Newsletter

Chairman (Barrie Blayney) Barrie opened the meeting at 8.00pm and welcomed all 18 attendees.
Secretary (Andy Lodge) Apologies for absence – Harry Day and Barrie Crosby

The Hebden Bridge Vintage weekend took place on the 6^th and 7^th August at Calder Holmes Park, Hebden Bridge, the branch put on a display of Norton’s on Sunday 7^th with 10 bikes in total being displayed, these were as follows:
1 Model 50, 1 ES2, 1 Dominator 88, 1 Dominator 99, 3 750 Commando’s and 3 850 Commando’s. Thanks to all those who attended to support the charity fund raising event including members who were unable to bring their bikes but came anyway, thanks to Dave Roberts for making extra journeys to the event to transport the marquee to and from Hebden Bridge, also it was very nice to see Alan Clarke making his return to riding on his Model 50 after a period of illness (Alan is the East Yorks Branch Secretary). Last but not least well done to Dave Bell for organizing yet another superb event which hosted 783 classic vehicles over the weekend and raised over £29,000 for charity.

3. Ride Outs 2015 (Andy Lodge) Saturday 30th July – Scarborough ride out with a lap or two of Oliver’s Mount added. 13 bikes attended the ride out, 7 of which were Norton’s. The ride out was blessed with lovely dry weather and 173 miles were covered on the day. After setting off from the meeting point we stopped at Fimber (the café in the woods) and then had lunch at the café by the memorial at Oliver’s Mount (highly recommended and with excellent views). Dave and Phil from the East Yorkshire branch joined us for the first time and were very welcome additions with their Commando 750 S and Model 50 respectively. As per usual there were eventful bits to report from the day:-

Our lone wolf Chairman followed the route at his own pace (agreed in advance) and he wasn’t seen again after we set off!
There was a minor incident where a Yamaha ended up on its side at one of the Oliver’s Mount hairpins, no real damage to those on board or to the bike
Nigel was trying for the lap record on his 19R, he out braked Andy into one of the hairpins (not sure if it was intentional or he just couldn’t stop!!!) and was going unbelievably well on the rigid 600cc single
Andy’s Commando started to misfire coming out of Scarborough and cut out completely at Pickering, after 30 minutes of ignition system roadside investigation which revealed no faults the bike started when everything had cooled down and ran perfectly for all the 70 miles home (note the Boyer electronic ignition unit was at least 20-years old, this and now been replaced with a Tri-Spark ignition which has transformed kick starting the bike – also note the fault with the Boyer was not the common fault where the pick up wires fracture in the points cover area!). When the ignition played up the Alton electric starter sheared it’s resin plugs for the third time, 3 of the new ‘improved’ resin plugs where supplied free of charge by Alton and have now been fitted, hopefully the new Tri-Spark which is supposed to be kind to electric starters and the new improved resin plugs will cure this issue once and for all.
Barrie had a self ejecting ignition key on his Electra but again managed to get home without delay.Next ride out – Saturday 27th August – Peak District ride out, meet at 10:00am for a 10:30 prompt start. Meeting place will be the Miller and Carter Steakhouse car park (formerly the 3 Nuns, post code WF14 0BY) which is situated a few miles from the M62 junction 25 (follow the Dewsbury signs).Last proposed 2016 ride out dates:24^th or 25^th September – (Martin Holdsworth has offered to organise this event). 4. Treasurers report (Peter Driver) Peter reported that the branch still has a balance of £747.58 in the bank account at the present time.

Branch Meeting Minutes – 13^th July 2016

Venue – The Marsh, Pudsey.

Chairman (Barrie Blayney) Barrie opened the meeting at 8.00pm and welcomed all 22 attendees; he went on to make an apology for running into Tony (minor impact) on our last branch ride out!

A new member attended the meeting for the first time; Denis Noble from the Golcar area of Huddersfield has been a club member for approximately 3-years and has an 850 Commando, Denis was welcomed to the meeting.

Secretary (Andy Lodge) Apologies for absence – Bob Nabozny and Bruce Senior

Five members attended the Norton Festival being held in Wimborne in Dorset between 1^st and 3^rd July. Including the ride outs organised for the Festival attendee’s just over 700 miles were covered over the weekend. The highlight of the event was the visit to the Sammy Miller Museum were Sammy himself gave a running commentary on the bikes being displayed and started up, periods of rain occurred on the day but visitors were able to shelter in the museum, the weather for the rest of the weekend was good with the ride out to Andover Norton taking place in dry and warm conditions. Whilst at the rally Bruce and Andy took the opportunity to talk to Tim Harrison about spares support for rally attendee’s was taken, Tim explained that it would cost the club too much money to send the spares van to International Rallies (like the Rimini Rally), he also said that he didn’t think any of the spares suppliers would provide a 24 hour emergency hotline, but perhaps some arrangement could be made to get some emergency ordering system set up for weekends, Andy said he would request further discussions at the next Branch Secretaries meeting. Alan Clarke from the East Yorks branch sent the following message to members ‘I know that it’s a long time hence, but we have invited Gordon May to give us a talk in November. I don’t know which of his trips it will be about, but we would like to invite any of your branch members that would like to come. The date will be Thursday 17th November around 20:00.’
The Hebden Bridge Vintage weekend takes place over the weekend of 6^th and 7^th August at Calder Holmes Park, Hebden Bridge, the branch will be putting on a display of Norton’s on Sunday 7^th only. No charge will be made for members displaying their bikes on the day but you must advise the stewards on entry that you are part of the NOC display. The branch NOC marquee will be erected as per usual, please support this charity event if possible. The rally begins at 10.00am with last entries onto the field being at 1pm. Bikes made after 1974 will not be eligible for judging in the show but are welcomed as part of our branch display. Dave Bell was at the meeting and reported that booking for the event were very healthy.

Ride Outs 2015 (Andy Lodge) Sunday 12th June – 8 bikes met at the Sun Inn, North of Otley near Swinsty / Fewston. The first stop was at the Watermill Cafe, Carlton Miniott were John Oldridge joined the group with his Model 50 (making it a total of 6 Norton’s and 9 bikes in total). The run then went through Kirkbymoorside into the north York Moors and then dramatically entered Rosedale by the Chimney for a break at one of Rosedale’s cafes. The ride went further north over the North York Moors on minor roads with spectacular views arriving at Grosmont. From Grosmont people then made their own way back home. 156 miles were covered on the day. The outbound section of the ride was conducted in dry conditions, on the return journey a number of participants encountered heavy rain showers. Now for the eventful bits!!! The first incident happened as we past Ripon on one of its roundabouts, our intrepid Chairman managed to run into one of our Yamaha mounted members who was stationary at a roundabout waiting for traffic to pass, it resulted in a clash of handlebars with no damage or injury to either party The next incident was not funny, one of the members on a different Yamaha slid off his bike at slow speed at the bottom of Sutton Bank where diesel fuel was seen on the road. The bike was damaged but after a few running repairs the rider was able to ride home without any further problem (a new screen and headlamp cover being required with some additional touch up painting work). And finally, on the way home our Chairman also slid off his bike on a very wet roundabout with diesel again suspected to have contributed to the tumble. The only damage to the Electra was a bent footrest (since straightened) and fortunately the Chairman was fine after the event.The next ride out will be on Saturday 30th July – The destination will be Scarborough with a lap of Oliver’s Mount, meet at the Little Chef on the A64 by Tadcaster at 10.00am for a 10:30am prompt start.

Other proposed list of 2016 ride out dates:

27^th or 28^th August – TBA

24^th or 25^th September – TBA (Martin Holdsworth has offered to organise this event).

Volunteers required to organise a ride out for the ‘To Be Announced’ (TBA) dates.

Treasurers report (Peter Driver) Peter opened by saying that is was great to see Barry Crosby at the meeting following his recent period of medical treatment; Barry looked very well on the evening. Peter reported that the branch still has a balance of £727.58 in the bank account at the present time as no sub’s were collected at the last meeting due to the treasurer being absent.
Any Other Business (Barrie Blayney)

Albert Duvall recently attended the VMCC historic racing event at Cadwell Park which he said was a very good event, the NOC had a stand at the event but he expressed disappointment at the response to questions he raised relating to an enquiry about a Manx Norton from the NOC people manning the stand.
The meeting was formally closed and sandwiches were provided by the staff at the Marsh.

Andy Lodge – NOC Yorkshire Branch Secretary

Date of next meeting 10^th August 2016
Branch Meeting Minutes – 8th June 2016

Chairman (Barrie Blayney) Barrie opened the meeting at 8.00pm and welcomed all 18 attendees.
Secretary (Andy Lodge) Apologies for absence – Ian Barnes, Geoff Drury, Dave Bell, Nigel Johnson, Peter Driver, Harry Day and Barry Crosby.

Six branch members attended the International Rally in Rimini, Italy, two of them rode their classic Commando’s all the way to Italy and back, 2 rode all the way on their Commando apart from one train journey on the way down from Stuttgart to Rimini and the 2 others transported their Model 50 down to Italy to join in the planned riding activities. Well done to all concerned. Tony and Russ gave a report back saying that they covered 2,300 miles on the journey and that the rally itself was very good with the Moto Guzzi club organizing excellent ride out marshalling for the event (which included closing an auto strada section to allow the bike s to pass freely), the Italian public were also said to be very enthusiastic about the classic bikes. Unfortunately Tony and Russ reported that their journeys to and from the rally were blighted by rain most of the time.

The branch put on a display of Norton’s at the Sowerby Bridge Classic Bike Show on Sunday the 29^thof May. Five bikes were on display, Albert’s single ‘Special’, Peter’s Electra, Geoff’s 99 Dominator, Andy’s 750 Commando and Bruce’s 850 Commando. Albert’s single was awarded a prize for being the best special. The event was well attended by the public and was blessed with good sunny weather all day which made a welcome change from the previous two years! The charity event raised much needed funds for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance and White Knights Blood Bikes with our own Dave Roberts again doing the lion’s share of the organization for the Sowerby Bridge Rotary Club.

The Girder Fork & Classic Motorcycle Club are holding their ‘Big Bike Sunday’ at the Skipton Auction Mart on Sunday 26^th June commencing at 12.00 noon. Admission is £3 for adults with kids being admitted for free. Again this is a charity fund raising event with proceeds going to the Yorkshire Air Ambulance, Manorlands Hospice and the National Association of Bikers with a Disability. The Auction Mart is at the A59/A65 roundabout (BD23 1UD). Show competitors entry 11.00 to 13.00, prize giving at 15.00.

A number of members will be attending the Norton Festival being held in Wimborne in Dorset between 1^st to 3^rd July. They will report back on the event at the July meeting. Alan Clarke from the East York’s Branch is proposing to organise a visit to Ginetta Cars in Garforth with a proposed meeting point at Squires Café in Sherburn, a number of members expressed interest so more details will be communicated as they become available.
John Powell from the Northumberland Branch sent the following message regarding the Wooler camping weekend, if you are planning to attend please advise John ASAP on the following e-mail address – jnoandlizpowell@yahoo.co.uk :- ‘I got back from the Italy rally on Monday (6^th June) and am off tomorrow for another week. But Wooler approaches. Camping from Friday 17^th to Sunday 19^th June at Highburn house. There will be a FOC BBQ on the Sat around 5.00 to 5.30pm so if you cannot come for the weekend how about just the BBQ, or the Saturday ride (depart around 10.30am)?

Anyhow as I am not back until the evening of the Wednesday before (15^th June), please do let me know if you are coming before then so we can get the right amount of food in (and beer). We have definitely 2 visitors from Aberdeen and maybe others. (Retirement is hectic)’.

Ride Outs 2015 (Andy Lodge) The May ride out went to Little Ouseburn where an ‘Open Gardens’ event was taking place on Sunday 15^th May. 7 bikes attended the event (6 of these being Norton’s), in total 9 people took part in the ride out which was blessed with good dry weather yet again. The Norton display added to a display of classic sports cars (mainly Mercedes and MG’s), only 1 other classic bike attended so it was good the club supported this fund raising event. 110 miles were covered in the day on the ride out which started near Skipton, stopped at Bolton Abbey for refreshments before passing through Burnsall, Pateley Bridge and Ripon on the way to Little Ouseburn.

The next ride out will be on Sunday 12th June (this coming Sunday) , Meet at the Sun Inn, B6451, North of Otley near Swinsty / Fewston, 10.00am and start the run at 10.20am. First stop Watermill Cafe, west side of Carlton Miniott, A61, 11.15 to 11.30am. Rest and WC. Then we go via Kirkbymoorside into the north York Moors. We will then dramatically enter Rosedale by the Chimney for a break at Rosedale PO and Cafe. Lunch time ish. After a little break at Rosedale, over the North York Moors on minor roads with spectacular views. Arrive Grosmont, where sadly parking will cost £1.50, to enjoy more lungfulls of smoke and steam with the North York Moors railway, or try the garden cafe and other delights of Grosmont. Early afternoon -ish. Peter will lead riders back west and expect them to drop off as they cross the main artery roads handiest for their return journeys Other proposed list of 2016 ride out dates: Saturday 30th July – Scarborough ride out with a lap of Oliver’s Mount, final details TBA.

27^th or 28^th August – TBA

24^th or 25^th September – TBA

Volunteers required to organise a ride out for the ‘To Be Announced’ (TBA) dates.

4. Treasurers report (Peter Driver) Peter reported that the branch has a balance of £727.58 in the bank account at the present time. As the Treasurer was absent no branch sub’s were collected on the evening (whilst the cat’s away!!!).

Any Other Business (Barrie Blayney)

Following their International Rally attendance Tony raised the issue that there was a lack of support at the rally site itself for people with machine problems. Tony suggested that he thought that the club should put some round the clock emergency arrangements in place with UK Norton parts suppliers to have desperately needed parts shipped out quickly to the rally site. Also it was pointed out that the club has a van and that maybe this should be loaded up with spares and then be taken to the rally site to provide support for riders in trouble. A discussion took place as to how to raise this matter further, Andy said he could raise the issue at the next Branch Secretaries meeting, but in addition to this it was thought that the best way to try and start a groundswell of support would be for Tony to write an article for submission to Roadholder, if this was supported by enough members then perhaps the NOC EC would support the idea for future rallies.

The meeting was formally closed and sandwiches were provided by the staff at the Marsh.

Andy Lodge – NOC Yorkshire Branch Secretary

Date of next meeting 13^th July 2016
Branch Meeting Minutes – 11^th May 2016

Venue – The Marsh, Pudsey.

Chairman (Barrie Blayney) Barrie opened the meeting at 8.00pm and welcomed all 17 attendees.
Secretary (Andy Lodge) Apologies for absence – Bruce Senior, John Oldridge and Barry Crosby.

The branch will be putting on a display of Norton’s at the Sowerby Bridge Classic Bike Show on Sunday the 29^thof May. Entries start at 11am with the event finishing at 4pm, for members who have not already entered note they can register on the day and join the display (note no on the day entries after 11.00am). Please support this charity fund raising event if you can. John Oldridge very kindly went out of his way to drop off additional entry forms at the Marsh the day before the meeting. Dave Roberts has kindly volunteered to transport the branch marquee from Andy’s house to the Sowerby Bridge event and following that to ensure it finds its way to the Hebden Bridge event for the branch display in August.

A discussion took place at the last branch meeting about NOC branch secretaries now being asked to carry out machine inspections on behalf of the NOC, Andy has spoken to Dave Catton (NOC Records officer for twins) and has clarified his remarks about machines being registered with the youngest major parts fitted. Dave explained that if a bike is not already registered it indeed will be dated on the youngest major part (engine, frame, forks, wheels or gearbox), the year the frame was manufactured does not set the date for registration where the bike does not have an existing registration document. To clarify this point if a Norton was reassembled from parts say from a 1958 model but a 1974 Suzuki GT750 set of forks were fitted, when applying for a registration document the bike would get an age related 1974 registration.

A request has been received from the nephew of a 90 plus year old former Norton International and Norvin owner who lives in the Meanwood area of Leeds and now is unable to get out and about, for any classic Norton owners who might like to drop in for a chat, it said ‘It would do far more than make his day’. Anybody willing to do this please contact Andy, otherwise Andy is proposing that on one of our ride outs later in the year we swing by and say hello for 5 or 10 minutes.

Simon Radcliffe an aggrieved NOC member has recently been complaining about his disbarment from being able to post to the NOC website, the EC defends its decision to de-barr Simon from postings to the website – in its view the postings are defamatory, and inimical with the aims and objectives of the NOC. A full review of the issue has now been instigated, invoking the disciplinary processes laid out in the Club’s constitution. A panel of EC members is being brought together to review Simon’s case, with Simon present in person during the hearing if he so chooses, that will adjudicate on the initial barring decision.

Andy took the opportunity to wish our branch members (6 in total) travelling to the International Rally in Rimini all the best and was looking forward to their feedback at the June branch meeting.

Barrie Blayney and Peter Driver have held their respective positions for the Yorkshire Branch (Chairman and Treasurer) since the branch reformed well over 10-years ago, Andy took great pleasure in presenting both gentlemen with a trophy that recognized their long and much appreciated contribution to the ongoing wellbeing of the branch.( See picture on the website).

Ride Outs 2015 (Andy Lodge) The ride out programme for 2016 commenced on Saturday April 30^th, the destination was the Aviation Heritage Wolds Run at East Kirby airfield, Spilsby, Lincolnshire. 8 bikes and 11 people attended the run which was named ‘The Norton Run’ as out of the 8 bikes there was only one Norton present (well done Ian Barnes for bringing his 850m Commando out), feeble excuses’ were given for other Norton’s staying indoors on the day. Considering the terrible weather the day before the ride took place in good dry weather with only a couple of light showers occurring during the day after a frosty start in the morning. 230 miles were covered on the day.

The next planned ride out will be to Little Ouseburn where an ‘Open Gardens’ event is taking place on Sunday 15^th May (this coming Sunday). On this day villagers open up their gardens to the public in aid of church and village funds, home made lunches and afternoon teas are available. Classic car owners have been putting on displays at the event over the past few years; this year the organisers have sent invites out to classic bike clubs to join the event. The ride out will pass through the Dales to Little Ouseburn which is close to Boroughbridge with the intention of stopping for an hour or two. The meeting place will be just off the Kildwick roundabout (the last roundabout on the dual carriageway between Keighley and Skipton at the Skipton end), this roundabout is where the A629 joins the A6068. The meeting place will be the Kingfisher fish and chip shop car park, this is next to the Texaco garage just off the roundabout. The meeting time will be 9.30am for a 10.00am prompt start. Note should the weather be bad on the day the ride out will be cancelled, if in doubt call Andy on Sunday morning between 08:00am and 8:30am to confirm the ride out is going ahead.

Other proposed list of 2016 ride out dates: 11^th or 12^th June – TBA
23^rd or 24^th July – TBA

27^th or 28^th August – TBA

24^th or 25^th September – TBA

Volunteers required to organise a ride out for the ‘To Be Announced’ (TBA) dates.

4. Treasurers report (Peter Driver) Peter reported that the branch has a balance of £800.78 in the bank account at the present time.

Any Other Business (Barrie Blayney)

In recognition of Barry Crosby’s help and technical assistance given to numerous branch members over the years, a trophy bearing the wording ‘Technical Award 2016’ is being awarded to Barry. Nigel Birdsall will deliver the trophy to Barry who could not attend the meeting on the evening, Nigel gave an update on Barry’s condition at the moment as he is undergoing his chemotherapy treatment, best wishes were sent to Barry with the hope of a speedy recovery.

Ian Jayne was asked a question relating to legal matters, one of the members daughters friends had recently been issued with a parking ticket for parking over a speed bump, the question was is this an offence as no lines were present on the road to indicate parking restrictions, there was no dropped curb or any signs indicating parking restrictions? Ian replied that the only offence he knew of that potentially could apply was that the car was deemed to be causing ‘a potential unnecessary obstruction’, his view was that the individual should appoint a solicitor with the intention of taking the matter to court, the matter would then likely be dropped.
Nigel Birdsall is trying to obtain cam followers for an ES2, if anybody has some to sell please contact Nigel on 0113 2604192.

Russ Ward is selling a pair of Givi monokey panniers, anybody interested inmpurchasing these should contact Russ by e-mail (russward80@gmail.com).
The meeting was formally closed and sandwiches were provided by the staff at the Marsh.

Andy Lodge – NOC Yorkshire Branch Secretary

Don’t forget all details of the branch activities can be found on our web-site – http://yorkshire.branches.nortonownersclub.org
Date of next meeting 8^th June 2016

Branch Meeting Minutes – 13^th April 2016

Venue – The Marsh, Pudsey.

Chairman (Barrie Blayney) Barrie opened the meeting at 8.00pm and welcomed all 19 attendees.

Secretary (Andy Lodge) Apologies for absence – Ian Jayne, Nigel Johnson, Barry Crosby and Peter Holland

The NOC Branch Secretaries meeting took take place on Saturday 2^nd April at the Norton Motorcycles factory / Days Inn hotel Castle Donington, 19 branch secretaries plus EC members attended the event, the main points discussed where:-

Discussion about branches and their role within the NOC
Branch Secretaries responsibilities
Branch subscriptions, branch membership card proposal.
Communication, publicity, Roadholder & website
Branch reports (The Yorkshire Branch has the second highest number of members, 60 are linked to our branch, Bristol had the largest number of members claiming 90). NOC members who aren’t linked to our branch will be sent an e-mail / letter to invite them to get involved with the Yorkshire Branch. Also an advert for the branch will be posted on the notice board at Squires Café in Sherburn for an extended period. To try and get new members to join our branch.
Branch grants
Machine inspections – one none NOC members Triton has been inspected to date by Andy with details being forwarded to Dave Catton for processing. Details of the inspection requirements were discussed at the branch meeting.
Events
Welcome to branches!
WebsiteThe NOC AGM took place the day after at Donington Hall (Sunday 3^rd April). This event was again well attended by members, branch officials and EC members, the main agenda items where:-

Chairman’s review of 2015
Norton Owners Worldwide (4,800 in UK – membership increased in 2015, 5,500 members in the rest of the world)
Financial report – confirmation that the club is in a healthy financial state. Also the club is likely to buy George Cohen’s supply of spares for the spares scheme to secure them for the future (George was said to be very ill).
Nomination and election of officers (Kev Feltoe and Chris Grimmett stepped down, Peter Scatchard and David Kington were elected in their place).
Mike Jackson was the guest speaker
The John Hudson award went to Andy Sochanik for his support of lightweights
Branch of the year – this was awarded to the Norfolk branch.
AOB – a discussion took place about ‘safe houses’, i.e., list of volunteers who could provide workshop help for NOC travelers with problems travelling through their area.Branch member attendance at both the Sowerby Bridge and Hebden Bridge Shows has been confirmed, both these events are advertised via the NOC website, Roadholder and the NOC social media sites. Transport is needed to get the branch marquee from Andy’s house to the Sowerby Bridge event either on the night before the event or early on the day of the event itself, due to Andy’s wife changing her Ford Fiesta for a more sporty model he can no longer fit the marquee into either of his cars!3. Ride Outs 2015 (Andy Lodge) The ride out programme for 2016 will commence on Saturday April 30^th, the destination will be the Aviation Heritage Wolds Run. The event is staged at East Kirby airfield, Spilsby, Lincolnshire. The meeting place for the ride out will be Squires Coffee bar which is conveniently situated next to the A1. Meeting time will be 8.00am for an 8:30 prompt start to get down to East Kirby in good time. As we have done in previous years, the intention is not to join the run but just to attend the event. 4. Treasurers report (Peter Driver) Peter reported that the branch has a balance of £803.78 in the bank account at the present time.5. Any Other Business (Barrie Blayney)
Note – the 9 million pound pamphlet sent out by the government encouraging the UK to stay in the EU has a nice picture of Norton 961 engines being assembled at Donington on page 5.
A few of our long standing members could not attend on the evening due to medical problems, unfortunately one of these is particularly serious with Barry Crosby undergoing a period of intensive treatment at the moment, best wishes were expressed by the members to Barry and his family, hopefully the treatment will do the trick and Barry will be well again very soon.
Ian Barnes brought a large bag of Roadholder magazines to the meeting mainly from the 1990’s that he wanted to give away if anybody wanted them, unfortunately nobody wanted them so they were bound for the bin.
A question was raised about a NOC rally in Kendal, Andy confirmed that this was being organized by the Rally Team and will be held at the Kendal RUFC ground between 11^th and 15^th August.

Date of next meeting 11^th May 2016

Branch Meeting Minutes – 9^th March 2016

Venue – The Marsh, Pudsey.

Chairman (Barrie Blayney) Barrie opened the meeting at 8.00pm and welcomed all 20 attendees. Following reading an article in Roadholder Barrie went on to ask members to make sure that any new members attending our meetings were made to feel very welcome and were included in discussions.

Secretary (Andy Lodge) Apologies for absence – Dave Bell, Geoff Drury, Lawrence Wright and Barry Lodge.

The NOC Branch Secretaries meeting will take place on Saturday 2^nd April at the Norton Motorcycles factory, Donington, 27 people (branch secretaries and EC members) are scheduled to attend the event, the NOC AGM will take place the day after at Donington Hall (Sunday 3^rd April). Andy will be attending both events to represent the branch. The Norton Rally has been added to the list of NOC events in 2016, this will take place between the 11^th and 14^th August, at the Kendal Hornets RUFC, Mint Bridge, Shap Road, Kendal, LA9 6DL.

An invite for the club to attend the Sowerby Bridge Classic Bike Show which is being held on Sunday 29^th May has been received, the invite states that we are welcome to attend the event and erect the NOC marquee. This date clashes with the International Rally in Rimini that a number of members will be attending, however, 4 or 5 members stated that they would like to attend the show so members should complete their registration forms and return them to the organizers, the marquee will be erected again at the event.

Ride Outs 2015 (Andy Lodge) The ride out programme for 2016 will commence on Saturday April 30^th, the destination will be the Aviation Heritage Wolds Run. The event is staged at East Kirby airfield, Spilsby, Lincolnshire. The meeting place for the ride out will be Squires Coffee bar which is conveniently situated next to the A1. Meeting time will be 8.00am for an 8:30 prompt start to get down to East Kirby in good time. As we have done in previous years, the intention is not to join the run but just to attend the event.

Little Ouseburn hosts an ‘Open Gardens’ event on Sunday 15^th May, on this day villagers open up their gardens to the public in aid of church and village funds, home made lunches and afternoon teas are available. Classic car owners have been putting on displays at the event over the past few years; this year the organisers have sent invites out to classic bike clubs to join the event. A ride out will be organised through the Dales to Little Ouseburn which is close to Boroughbridge with the intention of stopping for an hour or two. Details to be finalised at a later date. Proposed list of 2016 ride out dates: Saturday 30th April – Wolds Run, East Kirby

Sunday 15^th May – Little Ouseburn Event, near Boroughbridge

11^th or 12^th June – TBA
23^rd or 24^th July – TBA

27^th or 28^th August – TBA

24^th or 25^th September – TBA

Volunteers required to organise a ride out for the ‘To Be Announced’ (TBA) dates. 4. Treasurers report (Peter Driver) Peter reported that the branch has a balance of £815.78 in the bank account at the present time.

Any Other Business (Barrie Blayney) Ian Jayne attended the meeting and answered a number of questions about road safety and aspects of traffic law, these included: Is it an offence for a motorcycle to wait in a ‘cycle stop box’ at a set of traffic lights? Ian advised that it is not an offence to wait in the cycle stop box, however, if you were on your driving test you would fail for doing this, the rules around the use of the box are advisory, however, misuse of the box can cause annoyance to other road users. A question was asked about reporting car drivers who at junctions drove down a lane marked for turning right only, but then who cut in front of traffic at the head of the queue to go straight on or turned left. Ian advised that if this was reported to the police it possibly would not be taken forward, or if it was then the reportee may have to act as a sole witness at a court hearing and have to face the perpetrator, lots of potential hassle. Dashboard camera evidence potentially could help.

Ian advised on the current status of motorway speed camera’s, three generations of camera exist, HADCS 1 are the speed averaging camera (Specs) which are widely used, HADCS 2 are the gantry mounted camera’s that are used on managed motorways and adjust their speeding ticket issue point based on the speed limit indicated at the time (note they default to 70 MPH limit at times when the motorway is in its normal unmanaged state). Ian advised that the problem with HADCS 2 cameras is that many drivers speed up between gantry’s then slow down through the HADCS 2 monitored point, this has been recognized and HADCS 2 cameras are now effectively obsolete and are being replaced by HADCS 3 cameras that check speeds between the gantry’s.

(Note Ian’s comments were recorded at the meeting by the secretary and are not verbatim; they are believed to be an accurate summary. Any errors will be corrected at the next meeting)
It was announced at the meeting that John Bould of Lansdowne Engineering had died on 27^th January following a battle with cancer. John supplied retrofit fork damper kits which a number of members had fitted to their bikes. John’s business has been permanently closed.

The meeting was formally closed and sandwiches were provided by the staff at the Marsh.

Andy Lodge – NOC Yorkshire Branch Secretary

Branch Meeting Minutes – 10^th February 2016

Venue – The Marsh, Pudsey.

Chairman (Barrie Blayney) Barrie opened the meeting at 8.00pm and welcomed all 17 attendees.

Secretary (Andy Lodge) Apologies for absence – Ian Jayne, Bruce Senior, Don Tovey and Martin Holdsworth

Norton Owners Club rally attendance update,

The Yorkshire Branch will be represented at both the NOC rallies in 2016, at the present time the following members have booked places at the rallies:-

International Rally – Rimini, Italy Tony Ward, Russ Ward, Martin Holdsworth, Bev Holdsworth

Norton Festival – Dorset Andy Lodge, Gill Lodge, Bob Nabozny
Dave Bell confirmed that the branch could again put on a display of Norton’s at the Hebden Bridge Vintage Weekend, the branch has therefore reserved a double pitch where the club display will take place on Sunday 7th August. NOC members who bring along a Norton to display will be granted free admission to the event (on the Sunday only). Note on Sunday motorcycles later than 1974 would not be eligible for any of the show awards, however, the purpose of the event is to put on a display of Norton motorcycles so please attend if you can on any Norton. Dave also went on to explain that the branch could take the same double pitch for the Saturday of the show, however, no commitment from attendee’s was forthcoming to attend for a 2 day basis so the branch presence at this time will be on the Sunday only (unless sufficient interest is expressed and volunteers come foreword to make the necessary arrangements).

Ride Outs 2015 (Andy Lodge) The ride out programme for 2016 will commence on Saturday April 30^th, members on the evening decided that a ride out again to the Aviation Heritage Wolds Run would be a good event to start the ride out season off with. The event is staged at East Kirby airfield, Spilsby, Lincolnshire. The meeting place for the ride out will be Squires Coffee bar which is conveniently situated next to the A1. Further details will be circulated closer to the event time but a meeting time around 8am is probably to get down to East Kirby in good time. As we have done in previous years, the intention is not to join the run but just to attend the event. Peter and Suzanne Holland have again kindly volunteered to organise one of the 6 planned ride outs this year.
Treasurers report (Peter Driver) Peter reported that the branch has a balance of £797.78 in the bank account at the present time.
Any Other Business (Barrie Blayney) Ian Jayne could not attend the meeting, however, if anybody has any further questions about road safety and aspects of traffic law Ian would be happy to provide answers when he next attends. Questions should be sent in advance to Ian via e-mail (ianjayne@blueyonder.co.uk).

Geoff Drury informed members that he had purchased 6 places for a small group half day visit (Tuesday 1^st March) to the Battle of Britain flight at RAF Coningsby, two places are still available these are priced at £95 each. If anybody would like to take a place please contact Geoff directly on 07790 582994.

Andy Lodge – NOC Yorkshire Branch Secretary

2016 January Branch Meeting Minutes

2015 December Branch Meeting Minutes

2015 November Branch Meeting Minutes

2015 October Branch Meeting Minutes

2015 September Branch Meeting Minutes

2015 August Branch Meeting Minutes v2

2015 July Branch Meeting Minutes

2015 June Branch Meeting Minutes

2015 May Branch Meeting Minutes

2015 April Branch Meeting Minutes

2015 March Branch Meeting Minutes and Annual Report