We were originally of Scottish Blood

My life in Pictures

Last Update 26 March 2008

The stories I am trying my best to remember, please correct me if you know better...
A seized Suzuki T500, Comber Road, lots of traffic and Rodney and me. 
Derek Beattie and Rodney Dickson
Author Derek Beattie

Rodney, he lived to tell the tale

  Rodney had a Suzuki T500 tuned by Crooks Suzuki and asked if i would give him my opinion as he rode pillion,. i relished the thought so threw the old leg over as Rodney climbed on behind,. " See what she'll do" he said,... so we set off towards Comber, those that know the road will understand,.  i red lined it in every gear and it was as sweet as a nut until just as we passed the primary school at the West Winds, sudden silence and a very strange feeling,....  thanks Crooks....!!!!   the sump plug had dropped out putting all the oil on the back tyre and seizing the gearbox and clutch solid,.  the rest as they say is history, i have no idea other than probably the fact that experience took over but we travelled approx. 200 yards (later measured)   passing a cattle truck, a stopped single decker bus and several cars as well as those coming the other way controlling the bike with knees only,..  i managed to get the thing to skew left and it stopped ever so gently beside the left hand kerb without a single complaint,..  Rodney leapt off shot across the road and hurled a torrent of abuse at me,,.. saying i was trying to kill him,..   it was his bloody bike,.. my underpants were ruined and i've been on medication since,. but falling off a diving board in Guernsey holds no fear for me after that,...  i sneer at bulls, fart in the general direction of other frightening creatures and cock my hat at meteorites,.. 

Comment; From Rodney
Yeah, I can support your skid story.
I can't remember exactly, what gear was it, flat out in 4th or 5th?
If 4th, that bike did 100MPH in 4th and maybe 110MPH in 5th, so you can say the speed was from around 100MPH with the rear wheel completely locked up and somehow you held onto it, almost impossible and beaten only by Mamola's famous crash on his 500

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