Roper Tiddler Tour

I'm way behind on the blog as I've been to four back-to-back events, starting with the Roper Tiddler Tour, the social event of the season.  We had a record turnout of 48 riders.  Brother Doug laid out a superb route with 88 miles to the east in the morning, through Hadlyme, Lyme, Old Lyme, Salem, and East Haddam.  Tim Courts rode with me in the morning on his 250 Ducati ex-race bike.

Tim Court's 250 Ducati ex-racer with Tim in the middle, Rich Hosley on his right and Gordon Pulis on his left

Cockpit details of Tim Ducati. Note steering damper knob

I knew almost all the roads, so we jammed hard, Tim trusting that I knew were the road was going.  It had rained the night before. so there was some concern that the 5 miles of dirt road might be muddy, but it was perfect, with no dust.  In Old Lyme I went off the route to get gas, while Tim followed the route. But, he missed a turn and by the time he realized it and turned around, I had finished gassing up and, as I got back on the route, I see Tim coming from the wrong way and he slotted in right behind me as though it was planned.
Mike Peavey was riding his Moto Guzzi Airone Sport that he had recently put back together after a main bearing had come adrift, allowing the crank to move side to side.

Mike Peavey with his beautiful, but ill fated, Airone Sport

He had take a couple of short test rides and it seemed fine but, in the morning, it seized and Amy had to go pick him (and a couple of others) up with the trailer.  So, after lunch, I let Mike ride my Airone Sport and I rode my Horex.  This gave Mike a chance to compare the performance of the two bikes almost back-to-back and he pronounce my bike way faster than his.  I'm claiming to have the fastest Airone in the East, though Bill Burke is still trying to claim that his (which hasn't run in three or four years) is still faster.
The afternoon route was to the West and around 48 miles and also great roads.  After we got back, we tore into Mike's Airone and found that the crank pinion nut had come off allowing the crank to move to the left and the flywheel to foul the footrest.  The good news was that the main bearing had not moved and the hope was that replacing the pinion nut and tightening and loctiting it this time would  make the motor better than new.
A big party ensued and a few stayed over Sat. night.  We took a short ride Sun. morn and in the afternoon Gordon Pulis left for the New London/Orient Point ferry on his way home.  But, his 175 Honda stopped on the way in Waterford.  Doug and I went to pick him up and, when we got back to Haddam, quickly found that the cam wasn't turning while the crank was.  We dropped the motor and found that the master link had come off the cam chain because the tensioner was really worn.  I called Henry Sypher to see if he had any parts.  He was driving back from the USCRA race in Canaan, New Hampshire and said that, as a matter of fact, he happened to have a 175 Honda motor apart on the bench and had a serviceable cam chain and tensioner.  Doug drove Gordon up to Henry's as I was leaving to ride home, and got the bike back together then next day and caught the ferry 24 hours after he intended.  Not a bad recovery from a major failure on the road.

Mike Tomany and son Aaron's Puch twingles

Jamie Goodson's Allstate Puch

Dakota Martin and Roxanne rode this DS7 Yamaha two up with brio, despite it's oversized front tire

Nigel Griffen's 125 Ducati

Bob Young's(?) R27 BMW

Jeff Zelek's '67 YR-1 350 Yamaha

Craig Pedimonti's  '66 YDS-3 Yamaha.  About a third of the bike on the TT were two strokes

Edwina Stevenson arrives on her RD200 Yamaha 

This Ducati had been to the Giro D'Italia.  

Dave Miller rode this 125 Moto Morini Corsaro (Pirate)

Mitch Frazier with a trailer load.  He carried Janice Lazo, a complete novice, in the sidecar and she had a ball.  Jean rode the Honda

Dave Nichols' G-2 Matchless.  It came back on the trailer with a dead battery

The bike was built by Ad Coppens

A B-25 BSA