Hollywood comes to Ayrshire

It was sunny but cold yesterday so I went for a run to the coast on my CBF250.

I stopped at the harbour in the village of Dunure south of Ayr.

I don't remember these timber buildings.

All is not what is seems. I'm on a film set. A couple told me it was for the TV series "Outlander".

A Welcome Sight

It may still be January and the temperature is just above freezing but the whin (gorse) in Ayrshire is starting to flower. The bright yellow flowers put in mind of spring although that is a good month away.

 

 

Monte Carlo Rally

Cars departed from Paisley today for the Classique, Historique & Hertiage classes of the Monte Carlo Rally.

The cars at Paisley Abbey

Fiat 124 Coupe

Austin 1800

Sunbeam Stiletto. Built locally in Linwood. It was the coupe version of the Hillman Imp

1964 Rover 2000. This will be the car's third trip to Monte Carlo

1930 Austin 7 Ulster. The South of France must seem a long way away in this little car. It has about the same power output as my CBF250! The team hope to drive all the way there with the top down. Wrap up well guys!

Not a lot of room for luggage, spares etc

Fiat 127 Arbath

1960 Rover 100.

Well packed for the journey!

A Mini from Northern Ireland. Known as the Cream Cracker due to its beige paint job.

Porsche 356

Also built at Linwood this Sunbeam Talbot is part of Paisley's bid to be City of Culture. Note Paisley Pattern paint scheme.

A Tight Sqeeze

It's good to find a dedicated motorcycle parking bay in a public car park Especially a free place in one that charges cars. This was the case in Paisley yesterday. A car park layout usually has some odd areas at the ends of bays that can be used by bikers. This one is a bit tight though. It there was a car in the adjacent bay and a bike behind it would be tricky to get out.

 

 

In The News - US Bike Tariff Shock

Fancy a Vespa scooter, a KTM dirt bike or perhaps the new BMW G310R? Well they might be about to get a lot more expensive if you live in the USA.

The Office of United States Trade Representative has proposed a 100% tariff on motorcycles between 50 and 500cc manufactured in the European Union. This is part of a long-running trade dispute because the EU has banned US meat from animals treated with growth hormones.

There isn't an obvious connection between bikes and beef and US dealerships will be hit. The US doesn't make many bikes in this category so the winners will be Japan, China & Korea.   

story here

http://www.motorcycle.com/features/office-of-united-states-trade-representative-wants-to-add-100-tariff-to-51-500cc-eu-manufactured-bikes.html?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Motorcycle.com_breaking&utm_source=Motorcycle.com20170117

 

BMW G310R

 

 

Queensferry Crossing

After the snow last week, this week started dull but mild. So today I took a run over to the east coast to see progress on the Queensferry Crossing over the River Forth.

This dramatic photo shows that the erection of the main deck & cables seems complete.

A short section connecting the approach viaduct to the main bridge has still to be erected.

The adjacent railway bridge is always worth a photo.

Snow Adventure

It was snowy here today so of course I decided to go for a run on my CBF250 - what could possibly go wrong?

Mearns Kirk makes for a nice winter scene

The main roads were ok but this back road was just too slippery

Eaglesham

The Swan is a favourite pub of ours

The Whitelee wind farm. This was far enough, it was getting really cold.

On the Eaglesham Moor road

This is where things started to go wrong. The sky turned black followed by hail then snow.

I'm starting to think that this wasn't a good idea

"You've nae chance" was the gritter driver's opinion of my situation. Like me he didn't want to drive down this hill.

Luckily he was wrong. I'm home safe & sound (just)

First Run of the Year

Today it was dull but dry, calm and tolerably mild (8C/46F) so I thought I'd go for a run. My CBF250 was fixed and back on the road. I've mostly been riding my SV650 for the last nine months and the bike is so capable it could be used all year round. But I've got the CBF going and I'd like to avoid a contest between the council's de-icing salt and the Suzuki's build quality.

So I wrapped up well, cranked the heated grips up to max and unleashed the mighty Honda's 22 bhp on the roads of Ayrshire on a run to the coast.

Before the coast I stopped for this photograph of the India Tyres building. Constructed in 1930 in the art deco style.

In Greenock I found this monster - the Ceona Amazon - a cable & pipe laying ship.

This bit looks like something from The Transformers

Also in Greenock was the Hebridean Princess. A former car ferry converted to a small cruise ship. Laid up for the winter, I think.

The CBF at the waterfront in Greenock

Largs

The Cumbrae ferry

The "Viking" provided chips for lunch.

Chips, known as a "Glasgow salad".

This guy had his eye on my chips.

Sorry buddy, it's against the rules!

This BSA Starfire was in Route 78 M/Cs A 250cc single like my CBF.

The beach at Ardrossan.

It was a bit gloomy but getting out at all at this time of year is a bonus and it was good to find that the CBF was running well after its recent repairs.