The Brass monkey Rally. (Minimal Guzzi content)

[johnr]

I posted a small story about a winter rally I used to attend here recently and, well, this snippet popped up at me.

It is a home movie involving another winter rally, this one held in the South Island. I've been to a couple of these Brass Monkey rallies, but didn't enjoy myself as much as at the Cold Kiwi in the North Island so I stopped going to them.

This was done in 1988 and it shows (I may have been at that one). Some of you may get a kick out of it. (Sound isn't very good)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGw36fo8a6M

[johnr]

"And no one died"  Great stuff John , although yes , between translating Kiwi into English and a bit of weak audio some of it was hard to understand  Still , the language of motorbikes and friends is always easy to translate 

 Dusty

Yes, and one of the main talkers was an Irishman too!

[jbell]

Trivia time!  Back in the sailing days, cannon balls were stored pyramidically on a platform called a monkey.  It was made of brass.  If the weather was cold enough, the difference in expansion rates between the iron balls and brass monkey would topple the cannon balls from the monkey, thus, "cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey."  Wanna know what else I used up all my grey cells on?

[steamdriven NZ]

HAH!
I WAS at that one, the fifth one I attended (of seven) and the first for my Monza, which I bought that year (and still have).
You had to scrape the snow away in order to set up your tent. That year I was based in Auckland which made it a 3500km-oddround trip. things you do when you're young eh.

Interestingly the group I travelled with had two other Guzzi's in it, a Spada and a Mk3 LeMans and our group is shown around our own campfire at 9.25.
I am still in contact with the Spada owning couple who now own the Mk3 instead. Russell Lane is on the left chortling away to his own jokes (sorry Russell!) and Jenny is standing on the right.

Russell used to give me jip about owning a 'baby' Guzzi. I made sure he suffered the next morning when neither of the big blocks would crank fast enough to start in the cold, and needed to be jump started off the 'baby' Guzzi......

(added Guzzi content for you John)
 

[johnr]

Russell used to give me jip about owning a 'baby' Guzzi. I made sure he suffered the next morning when neither of the big blocks would crank fast enough to start in the cold, and needed to be jump started off the 'baby' Guzzi......

(added Guzzi content for you John)

  Thanks Kev.

[Muzz]

Baby Guzzis Rule.

ps. Are either of you looking at the Tattly Rappet this year?

[johnr]

ps. Are either of you looking at the Tattly Rappet this year?

Would like to Muzz. We'll see.

[Muzz]

Would like to Muzz. We'll see.

Any advances as to the cause of the white smoke? I guess that's the "we'll see".

[johnr]

Any advances as to the cause of the white smoke? I guess that's the "we'll see".

Hard fast and proven advances on the cause, no.  But the circumstantial evidence is pretty over whelming.  I have thought out a series of mods to the breather system which I think would be effective both in part and in total. What I need to do now is put it down on paper and subject it to the collective wisdom of the board for criticism.

Even if the bike was tickety-boo though I would need to have a job to be able to afford such a trip, and be able to get time off it.