| Keith Henderson Chairman |
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Don Jack Vice Chairman |
| Born on the Black Isle, I started motorcycling after my Dad told me that I couldn't have a bike, which wasn't surprising as I was only 14. He was the Army Speedway champion during the war, and he had this thing that it was too dangerous for everyone, except him! After persistent nagging, I was presented one day with a clapped out Post Box Red Bianchi Falco 50cc, which had a scooter type gear change on the handlebar. From then on it was upward and onward, progressing to a Honda C15 that myself and a mate of mine put together in his garage, and then to a Honda CB250K, followed by a BSA Starfire, until my first and only 2 stroke, the super fast (at least for that era) Suzuki X7. It was about this time that we formed the Wyvis Motorcycle Club, of which I was a member for many years, running down every year to the Brighton Rally to pick up the 'Furthest Travelled Award'. It was about that time myself and my cousin were asked if we would be interested in becoming instructors for the northern branch of the Star Rider scheme, strong armed by one of my late dear friend, PC Thomas Gray, police motorcycle rider and ardent beer drinker. We did this for a number of years, before things became more formalised. The bike by this time was changed for my first 750, the Suzuki GSX750. I owned this for only 6 months, as every sharp corner taken at any speed at all used to make the bars slap back and forth which I was told was down to a the rather poor tubular swinging arm, before giving up and changing to the better boxed swinging arm GSX 1100. This was later traded in, after many tears for a Triumph Toledo on the arrival of our second child! From here it was downwards and backwards to a Yamaha 175 trail bike, and the occasional shot on one of my mates bikes before a better job lead me to a Ducati Monster. I've had a number of lean biking years whilst working abroad, but always managed to 'get a shot' on someone's bike, but on my return bought the Pan, and from there to my present bikes, the Goldwing (best touring bike ever if you don't have to turn sharp corners, especially near Pennan), and the Hayabusa which is a fantastic bike requiring lots of respect. I joined the GMC three years ago, and have enjoyed the 'crack' from day one, great runs organised by great people, with great bikes, and overall just great fun. What else is there? I hope that we can encourage more and more people to join in to do the same. |
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| Mike Forbes Treasurer |
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| Mike Forbes has been a member since 2002 and joined after he did a Direct Access course to pass his test just missing the theory test before it was introduced. Mike passed his Institute of Advanced Motorcyclists test on the second attempt. In the short time he has been biking he has owned a BMW 1150 GS, a Pan European 1300 ABS and his present dream machines are Honda Pan European 1300 and just for Norma a BMW R 1200 GS. He particularly likes the Wednesday night runs and the weekend group runs staying at various hotels all over Scotland with his wife Norma and other like minded people. Mike makes the point that if you are new to biking or are a born again biker, come along and let the committee know and they will place you in a group that will look after you. |
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Diane Diguid Secretary |
| Diane passed her test through Direct Access in October 2005 and a chance meeting with the group led to her and her husband James joining the club in 2006. A brief flirtation with a Honda Deauville was soon followed by a Kawasaki Z750s, she is now riding her dream bike a Suzuki Bandit 1250 GT even though they don't come in pink. Completely clueless about anything mechanical (but who cares - that's what husbands are for!) and utterly devoid of a sense of direction (every run out is a mystery tour), Diane is in it for the love of biking and the social side. | |
| Ian Maclean Events Co-ordinator |
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Aprilia Futura and Moto Guzzi 1100 Sport
Started on a Bantam D7 in the mid sixties (I seem to remember) from Shirlaw in Princess Street. Progressed since to some finer, more reliable Italian machinery and became a member of the IAM. |
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Phil Littler Newsletter Editor |
| I was a member of my local biking fraternity when I lived in England, many moons ago (late 70s - early 80s). Rode all sorts Japanese two and four strokes and a succession of British bikes. Then I passed my car test, started a family and left it all behind I suppose. Came back to biking in 2005 when I took a DAS course in Watford, England and passed my test. Within a few days of getting my certificate I was in a London dealer haggling over a Kawasaki 550 Zephyr. I'd always wanted a Z650 but couldn't find a decent one within my budget- so went for the Zephyr. I commuted to work daily on it and practically rebuilt most of it over the time I had it. What a great bike for dealing with London traffic. Also did a few longer runs on it over time. Turned out to be restricted during one of the repair jobs so I whipped out the restrictors and it was like getting a new bike! When we decided to move up to Scotland last year I decided to change the bike as it wasn't really suitable for the weather up here. After testing out a Moto Guzzi Norge and a Kawasaki 1400 GTR - I went for the GTR. We arrived in Balmedie before the bike which arrived mid September (seemed like an age waiting for it to arrive!). I joined the GMC while still running it in and it was one of the best moves I made since we relocated. Love the longer runs although Wednesday nights can be a blast depending on the route. Led my first run in October 2008 and loved it - looking forward to the new season. Oh I forgot to mention - I'm a teacher - now what's that got to do with anything? | |
| Ali McIntyre Web Admin |
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| I took a direct access course early in 2006, and found the club by chance on the internet soon after. I passed my IAM test in November 2007, on the first attempt. I'm now on my 3rd bike, a Triumph Sprint ST, after a CBF1000, and a 600 Fazer before that. Originally from Dumbarton, near Glasgow, I moved to Aberdeen with work in 1998. I normally make 3 out of 4 Wednesday night runs, and most Sunday runs. Feel free to contact me with any ideas for the site, the forum or if you would like a link or event added that would be of benefit our members. |
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Cecil Crichton Committee Member |
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(Honorary Member) We were encouraged by the IAM to create another motorcycle club and named it Aberdeen & District Advanced Motorcyclists (Social), (ADAM (S)). The name was changed to Grampian Motorcycle Club later. I feel that everything we have learned running the previous club has been used and improved upon by GMC. I started on larger bikes in 1981 with a K100RT followed with a Deauville. Then a Pan European 1100 which was upgraded to my present bike a Pan European 1300. I'm normally at the Wednesday night runs with a smile and always happy to meet new members. I try and make the weekend runs and any other meetings if I'm free. The occasional hotel weekends away have been successful as have the annual trips to Germany, France and/or Belgium. |
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| Alec Scott Committee Member |
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| A late starter to motor cycling despite being a petrol head all my life, driving fast cars and competing in motorsport. I passed my test on the 31st of August 2006 and had my first bike ready to go, a 1991 GPZ500s. However I had holidays booked in September and unfortunately the day after returning broke my leg while mountain biking which laid me up for two months while a mate took advantage of my bike! I knew that I wanted to take advanced riding lessons as soon as possible after passing my test and approached the local IAM group. So 2007 was a steep learning curve with an especially memorable day trip to Lochinver and back in the pouring rain on the GPZ with three big 1000cc plus bikes for company. Needless to say there was a huge transformation from the timid person who left to the one that came back. During this time I also joined the GMC in order to get some more miles under my belt in the company of experienced riders. Feeling a bit ashamed of my scruffy GPZ in the company of the both the IAM and GMC groups gleaming machines I decided to buy a newer and more powerful bike and bought a lovely '99 VFR800 in yellow to add some colour to the car park! I passed my IAM test in September 2007. | |
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Cliff Barron Committee Member |
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Kwak GTR1400 Cliff doesn't like changing tyres, so just gets a new bike when the tyres wear out, so he won't keep the Kwak long as it eats tyres. He enjoys any ride out in fine weather, and especially enjoys the weekend trips. |
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| Dan Archer Committee Member |
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| First ride was on a Corgi (as used by paras in WW2), OK, so I'm old enough to remember seeing the dog-fights over London. Joining the Royal Navy in 1956 transport wasn't required until getting married and having to travel between ship and home. A two stroke James Captain enabled me to traverse the short distances. Further distances were dealt with by a succession of A.J.S's including one with a sidecar, handy for transporting the wife, kids and dog. Riding through the years has seen a procession of Yamaha, Suzuki and Honda's taking me all over the world. East to Poland and Italy, south as far as Gibraltar and Portugal and west to the U.S.A. and Mexico. You will notice there is no North, too bloody cold! This Scotland is the furthest I go. Spain is the preferred destination due to its warmth and friendly people. I was going to say it's cheap but that has now all changed. I prefer to travel the longer distances and think nothing of travelling to Plymouth for a ferry in one. I am a Pan Man at heart having had four of them but currently ride a BMW 1200 RTSE for a change. MOTTO: Keep the Rubber on the Road. |
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Peter Sanderson Committee Member |
| I remember as a boy that my dad always had motorbikes, flat caps were the order of the day and I was a regular pillion. I suppose it was inevitable that sooner or later I would have a bike and at 15 my dad bought me a Honda 90 sports for my birthday. A year later I sold the bike for a BSA 350 B40 against the advice of my dad and paid the price for his advice as it often broke down and cost a lot of time and money to repair. However, most of the repairs I did myself and during the process I learnt a lot about bikes. Two years later I progressed to 4 wheels and after a break of some 20 years bought a BMW R100RS. I kept this for a year but had to sell it to pay for my garage and so there was a further gap until last year when I became a born again biker, bought a Honda Deauville 700 joined the club and a year later joined the committee. The advantage of club membership means that there is a lot of knowledge and experience to tap into and this is helping me to regain my confidence, skills and meet some interesting characters in the process. I hope I can make a positive contribution to the development of the club and would welcome new and in particular young members. | |