ON A WING

摘要

Riding 400 miles on a '74 Norton 850 Commando in a day can do things to a man. Especially when the new, "high-quality" coils give up on Pacific Coast Highway after he pulls out to pass a Suburban in Big Sur and the bike dies dead in the wrong lane in heavy rain. But, hey, that's what a man signs up for when he wants to ride his classic English superbike to May's Quail Motorcycle Gathering in Carmel Valley, California. If it were easy, everybody would be doing it. The fix was another new set of coils hand delivered by my local pal and Service columnist, Ray Nierlich. He's the kind of guy who keeps spare Commando coils on the shelf in his shop, and getting them hand delivered in a 1961 Thames 400E Freighter English Ford van was a fine, spiritually satisfying bonus. The day was saved, and I got to ride with a hundred or so other enthusiasts on Friday's 100-mile Quail Tour that also included a few laps at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, which was sweet indeed.