Here are a couple of short features written about runner related events including photos.

Around Zakynthos with 4 Runners

Just back from the Island of Zakynthos in Greece where we hires 4 Runners SP50's for the two weeks and racked up about 1500kms each.We went to hire the bikes on the first day but the company, Olympic rentals in Argassi, only had 2 Runners at the time so for the first day we also had a Piaggio NRG extreme and a Daelim S-Five. A who S-what you say, well its looked preety cool in a dark metalic blue but its looks couldn't hide its Dodgy Korean insides once you drove it, Slow, noisy and a rear drum brake that didn't notice when you pulled the handle. So the next day its was handed back in exchange for a third Runner. The NRG's only problem was also a ropey rear brake but it went as well as the Runners. It still got the axe 2 days later when a fourth Runner was picked up. So with 4 runners in tow we set about exploring the Island including some insane offroading up mountain trails where I blew the coolant cap on my Runner-Doh!! Enjoy the photos.

2 of the Runners on a mountain road above Argassi overlooking Zakynthos town.	The view looking north up Zakynthos over Zakynthos town.
3 runners now with a nice veiw over the eastern flat land on the Island	The 4 Runners lines up at the cliffs of Keri in the south west.
The first day, 2 Runners, 1 NRG and a Daelim S-Five-which was Rubbish!!	My Friend Denise making her way(rapidly) down the mountain road.
One of the excellent roads on the Island.	Me going a bit looney on the high grip tarmac
And again	It was too much fun!!
The older slippery tarmac made for some tyre melting fun.	It wasn't my bike, whatareayagonnado!
The road wasn't making smoke so......	The way my bike looked when I hired it... clean!
Sunset over Zakynthos	The competitive couple..Denise always won!!!
One of the mountain tracks with a bit of concrete thrown onto it.	The best road on the island. Full throttle down this road was VERY scary cos as you can see there is no barrier and I overheated the brakes!

About all Maxiss tyres are good for is being smeared onto tarmac, so I obliged! :)	Still trying to get up the hill with wheelspinning themselfs into a hole.
On the way up the mountain roads.	And on the way back!
When a Runner looses a game of chicken with a metal fence, it looks like this! :)	This tyre was new when I hired the Runner...ooops!
Winding mountain roads are still the best driving roads.	There where 300 foot cliffs just to the right of this picture.

Re-building a Runner.

Almost a year ago now my Friends Runner SP125 was stolen from outside his house. He later found it in a field around the corner from his house with the front end ripped to pieces. Due to the ignition barrel being broken away from the frame the repair bill was coming to EUR1900 due to needing a new frame. I was originally going to buy his Runner for spare parts, however, over the past year I have come to know just about every inch of the Gilera Runner and because of this we decided to rebuild his Runner. We brought it to the garage where I work and I proceded to strip the front of the bike down to the frame to prepare for welding. Quite a bit of re-shaping and filing was required to get the barrel to sit straight in its proper position but it did in the end. A full new ignition set was needed including the steering lock block, switch and key set along with a front panel and mudguard. The rest of the body work is undamaged and everything went back together, after a full service, and polished up perfectly. And there it was, 1 Runner saved from being scrapped and back runnering perfectly in time for summer!  

During repair and the finished article

My first scooter rideout.

On Oct 6th I attended my first rideout in aid of the Coombe hospital, Dublin

I have to say I was under the impression that the scooter sceen was pretty dead in Ireland which didn't change when I turned up at the start point of the rideout. There where about 20 Vespas and Lambrettas lined up and no Auto's. When I arrived I had 2 Runner 50s with me and to say we stuck out a mile would be an understatement. Slowly but surely more and more scoots were turning up and the next time I looked up the road there was scooters as far as the eye could see. Around 300 turned up in the end and it was some sight. Another Runner, a 180 turned up as well as a Dragster 180, not many of them in Ireland. A couple of new Vespa ET's brought the auto number up to a staggering 7. We set off, being escourted by 2 Police Pan euro's through the city streets untill we reached the Coombe hospital were we all parked up, in a very tight space! There were refreshments and raffle prizes in a hall just beside the parking area. It was a good day and just the start of many I hope, although a few more auto's this time would be nice.

Greek Runner

In August 2001 I had 2 weeks holidays in Rhodes, Greece and managed to put 2500kms on a Runner 50

 I'm just back from 2 weeks in Rhodes, Greece. I had planned to hire a 125 or 180 but I couldn't find anywhere nearby that hired them. So looking at the roads and remembering how quick European (non-restricted) Runners are I decided that a 50 would do. The rental guy told me he had Runners but wouldn't have one until that evening so he gave me a Piaggio NRG for the first day. Now don't get me wrong, NRG's are good but this particular one was shear terror. 2 major problems-the steering was actually tight to turn and, although there where disks and calipers on the bike the didn't seem to have anything whatsoever to do with the brake handles resulting in the braking performance of a ship! So at 9 that evening I returned expecting to find a Runner in the same state. He led me to a black/blue SP50. First thing, the steering was  free moving and the brake where extremly tight and I didn't seem to have ever been dropped which was unusual for a rental bike. So off I went a to my delight the Runner was driving excellently. It was capable of cruising at about 55mph with just me and still got itself to 50 with two persons. The brakes on this Runner where disturbing for the oposite reasons of the NRG. Give the handles a good tug and they would haul to to a stop so fast that time itself would run into the back of you! All of this not bad considering this was a late 1998 model with over 15000kms on it when I got it. So with map in hand I set about exploring the Island.