Martyn and his Comet. Good old Matt came good again with this report on the events surrounding three of our members ride in the Duloe Dash.
The Annual Duloe Daffodil Dash
Saturday:
It was decided when Martyn and I left Rockingham that I would return to his house and examine the likelihood of Martyn using his newly acquired James Comet for today's ride.
After some teething troubles with fuel leaking from the carburettor which was fixed with guidance from Chris Saunders it was decided Martyn would take the chance and give the Comet its first ride for 10 or more years.
Sunday:
0845 we left Higham Market Square Martyn on James Comet and me on the C90. On our arrival at Duloe village hall there waiting for us were Rod and Trev shortly followed by arrival of Gerry, Mick, Pete, Steve and others all on larger machines taking part in the encmcc breakfast ride to Duloe and after of course making good use of the bacon butties tea, coffee and biscuits supplied by Ralph Ricardson they will continue to Silver Ball Cafe at Reed for more sustenance.
Soon the little village lane was humming with the sound of little tiddlers buzzing along to the village hall start venue and of course the unmistakeable smell of two stroke oil and the associated blue haze.
Shortly after getting our Bacon sandwich and tea a call went out for the owner of the James Comet to attend his bike. to the dibelief of all who observed the phenomenon, the Comet had mysteriously fifteen or so minutes after our arrival, started pumping petroil out of the half full petrol tank through the fuel filler vent hole.
Vigorous scratching of the head failed to solve the problem so with tea getting cold the solution was to leave the petrol cap loose ( with note to secure before setting off). A fresh cup of tea and after another ten minutes or so and another call for the owner of the James Comet to attend his bike.
A crowd was gathering, no smoking signs to the fore, as the loosened petrol cap once again had fuel syphoning out of the vent hole.
This saw me get my tools out for the first time and after a little playing around with screwdrivers and 35 amp fuse wire ( its marvellous the things I carry in my pocket) the mystery was solved cap retightened and all ok.
11am saw 30 + mopeds, auto cycles and baby machines set of on a 30 mile ride to the Chequers for lunch stop. En-route Martyn's tool box popped open depositing things all over the road, luckily I was behind him and managed to guard the road off so nobody came to grief whilst the tools were recovered. We arrived at The Chequers without further incident although by the time we had gathered the tools etc. there was only Chris Martyn and myself and the Blue Haze. The other riders had disappeared.
We followed Chris along the designated route and much to our surprise actually arrived in front of over 50% of the riders who seemed to have taken several different routes none of
which were that carefully arranged by the organiser.
Further minor tweaking of the carburettor at The Chequers saw Martyn and I arriving back at his place around 2pm where we decided to make various other adjustments to the
way cables and wiring had been routed plus try and rectify a somewhat temperamental clutch set up.
Over 50 miles with a faultless engine note throughout must rate as a success for a 1948 James Comet fresh out of long
term hibernation
Matt
Photos of Martyns James comet on gallery 2 of this website.
The Annual Duloe Daffodil Dash
Saturday:
It was decided when Martyn and I left Rockingham that I would return to his house and examine the likelihood of Martyn using his newly acquired James Comet for today's ride.
After some teething troubles with fuel leaking from the carburettor which was fixed with guidance from Chris Saunders it was decided Martyn would take the chance and give the Comet its first ride for 10 or more years.
Sunday:
0845 we left Higham Market Square Martyn on James Comet and me on the C90. On our arrival at Duloe village hall there waiting for us were Rod and Trev shortly followed by arrival of Gerry, Mick, Pete, Steve and others all on larger machines taking part in the encmcc breakfast ride to Duloe and after of course making good use of the bacon butties tea, coffee and biscuits supplied by Ralph Ricardson they will continue to Silver Ball Cafe at Reed for more sustenance.
Soon the little village lane was humming with the sound of little tiddlers buzzing along to the village hall start venue and of course the unmistakeable smell of two stroke oil and the associated blue haze.
Shortly after getting our Bacon sandwich and tea a call went out for the owner of the James Comet to attend his bike. to the dibelief of all who observed the phenomenon, the Comet had mysteriously fifteen or so minutes after our arrival, started pumping petroil out of the half full petrol tank through the fuel filler vent hole.
Vigorous scratching of the head failed to solve the problem so with tea getting cold the solution was to leave the petrol cap loose ( with note to secure before setting off). A fresh cup of tea and after another ten minutes or so and another call for the owner of the James Comet to attend his bike.
A crowd was gathering, no smoking signs to the fore, as the loosened petrol cap once again had fuel syphoning out of the vent hole.
This saw me get my tools out for the first time and after a little playing around with screwdrivers and 35 amp fuse wire ( its marvellous the things I carry in my pocket) the mystery was solved cap retightened and all ok.
11am saw 30 + mopeds, auto cycles and baby machines set of on a 30 mile ride to the Chequers for lunch stop. En-route Martyn's tool box popped open depositing things all over the road, luckily I was behind him and managed to guard the road off so nobody came to grief whilst the tools were recovered. We arrived at The Chequers without further incident although by the time we had gathered the tools etc. there was only Chris Martyn and myself and the Blue Haze. The other riders had disappeared.
We followed Chris along the designated route and much to our surprise actually arrived in front of over 50% of the riders who seemed to have taken several different routes none of
which were that carefully arranged by the organiser.
Further minor tweaking of the carburettor at The Chequers saw Martyn and I arriving back at his place around 2pm where we decided to make various other adjustments to the
way cables and wiring had been routed plus try and rectify a somewhat temperamental clutch set up.
Over 50 miles with a faultless engine note throughout must rate as a success for a 1948 James Comet fresh out of long
term hibernation
Matt
Photos of Martyns James comet on gallery 2 of this website.
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