Travelling to meet a strange man for a bit on the side....

[Tarka]

Heh heh...no apologies for the Thread title...
You can`t beat cheap innuendo and double entedres to attract attention.
This Thread basically runs parallel with MMC`s great posting found here... http://www.ukgser.com/forums/showthread.php?t=217675

Saturday January 30th 2010.
I should be starting a run of six 6am - 2pm shifts today but instead my 5am alarm clock is heralding a quite different weekend to that on my shift roster.
I rise from my pit,wash and dress,then chomp some toast with a glass of fruit smoothie....then I wheel out Skaya,my beloved 650 Ural combo.
Brrr...there had been a cloudless,moonlit night after some early rainfall and it has left a 'bit of a chill' in the air......this should just have been a small puddle of water on Skaya`s tonneau cover.....

Heated seats??
Ural riders don`t want no steenking heated seats.....

I dashed back indoors to don my full Goretex riding gear as a fairly refereshing and invigorating ride surely loomed ahead.
This was because I was about to do what to my cider and wine addled mind was a perfectly sane and rational thing....namely,travel from the Wirral down to Bampton,not a million miles from Oxford,to stay in the company of a guy I`d never met previously and enjoy a bit on the side for the weekend.

DO WHAT ???

Well,missus,not quite what you`re imagining.

MMC had done the equally sane and rational thing of purchasing a Ural sidecar outfit having never even previously sat on one .....never mind ridden one.
Although we`d never met in real life,we`d communicated via emails and website PM`s,as well as phone chats (and we`d been hoping to meet up for at least a couple of years),and a recent conversation was about the Ural purchase.
MMC had been wanting to buy a Ural for a while but due to the Sterling/Euro exchange rate causing recent price hikes the new ones are fairly expensive and the demand for used ones has risen sharply,leading to him chasing a few and losing out when other purchasers got there first.
That`s a euphemism for 'Due to his dithering and fannying about'....

Clearly being generously equipped with sanity and rationality,he mentioned in passing that he would buy the Ural then gently bimble home the best part of 30 odd miles along the quiet Cotswold lanes.

I do like a person with a sense of humour.
I gently but persuasively informed him that it doesn`t matter how long you`ve ridden solo motorbikes for,you will not be able to get on a combo and ride away without difficulty.
And you most certainly will not be able to travel cross country without either scaring yourself witless (and something that sounds the same) or planting the combo into a hedge/fence/oncoming vehicle.
The outcome would be injury,death or such a fright that the combo would never be used again.

So....ta-dah...drumroll...I would book the weekend off work,finally get to meet MMC after all this time,go with him to collect his Ural and teach him how to ride a combo!
I`d also get to collect a few sale items I`d bought from F2 Motorcycles and save on the £5 postage fee....heh ,heh.

Here we go then....it`s 6.15am and Skaya is ready for the off,freshly serviced the day before and all happy at the chance of more travels.

I have an aversion to motorways on all my bikes,especially the Urals,so elected to travel the fairly direct route of A41 Whitchurch/TernHill,A442 Telford/Bridgnorth/Kidderminster,A449 Worcester,A44 Evesham/Broadway, A424 Stow on the Wold/Burford then a bit of A361 and back lanes to MMC Towers in Bampton.
I did,however,use the short stretch of M53 motorway from Chateau Tarka to Chester in order to miss all the stop-start local town traffic lights and roundabouts..even so early in the day.

Did I tell you there was a bit of a chill in the air ......?
JEEZ,even in my Goretex I could feel it...unlike my fingers which couldn`t feel much at all when I stopped for some body fuel and a coffee just before Kidderminster in an ace biker friendly cafe.
A few minutes griddling the white lifeless sausages resident within my gloves on my cylinders then in we go for a feed and warm up.
Lovely,chatty,friendly staff and very nice food....plus plenty of bike mags,and CENTRAL HEATING.

Onwards ho...and a fabulous run ensues...mostly traffic free and no blooming 40mph 'daisy chains' in open 60mph limits.
Exactly as per my ETA I arrive at MMC Towers at 11am.
That`s 4 hours actual riding time as I stopped for petrol near Evesham in addition to my brekky stop.....not bad going at all.
Straight away Skaya had an admirer...indeed throughout the weekend Skaya and then MMC`s Ural constantly had people looking and asking about them.

I was made instantly welcome by MMC and the lovely Pip....who supplied me with fabulous bacon sandwiches and fresh ground coffee via what appeared to be a vertically challenged bong.

Sustained and introduced,we went in Pip`s car to somewhere else I`d never magaed to visit previously...the hallowed ground of F2 Motorcycles,owned by Ural dealer/guru/afficionado and all round nice guy David Angel.

This was waiting for us.........

A beautiful,lovely condition and prepared Ural 650 Dalesman.
Ain`t she sweet ?

Never mind MMC,I don`t know how anyone at all`s going to manage riding it with this sign here......

Sod the sign...this was time for cheesy pose and full gurning for the camera!

Paperwork and money changed hands and then David explained the workings of the Ural along with an abridged version of the normally comprehensive riding advice and instruction,seeing as I was teaching MMC....and David knew me from various rallies,so he knew of my combo abilities and experience.

He doesn`t look apprehensive at all,does he ?????
I think it was around this time that the 20 watt lightbulb above his head came on and he realised that he really wouldn`t have 'just bimbled nice and easily back home along the quiet Cotswold lanes'

Once ready I rode the Ural with MMC as monkey and we went to an industrial estate near Witney.
Here,I explained the nuances of combos...slight drift to left when moving off, slight drift to right when throttling off,the hazards of throttling off if the sidecar lifts which makes the combo go straight (and usually into a hedge/wall/other vehicle),etc etc.
We spent an hour with him doing right then left hand circles...figure eights and parking then reversing....with several rest breaks in between
Suitably physically and mentally drained,yet having done incredibly well,MMC relaxed in the sidecar and took some of his great photos seen in his Thread while I rode us home for a freshen up.
An evening of plentiful and delicious Chinese food and erm,perhaps an excess of wine in very good company ended a most enjoyable and rewarding day.

Sunday would be a full-on training session............

 

[DrFarkoff]

I've enjoyed both the threads Steve

I had an R80 with leading links etc that was a peach to ride in shitty weather often leaving the pocket rockets behind because you didn't worry about fallin off on yer bum

The BIG Sidecar just wouldn;t fit anywhere BUt it was a superb feeling toodling along at 60 ish with that caravan slung on the side!

I keep thinking of dragging the Velorex Adult Child down out of the loft of teh garage and banging it onto something

Maybe make some Quick detach mounts for the Escargot

 

[Tarka]

Sunday 31st January 2010

Okay...okay...we didn`t quite get out on the Ural for 7.30am as mentioned last night...but given the late hour we retired,and the long day,and the umm, imbibement the previous evening,we did well simply getting up at all.

MMC fired up the bong again,sorry,used his coffee doodah thingy,and we chomped some honeyed toast,drank coffee and talked even more about Urals than the day before.

No rush..it was still a 'tad cool' outside.....

I do love the sight of a 'Ural Convoy'......

Right,there`s only so much coffee and toast a person can manage.
MMC was chomping at the bit instead of at his toast,so LET`S GO URALLING.

MMC had proven himself to be a very good pupil the day before.
He listened attentively and immediately applied whatever advice was given.
Likewise he adjusted his riding to suit whatever observations were made.
In the industrial estate carpark we used,we were almost running out of space for the circuits and figure eights,but I always believe that training should be more difficult than the actual event.
This was proven today as when we set off,I had MMC riding straight from the off,and he took to it immediately.
It was also ideal for him to learn cold starting his new bike and manoevering from a parking space,plus riding down a fairly narrow,car lined road.

He rode in a cautious,but fairly confident manner...I knew he was going to be okay with his first combo.

He even started looking a bit happier than during David Angel`s briefing....

MMC rode around some lanes while I observed and offered advice.
I made him do various manoevres such as turning into tight left hand bays and around a lay by,plus more circuits and figure eights.
Then the Ural Spirit of Adventure bit him on seeing a muddy,frozen puddled dirt track......along it we went,just to 'see where it led'.
I won`t do this on my solos,nor will MMC on his,but my Urals always lead to exploring somehow,and it looks like he`s on his way already.....
Good on you,mate.

Then we went to a kind of airfield carpark for the most apt part of his training.
FLYING THE CHAIR.
When turning 'into' the sidecar,ie on left turns with a UK sided combo,the chair can lift.
At some point or other,it WILL LIFT.
That could be after hitting the kerb,or while clumsily accelerating to the left, or during a set of decreasing radius bends,for instance.
As stated earlier,the instinct is to shut the throttle when the chair lifts.
You really don`t want to do that,as you`ll almost certainly straighten up and go into some form of disaster.

So,you need to reccognise the feel of a chair about to lift,and you need to be able to make it happen on command..and control it from that point.
Both while in a bend and while in a straight line.

Quite apart from the safety aspect..........it`s BLOODY GOOD FUN.

Naturally,seeing as thoughts of the chair coming up had been giving MMC sleepless nights,when instructed what to do (and how to get out of it safely) and while trying to make it happen,the chair wouldn`t lift for a while.

Realising that MMC was still probably a bit apprehensive I gave him a few demos while he watched the subtle changes in steering,turning circle or body postioning required.
Once again,he showed how attentive he was when THIS happened...
His first partial flight.......

A big cheer and thumbs up,with some more yelled encouragement over his giggles and THIS happened.....

Blooming well done matey.

Back home for a delicious cooked brekky courtesy of Pip,and another hit from the bong...erm,coffee....and MMC and I decided to get naked.

Behave,missus...no tittering at the back...we removed the very effective but rather stylistically challenged screen from MMC`s Ural.
Both mine are removed and I reckon there must be hundreds of them in sheds and lofts across the land.
Ok,so you lose some weather protection but the bike looks a hell of a lot better for it......maybe refit it for subzero stuff,eh?

Fortified and thawed,we set out again for more training.

MMC`s riding and road positioning was fine,so we practised a few more flights.
No problems there...the boy`s got it.

We had a bit of a bimble...had a bit of a breakdown (just water in the floatbowls causing symptoms like going on reserve and refusal to rev above idle) and went back for another bong hit...sorry,coffee...then as a final test I thought I`d follow MMC while on my Ural to see what he looked like on the road.
His riding and handling of the combo was deemed safe and secure enough for me to let him out on his own,with the reminder that he`s still learning..Pip was suitably clad in Antarctic gear to accompany him.

And that was that.

A brilliant weekend...great company...great Ural apprentice .

In the space of 24hrs MMC had gone from never sat on a Ural,to this....

Congratulations mate......well done.......and enjoy.

 

[Ash]

.
most enjoyable

 

[Stewart H]

Great stuff, I wonder?

Stewart

 

[Aidan1150]

Nice one chaps.

 

[(RIP) Kaister]

A bit on the side ?

He said you were a bit larger than life' , but it was ok when he'd loosened up after some wine ...what did he mean ?

 

[MMC]

Conclusive proof that, with the right input, even an old lamer can get it up.

Thanks for a brilliant weekend mate, all the patience, tuition, piss-taking and ribbing. Fantastic.

Here's to the next one.

That last pic now resident as my screensaver!

 

[David Lee]

You are a Hero,

Those Combo's look quite dangerous to me

 

[Ogmios]

getting it up....

mine always popped up at the most inconvenient times.
caused endless embarrassment and unwanted attention.
if only i'd had a Svengali like wot Tarka is....
maybe i'd still have a bit on the side,
riding harder, longer and stronger.

well done both of yiz

 

[SamD]

Great report

You might have to start a little sideline in Ural tuition Tarka

I'd love one at some point, that way I might actually get the wife out on a bike with me

 

[spikerjack 46]

Great report and pics.

Love to have a go on one.

 

[makindue]

I agree with you spikerjack. I think that we should praise that poster of that report and pics.

 

[BeemerBaz]

Hmmmmmmmmm thats giving me feelings I have not experienced for a long time !!

 

[Hairnet600]

yer all mad

 

[BeemerBaz]

yer all mad

it might be a pre requisite