FF Mailing list

Editorial

THIS YEAR we really do get the feeling that, even in this benighted country, our practical comfortable economical bikes are actually beginning to be recognised as part of the two-wheel scene and not an object of derision.

Straws in the wind are many.

The front cover of the BMF Yearbook shows a Majesty as one of just three bikes lined up. (The others are a sports-style faired machine and a naked "basic bike.")

Addison-Lee have started a taxi-bike service, "City Shuttle," in competition with the Virgin service. And they use a Hexagon 250. Richard Branson's service uses conventional big bikes. It is our guess that the Hexagon will serve at least as well, more economically, with more comfort for the passenger and much less strain for the "driver."

Which magazine, organ of the Consumers' Association, is in its next issue (probably out by the time you read this) running a feature on commuter scooters. They have hitherto totally ignored PTWs at all times. Need we mention the selling of scooters "over the counter" by Halfords and now by Tesco? In complete packages making no assumption of any existing "biking" knowledge, with thrown-in training and insurance. Even volumes of sales of scooters and superscooters are at last attaining a real place among total PTW sales numbers.(as reported here and there in more detail)

A scattering of specialist scooter dealers survived from the scooter-heyday in the 50's but were supported almost exclusively by retry fanatics interested in classic Vespa and Lambretta models. Now we are beginning to see big modern scooter shops offering the whole available range, now vast and growing. A little local observation: local Honda dealer - last year said "We're not stocking Foresight, really we are only interested in off-road bikes." Twelve months later, I ride by and see on their forecourt a whole selection of scooters including the excellent FF style Kymco Spacer! (Though still not Foresight - wonder what Honda UK would have to say ... )

More and more 125's, which can be ridden by the L-plated rider and so are the ones likely to be most in demand for the growing numbers of riders new to PTWS, are designed... more or less... in the FF style of our super scooters. Maybe they do not go all that far to meet the absolute criteria of fully-convinced FF advocates, but they certainly can be ridden in the comfortable ergonomic FF stance.

And yet - the UK importers of the Japanese Big Four go on pretty much as though the revolution in the market wasn't happening. This matters. They still have the biggest clout world-wide (though other Far Eastern counties are catching up fast). And, so far as especially concerns this country, they still dominate the motorcycle market and no doubt have the bulk of influence in the MCIA.

It is the scooter end of the market where numbers sold are dramatically accelerating; and all the Big Four except Kawasaki have excellent scooters and could ride along on this boom if they chose, Besides, the other three have all the established FF super scooters apart from Piaggio's Hexagon. Do they push those products? Take Honda for an example. Their Foresight missed the bus by coming out over a year after Majesty but it was much more technically innovative so the parent company Honda Japan made much fuss of it at international shows. Honda Europe did their best, too, and produced a very special, beautifully produced booklet about it. All Honda UK did was to send their dealers a poor photocopy version of that booklet omitting the last page which was a retrospect eulogising the daddy of them all, the Helix. Having miserably failed to sell Helix and stopped selling it years ago, Honda UK want to pretend it never existed. What they could have done instead was to re- start selling Helix and sell it in parallel (as dealers around the rest of the EU are doing) and make a big thing of offering, a choice - low and comfortable or higher, shorter, whizzier. Along with Pantheon of course so the L- plated among us could ride FF as well.

Take Honda UK again for another example. We had been nagging at them all along for not pushing Foresight harder in the market-place. At long last Honda UK's promotions manager wrote me proudly that they were featuring it in Honda Rider their house journal which is sent out to their dealers. (They have put us on the mailing list now.) Well, there was a blurb, of sorts: a picture of some celeb allegedly riding it, and some mention of the model within an article about the scooter boom in general. Not much sense that Honda UK might realise that of all their recent models this was the only one with real innovation in it. Not a lot of real enthusiasm... and then we get the next issue and there is NOT ONE WORD about Honda scooters or "commuter" bikes. Hell, they don't need to go on about their over 100 mph road-burners, people who want that sort of thing are already enthusiasts and will find out all tbout the latest performance blaster from the weekly comic. They will tell us "there's no demand." No comment.

BMF '99 Rally Coverage

Warm air vents in Helix fascia - Vauxhall parts form a breaker's Yard, fixed by BFF-er John Forbes

The Givi Screen for the Burgman 400

Two good examples of details the makers ought to have provided as original equipment. Now that liquid cooling is standard, how could they not have thought of using the warm air to warm the rider's hands (and legs)? And the pitiful original screen on Burgman is simply unacceptable

The Addison Lee CITY SHUTTLE using a Piaggio Hexagon 250. A wonderful advertisement for the sheer practicality of siuper scooters

LETTERS

from Bob Hook
You may be interested to learn that following the write-off of my Honda 250 1 decided to take the plunge and purchased a Suzuki Burgman 400.

Much time was spent examining the three major 250s but I learned through a friend that the 400 was proving to be very successful on the continent. By the time the decision was made none of the dealers in Scotland had one in stock, if they ever had one.

I wrote to Suzuki asking if it would be possible to have the use of a demonstrator and suggested they site one at a dealership in Falkirk, fairly central in Scotland. They replied that the provision of demonstrators was left in the hands of dealers themselves and that Suzuki made financial allowance to them for this service. No dealer would confirm this state of affairs.

My local Honda dealer suggested I search further afield and after a few phone calls was successful in finding me one at Carnells of Stockport in the colour I wanted: Black.

They proved very helpful and delivered the bike to me here in Lanark in what I considered to be very good state.

Because of the weather I have only briefly used the machine, but everything appears to be well finished, and to date it is more than satisfying my needs.

Others with more experience have already reported but I would be happy to answer any queries that members may have.

From David Bullivant

The April BFF News awaited us on our return from Western Finland (on Majesty) - a 550Km round trip. The outward trip was marred by a terrible cross wind, and cold too. We rode bravely on, leaning over like crazy to counteract the wind, and at one stage the lift got under the nose and the machine pattered across the road. I felt the steering go light and it was a nasty moment. Should you speed up to out run the wind or slow down and take it on the chin.? Anyway, it slowed us down... and also pulled the GIVI screen out of the bodywork on the windy side.

At the end of the outward trip my arms and shoulders were aching from holding on...

It was heartening to read, on our return, Edddie McDonald's comments about riding FF and his theory about the benefits and otherwise of our low c.g. Having been baptised by fire, so to speak, we have to agree with him wholeheartedly: 1 wouldn't have liked to make the trip on a motorised bicycle.

Can anyone advise us how to cut down the height of our tall GIVI screen? And has anyone fitted "enduro bike hand guards" to their FF scooter yet? "Universal" hand protectors are not universal, don't fit Majesty, and if they were fitted they would restrict steering lock as they would impinge on the screen. It still annoys me that the screen, even the GIVI one, does not provide hand protection... and yes, I do wear gloves.

We've enjoyed several letters from fellow-members this past winter - thank you. One person suggested inflating the tyres "over pressure" to get extra life. On this recent trip we set off with 2.2 bar front, 2.7 bar rear; Majesty felt a bit "tip-toey" but responded well to steering and braking and one could feel the suspension working. The trip was two-up, with a lot of stuff - including three litres of wine in the front glove- box, half-a-dozen potted plants in the rucksack hanging between the rider's knees from the handlebar centre, two sleeping-bags in the large top box and thirty copies of "This England in a plastic bag under the saddle along with spare socks and smalls, shoes, toilet bag and what-have-you. What pressures do other riders use and with what advantage/disadvantage.

We still have a lot of tread on the front tyre after 16,000km, but we found that no-one in Finland lists OE replacements. A Yamaha dealer tells me he can supply Pirelli, and that there is a still better one on the way called SS66. Has anyone had experience of these tyres?

The current crop of Majesty scooters come with MAXIS tyres - what on earth are these and are they available elsewhere? They looked sensible to me because the front one has a groove running roound the circumference rather like the ribbed front tyres of yore. But was it not Vic Willoughby who once reminded us that the air between the ribs on a front tyre does not actually provide much road grip ... ?

Here in Finland motorcyclists do not sneer at scooter riders, nor the other way around, please note! One of your correspondents pointed out that motorcyclists in UK do not "bother with' scooter riders - does this mean we shouldn't wave to riders of motorised bicycles - waving in pity?

from Michael A Suttle (by email)
Hi there ! Just bought a Majesty; had a Hexagon. The Majesty is faster and quieter, and more economical, but the Hexagon is fun, easy to throw around, much more comfortable, the screen is good and it is far better value second-hand, in fact underrated.

The screen on Majesty is hopeless, just hopeless - I don't know why they bothered. The scooter replaced my BMW 1100 as is it was starting to break my hips - 298kg!

from Peter Guppy

I feel I must write about my views on the Hexagon. I have been riding Vespa scooters since 1960 and after seeing these new scooters at the European rallies I attended and much saving of the money I purchased my Hexy in August 1997 from Mr Scooter in Hayward's Heath.

The change of riding this new machine compared with the Vespa was strange at first, my right foot was looking for the rear brake and my left hand kept trying to declutch and change gear. But what joy it is to ride and I get annoyed with people who describe it as a moped or commuter only vehicle, for I have covered 20,000 miles, toured Holland, Belgium, France, Germany and throughout the UK attending scooter events as well as daily use to and from work.

In October 1998 I won the overall championship award of the Vespa Club, the first time on an automatic.

My Hexagon is bog standard and I find the 125cc engine quite adequate. It also has a full size windscreen fitted.

I have had no punctures that I know of, whther by luck or because I always use a product called Slime in the tyres. I tell the fitter before fitting replacements and I have had no complaints. As regards the Europen events, any feet forward scooter can attend and I have seen Honda and Yamaha models at the. I am a Hexagon fan and will be for many years.

from Paul Blezard

HAPPINESS IS A BURBLING HELIX

Well, I've had the Helix back on the road for three weeks now and I've enjoyed every minute of it. I've done about 400 miles in that time, mostly just running around London and its suburbs although I've done one trip down into Hampshire to meet some of the entrants in the '99 Dakar Rally. The weather was wet and miserable but the ride down was far more enjoyable on the Helix than it would have been on my XR600 (and I even had a quick spin on the army's sandy test track.

Sure, I could have done with more power on the open road, as always, but the old girl maintained 65-70 mph most of the way, with a low of about 60 up a hill and a maximum of 74 (indicated) down the other side. I'm sure that the digital speedos on CNs are more accurate than the analogue ones fitted to most bikes: whenever I've ridden CNs alongside Majestys and Foresights, the CN always gives a lower (and more accurate) reading at the same speed.

Anyway, I covered the 49 miles from Barnes to Bourdon in only 45 minutes and used only 7.43 litres of unleaded fuel for the 98 mile round trip, which I estimate to be about 60 mpg. Nothing to write home about in these days of 60mpg diesel cars, but better than most bikes and it was running flat out most of the way there and back.

I also had the novelty - and warmth - of being plugged into a Widder heated jacket for the first time. The lead took less than two minutes to fit to the CN's easily accessible battery.

Less good news is that, as I feared it might, the welded up silencer is already blowing somewhat, despite my best efforts to seal it well against the exhaust stub when I re-fitted it. The rear brake is sticking a little too, which makes it all the more annoying that I didn't fit my spare (newer) rear hub when I had the chance. Previous owner Barry Lang had bought a brand new rear hub because his original was so worn that he was having to replace the brake shoes when they were only half used. Has anyone else had this problem?

THE ROUTE 66 ODYSSEY ON THE ROAD
Or The British Re-Conquer America

Alan & Kathie Patterson of Wales, UK (they are of British & Scottish descent) have wanted to ride the famous "Mother Road" for the last 10 years. (If we had lost the War of Independence would it be now be called the "Queen Mother Road" ?) This they decided was the year; they weren't getting any younger, you know. Information was gathered, books read and plans made. A Helix was their chosen mount for the ride, but they didn't have one here in the states and didn't want to go through the hassle of shipping their's here and back. The problem was solved by Pat Patterson, Alan's brother. Pat lives in Virginia and is a member of Scoot-Tours. He found a 1993 with about 1,800 miles on it. With so few miles on it you can see that it hadn't been ridden for a few years. That meant taking it to a dealer and having it brought up to snuff. After the necessary work, it wouldn't start. It was found to have a couple of pieces missing from the carburetor. That problem solved, it ran fine.

The Pattersons had wanted to start in Chicago at the beginning of Route 66, or is it the end ? Anyway, time restraints made it impossible, so they chose to start in St Louis. Alan and Kathie flew to Virginia to begin their journey. They left on Tuesday, April 6, covering the distance from Fredericksburg, VA to St Louis, MO in two days, arriving here Thursday morning, in the rain. I picked them up at their motel and brought them to our house. Mary and Chris Vimig joined us at the house later. We all had a good talk about the impending trip. We decided that supper at a genuine Route 66 landmark was a good choice, so we all went to the Red Cedar Inn in Pacific, Missouri. We were joined by Ken and Betty Wallace, also of St Louis. The food was excellent, as was the company. Many questions were asked of Alan and Kathie about England.

The Red Cedar Inn is one of those few remaining places that used to dot the landscape and serve travelers as they made their way along the route. It is a piece of history that has survived the closing of much of Rt 66 and the bulldozers of developers. The Red Cedar Inn is only about 30 miles from us and we have passed it many times, but Sally and I had never eaten there; you just don't go to places that are nearby. There aren't many of these old places left, especially in Missouri and Illinois. You see the skeletons of motels and restaurants scattered along the way, having been bypassed by the new super slabs. Another good restaurant is in Litchfield, IL called Ariston's Cafe. It is near Niehaus Cycle, and if you come to their Customer Appreciation Days, you can eat at a real Route 66 eatery.

Friday morning I finished the last of my packing. Sally joined us for breakfast and was there to bid us farewell. The weather was cool and windy, but without the threat of rain of the days before. Getting through St Louis on the old road is not an easy task.

This is complicated, as it is in many towns and cities, by the fact that the road was changed several times over the years and is poorly marked. It was decided not to back track to the Missouri start but just begin from where we were in Fenton just past I-270. We headed west on 1-44 and caught the "Main Street of America" at Eureka, Missouri. We shortly passed the Red Cedar Inn where we had eaten the evening before. One of those skeletons 1 talked about came into view soon after that. It is the AI-Pac Motel, now just a decaying hulk of its' former self. In the early days of R 66 you had a hard time crossing the country because of the lack of facilities, unreliability of vehicles and the speed at which they could travel. Many a farmer and enterprising entrepreneur saw the advantage of opening up a campground, cabins, restaurant or service station to take care of those making their way along the road. You need to remember, as many of you no doubt do, that these facilities were not the modem, full service places that we have today; no air conditioning, swimming pools or indoor plumbing. They were just there to give shelter and a nights rest before you continued on.

We took along an 'Official Route 66 Map" and a Missouri state map. It didn't take long to discover that having the maps didn't mean there would not be problems. The Route 66 map does not always tell you what the road is called now and you have to try to coordinate it with the state map. This is not an easy task and it is easy to get confused. This is most true in the cities, and even some small towns. There are Route 66 state maps, which do a much better job of guiding you through individual cities and states, which I found out about later. While referring to maps may be easier in a car, on a motor- cycle it can be quite a different story. The way is also marked with signs that were put up by the Route 66 Association of Missouri; as it is in the other states. These signs are helpful at times but in other instances serve very little to guide you, and there are not enough of them. A sign a quarter mile past an intersection is not always easy to spot, and one in.the middle of a long stretch is of little help. Let me say right here that I am not putting down the various Route 66 Associations and the work they do to. If it wasn't for them we would have very little information to help us make the trip. They do great work with little money and resources. These are dedicated folks who love what they do and try to help others to appreciate the old road. They must also deal with many city, county and state governments in order to accomplish their purpose. It is these government bodies upon which I lay the blame for not realizing the importance of making sure travelers can find their way along and enjoy this historic road.

Our first night had At the end of a long lonely stretch of what appears to be original Route 66 brought us 270 pavement somewhere near Carterville, MO miles, definitely not as the crow flies, to Springfield, MO where we settled in at the Motel 6. (Just one more 6 and they would have been famous.) Saturday morning Dave Rosse joined us for breakfast and to supply encouragement. The wind had subsided and we had some glimpses of sun. The temperature reached 70 but riding required as much clothing as we could wear.

The hardest part of the journey, as far as keeping to old 66, came between Springfield and the Kansas border. This is the route -north of Joplin that snakes and winds its way through small towns. We found it extremely hard to keep on the right path. The road was poorly marked and signs were at places where they weren't really needed. We would find a sign in the middle of a street but then when you arrived at the intersection there was nothing to tell you which way to go. At one point we went in a circle. Going along on one country road that was marked as 66, we came to a section of gravel road that looked like it went nowhere. It had a section of blacktop one lane wide in the middle with a white line on both sides flanked by gravel, and there was nothing in sight but fields. What to do ? We decided to try it. About a mile down I was thinking of turning back when I spotted a farmer working on a fence. I asked him if this was Route 66, yes it was. He said to go on about a mile, go left for another mile then right one more. That got us back to the more modem part. If it hadn't been for this man we would have turned back and missed what was probably an original part of the pavement, since it wasn't marked.

We finally took 1-44 to the# I exit in Missouri, then north to Galena, Kansas. We all agreed that Kansas had the best marked route. Of course. it also only has 13 miles of Route 66. We stopped for lunch in Baxter Springs, KS at a new restaurant called the Mother Road Steak House and Grill. This is a brand new Route 66 theme restaurant. The people are friendly and very interested in providing a fine eating experience for the traveler. The dining room is filled with memorabilia of the Mother Road, including pictures of the mining that took place here. The Pattersons especially liked the Route 66 wallpaper, which Kathie said might dress up their kitchen back in Wales. A good meal under our belts, we set out refreshed.

We reached Tuisa, Oklahoma, again losing the way. Oklahoma has 66 marked as a state highway which makes it hard to stay on the old route. We found a motel with a good rate due to highway construction taking out the off-ramp. We had to wind our way through several streets to find the motel, but was worth it. We ate at a restaurant with a full buffet that was next to the motel. We had done 235 miles. I contacted Don Ingle. who said he would join us at breakfast. On Sunday mormn!z we ate at the Cracker Barrel, Don joining us to give his view of the road west of Tulsa. After a nice talk with Don we headed west. The first ex' down the highway we came up against the usual question. "Which way to go?" The people at the QT where we gassed up weren't sure. A local man asked where we were going and sent us on the right path which was on the north side of the highway. The Route 66 map indicated the south side, which I discovered on the way back was also right; this being one of those places where the road took different paths at different times.

I told Alan and Kathie that this would be the day I would need to head back, but I would ride with them for a while. The weather was clear but still cool. It got up to 70 again but we still had to wear a few extra clothes. We got to Chandler, OK where we stopped for a light lunch. Afterwards I bid the two adventurers farewell and started back to St Louis. I thought that following the right path on the way back would be easier since I had some experience under my belt WRONG !! It is no easier going in the other direction. I was alright to Tulsa, coming in on the south side of I-44, just the opposite of the way we left. I then crossed over and followed Southwest Blvd into Tulsa. Somewhere on the way I missed a turn and ended up in downtown. I kept going until I was able to find 11th St which is 66. Finding my way back to Kansas wasn't too difficult and I again stopped at the Mother Road Steak House for lunch. I decided not to try the western part of Missouri again, and took I-44 once more. It began to get late and I was cold and beginning to day dream a lot, so I finally gave up at Mt Vernon, MO. and got a room. I had put in over 300 miles. Needless to say I slept like a log.

Monday morning I slept in and decided to have a leisurely day back. At Springfield I took off southward and took those wonderful back roads so plentiful in southern Missouri. Winding through the hills I cruised along not worrying about what road I was on. The traffic was very light and the weather was clear and cool. Mile after mile I just enjoyed the ride and the scenery. 1 stopped in Salem for lunch at the Wooden Bowl Restaurant. From there I continued to wind north and east coming home the back roads. After 269 miles I pulled into the driveway to be greeted by our dog, Schatzi. After taking a couple of seconds to realize it was me, she jumped for joy that her favorite chew toy was back and started her ritual of chewing on my hands. Sally was dutifully working at her part-time job....... good wife....... good wife.

My advise to anyone wanting to travel Route 66 is to do a lot of preparation and plan on taking your time. As I mentioned earlier there are state maps which do a good job of guiding you through the various cities. A spiral notebook would be a good place to write down instructions and routes so you can plan how far you will travel each day, instead of trying to handle a full size map. It would also be good for making notes of your trip, and you can just keep the notebook handy on the dash

NEXT TIME: Alan & Kathie's completion of the trip and their observations.

THIS ARTICLE comes from Scootin' the magazine of our American friends Scoot-Tours. Thanks to Bob and Sally.

Apparently the situation in USA is unchanged: they don't have our wide and growing choice of Superscooters just the good old Helix. And you might possibly think there's not too much wrong with that... It makes Scoot-Tours very much like BFF was a couple of years ago when we started: a one-make club. Life was simpler then!

The American riders remain very happy with the model and do all sorts of interesting things with it.

BURGMAN 400 GEARING

THERE HAS been quite a bit of discussion, including in the Net FF discussion group, about the gearing of the Burgman 400.

Some riders mention that the new machine is actually slower off the mark than the 250 - although of course the extra power is reflected in better mid-range acceleration and top speed as expected. Are you concerned at this? The Journal would welcome views.

Julian Bond has made a comparison of the specs of the two machines, and notes that the variator in the 400 has only a very slightly wider overall range than the 250: 2.57 to I compared with 2.54 to 1. Given the 400 will be geared to allow about 100 mph without over-revving, it could be over-geared for good acceleration at the point where the clutch engages on starting.

It is well possible that in a traffic-light sprint it might lose the race to reach 30 mph, but personally. I can't say I noticed any lack of gusto in real life. In fact, trying Keith Stevens' bike the first time, I reached the top of his uphill drive to the road before I realised he had left the parking brake on... What do others think?

Ian

SANDOWN PARK SHOW

WE HAVE been offered club display space at the annual Road Bike Show at Sandown Park in Surrey on 26-27 February 2000. Are there any of you in the South of England interested in putting on a show at this always well attended event which comes much earlier in the year than the BMF Show which we enjoy so much? 1et me know and I'll provide more details.

Ian

FFs Get Around

Touring on a scooter! Suggest that and you'll usually be laughed to scorn. Well, we use our FF Super Scooters for anything! We have all heard of some of the major journeys that BFF members have taken this year.

These are some examples just frommembers who have dropped in on the President in his new home in the Welsh Marches this year.

Early in the year Robin Thomas came along just after he had come back from visiting his brother in the south of France. And showed us photos of his Helix atop Pyrrenean passes covered with snow.

David and Inkeri Bullivant came by towards the end of a tour on their Majesty. Leaving Finland they had been into Denmark, over to Germany, down towards the South of France, across the Channel and into Cornwall, then Bath, then Ludlow. Then they sent us a postcard from the Isle of Man. They did eventually re-cross England and go home...

The Bullivants carried full camping gear and camped when they were not visiting friends in various lands. Besides changes of clothes for all weathers - and a suit for all occasions. And a few spares and tools. The carrying capacity of the Majesty is superb; David reckons he could never have carried so much on his former BMW tourers.

Perhaps the most exciting excursion and the furthest from the usual idea of "scooter - OK for commuting and not much else" was the trip that Alan and Keith Patterson took on another Helix. They travelled the length of the legendary Route 66 from Chicago to the Pacific Coast in the USA.

We, and I'm sure all members, would love to hear what you have been up to recently on your FF. Photos, too, if possible.