It was Anna’s turn to play out again last weekend. We’d applied to display at the Malpas Yesteryear Rally a few months ago and part of the deal was free camping so, even though it was only half an hour up the road, I opted to camp on the Saturday night to take in the full atmosphere.
But first I needed to give Anna her first post-rebuild service as the initial very easy running in miles are pretty much done now.
I spent a pleasant few hours doing an oil change and cleaning both filters; adjusting valves; checking cylinder head bolts; check primary drive chain etc and then had a general fettling session. I was pleased to see that when I put a strong magnet in the old oil, there were only a small amount of very fine metal particles attached to it, which I guess is what I’d hoped to see after the initial running in.
While the primary drive cover was off, I had a good look at the clutch again to try and get to the bottom of the clutch drag issues I’ve been having when she’s hot. I stripped all the plates off and just took the slightest amount of material off each of the friction plates - just enough to give a fresh cork face. Then I also gave the outermost pressure plate another clean up on the sander. When I reassembled everything, I put a couple of washers under each of the springs as they looked “spring bound” - i.e. most of the tension already taken up, which I’d been told might have also affected the performance. Anna was a delight to ride after that lot! The clutch has a really nice feel to it and the hot dragging has gone, so I can select neutral and first more easily at lights at last.
Loaded up with camping gear again, we set off late afternoon and by 6 pm had established base camp for the night. I went for a wander to find a coffee (I’d forgotten to pack some 🙄) and familiarise myself with everything, then settled in to make some spaghetti and read a book in the sunset while I enjoyed a couple of beers and people / tractor watched! Just as I decided to head inside, a huge storm shower blew in - good timing.
The following morning was bright and sunny and I was up early to move Anna onto the display area, before grabbing a coffee and bacon roll on the way back to the tent. (Unfortunately, I forgot the muesli as well as the coffee - oh dear, what a shame ...😁).
There was a really nice variety of bikes on show, including a multitude of various styles of Honda "monkey bikes", which seem to have become very collectable recently. I was really taken with this 1962 Heinkel Tourist scooter, which just oozed Sixties styling and had been beautifully restored.
The show is huge and covers a real array of vehicle types. I went for a mooch and realised that an ex-colleague Mark was also displaying at the show. His exhibit was somewhat more impressive - a proper old steam roller "Samson", together with his caravan.
Back down to earth with a bump, I returned to my much more modest effort and joined the parade around the display ring.
My mate Paul arrived during the morning and so we had a good catch up and stroll around. We both found a bit of a fascination for the stationary engines, including one running a cement mixer. As usual, we decided that restoring one would be great and we must do it. As usual, we have forgotten about it a week later 😂.
As the day drew to a close at around 4.30, there was a monumental downpour, which saw everyone head for shelter in the beer tent! By the time it had stopped, it was time to take the bike back up to the tent and pack up.
A very pleasant adventure was capped off with a superb ride home. After getting past a queue of traffic held up by some of the slower exhibits, I had a clear run down the A41.
