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My favourite/worst bike I have owned.

Open Microphone Social Night Organised by Colin

An exceptionally well attended Thursday evening meeting in the Three Compasses, Charminster- well, who could resist not waxing lyrical about their favourite and/or worst bike, and the regrets many of us have had in sending a bike on to its next chapter of existence?

57 bikes covering 20 different marques were either cherished or hated. The vast majority were cherished memories; most involved friends and/or partners.

As can be seen Triumph were the most popular marque. An interesting mix of European and Far East machines were discussed.

The organiser of the evening, Colin, kicked off with his comments about the BMWs he has owned and the trips into Europe.

He was especially complimentary on an annual BMW meeting in Alicante observing the Spanish riders know the best roads, have friendly Police who escort them, and the best restaurants to stop at.

As seen below ,we were all issued a programme informing us when it was our time to take the floor. Now heavily redacted, GPDR and all that. Looks like a page from the, oops cant mention those files.

We then heard praise for Laverdas and on the rarity of spares for these machines.

Another member extolled his time at Police Training College in Swaffham when he owned a Suzuki x5 200cc machine – a tale of a noisy machine in the college’s underground carpark, time trials at Mousehole Hill and annoying prostitutes plying their wares with the noise of his and fellow trainees’ motorcycles.

Others recalled rebuilding machines with their fathers, of parents forbidding the purchase and use of a motor bike (and so a Royal Enfield, and, a BSA B40, stored, initially, in a friend’s garage), of the sadness of their machine being stolen, and hints and tips about Triumph 2/1 to ensure the exhaust valve is greased and the dire consequences of not doing so. One member commented he had had seven (7) bikes in a 12-month period. Some poor choices me thinks.

Marque

A common theme appears to have been wanting a particular machine at all costs, e.g., a Honda CBX which cost the family’s monthly budget. A resilient marriage as they were both present tonight.

An amazing number of our members claim to have speed tested their past/present favourite machines on the German Autobahns. I’m sure a few noses grew longer…. to be honest if they had tested their bikes on the original 1930s autobahns around Berlin (I drove a car from Warsaw to London on them a few years ago) they underestimated their speed on the rough concrete slab roads! They could have gone much faster. I think some porkies may have been told!

Biggest regret of the night?

Rod selling a Brough Superior. His description of the quietness of the machine from the rider’s perspective, of being able to hear motorcycles fore and aft changing gear, and the underlying sadness of selling the machine. A few damp eyes around the function room.

This highlights the relationship each of us has with our motorcycles. They may not be a top of the range, super machine, with performance you do not need on the UK’s roads (let alone being able to use such performance); instead, they have potentially annoying idiosyncrasies which perversely bring back happy memories that make us smile. In other words, they are our personal mental health therapist. They help us face up to and cope with life’s stresses and strains, as well as the social aspect of meeting together and sharing our experiences.

In addition, I have recently been told that using our machines brings a smile to stranger’s faces as they recall their previous experiences with such machines.

Some people admitted they were not mechanically minded but enjoyed owning and riding their motorcycles; others enjoyed the challenge of renovating and bringing back to life neglected motorcycles. Something to keep each of us interested in owning wonderful mechanical marvels.

Words, mostly by Mike Davis

A talk by Simon Barker 22nd January 2026

Twenty-two SDVMCC members crowded into the back room of the Three Compasses for Simon’s talk about his travels to and through New Zealand. Although the talk was due to start at 7:30pm most members remained in the bar until the very last moment – the back room is noted for it ‘micro-climate’!

Simon began by giving us some background information on New Zealand. It has a population of under 6 million (https://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/new-zealand) with the vast majority of the population living in the North Island. The North and South Islands have an area equivalent to the UK whose population is close to 70 million (https://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/ United Kingdom). Hence the remoteness of many parts of New Zealand.

His tour began on the east coast of the North Island in the Hawkes Bay region in a town called Napier. Napier has a number of attributes that attract businesses and tourists. It is a major port exporting local goods such as wool, apples, pears, stone fruit, and wine (there are a number of well-established vineyards producing high quality wines locally) Napier is also noted for its Art Deco architecture. Napier was destroyed by a major earthquake in the Hawkes Bay region in 1931. It was rebuilt in the architectural style of the period and remains to this day. It has been referred to as the “Nice of the Pacific”. Like me Simon has an appreciation of Art Deco style.

The tour continued south across the Cook Straits to the South Island. He visited the Classic Motorcycle Museum at Nelson prior to its closure. He told us a bit about a New Zealand engineering icon, John Britten, and his development of a series of racing motorcycles, the Britten V1000, build and developed in the 1990s. John Britten caught the world of motorcycling’s attention with a series of performances. For instance, on the 3rd December 1993 a Britten V1000 set the World Flying Mile Record at 188.082mph. A record held to this day. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Britten_V1000 The museum and its stock of motorcycles was almost lost to the world when it closed. It was bought at the last moment by an entrepreneur and transported to the south of the island at the last moment. It is now installed in Invercargill – the website makes it a very attractive prospect to visit. (https://www.motorcyclemecca.nz/)

Simon’s journey continued south on a rented BMW RT1200 which he found a reliable and comfortable steed. He followed the road through Arthur’s Pass, a deep valley with steep sides which identifies the edges Australian and Pacific tectonic plates. This road was initially opened up by the Otago Region gold rush between 1861 and 1864. Then it was just a dirt track. From Simon’s description I got the feeling it is only slightly better – river bed cemented together to form a ‘flat’ surface. To be honest it did not sound particularly comfortable, but the great thing about the RT1200 it soaks up these bumps to provide a smooth ride. Still would not like to come off on such a surface though.

The end of the road was at Fjord Land – an excellent description of the geography of the area, Apparently tour boats go out on the fjord and play music directed at the water – it attracts Hector’s Dolphins (named after the New Zealand scientist and explorer James Hector 1834-1907), an endangered species of dolphin due to bycatch in gill nets and trawls, disease and genetic issues. They favour shallow waters. Marine protection areas have been established in an attempt to preserve the species.

New Zealanders have a reputation for enjoying outdoor lifestyles, and this means not only eating from a barbecue regularly. Simon visited Queens Town, an epicentre for outdoor sports. A great place if you are interested in skiing (water and snow), jet boarding, bungy jumping, mountain biking, paragliding, etc. All sports I know the readers of this article and SDVMCC members relish to participate in.

Finally, Simon showed a video of riding through Arthur’s Pass and further afield. I must confess looking at the shadow of the bike, rider and passenger, I did wonder if Teletubbies’s Dipsy was in the driving seat? See attached photographs. Many thanks to Simon for the talk and for clarifying some points for me.

Mike Davis