Distinguished Gentleman's Ride 2017 update

Further to my last post about the Distinguished Gentleman's Ride, it's now only 4 weeks to go and there are 25,000 riders booked in world wide, and US$1.1 million has been raised towards the US$5 million target.

There are 87 riders booked for the Glasgow ride so far, so we should have a good turnout. We are going to have a 45 minute stop at George Square for photos and so the public can see the bikes (and riders!) After that we ride on to an event at Triumph Glasgow's showroom at Hillington. If you're in the area, please come along and support the event.

One aspect to the DGR that I disagree with is the so called 'style guide', which lists the types of bikes welcome. I thought this was about people dressing up and raising money for charity, rather than restricting it to certain types of bike. Especially when some of the styles - bobbers, brat style, etc - are likely to be as transient a fashion style as the hipsters who ride them. Why not open it up to every style of bike and scooter? But it's not my ride, so I don't make the rules.

However, the style guide would allow in old Eastern European bikes. Back in my MZ 2 stroke days this would have been the sort of thing we would have jumped at, so come on MZers, Jawa/CZ riders, and those of you with old Soviet bikes - sign up and outnumber the hipsters! We want more bikes like this!

And what about you Royal Enfield riders? Let's see you there!

I'll probably post again before the event, don't forget to donate on my page.

(Thanks to Stuart Anderson for his recent donation).

More time in the garage

Had a busy weekend in the garage and have my Yamaha SZR 660 'restoration project' nearly finished. It's only taken me about 4 years, and the previous owner had 'abandoned' it in a shed for another 4 years before I bought it, so it's been a long time since it's been on the road.

It just need a bit of 'finishing', a polish, some badges and an MOT (British safety check) and it'll be back on the road. I don't intend on keeping it, (handlebars far too low for me), so it'll be up for sale soon.

The SZR 660 is a fairly rare bike, built in Italy and as far as I know, not sold outside of Europe. It consisted of a XTZ 660 engine in a frame based on the TZR 250. It had an output of 48 bhp which with its 159kg kerb weight, gave a nice sporting package. Built from 1996 to 2001, it sold in very low numbers due to very high price and ugly styling even by 90s standards. It has high quality wheels, brakes and suspension (Brembo and Paioli) and the lowest saddle height (690mm) of any bike I've had - it also taught me never to buy a bike without a centre stand again! Even simple jobs become a hassle.

It's been an interesting project, but it's not really  a bike for me.

I also repaired a mobile generator.

It had been left on my driveway by a friend, and they told me that it backfired and spluttered, but wouldn't start. I cleaned out the carb (dirt in the fuel is a common problem with these as they're used outdoors in dirty conditions), but everything seemed OK. I didn't have a plug spanner small enough to take the spark plug out, but could check that the ignition was firing.

There was a sticker on the side saying that it was fitted with a system that if the oil level was low, the engine would cut out. I checked and the oil didn't even get onto the dipstick! Oil topped up and it started with no problem. Wolf obviously know that typical owners never check the oil before the engine seizes - can think of some people who have done that with bikes!!!!!

Friday bike

Saw an interesting bike at the Coupes Moto Legende in May this year, so did a bit of searching to see what I could find out about it.

I'm not able to access the photos I took, so have used ones I found on the Web

Revatto 125 JBB

Very few details of this bike other than it was developed jointly by French (?) company ESTM and Chinese bike firm Baotian.

It was on a stall with a number of race bikes with the same front end (referred to as JBB), and used a Chinese 125cc 'clone' engine of Japanese origin.

It had been shown at a number of bikes shows since 2006, but hasn't (yet) reached production.

Saturday car

As I'd previously posted, my Volvo was up for sale. Well, it sold yesterday so I could arrange to collect the car I'd bought about a month ago. I didn't want to tax and insure two cars, so this one had been 'stored' on someone's driveway.

I'm not really that 'into' cars, but I like things that are stylish and well built, so bought a 2005 Mercedes Benz E220 estate.

I wasn't really looking for another car but it came up at the right price at the right time. It's a 2.2 litre diesel, and is the first car I've owned with automatic transmission. This has taken a bit of getting used to (you always feel you should be doing more!), but I bought an automatic scooter last year and that's worked out OK.

It's really nice to drive, very smooth and stable, and the dashboard has lots of buttons to press - some of which I have no idea what they do!

I particularly like the cream leather interior!

Distinguished Gentleman's Ride 2017

As some of you will know, the Distinguished Gentleman's Ride is a world wide motorcycle charity event held each year on 24th September. The idea is for riders to dress up in their finery, follow a route through various cities, and end up at a meeting place. Riders are sponsored and funds raised go towards combatting prostate cancer and men's mental health.

This year I'll be taking part in the Glasgow run on my Bonneville. Last year they had 56,000 participants in 505 cities in 90 countries, and raised US$ 3.6 million. This year they are hoping for even more.

The Glasgow route will be from the Fort Shopping Centre, a 45 minute stop at George Square to show off the bikes, then on to Triumph Glasgow in Hillington where and event has been planned. So if you're in the area, come along to cheer us on! (End of September in Glasgow - bound to be cold and wet!)

It's not just for Gentlemen - Gentleladies are welcome too!

DGR website with details of all the rides and how to register: here

DGR Facebook page: here

And if you can't make it along to your local event, please donate on my page: here

Last year's Glasgow run: