Bonding with my Bullet
Posted: Tue Sep 09, 2014 11:27 pm
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Enfield night riding.
Tonight has been an evening to remember.
I went to the Kent REOC meeting at Luddesdowne (Spelling not guaranteed).
Not having travelled that far on Tornado before, and not wanting to make the trip in the dark, I started out early. I seemed to be having charging problems again, with the ammeter showing a normal charge at the start of the journey, but dropping off even into the neg a little as the riding time went on. The usual day time led headlamp had not shown this up, but as I would be driving at night, I had swapped for a 35w halogen, hoping that the previous problem with a 60w motovision bulb would not be repeated. I guess the regulator may be heading for buggered.
Having travelled without incident, I was the first to arrive. I selected the choicest area of tarmac and proudly parked there. Having selected a nice beer, I settled down at an outside table, as close to Tornado as possible, and waited to see who else would show up.
A very clean and shiny black bullet chugged up,
followed by a BMW plus our old friend Bertie the Bullet!
Supporting the Redditch side was a very tidy maroon Meteor Minor Sports.
The meeting was neat, covering a recent trip to the war graves in Belgium, where they also met a memorable Enfield dealer. But the best for us was yet to come.
With new friends and acquaintances met, I finally left at the same time as Bertie the Bullet and the Meteor Minor Sports. As I usually say, if you leave with the other bullets, then nobody watching can be sure just who's bike backfired!
It was the journey back in the dark that became one of those exhilarating and treasured moments of my life. In a similar way to which T. E. Lawrence had written his experiences about 'George' his Brough Superior ( all his Brough's were called George ), I quickly became aware of how different it felt to be night riding on my old Bullet. The remoteness of my position, coupled with the wildness of the countryside, only added to the feeling of awe that I felt as the untamed wind whistled past my face, giving a definite but not uncomfortable chill.
Tornado light shone ahead, showing me the way to go. There was no other traffic, no distractions of any kind, just miles and miles of continuing road that shone in the light of the near full moon, seeming beautiful, but lonely at the same time.
Tornado rattled and thundered (Chugged) on I was unable to see my bike, but still I could hear and feel, and for the first time I started to really relax as I finally realised that I finally trusted Tornado. I Trusted him to get me all the way home without incident as we continued to journey ever onwards. Finally, we pulled up and with a feeling of warmth, I patted his tank before getting off and getting the canvas cover out.
A lot changed this night. I always felt that Tornado tolerated me (he's had 5 previous owners and seen it all before) but tonight as I finally climbed off, I had the feeling that he had finally accepted me. Certainly, I had picked up something over the course of the journey, and now I feel a warm glow inside.
When I bought Tornado, he was supposed to be an inanimate object to provide transport and look neat. So strange how some things can change so much. He's family now!
[/center]
Enfield night riding.
Tonight has been an evening to remember.
I went to the Kent REOC meeting at Luddesdowne (Spelling not guaranteed).
Not having travelled that far on Tornado before, and not wanting to make the trip in the dark, I started out early. I seemed to be having charging problems again, with the ammeter showing a normal charge at the start of the journey, but dropping off even into the neg a little as the riding time went on. The usual day time led headlamp had not shown this up, but as I would be driving at night, I had swapped for a 35w halogen, hoping that the previous problem with a 60w motovision bulb would not be repeated. I guess the regulator may be heading for buggered.
Having travelled without incident, I was the first to arrive. I selected the choicest area of tarmac and proudly parked there. Having selected a nice beer, I settled down at an outside table, as close to Tornado as possible, and waited to see who else would show up.
A very clean and shiny black bullet chugged up,
followed by a BMW plus our old friend Bertie the Bullet!
Supporting the Redditch side was a very tidy maroon Meteor Minor Sports.
The meeting was neat, covering a recent trip to the war graves in Belgium, where they also met a memorable Enfield dealer. But the best for us was yet to come.
With new friends and acquaintances met, I finally left at the same time as Bertie the Bullet and the Meteor Minor Sports. As I usually say, if you leave with the other bullets, then nobody watching can be sure just who's bike backfired!
It was the journey back in the dark that became one of those exhilarating and treasured moments of my life. In a similar way to which T. E. Lawrence had written his experiences about 'George' his Brough Superior ( all his Brough's were called George ), I quickly became aware of how different it felt to be night riding on my old Bullet. The remoteness of my position, coupled with the wildness of the countryside, only added to the feeling of awe that I felt as the untamed wind whistled past my face, giving a definite but not uncomfortable chill.
Tornado light shone ahead, showing me the way to go. There was no other traffic, no distractions of any kind, just miles and miles of continuing road that shone in the light of the near full moon, seeming beautiful, but lonely at the same time.
Tornado rattled and thundered (Chugged) on I was unable to see my bike, but still I could hear and feel, and for the first time I started to really relax as I finally realised that I finally trusted Tornado. I Trusted him to get me all the way home without incident as we continued to journey ever onwards. Finally, we pulled up and with a feeling of warmth, I patted his tank before getting off and getting the canvas cover out.
A lot changed this night. I always felt that Tornado tolerated me (he's had 5 previous owners and seen it all before) but tonight as I finally climbed off, I had the feeling that he had finally accepted me. Certainly, I had picked up something over the course of the journey, and now I feel a warm glow inside.
When I bought Tornado, he was supposed to be an inanimate object to provide transport and look neat. So strange how some things can change so much. He's family now!
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