Classicbike.net

In case you click on the link to the CB.net site and find you can't get in, apparently something to do with domains and registering and stuff is going on, and the site will be up and running again very soooooon. While you're here, you might as well take a look around the blog.....use the archive list on the left at the bottom of the page.....send me an email....request an entry form for the Plus1....leave me a comment....make yourself at home.

Big, Last Part.

August was a busy month in its own right, what with the Scottish Double - which as you know will be the Triple this year, with the new addition of the Plus1. I think I might have mentioned before that if you're interested in coming along to that, you don't have to go to all three events, all you need to have is a bike (or sidecar or 3-wheeler) over 25 years old. You can get an entry form by emailing me at cubbiescounties AT aultan.com but remember to change the AT to @. By the time September arrived I was getting a little anxious. Five months in and only 13 counties done. Time to crack on then, so another mammoth trip south took me to Lanarkshire, where I visited a chocolate factory. Mmmmmmm. It rained though. And I also sped across country to Roxburgh, Selkirk and Peebles-shires, meaning that most of the borders counties were now off the list. During this trip, Cubbie suffered a bit of a hiccup and lost all signs of charge, something it had been working on doing since our breakdown at the National. We were off the road for ages. Months. In fact, no more counties were achieved until January. You maybe thought I had given up, lost the will to do it, couldn't be bothered. But no, I was searching up and down the country to find a new ****** for Cubbie. And all the time I was doing that, I was testing things on the bike, trying this, and that, and t'other - all under instruction from afar, by club members, and guys on the various forums I visit. Grampian Classic club member Dr Jim finally solved the problem, and I didn't need a new ****** after all, just a bit of TLC. January offered a nice frosty sunny day when I happened to be in the area of Perthshire, so I took the opportunity, as one must do, to tick it off, accompanied by Shorty. A touch of frost wasn't a problem, but getting to Orkney proved a little tricky, when the worst snow that this country has had for umpteen years (that's only 'cos it snowed in Englandshire....) hit. A two hour battle to get down our lane meant that once we were down, there was no going back. Splendid blue skies and glistening snowy tipped hills greeted us on the island, and a visit to **** **** was awesome, not to mention atmospheric. That was number 19, if only I could get into the twenties....bingo, Kincardineshire and Angus were to prove challenging for Cubbie's oil consumption, and I have to thank Smokey Child for his company and moral support, and his wife too for her cooking and accommodation. It looked like we would be off the road again, due to a leaky ****** but after transporting and collection Cubbie to and from the big bike show at Ingliston, Edinburgh, Kawa kindly fixed the leak for me, so it was all systems go for a trip over the Lecht in Banffshire - sunshine when I left home, snow drifts on the Lecht and one very cold GBC sitting atop the hill waiting for the copper to wave her and Cubbie onwards. And onwards it was to Easter Weekend...and an absolutely epic 7 county 400 mile adventure, some of which was shared with Mr Bantam Cub who unfortunately, suffered a *****. Down to stay with Star from bikeshite.com who lives near Edinburgh, and I think I've run out of words to describe that weekend. The post isn't that far back if you want to find it. Are you annoyed by the *****s? Hehe, call it a teaser, you can either scroll back through the archive to find the missing bits, or you'll have to wait for the Cubbie's Counties book, which admittedly, probably won't be out until 2010, by which time you'll have forgotten! But I'll remind you.

Right, well, I hope that's you all caught up. The final four counties are planned for the middle of May, just after I get back from Skye. Regular blog follower, Kawa, suffered a wee bit of an accident on the weekend, so hope you're on the mend now min. Good to see you back on the comments button Darrell....and you Linds, and thanks everyone for following Cubbie's Counties. I wanted to raise £1000 to start with, then because of your generous support, I was able to achieve that and raise the bar to £2000 - we're nearly there. The money will be split between the National Association for Bikers with a Disability, and the ME Association, two good causes that I think will do the right kind of things with the money. Try not to miss me too much while I'm away...Mrs BC will be in charge of the blog, she'll even be able to OK any comments for publishing...so I don't want this place going quiet while I'm gone. Back in 10 days. And counting.... STOP PRESS GBC RETURNS TOMORROW!!!!!!!!

Big, Part 2.

Now, this confusion about my birthday. I didn't say anything, did I? All of a sudden, you just seem to think it's that time of the year - it's all your fault Bantam Cub! Stirring it up! But hey, like I say, you can send the pressies now and I promise I won't open them until....the big day....in June....


I've been in touch with Glyn, the guy who owned Cubbie before Nick, who owned it before me. Quite an interesting picture building up. Hoping to get my paws on a couple of pics from either of them, just to complete the set. Nick sent me the disc with the video of him riding off into the sunset on Cubbie, but I can't seem to get the video from disc to computer - I'll have a better crack at it when I get back from Skye. Heck, there's so much I'm putting on my "when I get back from Skye" list....contact the VMCC sections and catch up with them.....tick off the last 4 counties....write the book....finish the short CC video to post on YouTube....fit the Rooster Booster to Cubbie....start work on the MZ.....build the shed (Mrs BC found the bolts!)....


So Cubbies Counties started in May 2008 - I was bored with hearing about film stars gadding around the world on brand new all terrain bikes with a film crew and back up and medics and fixers and plenty of money and staying in hotels, so I came up with this great idea that I would ride my "as good as unrestored" 1962 Triumph Tiger Cub around all of the 33 Scottish Counties. Easy. So I set about doing so, the first one was Skye, an epic 500 mile adventure and my first very long Cub journey - all without incident. Then after ticking off Inverness-shire on the same weekend, it was a short local journey for me to conquer Aberdeenshire with a visit to Fraserburgh, before a busy busy BUSY weekend in June that saw me catching an overnight ferry to Shetland and then heading south to Ayrshire! While I was in the area, I thought I might as well pay a visit to Dumfries-shire, Kircudbright and Wigtownshire. I forget how many miles I did in a Cubbie day to achieve that, but it was easily into three figures. There are some who say that putting the bike in the van at Aberdeen and driving down to Ayr was cheating. Well I say - and I hate to go about this, but just to clear the air - it's my game, and if I had all the time in the world, no job, no farm and no committments to get back for, plus unlimited funds, I would happily ride Cubbie around Scotland three times or more non-stop. Anyway, I had to be at the Ayr show at a certain time to present the trophies. With 8 counties under my belt in less than a month things were looking good - easy, like I said! Had an invitation from my friend Andy to visit the RAF base at Kinloss - his boss had cleared it for little old GBC to fly the Nimrod simulator - whooooeeee!!! Had a rather rainy ride up there mind you, but flying the Nim Sim out to Gibraltar and under the Forth Rail Bride more than made up for it. With plenty to do around the farm in the summer months, Cubbie had a bit of a breather until the end of July, when we took part in some filming for a programme with comedy actor Richard Wilson - Britain's Best Drives, you may have seen it on BBC4 recently, and if you didn't, it's going to be on BBC2 this month some time, so look out for Cubbie's starring role - and all those local-ish guys I think were from the Stirling Castle VMCC section, plus Slim from the Grampian classic club (and he's in the NE Scottish VMCC), who helped me get Cubbie to location, and er, lent me his ******* when I, er, lost mine. In between filming, I whizzed over to the Isle of Bute, and ticked off Stirlingshire, Dunbartonshire and Renfrewshire on the way - I guess that's another couple of hundred miles. Man that was hot, baking sun all the way. And me in my winter gear of course - well it was only July. No mishaps so far, apart from the lost ***** which turned up in my ******.

Big, Part 1

Where do I start? SCROLL DOWN TO THE BOTTOM! Well my last post was Thursday, what happened on Friday? Can't remember. Oh that's right, Monkey had a baby Monkey. That's code for one of our sheep, called Monkey, had her first lamb. She popped it out without any problems, but somehow, the lamb sustained a nasty gash on her tail and an injured eye. Either she had a tumble on the barbed wire fence or a rook took a fancy to meals on legs. She's ok now though. Saturday and Sunday were taken up with catching sheep to worm them and trim their feet. Puppy sheep dog did good. Considering he hasn't had any practice working the sheep for months, he was calm and patient, stood his ground and we got them in all in one go. But you don't want to know that. The weather was roasting too, but you probably don't want to know that either, especially if you went to the Pre65 trial over on the west coast, at Kinlochleven where it was a little...er...damp. Had a report from one of my spies that the Scottish MZ rally at Gairloch was "worse than last time". Well, last time I was there, several tents blew away in the night and several bikes blew over. I had a jolly exciting trip home in gale force winds and sideways rain. Poor old Poppy was poorly on Sunday - another ewe due to lamb, and we thought she was a gonna, called the vet and he diagnosed milk fever. Not something we've had to deal with pre-lambing before, but if we'd thought of it, it would have saved us a call out fee on a bank holiday weekend....oh well....he gave her a huge shot of calcium in the jugular and she was up within minutes (you would be too if someone stuck a needle in yer neck), although she seemed a little dazed for a while. So, Monday arrives and again, I'm supposed to be writing the blog post that I promised for last week, but I somehow find myself pottering around outside feeling like death after over doing it in the hot sun on the previous two days. Still plenty of jobs to do before I go away tomorrow - off to the Isle of Skye for about 10 days for work. Which means Mrs BC will have to cope with the lambing. Ahem. So we sorted out a few jobs that should make life a bit easier for her while I'm away. We popped into town too, and stumbled upon the May Day celebrations. Would have taken a photo of the Harley guys but as we only popped in for some more wormer, I neglected to take the camera with me. Very impressed they were only charging £4.50 for a ride to the local hospital. It didn't say if it was a 'return' or not... Tuesday arrives with the rain, Monkey and PD are settling down well with their lambs, and early evening sees the arrival of another pair of twins, courtesy of Polly (Poppy's sister) who was looking decidedly odd for a while. Finally got the car AND the VAN back on the road and here at home, the car sounding as good as new and the van's brand new alternator, complete with a year's warranty, charging very nicely - huge almighty BIG thanks to Roy and Sandy and the rest of the guys at Cameron Autotech in Cuminestown for squeezing me in and being so patient over the alternator saga..... And they sponsor the Haggis Run too....that's in October in case you want to join us. And don't forget the Plus1 in August - time to contact me for an entry form and book your camping or B&B. You'll never guess what - Shorty couldn't guess so there's no chance you will.....Bette Barber - she's the Immediate Past President of the Vintage Motorcycle Club and a very nice lady to boot, is going to donate the Bette Barber Award for the Plus1 - you could win it...but you gotta be in it to stand a chance...so come on!!!

What I thought I'd do....save you having to read too much in one go and without pictures to look at....is write a BIG post, catching up on stuff...and get Mrs BC to publish it in 3 parts while I'm way. So make sure you pop back, probably around the weekend-ish, to see part two....and then part three I guess will appear in the middle of the following week....

PS, good job I'm still here...look what's happened....

Cubbie's Homecoming

Well it has been a fun few days. I'm afraid you're going to have to listen to this drivel (or at least read it) before you get the story about Cubbie. I recently got the car back after 6 months of sourcing, and then having fixed, through friends of friends, a very rare (I mean the second hand version is rare, buying the new part would require a re-mortgage) exhaust manifold for it. Then after a couple days on the road, the next section of the zorst broke. No problem though, 'cos ignoring the money side of it, I can just use the van while the car is being mended. Well, I could do, if the alternator hadn't gone kerrpuutt. But that's no problem either, 'cos Ill just phone up the local scrappy and get a cheap second hand one and fit it myself. Er, no. These Fords, they're as rare as rare can be, at least, my one seems to be. First of all, I couldn't even get access to the alternator without taking the wheel off and half of the engine out. Then, when I finally found all 17 of my ring spanners, none of them fitted. So I gave up and took it to the garage. I picked up the 'new' alternator from the only scrappie in Scotland who thought they had one, but it didn't fit, so a few days later, when I was passing, I swapped it for another one, that didn't fit either! Ended up asking the garage to re-fit the old one so that I could drive to the scrappie and they could look at the fittings more closely. That was today, and on the way, I decided I just wanted it fixed, ASAP, in fact, I neeeeeed it fixed, as I can't be without a 4 wheeled vehicle, so I diverted to the local auto electrician. He had a look and declared on the spot, that he had a brand new one on the shelf, and that having the old one reconditioned would be nearly as costly as the new one. Don't you just hate it when you end up doing what you were trying all along, to avoid doing. However, I don't suppose you want to know about my car and van woes. But writing this has just reminded me, I must thank the sender of choc and pink things - parcel landed safely at a very good moment, and I hope you got the email. And thanks to Kawa for the DVDs that arrived.

Right, you'll be really upset to find out that I'm not about to do the Cubbie's Counties recap. Oh no, I've got a much better story for you for this week. You can have the recap later - I did start to write it but then it vanished, just like that.

So here we go, Cubbie's Homecoming - I had to nip over to Banchory on the weekend and due to my 4 wheeled vehicle hiccups, decided to go on Cubbie. It's not far, compared to my Easter weekend bonanza, only about 50 miles each way. The weather was up and down, sunny and still one minute and then cold, dull and raining the next, with a strong icy breeze. Brrr. Still, I'd made my decision so I togged up and set off. Down the hill into Fyvie, I love that bit, shutting off the throttle induces a raucous pop-pop-pop-BANG! Hehe, how childish, tsk tsk. Rather than taking the main road to Inverurie, I cut over the back way, through what used to be a small village, Rothienorman, but is now expanding rather too fast for my liking. The road took me past a turning on the left that I keep meaning to explore, but I couldn't be bothered, too cold for that malarkey. A quick peek in the tank at Drum of Wartle petrol station and I thought I could make it to Inverurie - I know I should support the local garages but it's hard when they're a few pence dearer than the big town ones. The were a couple of police cars attending the scene of an accident just outside town, but having only two wheels, I managed to pick my way through the scattered glass on the road. One car appeared to have a road sign growing out of it, but everyone looked ok, thank goodness. A quick petrol stop at Morrisons, a nod from a modern rocket rider, and then down the A96 and onto dual carriage way to the turning for Dunecht. It's quite a nice road, over hill and dale, passing through small hamlets and then whooshing you into the heart of huge estates, lined with towering stone walls and age old trees. Just out of Dunecht, and on the way to Echt, a farmer was busy on his tractor, kicking up a fine earthy dust that drifted across the road, very nice, all over my visor. Nearing Banchory the roads get bigger and straighter, and therefore, less interesting to a Cubbie rider, but we ploughed on. The rain kept threatening but held off long enough for me to make my destination. Funnily enough, I pulled up at the lights just a split second behind a sports bike rider who had blasted past me several miles ago. Business was taken care of, Cubbie started first kick and I set off for home. It was quite chilly by then so I stopped to put my waterproofs on, which made the sun come out and I was roasting. It occurred to me, as I approached the village of Lyne of Skene, that I ought to pop in and see Cubbie's previous owner. It was something I'd been meaning to do for ages, although each time, I'd put it off, feeling a tad nervous about how we would be received, for no other reason than the amount of cable ties and silicone sealer that is holding the bike together.

But I needn't have worried. I rode into the yard, and as luck would have it, a man was just carrying a load of logs into the house. He looked a bit confused at our arrival. I didn't recognise him, so I asked him if he was the guy from whom I had bought a Tiger Cub in several boxes, some six years ago, and it turned out he was. Indoors for a cuppa (mine was a cranberry juice, 'cos as you know, I don't drink cuppas) and a chat. We swapped a few stories and I told Nick and his wife all about the Cubbie's Counties charity challenge. Then he broached the subject of the electrics, and told me of the problem he had experienced during his ownership, where, after riding for about 25 miles, the bike would cease to charge. But if he left it a while, started it on 'emergency' and rode on again, it would be ok for another 25 miles. A weird one that, but due to his self confessed analytical nature, he worked out that it was all down to some dirt and gunk lurking in the bottom of the battery being swilled around. I told him of my charging woes from last year, when I undertook an unsuccessful search of the country to find a 3 wire alternator / round thingy that lives in the primary case. You may remember all the trouble that caused, and in the end Dr Jim fixed it by cleaning up some connections, and fitting one of his prized gel batteries. He also insisted on giving me a new tax disc holder, which looks very nice, but I don't think it helps the charging...or does it?

Amongst other things, Nick commented on the rather good handling of the Cub, but I had to update him on that one, with a seized swinging arm and leaky front forks the handling these days is a bit, erm, bendy? Bouncy? Bumpy? All of those really. Apparently the swinging arm had seized in his day too, I think he said he pressed it out and fitted new bushes, which helped. You should have seen him wince when I said I pressed it out with a lump of wood and a big hammer....hehe! That was when I didn't know any better. Which is implying that I DO know better now... The subject of the lime green undercoat on the rear number plate also cropped up, and I'm glad, because I've often wondered about it. It was like that when Nick bought it, and he was stopped by the cops for it, so painted it black. After an hour or so of reminiscing, I handed Nick The Key. I don't often give up The Key willingly, but this was different. I'd be delighted if someone I'd sold a bike-in-bits to, came back with it all done up and let me have a spin. The sun seemed to be out permanently now, and by the time Nick had run around the house looking for his helmet, boots and bike jacket which I don't think he had worn for about 30 years, it was positively warm. His wife seemed quite calm about the idea, but it was only after Nick had ridden off into the distance and she had captured the moment on her digital camera (video and pics to follow soon, I hope) that she said he hasn't ridden a bike since he'd last worn that jacket.... Oh. Right. Well. Gulp.

We could hear him coming well before we saw him. And as we did see him, he came tearing straight past us as if to head off around the circuit again. With a loud back fire and a bit of revving (he'd quickly got used to the fact that Cubbie won't tick over) he did an about turn and parked up in his yard, with a humongous Cubbie grin on his face.

All in all I think it was a most successful visit, I'm glad I popped in. Not only did Nick give me an old receipt (and some spark plugs found in the pocket of his bike jacket) from when he purchased Cubbie, but he's put me in touch with the guy who owned it before him, so look out for more Cubbie history tales.

You can have the Cubbie's Counties update next time. And some pics of Nick riding Cubbie just as soon as they land at Cubbie Towers.

Quiet.

Well well, it's affy quiet around here these days. Still, at least it means no one will notice that I haven't posted the planned recap of Cubbie's Counties yet. For the dedicated hoverers, I'm afraid it won't be up until Thursday evening...you know...things to do, places to go, cars and vans to fix...sidecars to source....

Sidecar wanted for hire.

Does anyone in Scotland have anything similar to the outfit in this pic? I've been contacted by a company who need one for a photo shoot on Skye, in June.

Let me know if you can help....

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Don't worry, I've found a suitable outfit now.

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