October 10th 2010 - Brightona

[Chevy Rick]

Brightona Sunday 10th October at Madeira Drive - 9am to 6pm

Brightona is a motorbike festival that has had thousands of visitors flocking to the shores of Brighton. Since 2003 we have been raising funds for The Sussex Heart Charity. This is a family day so come along and yourselves and drop a few coins in our collection buckets, or a £5 donation if you come on a motorbike.

Dust off the leathers, oil your engines, feast your eyes and dance your socks off!!
This event will host an array of lavish motorbikes bound to get a few jaws dropping!
Expect a fun packed time with some amazing motorcycles, Hot Rods, live music, stalls and not forgetting, at Brightona only, The Wall of Death!!

Music is a vital part of the Heartbeat and Brightona with many bands performing. Brightona brings you two outside stages with rock 'n' roll and the ever present Concorde 2 stage, as well as performances inside Concorde 2 throughout the day. As you wonder around take a look at the variety of stalls offering leather wear, bike memorabilia, plus much more to fill your shopping bags with. When it comes to the bikes see if you can pick the winners. There are many categories including Best Bike in Show, Best Custom Bike but also Best Hot Rod, to name a few.

For more info see http://brightona.brighton-rock.net/

[Chevy Rick]

10-10-10 and what a brilliant day in Brighton.  The sun was so hot people were desperately looking for shade. Never have so many layers come off people in such a short time.  We felt sorry for those who had to walk around in heavy leathers all day.

JJ and I set off at 7am.  JJ on her trike and me on the Road King.  All went well until about half way there (on the M27) when the trike started spewing out water again.  A problem we thought we had fixed since we added the overflow bottle from the radiator but unfortunately something else had gone wrong and the rad was boiling over (could it be the head gasket?).  The trike looked like a steam engine at one point.  JJ wanted me to carry on but I couldn't have done that.  Luckily JJ carries a bottle of water with her anyway plus she had another bottle for drinking so she managed to eventually limp off the motorway to her sisters at Fareham where she parked the trike in her garage.  We decided to carry on to Brighton on my bike with JJ as pillion as at least we could both get there that way.  JJ is glad we did as we had a great time and when we arrived at 10:30am the number of bikes was already up to 4567 as our sticker was 4568!

The place was heaving and the roar of bikes (as it always is at Madeira Drive) was deafening.  We started off with brekkie at the outdoor cafe while watching the interesting cross section of attendees strutting their thing. That alone is an eye opener, before you even get to the bikes.  At Brightona, they are also trying to encourage Hot Rods and quite a few turned up.  Plus, most were parked more centrally this year, as last year they were right down the bottom of the Drive and easy to miss.

There were plenty of other attractions too: there were plenty of stalls; the Wall of Death; Harley D were there with a selection of new bikes; a Yamaha racing bike simulator and some really good bands.

Saw very few people we know (which is unusual at Brighton) and even though fellow Mankies Muffin and Michelle were there we just never managed to meet up with them (even though we did wait ages by Eddie Kidd for you). Never mind, catch you next time.  

I have included some photos in the next post.  I have loads so if you want them Andy on a disc, just let me know.

[Chevy Rick]

Brightona Photos:

[Manky Monkey]

Yes please Rick. We're still stock-piling photos for use when we get the main site back online, so all contributions gratefully received.
Looks like another great day out.
Shame about JJ's trike. Does it have a thermostat fitted?

[Chevy Rick]

No thermostat we took that off when JJ had problems way back, can't understand she rode up to the Rockers Reunion a few weeks back and all was okay, unless fanbelt has worked loose, didn't fancy working on the trike on the hard shoulder of the M27 not quite the same as being under the hood of a car/truck. Talking to Muffin a week or so back and he has had this problem for a long while even though he has an electric fan his Reliant trike still boils on long runs.?

[Manky Monkey]

But have you seen the way Muffin rides? By his own admission, it's flat out everywhere, all the time. Reliants ain't sports bikes. His is currently off the road for a new cylinder head to replace the one he's knackered. None of our other Reliant builds had this problem, though they might occasionally spit a little water out of the radiator overflow if you stopped suddenly after a long stretch at speed. I wonder what design features or engine mods JJ's & Muffins have in common?

[terry t]

No thermostat we took that off when JJ had problems way back, can't understand she rode up to the Rockers Reunion a few weeks back and all was okay, unless fanbelt has worked loose, didn't fancy working on the trike on the hard shoulder of the M27 not quite the same as being under the hood of a car/truck. Talking to Muffin a week or so back and he has had this problem for a long while even though he has an electric fan his Reliant trike still boils on long runs.?

hi Rick. have you checked the radiator hoses they might be collapsing on the inside when they get hot

[Chevy Rick]

Hi Terry t went back to where JJ left her trike , and put me fingers in the rad, they came out with a thin film of oil on them so I guess it looks like the head gasket is blowing.

[Clive]

Love the little cafe racer/bobber, and the depth of shine on the paint on the brown camper!!!

Clive

[triker_Chewie]

he must work out