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BFF Magazine Archives
Issue 4

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NEWSLETTER 4
September 1996

THE SUMMER, the period since the last Newsletter, has been a time of consolidation and planning. Also most of us have been away on holidays, holiday snaps have barely had time to come back and be sorted, etc. This will be a "penny plain" edition which hopefully you will find interesting just the same. The next, end-of-year, issue will be a bumper number with colour pages again.

There has been a steady stream of enquiries and most of them have resulted in memberships. As you will see from the up-to-date list enclosed with this issue for all members, our numbers have grown at a rate unimaginable when I started all this off such a very short time ago. The enormous interest that our very limited publicity has produced only goes to show how misguided the motorcycle trade and industry are to devote so little of their own resources to promoting our practical, user-friendly type of powered two-wheeler.

Contacts made through BFF becoming known, as well as personal experience now, have shown just how different is the picture in the rest of the EU - and, indeed, many other parts of the world. Outside unimaginative UK, the value of the PTW in combatting congestion and pollution is seeing a resurgence of sales loaded towards the machines that are practical and economical as a basis of transport, which includes scooters. With the super-scooters, supaskutas, sofa-scooters, sofas - our Helix, Majesty, Hexagon - very well represented and growing in numbers all the time. Honda Helix, although a decade old and expensive, fifth in numbers of all models of two-wheelers sold in Italy in 1995! Dealers in Germany and Switzerland specialising in custom accessories for Helix. I write only of what I know; others of you will send in more information from your own sources.

BEST FEET FORWARD CLUB ACTIVITIES

THIS YEAR we have already had three very successful get-togethers. Our appearance at the BMF Peterborough show was described in N/L 3 and accounts of a southern and a northern event appear within. As we are so spread out we need to have a number of regular informal meeting-points. Here are two to start off.

• First Sunday of each month:
  Foot of Box Hill, Surrey, on A24 just north of Dorking. There is a huge car-park used every Sunday by bikers of all sorts, and refreshment facilities. BFF-ers: get there from around lO.30 and by ll.30 decide whether numbers and weather justify a run to some point of interest not too far away (there are plenty) and for lunch.
• Third Sunday of each month:
  Devil's Bridge, just off A65 at Kirkby Lonsdale, Cumbria. Another car park dedicated to bikes (cars banned on Sundays). Times and (lack of) arrangements as above.

What is suggested is that any members living within reach of the venue, or happening to be in the area at the time, should turn up without bothering over prior arrangement and without expecting absolute guarantee of finding any others (but on past showing, there almost certainly will be). Regular "bikers" venues have been chosen so that, even if occasionally you are the only FF-er to turn up, there will be others on two wheels to talk to and compare with!

Would some members in other areas come up with suggestions, please. Your new and much longer list of members will give each of you an idea of the distribution in your part of the land.

I have had lots of letters, many of them with helpful suggestions and offers of help. If I have failed to answer fully please accept sincere apologies, but do keep writing anyway!

Ian

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THE JULY CLUB RUN

OUR GET-TOGETHER at the beginning. of July in the south was dated to match a special event in the Beaulieu Motor Museum grounds, a "Bike Day." We met, on a beautiful cloudless morning, at a nature park on the northwest corner of the New Forest, and after introductions set off on a leisurely convoy through minor roads in the forest to arrive at Beaulieu just as it started to rain. There were twelve bikes including a brand-new Majesty, and several of the riders brought passengers.

Despite the weather changing every ten minutes, we had a very good time looking around at the various exhibits and enjoying "free" admission to the motor museum itself.

An alternative destination which we had considered was the new Sammy Miller museum, but it turned out that that museum was well represented by items brought alone to the bike day. We'll certainly have a group visit to the Sammy Miller museum at a later date.

A most interesting exhibit from the past was a Maicomobil in beautiful condition - which, forty years ago, embodied so many features of our present day favourite as to lead to the inevitable muttering of "nothing new under the sun..." The most interesting new exhibit was surely the Italjet Formula 50 which embodies - go on, guess! - hub-centre steering.

Most of the BFF members on the outing had not previously met, there was a warm and friendly atmosphere and we shall most certainly meet again.

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HOME-BREW ACCESSORIES COMING

PLANS and negotiations proceed on the following (but don't hold your breath - these projects are small beer for manufacturers and all takes time).

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THE SEPTEMBER CLUB RUN

THE FOLLOWING account of the meet at Charnock Richard comes from Dave Stalker:

I arrived about ten to eleven, after sneaking over the bridge from the south-bound service area to the northbound. I was warmly welcomed by the others and felt at ease straight away (unlike my first couple of BMW Club meetings). Apart from Paul Atherton, there were two other couples on CN250s, one from Worcester, and the other was on the black US-spec Helix I had tried to buy from the bloke in Derby - amazing! Plus one Voyager and a Quasar, the biggest concentration of FFs seen in my lifetime.

Photos were taken and names jotted [Let's have some of those photos for the next Newsletter, please - Ed.] - I never thought of taking my camera and I've forgotten names already.

Paul then took the group through the Forest of Bowland to Settle in the Yorkshire Dales, a very relaxing hour's ride enjoyed by all, which is just what a club run should be - nice one, Paul.

In Settle we parked up and ordered tea and sticky buns from a cafe and sat around relaxing. I asked for views about a Lake District hotel weekend, and came away with the idea of organising one next year. [We'll certainly keep you to that, Dave. - Ed.] Points raised were the north-south divide of members, variable climate in October, having a bit short notice, etc. I now think such a weekend event should be late April or mid-May but not a Bank Holiday weekend. Round the Windermere area would be ideal as it's not far from M6. I'm going to see about getting info on hotels that do good rates and take it from there.

There was also discussion about a meeting at Frankley Services on the M5 next spring before we all said our goodbyes and headed for home. 1 think we all rode home with a smile, it was that sort of a day. You should take the credit for setting up the BFF so we could have days like that, thanks Ian. [Blush, simper, blush. - Ed)

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Technical Tips

BARRY LANG has specifically offered to edit a technical tips page if members want to send any info that they have, he will acknowledge all original contributions. He also suggests that we might purchase from club funds a collection of specialised service tools for loan to members. Views and requirements, please.

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CN250 WORKSHOP MANUALS

THE MANUAL costs more than most of us would wish to fork out unless we are dedicated d-i-y engineers, yet there are many of the simpler items of maintenance and repair that we might like detailed information on. The little "Owner's Manual" supplied with the bike does not even tell how to remove the various panels in good order or what to undo to change a bulb!

Barry Lang, Ian Leslie and Dave Stalker all have copies of the full manual and would be happy to give you the benefit of any particular sections. Just contact the nearest of these to you.

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HUB-CENTRE STEERING ON THE MASS MARKET!

HUB-CENTRE steering is something we have known the virtues of for a long time. (If you do not know the technical reasons in its favour, hurry and order one of the last few copies of Royce Creasey's book!)

A V Roe used it seventy years ago in the two-wheel "car" in which, as director of the AVRO aero firm, he used to "commute" regularly between his factories in Southampton and Birmingham. Incidentally, this now rests in the aero museum at Southampton and is well worth a visit. That vehicle was very far ahead of its time and, so far as we know, Roe built it just for his own needs without thought of commercial exploitation.

In later years, British engineer Difazio developed a motorcycle front end with this type of steering, which was added to order on a one-off basis to customers' own bikes. It invariably won high acclaim. It has also been used in a handful of true FF machines.

So far as we know, though, hub-centre steering has not been incorporated in any bikes by big manufacturers until the Yamaha of a couple of years ago. This bike, though, was in other respects a conventional "big bike" and not even a specially good one; it even had final drive by unenclosed chain. Nevertheless, press reviewers did acknowledge the excellent effect of the steering!

Then, last year, we at last saw hub-centre steering - in an impressively neat and effective-looking implementation - in an overall-elegant, attractive looking modern bike. But only a 5Occ model! We write of the Itaijet Formula 50, available either to moped spec. or unrestricted but still only 50cc.) You may not even have heard of this machine, though it was on show at NEC last November and also at the 7 July Bike Day at Beaulieu, for instance. Most motorcycle magazines have ignored it, of course - it is a scooter! But everywhere it has been noticed, it is unanimously reported to have exceptionally good handling. (Surprise, surprise ... ) Well, already now announced is a 125cc 2-stroke version (Italjet Formula 125). Not in this country yet, but a reporter on Scootering magazine tried one in Rome and yes, paid tribute to the excellent handling. Do get a look at this machine and try to get a test ride. And then, how about letting the makers know - and Piaggio - how much we'd like to see this feature incorporated in a bike that even more meets our specifications, i.e. long and low.

Over the years our spec. for an ideal FF machine have crystallised: long, low c.g., feet-forward riding position with back-rest, full enclosure of works by bodywork giving lots of weather protection, luggage capacity and (incidentally??) crash protection, - and hub-centre steering. (If we have not got that right, do write in and put us straight.)

A few brave, determined engineers, riders, enthusiasts, backers have produced prototypes in this and other countries in recent decades but until so recently they were totally ignored by volume manufacturers.

Then out of the blue came the Helix. Not ideal but it gave us so much compared with conventional bikes. A lovely riding posture but, perversely, no back rest - so many of us add them. Full enclosure but oh so' complicated to remove (compare Voyager, whose front and rear mouldings both hinge up to give full maintenance quickly and simply). A luggage boot giving substantial fully-rainproof space but which could so easily have been extended upward both to give more space, to provide a pillion back rest and at the same time to further improve the aerodynamics by providing a smooth path to resolve the eddies otherwise inevitably forming behind the riders.

Now we have Piaggio's Hexagon which has copied Helix in some respects, and Majesty which takes others.

Particularly impressive is Yamaha's decision to place the engine horizontally, bringing the c.g. yet lower - but then they wasted the opportunity to give a really low seat position! We'd love to see someone to whom the cost is not an obstacle (you're not going to find bargains in breaker's yards for a while!!) take a Majesty chassis and revamp the body to give a low seat, a rear boot along Quasar lines, full dustbin frontal fairing, a roof And could an Italjet front end with its hub- centre steering be welded on in place of the forks?

Perhaps a fantasy. But what, at long last, has come down out of the realnis of fantasy is an undoubted stirring in the industry, a variety of moves towards offering bikes with very practical, rider-friendly features. Even if at the same time they vie to offer "superbikes" that really belong nowhere but on a circuit. 200 mph from a street-legal machine... and at the same time as advertising these, they ask governments to recognise the PTW as an economical, environment-friendly contribution to transport problems...

We FF-ers were a few isolated voices. Now we have assembled as BFF - getting together at an almost alarming rate - we ought to be able to influence the press and the industry. Do, do keep up the pressure.

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BMF RALLY 1997

THIS YEAR the facilities booked for BFF were minimal because the club had only just got going. Nevertheless a lot of us got along and we produced a good bit of interest. For May 1997 we can do much better. For starters we can afford to book and pay for a marquee so that, regardless of weather, we can have some comfort for ourselves and to talk to our interested visitors. But as part of spreading the load, your President would like to hand over the responsibility for making the arrangements.

A volunteer, please. It is not a specially onerous task, but you will have to be free to be at Peterborough for both days of the event (exact date not yet announced, but it will be a weekend in the middle of May).

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WINTER APRON

IF YOU have been abroad in winter you may have seen the waterproof apron (a tablier) that many scooter riders have over their laps; when they stop and park, these aprons clip over the seat, too, ensuring a dry bottom when riding is resumed. Particularly useful for shopping runs with frequent stops!

This accessory, specifically for GN250/Helix, is supplied in this country by:

Baglux UK
7 Mercury Units
Tir-Llwyd Enterprise Park
Kinmel Bay
Clwyd
LL18 5JZ
01745 338080

Spoken to in August, they were out of stock and had timed the next delivery for mid-Autumn (obviously a winter item).

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SAD OLD BASTARD SPEAKS

OH YES. "Write a few hundred words for the newsletter." "Course, couldn't possibly refuse offer to rediscover journalistic abilities. I mean, which axe do you want to hear being ground? The double-handed job, probably Saxon, ideal for the world's glorious vehicle manufacturers? Or something more intricate, barbed even, doubtless French, designed for our great Offices of Transport or Industry? Perhaps even some wicked little throwing device, Japanese, perfected for the inspired producers of our Motorcycle Magazines."

Nah. Sod it. I've had it with being rude and sarcastic about the manifold failures of the great and good. It just doesn't have any effect. Look around you. We've got a media industry based on being rude and sarcastic about 17 years of manifold failure by the entire British Government. It's easy to see why. But it hasn't made any difference, the body in question just goes on pretending it's going to be 1925 any day now.

The BFFC should function as a pressure group, asking as publicly as possible why manufacturers and regulators are ignoring the safety and functional advantages of FFs, particularly in this "environmentally conscious" era. The Media can usefully be challenged on its deliberate ignorance of the technical background. We should certainly be trying to connect Greenpeace with the idea. All that stuff, yes certainly. But it ain't me babe!

Right now I've got six Voyagers to play with, and even though five of them come with owners and the sixth doesn't work yet, there's been some real progress in their development this year. When the project folded at the beginning of 1990 the five production prototypes were more or less exactly as they came off the drawing board. One got a couple of weeks of development but was mainly used for demonstrations. Another was taken apart for study, the other three were parked unrun. Their new owners bought them, three years later in exactly that state. The last to hit the road was 01, the dismantled one, in a very snappy red paint scheme, earlier this year. The other four have also come back for development work and as a result we are finally beginning to get on top of the basics like suspension settings and tyre pressures. There have been struggles with the cooling system and the Reliant engine proved difficult to set up without dyno time but recent trials with a different carburettor and air cleaner look really good. A perfect example of the owners doing the development for the factory. Very traditional!

All the production prototypes are a lot heavier than we'd expected, mainly due to poor GRP quality, they'll never be racers, but now that everything else is beginning to work the Voyagers are proving dead handy in town for the shopping and a lot of fun on the by-ways. On motorways they are of course Boss!

The slow-motion repair job on my own Voyager prototype is pretty much at the "take it apart and paint it" stage. Difficult to argue that I should have it finished soon. Tradition has it that all High Tech prototypes arrive on the road in early February, during unusually persistent rain. It is then reasonable to predict another couple of months running the thing in and trying to work out why the fuel gauge reads backwards.

Provided all the other Voyager owners have continued to avoid driving theirs through sundry hedges we will then be in a position to rampage about the place looking for the good times that are the only reason for joining anything, let alone a motorcycle club. And it will be spring. This is where you non-manufacturing members come in. What about the parties? Who's going to organise them? Racing to and from parties is great fun, even on Velocettes. How are we going to raise the money for track days? I'm certain a day at Mallory did for the big-end in my Ducati FF. Is the owner a club member? Why not?

Then there's the truly outrageous show stands. We did a Velocette club stand one year that got a mention in every magazine. They were appalled. We had-rotating stands, free beer, carpets, coloured lights and a disco. All the Velocettes were filthy "as used," non- original "Venoms" except for a really rare MAF that had the beer barrels mounted on it.

The BFFC can do better than this. We are seriously innovative. We can disturb car enthusiasts as well. We can get into pubs that bar bikers. We can turn up at custom rallies and be more original, Classic events and be rarer, street shows and be more radical. In fact, if we avoid going on too much about vehicle qualities that are obvious to any thinking person or complaining about the shortage of such people at the helm of our society and industries, the only thing BFFC is going to have real trouble with is being boring. So I'll shut up and get back in me shed!

Royce Creasey

Copyright (c) Royce Creasey 1996. Author's rights reserved.

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Have we a member who can organise a club visit to a track day? Volunteers step forwards please.

A number of items have been held over for the next Newsletter, which will be a bigger one and have illustrations.