Friday the 24th of September the stars aligned. I had a weekend off, cash on the hip and “Fast Eric” Royston (Jawa club member) had told me of an MZ rally on that weekend in Sunny rural Oxfordshire. AND……. The sun was actually shining on me at 7am in the morning. Result!!
JAWA OHC all loaded and ready to go. Do you think I take a little too much with me just for a weekend?
The mighty bag of everything was packed with, well, everything and loaded onto the JAWA OHC. 10am, we wobbled off. The ride from Norfolk to Oxfordshire is a delight. The roads are twiddly and interesting enough to keep one awake whilst enjoying the view of the changing landscapes. The run from Norfolk to Oxford or Gloucestershire is one of my favourite rides as there is no need to go on any motorways unless you want to. Despite all the building work going on in this country, it is still lovely to be able to ride through vast swaths of East Anglia and Oxfordshire that is not disappearing under concrete and bricks. The Jawa is running smoothly and in 3 ½ hours I am pulling into St Peters Farm campsite right next to The Bear Pub in North Moreton.
ETZ 250 and a JAWA 350 model 634 at the Rally. I can remember a time when the Jawa club had rallies!
MZ and JAWA sorts are already talking Eastern Block bikes and looking closely at the 2 new Enfield’s that have rolled up.
Fast Erics Himalayan and Mikes new Enfield Meteor.
One is a new Himalayan owned by “Fast Eric” and one is a new Meteor 350 owned by Mike from the MZ club, who interestingly, had traded in his Himalayan for it. According to Mike the Meteor is a much more comfortable bike and has more than enough gently delivered power for his needs. It looked lovely with its well-padded, wide and low seat and swept back bars. Mike said its quite happy pottering along at 60 -65mph all day. The meteor seems to have caught the eye of all generations. My Son has decided that this particular Enfield will suit him down to the ground and he is saving hard to buy a new one as soon as possible. I must say that both Enfield’s were superbly finished and I cannot believe how much bike you get for under 4 grand.
Well used 250 MZ and full fairing.
Also in the field was a selection of eastern Block bikes including a JAWA 350 twin from the late 70, s and a CZ 250 twin that’s had the 305cc treatment (bored out and 350 pistons) and sounded really smooth when it when out on a run Saturday.
A delightful CZ 250 which has been tinkered with making it a 305.
Friday night was spent in the pub. We had a table booked and enjoyed a leisurely evening meal. The fine real ales went down a treat and the stories got louder and the arm waving got very energetic. Saturday some people decided to go for a run out to the various beauty spots around the area. Chocolate boxy villages with timber framed thatched houses and little hump back bridges going over gently meandering rivers.
Chatting about bikes for a change and Still chatting about bikes
Some decided to stay on site and wait for the day visitors to arrive. Later I noticed spanners coming out and some fettling with bikes taking place. Saturday night was again spent in the pub. We were advised to book our meal early as the staff were going to be busy dealing with an 18th birthday party in the function room next door. When we leave the pub, we take a short cut across the playing field next to the pub, to the campsite.
MZ 150 getting a dam good kicking.
I had peaked a little too early on Saturday night and decided to toddle off back to my tent about 10pm time. By this time the function room had thrown open its doors and released the teenagers into the car park. A lot of shall we say heavy petting was occurring as I made my way through the amorous throng and into the playing field on my way to the campsite. The rest of our party followed later and I was told that by this time the escaped teenagers were now engaging in some much more energetic amorous behaviour in the playing field which came into view by torchlight. A view they were not expecting!
The off-road look MZ. I loved this little bike.
Sunday morning, I was hoping that the sun would come out and dry off the dew on my tent, but the sun wasn’t playing and I had to pack up a damp tent. I left at 10am in the morning and settled in for a relaxing ride back to Norfolk. I had enough petrol for about 100 miles and the journey home was about 130 -140 miles. This was the weekend when all the idiots had run to the petrol stations and drained them dry. Petrol shortages and closed garages were the order of the day on the Sunday. Luckily, I found a pump with E10 petrol about 50 miles from home and filled up, which allowed me to get home. During this time of fuel shortage, I have had to fill the Jawa with E10 petrol. I have to say that it doesn’t seem to make much difference but I soon switch back to E5 as soon as it becomes available. My 20-year-old Harley with sidecar, however, hates E10 and runs really woolly and is down on power. That will have to avoid E10 at all costs. I think most problems with E10 will occur over the winter months when a lot of people leave their bikes standing for several months. I am told E10 can cause rusting in the tank and attack plastic floats in carburettors. Sounds like wonderful stuff, doesn’t it?
Steve of Kings Lynn.