Off to the sunny Hawkes Bay on the Unapproachable Norton tomorrow, made a list of things to bring: Full set of A/F spanners Throttle cables Clutch Cable Bag of various nuts and bolts Exhaust spanner Screwdrivers Spare spark plugs- 30 year old NOS from my personal Champion collection. Spare Amal bits from my $100 banana box of spares. Whitworth SAE 30 monograde ( non stereo ) oil. Boyer Bransden Pickle for crackers. Twinings English Breakfast Tea. Tally ho.....
Remember, down for up.
Down diddly down down and up diddly up up.
Watch out for camera cars. I travel the Napier Taupo on a regular basis ( last week for instance) and there is ALWAYS a camera. Okay if you don't make it that far though.....
Through the efforts of Geoff Duke, the Norton shift pattern has now been renamed the ''racing'' shift pattern.
have a great weekend
It'll be like a Mustang rally, endless Commandos - you'll be looking at a UJM in awe, just because it's so different.
Will it be like the BSA rally they had around here? 'The hills are alive - with the sound of swearing'?
You rally types are so cute http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyWZqjeKzCM
Nortons are more than spectacular, to use the vernacular, an oil dripping oracle,
Should be good John ... have fun.
and superb weather to boot.
Plan was to throw Commando in back of van and ride interesting bits on way to Napier. So unloaded it on Marine Parade.... Unloaded Commando at Te Awamutu and took the road that follows the river to Mangakino and then on to Taupo for lunch. Was very hot crossing the Taupo/Napier highway and there was tar bleed, but thanks to the tractor tyres called Dunlop TT's no problems. Turned on the phone GPS to get to the rally site, nice bit of Cure, Radioehead etc with the odd English accent, " Turn Right" and so on. Maps are so yesterday until the battery goes flat. Accommodation was the Rissington Girl Guide Camp, all meal provided and Wickle on the bar. Norton owners are different, its like the clock stopped in 1975. Caught up with DD today and checked out some close racing of trolleys. Stopped at a winery and discussed the pepperiness of Syrah and so on..... It was 35 degrees on Saturday and the evening was in the mid 20's till midnight. Mrs Volty " F$%ed if I'd ride pillion of one of these for more than a couple of hours, give me a BMW any day" I have to say these guys are passionate about Nortons and they know lots of bawdy drinking songs too..... There once was a bloke from Australia.... who coloured his arse like azaleas..... Check out the Spanish car, the Packard and the Packard Hearse......nice....and there were dozens like that. Oh and the Cortina. Here are some pics.
A great report ... thanks Volty.
So the fuel company analysts will be spending time wondering why oil sales were so high in the Hawkes Bay last weekend . . . .
