Janette Jolly (AKA JJ) is Chair of the Norfolk and Suffolk Honda Owners Club. A few months into her new role, JJ explains where her love of Honda motorcycles comes from – and her hopes for the Club
How long have you been involved with Norfolk HOC and what made you want to get involved in the first place? When did you become Chair?
I’ve been a member of the HOC for about six years this time, but I was also a member back in the late 1990s early 2000s until I moved to Spain in 2004 as I started riding Hondas when I first passed my DAS [Direct Access Scheme] and jumped on my VFR800FI. I’ve always loved Honda motorcycles. I love their sound their super smooth engines and their beauty along with the exceptional attention to detail and build quality. Some may say they are over engineered and over complex when trying to wrestle off a fairing to do a simple bit of fettling but I love how everything fits so perfectly, I feel it translates into my riding experience; knowing how perfectly made my bike is gives me confidence and we are at one as we fly through the countryside a blur of red, white and blue.
So, when David nominated me for Chair at the AGM in early May 2024 although surprised, I was glad to be more involved and excited to see how we could drive more engagement and do more for our members.
Where does your love of Honda motorcycles come from? Are you Norfolk born and raised?
I’ve been obsessed with motorbikes since I was very small, but I think my love of Hondas started with our neighbour when I was 14, he owned a stunning VFR750. It was red with white wheels, and it was beautiful. He took me for a pillion ride at my mother’s instruction to ‘put me off bikes’ as my mother disapproved of my obsession.
Well of course I was utterly hooked after that ride, it was everything and more than my wildest dreams had imagined. That’s when I decided my first bike must be a Honda VFR and indeed a few years later it was.
My father was an officer in the Royal Air Force so although I was born in Wiltshire in an RAF hospital he was posted to RAF Honington when I was two and we moved to Feltwell, we moved a couple of times within Norfolk, and I attended the Grammar school in Thetford. Leaving Norfolk as an adult with work, first to Cambridgeshire then Lincolnshire before moving to Spain. Since returning I’ve lived in Suffolk as we returned to enable my son to join the British Army in the Air Corps regiment at RAF Wattisham.
What sort of events does the club organise and how can people join/find out more?
Members can organise impromptu ride outs via our WhatsApp chat group dreaming up routes and leading rides, some are local rides around the coast for a few hours, one was a few days heading to Wales, others are to points of interest or local bike nights. We also have organised demo bike ride outs from the local Honda dealership in Norfolk, which I am now looking to replicate with the Suffolk dealers, and they are very keen to get involved. We have also had club stands at the Copdock charity show and David Silvers this year which were a great success as the members enjoyed being on the stand, chatting to interested people and we’ve gained a fair few new members at events. We have a club website, a WhatsApp chat group and a Facebook group enabling members to find us, join the HOC and join a ride out.
What are your hopes for the club?
That we grow our numbers of active members, drive member engagement and do more of what we all want, ride our Hondas, chat about our Hondas and maybe find the odd sausage roll or cake along the way.
Secretary David Robertson adds:
When our branch of the National Honda Owners Club, the oldest single-make motorcycle club in the UK, had no leader and was not doing a great deal, I had a gut feeling which told me to become secretary.
I got voted in in 2023 at a meeting in Posh Pigs in Ellough. I remember a member wishing me luck. I do not believe in luck and rely on my wit and kindness to get through life. 2023 was a hard year for our club. We did not make many ride outs or socials.
At another meeting at Posh Pigs early in 2024 I got voted in for a second year running and it has been much better, with ad hoc ride outs to various locations. I started the 2024 year with a ride out with two members to Kensington Gardens in Lowestoft and the club pretty much took it from there.
I look forward to 2025 for our branch and hope that others can see that I have had an influence in our current successes. Thank you for the loyal branch members who make up the ethos that is NorHOC and HOC.
To contact the branch, email norfolk@hoc.org.uk, or visit Norfolk and Suffolk Honda Owners Club (hoc.org.uk). For the national HOC, visit The Honda Owners Club (GB) (hoc.org.uk).
Featured images – supplied
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