Ron and the 101 year old Motorcycle
Theres times in life where you come across something so removed from its surroundings that it demands more attention than a fleeting glance. Such is the Story of Ron and his 1910 FN Motorcycle.Through mutual friends of Deus, we were told stories of a workshop deep inland, overlooking a river, of which contained something that may interest us. So with baited breath we were lead down ramshackle lanes and cut throughs, crossed bridges and passed temples….After eventually emerging from our junglier path, we approached a set of wooden gates, which opened slowly as we rolled towards them. We departed the car, not knowing what to think, when Ron appeared from the left and immediately greeted us with a firm hand shake and a smile from ear to ear.
(more after the jump)
He lead us through his garage and into the workshop we had heard so much about…and without a the bat of the proverbial eyelid i saw what we had journeyed for. In my whole life of motorcycle enthusiasm, i had never seen something like this in the flesh (or brass in this case.) It was a pristine FN vintage motorcycle. Ron explained how he had acquired the lower part of the frame along with one wheel almost 40 years ago… and has been rebuilding everything else to scale since. Over 4 decades he has hand fabricated, custom ordered and bespoke forged all the necessary pieces to transform a rusty subframe into a fully functioning 1910 FN Motorcycle. We slowly traipsed through his workshop throughout the afternoon, asking inquisitive questions and receiving well informed answers. But it surprised us all when Ron said that he would be doing a long distance trip on the FN later this year. From Tibet to Belgium (the country from which the FN hails)... 7000KM is quite a journey, but Ron is no stranger to motorcycle adventures. Having previously driven a trailer laden Honda Gold-Wing with is wife from Australia to Siberia, as well as other various worldly excursions…he definitely knows what he is doing. After a day of admiration, curiosity and education, we bid farewell to the explorer…wishing him the best of luck as well as expressing our envy of his prospective adventure! Good luck Ron, hope you and the bike make it to Belgium safe and sound!
