 22.05 tests use stresses that are way over the likely impacts that would happen in real life. And having worked with many consultant surgeons over the years, I would always defer to them in clinical matters but many do tend to pontificate on topics outside their realm of expertise.
-
Hi All
I thoroughly agree with your comments Michael that a helmet is a very important piece of kit and has the potential to save a life or prevent life-changing injuries and I would never be cavalier about helmets, especially to someone who had their life saved by one. I too had a crash in which my helmet saved me from serious facial injuries and, slightly differently, a friend of mine was told by para-medics that had she not been wearing her cycle helmet when she fell off her bicycle she wouldn't have survived.
But there are two aspects of helmets that bother me. Ian touches on a valid point about standards and I always buy a helmet to the latest approved standards, however a mate of mine in the bike trade told me he can buy ACU Gold standard stickers and put them on any helmet he likes. He doesn't I hasten to add, but it is something to consider when buying helmets; always buy from reputable sources.
The other thing is what I call a twat tax. Certainly a decent helmet which has been properly developed by a reputable company and then sold in comparatively small numbers will cost more than a knock-off ebay special, but how much more? £200 for a decent helmet maybe but £400 or even £600? Now to me that is a twat tax in the same way that putting Harley Davidson on a cheap leather jacket and doubling the price is.
Spartacian
-
It's worth remembering that the ACU don't actually test helmets at all but merely charge manufacturers to allow them to apply the stickers. The first Nitro open face I had was fitted with such a sticker. - which was actually lacquered over As I understand it, any helmet to current standards is eligible for the sticker. And if you send your lid to the ACU they will apply a sticker for £15 or so......
As an aside I wonder why the double D ring strap fastening is often said to be superior to the seat-belt type as used on my Nitro. The D rings are fiddly especially with cold wet hands whereas the seatbelt / ratchet arrangement is much more convenient and obviously passeds the relevant standards.
-
I much prefer double d (ooh vicar) i have undone seat belt and ratchet type a few times by accident...
what happened to photos ? we seem to have drifted off a bit, i will go and look in the cupboard for photos.
-
Wot, no pics? Meantime, here's an interesting article on how motorcycle jeans utilise modern technology and testing;
https://www.motolegends.com/reviews/Motorcycle-jeans-buyers-guide