What a great ride, but firstly who was Eddie Sim?
Eddie Sim was one of the founding members of the vintage motorcycle section of the Auckland Veteran and Vintage Car Club. The section was founded in the early 1960s and the run is in acknowledgement of his contribution to the vintage motorcycling scene.
The Run itself
Thanks to Monty Wray for plotting the run, The instructions were great, easy to follow and clear and concise, just what is needed when you have your hands full of levers and a foot trying to tame the incredible 2 3/4 HP through the tiny rear brake.( the front brake being optional depending on how it feels on the day)
Thanks also to Alan Grout who manned the start/finish and handed out the instructions.
There was about 12 bikes at the start, I dont know for sure because I’m not very observant, I’m sure i’ll get better as I go along (blogwise). I did take some photos but we’ve all seen 50’s and 60’s brit bikes before so I cant be bothered putting them on the site.
It was good to see another vintage bike at the start but he had at least 650cc more than my 350cc so I didnt see much of him on the road, or almost anyone else for that matter… though I did ride with a guy on a Velo for quite a bit, he told at the finish that he was trying to maintain the 35mph average speed called for in the rally notes, which allowed me to actually keep him in sight for about 1/2 of the 80 miles traveled. (he subsequently told me that I was maintaining about 35mph along the flat parts, which is great but any hill I hit just killed that speed dead)
The ride itself took in some great country roads, and in this rough order, through Papakura, Drury, Paparata, Managtawhiri, Mercer, Pukekawa, Tuakau, Waiau Pa and Kingseat. The weather threatened rain but it never appeared.
Bikewise , Genevieve ( for that is what she is called , though who knows where Arthur is?) performed bloody well. The only minor fly in the ointment is the lack of bungees in the saddle( they are there they just dont attach to much), which has left me feeling like I have been rectally examined by McSnotty wearing Large welding gloves, ouch. Fixing the saddle is now at the top of my list but I’m sure apathy will prevent me doing anything about it in the short term.
All in all I enjoyed the ride, It would be nice to see a few more Vintage and Veteran bike on the rally, maybe next year we can arrange for a few more to start as its always nice to ride in small groups for support and the inevitable piss-taking about who’s bike is slowest 😉
I have to go now as sitting down for too long still holds bad memories for me
Try and keep the air at the bottom of your tyres
Knobby