Younger and older ends

[richson]

I was reading the Spares List thread earlier. Tommys post struck a chord in that it said that there was little going on to promote it (club membership) to the younger end. Whilst I think that is in one way true, there is a also a different side to the coin. My own experience is that on the face of it the club on the whole has a fairly senior membership which can be daunting for the lesser experienced and invariably younger enthusiasts, but when in need of help and advice those senior members are very keen and very enthusiastic to lend their support. At the recent Cavalcade I would have been stranded for sure were it not for a gathering of helpers who sorted out the problem between them and gave the electrics and carbs a good service into the bargain! Also, thanks to one kindly observer, the fact that 5 of the bolts retaining the rear sprocket had fallen out and the remaining 3 were loose probably saved me from a trip down the road on my own saddle. . .
I suppose the point is that a whilst its handy to get information online, meeting other enthusiasts and learning from them is far more important, and that is done by participating in club activities.  What you get from ordering a part from a list is just that, but, and as I’m sure many club members have found out, with the club setup as is you actually get more than that if you ask. You can learn that the part you need can be fitted in a particular way that can improve the performance and reliability of the bike, and that other possible related improvements can be made. This sort of service you just do not get from the fast access, rapid turnaround almost anonymous providers of the internet age. Club membership and participation is the way for the younger end to get the most from their Douglas without any doubt, and association with the older end is going to be the most help. A bit of old time communication and appreciation for the way the older end may want to do things at the moment is a very small price to pay. Having said all that yes, I would like to see a spares list online or somewhere!

[gsx1100s]

Just wondering exactly what "older" is.....
I'm a nieve slightly childish thirty nine, does that count as the younger or older end ? 

cheers Michael

 

[KiwiJohn]

If you are only 'slightly childish' then you are still at the younger end.

[eddie]

I thought you were only as old as you feel! or as a comedian from the other side of the 'pond' once said 'your only as old as the woman you feel'. ( Are we still allowed to say that in these days of political correctness?)
 

[tommy]

I thought you were only as old as you feel! or as a comedian from the other side of the 'pond' once said 'your only as old as the woman you feel'. ( Are we still allowed to say that in these days of political correctness?)

An old boy once told me that the only problem with becoming a grandfather is that you may have to sleep with a grandmother!
(probably can't say that anymore either) One would still hope so.

[tommy]

Thanks for your thoughts, understanding and in some sorts support on this.
Douglas has been in the garage/family all my life. I have photos of me at the age of 2 astride a MKI and onwards helping paint frames of MKV etc. I joined VMCC at the age of 17 to take part the vintage event on the Isle of Man.
As I had just passed my test I rode a Honda 400 four with my father on the MKV. We met Dennis Reed that year 1987 and swapped a Douglas mudguard with him outside his photography shop in Ramsey. The Honda was as Dennis called it “the gentleman’s four”
On my birthday, always in TT week 7th June a year later, I first saw Adrian Hetherington.
I was sat, this time on the MKV at Ballacraine traffic lights. The bike was behaving badly with petrol pi*sing out of the left float chamber and trying to stall.
Father had gone through the lights on the MKI and I was waiting to turn right at the crossroads to go against the flow of the course. Adrian (whom I did not know) was banging his right shoulder with his left hand furiously and pointing at the bike.
I could not make it out and as the lights changed, set off as the roads were about to close. I got as far as the highlander pub.
The marshal pulled me in and the bike packed up. My father was already there and it was a great place to spend my birthday. Open fire, good food, a bit of beer and watching bikes come through one of the fastest parts of the road, lying on the pavement taking photos.

The bike still did not want to start and felt like it had ceased and very hard to kick over. Ran it back to Peel and stripped it in the vicar’s garden. It was the mag that had Shellac Titus.
Fixed it in the garden next day and carried on.

Later met Adrian for real and found on his shoulder a sewn on badge with LDMCC on it. My machine had one of the cast ally ones on. That was what he was pointing at.
It did not connect (I was not a member) and I was trying to keep the bike engine going and trying to beat roads closed!
Adrian had all the facilities if I had known. 
 
For years after we used to meet with Adrian, Bob Thomas, Clive, Dennis Reed, his son, Bryn Williams and many others at Bob’s for afternoon tea at his house.
We used to run all of Bob’s machines round his grounds when he had a bad hip and could not ride.
VERY HAPPY TIMES.

Sadly Dennis, Bob and Bryn are no longer with us, but I enjoyed my time with them, even though we were two/three generations apart. 
The theme was motorcycles and Douglas happened to be the brand, although Bob had others in the stable.
There was no “CLUB”. Just friendship and motorcycles.

Had a good dice with Adrian on the Clypse circuit one year to Peel. The coast road was fantastic and I knew it well by then. The sun was shining and the sea glittering.
Adrian was two up with his lovely daughter on his 80+ and me solo on a well breathing MKV. About = at the end of the day but Adrian kindly let me ride his 80 solo from the old forge and it opened my eyes!!

I am very comfortable in the company of oldies. I prefer it to the people out on the streets my own age and younger.
A genuine motorcyclist will always come to the aid of another. Do not confuse with club membership.

So, WHO??? Prepared your machine to loose 5 of 8 securing bolts on your final drive!!! The remaining 3 loose.
Did you try a spanner, locktite; shake proof or split washers, nylocks or a dammed welder!!!!!!!!!!
You have not identified the problem that caused you to stop yet. This was just an observation from a bystander!
Into the bargain you had the electrics and carbs serviced! For free!
You don’t need a web link or credit card for that one.
This is basics!!!!
You don’t take to the road on a club run with sub standard machinery.

WHEN it is on the road and you get to break down at the cavalcade. That would be a pleasure!
Then you meet people to give you varying degrees of advice (some good, others obscene) THE EXACT DAMNED POINT.
You can not take part in the enjoyment of the machine on the road, the chat, the helpful advice, if the bloody thing is in 1,000 pieces on the shed floor with no spares list!
Age has no barriers there. It is the same classic and modern.
Modern, they can go to the dealers, see the microfiche for bits and order right from stock or within two days.
 
Perhaps you would not have had so many faults on the road, if you had gone by the book and ordered your spares from the microfiche, club list, Douglas dealer (sadly gone), local garage, Internet list etc???????
But you did not have that did you? Only the back up of?????
Here’s hoping you get out and break down again soon. The essence of old bike life


The advice you got at the road side was not a service (you have to pay for that) it was advice in the hope of you getting back to base.
It will take more than the club and this web site to correct that.
You deserve to go up the road on your arse!
I would weld them if I were you!! Not your arse. The final drive. Then again. Both could be handy.

I have been a CLUB member for many years, but decided not to rejoin and sell most machines.

Even the oldies have to harness modern tech.
How old are “the older end” ??
Many are still online here though!

Tommy