Age is just a number!

I first met Ian Feeley in a car park in downtown Malmedy, Belgium, just down the road from the Spa circuit.  James and I were on our way home after watching the classic and endurance racing over the weekend up at the circuit. Three lads wandered over to chat after seeing our UK number plates, …

Living with a Special.

So there I am, riding out on the F1, happy as a clam, climb up Garrowby Hill and there’s a cough and a splutter and she’s running pretty bad. The happiness is short lived, isn’t it always! I make it to a lay by and whip the tank off, nothing obvious and I have all …

Craggy Ireland

Our destination on this trip, the West coast of Ireland, via the racing at the North West 200, this is just one of the many spectacular views along the coastline, blessed with great weather for May with only one real day of rain to spoil the fun. This could be the last visit to the …

Racing improves the breed.

I think a fair few of will know that Harris have been a big part of my life.  It’s 40 years since first seeing a Harris on the cover of Superbike magazine and 36 years since collecting my first frame kit from the Hertford factory in December 1987. Harris performance products have been building bikes …

My wife is American

That’s not my wife, it’s Pete’s wife Mary Beth, that is American, I just kept hearing it as Pete introduced himself to the many American visitors we encountered on our latest Scottish adventure, the isle of Mull, the Kintyre peninsula and Arran. We headed up through Yorkshire on the back roads, Masham, Leyburn, Reeth, Alston …

Is there any Italian wine?

Is a question posed, whilst in a French supermarket, in France! Le Mans 23 has us travelling to Portsmouth in the worst weather I have had in all of the trips south for the 24 hour race. Although it seems we fare better travelling later from Yorkshire, leaving at 1.30pm with Les and others travelling …

1100K

Browsing through Ebay, as you do, a few years back, I spied a 7//11 for sale in Harrogate, just round the corner from the office, bought it, rode it up the road briefly, then stripped it, at the time I just wanted it for spares. Just as well really cos the steerer stem was this …

1127s go to France

Mr Suzuki probably didn’t envisage their oil boiler GSXRs still being ridden around 30 years after production, we’ve got two here, a near stock N model with some period upgrades, Ohlins, Akropovic… and a bitsa, M frame, ZX7 front end, JMC swinger, Nitron, Akro, etc, and then there’s this…….. Where do I start? GSXR frame, …

Spa 24

With world endurance going back to Spa for a 24 hour race, the first since 2003 we book the ferry and head to the Ardennes for the weekend. WIth the Zeebrugge boat now gone we are on the Rotterdam crossing, giving us a slightly longer journey. We make good time to the circuit, both of …

Where’s Jim – who cares?

Northern Ireland, North West 200, its good to be going back. The coast road from Larne up to Bushmills doesn’t disappoint, stunning scenery as we wind up the coast to the cottage. Thursday is another practice day with 3 races in the evening. Watch some practice down at Ballysally roundabout before moving on to Metropol, …