Welcome to the Vintage Japanese Motorcycle Club

Welcome to the VJMC, the UK’s premier club for Japanese bikes fifteen years old and over. The club was founded in 1982 by a small group of like minded enthusiasts..

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Welcome to the October edition. If there’s any justice, we still have a few more weeks of decent riding weather before it all starts to get wet, dark and gloomy. A fair number of members will  be braving the elements and riding all year round. If that’s you then please take some shots of your winter ride, add some words, and share it with Tansha. I can still recall the night I fell off my Yamaha RD350 due to black ice on a blind bend. Little focuses the mind better than a sudden sense of your own vulnerability! Did I learn from the experience? Well certainly not enough to pack up regular winter riding.  In fact I was still commuting, year round, on two wheels some two decades later. If you have tales of winter experiences you know where to send them.
If there’s anyone out there who has an interest in the club’s old News Letters they’re in for a treat. I have two lots free to whoever wants them... all you need to do is pay the postage. Lot #1 is a set in the old red binder format running from August 1988 to Jan/Feb 1992. Lot #2 is in loose leaf folder in plastic pockets and covers Sept/Oct 1992 to Nov/Dec 1993. Sorry but they are only available as two lots; they need to be kept together. Please contact me if you are interested; my details are at the end of this page.
In this issue are reports from the various Club Officers which give an overview of what everyone has been up to running, supporting and promoting the club. The complete minutes of this year’s AGM are available in the Member’s Area of the club’s website www.vjmc.com . This keeps the information ‘in house’. As older/expired Tansha’s are given to the general public at shows and events it seems wrong to simply hand out how the club works to non-members. And this means that we are able to devote half a dozen more pages in the October issue to classic Japanese motorcycle related copy!
Our In Conclusion this issue is a little different it features four of Ian Douglas’ splendid illustrations but in cameo format to accompany David Anderson’s tales of arch bodgery. If you know of, or have encountered similar nefarious acts please write in and share the disasters you’ve unearthed. In fact, to encourage, there’s a stunning engine model kit up for grabs for the best bodge story. The kit has been supplied by Haynes of workshop manual fame.
If you have articles and/or images you want to share with the members then electronic copy is the prefered media if possible please. Large image files are best sent via We Transfer which is free to use. Alternatively please ask for details on how to share via Google’s G Drive facility.
If you’re sending in typed copy Word or ODT/Open Office are the prefered options please as we work on Microsoft PCs rather than Mac Machines. 

Thanks, 

Steve Cooper  

VJMC Editor