Tag: Stuart Cairney

Stuart’s Exeter

by Stuart Cairney

Got car MOTd 3pm Friday and for the first time in a while actually managed 4hours kip before setting off for a 01.03 start from Popham  (ever mindfull of the recent discusions…) which made a heck of a difference I must admit.

Although I thought I’d read the route card properly, like many others I failed to spot the fact that only the route from Haynes onwards  was compulsory, not the route from Popham to Haynes museum. As it happened we didn’t miss any slots this time but with the fog as it was I would have probably opted for the 303 if I’d realised.

I have just swopped my emission type Dellortos for non-emission Dellortos allows much more adjustment of the bottom end which is usefull for PCTs). Although it seemed to be running OK I knew it was a bit rich down the bottom but had other preparation to worry about so thought it would be OK; which it was until we had dawdled our way for the last few miles to  Normans. By then the plugs had sooted up and we couldn’t get off the line due to the resultant missfire. Same thing on Clinton but we were invited to roll back and take a run up and consequently got to the top albeit having already failed – this blast seemed to clear things and from then on we went OK.

Tillerton seemed as rough as ever around the restart area which we fortunatley don’t have to stop at and on the road section soon after this we stopped briefly when we saw Ed Nickle parked up having had carb problems then somebody side swipeing his Imp and I gather he toubles were still not over as he eventually retired with a slipping clutch which apparently was caused by a problem with the thrust mechanism.

Comparing notes with Richard Tompkins later on we both agreed that Windout, with no restarts this year, was great fun in an Imp and a bit of a hooligan’s delight being all tarmac with slippery hairpins!

Colin Perryman blew his Skoda’s engine on Fingle.  On Wooston steep I was a little suprised to pass two ‘section ends’ boards till I realised that after our section had ended we joined the class 0 route at the fork just after the short steep downhill bit.

And so to Simms – I was determined to have a good shot at it and mindfull of the earlier problems changed the plugs before the attempt. We had a real good go at it but I probably went too far to the left, hit a rock with the rear wheel, punctured and stopped.

I attach a pic of the wheel which is the worst wheel damage I have incurred with the Imp. My tyres were nowhere near flat and well into double figoures at xx lbs(!) and the mind boggles at the force required to damage a rim like that with one hit.

Bill Roston was the only Imp to clean Simms, I believe, on his way to Gold. Tipley was quite rough and very slippery but without the restart which causes all the failures on the Torbay trial. Overall a really enjoyable event after the lay off which was still competitive without the restarts for us girlies!

We have been publishing stuff about Classic Trials on the Web since 1995 and always appreciate feedback. Comments, Corrections, Criticism & Concerns are all welcome. You can leave a comment to have your say here on this web site or our Social Media

Classical Gassers report on their Edinburgh Trial

John Lees was competing in Class A on his Triumph Twin

I finally got onto the communities site through IE instead of my usual Netscape only to find that, as you say, I could not post a message. Three of us Mike Robinson, Tom Beckerleg and myself all failed to spot the last sentence of the final instructions because at the breakfast stop they were papier mache. The next day we managed to read the bit that casually mentions that class A follow route to Corkscrew. We did not have this on our route as we cut out the bits that don’t apply and this year we were not to do Corkscrew or so we thought! So there we are exclusion we presume.

We had got behind after leaving the first time control, we waited 50 mins until time to go in to discover that early arrival did not matter! We left after quickly reading the bits abouts local councils and rights of way not realizing the punch line for us at the bottom. Well thats enough for us and the Edinburgh only possible on a specialized machine, Goatscliff was near impossible and stupid. I came across two riders on road tyres struggling half way up. I had to stop as well but could not stop at the marshal to claim a bulk as this was the last thing in my mind until I got to the top, too late I did not have the energy to go back down and complain.

A very miserable trial made worse by an important route change, our last Edinburgh as we feel at the moment, no point in doing it if exclusion is so easy. We take a lot of trouble in checking the route and annotating the various instructions regarding restarts etc. before the event if a section is deleted that is OK but to add one in for a motorcycle makes life very difficult. We even laquer our route sheets after photocopying them at 120%. No we can do without last minute changes !

Editors Note – John was writing this before the results came out. They show him failing Goatscliffe but marked as not having to do Corkscrew! John was best in Class A as noboddy in his class climbed every hill. I have read and re-read the original route card and the ammendment and like John I am confused!

Stuart Cairney was driving his Imp

First drama of the trial for me was at my local filling station when I couldn’t open the bonnet to access the filler cap! As you can imagine I was reluctant to butcher it open with a lever and wondering what the heck to do when Andrew managed to slide a screwdriver in and jiggle the catch – subsequently we discovered that slight pressure on the front edge of the bonnet wwould release it. All this was a legacy of fitting a repair section to the bottom of the front panel. It had been working fine but I hadn’t strapped in the spare wheel until the last minute and this must have caused slight distortion.

Anyway as far as the trial is concerned I failed Litton – I had deliberately left the engine in PCT spec to see how it would go and but the conditions there were such that I could have done with the extra revs. At least I got to the start line at the first attempt! For much the same reason the only other failure was Bamford although I must admit to lifting for one of the concrete troughs which left us on the final relatively smooth bit of concrete before the end with only about 1200 -1500 revs and it just petered out.

We encountered a problem on the first green lane across the moors due to a BMW parked right in front of the gate – not sure whether it was deliberate or just inconsiderate; the sun roof had been left open (tilted) in the rain so maybe they were just plain stupid… However we discovered that the small pedestrian gate alongside was just wide enough for an Imp, literally by about half an inch, so we were able to continue; albeit pretty slowly as it was so rough. We saw a police car in the village at the foot of Jacobs Ladder and there was talk of protesters organising a sponsored walk to deliberatley co-inside with the trial – lets hope this is not the sign of things to come…. 

Jim Scott heard something go on Hucklow but couldn’t see anything amiss but by the time he’d cleaned Bamford the diff was graunching and he called it a day in the hope of restricting the damage. Final point of satisfaction for me was trickling off the Old Longhill restart with no wheelspin whatsoever, whilst the final mistake was a slight   caused by missing slots when we were running on our own and getting tired near the end – the electric woodpecker in the back signalling that we were out of fuel. Fortunately we were able to coast down the hill into Buxton which left a brisk walk to Safeway’s petrol station with the can…  All in all a good trial – shame about the rain.

We have been publishing stuff about Classic Trials on the Web since 1995 and always appreciate feedback. Comments, Corrections, Criticism & Concerns are all welcome. You can leave a comment to have your say here on this web site or our Social Media