Coming Home 1993

Late July 1993. Time to leave Zastávka and head for home.

Tony and Heather were back with the kids. The plan to ride across to southern Germany for an overnight. I would continue north and they would split off and head south. 

Outside the flat on Sportovní

We headed west on the dálnice past Prague and into Germany. 

The overnight stop was in a youth hostel in a castle in Bavaria near Ellwangen. 

In those days in Bavaria anyone over 26yo couldn't stay in a YH unless they were part of a family group. We qualified and they had a family room and I got stuck in a dorm with three cyclists.

After breakfast I rode all the way home tugging the trailer. 

At the German border*

In case of fuel problems I had two cans bungied to the rack on the trailer. In the end I didn't need to use either.

This was the last long journey on the Kettle for a few years. 

I started at University in Luton in late September. To earn a few quid I signed up with a local courier company. 

After a horrific ride to Devon to deliver a letter I moved onto the vans in my non Uni days and weekends. 

The GT dropped to being No2 when I bought a 1990 XJ900F. Much better for occasional courier work when a bike was needed.

Moving on.

* Raining and wearing Rukka unlined waterproofs.. Yes. I still have that jacket. 

Smokin!

On the drive in Flitwick. In those days before phones had cameras and were able to make movies 

In fact before phones were portable outside the house and carried more computing power than Apollo 11!

Renaissance

After years of neglect things are starting to move.

I contacted a few bike restorers to see if I could get the bike to them to get it running. But not much came of that avenue. 

I am not expecting showroom or concours condition. Just usable. 

In the 80's. Me nearest camera.

As it is over 40 years old it is now registered as a historic vehicle with the UK authorities. 

As a result it is tax exempt and MoT exempt. It has to be roadworthy but doesn't have to undergo the test each year. 

In the end my old friend John Storrie made some good suggestions. 

The motor won't turn over and I suspect there is some corrosion in the cylinders. It wasn't a hot seize. Just standing too long. 

Removing the plugs reveals no corrosion on the plug electrodes and there is a healthy whiff of petrol. Hopefully the 2-stroke poured into the bores will permeate and free up the rings. 

There are a few other jobs to do and I have many of the parts required; carb rebuild kits, new throttle twist grip, exhaust gaskets. 

The choke plungers in the carbs are brass. The lifter is a steel V-shape like two fingers. The brass is wearing thin and the heads might drop off. 

The "new" Motobatt battery that went in before the lay-up is dodo dead. It might recover on the mains charger. Otherwise it will need a new one. 

Tyres. Were quite new but have sat so long on one place. Maybe them and the inner tubes will have to go... 

It all hinges on the engine not being seized.  

Fingers crossed!!!!!! 

Wasserbüffel Treffen 1993

A long weekend. Luckily it was the weekend at the end of the May half-term school holiday and so I was able to load up the bike and set off in good time to get across to Moosham.

The route via the Mikulov/Drasenhofen border crossing and around Vienna and then west past the Red Bull Ring, although then it was called Zeltweg, would be about 250 miles. 

Czech fuel was cheaper and I topped up before the border. With a range of only 130 miles to a tank fuel management is important.

On arrival at Schloss Moosham I had nowhere to stay. I met up with Thomas Wahle who I had "known" for a few years exchanging letters about Kettles. 

I had never met him before.  I was going to look at nearby Mauterndorf for a room or even a bed. Thomas and the Stuttgart area Büffel Herde had a large room and parking in the barn across the road. They also had a spare bed. As I was a poor "Czech" they wouldn't let me pay.

The weekend was a great success. A couple of the Austrian members got married. We had several rides out. My Kettle was the centre of attention due to the tow bar. 

The ride back was by a different route that took me across country to the north of the outward route.. 

The bike? Ran perfectly.