Malcolm and I hit the road on Saturday to attend the 23rd Annual Quinte C.V.M.G “Rally and Show”, July 22nd to 24th, 2011 at Robin Lake Park, Ameliasburgh, Ontario. We hit the road at 11:30 and slogged out on the 401 – of course hitting stop and go traffic. Malcolm’s bike wasn’t happy past 4000 rpm on the highway – we think there is dirt in the tank – sputters, coughing and general grumpiness would ensure with attempts at acceleration or WOT.
We finally got off the highway at Cobourg. All was fine until Colborne, when gearing down for a 90° in the town center my clutch cable pulled out of the nipple. Now considering myself a smart fellow, I brought an extra cable, being even more clever it was one of two that I purchased off Ebay as NOS. What better I thought then fit an old bike with original parts!
I fitted the cable with my grossly inadequate tool kit. Malcolm had to borrow a dime from the corner store to improvise a screwdriver to get the lever off. His excuse for not bringing tools was “I figured you were prepared” and in his defense it wasn’t his bike he was riding. I fitted the cable and off we went. The bike was NOT happy. I couldn’t get the clutch to fully disengage and it required an iron grip, it was actually easier to shift without the clutch then with it.
We arrived at the the campground and were greeted with cold beer and familiar faces. I spent lots of time fiddling with the clutch, adjusting the lower adjuster – when finally it dawned on me to use the spare cable the Malcolm’s bike had. Needless to say fitting the Barnett cable was a dream and the bike was happy.
Long ride home, passed through Trenton, saw the barracks where I spent 2 weeks as an Air cadet. We didn’t get rained on despite the forks of lightening off in the distance. We pulled into Toronto at 11, almost 12 hours after we left, the streets steamy and wet from the days heat.