bigplonker

I bought a new Seeley (the black mudguard version) sometime around 1980(?) and have been a fan of them ever since. Spotted a good 'un for sale out here in France a few years back but didn't buy it. However, for some strange reason, I kept some photos of the bike and browsed through them earlier today in one of my 'delete unwanted photos' sessions. I think I'll keep 'em. Would be interesting to see other members' Seeley photos as I think there were a few different versions over its limited production run. Or am I wrong as usual? Anyway, a couple of snaps...

As explained earlier, Dorna sneakily removed £125 from my bank account without prior warning. This was the cost of viewing this year's MotoGP rounds. However, as all these rounds (except for one?) have so far been cancelled, will I be able to claim a refund?

Hello there, I consider myself fortunate to have bought that Comerford's Cub from Gordon Farley's in Guildford a few years back, but I consider myself a bit bonkers for selling it soon after so I could buy a gorgeous 410 Matchless from Sunbeam club mate Mike Holloway. Have to admit I didn't like the big red lettering on the Cub's tank so I replaced it with a couple of simple Triumph logos. Saw it advertised some time later and it looked like it had been shoved away in a damp shed. A sorry sight. Original bike with plastic cap for petrol tank (from Triumph Tina scooter???) and ye olde covers(!) for clutch and front brake cables on handlebar but... standard forks weren't exactly brilliant.

I had a 320 with a special exhaust for a short time. Not sure if it was a 'works bike' though.

I searched the Dorna MotoGP site for any info regarding cancelling this payment and/or being reimbursed. Couldn't find anything even remotely related. Sneaky burgers.

Yes, I know this is a trials site, but it has a MotoGP section so I may as well use it to have a bit of a moan. This morning I received an email from PayPal stating that Dorna (the organisation that runs MotoGP) have grabbed about £125 from my account. This is the cost of viewing the 2020 GPs. Unfortunately I was unaware that this was an automatic payment triggered at the end of the final race of the 2019 calendar which happened yesterday at Valencia. My gripe is that this sum was grabbed without prior warning. Personally I would have preferred an email informing me that this sum was about to be deducted from my bank account and that it could be cancelled if I so wished. Fortunately I could just about afford this expense without getting overdrawn. Also, I'm happy to consider paying to watch next year's races. But, and it's a big but, I really do think Dorna have been a bit sneaky. I've now cancelled this automatic payment nonsense after searching the internet for how to do so. Have to admit I'm now reluctant to sign up for the 2021 season. Thank you. Moan over.

Gosh and crikey! Mighty impressive!

I've just spotted this HT5 for sale, advertised on the leboncoin site. It's in France, just south of Paris and asking €9900, which is about £9000. Could be of interest to someone, but, alas, not moi.

Spotted this trials Zundapp for sale in northern France. €1500.

This is a long shot... If anyone's going to the Creuse 4 day trial in France from the Scunthorpe area I'd be massively grateful if you could transport a box of about 20?ish classic motorcycle magazines to the trials venue at Sardent where I could pick them up and thereby save about £50 in postage costs. Being a poverty stricken old age pensioner, I'd be happy to pay around £20 for petrol money.

Yesterday's Argentina MotoGP was a good 'un. Congrats to Cal Crutchlow for a fine win. However the main talking point was Marquez's aggressive riding. This was probably caused by a rush of angry adrenaline after being given a 'drive through' penalty for riding in the reverse direction at the start after stalling his engine and then bump starting (ooh, complicated to explain). When given the penalty he was in the lead, but he rejoined the race at the tail end, hence his anger. From that point onwards he rode like a maniac right up to about fifth position (if I remember correctly), having barged his way past most of his competitors including Rossi who crashed due to being forced off the track when Marquez dived up the inside on a bend. I understand that the race directors penalised both Rossi and Marquez for dangerous riding by relegating them to the last positions in the finishing order (or maybe I'm wrong). I've just watched Rossi's post race video on the MotoGP site and yes, sure enough, he was really angry about Marquez. More than that, he wanted the MotoGP 'powers that be' to punish him for being a real danger to his fellow competitors as well as being completely disrespectful. I suspect Rossi wants him banned for a lengthy period of time. Personally, I think Rossi's right to accuse Marquez of riding dangerously and demanding punishment to fit the crime. Yes, I know Marquez is a brilliant rider but he's overstepped the limit before and he's done it again. His determination to win at all costs is putting lives at risk. Something has to be done.

Very interested to see Maurice Hocking's 410 Matchless being auctioned on eBay. This must be one of the most desirable trials bikes ever, apart, maybe, from Sam's GOV132 and Eddie Lejeune's works Hondas. Bidding is currently at £6600 and I expect it to go much higher. I'll keep doing the lottery.

And..., as well as Dave Thorpe, the 350 CCM was ridden in the late '70s with some success by Nick Jefferies, who also rode the four-stroke RTL Honda and various racers in the IOM TT thus making him one of the great all-rounders.

I vaguely remember Dave Thorpe riding a 350cc BSA engined CCM in the 'Scottish' a few decades ago. I think I'm right in saying that it sprang an oil leak or two and gave Dave quite a challenging ride. Can't recall whether he coaxed the bike through to the finish or not. If so, he did well. As somebody else mentioned in this thread, the bike looked and sounded gorgeous.