We ride machines that should have retired long ago, and some bikes live a hard life in the hands of gas happy owners. The last Vincent was built in 1955 and many of the bikes present at the Rally were manufactured in the 40-ies. Many of them had covered a long way at modern traffic pace to come here, with England as the most distant starting point. Bearing all this in mind, it is nothing less than strange that not more problems have been reported. How many other motorcycle brands from those days can stand up so well to this type of strain?
På onsdagkväll var den ihopskruvad och kunde provstartas. Feltimad magnet fördröjde första start till efter 23 på kvällen.
Torsdag besiktning kl 10.
På fredagen avfärd 07:30 och sträckkörning / snabbinkörning från Stockholm till Travemünde. Fick stanna på Biltema i Linköping och köpa en slang till en provisorisk vevhusventilation och bunkra olja.
Den drog cirka 5 liter olja under den 13,5 timmar långa resan.
På hemvägen protesterade den högljutt strax före Helsingör nästan torr på olja. På svenska sidan byttes tändstift och cyklen gick igen dock dåligt på låga varv. Strax före Nyköping fick detta sin förklaring då det upptäcktes att ett insugsgummi var sprucket, vilket lagades med silvertejp. 800 m innan avfarten till Järna ploppade förgasaren ur insugsgummit och fick hållas på plats med ena handen fram till närmsta mack.
Nästan hemma tappades en inspection cap och rikligt med olja läckte resten av resan. Oljekontot översteg besinkostnaden. Se det var ett riktigt äventyrdet!!!
Friday dawned and Patrik jumped on the seat and made for Germany in a combination of high speed travel and quick break-in operation. A couple of stops were made for spare parts (crank case ventilation hoses) and oil purchase. No less than 5 litres were used.
On the way home the oil tank was found almost empty at Helsingör but was partly refilled by fellow riders. The bike had showed quite slow performance which Patrik could diagnose as a cracked carburetor rubber bellow. This was repaired with duct tape.
But later the carburetor slipped out of its bellow and he had to keep the carburetor in place with his left hand. This was interesting when changing gears. He had to let go of the carb momentarily, and then fish it up and again press it to the cylinder top. And as if this was not enough, he lost a valve cap some miles from home, and could not do much but observe the oil gushing out.
But home he got. Tired, dirty, oily but rich with Vincent experience and memories.
| Epilog. Jimmy från Köpenhamn åkte hem något senare och kände igen vissa spår efter en Vincent på marken vid färjan i Puttgarden. Han efterlyste ägaren via Facebook: Fandt disse på vej hjem fra SVC. Rally ved færgen i putgarten. Hvem mangler den? Spor efter Vincent F69-F27og 559 (bult som håller bakstödet) | |
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Patriks bakstöd hade lossnat i Puttgarden och fått fästas med ett buntband. |
| Epilogue. On his way home to Copenhagen, Jimmy recognized some parts on the ground a the ferry in Puttgarden, Rear Stand Bolt. He asked for the owner at Facebook. Yes, Patrik had to secure his rear stand with a plastic stripe in Puttgarden when going home. |
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Nothing, absolutely nothing, can stop a Vincent Enthusiast !!! |
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| I Classic Motor, nr 9 2018 finns nu en intressant artikel på 5 sidor om Vincent och Patriks resa.
In the Swedish magazine "Classic Motor" there is now an interesting article about Vincent and this test-ride to Germany. |
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