BMWMCQ Journal August 2020

AUGUST 2020

www.bmwmcq.org.au

OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE BMW MOTORCYCLE CLUB OF QUEENSLAND INC. Established 1958

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OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE BMW MOTORCYCLE CLUB OF QUEENSLAND INC.

The Committee President- Paul Hughes Ph: 0409 814 633 President@bmwmcq.org.au 1200 GS / 700 GS

Vice President - Mark Gilbert Ph: 0400 151 750 vpres@bmwmcq.org.au R 1200GS / F800GS

Secretary - Tony Gray Ph: 0409 493 605 secretary@bmwmcq.org.au R 1200 GS (The Grey Ghost) R 60/6 Treasurer - John Eacott

Ph: 0428 383 826 treasurer@bmwmcq.org.au 2017 K1600GT

Events - Mark Mustchin Ph: 0416 061 638 events@bmwmcq.org.au R 1200GS

Editors - Cindy & Duncan Bennett Ph: 0401 610 671 editor@bmwmcq.org.au Triumph Tigers Records- Greg Gaffney

Ph: 0411424 219 records@bmwmcq.org.au R 1200 RT

Tools/Spares - Bill Luyten Ph: 0438 123 747 tools@bmwmcq.org.au R1150 Rockstar - R1200 GS LC

This Issue - AUGUST 2020 Contents:Editorial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Committee Reports . . . . . . . . . . 5 REGALIA CATALOGUE . . . . . . . . . . 12 BMWMCQ EVENTS CALENDAR . . . . 14 NATIONAL MOTORRAD RALLY . . . . . 16 from the pen of jane gray . . . . 17 MAINTENANCE CORNER . . . . . . . . . 20 RIDE TO GLIDE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 XMAS IN JULY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 TOURING IN A BUBBLE . . . . . . . . . 28 FRIGID DIGIT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

BACK TO THE BUSH . . . . . . . . . . . 34 THE FIRST TIME I SAW HER. . . . . . 36 THUNDER RALLY. . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 QUICK GLANCE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 CHRISTMAS PARTY. . . . . . . . . . . . 41 TOOLED UP FOR ADVENTURE. . . . . 42 BEST MADE PLANS. . . . . . . . . . . . 44 FOR THE AIRHEADS . . . . . . . . . . . 47 ADVERTISING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 THE LAST WORD . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 BMWMCQ BOOK EXCHANGE. . . . . . 53

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TeamMoto Springwood & GC- 53 TeamMoto M&W- BACK COVER

TeamMoto - INSIDE COVER Caloundra Motorcycles - P.48 Northside Motorcycles - P.49 Munich Motorcycles - P.50 Good Wool Store - P.51

On The Cover The winning photos from Round 2 and 3 of the Photo Comp.

Mario Grossi’s early morning photo in Geelong, VIC, and Meredith Herpich’s - taken in the Dolomites, Italy.

- Plus lots more incredible Photo Comp photos throughout -

Regalia - Rosi Johnson Ph: 0424 961 597 regalia@bmwmcq.org.au R1200R

Dealer Liaison - Don Grimes

Ph: 0411 601 372 R1200GS; K1300

Club Details BMW Motorcycle Club of Queensland Inc.

2. Improving the service and availability of spare parts for BMWs in Queensland using the advantage of a united effort.

Address all correspondence to: The Secretary PO Box 3669 South Brisbane QLD 4101

4. Organising day trips, tours and outings.

ABN 30 351 243 651

Monthly meetings are held on the first Thursday of the month at the:

Geebung RSL Club

323 Newman Road Geebung A Club Ride is usually held on the first Sunday after the monthly meeting.

BMWMCQ AIMS The objectives of the BMWMCQ are to increase the enjoyment of motorcycling by: 1. Improving the opinion of the public towards motorcycling in general and associated members particularly, by careful, courteous, considerate riding, especially when riding with the Club, and rendering assistance to all road users in difficulty.

3. Decreasing maintenance and running costs by mutual assistance on mechanical problems.

5. Encourage and support Regional Ride Groups 6. Affiliation with other clubs/associations where such affiliation would be of mutual benefit.

DISCLAIMER The views and opinions expressed in this Journal are those of each contributor and are not necessarily shared by the Editor, management, and / or membership of the BMWMCQ. The Editor reserves the right to refuse any advertising or delete any material which could be considered or interpreted as questionable, libellous or offensive, without consultation.

WEB SITE Visit: www.bmwmcq.org.au

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Editorial

AUGUST 2020

Cindy & Duncan Bennett

Editors’ Report

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ormality creeps slowly in like a Fat Bob Harley into a retirement village library.... Which is good news for we BMWMCQ Journal editors as we’ll be expecting a continuation of the excellent stories and photos both recent and historical (hysterical?) that have graced the pages since the ‘Rona began.

Perhaps BMW two-wheelers attract people who have a strong basis in the English language rather than the assumed Deutsch, but we have certainly learned over the course of our first journal year that our membership have some amazing skill and talent when it comes to the application of throttle, pen, and camera shutter. Keep them coming.

Will definitely see you on the road, Cindy & Duncan Cindy Bennett - Clifton Suspension Bridge - South Island NZ near Te Anau, October 2018

And while the model was waiting, the photographer somehow got involved in a brouhaha with a chicken.....

Submissions for the Next Journal close 28-ish AUGUST VENUE FOR BMWMCQ GENERAL MEETINGS GEEBUNG RSL CLUB 323 NEWMAN ROAD GEEBUNG MEALS OPEN AT 6.00 PM MEETING STARTS 7.30 PM

NEXT MEETING : Thursday 6th August!

Committee Reports Paul Hughes

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AUGUST 2020

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President’s Report

elcome back to club activities. Firstly, let me congratulate Chris Robertson for winning our fourth and final members draw of the month prize. Chris gets to spend $100 with one of our fine sponsors.

Secondly a very big congratulations to Geoff Hamon, the overall winner of the grand Photo Competition. Geoff takes ownership of a $200 voucher to spend at one of our great sponsors. Mario Grossi was the runner up in the overall section. I think everyone would agree that Geoff’s photo showed more than just his immaculate R100 RS but also showed the depth and culture in the club. All 137 entrants deserve a clap for showing all the things members of the BMWMCQ do with their prized motorcycles. Special thanks to Richard Maher, our astute judge, who had a very difficult job. The whole idea came from Tony Gray, our secretary, who, along with John’s help on Facebook and Dropbox, put in an enormous amount of work to make the competition so inclusive and successful.

Tony sent me a message last night that said “so what now”? Well I think a swarm of riding and social activities will take over as we can now meet, ride and socialise relatively normally.

The success of the Christmas In July held recently (thanks to Cindy and Duncan for their great organisation) showed the members are keen to get on with it. So we have, Service day, Club ride, General Meetings in person, coffee mornings, German Club dinners, Back to the Bush and of course the Cane Toad Rally. That is all just in the next four weeks, so it would be fair to say we are back.

Thanks to Gary and Graham for organisation of the 21st Frigid Digit. Unfortunately, the weather beat us but I believe part 2 of the adventure will be happening in the next few months. More to come on this.

The annual Club Christmas Party is once again in the first weekend of December and is being held at Bribie Island. We have a maximum number of participants of 60 this year, so please make sure you pay as per the instructions early to ensure you’re not disappointed. Thanks to Don Grimes for his great organisation of this event.

You will notice that in events that require bookings at venues, we have requested people provide us with accurate intentions of attending. It is imperative we assist the supporting venues with accurate booking numbers at this time. Please assist us with this.

The Clubs Australia BMW Motorrad Rally has had to be postponed due to the ongoing uncertainty of several states not being able to attend etc. A new date in the second half of 2021 will be shortly announced.

Thanks to everyone involved in the club as an organiser, assistant and participant. It makes us a very healthy and active fun place to be.

Ride Safe.

Cheers, Paul

Paul Hughes- Thallon Silos, 2018

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AUGUST 2020

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Mark Gilbert

Committee Reports Vice President’s Report

i All,

It is good to see activities reinitiating within the club, I hope you all can get out to some. I attended the Christmas in July at Kingaroy and thanks to Cindy and Duncan for a nice meandering ride along the upper reaches of the Brisbane River albeit not for all as it involved getting off the black stuff. Paul catered for those who like to stay on the bitumen. A special thanks also to our hosts at the Midnight at the Oasis motel who put on a marvellous function. I went searching recently for a bike to get back to riding the more serious dirt recently and found BMW lacked a suitable bike in this segment of the market.

They used to have the G450 but with that discontinued along with the G650 and even the G310 is quite heavy and lacks spoked wheels. This has left a hole in their range. I think BMW could put together a nice light single cylinder enduro/adventure bike quite easily if they put their mind to it (just saying).

I am looking forward to the August events with the Back to the Bush and the Cane Toad Rally occurring, I hope to see you there.

Stay Safe, Mark

Mark Mustchin

Event’s Report

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ith the easing of the Covid restrictions in early July the Club was able to schedule ride events again, including Tony Gray’s Sunrise to Sunset ride and the well-attended Christmas in July. Hopefully Christmas in December will be as good as Christmas in July.

The weather again played havoc with the well planned 21st Frigid Digit. Gary has written up a report on the ride. Thanks Gary & Graham for your efforts in planning and running the FD’S. The August calendar is full, please refer to the events table for the full listing, there is something for everyone!

The Mid Week rides have proved to be popular for those of us who are able to ride mid week, there will be more planned . Feel free to volunteer to lead a mid week ride to your favourite destination or favourite route.

The German Club dinners are back on the calendar, the next one will be on Thursday 24th September at 6.30 pm. Due to Covid 19 regulations numbers will be restricted so if you want attend please indicate that you will be going.

I really enjoyed the glider flight while attending the Christmas in July Club event so I spoke to David Jansen about organising another flight and David has come with a great offer to Club members who would like to go gliding. See the October “Ride to Glide” flyer later in the Journal.

The 2020 Christmas Party will be held on Bribie Island at the Bribie RSL. I checked out the venue with Paul & Don and it a really nice place. Bribie is not that far from Brisbane but don’t let that sway your thinking about stopping the night on the Island . Stop the night and you don’t have to worry about getting home after a few drinks or not having a few drinks so you get home safely. The RSL has a courtesy bus that will pick up & return you to your accommodation on the island.

Please book early as numbers will be limited to 60 people to suit the room size and accommodation may be difficult to obtain at short notice.

Committee Reports John Eacott

Treasurer’s Report

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AUGUST 2020

ith the currently quiet amount of events we are essentially only spending on regular payments plus the prizes for the regular monthly lockdown draw, so finances are fairly stable.

I shall be re-issuing advertising invoices after our supporters were given 6 months ‘free’ advertising to help through the COVID19 financial times, and commencing refunds to those who have requested after paying for the postponed BMW CA Motorrad Rally.

BMW Motorcycle Club of Queensland Inc

BMW Motorcycle Club of Queensland 8:54 PM Inc

Profit & Loss Prev Year Comparison 24/07/20

Balance Sheet

February 1 through July 24, 2020 Cash Basis Feb 1 - Jul 24, 20

Ordinary Income/Expense Income Advertising Income Interest Received Membership Fees Total Income Expense Affiliation Fees Auditors Fees Australia Post / Post Box Rent Bank Charges Club competition Computer costs Internet Services Software Expense

As of July 24, 2020

Feb 1 - Jul 24, 19

0.00 196.59 5,742.95

4,400.00 5.69 5,305.14

5,939.54

9,710.83

0.00 660.00 201.00 10.00 300.00

238.00 0.00 195.00 0.00 0.00

184.67 63.59

152.90 69.95

Total Computer costs

248.26

222.85

Government Charges Miscellaneous Office Supplies PayPal commission Postage Prepaid Expense 2020 Christmas Party

141.00 0.00 31.46 111.56 137.00

55.35 142.01 0.00 82.95 200.00

Total Prepaid Expense

150.00

0.00

Jul 24, 20 ASSETS Current Assets Chequing/Savings BMWMCQ Cheque Account BOQ Premier Investment Acct

Jul 24, 19

10,302.18 20,191.34

12,877.50 15,443.71

Total Chequing/Savings

30,493.52

28,321.21

Accounts Receivable Accounts Receivable

0.00

1,800.00

Total Accounts Receivable

0.00

1,800.00

Total Current Assets

30,493.52

30,121.21

Fixed Assets Club Banners Property, Plant and Equipment

0.00 0.00

150.40 349.00

Total Fixed Assets

0.00

499.40

30,493.52

30,620.61

605.00

1,800.00

605.00

1,800.00

605.00

1,800.00

605.00

1,800.00

TOTAL ASSETS LIABILITIES Current Liabilities Other Current Liabilities Club Event Payments

150.00

0.00

173.80 20.00 214.31 90.78 0.00 1,925.00

14.30 20.00 50.12 56.36 91.74 2,310.00

Total Expense

4,414.17

3,678.68

NET ASSETS

29,888.52

28,820.61

Net Ordinary Income

1,525.37

6,032.15

EQUITY Retained Surpluses Net Income

27,160.86 2,727.66

20,726.46 8,094.15

TOTAL EQUITY

29,888.52

28,820.61

Printing and Stationery Telephone Tools Expense Website Domain Expenses Website Hosting Expenses Website Maintenance

Other Income/Expense Other Income Donations Income Event income 2020 BMW CA Rally income Event income - Other

58.00 1,251.00 0.00

27.00

1,251.00

2,000.00

Regalia Sales Tools & parts sales

0.00 0.00

25.00 10.00

1,309.00

2,062.00

Other Expense 2020 BMW CA Rally

106.71

0.00

Total Other Expense

106.71

0.00

1,202.29

2,062.00

2,727.66

8,094.15

Net Other Income Net Income

Total Current Liabilities TOTAL LIABILITIES

0.00 2,000.00

Total Event income

Total Other Income

Total Other Current Liabilities

John Eacott - Desperate for another Coffee Shop, and Page 1 Cleveland Point Fish & Chips November 2019.

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AUGUST 2020

Tony Gray

Committee Reports Secretary’s Report

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ueensland is always a great place to be, but in this Corona Virus infected year it is especially so compared to our southern cousins in NSW and Victoria who are faring far worse than us. The activities of the club have continued and are now returning to ‘the new normal’. The committee meetings have been ‘Zooming’ along and we have had a General Meeting under the same electronic format. It will be great to return to Geebung RSL for the August GM. I hope to see a lot of members there.

The two competitions we have run during the Covid lockdown period have both been a success – the monthly member’s prize draw and the photo competition. Congratulations to Rob Wynne, Meredith Herpich and Mario Grossi who were our three stage winners of the photo competition and to our Grand Winner Geoff Hamon. We received 137 entries which made a very tough task for our Judge Richard Maher. I am sure you have enjoyed reading Richard’s witty comments on those photos he has selected for the popular vote. Richard’s comments on the winning entry fairly sum up what we have tried to achieve with the competition. A very special thanks to Richard for the work he has done over the past 10 weeks of the competition.

I have recently written to my fellow BMW Club secretaries throughout Australia and in NZ advising them that the planned Motorrad Rally for Stanthorpe in October will not take place. The State border shutdowns and risk of infection in a large gathering of people forced the committee’s hand. No one has suggested that this was not the only prudent decision that could be taken, sad as it is.

We have been getting back to normal with our ride program and apart from some unseasonal wet winter weather the rides have been great fun. It is especially rewarding during these very tough times for small businesses that we are able to sprinkle some funds around to put a few smiles on the workers in the hospitality industry. If you haven’t been on a ride recently then take a look at Mark’s events program, there is surely something to suit everyone.

My favourite Australian destination - Tasmania!

Committee Reports

AUGUST 2020

BMWMCQ Meeting Minutes 02 July 2020 Venue: Virtual Zoom Meeting Meeting Opened: Apologies: Minutes of Previous General Meeting:

7.05 pm Maggie & George Rafanowicz, Mark Taylor, Don Grimes, Darryl Gowlett, John Allan, Heinz Lepahe.

Accepted: Geoff Hodge Seconded: Mal Cramer

Number of Attendees: New Members (Name & MC): Visitors: Returning Members: Treasurer Report: Editor Report: Tools Report: Regalia Report: Records Report: Events Report: Secretary Report:

Dealer Liaison Report: Vice President Report: President Report:

Other Events/Buy/Sell/Swap: Past rides: General Business Closed:

Klaus Zillner (Hervey Bay) R1200GSA 2017 Nil Nil Listed in the Journal. Bank Balance included with P&L each month.

July Journal 56 pages. Been getting great stories. Photo Comp providing plenty of material. Keep them coming.

Service Day 9.30 am start 1 August at Rob Wynne’s place. New tools displayed.

All in the journal so can now order. Any other suggestions then please raise with Rosie.

233 Financial members Covered in Presidents Report. Hump Day rides have been great.

Both Competitions running during the Corona Virus Shutdown have been well received. Greg Dunne, Dave Osborne & Kate Farrar the first 3 recipients of the $100 member draw. Congratulations to Rob Wynne & Meredith Herpich the winners of the first and second rounds of the Photo Competition. Week 8 now underway. Note that the BMWMCQ is an eligible club for certification of a ‘Special Interest Vehicle’ regardless of the marque. Financial Members can apply to the Secretary.

Apology Discussion on BMW missing a lightweight medium sized performance enduro/adventure bike.

6 August will return to Geebung RSL live meeting and looking to have a connection for people unable to be attend in person. Events include Sunrise to Sunset Ride, Christmas in July (both Tar and dirt road options), Frigid Digit, Service Day at Rob’s, Poker Run is the August Ride, B2B Mundubbera, Cane Toad Rally. Full program has returned. Booking venues with numbers will be critical from now on. BMW Motorrad Rally TBA. At this stage it is on but TBD next week.

Dave Hepburn’s 2015 R1200RT is up for sale. JE has BMW GPS carry cases available. Mark G has plenty of old Garmin Zumo 550 attachments.

Hump-day ride to O’Reillys was a popular sellout.

Gary Bennett will be sending out booking details for the Frigid Digit.

Cane Toad already has over 50 indications of interest.

7.45pm

Congratulations to long-term member Chris Robinson for winning the final $100 monthly sponsor raffle draw in July!

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AUGUST 2020

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Greg Gaffney

Committee Reports Records Officers Report

ad a thoroughly enjoyable weekend with our Midnight at the Oasis, Xmas in July. The weather was perfect for a great ride over the Bunya Mountains to Kingaroy. I had the biggest and best steak sandwich with chips ever, in Goombungee at the Pioneer Arms pub for lunch.

The catering at the Oasis Motel was also excellent with a great selection of nibbles with drinks around the pool followed by a generous evening meal with bonbons!

It felt like Christmas. The temperature Sunday morning was only 2 degrees but I Greg Gaffney was up for a pleasant morning walk with Don and Kate before breakfast followed by records@ bmwmcq.org.au another enjoyable ride home.

New Members : Peter McHutchison R1150RT; Brendan Deme 2016 Honda CB500X, Amanda Deme G650GS; Pete Fenton R100GS PD; Karl Harm; Welcome back Mark Morrissey!

Committee Reports

AUGUST 2020

Bill Luyten Service Day

The Club will hold a Service Day on Saturday 1st August at Rob Wynne’s place starting at 0930.

Location:

61-63 St Jude Circuit

Jimboomba

(Just off Mt Lindesay Highway) Note: some GPSs require the suburb to be “Glenlogan” Oil drain pans, oil disposal as well as a comprehensive tool kit is available.

We will be providing a Sausage Sizzle and Drinks for a gold coin donation (proceeds to the RFDS).

There are special tools available (see below list) including the GS-911WiFi and 3 pin diagnostic tools.

New items added to the club tool kit is Optimate 4 Desulfating Battery Charge/Test Maintainer and Motorcycle Battery Tester

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Tool’s Report Special Tools

• Twinmax electronic carburetor balancer (Twin BMW engines) • Vacuumate (electronic synchronization of throttle valves up to 4 cylinders) • Clutch alignment shafts (3 sizes) • Compression gauge (cylinder pressure) • Steering head bearing puller and seating tool • Gearbox output flange puller • GS-911 Wi-Fi Diagnostic tool (Wi-Fi and USB Version) • GS-911 3 pin Diagnostic tool (for older bikes) • Tyre Pressure Monitor Sensor (TPMS) tool • Enduralast hall sensor tester • Brake bleeding tool (suction bleeding via the brake caliper) • Compression tester • Optimate 4 Desulfating Battery Charge/Test Maintainer • Lancol Motorcycle Battery Tester

Repair Manuals

I have various Repair Manuals available to borrow mainly for Club Tool Loan: $50 deposit (refundable) for GS911: Tools and older bikes. spares can be picked up at my place in Springfield.

Contact Tools Officer Tools for loan There are special tools available including the GS-911WiFi and Bill Luyten 0438 123 747 wluyten@bigpond .net .au or 3 pin diagnostic tools.

Club email: spares@bmwmcq.org.au

Rosi Johnson

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till a good time to buy the winter woolies, so don’t hesitate to check out the range at Gold Star Embroidery.

regalia@bmwmcq.org.au

Isle of Skye, 2018

Regalia Report

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THIS SEASON’S REGALIA

AUGUST 2020

Lady Shirts

2LPS - $26 65% polyester 35% cotton

Bloke Shirts

210 - $26 65% polyester 35% cotton

2LCP - $27.50 65% polyester 35% cotton

2CP - $27.50 65% polyester 35% cotton

Gender Neutral Hats & Bags

AH695 - $17 Bucket Hat Sandwich Design (with trim)

AH715 - $16 Bucket Hat

7LPI - $29.50 100% polyester

7PIP - $29.50 100% polyester

AH230 - $15 Cotton Cap

Metro - black/charcoal or black/royal $20.50

ICE Tee - $24.50 Cotton

ICE Tee - $24.50 Cotton “Best riding shirt ever, did Africa and still going” - Dr D. Livingston

AH742 - $17 100% Wool Beanie

AH770 - $17 100% Cotton Beanie

Swiss charcoal- $35.50

THIS SEASON’S REGALIA

AUGUST 2020

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Club order form for shirts, bags and hats Send this form to daniel@goldstarembroidery.com.au or call Daniel on 0403 150 857 Name: ___________________________

Email address:_____________________________________

If delivery is required an additional fee is charged. Delivery required?

Yes or No:______

Delivery address: ______________________________________________________________________ A minimum 50% deposit is required before the order is started. Payment in full is required if Gold Star Embroidery is to organise delivery. An invoice will be emailed after the order form is received.

Shirts: Shirt product code number

Quantity

Size

Colour

Bags: Bag product name

Quantity

Colour

Metro Swiss Headwear: Product code number

Quantity

Size

Colour

Cap AH230 - $15 each Bucket Hat Sandwich AH695 - $17 each Bucket Hat AH715 - $16 each Wool Beanie AH742 - $17 each Cotton Beanie AH770 - $17 each

There are also more colours, shirt styles and fabrics available through Gold Star Embroidery - check out the website at goldstarembroidery and call Daniel - he knows all about BMW regalia!

BMWMCQ 2020 Events Calendar BMWMCQ Club Events for AUGUST 2020

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AUGUST 2020

Datee Sat 1 August Thurs 6 August

Sat 8 August Sun 9 August

Start Event 09:30am Club Service Day

Details Rob Wynne’s place

7:30pm

Club General Meeting

9:30am

Coffee Meet Up

Cafe 63 Bowling St. Enoggera

President Paul

Mundubbera Saturday,

President Paul

8:30am

61 St Jude Circuit, Jimboomba

Geebung RSL Club, 323 Newman President Paul Road, Geebung QLD. Meals from 6pm, ALL WELCOME BACK!

Poker Run Ride BP Blacksoil

Sat 14 to Mon 16 August

12:30pm Back to Bush No.15

Fri 21 to Sun 23 August

6:00pm

Thurs 27 6:00pm August

Contact Bill Luyton - Tools

26th Cane Toad Rally

German Club Dinner

Dalby Sunday.

See page further on for details.

Toobeah Hotel, Barwon Highway, Toobeah QLD See page further back for details.

Brisbane German Club

Tony Gray - Secretary

Gary Bennett

Mark Mustchin - Events

416 Vulture Street East Brisbane

“Our Rally” Is Getting Close!

Don’t Miss Out!

EXTRAORDINARY EVENTS CALENDAR Date 18-20 September

Event 13th Far Cairn Rally

Location Tottenham NSW

Contact BMW Touring Club NSW

AUGUST 2020 BMWMCQ 2020 Events Calendar BMWMCQ Club Events for SEPTEMBER 2020

Datee Thurs 3 Sept.

Start 7:30pm

Sat 5 Sept.

8:00am

Sun 6 Sept.

8:30am

Wed 16 Sept.

10:00am Mid week Ride to Kenilworth

Sat 19 Sept.

9:00am

Thurs 24 6:00pm Sept.

Event Club General Meeting

Details Geebung RSL Club, 323 Newman Road, Geebung QLD. Meals from 6pm

Contact President Paul

See page further on for details.

Gary Bennett

Club Lunch Ride

Destination is Royal Hotel, Leyburn. Further details to follow

President Paul

Frigid Digit 2.0

Meet at Dayboro Bakery at 10:00am

Coffee Morning Coffee Club - Wynnum German Club Dinner

70 Bay Tce, Wynnum

Brisbane German Club 416 Vulture Street East Brisbane

Mark Mustchin - Events Mark Mustchin - Events Mark Mustchin - Events

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AUGUST 2020

BMW MOTORAD RALLY

ountdown to the BMW Clubs Australia Motorrad Rally has stopped!

The planning work continues to make this a memorable event for the Club on the long weekend of 2nd to 5th October at Stanthorpe.

Registration cost is $64.39 per person and includes Rally entry, dinner on the Saturday Night and breakfast on Sunday morning along with a welcome pack including Rally Badge and Sticker along with goodies from our generous sponsors.

Registration bookings are now open directly from the BMWMCQ website (no login required), or just click here and do it right now: www.motorradrally2020.com.au

Accommodation options include camping at the Showgrounds, or your preferred style of lodging in or around Stanthorpe. A list of suggestions is provided on the registration page.

Thanks to our generous sponsors, some are doing it tough, in fact Compass Expeditions has folded - very unfortunate but we will pursue other options.

FROM THE PEN OF JANE GRAY

AUGUST 2020

SEND ‘EM IN Taken with your camera Taken with your phone It doesn’t matter how you take it As long as it’s your own Pictured on a hillside Pictured by a lake Pictured anywhere you want As long as you did take Snap it in the country Anyhow you like Snap it in your own backyard As long as it’s a bike Send ‘em to the Photo Comp Send your pictures in You never know, the judge just might Choose your pic to win!!

Jane Gray - Small Italian village of Cles.

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AUGUST 2020

PHOTO COMP ENTRIES ROUND 3

The very worthy winner of Round 2 of the Photo Competition was Meredith Herpich, with her great pic taken in the Dolomites, Italy on the cover. Here are some of the Round 3 shots.

Paul Jacobsen - The bike with the funny shaped roundel only 1km from my place.

Gary Bennett - the 20th Anniversary Frigid Digit at Queen Mary Falls in 2015

PHOTO COMP ENTRIES ROUND 3

AUGUST 2020

Tracy Hepburn - Dave at Mid Town Motel, Dalby

Steven Johnson - Mangart, highest road in Slovenia

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AUGUST 2020

Brakes.....

By Tony Gray, Member #3905

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hat is the most important thing on your motorcycle? No it’s not the latest Garmin gizmo, or the comfy aftermarket seat, or the super shiny chrome plated Zorst that makes you sound like Jack Miller. No it is your humble brakes that live down on your wheels covered in grime and dirt (any bike ever owned by Merv Bone excepted) and without which you would likely be another road accident statistic.

Most bikes these days are fitted with disc brakes to the front and rear, often with dual discs up front. Your service manual will stipulate when the hydraulic fluid needs to be replaced – usually a maximum of 4 years. In the interim

MAINTENANCE CORNER you should keep a regular eye on the fluid level in the reservoirs both front and rear and look for any leaks around the reservoirs and at the wheel calipers. It is best NOT to remove the caps unnecessarily to check levels as moisture is the Achilles heel of brake fluid so best to keep it sealed from the moist atmosphere.

Older model bikes may be fitted with rubber hydraulic hoses that soften with time and use and may swell and diminish braking performance. Upgrading to braided stainless steel lines is a very worthwhile investment.

You can even get them in a colour to match your bike like REX my Kwaka who has nice lime green hoses.

These solid looking perforated steel rotors on your wheels do wear but the wear rate is anything but constant. Your service manual will stipulate a wear limit on the thickness of the rotor. In the Grey Ghost’s case

MAINTENANCE CORNER

AUGUST 2020

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(2007 R1200GS) this is 4.0mm for the 2 front rotors (from a new 4.5mm) and 4.5mm for the rear rotor (from a new 5.0mm).

In the case of the GS1200 I find it necessary to remove the spring clip that holds the pads in

How long that takes to wear is subject to several variables on how and where the bike is ridden. By way of example the original rotor on my GS was worn down to its wear limit and replaced at 98,000km. I purchased a second hand final drive for my bike off an 2008 model GS that had covered just 39,000km. The rotor was still attached and I measured its wear that was almost identical to mine that had covered almost 60,000 additional kilometres.

The thickness of the rotor can be measured with a digital caliper or micrometer.

place in order to see the wear indicator.

The pin that holds the spring clip in place lives down in the dirt and grime so it is worthwhile applying a very light smear of anti-seize copper grease to the pin when reinstalling.

These simple checks will ensure that your brakes are able to function as designed and bring you to a safe STOP when needed.

The pads that grip the rotors also have wear limits and just like the rotors there is huge variation in how fast they will wear. The pad material has wear indicators that may be difficult to see with the pads in the caliper.

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AUGUST 2020

MORE ROUND 3 PHOTOS

Andy McLeod - Waiting for the off in Normay

Meredith Herpich - Biscuit Ride Legends, August 2019

Rob Wynne - These bikes are so easy to pull a power slide on

RIDE TO GLIDE

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O

n 3 days in October (19, 20 & 21) there will be four flights per day so that is a total of 12 flights available. Flights will last for about 1 1/2 hours and cost $180.00. How you get to Kingaroy will be up to you and it will be your choice to overnight in Kingaroy or ride up and back for the day only. If you decide to overnight in Kingaroy accommodation can be provided in the gliding Club’s bunk house for Monday and Tuesday night for an extra $10 per night per person.

It’s basic but cheap. Just take your own towel & linen. Alternatively motel accommodation is available at the Motel Oasis, the venue where Christmas in July was held.

Contact details for the Motel Oasis are: Phone: 07 4162 2399 Email: moteloasis@bigpond.com

Eight club members have already expressed an interest in taking up this offer so there are four places available.

To put your name down, email Mark at events@bmwmcq.org.au Anonymous testimonials from the short Christmas in July flights: “We went up, and glided back down. I didn’t have to use the parachute even once!”

“Gliding through the crisp air with spectacular views of the peanut silos and the peanut van made me want to buy some peanuts!”

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AUGUST 2020

CHRISTMAS IN JULY

By: Duncan Bennett, Member #4171

T

he history of Gelände versus Straße is long and rather polarising. Straße take gorgeous sweeping roads to the destination on their magnificent polished machines, find their stunning bejewelled evening wear laid out and ready in the Presidential Suite, and sip Pol Roger while their man or handmaiden attend to their dressing and toilette. Gelände pack their greasy and damaged evening attire, poke a gloved finger hopefully at a scungy and out-dated GPS screen, ride uncertainly through a miasma of animal carcass stench and dust, and reach the accommodation coated in something awful that is noticed for the first time half way through the entrée.

Never the twain would meet perhaps, but this time was different, G joined S to become one; and the concept of GS was born. I am thinking of throwing the GS concept over to BMW, it might be something they are interested in...

At possibly the most casual start time in BMWMCQ history of 11am at Woodford, a large team of 15 assembled to trial the GS concept. The seething traffic was negotiated on Neurum Road, through Kilcoy, and then north began to the Linville Pub. We ate heartily either from the pub menu or the Mexican food van menu, then the real work began.

Michael (Royal) and Anne Ahlberg on the infamous Crossing No.32

About 12 Brisbane River crossings and 23km after Linville, the Straße turns to Gelände. We didn’t stop, the group were anxious to get a fine film of filth on everything.

Crossing in formation

There are 37 crossings altogether, only one had a little bit of water in it as the mighty Brisbane River is really a pathetic little creek except when flooding, but the scenery was perfect as was the weather. All up I think we encountered one car the entire way.

Paul managed to catch up with the group half-way

All experienced riders in the group, but the quality of the track is very consistent and even someone on a sports bike might not be in a permanent state of nervous hysteria. Highly recommended route for anyone wanting to get the smell of cow in their nostrils and check out one of the nicest rides of the south-east.

Eventually leaping out from the cow growing region, we hit the bitumen-now dirt-oh hang on bitumen again-look out more gravel Manumbar Road and went south-west toward Nanango. A detour west through Sandy Ridges which has no sign of any sandy ridges and we cruised past the

CHRISTMAS IN JULY

“Deliverance Country” tree-change region of Booie before entering Kingaroy via the Bacon Factory, always popular with the riders hoping for a massive explosion and collateral BLT distribution.

Into the Motel Oasis before the Straße man -servants had appeared, we had a brief period to wait before the bar opened out near the pool which gave us time to admire the films of dust around everyone’s back rims that in a certain light could have been from stage 7 in the Dakar.

The evening was a great success - food, beverages, and scintillating company for the first big BMWMCQ “we’re back” event. Thanks very much to the Straße people, and the Gelände people who learned “it’s not the knobbiness of their tyres, but their ability to do drifties with a pillion”, all up a lot of people who can truly claim they were there when the GS concept was invented.

The opportunity we had to take a short ride on Sunday with one of Australia’s premier glider pilots, BMWMCQ’s own David Jansen, was a perfect end to the event.

AUGUST 2020

Dessert table calorie count was 2.

Get this bloke’s private motocross track!

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CHRISTMAS IN JULY PICS

With thanks to our roving photographers Mark M; Margreth and Kim!

CHRISTMAS IN JULY PICS

AUGUST 2020

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AUGUST 2020

By Tony Gray, member #3905

Would you go touring in a bubble?

A

very strange question you may well ask? But then we are living in very strange times and sailing along on uncharted waters. Many of us have had our travel plans (life plans?) turned upside down with the advent of Covid 19 and all of the associated border closures and lockdowns. But out of adversity sometimes comes opportunity – read on.

Jane and I have in the past shipped the Grey Ghost to Europe using the services of Dave Milligan of Get Routed fame. Dave is a no-nonsense, get what you see type of bloke. He is an expat Kiwi (but we won’t hold that against him) and bloody good at what he does. He doesn’t try to be what he isn’t. If he says he is going to do something then come hell or high water he will get it done. Dave’s business is international shipping of motorbikes from Australia to various attractive world destinations.

TOURING IN A BUBBLE

Needless to say Dave’s business has been dealt a hammer blow this year with international borders closing down. 2021 is looking equally bleak with most experts not expecting any form of vaccine that may open up the world before this year is out. Then it will be a question of how fast that may be rolled out across the world etc etc.

The one possible exception to this International Travel embargo for Australians is our friendly neighbour across the ditch, New Zealand.

If all of the ducks line up then Dave will have shipments going from Australia to Christchurch in early 2021. He has canvassed previous clients to gauge interest and has had encouraging feedback such that he is confident in having full containers going ex-Brisbane and Sydney.

Our cousins in Melbourne are understandably a bit gun-shy to commit at this early stage given the status of their infection rates so possibly

TOURING IN A BUBBLE there will not be any Melbourne shipment. The dates proposed are to have the bikes in NZ from Monday 25 January until Friday 5 March with the ability to push this back up to a month if the ducks haven’t quite lined up in time. That is just shy of 6 weeks in NZ with the option of a late pickup or early drop off at the Christchurch depot for a one off fee of $50 if you cannot afford to tour for the full six weeks.

That sounds like a pretty good deal to us so we have decided to throw our hat into the ring. The BIG advantage as we see it is that NZ will be relatively quiet without other International tourists so accommodation will be more readily available, the roads will be quieter and definitely safer without the lunatics from RHS of the road countries who are sometimes apt to forget where they are – oh they are there as we have seen previously and the road statistics on popular tourist routes highlight the problem.

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Is six weeks too long to tour a wee little place like NZ? In our opinion the answer is an emphatic NO. We last toured NZ in 2014. In late autumn on a whim we hired a bike (ahem a Suzy 1200) out of Auckland for 9 days and had a great time. On that trip we covered 2,550km and didn’t get further north than Auckland (it’s another 450km to the northern tip of the Island) and we didn’t get further south than Palmerston (it is another 150km to the capital Wellington).

We could have easily doubled our time on the North Island and still had places to go and things to see. We have great memories of that trip which started with spectacular riding around the Coromandel Peninsula to the south and east of Auckland then onto the coastal road around the Bay of Plenty and the remote and rugged east coast onto Hicks Bay.

Here are my field notes from one riding day

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AUGUST 2020

“Opotiki to Napier via Gisborne. 143km on SH2 thru Waioeka Gorge with first 80km to Matawai brilliant sweeping bends then opens out to wine growing country closer to Gisborne. Sunny, brilliant”.

TOURING IN A BUBBLE

what we did on the North Island which gives you enough time to play the tourist but also enjoy some roads just so you can ride them. There is a definite tendency when you are on a hire bike to ride every day because you are paying for the bike whether it is being ridden or sitting in the carpark.

On the last riding day of that North Island Tour we were sitting having a morning coffee in the little west coast town of Raglan when a fellow biker joined us and asked how we had enjoyed the riding. He blunted our enthusiastic response with the challenge to come down to the South Island for the Burt Munro Festival in Invercargill at the end of the year and ride some REALLY brilliant bike roads.

The die was cast. We returned home and promptly set about hiring a bike (this time an R1200RT) from an acquaintance in Nelson which just happens to be the geographic centre of NZ.

That will not be the case with our own bike next year so we could expect to cover something like 10 to 12,000km in six weeks touring both islands. The Burt Munro festival of racing that we attended in 2014 has now been moved to early February in an attempt to avoid the notoriously wet late November weather in Invercargill. Dave’s program allows time to get to Invercargill for the racing if that is your desire.

Our friendly biker had not been wrong with regard to the roads of the South Island. We spent 15 days touring there and covered approx. 4,500km.

The daily average of 300km is comparable with

The geography of the South Island is dominated by the Southern Alps. From a motorcyclists perspective each crossing of the Alps either by the Haast, Arthur’s or Lewis Passes

TOURING IN A BUBBLE

brings brilliant riding and most likely a change of weather. The west coast of the South Island gets the worst of the weather so a retreat over the mountains may be required to find better riding conditions.

There is seemingly no end to stunningly beautiful locations on NZ’s South Island and most are accessed by wonderful snaking roads. One of our most memorable riding days anywhere in the world was had along the shore of Lake Wakatipu on a return trip to Glenorchy from Queenstown.

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It is ‘only’ a 90 km return journey but on that brilliantly sunny day it was pure motorcycling Heaven with the snow-capped mountains across the impossibly blue waters of the lake on a road devoid of other traffic. Sadly the South Island has suffered ‘another’ devastating earthquake since our last trip. In 2014 we witnessed the rebuilding that was underway to restore the greater Christchurch region after the 2011 earthquake.

The 2016 quake was more severe so we expect to see evidence of greater devastation but the NZ people are very resilient and will no doubt rebound.

So there you have it – possibly the only chance for an overseas bike trip in 2021! If you are interested then contact Dave Milligan at Get Routed and put your name down. Dave does not require a deposit at this stage and will not do so until such time as he can be certain the trip is viable. We hope his intuition and optimism is well founded.

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DIGIT PART #2

AUGUST 2020

SOMERSET PARK - 2020

BMWMCQ PRESENTS

The Clubs 3rd longest running weekender...

This Year: We had Part 1, the ride on the traditional last weekend in July, however

unseasonal wet weather spoiled our plans and the camping part had to be cancelled.

The 5th September is the date for the Camping part at Somerset Park Campground.

There is lots of camping space available. Evening meals and supplies are available across the road at the Dam Shed or prepare your own meal at the campsite. The evening gathering around the campfire is the location for lots of laughs and tall stories.

It won't be as cold as the original date.

Camp Details: Camping costs $15 pp. Our own corner of a well-grassed and level camping area. Excellent amenities with hot showers, flushing toilets and a fireplace with firewood supplied. BBQ's are on site and shelters with park benches. It's a great campground, quiet location in close proximity to Brisbane.

Contact: Gary Bennett at gbennett777@gmail.com

MOIST DIGIT

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Gary Bennett, Member #509

T

he 21st Frigid Digit (FD) has been run (sort of) and won (not quite). 2020… the year of “weird stuff” has had an effect on many areas of our lives and the Frigid Digit wasn’t excluded from this.

It all started with Covid 19 restrictions putting a stop to FD bookings, by the time they were lifted we were almost out of time to get bookings and payment organised, but somehow we did get 20 members to register for the event.

The next hurdle was the weather forecast for the weekend, which was not ideal for campers with unseasonal rain predicted. The FD is always run on the last weekend in July for two reasons.

It is historically the coldest and driest weekend of the year. We had a storm occur while riding to our camping destination of Yarramalong in 2014, fortunately if cleared before sunset. The only time in the 25 years of the FD that it has rained at night was our second FD in 1996 which was a camping event and an account of this was recorded in the club Journal by our editor at the time “Wiggy”, a very entertaining read.

By the time we gathered at the Mt. Coottha Lookout for this years event the numbers had dropped to 13, mainly due to the weather forecast, but never the less 13 members set off for Somerset Park Campground with the hope that the forecast would be wrong.

Light rain and drizzle followed us for most of the journey through Fernvale Bakery and to

almost to our Lunch stop at Cooyar. The worst was when we were travelling on the Esk-Hampton Rd. we encountered light rain and thick fog and 5 members retired and went home. The remaining 8 travelled on to Garry McCoy’s Café for lunch. After we got past Crows Nest the sun was making a big effort to shine through the clouds, but it wasn’t long before the drizzle was back. After Lunch 2 more head home and the remaining 6 made our way to the campground hoping the rain would lift and we could setup camp. When we arrived at the twisties just north of Somerset, the rain had stopped and the road was bone dry… things were looking good, then just as we approached the campground it started to drizzle again.

After a short chat with Justin Hardy who had ridden down from Toowoomba after work, we all head home. I’d like to thank all that participated, it was great to catch up with you all after a few months of in-activity due to the dreaded virus.

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BACK TO THE BUSH

AUGUST 2020

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+

n the re-dated Ekka Friday public holiday we will travel to Mundubbera where we will have accommodation at the Billabong Motel and dinner in their restaurant. Next morning after breakfast in Mundubbera we will travel to Kingaroy for lunch and then via Bunya Mountains to Dalby where we will stay on the Saturday night at the Gallery Motor Inn. We will dine at the pub on Main Street. Next morning it is a casual ride back home = a relaxed long weekend!

Friday 14th August Billabong Motor Inn 47 Strathdee Street Munduberra 4626 Phone (07) 4165 4533 and ask for Penny and mention BMWMCQ www.billabongmotorinn.com.au

Saturday 15th August The Gallery Motor Inn 128 Drayton Street Dalby 4405 Phone (07) 4662 2300 www.thegallerymotorinn.com.au

Rates: $105 per person and $20 per extra per- Rates: $120 per night, there are also 2 houses son in same room for 3 people @ $200 per night Dinner: 6:30pm for 7:00pm Dinner at pub on Main Street Breakfast can be had there or a cafĂŠ in Eidsvold You are responsible for your own accommodation bookings. Please mention the BMWMCQ when booking.

Ride details TBA, there will be a GPS route supplied or you can make your way up in small groups.

2020 FESTIVAL OF MOTORCYCLING Highly COVID-19 dependent, but worth a trip for the organised rides alone....

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AUGUST 2020

THE FIRST TIME I SAW HER

By Jim Brownett, Member #4486

T

he first time I saw her, was at Tom Byrne’s place in 1977. She was colourful and stood out from all the others.

Sometimes you just know... I wanted her. She had been at Tom’s place for about six months after leaving Berlin.

We had two wonderful years together. Weekends, day trips and the tail end of the 70’s. I remember one hot Sunday afternoon, we rode Picton’s country roads—naked.

She always started first time in the mornings.

Whenever we went to a restaurant, a party, or a ride with friends—everyone noticed her.

One day, without warning, she lost her bearings.... no more fun. The relationship deteriorated. She didn’t like mornings anymore. Her colour faded.

Tom told me he couldn’t help her because I had her for too long. I became disillusioned and she became more than I could afford as a student.

I confided in a uni friend, he offered to ‘take her off my hands’.

Forty-three years later, I have renewed our love affair...

And the lady in the photo? She never liked motorcycles.

THUNDER RALLY

AUGUST 2020

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AUGUST 2020

MORE ROUND 3 PHOTOS Michael Ahlberg - Col de Turini, France in May 2017.

Richard de Groot - Kalbar-Peak Crossing Road, Kalbar.

Jane Gray - Tenterfield, on way to Celtic Festival in Glenn Innes, May 2017

SOME MORE ROUND 3 PHOTOS

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AUGUST 2020

Merv Bone - Snowy Mountains, mid 2014.

Andrew Brannon - Rocky Mountains, Colorado at 12,000 ft

“Established in 1978” Steve Herpich Timmelsjoch Pass 2015

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AUGUST 2020

A QUICK GLANCE

10 Years ago........from the August 2010 Journal archives:

CHRISTMAS PARTY

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C

ome join our 2020 Christmas Party on beautiful BRIBIE ISLAND and join in the good food and great fun with friends old and new. There will be raffles and prize winners drawn on the night.

Enjoy a scenic ride of your choice around the Sunshine Coast hinterland before arrival.

Venue – Bribie Island RSL, 99 Toorbul

Street, Bongaree

3 course meal @ $55 per head, cash bar.

We have exclusive use of the covered Terrace area which is weather proof. This well-organised establishment also offers a breakfast cafĂŠ on site the following morning for those who would like to attend.

Accommodation selections are below. Please book your selected accommodation directly. Ensure you mention you are attending the BMWMCQ Christmas Party to access any discounted rates.

Payment for the Dinner Function is by simple bank transfer - Please pay $55.00 per head to the BMWMCQ Bank account: BSB 124-001 AC 10243020 Please ensure to add in remarks your name, and the number of guests you are paying for.

Once you have deposited the correct amount, please EMAIL treasurer@bmwmcq.org.au stating details of your deposit. This is an essential component of your booking.

Please book early as numbers will need to be limited to 60 people to suit the room size, and accommodation may be difficult to obtain at late notice at least within walking distance of the Party.

Where To Stay Phone Bongaree Caravan Park Cabins (approx 700m 3408 1054 walk to RSL) E: bongareecaravanpark@moretonbay.qld.gov.au Bribie Waterways Motel (Ningi - 1km away) 3408 3000 www.bribiewaterways.com.au W: www.bribiewaterways.com.au E: reception@bribiewaterways.com.au

Bribie Island Caravan Park - Woorim About 10 minutes drive W: www.bribieislandcaravanpark.com.au E: info@bribieislandcaravanpark.com.au

Offering $111 queen bed cabin

Terms Mininum 2 nights

$154 Queen or twin mo- Per night tel room, +$20 per extra body $169 for studio with 2 beds and kitchenette, +$20 per extra body 3408 1134 Cabins: $105 double, or Min 2 $110 with extra bunks Nights

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AUGUST 2020

By Duncan Bennett, Member #4171

F

arkle is a word unfamiliar to many of we Australian riders, but our North American cousins are regular users. Apparently a melding of “function” and “sparkle”, a farkle is best described as an after-market bit of gear that is shiny and thus attracts our attention in the shop or on a website, and both looks awesome and importantly solves a huge problem, usually one we never even knew we had. Some examples? A huge bank of trillion lux LED possum spotters, foot pegs the size of a US aircraft carrier deck, a 3-phase power outlet, a seat like a Lay-Z-Boy recliner, vodka/water and fuel container racks, and pretty much anything from the Touratech catalogue.

But what if someone is really cheap and needs to find a budget solution to a Farkle problem?

A bit of imagination can go a very long way…

Can’t push the button? Move on loser!

We were heading to Africa, and everyone had to have a GPS to stay on the designated route. Garmin sell a range of GPS’s and mounts for motorcycles, but for some bizarre reason think that

FARKLED FOR ADVENTURE

their product could never be desirable enough to be trousered, and don’t provide a “locking on” option.

Of course an after market option is available from Touratech, a brutal $232.77, enfolding the GPS in a large lockable embrace. But what if a Garmin desirer in Sub-Saharan Africa simply can’t push the GPS release button and so just moves on to someone else’s unlocked tank bag? Problem gone. I had the Garmin 590LM GPS and used the car charger mount, and as we’d just installed a balustrade wire turnbuckle set-up on our deck we used a wire rope thimble with holes drilled in it big enough to get a lock through. Total cost around $3, including the lock. The wire rope thimble was admittedly a tough act to drill through, so the No-Pushing-Loser! 2.0 Farkle is half a 19mm reticulation pipe clamp, cost $0.30 at Bunnings, with a 3mm hole drilled through for the lock and a 2mm hole drilled through the clamp ring to attach a bit of string to stop the clamp disappearing into the wilds of the fairings if dropped. Even if it takes you 770 attempts to get it right it will still be cheaper than the Touratech unit.

Sorry, you’re still a loser!

Next problem? Unless you’ve got a final drive and thus have no idea what makes the back wheel go around then you’ll be familiar with this one, oiling the chain. Why don’t you just buy a can of spray and get it up on the centre stand regularly you ask? Well if you’ve ever tried to get a fully loaded bike with panniers up or even worse you don’t have a centre stand, you’ll enjoy knowing there is a farkle for you – the chain oiler. We bought one for each bike for our big trip around SE Australia in March this year, and full of oil they lasted around 7,000km with application roughly

FARKLED FOR ADVENTURE

The Cobbra Nemo 2 Chain Oiler after every re-fuel. They cost a bit under $200 which is important as a really cheap farkle is rarely as good as an expensive one, and they were pretty easy to install. A learning was to make sure you can see and operate it while riding, otherwise you will never remember it until you’ve stopped and then forget it again as soon as you start moving.

It uses whatever oil you have around, we use either 80W-90 gear oil or a Bergamot Essential Oil blend depending on whether we want the chain lubricated or just smelling nice. We’ve also discovered it is better not to apply the oil when travelling at 120kmh otherwise it tends to become airborne flinging around the rear sprocket.

Phone mount allowing no break in social media influencing

Penultimate farkle? No-one can survive

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without having a smartphone right in front of their face these days and riding without being able to Facebook is like waking up and finding oneself living next to a hairy person in a cave in 10,000 BC. So a phone mount is de rigueur. Our personal favourite is the Rocky Creek Designs mount which is permanently powered and frankly doesn’t give a damn what phone you have, but a waterproof phone makes life very easy. Having the GPS and phone mount combo is like having a microscope and Hubble Space telescope combo – the tiny and the infinite are within your sight.

The full navigational farkle shebang

Ultimate farkle? I re-draw your attention to the definition of farkle – function and sparkle.

Well it did sparkle when new, now a bit rusty, but no loss of function. It is a humble bulldog clip, and the list of things the clip has held over our journeys is endless – ferry tickets, toll road tickets, hotel keys, receipts, handkerchiefs, gloves, addresses, phone numbers, passport and general border crossing documentation, and on a daily basis my office parking access card. This is always the first farkle attached to a new motorcycle, and the last removed before the new owner rides off. Price for the bulldog clip? Nothing, because I took it off a fat document that was going in the bin. Perfect.

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AUGUST 2020

By Tony Gray, Member #3905

T

here is an old saying that goes, don’t worry about the things you can’t control! The weather definitely falls into that category and it can play havoc when planning motorcycle trips.

Our committee warmly embraced the idea of a long and significant ride to ‘reopen’ the riding program once we broke free of the dreaded Corona Virus shackles.

The sunrise to sunset ride fitted the bill as a long and significant ride. We were to gather atop Mt Coot-tha to take in the sunrise, head off to breakfast, ride some beautiful country roads around SEQ, and take in lunch at a country pub before making our way back to the city and ascending Mt Gravatt lookout to view the sunset. Those still standing after a 500km ride would adjourn to The Glen Hotel for dinner and a ride review.

The Government reduced the Covid restrictions from 10 July so Sunday 12 July became the chosen ride day. A weather front was moving across the nation but we had no control over that and pressed on regardless. The day started brilliantly with a small gathering on Mt Coot-tha in cool but not freezing mid-winter temperatures.

The city coming into view after first light was

THE BEST MADE PLANS quite special and the cloud formations were equally spectacular. We should however have been concerned about another old saying Red sky in the morning, shepherd’s warning.

Yes the sky certainly had that colour.

The ride of about 30 minutes across the leafy western suburbs to breakfast at The Reserve at Anstead was fresh and invigorating. As the first customers for the morning we were well attended and had a delightful breakfast on the verandah as the rest of the city was still awakening.

Fully charged with caffeine and protein we headed towards Esk by many back roads of the Brisbane Valley. It was a very enjoyable ride setting the day up nicely. The stop at Esk was to pick up some more participants and more caffeine if needed (it wasn’t). The weather at Esk was overcast but not ominous so we rode up the always enjoyable Ravensborne Range to the colder Darling Downs and ultimately on to lunch at Leyburn.

The first raindrops started hitting our screens about the crest of the range then quickly intensified in a bush area devoid of shelter.

There is an element to Murphy’s Law that states the likelihood of rain occurring while riding a motorcycle increases in direct proportion to

THE BEST MADE PLANS the distance you are away from shelter.

I digress, but by way of example to reinforce this motorcycling conundrum, Jane, me and the Grey Ghost were crossing northern France in the area of the WW1 Somme Battlefields.

The weather was looking a tad gloomy but as is the nature of European Village Architecture footpath awnings or shelter of any kind is as common as rocking horse poo. As the heavens opened its trapdoor to dump a watery load on us we pressed up against a barn door in the vain hope of getting our waterproof gear on without getting drowned. Miraculously the barn door slid open and an obliging Frenchman welcomed us inside, no doubt recognising us as the son & daughter of ANZAC and not another English Pig-dog (Monty Python’s Holy Grail).

Vive la France.

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the Royal programmed in as our September ride lunch venue so see if you can make it along to support Shane and our country cousins.

Down the range we rode back into fine weather expecting the weather front to be right behind us. Esk was bustling with plenty of bikes about doing the Dam run and queues at the cafes.

Little did they know what was coming (or so we thought). We all headed home hoping to stay ahead of the downpour – and we waited and waited and waited. Yes that bloody rain just got stuck on the range and didn’t hit Brisbane suburbia until late in the afternoon. Certainly it was very wet by the time the sun was setting (not that it could be seen). With the early start we still managed 300 odd km under the wheels and were home before lunch but not quite the day we had planned.

Meanwhile back at the Ravensborne Range the rain was not only quite heavy at this stage but very cold. We got to a Picnic Shelter, donned our wets and reassessed our situation. The sky to the west (where we were headed) was grey/black and looking anything but inviting. A collective decision was made to cut our losses, put the tail between the legs and retreat. Shane Webcke, of Rugby league fame, who owns and runs the Royal Hotel at Leyburn was very We hope to put on a similar ride next year so understanding of our decision to abort the ride come along – we just cannot guarantee the and cancel our lunch booking. We now have weather which is out of our control.

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AUGUST 2020

BMW /5 SERIES

FOR THE AIRHEADS - and they are many

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MMM BOXERWORKS AIRHEADS GROUP PAGE Mark Morrissey. I swear I nearly soiled myself when the “playing full-back for East Jerusalem” line came through on this one, how you manage to whinge your way through 12 minutes of video yet demonstrate absolute purity of mechanical teaching is miraculous: https://www.facebook.com/Boxerworks/videos/3139075076150647/

Mark Morrissey Road testing the beta electronic advance ignition system we’re developing for Airheads.

Taken in Monto on a 1,700km round trip over 4 days.

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AUGUST 2020

ADVERTISING & BMW SUPPORTS

ADVERTISING & BMW SUPPORTS

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49

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Book in for a BMW motorcycle service today with our expert team and you can be confident that Your pride and joy is in good hands.

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FREE BMW Motorcycle Safety Inspection Report But perhaps more importantly, be prepared before you head off! Book in for your FREE safety inspection report. This simple check can mean the difference between a hassle-free ride versus getting stuck on the side of the road with no phone coverage a long way from the nearest town.

“NEW WEBSITE” SHOP ONLINE FOR ALL YOUR MOTORCYCLE TYRES & ACCESSORIES WITH THE ADDED BENEFIT OF AFTERPAY “BUY NOW, PAY LATER” HTTPS://NSMCTYRES.COM 1/14 Paisley Drive Lawnton Qld 4503, Phone 07 3205 6505 Email info@nsmctyres.com

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AUGUST 2020

Very Useful Services & Cool Stuff

Call now for our frEE parts CataloguE

Genuine & Aftermarket parts (from 1955 onwards) • Accessories • Australian Agent for Hepco & Becker Luggage Systems and Crash Bars Electronic Ignition Systems Unit 5&6 / 9 Hayden Crt Myaree, Perth, 6154 Western Australia

www.munichmotorcycles.com.au TrAde enqUiries WelCoMe (open till 7pm est.)

??? SMOOTH OUT YOUR RIDE ???

We’ve got you covered.

GENUINE AUSTRALIAN

SHEEPSKIN SEAT COVERS

Phone: 08 9317 3317 Fax: 08 9317 3359 email: munich@iinet.net.au

ADVERTISING SPACE AVAILABLE

From business card to full page, all sizes are available.

The BMWMCQ electronic journal is distributed to members and interested parties throughout Queensland and basically anywhere that has the internet.

In addition, the journal is issued to other BMW affiliated Clubs.

Get your message out to people who own, ride and restore BMW motorcycles.

Good Wool Store Pty Ltd 49 Queen St BERRY 2535 P 02 4464 2081. F 02 4464 3344

www.goodwool.com.au

Phone your requests to Don Grimes - Ph: 0411 601 372

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AUGUST 2020

Tech trials and tribulations Cindy Bennett, Member #4170 Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Webex, Skype.

Fantastic when they work seamlessly and even more so in these days of very limited face to face events.

Back in April Duncan and I had a request from our esteemed President to try out the wonderful technology of Facebook Live to subject our poor members to a presentation that we had premiered at the Compass Expeditions Reunion event in Jindabyne in March.

Lots of googling and trawling of Facebook Live blogs about the process to stream a PowerPoint presentation via this method led to a false sense of confidence in my ability to master this confusing mish-mash and have a flawless streaming on the Club Facebook page. We even made some family members sit through a trial run, no problems we said as we high-fived each other.

Bring on the night in question – Thursday 30th April at 7:30pm.

THE LAST WORD Well things started on a promising note, yes we were connected, woo hoo. But then the presentation began looping to the start when a new person joined the streaming. Oh &@#*, what to do? So we stopped and re-started the presentation altering the settings slightly and hey this seems to be working. But, some could see the presentation and other comments peppering the event said others couldn’t. So where was this problem, our end or their end?

We finished off the 25-ish minute presentation, and then comments started from people on my own FB who are not Club members, huh? Then it struck me, we had done the presentation showing only on my personal FB page. Luckily a fix was to “share” the link to the Club Facebook page so those so inclined could watch it on Facebook slightly-less-Live.

So in conclusion – don’t ask me to be a helpful resource on Facebook Live, and below is the link to the presentation just in case you missed it! h t t p s : / / w w w . f a c e b o o k . c o m / c i n d y. bennett.948/videos/10218923381730429/

YET MORE ROUND 3 PHOTOS

AUGUST 2020

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Paul Malcolm - Solo round Oz trip, 16000km in 6 weeks and a little photo stop in the Flinders Ranges,

Paul Hughes - One of the Frigid Digit “Boss Men”, Gary Bennett.

BMWMCQ BOOK EXCHANGE NEW BOOKS AVAILABLE!

Race to Dakar Charley Boorman Extreme Frontiers Charley Boorman (Racing Across Canada) What If I Had Never Tried It Valentino Rossi (The Autobiography) The Road to Mali Craig Carey-Clinch No Room for Watermelons Ron & Lynne Fellowes Great Motorcycle Tours of Europe Colette Coleman A Motorcycle Courier in the Great War Captain W.H.L. Watson Australia Motorcycle Atlas Hema Maps With 200 Top Rides (6th Ed) Overland Magazines - issue #’s 11; 19; 21; 22; 25; 26; 27; 28 and 29.

Adventure Bike Rider - issue #’s 44; 46; 51 and 53 The Touring Motorcycle Jeff Ware & Kris

Hodgson

BMW Twins Mick Walker BMW Boxer Twins Ian Falloon BMW Motorcycles Bruce Preston A Century of BMW Manfred Grunet & Florian Triebel 2 x On Tour with Compass Expeditions DVDs

The initiative is being overseen by Jane Gray and you can communicate with Jane via email at: library@bmwmcq.org.au Arrangement can be made with the librarian to pick up & drop off at the monthly Members meeting.....Editor