Thought I better start a new thread about our proposed run for September.
So far those who have committed (or should be):

Comberjohn (me)
92KK K100LT 193214 (Olaf)
88KE (Will)
sgmayhew (Stephen)
Trapper (Alan)

Anyone else?

Which date? 8th, 15th or 22nd?
Are you out of the country on the 15th Stephen, or are you taking the proverbial?

The feeling I'm getting is that the Antrim coast road is the favourite choice. A bit further to drive but, as anyone who has done it will tell you, its good fun.
That motorway home will drive you mad after the bend swinging!

Now that I've got the hang of it, I've added a couple of photos for a bit of local colour.
Incidentally, the local country sage on Radio Ulster says that there will be good weather when the brats go back to school at the end of August.
I have more faith in him than the Met Office.

[img][/img]

View from Strangford, Co.Down.

[img][/img]

Ballycastle Harbour, Co. Antrim.

I have to go to Dublin on Monday 24th as my daughter is playing in NCH and I have to do a day trip running late. September 15th works better for me. I know we cant necessarily please everyone but I know it would be a good meet up!!! I would probably look for a nice small B & B somewhere near to stay in on the Friday night. Not sure about Saturday night, probably head back Saturday evening.

The 15th is definitely out for me - and therefore guaranteed to be brilliant weatherwise! I would love to be on the run but as noted above it won't be possible to please everyone. The pictures make the Antrim coast look really enticing.

I think its more of trying to find a date at relatively short notice that suits everyone. We did have more takers for last Saturday butt he date didnt suit. One was in Cork and I know there were more. plan a year in advance reduces that but there will always be family occasions etc which of course must take priority. If we go for 22nd I would try to make it as it is indeed an excellent run!!

Either weekend 15th or 22nd clear for me at this stage.
88KE

The weekend 15th or 22nd is, so far - clear for me.

Trapper

Enjoyed the 1st Irish meet. I've realized that the camera shy Tom Flynn referred to in Aughrim photo is actually Tom Foley....me. Can't make the next one in September as at Irish Sidecar rally 7/8/9 and the off to France on 10th. The Antrim coast is a great run and make sure to take in Tor Head,Cushendall/Cushendun, NW200 circuit to name a few places. I'm sure Comberjohn will have a great run in mind. Nice to have met some fellow enthusiasts and hope to meet again. Enjoy.

It is highly unlikely that I will be able to make any rideout in September, which is a shame because I enjoyed last weeks so much.

Comberjohn.....I sent you a PM with a link you might find interesting.

PS, if any is considering buying a RAM rear shock for the early K100 give me a shout. I had one on my old K100 which I removed to put onto the 16V but it is too short. I need to liberate some funds to get the longer version for the 16V.

I cant make this one but one day I'll meet up with you guys, although I cant be an eccentric as I understand you have to have money to be one, if you don't you are described as a little mad Also there's the little issue of no wheels on my K
I recently was in Fermanagh to complete the first ever crossing of the international border by a K under its own power without wheels, we crossed Lough Macnea Upper from south to north accompanied by an R1100 also with no wheels.
Later the same week the R suffered the dreaded " low battery welds the starter relay contacts together and burns out starter syndrome" It just happened to be about 800m offshore in Tralee bay at the time but luckily wind was from the north an it drifted onto the beach at high tide.
I have recently discovered a trove of K parts nearby so if anybody needs anything let me know.

Hover K100. Anyone who bolts a K100 to something as daft as a hovercraft has to be regarded as an eccentric, even if you are as skint as the rest of us.
The feeling I'm getting is that those who are available at all in September, are favouring the 22nd.
Can I have a show of hands for this date, please?
I'm heading up the Antrim coast road early in the morning.
Purely in the need for research for the run, you understand. Someone has to do it.

What about a few ideas for next Spring/Summer (ho ho ho!).

Weekend camping trips to Cork or Killarney? Scottish Highlands maybe?
Or what about a biggie! K's to France!

Comberjohn wrote:Hover K100. Anyone who bolts a K100 to something as daft as a hovercraft has to be regarded as an eccentric, even if you are as skint as the rest of us.
The feeling I'm getting is that those who are available at all in September, are favouring the 22nd.
Can I have a show of hands for this date, please?
I'm heading up the Antrim coast road early in the morning.
Purely in the need for research for the run, you understand. Someone has to do it.

What about a few ideas for next Spring/Summer (ho ho ho!).

Weekend camping trips to Cork or Killarney? Scottish Highlands maybe?
Or what about a biggie! K's to France!

Early spring to Wales for a camping week end at the Dragon Rally???????????

"The feeling I'm getting is that those who are available at all in September, are favouring the 22nd.
Can I have a show of hands for this date, please?"

The 22nd is OK for me
Trapper

Well, neither Irish nor that much eccentric - not even K (well, not yet ) Am I accepted if I can manage the date? Once date is set (and it seems to be for the 22nd) I shall work hard on it (I'm just getting comments now at workplace for having toooo many weekends off )

The 22nd is fine for me. Looking forward to it.
Stephen

22nd sounds good too.

Bjorn you will be very welcome indeed, we hope you will come.

92KK

92KK K100LT 193214 wrote:22nd sounds good too.

Bjorn you will be very welcome indeed, we hope you will come.

92KK

Thanks Olaf. Since you're in Cork we may be able to ride up together - normally I go by N25 Waterford - M9 - M7 but if you don't mind I may just join you around Cork city and go straight up by the M7. If I remember well you wrote earlier something like you would go the evening before and look out for some accomodation up North - that sounds reasonable.

Bjorn I never thought to ask are you doing the Barnardos run to Kenmare today, Glengarriffe and the Healy Pass. Its a cracker of a route. Weather reasonable so might be a good turn out. Will look out for you.

I dont mind which way I travel, quite happy to follow your route.

92KK

92KK K100LT 193214 wrote:Bjorn I never thought to ask are you doing the Barnardos run to Kenmare today, Glengarriffe and the Healy Pass. Its a cracker of a route. Weather reasonable so might be a good turn out. Will look out for you.

I dont mind which way I travel, quite happy to follow your route.

92KK

Well, I was planning that but as the daughter has a headcold it may be a little too much for her. We go down to the viaduct to see the old Jap steeds and then we'll see how it goes. If she's O.K., we come up to Curraheen by 12:00

Looks like a go for the 22nd then. Might be a couple of degrees cooler then but the weather couldn't be any worse than this summer.
I was thinking of a starting point at McDonald's at the Sprucefield roundabout near Lisburn. Not very salubrious, but would do the job.
Its at the top of the A1 so would be handy for those travelling up from Dublin direction, plus its only a few miles down the M1 to the starting point for the Causeway coast.
Will now start to plan in more detail.
Took an early morning run on the coast road yesterday morning.
Valium on wheels!
Took a few snaps to wet your appetites.



Start of the coast road itself just outside Larne. Look familiar, Steve?
Was a few damp patches at first. Just enough to keep you focused.



The view while sitting outside having my sausage, bacon & egg soda(heart attack special) and a mug of tea strong enough to dance on.
That's Scotland in the distance. In the winter, the mountains are covered in snow and look pink from here in certain weather conditions.
When I arrived in Ballycastle an English guy and his wife came up to me asking about the bike. Seems he has an '89 K75 and wondered if the RT fairing would fit. Told him about the forum.



The Vanishing Lake. So called because it vanishes occasionally...



Only 75 miles to home. The weather has picked up a bit now although the roads are getting busier in the other direction.

John, any chance you could recommend a reasonably priced clean place (B&B, hostel, whatever) where the bike can be parked up safely for the night? Would be nice to stay around Lisburn the night before and start the trip after a good night's rest.

Thanks in advance.

great pics john ...thanks !

John

Some really nice photos........I got an offer of somewhere to stay in Dublin on 21st....tried to persuade a friend to come along but failed, 'bike days are done, not getting on one now' but instead got an invite to stay over.

92KK

Been off the grid for a couple of days guys. SWMBO has approved the 22nd as she wants to get away the following weekend so it all looks good for me and those pics have certainly whetted my appetite!

I can taste the Ulster fry already :-E:

88

Watching this thread closely, I can feel another trip coming up...

Rene Why dont you come over for it! Last one was great, very sociable indeed and seems like we are all very much individuals at same time. I can't remember where the Irish Eccentrics came from but its a good name.

We will probably have Bjorn from Cork as well. He is a 'younger' member who hasnt got to a K bike yet but a very nice R bike of more recent vintage. We did a run to Kenmare on Sunday, was a wet run day and the K was appreciated. Didnt put on wet gear and didnt get wet either despite sometimes torrential rain.

How are we for numbers now?

92KK

Think I can claim the dubious honour of naming us the Irish eccentrics, Olaf.
It does seem to sit well though.
Think we will have a similar number to the Wicklow get together.

ReneZ wrote:Watching this thread closely, I can feel another trip coming up...

good one rene ...go baby go !

92KK K100LT 193214 wrote:Rene Why dont you come over for it! Last one was great, very sociable indeed and seems like we are all very much individuals at same time. I can't remember where the Irish Eccentrics came from but its a good name.

We will probably have Bjorn from Cork as well. He is a 'younger' member who hasnt got to a K bike yet but a very nice R bike of more recent vintage. We did a run to Kenmare on Sunday, was a wet run day and the K was appreciated. Didnt put on wet gear and didnt get wet either despite sometimes torrential rain.

How are we for numbers now?

92KK

As for numbers, count me in as one (95% at this stage) or 2 (~60%). Thanks for the compliment on my bike Olaf - I normally say it's so ugly it's rather beautiful But by Odin's beard, you didn't sound that much English to me when listening to you
Unfortunately I had to shoot home fairly lively as having some domestic issues...


John, how about announcing a competition for designing a badge for the Eccentrics' Club? Something eccentric I mean :cyclops:

John

Have my exit visa organised for 22nd......rain or not. You might let me have some info on B & B too, may have a friend coming up with me so would be nice to stay up that way. some nice photos up, would be good to get a nice number. However I have discovered from a friend who has a 1959 boxer that there is a classic BMW BBQ on 22nd September somewhere up on the Antrim coast.....he seems to think anything up to 40 are going.....the possibility of a merger was discussed!!! More about this later.

92KK

ComberJohn,
That's a really nice looking bike. Probably my favourite of the stock B Em colours.
Sean.

Hi Sean. Its Madison Silver Metallic. Not the original colour, it was silver. This is an '86 colour that has been sprayed at some point. Not a bad bike for £380 + £70 parts.

Olaf, here is the info I passed to Björn. (These names sound a bit surreal in Ireland)

There are a few B&B's around Lisburn, but I don't know too much about them.
The look OK but you do tend to pay a bit more because you are nearer Belfast.

As an alternative suggestion you could stay at this B&B, Arley House.
Very quiet and in sight of the Mournes.
Its only a couple of miles from me and we could drive down together to the meeting point in the morning, about 20 miles from here.
You would be welcome to come up for a bite of supper on the Friday evening or maybe you would want to crash out after your long trip.
Spoke to the owner and he has a vacancies for that Friday night. Would cost £35 for B&B for a single. You would need to ask about cost of a twin room.
No problem about the bike. He's a motorcycle lover too.

Comberjohn wrote:Olaf, here is the info I passed to Björn. (These names sound a bit surreal in Ireland)

Tell my mother Well, she also gave me a "good, widely usable" international name, Peter (on any official documents and my IDs I'm actually displayed as Peter Bjørn) - but I'm much more "beary" than "rocky" .

I suppose though most of the Irish felt it rather surreal when the first Björn Björnssons and Olaf Olafssons appeared here about 1200 years ago... Using 2 battle axes simultanously and being 6 inches higher than the native average here must have induced some bad feelings.

I always get a great laugh out of names.

I will start with Bjorn. Yes, the 'invader' was taller than the native Irish, but I think that leaves them more vulnerable to a smaller native who can whipe the ankles from udner them. I was not even 5' 0" tall in school [153cm] but made the school basketball team despite a 30cm disadvantage. I saw it as an advantage because I could move around 'under' the play.

ComberJohn will understand that with a name like Maxwell I wasn't around Ireland when these Viking invaders came to Lindsifarne and other places. Maxwell is a very solid Scottish name and having done a significant tracing of family history means that we were well and truly in Scotland at that time and didnt arrive in Ireland until centuries later. So there is no way your great great..........grandfather killed off my great great ............grandfather.

In much more recent times I did some work for a large Swedish company who were astonished to find an 'Olaf' here.

I suppose I have a love of history and when we look at history in fact it is all decided by geography and the shape of the land. Irish history too is determined by such things. But progress in a future is best determined by dreams and ambition.

I have to admit I love the diversity of conversation on this site.

Roll on 22 September and if I can organise it right that invite for dinner on the Friday would be fantastic. Must have a firm word with someone on that!!

92KK

I have to agree Olaf - the Irish may be the last nation in Europe who carry pretty much the same genes as their ancestors 2000 years ago (whether it's an advantage or not, it depends on the view). Very little movement around here, especially (until recent times) very few people moving in here.
On the contrary, people around Europe kept moving all the time due to having no sea between the countries acting as a barrier. Documented cases of Vikings appearing from Middle & North America to North Africa and even the Black Sea are just an extreme example but on the continent there is no such thing as a "pure blood" German or French. My father has even green eyes and (nearly) black hair (well, grey now) so definitely some southern genes in here. He looks odd though with the snow white skin

Nice to see we're all different but we're all the same in some way: love heavy (Bavarian) battle steeds , good food and good company. BTW good food, that barbecue sounds interesting. Sausage time

I Like that, Heavy battle steeds.
So, I'll throw my name, Plunkett, into the fray. I always thought it was of Irish linguistic origins, but it is fact an Irish-isation of Blanchett, the French. As is Sean...from Jean. To Anglify it completely.....it becomes John White. Ha! Bit weird really.
Sean.

I just realised I wrote 'dinner' on Friday night where ComberJohn wrote 'supper'.

Very wrong on my part but those that know me well will know that I would turn up with a large bag of goodies anyway so whatever the arrangement a good time would be had.

92KK

Dinner! You had me worried for a moment, Olaf.
Leave the tails and bow tie at home this time. We'll not see you starve.
And where did the barbecue come from? Do you think we are Australians or something?

John

I will leave the black tie at home most definitely. Seems I was adding to that heart attack special breakfast you mentioned a while back when you were reconnoitering [big words] the route. It was totally a slip on my part. It is a very nice invitation but me being me would insist on bringing some things. I probably have the biggest set of luggage going so it will hold a bottle of your favourite wine too. I wont know for a while as to what is happening on the Friday so dont worry about me yet. However my plan is to try and be up early as in daylight in time for shower etc. I am really looking forward to this trip. The LT is great in the wet so weather is not likely to spoil it.

Olaf 92KK

Comberjohn wrote:.....
And where did the barbecue come from? Do you think we are Australians or something?

John

I met a boxer owner I know many years and we were discussing bikes. He services BMW in Cork and hadnt known I had the K100. He told me he was heading north the same weekend [21/22nd] on a run and a BBQ somewhere up Antrim way. I think he has an R69 but he has been in these for many years. I have to find out more from him.

If my plans work out I will hopefully be up around 6/7pm but its not fixed yet.

92KK

Ooooh. Now I understand. I thought someone not familiar with our climate in late September, had taken it that I was having a barbie that Friday night.

Seems to me there's no harm in dropping in some German wine into the panniers
Mosel or Rheinpfalz, I'll look around the house...

Olaf posted this email on the 'Irish Meet' thread and wondered if it might be worth tagging along with them on the 22nd of September.

Anyone have any thoughts on it?

'This is the email I received from Jim Ellis in Cork: jimellispc@eircom.net

It relates to Friday 21st and Saturday 22ns September. By some strange quirk of faith the GS the Rs and the K bikes are all converging...on the Mourne Mountains.


Hi everyone, we thought you might like another weekend of bikes, bbq's and
beer before the year is out so we've decided to organise a little get
together.

We've found a fantastic spot in the Mourne Mountains, Co Down, a clachan of
four self catering cottages, very traditional with excellent facilties.
We've been able to get all four for the weekend, they sleep 20 people
altogether and will cost £20 per person per night, so it's up to you whether
you want one night or two.

The first 20 will obviously get the bed spaces however there is plenty of
floor space so nobody needs to worry about bringing a tent. Each cottage has
a mixture of double, twin and single rooms so let us know which you prefer.
One of the cottages is disabled accessible with a bedroom and en suite on
the ground floor.
All the cottages have fully equipped kitchens, traditional fireplaces with
crook and crane, washing machine, fridge-freezer, central heating, colour TV
and video, clothes drying facilities, garden, garden furniture, 1 bath, 1
shower, 2 toilets, and 2 wash hand basins. Some photos below.

We can get takeaway on the Friday night for those that will been there,
there are pizzerias, kebab shops, chinese and indian takeaways all within a
few miles and a great wee off licence with every strange beer and ale you
can think of. Cars will be available to collect everything.

On the Saturday there will be a ride out around some of the most beautiful
areas of County Down, through two AONB, along the coast and through forests
and mountains. For those of you familiar with the area you know how
spectacular it is. There will also be a stop for lunch on an island, you'll
enjoy that, it's a great place with even better views.

We have a slap up bbq's planned for the Saturday night and hopefully a small
local trade group will provide the entertainment, that is until the drink
kicks in and we all join in. The BBQ will be £10 each.

As the cottages are self catering you will have the facilties to make your
own fry's etc for breakfast if you wish, however we will make sure each
cottage has milk, coffee, bread, butter etc to get you started.

There is also the option to stay on the Sunday night as well for anyone who
fancies a long weekend.

There will also be t-shirts or stickers, hopefully both.

Boirche (Tom) is the main organiser of this weekend, I'm helping arrange the
details so any questions just ask. Please let us know ASAP if you plan on
being there, thanks and hope you can make it!
I am sure we could bunk in here if space available'

I'd quite happily joint the bar-b-que !

I'm also very happy to stick with plan A. I'm not at all averse to the idea of joining in but does it enhance or detract from what we set out to do? (Thinking out loud).

How would the others react to us doing our own run and those who wish joining in there for the Saturday evening/Sun morning?

Actually I don't give a monkeys as long as we meet and enjoy ourselves as much as last time.

88KE

I'd be happy with either run John. But do not plan to stay over and the original suggestion seemed fine to me. Stephen

I have a confession to make. I got the email about the other run and it was overlapped with the dates for ours. However I spoke to Jim Ellis and the date was incorrect, the other run is October and not September so they do not coincide. Mea culpa..

So, we have our original plan and I ma still game for that.

92KK

Well Olaf, they say confession is good for the soul.

Back to plan A, the Antrim coast road and I'm looking forward to it as there are signs that the weather may settle down for September.

That simplifies matters!

88

Guys,

Count me in. Bike is still in the garage, hopefully back on Monday & get MOT sorted. Things getting done, new front master cylinder, clutch arm boot ( i have already replaced this twice!) gear shift oil seal, valves, plugs, timing, throttle bodoes, oils & filters, light adjustment. The good news is my ABS is not broken, wrong battery in the bike, won't power up the ABS. Out of interest, Mototec uses some place in Germany for parts. Original BMW parts but not at BM prices.I will try and get the details. E.g front master cylinder same price as Motobins but original BM part. Hope to be there on the 22nd!

G

woohoo ...!

sounds like you irish mob are well on the way to a joyous meet and greet .

got my fingers crossed for the good weather