The BMW Club Journal August 2012 £2.50 2 TheBMWClubJournal•August2012 The Journal CONTENTS August 2012 The Official BMW Club within Regular/Occasional items the UK and Republic of Ireland www.thebmwclub.org.uk From The Editor’s Desk .................4 General Enquiries: 0800 0854045 Club Officers..........................6 FREEPOST: THE BMW CLUB The BMW Club is the Trading name of The B.M.W. Motorcycle Club Ltd; Registered in England; Registration Number 4261129 President’s Platform ....................7 whose Registered Office: c/o Veitch Penny LLP 1, Manor Court Dix’s Field Exeter Devon England EX1 1UP ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Torque Reaction .......................9 For problems regarding distribution of The Journal, please contact Star Letter......................15 your Section Secretary. Should there still be a problem then contact the National Membership Secretary whose contact details are on page 6. The Editor reserves the right to alter/amend any item or image submitted Mutual Aid (Club member ads)...........75 to The Journal. Such amendments will usually only be to make an item more readable or easier to understand. Submission of items/images will Small Business Advertisments ...........79 be taken as acceptance of this condition. ..47 EDITORIAL TEAM The BMW Club - Out and About Correspondence on any Journal matter not Articles/Features covered by the officers listed below should be sent to the Editor who will forward it as appropriate. For general Club administration and membership matters The National Committee Meeting.........21 please see the list of Club officers on Page 6. Editor: Stewart Lowthian, 29 Wagg Street, The 2012 Mileage Trophy...............23 Congleton, Cheshire CW12 4BA. 01260 279 126 [email protected] The Northern Section 50th Anniversary ....25 Features/Articles: Peter Wright. [email protected] Revitalising an Old Boxer ...............29 Torque Reaction: Paul Nadin, 49 Berkshire Drive, Congleton, Cheshire CW12 1SB. 01260 279 443 Euro-Hopping in 2009..................35 [email protected] DISCLAIMER Mutual Aid: Maurice Weldon, 21 Lawnwood Drive, The BMW Club Journal accepts for publication articles and letters written in good faith; however, the views expressed in articles and letters which are published are not necessarily those of the Goldthorpe, Rotherham, South Yorkshire S63 9GD Editor of The Journal or those of The BMW Club or its officers or members. 07752 904 334 [email protected] The information, including advice and suggested modifications published in the The BMW Club Journal has not been approved, tested or otherwise checked by The BMW Club Journal Commercial Display Advertisements: Jim Bruce, or The BMW Club. Before acting on information, advice or suggested modifications published The Firs, Bayview Crescent, Broadford, Isle of in The BMW Club Journal you should always obtain technical advice, and if appropriate have Skye IV49 9DB 01471 820 408 a professional motorcycle engineer carry out the work for you. The BMW Club Journal and The BMW Club cannot accept liability for any loss, damage or [email protected] claims occurring as a result of any modifications or work or other action carried out on the advice or based on the suggestions given in any article or letter published in The BMW Club Small Business Advertisements: Charles Knight, Journal and (save for death or personal injury arising from The BMW Club Journal’s negligence) 4 Homelands, New Road, Porchfield, Isle of Wight, all such liability is hereby excluded. PO30 4LS ,01983 520 847 The BMW Club Journal is published for and on behalf of The B.M.W. Motorcycle Club Ltd. 07521 695 992 [email protected] The BMW Motorcycle Club Ltd, The BMW Club Journal, it’s Editor and Officers accept no liability in respect of loss or damage occasioned directly or indirectly as a result of the Section News: Steve Foreman publication of any advertisement in The BMW Club Journal or Website. 01536 722 048 [email protected] Diary of Events: Bob Barker. This month’s cover photo shows John [email protected] Albone’s K1200S during the Southern Around The Compass: Bob Barker (see above). Section trip to Italy and Austria at the Club/Section Display Ads: Piers Kurrein. flooded valley at Rreschen. [email protected] TheBMWClubJournal•August2012 3 From The Editor’s Desk Double-booked again this leaves the buyer of a clearly faulty item is open to debate: - frustrated is a word I can I’ve missed my section’s use in a family-friendly June meeting every year publication but there for longer than I can are many more emphatic remember. It’s not that adjectives unsuitable for I’m avoiding them: the these pages. Northern Section is as fine a bunch as any. It Planning ahead just seems to clash every year with the boat back Gillian and I generally from France. Whilst arrange things well in they were enjoying advance. This summer’s their 50th Anniversary holiday property was meeting and luncheon (a fundamental aspect rather more remote than we were led to believe, of their Sunday meetings) Gillian and I and the one restaurant in the hamlet, which were testing a water-cooled GS between Le wasn’t quite in walking distance, charged the Mans and Le Havre. BMW didn’t actually earth for nothing much. As mentioned above, build the R1200GS with water-cooling we’re back in France in a couple of months, this but that morning it was. It took everything time in a property in a small town. The magic the elements threw at it in its stride, never of Google Streets means that we’ve already missing a beat and returning 58 miles to had a virtual look at a couple of restaurants each gallon. Also praiseworthy, as I said last and the local supermarket and all looks month, were my Santiago and Gillian’s Belice encouraging. The Euro was yesterday reported suits. The waterproof boots that weren’t have to be worth only 78.5p, which is the best been replaced but haven’t yet been tried out exchange rate for four years. This bodes well in serious rain, although no doubt that will for dining out, which is something we haven’t happen sooner rather than later. Our next done much of in recent years. We seem to have trip to France, booked before what passes for ended up renting gites so rural that commerce summer showed its true mediocrity, will be hasn’t been discovered near them, whereas for in September when the weather is likely to be us a reasonable restaurant in walking distance even less clement than now so waterproofing of home is essential for a good dinner. We will again be tested severely. enjoyed several pleasant, if abstinent, lunches In the course of replacing the boots I out in June, but trying to ride home after a few found out that several of the premium brands glasses is a form of attempted suicide neither of of clothing (including my offending items) us fancy. Having seen the French (and quite a have to be returned to the manufacturer for few English) drinking at lunchtime I’m clearly examination before being replaced. Quite how in the minority but keeping Gillian and I 4 TheBMWClubJournal•August2012 alive is of more consequence than following vehicles will be allowed on site after 16.00. fashion. This is due to a rugby match tournament still We’ve also booked a property for next year. being played and we have been asked to keep A desirable location overlooking a stylish vehicular activity to a minimum because marina with a reserved parking space and children will be about. Please do not turn up a short walk to the beach. The resort (we’re and queue. Thank you in advance for your going seriously upmarket here) is big enough full assistance and cooperation for complying to have everything we’re likely to need close with these times. at hand so as long as the pound maintains its upward trend we should be happy. In addition to the above, the morning before I typed this (five weeks before the A request to all contributors event) Gillian and I rode from Shrewsbury up to Ellesmere along the A528, a road that’s well Could I please ask everyone who sends me worth riding purely for the fun of it, only to photographs to do something to save my addled have my enjoyment curtailed by enough loose faculties from embarrassing me. Instead of gravel on the road to build an Alpine garden. sending photographs with the filename that By the time the event takes place the detritus the camera decided, would you please rename from resurfacing works will probably have it to something more descriptive. Where an reached the verges but it raises the question of article includes lots of photographs, as the why such an unsafe malpractice is tolerated. If latter parts of Martin Ellis’s epic currently you’re coming that way watch out for it. being serialised does, it saves me lots of time. Martin’s time spent naming the photos saved me no end of work. This would be particularly helpful for contributions to Section News where pictures of people I don’t know at events I wasn’t at leave me scratching my head wondering where to put them. For those attending Ellesmere Mark Dutton has asked me to insert the paragraph below, which is also in this month’s Social Scene as it is of considerable importance. Ellesmere College was selected for the Summer National for a variety of reasons, one of which was their experience of hosting events. There is an event finishing as ours starts, hence the restriction on arrival time for those on more than two wheels.