Bill was there with his polisher
How do you upstage 10 Goldwing solos, 3 Trikes and a combination fully polished and on a static display? Dead easy as it turns out.
I went to the new bike event at Heaton Park, Manchester and joined up with members from GoldWings North West. We were given a nice patch of hard-standing onto which we were able to fit the Wings. It was a good job too as the grass was very wet and slippy and a couple of showers during the day kept it that way.
The event was a new event for Vintage and Japanese motorcycles and it was good to see them turning up to be judged. There were some very nice examples of early Japanese bikes and the memories came back to me from my youth.
Three trikes and a red car
The GoldWings attracted a lot of attention and quite a few people showed interest in joining the club. Many were taken by Brian’s combination, which must have attracted the sticky mitts of every child who attended. Some of the questions that were heard – ” What does the little car drive like?” – ” Does the motorcycle have to be attached to it?” – “How do you steer the car?” – what really made me note these comments was the fact that it was adult bikers who said them!
The trade stands were not too many in number, but for a first event of its type it was sufficient. I now know to keep an eye out for some low mileage Ninjas which appeared on one stand. Low mileage maybe but mostly done in 1st gear at max revs.
Some more wings ( and a posey banner)
Bob Summers managed to ensure that we all played the same music over the radios as he was using an FM transmitter to play his MP3 music, which as it happens, was good enough to be heard by all the GoldWings present if they were tuned into it. It also gave Ian a chance to make many of us laugh, as he had access to a radio microphone which tuned into the same FM transmitter, so he was able to talk from a discreet distance to people looking at the Wings. You had to be there to see the effect it had on people.
Eventually the prize giving ceremony took place and there were some very tidy motorcycles which took away the prizes.
Okay then. How do you upstage 14 GoldWings on display?
A road legal motorised Raleigh Chopper
You take one 1970ish Raleigh Chopper bicycle and fit a Puch moped engine, tank, lights, brakes etc then MOT it , Insure it, Register it and Tax it.
If I hadn’t seen it I wouldn’t have believed it but it sure attracts a lot of attention.
Another event to watch for next year.
Dave T