2nd Annual Northern Ontario Carb Clinic - June 21, 2003
This year the NOCC was privy to the talents of two special experts in the XJ world. The XJ World Relay penguins arrived Friday night, chauffeured by Greg Martin, and were ready and raring to go first thing Saturday morning!
The penguins were not our only guest stars. Brad Bowen, of XJCD fame loaded up his pickup truck with his lovely wife, his dog, a selection of XJOG key fobs, a case of Seafoam and one of his many XJs for the long trek north from Boston. Here he is with the XJ shim pool, open for business.
Another long distance traveller was Jim Smith, who acquired this 1986 MaximX last week, and rode it up from his home in Indiana. This bike is in absolutely pristine condition, like the day it was unpacked from the crate.
Soon there were XJ's everywhere. 3 stations were set up for tuning -- one in each garage bay, and one in the tarp shelter. Preparations like tank removal were done outside while waiting.
Also ongoing at the workbenches were a rebuild of Mike Thomas' sticky starter motor and installation of a DynaJet kit on Greg's 650 Maxim. Greg called us later that night to report the Ontario Provincial Police were quite impressed with the results. Ooops!
Those waiting entertained themselves with varied activities, including browsing through the fabled relay bag. If the mission of the XJ World Relay is to "Make our virtual connections real, get to know each other a bit better, and have fun..." then the NOCC was truly a fitting stop along it's journey. We did all of the above.
The sun was hot and many people joined the penguins for a cool drink and one of SWMBO and Tracy's hot dogs or hamburgers by the lake at lunch time.
(We later discovered an empty bottle of vodka and a tiny funnel beside a discarded pile of drinking boxes. The penguins deny all knowledge.)
A popular concern lately is 2nd gear. Here we had an impromptu demonstration of how it works, how it fails, and what backcutting the dogs entails.
Also demonstrated was the operation of the starter clutch and the value of an impact driver on stubborn screws.
Ordinary people have ordinary top-boxes. Roger and The Queen of Everything are not ordinary people!
Eventually we got all the bikes sorted and just before we geared up for a group ride we took a moment for a group photo. From left to right:
Zeeta, Stacey, Kathy, Dwayne, Greg, Jeremy, Jim, Milton Mike, Brad, Jo, Toronto Mike, Little Mike, Roger, Ross and Missisauga Mike. (Not pictured here are Dirk, Tracey, Gulio and Kelvin)
South to the 45th! In what is fast becoming a relay tradition, we headed for a 45th parallel photo op. (Mike T's page has the formal photo).
We then carried on, spending the next couple of hours winding through some of the secondary blacktop available in the area, threading our way around the myriad lakes and hills of Muskoka. Speeds were kept down to nearly legal levels so riders could appreciate the scenery and keep the group together.
On a personal note, my venerable XJ750 Seca passed a milestone during the ride: 1/4 million kilometers. Not bad for an old air cooled motorcycle.
After the ride the penguins thought the FJR looked not too bad for a new motorcycle and tried to take it for a spin. They swear they were going to bring it back when they were done...
