Old This & That

IAM

The IAM are keeping their cards close to their chest in relation to when they will restart testing, merely stating that they intend to resume all normal services as soon as they can do so safely.

Associate Group Training (AGT)

Taking account of the 12th April date mentioned above, April's AGT has been switched from the 11th to the 18th. This will be a socially distanced and Covid safe AGT with a maximum of 25 attendees at Beryl Platt Centre, 12-14 Redwood Drive, Writtle, Chelmsford, CM1 3LY. Associates and Observers MUST email mickhewitt39@hotmail.comto reserve their place. As numbers are limited please only email if you are sure you can attend. No full members unless enrolled on FTFM. If anyone is not comfortable to enter the building with others, but wishes to participate in an observed ride, Mick will arrange for you to meet an Observer outside or at an alternative location.

The 9th May and 6th June AGT's will also follow these rules.

Providing future steps of the roadmap are not delayed the 11th July AGT should see a return to the 'old' less restrictive format and include a social ride for full members.

EAMG Membership

If you have not already done so please remember to renew your 2021 membership before attending any Group activities.

New Motorcycle Roadcraft

A new edition of Motorcycle Roadcraft was issued on 26th October 2020. John Tipper has been busily reviewing this document during lockdown and is now working on applying relevant changes to the EAMG Observer Laminates to ensure they are kept fully up-to-date.

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Should any members have any training related queries then please contact me via e-mail to training@eamg.org.uk , or on 07570 992801 or speak to the most relevant member of the Training Team.

Old This and That

Dave Iszard

This article first appeared in TUG in December 2005. Another of Dave’s highly individual pieces.

It’s not every day I spend £10,000. So when I bought a new Honda Pan European last December I expected rather a lot from it. A flagship model, if you don’t count the Gold Wing that is, it was going to be everything I wanted in a motor cycle. I’d had test rides and Bruff had let me loose on his for a while. Mine was duly ordered from George White of Swindon and arrived in a van one morning. After a bit of local swanning around, winter was behind us and I planned our usual trip to Germany and France. That’s when I started to realise that we weren’t going to bond, certain aspects of it were absolutely brilliant, the comfort, Nicki loved the pannier and top box inner bags. Easy to pack and to take up to the hotel room. An engine producing endless power made long distances a pleasure and that’s about the end of it.

The electric screen was only useful at lower speeds, with it fully up, the faster I went the more the bike meandered. With it in the lowest position the wind noise it produced was deafening even with ear plugs. However I did find a useful position when it rained, sweeping the wet away as if by magic. The weight is another issue, while most bikes are getting lighter the Pan remains a porker tipping the scales at 267 kg, about one and a half FireBlades that is but that all disappears on the move. The mirrors are a joke, nice and big but they are mostly filled with the reflection of my gloves and the bar end. It takes some head bobbing to get the full picture rearward. The last gripe is the horn, I’m sure it is the same one that is fitted to the Honda 90. For this money I want a horn that blisters paint, something you can hear in another county but no, thumb the button and you are rewarded with meep meep. So you think I don’t like it, not strictly true it’s just that an expensive bike should be devoid of these niggles. It is no better than my Blackbird was and to buy that new today would be £2500 cheaper. My GS 1150 is far more pleasurable to ride and is a less refined bike (the tractor as Chris called it recently).

I can’t blame the Pan for a worrying moment while crossing Belgium on the E42. Not too much traffic around and a lot of miles in front of us I let the speed build to a steady indicated 110mph. (the sat nav said 105). The limit is 80mph on this road. I kept a watchful eye in the mirror (much head bobbing) and noted a small white car that kept up with me for many miles but never made up any ground. Traffic thickened and I eased off a bit, the white car eventually caught up and to my horror it was a police car complete with blue lights flashing. It neatly dropped in behind me and followed for about half a mile. I’m now down to 60mph and wondering ‘what now’ when he zoomed off down a slip road leaving me with a pounding heart. Thankfully no souvenir speeding ticket on this trip Phew! That was a worry.

Why is it that all of my hobbies seem to appear to certain other factions as antisocial. If you are a motor cyclist you are frowned upon by some and blamed for all sorts problems. If an accident occurs the bike rider gets the blame, he was obviously going too fast. It doesn’t matter that some dozey twat pulled out in front of him without proper observation. If someone is having a gripe about noise nuisance, bikes are top of the list even though the plaintive spends the summer rushing up and down with a mower,petrol strimmer, chain saw, garden shredder and leaf blower, not to mention the dog barking. For a period I took my biking off road - green laning. Although a legal past time, I on occasions fell foul of ramblers and horse riders even though they were shown every courtesy. Never mind that, Ill take up fishing that’s a good wholesome past time. Not so if you believe the fishing publications, angling is next on the hit list for the ‘anti’s’. With fox hunting consigned to the bin they need a new subject. Any way I don’t care, I’m happy to be a biking, fishing terrorist.

I can’t believe more members didn’t respond to Inspector Keith Whiting’s letter explaining the actions of Essex police towards motor cyclists in the county. After reading the letter a couple of times I homed in on one sentence which said that if bikers were to behave and have legal plates and silencers his officers could get on with responding to proper crime. I read that as meaning illegal plates and pipes aren’t a proper crime. So if Keith doesn’t believe loud exhausts are a proper crime can he please fit all the police bikes he is reintroducing in Essex with race cans so I can listen to them up and down the A12 at weekends. I blame Blair