2016 Glendaruel Veteran Run
Veteran Run in Glendaruel, Argyll
Glendaruel on the Cowal Peninsula in Argyll was the venue for a run for pre-1915 motorcycles on Sunday 9 and Monday 10 October, 2016. The eighteen riders came from all over the UK and a big party arrived from Holland riding 1902-08 motor bicycles. Seldom seen marques such as Rex, Sommaire, Excelsior , The Pebok, Minerva, Williamson, Bradbury and James took part. The VMCC ‘s Highland Section member and Glendaruel resident, Paul Morley, was the organiser so the event was in the hands of a very experienced veteran rider. The roads were quiet and the scenery was spectacular. The first day involved a tour of Bute which was fairly easy going. The second day’s activities included a run over the hill from Glendaruel to Dunoon and a tour of the Cowal Peninsula. The first part of that run was a real challenge for the early bikes with steep ascents and descents. The event was preceded by the Early Motor Bicycle Run which was organised by Clyde Valley Section on the Saturday 8 October at the Museum of Flight in East Lothian. The two combined events gave three days of riding through the best of the Scottish countryside. The Dutch riders are keen to return bringing more of their friends including some from Germany.
Alastair Alexander
1 August 2016
Glendaruel on the Cowal Peninsula in Argyll was the venue for a run for pre-1915 motorcycles on Sunday 9 and Monday 10 October, 2016. The eighteen riders came from all over the UK and a big party arrived from Holland riding 1902-08 motor bicycles. Seldom seen marques such as Rex, Sommaire, Excelsior , The Pebok, Minerva, Williamson, Bradbury and James took part. The VMCC ‘s Highland Section member and Glendaruel resident, Paul Morley, was the organiser so the event was in the hands of a very experienced veteran rider. The roads were quiet and the scenery was spectacular. The first day involved a tour of Bute which was fairly easy going. The second day’s activities included a run over the hill from Glendaruel to Dunoon and a tour of the Cowal Peninsula. The first part of that run was a real challenge for the early bikes with steep ascents and descents. The event was preceded by the Early Motor Bicycle Run which was organised by Clyde Valley Section on the Saturday 8 October at the Museum of Flight in East Lothian. The two combined events gave three days of riding through the best of the Scottish countryside. The Dutch riders are keen to return bringing more of their friends including some from Germany.
Alastair Alexander
1 August 2016
2016 SCOTTISH VETERAN AND VINTAGE GATHERING
Earlier in the year I wrote about our “Demob” run and what a great day we had, and I wish I could just “Ditto” that report because our Gathering on 10th and 11th September this year was just as brilliant.
It all started with the warm welcome we were given by the owners of the Slatebarns Caravan Park, Pam and Bryan Crawford, who are keen modern motorcyclists.
A few of our more enthusiastic participants arrived on the Saturday and had an enjoyable social run led by our chairman Alastair. The fun continued in the evening with our get together at “The Original Inn” which is just a short walk from the caravan park in Roslin. Those who ate there enjoyed their meal and the banter was infectious. Good food, good beer and good company, it was such a good evening.
Sunday morning dawned bright and sunny and Bryan was very understanding as more and more trailers and bikes invaded the caravan park, content to park them wherever they didn’t occupy a pitch that would be required later in the day.
We had 4 Veteran and 26 Vintage bikes on the run ranging from a 1912 Kynoch to a 1930 Magnat Debon, loads of interesting machinery on view. The route took us around many of the quiet back roads of Midlothian with some stunning views of the Forth estuary and Edinburgh prior to our lunch stop at the Goblin Ha’ in Gifford, where the staff did a tremendous job, getting us all fed with their excellent fare in good time. The afternoon route was a little shorter but none the less enjoyable except for the Main Street in Dalkeith which was a little busy.
I was the only entrant who had to be rescued due to a puncture just before the lunch stop and I count myself fortunate as whatever caused it breached the sidewall of the tyre but the tube deflated slowly – hay ho!
The organising team are much encouraged by the favourable feedback we received and look forward to next year’s event.
George Plumb
It all started with the warm welcome we were given by the owners of the Slatebarns Caravan Park, Pam and Bryan Crawford, who are keen modern motorcyclists.
A few of our more enthusiastic participants arrived on the Saturday and had an enjoyable social run led by our chairman Alastair. The fun continued in the evening with our get together at “The Original Inn” which is just a short walk from the caravan park in Roslin. Those who ate there enjoyed their meal and the banter was infectious. Good food, good beer and good company, it was such a good evening.
Sunday morning dawned bright and sunny and Bryan was very understanding as more and more trailers and bikes invaded the caravan park, content to park them wherever they didn’t occupy a pitch that would be required later in the day.
We had 4 Veteran and 26 Vintage bikes on the run ranging from a 1912 Kynoch to a 1930 Magnat Debon, loads of interesting machinery on view. The route took us around many of the quiet back roads of Midlothian with some stunning views of the Forth estuary and Edinburgh prior to our lunch stop at the Goblin Ha’ in Gifford, where the staff did a tremendous job, getting us all fed with their excellent fare in good time. The afternoon route was a little shorter but none the less enjoyable except for the Main Street in Dalkeith which was a little busy.
I was the only entrant who had to be rescued due to a puncture just before the lunch stop and I count myself fortunate as whatever caused it breached the sidewall of the tyre but the tube deflated slowly – hay ho!
The organising team are much encouraged by the favourable feedback we received and look forward to next year’s event.
George Plumb
Fun on the Dreadnought
I borrowed the VMCC’s 1903 Dreadnought for the inaugural Veteran Run in Scotland at Thornhill, Stirling on 3 October 2015. The run came about by co-operation established through the Veteran Special Interest Group formed via the internet in March 2015. The driving force was John Macmillan of Lanark and the force was certainly with him having gathered together an entry of twenty three motor bicycles most being genuine veterans. Not owning a road going veteran I hatched a plan to use the Dreadnought. The bike is a bitsa put together by Harold “Oily” Karslake with a BAT frame and a 402cc De Dion engine. The configuration is an atmospheric inlet valve over the exhaust valve. As I understand it the inlet valve has a light spring which opens and shuts as the piston rises and falls with the changing pressure in the cylinder so it is not manually operated. The ignition is a modern total loss system powered by a dry cell battery. The oil tank is pressurised by a bicycle pump and feeds into a plunger pump located on the outside of oil tank. The drive is direct from the engine mainshaft pulley straight to the back wheel. “Oily” did not want pedals although the frame has provision for them. He had in mind long distances as the petrol tank takes two gallons plus and the oil tank close to three pints. The bike was last used at the 2015 Pioneer Run and Martin Shelley prudently and helpfully suggested that we should give it the once over. The fuel system was full of dirt as the tank inner lining looks like a Cadbury Flake. The petrol tank tap broke in the process and Martin effected a great repair by tapping the old tap and machining up a new threaded piece and Loctiteing it in place. A gauze filter was soldered in place to keep the dirt at bay. The jet block in the 1920 or therebouts AMAC carburettor had five of the six pin holes blocked which explained why the bike would not take the air lever to any extent on the 68 mile run. The headlamp nearly hit the road as the bracket fractured. I spotted it as the last molecules of steel were about to give way and managed to stop in time for it to fall into my hands. A new stronger bracket was made and riveted in place as per the original.
Now, I have a little experience of bump starting a cammy Velo but had the benefit of a clutch to grab. I did a bit of practice starting the Dreadnought in Tillicoultry and then on a back road near Kirkliston so as not to blunder on the fateful day. I started by setting the controls and then pulled in the valve lifter and pushed as hard as I could and when it started to fire jumped aboard. The gas lever operates away from the rider so I was closing it for the first few attempts which did not help matters. It was all a bit precarious and with one attempt resulting in us about to go in different directions. It was as close as you could get to a disaster and not wishing to be known as the man who wrecked the Dreadnought a new strategy was needed. I did all of the above but jumped on board and then let the valve lifter go. Whatever happened next our destinies were linked and it worked pretty well. I managed a clean start in Thornhill and headed off into the Stirlingshire countryside. The bike was a delight to ride and felt very tall. The lengthy footboards and decent seat springs made for comfortable gentlemanly progress. The bike would not take much of the air lever for the reasons explained earlier (the dirty jets were discovered after the run) but it ran well if rather rich. I had to clean out the float chamber twice and replace the battery but managed the 68 mile route without further incident. All the while I was musing at how marvellous it must have felt to travel in such comfort and relative ease back in 1903 albeit on much better roads. The whole exercise was well worth the effort and my sincere thanks go to the VMCC for the loan of the Dreadnought, to Martin Shelley for his fettling and repair skills and to John Macmillan for having the confidence to organise our first Veteran Run. What fun we all had.
Alastair Alexander
Now, I have a little experience of bump starting a cammy Velo but had the benefit of a clutch to grab. I did a bit of practice starting the Dreadnought in Tillicoultry and then on a back road near Kirkliston so as not to blunder on the fateful day. I started by setting the controls and then pulled in the valve lifter and pushed as hard as I could and when it started to fire jumped aboard. The gas lever operates away from the rider so I was closing it for the first few attempts which did not help matters. It was all a bit precarious and with one attempt resulting in us about to go in different directions. It was as close as you could get to a disaster and not wishing to be known as the man who wrecked the Dreadnought a new strategy was needed. I did all of the above but jumped on board and then let the valve lifter go. Whatever happened next our destinies were linked and it worked pretty well. I managed a clean start in Thornhill and headed off into the Stirlingshire countryside. The bike was a delight to ride and felt very tall. The lengthy footboards and decent seat springs made for comfortable gentlemanly progress. The bike would not take much of the air lever for the reasons explained earlier (the dirty jets were discovered after the run) but it ran well if rather rich. I had to clean out the float chamber twice and replace the battery but managed the 68 mile route without further incident. All the while I was musing at how marvellous it must have felt to travel in such comfort and relative ease back in 1903 albeit on much better roads. The whole exercise was well worth the effort and my sincere thanks go to the VMCC for the loan of the Dreadnought, to Martin Shelley for his fettling and repair skills and to John Macmillan for having the confidence to organise our first Veteran Run. What fun we all had.
Alastair Alexander