By the time this issue of Tansha lands on door mats we’ll be looking at what’s now called ‘the end of the riding season’ – surely that’s a term that doesn’t necessarily sit easy with many VJMC members? Many of us rode all year round back in the day and the idea of not riding just because it was winter sounded ludicrous. If you still ride throughout the year then good on you – respect etc. Many don’t these days and for a variety of reasons; age, health, the prospect of falling off and breaking ageing bones, or, potentially plain, old fashioned common sense. What’s the point of riding a bike on a frosty morning when there’s a better than average chance of hitting some black ice? Each to their own as they say but I for one don’t fancy travelling the long road to recovery from yet another get off; the last one I did took far too long to recover from! Many out there have what’s politely termed ‘winter hacks’ and if you have such a machine why not share it with the members over the darker winter months? Tansha is most emphatically not all about pristine restored classic Japanese iron, there’s room for everything within our 112 pages each issue. 
It’ll only be a week or so from this issue to the October Stafford Show where the crème de la crème competes for a plethora of awards. Restored bikes can, on occasion, polarise opinions but there’s no disputing the time, love and effort that the owners devote to their bikes. Even if you don’t necessarily agree with what some see as over-restored machinery if the boys and girls who supply the machines didn’t do what they do the rest of us wouldn’t have a show to go to!
It’s most certainly ‘shed season’ for many members who will doubtless be wielding spanners and sockets over the next few months. Whether it’s servicing, repairs or restoration why not take some pictures and pen some words about what you’re doing?    We’re getting some very kind compliments paid to us at the Editorial Dining Table where Tansha is created but without you, the members, we’d have nothing to work with. Your stories bring the magazine to life so thank you for everything you send in and thanks in advance for the material you hopefully send in later.  

Steve Cooper  

VJMC Editor