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DANNY'S EUROPEAN ROAD TRIP
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It seemed like a good idea at the time 1800 miles in 10 days on a scooter (well it’s a GTV 250 but it says Vespa on the front) with a few mates, we had a few line up changes due to unforeseen police action regarding crop cultivation but that’s an entirely different story and not mine to tell. So the final line up was Me (Danny Gemini sc) Rick Marshall riding a Vespa GTS 300, Andy (Muddy) Mudd riding a Honda VFR400 and last but certainly not least everyones favourite builder back from Oz for a limited time only, one Duane (Bradford St George) Colley, hanging grimly to the handlebars of his ¼ ton 1420cc Harley Davidson Fatboy, which prior to this trip he had only ridden for 20 miles (in 1 mile stints never leaving 1st gear)
The route –
15.5.09 – Leeds to Hull 68 miles
16.5.09 – Europoort to Freiburg im Breisgau (Germany) 433 miles (ouch)
17.5.09 – Freiburg to Desenzano del Garda (Italy) 321 miles
18.5.09 –
19.5.09 – two days spent bumming around Lake Garda
20.5.09 – Desenzano to Bregenz (Austria) 261 miles
21.5.09 - Bregenz to Bad Herrenalb (Germany) 178 miles
22.5.09 Bad Herrenalb to Bastogne (Belgium) 231 miles
23.5.09 Bastogne – Ypres – Oostende 223 miles
24.5.09 Oostende – Diksmuide –Zeebrugge 88 miles
25.5.09 Hull to Leeds 68 miles
We set off from Leeds in the pissing rain, by the time we had got to Hull we were soaked, but soon cheered up when we boarded the ferry and hit the bar. Next day was the ‘Big Grueller’ 433 bum numbing miles till we hit our first hotel. As we stopped to refuel (5 times) we lingered longer and longer reluctant to carry on, this was all forgotten as soon as we were sinking ice cold lager and stuffing our faces with steak and chips in the hotels beer garden under a cloudless sky. We discovered that Duane is the most unprepared human being on the planet, he had turned up for this trip in borrowed leather pants, a borrowed full face helmet (he doesn’t own one!) and borrowed original Harley Davidson Genuine Leather saddle bags, which turned out to look good on the bike but were in fact of no real use, as they don’t actually carry much. Those of you who do know Duane will know he spent much time cajoling us into caarying stuff for him. I had a brilliant system for travelling light, I’d gone to Matalan, bought cheap T shirts , socks and skidders, and each night binned the worn items, so my bag got lighter each day and stooped it from smelling of mucky washing. Next day we were up early, into breakfast where we nicked food for the day ahead (this saved us lots of dosh ), we then loaded the bikes and headed off into Switzerland, through the San Gotthard road tunnel ( at 10.5 miles, currently the longest road tunnel in the world) and out the other side down into Italy and onto Lake Garda – here my missus and Ricks girlfriend flew out to meet us for a couple of days. We did the touristy thing visiting lakeside towns and even heading off on the train to Verona for a peek at the Roman Arena there.
On the Wednesday it was time to start heading home, so we said ‘bye’ to the lasses and headed up the San Bernadino Pass towards Austria and Lake Constance. We arrived in Bregenz in good time and took advantage of the many bars dotted along the lakeside.
The next day we headed into the Black Forest in Germany and stopped in a picturesque town called Bad Herrenalb. It was here we encountered a bit of animosity towards us as English – it was a strange place anyway (you could hear duelling banjo music, I swear)
It was also the only time on our trip it rained since leaving Blighty and three of us got Gatso’d ( the krauts don’t paint their speed cameras yellow or warn you with well placed signs) anyway I’m still waiting for the ticket to come through.
Onto Bastogne, which is a town a bit like Otley (but without the fighting) in the Ardennes in Belgium. Bastogne was the centre of the Battle of the Bulge in WWII, where the yanks were surrounded for a couple of weeks by crack SS troops, needless to say the townspeople have a lot of time for the Americans and there is a monument dedicated to the fallen in the shape of a five pointed star and also a museum with lots of artifacts from both sides, in the town square theres a Sherman tank and lots of bars. Another thing about Belgian bars is there is no NO Smoking ban, which is strange cos you get used to being able to breath in English pubs, but in Belgium it was just like the old days, our eyes were stinging all night and our clothes stunk like dog-ends, quality – not.
So the trip was nearing its end and we headed for Oostende and met up with a raiding party of the Gemini, so we spent the next night bar hopping and catching up with the lads. Next day we all rode out to Diksmuide to look at the WWI memorial and museum there and then headed off to Zeebrugge and the ferry back to Hull.
It was in Zeebrugge we got one of the biggest laughs of the entire trip, the 30+ members of the Gemini were denied access to the ferry because of their ‘boisterous’ behaviour on their outbound sailing – so we sat in the bar all smug whilst they had to beg to be let on. Eventually the Captain agreed to board them, but they had to surrender their passports as a guarantee of their good behaviour – and honestly I know the Gemini’s reputation proceeds them but you have never seen so many well behaved little sailors, bless ‘em.
Next day it was back on English soil and a quick blast along the M62 and home.
It seemed like a good idea at the time 1800 miles in 10 days on a scooter (well it’s a GTV 250 but it says Vespa on the front) with a few mates, we had a few line up changes due to unforeseen police action regarding crop cultivation but that’s an entirely different story and not mine to tell. So the final line up was Me (Danny Gemini sc) Rick Marshall riding a Vespa GTS 300, Andy (Muddy) Mudd riding a Honda VFR400 and last but certainly not least everyones favourite builder back from Oz for a limited time only, one Duane (Bradford St George) Colley, hanging grimly to the handlebars of his ¼ ton 1420cc Harley Davidson Fatboy, which prior to this trip he had only ridden for 20 miles (in 1 mile stints never leaving 1st gear)
The route –
15.5.09 – Leeds to Hull 68 miles
16.5.09 – Europoort to Freiburg im Breisgau (Germany) 433 miles (ouch)
17.5.09 – Freiburg to Desenzano del Garda (Italy) 321 miles
18.5.09 –
19.5.09 – two days spent bumming around Lake Garda
20.5.09 – Desenzano to Bregenz (Austria) 261 miles
21.5.09 - Bregenz to Bad Herrenalb (Germany) 178 miles
22.5.09 Bad Herrenalb to Bastogne (Belgium) 231 miles
23.5.09 Bastogne – Ypres – Oostende 223 miles
24.5.09 Oostende – Diksmuide –Zeebrugge 88 miles
25.5.09 Hull to Leeds 68 miles
We set off from Leeds in the pissing rain, by the time we had got to Hull we were soaked, but soon cheered up when we boarded the ferry and hit the bar. Next day was the ‘Big Grueller’ 433 bum numbing miles till we hit our first hotel. As we stopped to refuel (5 times) we lingered longer and longer reluctant to carry on, this was all forgotten as soon as we were sinking ice cold lager and stuffing our faces with steak and chips in the hotels beer garden under a cloudless sky. We discovered that Duane is the most unprepared human being on the planet, he had turned up for this trip in borrowed leather pants, a borrowed full face helmet (he doesn’t own one!) and borrowed original Harley Davidson Genuine Leather saddle bags, which turned out to look good on the bike but were in fact of no real use, as they don’t actually carry much. Those of you who do know Duane will know he spent much time cajoling us into caarying stuff for him. I had a brilliant system for travelling light, I’d gone to Matalan, bought cheap T shirts , socks and skidders, and each night binned the worn items, so my bag got lighter each day and stooped it from smelling of mucky washing. Next day we were up early, into breakfast where we nicked food for the day ahead (this saved us lots of dosh ), we then loaded the bikes and headed off into Switzerland, through the San Gotthard road tunnel ( at 10.5 miles, currently the longest road tunnel in the world) and out the other side down into Italy and onto Lake Garda – here my missus and Ricks girlfriend flew out to meet us for a couple of days. We did the touristy thing visiting lakeside towns and even heading off on the train to Verona for a peek at the Roman Arena there.
On the Wednesday it was time to start heading home, so we said ‘bye’ to the lasses and headed up the San Bernadino Pass towards Austria and Lake Constance. We arrived in Bregenz in good time and took advantage of the many bars dotted along the lakeside.
The next day we headed into the Black Forest in Germany and stopped in a picturesque town called Bad Herrenalb. It was here we encountered a bit of animosity towards us as English – it was a strange place anyway (you could hear duelling banjo music, I swear)
It was also the only time on our trip it rained since leaving Blighty and three of us got Gatso’d ( the krauts don’t paint their speed cameras yellow or warn you with well placed signs) anyway I’m still waiting for the ticket to come through.
Onto Bastogne, which is a town a bit like Otley (but without the fighting) in the Ardennes in Belgium. Bastogne was the centre of the Battle of the Bulge in WWII, where the yanks were surrounded for a couple of weeks by crack SS troops, needless to say the townspeople have a lot of time for the Americans and there is a monument dedicated to the fallen in the shape of a five pointed star and also a museum with lots of artifacts from both sides, in the town square theres a Sherman tank and lots of bars. Another thing about Belgian bars is there is no NO Smoking ban, which is strange cos you get used to being able to breath in English pubs, but in Belgium it was just like the old days, our eyes were stinging all night and our clothes stunk like dog-ends, quality – not.
So the trip was nearing its end and we headed for Oostende and met up with a raiding party of the Gemini, so we spent the next night bar hopping and catching up with the lads. Next day we all rode out to Diksmuide to look at the WWI memorial and museum there and then headed off to Zeebrugge and the ferry back to Hull.
It was in Zeebrugge we got one of the biggest laughs of the entire trip, the 30+ members of the Gemini were denied access to the ferry because of their ‘boisterous’ behaviour on their outbound sailing – so we sat in the bar all smug whilst they had to beg to be let on. Eventually the Captain agreed to board them, but they had to surrender their passports as a guarantee of their good behaviour – and honestly I know the Gemini’s reputation proceeds them but you have never seen so many well behaved little sailors, bless ‘em.
Next day it was back on English soil and a quick blast along the M62 and home.
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CARL OSBOURNE (WHITE LIGHTNING) - MY SCOOTERING LIFE
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I started with a Lambretta Li150 in1979. I traded this for a Yellow “V Reg” Indian GP200. I'd heard that Vespa scooters never broke down, so I somehow ended up with a P200E... but at least it had a Lambretta mudguard. Then I “saw the light” again, and having had thoughts about buying a Dyrospeed, I phoned Dave Webster to ask about a carburettor, and ended up buying his own personal DJ240. This was still not quite completed, but was sat in his dining room. I wanted a few “extras” that Dave sorted, and so the scooter was now mine.
I owned this for around 18 months, then sold it and decided to join the scooter-racing scene with MSC and Leicester Lambretta racing Team. I spent three years being “Dave's Dogsbody”; we'd often meet up, say at the Salt Box cafe on the A38 on the way to Three Sisters. I raced a Powder Blue Grp3 Dj150, and the spec was exactly the same as Dave's long stroke motor. But somehow mine was always just that bit faster. From the start I'd often streak off into the lead... but that could have been because I only weighed 8 stone at the time.
Thinking back, my best race placing was a 4th..... but there were some bits of history along the way. I once overtook Bob West on his Taffspeed Grp4 200 on the back straight at Pembrey. He came across and wanted to know what I'd done to it! And there was a Lydden event that I didn't race at, so Malc Anderson from MSC decided to race my bike. He'd never ever raced anything but Grp4 200's, but on that day, on MY bike, he beat Dave Webster! After that, I drifted away from the scooter scene completely.
I was still in touch with Dave, but from say 1985, suddenly twenty five years later, I caught the bug again, and in MSC I found a totally standard Indian GP200 in orange, and that was it. I was back. I ran that scooter for around a year, and then met up again with Vince Smith, who I discovered had moved from Nottingham to Rotherham. I was at Donington Park in 2008 at a race meet with Dave and bumped into Chalky (also ex LLRT) from Replay Scooters who happened to mention that my old DJ240 might be available for sale. I tracked it down to Northampton..... but by now the beautiful gold and white pinstriped paintwork by Ralph Saxelby, was gone to be replaced by plain apple green.
One owner, knowing the bike was “Ex Dave Webster”, had a mural airbrushed to the legshield of “Dave Webster Racing”.... but when Dave saw it, his comment was “That's not me..... it’s Mick Hayman!” That mural is still there, and at the end of 2009, I still own this scooter and it's still green. Having met up with Vince, who allowed me to ride his own GP “Red Raw”... I decided the time had come to tune my GP, so the next year or 18months was spent trying various permutations of carbs and barrels and exhausts.... but still with standard bodywork. On the way to the Isle of Wight, my babe Wendy ran in the back of me..... at least that's PROOF of the fact that I really was riding it there!
The frame and rear panels were bent and battered..... Hence the decision made to undertake a complete rebuild. I'd been out of the scene for so long that some of the ideas that began to evolve were different to what most other people were doing. I saw a die-cast toy LeMans car, it was a Porsche with a different style of paintwork that really caught my eye, and so the ideas began to develop as to how I could incorporate these ideas into my Lambretta paint scheme. I found later the car was part of a motor sport organisation in the USA named “White Lightning Racing”, (Chalky White was a complete coincidence…) and so this paintwork became the basis for my Lambretta. I'd spoken to several people around who recommended KAS racepaint, so I tripped along to Kettering to see Paul. I emailed him some photos, and he tweaked the images I'd sent so they'd work on Lambretta panelwork.
I needed somewhere to keep all the nick-nacks, so here was where an LD glovebox came in useful, and this contains the Micron4 tacho that incorporates the display for my cylinder head and exhaust gas temperature sensors. With the paint scheme now settled I wanted to work out the rest of the scooter, and using ideas based on Vince’s Lambretta I decided I wanted to keep the handlebars tidy, but also wanted to use a hydraulic front brake, with built in anti dive. I decided to install a hidden master cylinder behind the horncover. Why so much grief over the front brake? Well, three years racing taught me that if you have something that is QUICK, then it's just as important to be able to get it to STOP.
I had decided right from the outset of this project, that whatever it was I ended up with, it was going to be USED, not stored, and it used in anger when the time was right. Work on the engine now continued, and I liked the idea of a powder coated casing as it makes the engine so very easy to keep clean, and it was the special CHROME finish that AEROCOAT have that attracted my attention. The motor internals were entrusted to Chalky from Replay scooter, and I settled on a 62mm stoke crankshaft using a 115mm con-rod and a pack plate under the cylinder to make the deck height correct.
I had thought long and hard about the reed-valve option, but as my race experience was always for the older style piston-port motor, this was where my sentiment lay. I chose a Mikuni 35mm power-jet carburettor, with the intention to use an electrically controlled additional jet to increase top-end richness as required. For ignition I use the standard Indian steel flywheel, but lightened, with a BGM 120 stator and Agusto advance/retard box. I found a perfect late series pacemaker gearbox, and run this with a FoxHat six-plate clutch and 17x46 sprockets. Apart from being very carefully built with only the very very best components that are available.... that's it!
Carl Osbourne.
I started with a Lambretta Li150 in1979. I traded this for a Yellow “V Reg” Indian GP200. I'd heard that Vespa scooters never broke down, so I somehow ended up with a P200E... but at least it had a Lambretta mudguard. Then I “saw the light” again, and having had thoughts about buying a Dyrospeed, I phoned Dave Webster to ask about a carburettor, and ended up buying his own personal DJ240. This was still not quite completed, but was sat in his dining room. I wanted a few “extras” that Dave sorted, and so the scooter was now mine.
I owned this for around 18 months, then sold it and decided to join the scooter-racing scene with MSC and Leicester Lambretta racing Team. I spent three years being “Dave's Dogsbody”; we'd often meet up, say at the Salt Box cafe on the A38 on the way to Three Sisters. I raced a Powder Blue Grp3 Dj150, and the spec was exactly the same as Dave's long stroke motor. But somehow mine was always just that bit faster. From the start I'd often streak off into the lead... but that could have been because I only weighed 8 stone at the time.
Thinking back, my best race placing was a 4th..... but there were some bits of history along the way. I once overtook Bob West on his Taffspeed Grp4 200 on the back straight at Pembrey. He came across and wanted to know what I'd done to it! And there was a Lydden event that I didn't race at, so Malc Anderson from MSC decided to race my bike. He'd never ever raced anything but Grp4 200's, but on that day, on MY bike, he beat Dave Webster! After that, I drifted away from the scooter scene completely.
I was still in touch with Dave, but from say 1985, suddenly twenty five years later, I caught the bug again, and in MSC I found a totally standard Indian GP200 in orange, and that was it. I was back. I ran that scooter for around a year, and then met up again with Vince Smith, who I discovered had moved from Nottingham to Rotherham. I was at Donington Park in 2008 at a race meet with Dave and bumped into Chalky (also ex LLRT) from Replay Scooters who happened to mention that my old DJ240 might be available for sale. I tracked it down to Northampton..... but by now the beautiful gold and white pinstriped paintwork by Ralph Saxelby, was gone to be replaced by plain apple green.
One owner, knowing the bike was “Ex Dave Webster”, had a mural airbrushed to the legshield of “Dave Webster Racing”.... but when Dave saw it, his comment was “That's not me..... it’s Mick Hayman!” That mural is still there, and at the end of 2009, I still own this scooter and it's still green. Having met up with Vince, who allowed me to ride his own GP “Red Raw”... I decided the time had come to tune my GP, so the next year or 18months was spent trying various permutations of carbs and barrels and exhausts.... but still with standard bodywork. On the way to the Isle of Wight, my babe Wendy ran in the back of me..... at least that's PROOF of the fact that I really was riding it there!
The frame and rear panels were bent and battered..... Hence the decision made to undertake a complete rebuild. I'd been out of the scene for so long that some of the ideas that began to evolve were different to what most other people were doing. I saw a die-cast toy LeMans car, it was a Porsche with a different style of paintwork that really caught my eye, and so the ideas began to develop as to how I could incorporate these ideas into my Lambretta paint scheme. I found later the car was part of a motor sport organisation in the USA named “White Lightning Racing”, (Chalky White was a complete coincidence…) and so this paintwork became the basis for my Lambretta. I'd spoken to several people around who recommended KAS racepaint, so I tripped along to Kettering to see Paul. I emailed him some photos, and he tweaked the images I'd sent so they'd work on Lambretta panelwork.
I needed somewhere to keep all the nick-nacks, so here was where an LD glovebox came in useful, and this contains the Micron4 tacho that incorporates the display for my cylinder head and exhaust gas temperature sensors. With the paint scheme now settled I wanted to work out the rest of the scooter, and using ideas based on Vince’s Lambretta I decided I wanted to keep the handlebars tidy, but also wanted to use a hydraulic front brake, with built in anti dive. I decided to install a hidden master cylinder behind the horncover. Why so much grief over the front brake? Well, three years racing taught me that if you have something that is QUICK, then it's just as important to be able to get it to STOP.
I had decided right from the outset of this project, that whatever it was I ended up with, it was going to be USED, not stored, and it used in anger when the time was right. Work on the engine now continued, and I liked the idea of a powder coated casing as it makes the engine so very easy to keep clean, and it was the special CHROME finish that AEROCOAT have that attracted my attention. The motor internals were entrusted to Chalky from Replay scooter, and I settled on a 62mm stoke crankshaft using a 115mm con-rod and a pack plate under the cylinder to make the deck height correct.
I had thought long and hard about the reed-valve option, but as my race experience was always for the older style piston-port motor, this was where my sentiment lay. I chose a Mikuni 35mm power-jet carburettor, with the intention to use an electrically controlled additional jet to increase top-end richness as required. For ignition I use the standard Indian steel flywheel, but lightened, with a BGM 120 stator and Agusto advance/retard box. I found a perfect late series pacemaker gearbox, and run this with a FoxHat six-plate clutch and 17x46 sprockets. Apart from being very carefully built with only the very very best components that are available.... that's it!
Carl Osbourne.
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