Hudson Heads to the Cotswalds

[Dr. Rich]

Dave Black (Niehart) is a little shy so I thought I would ask this for him.... I'm sure he would like to know if they have any plans to make a trike? He is getting up there in age and this could just be the answer to keep him on the road!

 

[Niehart]

Rich, you hurt my feeling. Yes I only have one and you hurt it.

 

[Hudson]

Excellent, this is my home ground.
How are you finding the condition of the road surface compared to back home?

The roads are good - a bit bumpy as we took the back way, but our pace was quite sane. At least for now. Remember, I came to ride the 130hp, 400 lb café racer. And that part of the story will be told shortly.

Bellys full, we set off to visit Gerry’s family, but before we could leave, an odd looking guy walks up and ogles the bike. He knows Gerry, and the two of them renew some history. Turns out the guy, Eric, is quite the mechanic and now restores vintage WWII tanks for collectors. 15 minutes later, I now know more about a Sherman tank’s synchromesh than I ever thought possible. Eric’s pal has heard the story, but he’s a patient bloke.

We fire the bikes up – second kick this time, so I am improving. The sound of these unmuffled bikes with straight pipes reverberates off the town’s stone buildings in the small square as we head out to some country roads.

 

[Hudson]

No pictures I could show you can describe the feeling imparted by the surge of vintage Triumph engines through the bars, and feel of the gears as I snick through them. Nothing can quite convey the experience of running through a country lane with a canopy of old growth trees overhead, as we pass very old churches, thatch-roofed cottages, and farms. My initial focus and stress about riding unfamiliar roads on unfamiliar bikes where everything is opposite of my instincts begins to fade, and for a while, I get to be nearly one with the experience.

These Mark III’s are fantastic. A bit stiff for the road, they require a firm hand on the handle bar, and the revs taper off about 5K rpm. With thick knobbies, cornering is an adventure, and the brakes are positively at home –on a dirt field, so I have to let the engine do a fair share of braking.

Some time later, after many small villages and farms, we pull into the drive of Gerry’s childhood home to visit mum.

I’ve written before about Gerry’s family – his dad was an Italian prisoner of war made to work the farms in the Cotswolds, who learned a trade (roof thatching), raised a family, and passed his legacy to his son. Listening to Gerry’s family story, and meeting his spry 93 year old mum, I got to see her garden where she still tends and grows all the vegetables for her legenday pasta sauce, got to see where Gerry played as a young carefree boy, oblivious then to his family’s meager beginnings, and got a sense of the passion and focus that have led him through many projects.

First was to purchase the land adjoining where his dad worked the farms. Next was to convert it years later to a successful country club and golf course. And then Metisse, which he purchased from the owner and went back to its history and roots to craft an amazing replica of Steve McQueen’s famous desert racer, and now this new Mark IV.

We have tea, and I get to hear the life story of this terrific family, with color commentary from mama Lisi. She has a strong accent, still from her mother country, and is ever the practicising Catholic. I know this because she carries a small handheld bible which she reaches into frequently to pull pictures of her sons and husband. She is absolutely adorable and before I finish my tea, we've spent almost an hour chatting.

 

[Gary B]

Great stuff.

If you get the chance have a ride through the 'Magic Roundabout' in Swindon.

It's a legendary piece of traffic madness!

I ride a T140E (previously T140V and T100T Daytona 500) and find the ride quite hard, road conditions vary by county (budgets) and my county (Northamptonshire) has its share of nasty potholes.

 

[Hudson]

We’d had two coffee stops, each with a biscuit or cake, and we still hadn’t completed the whole day. The weather was brilliant when we started early, but the earlier forecast was now proving true – heavy clouds were on the way with the threat of thundershowers.

No way was I going to miss my chance on the café racer, so we hurried back to Metisse’s factory and Gerry prepped the bike.

While he prepped the bike, he pointed me towards the work bench, where I was able to check out the newly returned cast engines. The engine is Gerry’s own design, built in conjunction with state of the art design facilities and machinery at a Formula 1 shop in nearby Oxford. It is a parallel twin, with highly customized and ground cams, proprietary cranks, and light weight racing pistons and arms. Like a modern Bonneville, the cylinders are Nikisil plated for longevity. The craftsmanship of this engine is jewel-like.

 

[Hudson]

While the brake pedal and gear shift were now all on the proper side, I was still nervous taking out this handmade custom one-of-a-kind prototype. It housed its original billet-aluminum carved engine (these were heavily tested before they were ready to cast), and it sported massive velocity stacks and a barely-corked exhaust. Brakes, though not ABS, were still massive Brembos. Gerry fired up the bike to warm it sufficiently. It was damn loud.



We wheeled the bike outside and let it idle.

Gerry decided he would lead a spirited route in his Benz so that he could keep a quick pace, and I felt better that I would have someone to follow in unfamiliar territory. I mounted up, fired the bike up, and felt my stomach tighten as we set off.

The prototype had a longer wheelbase frame, perfect for a rider who was 6’3” and long arms. Me – I’m 5’10” with an average arm length, so it was a slight stretch to the bars, but the longer wheelbase made me push hard on the bars for tight turns. The country roads we started out on were a bit bumpy for the suspension, mostly the rear which could be easily adjusted, but the front was perfect. About 20 min later, we made it to the motorway, which was mostly empty on a Sunday afternoon.

I swear I saw Gerry smile as he stomped on the Benz, a puff of black smoke emerged from his tailpipe, and the turbo diesel six surged forward, gaining speed rather rapidly. I throttled on, let Gerry gain a distance ahead, and then yanked the throttle back hard. The bike lept forward, not as aggressive like my MV Agusta Brutale, but more linear and precise acceleration, loads of torque helping to quickly build speed.

The revs climbed quickly past six, then seven, then eight thousand RPM, with more room to go. On a parallel twin? It was smooth as any twin I’ve ever ridden – super light vibration, punctuated by an angry growl. More like a triple.

I caught up with Gerry a bit too suddenly, and then again, a puff of black smoke from the Benz, and we were flying. The speedo was disconnected, and I guessed we were near 85-90 as we swept pass the occasional car on our left. I was happy that lane discipline in the UK was much better than in the states.

 

[Hudson]

I slowed for several roundabouts, or “give ways” as they are called, and the bike turned in smartly. The clip on bars meant I was leaning with my hips as much as my arms, and while the bike felt great, I would opt for the shorter wheelbase frame if I was checking the order box. That’s the nice thing about a handbuilt bike – you can tailor it like a fine suit, and even in longer form, it was far more comfortable than the MV Agusta F4 in my garage, which only fits skinny Italian riders 5’7” or shorter.

About 45 min into the ride, the clouds were looking ominous and a few drops had landed on my visor, so Gerry turned towards the factory and we did a nice long cool down ride back home. We passed several riders on a myriad of bikes, and everyone did a double take. The bike is unfamiliar, with a unique dual stacked headlight, and it looks both vintage and modern depending on the angle. No one could miss the angry growl as the pipes barked on every throttle twist.

Arriving back at the shop, I was suddenly aware of how tired I was. We had ridden quite a ways today, and the while the stress of adapting to new roads and differently situated bikes had come much easier than expected, the thrill of riding this particular bike had me mentally spent.

We stopped at the front of the shop, Gerry came over, and watched as I powered down, removed my helmet and gloves, and smiled, an ear-to-ear, shit-eating grin of a smile of a guy who just crossed something big off his bucket list.

Ride a one-of-a-kind handmade bike, with a world class engine and frame, built by the guy leading the trip.

Check.

“Holy mother of crap, Gerry....that was just amazing! How fast did we hit on the motorway?”

Gerry smiled. “I was pulling away at 110 mph before we backed off. I would’ve kept going but the speed cameras were coming up.”

Mercy, mercy me.

 

[Hudson]

That night, I treated Gerry and his gal to a sumptuous dinner at a nearby pub.

We once again got home late but this time, I was asleep pretty quickly. Woke up early, got ready, and said my goodbyes to Gerry's gal - I'm quite fond of her.

We met another friend for a business meeting and grabbed a pint of bitters at a nice little pub.

Two cute gals poured a perfect pint.

Then it was time to head to Heathrow - I had a week of business travel in the EU, and was genuinely sad to leave my friend.

How do you say thanks to someone for a weekend like this? I invited him out to the PNW for some riding in proper mountains, but even with a KTM, FJR, and a few MV Agusta's at my disposal to let him ride, I feel a bit inadequate.

On the way to the airport, we hatched up a fantastic plan, which I can hopefully talk about one day.

It's a lot of work ahead to make it work, but if I can pull this off, I may not have to fly to the UK to get my Metisse fix.

Not that I'd ever complain about coming back...

 

[Panman]

Looking forward to Tech Day, and some good tails my friend.

 

[Hudson]

UK friends, tonight on ITV4 at 9pm, you can catch Gerry Lisi and the Metisse on a special two part episode of Henry Cole's motorcycle show.

The show examines Steve McQueen's love of motorcycles and runs 2 episodes. Gerry's Mark III scrambler is featured, the replica of McQueen's bike.

The show is terrific and does a great job of explaining the actor's love affair with motorcycles. Highly recommend you catch this.

 

[escapefjrtist]

Outta **LIKES** Hudson. Looking forward to hearing all about the adventure.

--G

 

[wheatonFJR]

Wow.

This thread is a gem.

Thanks Hudson!

 

[sportsguy]

Epic! I can attest to Gerry's...well...everything! Those bikes are just plain amazingly enjoyable to ride. The cafe was but mere parts during my visit, but its so hard not to want one if you've been anywhere near any of his bikes.

Such a great story, too - nice to see your linguistic skills haven't slipped with age.

Safe travels man!

duane