V7a Page 1 of 9 Issue No 002

DORKING CENTRE NEWS letter

– NOVEMBER 2010

Editorial

This is the second issue of the new style Dorking Centre News Letter. Feedback from members

as been very positive; inevitably there have been problems to solve, getting to grips with the

club Laser printer & its idiosyncrasies/ formats/ files etc. I have now completed setting up a

Group send file which enables us to send to the 84 members (out of 145) that have advised us of

their Emails addresses with just a few clicks. If you know of a Dorking member that would like

to receive this Newsletter, that are not getting it, let the Editor have their up-to-date Email

addresses.

Like all News Letters, we can only relay News to you if you take the time to pass it on to us; so

it’s up to you, if you don’t support this initiative, in time, it may well “wither–on-the-vine”.

The International West Kent Run At the Friars. – August 8th 2010

This event goes from strength to strength attracting machines usually unseen from the

continent & others nearer home which, apparently like the butterflies, only come out when the

weather is favourable. This year’s event reached its quota of 350 machines for this three day

event, by the end of May.

Dorking was well represented on the Sunday with,

at one point, 21 bikes (a few from other centres).

With all the more common models being on show,

but no GTP’s. However, across “the road” in

another stand of mixed models was a KTP in good

running order.

The owner was most forthcoming about the, shall

we say, fiddles he had resorted to in order to get it

going.

The weather was very hot & we were glad of the gazebo etc that was put up by Alan & Rod

the previous day. Two potential new members were given contact details to join the club.

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Each year I say I’ll attend on the Saturday also, but something always seems to arise to put the

Kybosh on it: perhaps next year?

This was one of the last occasions on which I rode the MSS, as it is now propped up on a piece

of purpose-made joinery in order to replace the steering head bearings (and possibly much

else), this time with taper rollers. The KTS will no doubt see more of Kent in the repair period.

Sorry I cannot remember all the names of those who turned up at the Westerham meeting

point on the day, but I did have exactly 8 tickets, so everyone there got a free entry.

Brian Ling

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IIlllluummiinnaattee YYoouurr AAmmmmeetteerr::

As you will be aware the standard Velo ammeters were never illuminated (if you ignore the tiny

amount of scattered light coming though a very small side opening in the meter); I guess they did not

think many would venture out at night with the standard 6v 30/24 amp headlight and would therefore

not need to keep a check on the lighting load or indeed if the charging was working at all! Or maybe

it had something to do with costs?

While in the process of getting my Velo recommissioned I decided to rectify this (sorry, could not

resist the pun) and get an illuminated ammeter.

As I was in the process of updating the lighting

and wiring to 12v & at the same time fitting an

Alton Alternator & electric starting system I

looked at what was needed.

The old Miller ammeter was designed for the 6v

system & displays -6-0-6+ amps. As the internal

sign writing on my old Miller was a little tatty, I

decided to purchase a new one and get an

illuminated one at the same time.

It proved impossible to find one that would fit

into my Venom Nacelle, due to space

restrictions.

I looked again at the old Miller & wondered if it would like 12v up it after all!

Could I say drill a small hole into it and put a LED in it? While pondering the wisdom of this

approach (not knowing exactly how much space was inside (and where) & if I could make it

waterproof; I realised, on further examination, that much of the base was translucent plastic. In a

flash (sorry another one) I realised that if a put a bright light under it this would do the trick!

Deciding against reusing the old ammeter I purchased a new one that was more suitable for 12v

systems and got a compact one that fitted which is calibrated -12-0-12+ amps, but again no

provision for illumination.

The Alton alternator system I have fitted can give up to 150 watts (at 6000 revs = ha, ha), so I

expected an initial charging rate, immediately after starting (using the electric starter), to be up to say

8 amps & then rapidly drop to 1 amp or less, assuming no lights were on); a realistic maximum

charging output, at main road speeds, of 50mph+ of up to 120 watts could be expected.

I decided to use an LED array (x4 LEDs in a package) which it is claimed has the same light output

as a 10 watt filament bulb and a blub holder from Paul Geoff*. You could of course use a small

filament blub, but chose LEDs as they are not susceptible to damage from low frequency vibrations

and should have a very long life (they do however have a characteristic blue tinge to them, so if you

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don’t like this use a filament blub (on my Miller this white light ends up a slightly yellowish

illumination (think the plastic in the old Miller has yellowed over the years causing this....it’s up to

you what you prefer; but take care not to have too high a wattage, e.g. 10 watts may melt the plastic

bottom! Whatever you chose needs to be close to the bottom of the ammeter base (another good

reason for using LEDs as they generate no detectable heat as well as having a negligible current

drain of less than 0.1amp

On my bike I made up a bracket shaped like the illustration and picked up a nearby bolt. You should

note that light output LEDs is very directional and MUST point at the plastic window directly (+ or

minus a few degrees only) or you may lose as much as 50% or more of the light output.

A hopefully rare problem I had was that the new ammeter did not work. It was short circuit, so all the

lights, horn etc worked, but no charge/ discharge was shown! I did scratch my head over this and

thought I must have done something wrong with the new wiring; so I substituted the old Miller

(which worked) and realised what the problem was. I contacted the Supplier Grove Classics, who, to

their credit, with no fuss, immediately supplied another.....and this one worked...thanks.

The parts I used where:

1. X1 Bulb holder Grommet type pilot- No HL 13121 @ £2.13 + Vat

2. X1 LED white sidelight bulb - No LEDQUAD @ £3.36 + Vat

3. Homemade bracket & wiring bits & bobs.

Contact details for Paul Geoff; if you have never used this supplier before you will find a host of

electrical traditional & upgraded goodies for your Velo. Paul often attends Classic shows & can be

contacted as follows:-

*Paul Geoff

62 Clare Rd,

Prestwood,

Bucks,

HP16 0NU.

Tel: 01494 86 8218

www.norbsa02.freeuk.com

Alan Nightingale

P.S. some Miller ammeters are marked -8-0-+8 amps and have a

mainly metal case, with a plastic slot/ window in the side, meant to pick

up scattered light in the headlight, so if you want proper illumination of

your ammeter ,the above won’t work well for this item!

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PEGGY LANE 1924-2010

Dave Gladwell’s partner Peggy’s obituary was written by Dave and sent to fishtail’s editor for

publication. The “Invisible members”

will also be able to read it there.

It was felt that this great lady’s doings

and brave excursions should be

celebrated in our newsletter as we had

both the luck and good fortune to meet

her in person at the Hand in Hand and

elsewhere.

Dave met her in 2004 when attending

dances at a Leisure Centre. She had

learned to dance after the death of her

husband, later gaining ballroom dancing

qualifications.

She no doubt took to Dave’s gyrations

on the floor: as past members of

Dorking events will know, they are as

smooth as his bend swinging on EGO 82.

France September 2006

Not wishing to join “Those waiting to die” she visited her family in Australia and Portugal, moved in

with Dave (who believed the tale that she was 80, not 82!)

One day while watching him spannering EGO said she’d like a trip on the pillion!

Don’t say you can’t pull birds on bikes. The rest as we all know is happy history. Dave knew a

good thing when he saw it and bought a top quality spring pillion seat as a Christmas present for

Peggy. More modern machinery proved too high for mounting so KSS was best.

Dave was a very lucky chap to have met such a spirited lass who spent four years riding with him to

her great enjoyment in spite of potholes.

The large number of friends met through motorcycling contacts was shown at her funeral. Old

Dorkingites Peter and Beryl Redman, Norman Child and also others from another club.

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Two attended who were sometimes seen at Newlands Corner on the commencement of VOC runs.

Ian and Avril Pollard, Sandra and Ray Smith and George Howarth also attended.

Dancing enthusiasts from the Leisure Centre put in an appearance, all a testament to her happy

personality. The close female members at the Hand in Hand miss her company as do all our regular

club members.

Peggy Receiving a Dorking Award Dec 2009 Peggy& Dave – Dorking Dinner - France September 2006

Dorking Centre Rally – France September 2006

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Dorking Centre Club Regalia –

The Dorking Centre will shortly be purchasing some fluorescent & reflective over

vest similar to this picture. They will be sign written on the back with Velocette

O.C. or similar wording on the back.

The precise words have not been finalised at

the time of going to Press.

They should be available at the next club

night (3 November).

For more details & prices & to place an order,

contact the Club Regalia Officer.

VOC MUGS:-

The last few remaining 50th Anniversary Mugs will also be on sale at a

reduced price of only £2 each to clear. Regular black mugs with Velocette on

them in gold are still just £2.50.

Sandra Smith

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RUNS & EVENTS

Month Date Event Meeting

Point

Run /

Event

Leader November 3

rd Dorking Centre AGM

7th

Run to Clayton / Sussex

Vintage vehicles run

Rykas @

9.15am

Peter Read

December 3rd

Annual Xmas Dinner Rowfant

House

Bob Newton

January TBA

February TBA

Know Your Committee:

Chairman Vacant

Secretary Nigel Firth 01932 883431

Treasurer Bob Newton 01293516026

News Letter Editor Brian Ling 0208 857 1030

Technical Adviser Brian Ling 0208 857 1030

Social Sec Vacant

Regalia Officer Sandra Smith 01273 845286

Runs Sec Peter McGlone 01306 730505

Member Peter Read 01483 811700

Member Dave Gladwell 01932 562992

News Letter: Sub Editor,

Printing & Distribution Alan Nightingale 01732 822 761

V7a Page 9 of 9 Issue No 002

CHRISTMAS DINNER 2010

DATE & TIME: Friday 3rd December 2010, 7.30 for 8.00pm

LOCATION: Rowfant House, Wallage Lane, Rowfant, Crawley, RH10 4NG Tel: 01342 714869

COST: £26 per head.

MENU:

Soup of the day Or

Squash and caramelised onion tart Or

Duck Liver and Pork pate, served with salad

*** Traditional Roast Turkey served with Pigs in blankets, Stuffing and Cranberry Sauce.

Home-made Steak & Guinness Pie.

Fillet of Pork with a vermouth sauce.

Braised leg of lamb in white wine with olives

Any two of the above as your main course

All served with Seasonal Vegetables & Potatoes

OR A VEGETARIAN OPTION

*** Selection of Desserts Coffee & Mince Pies

Name/s ………………………………… ………………………………………

………………………………… ……………………………...............

Please mark your selections & return this form with a cheque to VOC Dorking Centre

Bob Newton 40 Arden Road Furnace Green Crawley West Sussex RH10 6HS.