Our end of month rides have become an interesting amalgam of bikes from round the world. It has been interesting to see how more cosmopolitan our groups tastes have become, with preponderance of West European bikes like Ducatis, Triumphs and BMW. It's not often you see one from Eastern Europe so Warrens Jawa TS350 certainly created some interest among the troops. Although an early nineteen nineties bike it was still running pre mix. It was an interesting reminder of how popular these bikes were back in the fifties and sixties before the Japanese began to dominate the market. Along for the run was Sir Al and Dave on there TransAlps, Bruce A on his BMW GS650, Bruce S on his Ducati 748, Gary A on his BMW GS650 (that is actually an 800), Ray on his Triumph Tiger and yours truly on the XJ. With the weather doing its best to discourage us from heading out with some drizzle we looked to the north and saw a break and decided on loop around through Colyton, the back of Feilding and Halcombe with a coffee stop in Sanson. The big question for Warren was how far he would get on the five or so litres of premix in the Jawa's tank?
I am pleased to report that the Jawa did very well. It certainly managed to keep up with the 100 km speed we averaged on the run. Our weather hopes were realised with a nice clear run from Colyton onwards. With a stop at Stanway for a chat we were soon making our way through Sanson and then heading to the Woolshed for a cup of tea. The car park was filling up fast on our arrival and the quality of the food certainly explains its popularity. It was a nice wee pootle around the countryside and lets hope we can do the same next weekend!
