Your "chum" you say?
Indeed, how rude of me not to introduce him, especialy as he was seeking some help.
Chum, pal, mate, friend, call him whatever you like.... I have known him for years, not least as he used to run our company car fleet when I worked for Fielding & partners and then Heath plc.
Not surprisingly, the chap does have a name, John Tipper. He and his wife (Audrey) are both over 60 but definitely no slouches when it comes to motorcycling. John, who started riding when you and I were about 3 and hasn't stopped since, probably clocks up over 20,000 a year, Audrey not much less, mostly around Europe.
She rides a Kwacka 600, which rather puts the lie to the theory that everyone must have a GS with more pannier space than an aircraft hanger, or be a rufty-tufty bloke. Her last one has just gone to a good home, with 54,000 on the clock in very short order. An excellent buy for someone.
John, at last count, had:
PanEuropean (which he often uses if Mrs T goes pillion)
ZX9 (which he often tours on, in preference to the Pan)
SP1 track bike (being retired and a 'Man with a van' he has time for these things)
FireBlade (though I think he may have replaced it with the new Honda Hornet 1000cc thing, I forget its name)
Along with a 'classic' bike of some description, I forget now what.
He services all his bikes himself, tyre changes (they get through plenty in a year, as you can imagine), the lot. Being a mechanic with Lotus helped, I guess.
Scotland was a bit of a mystery to them, much as it is to me. I had hoped to join them on the highlands jaunt, but it clashes with Classic Le Mans. So another year perhaps, with luck. For sure, Jockland will still be there.
Should you ever be looking for a high mileage but very well looked after bike, I would recommend one of JT's with no hesitation at all. PM me if you would like his contact details.
