Our annual kickstart bike only ride

[ashman]

Well that time of year again our annual kickstart only bike run, last time last year 20 KS bikes turned up so be good if the numbers are bigger this year, meeting at Matty place at 7:30am for a 8am start off, I just fired up the Norton so I could check the oil level after a warm up, fired up first kick as usual with the Joe Hunt, the last time I rode it the carbs needed an adjustment as one carb was idling a bit higher than the other and I forgot to take my small screw driver with me so once warmed up gave the idle screws a bit of an adjustment and now idling great.
Not sure where we are heading but be a 200 mile ride somewhere in the hills and hopefully evade the cops, last year we got pulled up for breath test up at Mt Mee but the police woman was very friendly, Matty and another rider got a speeding camera ticket in the mail a week later but no one else didn't, a hidden camera somewhere hiding along the way on the Clear Mt road, we didn't even see it and I was right behind Matty but it missed me and both riders were on BSA's.
I prob be the only Norton again, but then you never know who will show up, this is a ride from mates we all grew up with and we all know each other from our local area of Sandgate on the northside of Brisbane.
My Norton has been running so well and has never missed a beat in the last 15 years with only minor adjustments here and there and normal oil changes, haven't even looked at the valve adjustment in that time as I know when they need doing, my Norton speaks to me and coming up to 50 years of ownership I think it knows me as well lol, since running with the Joe Hunt I have clocked up 40k+ miles in the 15+ years I installed it and haven't touched it, while it starting first kick and running great I leave it alone except for pulling the front cover off to check on the point and a few drops of STP on the point cam lube pad when I do an oil change, I also mix STP with my motor oil and have done so since 1982.
Taking my good camera tomorrow so will get some great pics to put up.

Ashley

 

[concours]

"Matty and another rider got a speeding camera ticket in the mail a week later"

I call them "outstanding performance awards"

 

[ashman]

"Matty and another rider got a speeding camera ticket in the mail a week later"

I call them "outstanding performance awards"

Or they took a bullet for the rest of us.

At 2 am it was pissing down rain here but at 5am emptying the tea pot and unlocking my shed the sky was blue and clear as the sun has already risen, so looking like a nice day, predicting rain from Monday for the week and run up to Xmas.

 

[ashman]

Well the ride turned out a great morning ride through some great country and back roads, a few problems before the start off at 8am with Dave's Trident he had installed a new battery in it but it was bigger than the old battery he had in it so he had to make a new clamp down for it in a hurry, he got about 1km from Matty's place and the bracket had shorted out on the new battery cable and melted to terminal so a quick call to Matty to come and get him in the ute (aussie version of pickup truck) rushed it back home and he jumped on his Harley and still made it back before 8am.
A few less bikes this year only 11 of us were going on the ride as a few others had a xmas party on the same day with the hotrod club.
There was 2 BSAs, 2 tridents, a few old school Harley's and a few modern Harley's and some other thing Mack was riding (Rotec single) and of course my Norton, my Norton ran great didn't miss a beat, idled perfect at every stop with only one mishap, lost my bar end mirror must have came lose and fell off the mounting bracket, didn't even see it go but my mate Paul was behind me when it flew pass his head before crashing to the road way, we ended at our usual country pub by lunch time where the hotrod club was meeting for there xmas lunch.
Paul stopped down the road from the pub for fuel with Dave and when he went to fire up no go his old battery just decided to die so a tray back tow home.
Matty lost a muffler on the way home and had it strapped on the back of his BSA.
A few of us left the pub about 12:30 for the ride home we decided to go home the quick way on the highway, but when we got to the highway the traffic was crawling so a few mile dodging the traffic before exiting and go home the long way and we even passed my mate Paul in the tow truck but at the time I didn't know he had a break down, wasn't till later in the afternoon he phoned me and said he had a carton of beers on ice and so I walked the short distant down to his place, a 10 minute walk but 20 minutes to walk home up the long hill full of beer.
So it ended in a great ride with a few problem and Paul wasn't too upset about his battery dying as the Harley was off the road for 2 years before the upgrades (was put off the road from the crack down from the Police on bikie clubs and illegal mods to Harley crack downs) so he kept his old battery on charge while it was off the road, he should have replaced the old battery.
Stupid me forgot to take the camera and I left my phone at home as well, but all up was a great day out with a few old mates, so another kick start run for the year even with a few minor hiccups thrown in the works.

Ashley