BMWMCQ JOURNAL OCTOBER 2017

OCTOBER 2017

www.bmwmcq.org.au

OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE BMW MOTORCYCLE CLUB OF QUEENSLAND INC.

Established 1958

INTRODUCING:

THE BMW K 1600 B. NO DISTANCE TOO FAR. You're hungry for asphalt. For every mile. For new horizons. Then the Bagger is the motorcycle for your journey. With 6 cylinders, an extraordinary running smoothness and its impressive power development, it leaves no doubts – the journey begins now.

IN STORE NOW:

TEAMMOTO BMW SPRINGWOOD & GOLD COAST 59 Moss Street, Springwood | 48 Lawrence Drive, Nerang teammotobmwspringwood.com.au | teammotobmwgoldcoast.com.au

The Ultimate Riding Machine

OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE BMW MOTORCYCLE CLUB OF QUEENSLAND INC.

The Committee

This Issue - OCTOBER 2017

President - Richard Maher

Contents:-

Vice President - Les Fitzpatrick

Editorial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Committee Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 from the Pen of Merv Bone . . . . . . . 7 September Club Ride Mulgowie Pub. 8 General Meeting Minutes . . . . . . . . 11 Christmas Party . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Cindy’s BMW Off Road Training . . . . 14 Seb Rides Coast to Coast. . . . . . . . . 16 HEX ezCAN Description. . . . . . . . . 20

Country Rfoads experience . . . . . . 22 Tony Gray Three Islands Tour. . . . . 24 2017 K1600GT Sports Review . . . . . 27 BMWMCQ Supports . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 BMWMCQ Events Calendar 2017. . . 30 Michael and Ann GS Road Trip . . . . 31 Cupla Adverts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Ph: 0422 080 524 editor@bmwmcq.org.au R 1200 RT

Advertisers

Records Officer - Craig Brennan

Cafe2U - P.28 Good Wool Store - P.32 HydroTac(R) Lenses - P.28 Motorcycle Adventure Products P.28 Munich Motorcycles - P.32

Shannons Insurance - P.34 Northside Motorcycles - P.34 Morgan and Wacker- Rear Cover TeamMoto - Front Cover

Ph: 0415 111 454 president@bmwmcq.org.au R 1150 R Ph: 0418 197 709 vpres@bmwmcq.org.au R 1200 GSA and a few more

Secretary - Greg Gaffney Ph: 0411 424 219 secretary@bmwmcq.org.au R 1200 RT & R 90 S

Treasurer - Tony Gray Ph: 0409 493 605 treasurer@bmwmcq.org.au R 1200 GS (The Grey Ghost)

Editor - Dave Hepburn

Ph: 0422 907 934 regalia@bmwmcq.org.au R 100 RT

Regalia - Kellie Wicks regalia@bmwmcq.org.au F 650 GS

Tools/Spares - Geoff Hodge

Ph: 0413 180 101 tools@bmwmcq.org.au F 800 GT + R 51/3

Tools/Spares - Bill Luyten

O

n The Cover...

Alison Sayce’s very nice Beast of a bike, the BMW R nine T .....photo taken by President Richard on the September Club Ride to the Mulgowie Pub for a very pleasant, so I am told, days outing ...Ed.

Ph: 0438 123 747 tools@bmwmcq.org.au R1150 Rockstar - R1200 GS LC

Events -Trent Smyth

events@bmwmcq.org.au R1200 GSA and a 92 R100 GSPD

Sub Committee • Dealer Liaison / Advertising - Don Grimes Ph: 0411 601 372 • Forum Moderator - Garry Hilton

Club Details BMW Motorcycle Club of Queensland Inc. ABN 30 351 243 651

Address all correspondence to: The Secretary PO Box 3669 South Brisbane QLD 4101 Monthly meetings are held on the first Thursday of the month at the:

Moreton Bay Sports Club, 175 Boundary St., Tingalpa

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.

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

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

4. Organising day trips, tours and outings.

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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OCTOBER 2017

Dave Hepburn

Editorial Editor’s Report

Well here I am again sitting in front of the computer trying to find word to describe the month of September 30 ….it is the 273rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 92 days remaining to the end of the year and 62 days to the BMW Christmas Party at Evans heads NSW. I am getting a trifle concerned that members hearts just don’t seem to be in a festive mood this year… there has not been the same response from our members as there was for the last two festive seasons…are we getting somewhat jaded with Christmas or is the location too far away for some. I can assure those that have not been to Evans Head before that you are missing out on one of Australia’s best kept secrets.

So come on guys and gals dig deep and come and have a great party…I really really hate drinking alone!!!!!!

It has been a very busy month with the Club months ride to Mulgowie Pub… maybe we have our next Christmas Function at the Pub….the Saturday Coffee run to Mt Tamborine was enjoyed by many, thanks Trent; Horizons Unlimited Meeting and Boonah was attended by some members and a detailed article on Horizons Unlimited will feature in next month’s magazine; Ginger Beer the Next Round was at Bellingen and received a very good turnout, about 18 if memory serves me correct…a bit hazy.. And we finished with what was; by all the platitudes on Facebook, a very enjoyable B2B #14 at the Cherrabah Resort hosted by Richard de Groot and assisted

by Cindy and Duncan Bennett.

As the Vikings would say….It was a Good Month.

Friday 6 October 2017 I fly out to Portugal for a few weeks but will be back at the end of October.

I will endeavour to get the magazine out in the first week of November but to achieve this I need to have all your reports articles and photos already on email in Outlook by 26 October… no slacking.

What else can I say but for you all to have a Great Month….I will be!!!!

PS there are some photos of Ginger Beer the Next Round, scattered through out the magazine.

Ginger Beer - The Next Round Policy Regarding Submissions Submissions to the journal should be relevant to BMW motorcycles and or to the BMWMCQ and its activities. Articles or Letters to the Editor may or may not be published if space does not permit or if the content of the submission and or letter is not considered to be of interest to members or not in the interests of the Club, our sponsors or advertisers. Members are encouraged to use this, our journal; to express views, float ideas or make inquiries of other Club members on technical, organisational or other matters which may benefit the Club and its associates. Submissions should be kept to a reasonable length and maybe edited or published in part only, if the Editor considers it necessary.

Note – submissions close on the 15th of each month!

BMWMCQ Committee

Committee Reports Richard Maher

H

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OCTOBER 2017

President’s Report

ello Readers Being at the pointy end of the BMWMCQ is becoming a full time job. I can’t go past a BMW motorcycle without stopping for a look. Looking causes no consternation to no-one except my wife. If she happens to be within sight of me and an object resembling the shape of a BMW motorcycle she starts to run an offensive manoeuvre to correct my trajectory.

Throwing out random suggestions such as “look at the cheap wine for sale over there” is usually enough to get me heading in the right direction (in her opinion). It doesn’t always work!

I was at the French Bakery recently and I struck up a conversation with an Englishman in full adventure riding garb. We chatted about roads we had done or intended to do. I skilfully wove the question of brand into the discussion. Rubbing my hands together in anticipation at my three favourite letters rolling off his tongue, I was let down by the name” Triumph” sneaking out and then briefly buoyed by the word “800 Tiger” following. I sunk to further depths when he blurted out: I’m riding my Honda Grom to work today.

Honda Grom; you must have seen these scaled down motorcycles whizzing around the inner city suburbs on their morning commutes. Our English chappie explained the Grom was an impulse buy that he has fallen in love with. It’s cheap to buy, cheap to run, cheap to insure and I would hazard a guess and suggest it could be buried in the coffin with you when an inattentive tradie parks on top of you during your morning commute. Sensing that the conversation was going downhill fast; I exited the bakery with my trolley of products and headed for the coffee shop.

Parked in the lot at the coffee shop was a 90’s R100RS. Off I went in that direction pushing my trolley, wife and dog lagging behind. She was yelling something about a young girl in leisure wear running on the opposite side of the road, but I didn’t have time to look.

I zeroed in on the rider sitting in the coffee shop. His eyes grew wide as saw me heading toward him like a crazed lunatic. Turns out he is a local and had sold his two BMW GS’s a year or so ago. He regretted the empty spaces in the garage and decided to go Airhead to get his mojo back. He was grabbing a cuppa before heading off to join a ride with Airhead Guru Mark Morrissey. He was a club member when the GS’s were in the garage but never attended a meeting. I flicked a club business card into his hand and moved on secure in the knowledge I had returned another soul to the flock.

During the week I did a drive-by to the local Moto Guzzi mechanic, Tom Newell. I was looking for a part for the R80GS and young Tom has been known to work on (sometimes reluctantly) airheads. As I dragged my sorry backside into the shop, there was a very similar silhouette adjacent to the spare parts counter. A complete and very tidy R69 was sitting happily on its centre stand amidst the numerous bent and broken ‘Guzzi’s awaiting repair.

Young Tom let out a gentle groan when he noticed me shuffling into the shop. I’m not sure if this was directed at me personally or wether the R69 was getting the better of him. It is a one owner bike and had been delivered to its owner via a BMW dealer in Johannesburg S.A. Tom has been given the job of restoring the bike to running condition with a view to sale.

The original ‘carbs have been replaced with Mikinu units as the threads within the body of the side reservoir Bings have all been stripped. I guess this is just what happens with older well used motorcycles. At over $2500 to replace the original Bings, I see why the owner went for Tom’s cheaper option of new Japanese units at $500. Tom started the R69. One kick and it sprang into life and settled into a very quiet and reassuring rumble.

It wasn’t in running order when it was pushed off the trailer. Apparently you can’t put new pistons and gudgeon pins inside an engine upside down and expect it to run with any efficiency. So here is a rock solid tip. If you are going to put your pistons back in the correct manner, never read the service manual upside down.

My mission in life is to leave people happier than when I arrive. Tom and Pascal were certainly in a happier mood than when I had arrived. Job Done!!

I got my 80GS starter relay issues sorted for $15.99 and I’m off on my way to my next BMW adventure.

See you soon.

The Pres.

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OCTOBER 2017

Les Fitzpatrick

Committee Reports Vice President’s Report

Club Rides

T

he coffee morning at Mt Tamborine was well attended with some members arriving early and others arriving later. Kelly and I left before the second shift arrived but can report that the early crew were in fine spirits.

After another busy month we finally got a chance to head off for a few days to Bellingen with Toddy, Ian and Allison.

Mark Loring came down from Toowoomba to meet us at Urbenville before we headed on to Grafton for a leisurely lunch before the run down through Dorrigo and on to Bellingen. The hot weather had arrived early this year and the cooler air around the area was appreciated.

A few of the Brisbane crowd made the trip and six club members from Port Macquarie came up to join us for the weekend. Our time in Bellingen went quickly and before we had really settled in we were back on the bikes for a spirited ride home through the hill country and back to Queensland.

September 2017 Committee Meeting

The club committee meeting was a quite event last month. A few committee members were away on trips and as a result we didn’t have a quorum, so club business couldn’t proceed. Our Secretary, Greg Gaffney is overseeing the upgrade of the Club website which appears to be proceeding smoothly.

Other general business will be in the committee minutes and we would welcome your input to any topic that interests you. All committee meetings are open to all members so please come along if you have something to say as this is the forum to air your thoughts.

2018 Committee Membership Succession Planning

The end of the year is almost here and the AGM will be with us again before we know it. There will be some changes to the Committee in February with some current members standing down and some staying on for another year so I would urge you to consider stepping up to help fill the vacancies.

If you think you have the time to contribute to the smooth running of our club we would appreciate your involvement in any capacity. Many of us have been on the committee more than once and fresh ideas are welcomed.

Club Events in 2018

Next year will be an exciting one as we celebrate the BMWMCQ Sixty year Anniversary and also play host to the BMW Motorcycle Clubs, Australian National Rally in Stanthorpe.

Planning is proceeding with these events with Richard Maher and Charlie Brown as the main organisers.

Richard will provide more details as soon as possible.

I look forward to seeing you at the October general meeting.

Remember members, if you ‘log-in’ to our Club’s Web Site you’ll find our journal is in full colour -take a moment and have a look @ www.bmwmcq.org.au ‘Viewing Tips’ - PDF is best viewed as a Two Page Spread - Click on ‘View/Page Display and tick ‘Two Page Scrolling’Be sure both - ‘Show Gaps Between Pages’ and ‘Show Cover Page In Two Page Vew’ Are Ticked

Committee Reports

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OCTOBER 2017

Tony Gray

Treasurer’s Report

Treasurers Report BMWMCQ Meeting – as at 06 Sept 2017 Funds Available Business Cheque Account 10243020: Funds Available Premier Investment Account 2249 3654: PayPal Account:

$ 2,988.66 $14,910.57 $ 561.32

Total Cash Assets as at 06 Sept 2017: $18,460.55

Notes:

Major outlays were incurred during August to renew the Club’s insurance policies and also to engage a software specialist to upgrade and update the club’s website. This depleted the business cheque account funds.

Balancing this has been the surge in membership renewals around the end of the financial year plus those members who have prepaid for the Christmas Dinner function at Evans Heads. We encourage all those intending to go to this popular function to lock in their place.

One of the problems with the current website is that the automatically generated PayPal invoice for dual membership is still reflecting the now outdated $65 annual fee. I have been unsuccessful in changing this to the correct $75 annual fee. If you are renewing a dual membership can you please remit the $75 fee via Bank Transfer to the Club Account or pay Craig Brennan at a club meeting or function.

Tony Gray treasurer@bmwmcq.org.au

From The Pen of MERV BONE - Reflections on How Things Change

A

Things Change.

n interesting week, on the 22nd of August our daughter turned 30, my wife’s old aunty Ivy died aged 82 and I had my ponytail cut off. Then on the 25th my longtime friend Nancy passed away aged 69 yrs.

Monday 28 saw us at Texas for the funeral of Ivy. Texas was dry and cold and I couldn’t get over the amount of road kill there was on the highway out that way. Some of the roos were big buggers too.

Back to Brissy and on the bike headed to Gunnedah for Nancy’s funeral on the 31st.

As I left Brissy it was a brisk 12C and by Ipswich now 10C.

On the old GS I would say it’s cold, still cold now a bit colder, gotta love the stuff on the new GS. I have 600ks of riding straight down the New England which I have done many a time so it gives me time to think about all sorts of stuff. On a motorbike you get all your senses working, sight, sounds and smells, oh and the feeling of, gee it’s getting cold or hot.

About Warrill View a dead roo on the side of the road, smell, yep a few days old, but the smell was still there after I had passed it. Up a head a semi; had to be a cattle truck I thought.

The brain went into over drive as to how to get passed it without getting showered in shit. Roadworks and a red light, all traffic stopped as I rode up the shoulder of the road passed the truck, made it and at the head of the cue.

Continued on page 21

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OCTOBER 2017

Trent Smyth

Committee Reports Events Coords Report

Hi all

S

o September has been a wonder month of activities including my first time planning a coffee run and I want to thank all who came along. It was a great little spot which I’m hoping to go back to again.

October’s coffee morning is TBA at this stage as we might be doing something a little different more details to come.

There are a few other events filling up your weekends this month which I will try to lock in

as soon as I can.

Unfortunately I have been busy trying to get my GSPD apart to fix some problems and September has seemed to have just flown past me.

As always : if you have any ideas of places you would like to see the Club go to for coffee mornings, lunch runs or camping weekends: please feel free to email me with your ideas or possibly, even put your hand up to run the event. You have the great idea so let’s do it your way, which would help me and the club out greatly.

Trent Smyth events@bmwmcq.org.au

September Club Ride to Mulgowie Pub - Richard Maher

We left our meeting point (Servo at Gardens and Progress rd) a few minutes late due to the Pres happily chatting to the membership and the first set of traffic lights refusing to allow 22 motorcycles access to the Ipswich Motorway at our first right turn.

We headed to Springfield then to Greenbank and on to Jimboomba via the interstate train line. After a regroup at Jimboomba we aimed for Beaudesert and missed. I decided to turn right on the Allen Ck road and then snuck around to Bromelton and on to Boonah for a morning tea stop.

I had not intended to stop for morning tea, however the mutterings from the rank and file left me in no doubt that my life would be compromised if we didn’t do a strafing run to Flavours cafe in Boonah. We spied the local copper doing his job on a new R1200RS and dutifully pulling over a long/wide load trying to sneak through Boonah during church hours.

After a cuppa and a few quick pics of Allison’s very tasty R9T we headed for Mulgowie and the Pub.

Continued on page 13

We took a few backroads (no dirt) in the vague direction of Kalbar and Harris Town, crossed the Cunningham Hwy at Muddapilly and found some nice hills and a few wide open country roads where one of the participants chose to clean out the cobwebs on his wife’s motorcycle in the direction of Rosewood. From Rosewood it was a gentle but spirited ride through Grandchester around the southern edge of Laidley and onto the Mulgowie Pub across the market garden farming plains.

We shared lunch with a similar number of classic old Fords and Holdens.

The Pub Grub at Mulgowie it great value for money with solid portions to keep even the most active tape worm busy for several minutes. We spoke to the publican regarding the use of the Pub and the hall across the creek for one of our events next year to celebrate our 60th year. The days ride was around 280K’s for me. And judging by the relaxed mood of the members at lunch I’d say the day was a success.

Committee Reports

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OCTOBER 2017

Bill Luyten & Geoff Hodge

have been looking at the progress of the Hex ezCAN, an addon controller that interfaces with the CAN system of later model BMW bikes. The device allows you to configure accessory lights, horn etc.

Like the development of the GS-911 Diagnostic tool, the Hex ezCAN’s ccompatibility is to be expanded to other models and manufacturers. See separate article in the magazine.

Other than that, we still have some spares left and see the list below of special tools available to members.

Contact Tools Officers:

Bill Luyten 0438 123 747 (wluyten@bigpond .net .au) or Geoff Hodge 0413 180 101 (ggilps2@optusnet .com .au)

Club email:spares@bmwmcq.org.au

TOOLS HIRE SPARES AND SALES

There are special tools available:

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 interface Tire Pressure Monitor Sensor (TPMS) tool Enduralast hall sensor tester

Club Tool Loan:

$50 deposit (refundable) for GS911. Tools and spare can be picked up or brought along to the next meeting or Club ride.

Spares Sale at Cost Price

The Committee has decided to not continue selling spares so when our existing spares are gone they will not be replaced.

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Tool’s Report Spares Still Available Filters - Air

K Series K1200 (LX628) x2 $16.00ea

Filter - Fuel

K & R Series in line (KL145) x1 $20.00ea

Brake Pads

520HF - R60, R75, R80, R100 x1 $27.00ea G391ST - K1/100RS/1100LT, RS/1200RS, LT R80R, C/850/100/1100/1150 x6 $43.00ea

Spark Plugs

XR5DC (K/R1100) Bosch Super x2 $10.00ea

Tools

Oil filter removing tool - (OCS 1)K/R4V x5 $13.00

Bill Luyten and Geoff Hodge spares@bmwmcq.org.au

Tony Gray - The Company you Keep

O

ur company on the Spirit of Tasmania, a 1910 Belgian made FN ridden by traveller extraordinaire…Ron Fellows.

The bike was coming back from a rally in South Australia and was on a world safari in 2010. You can read about the trip in Ron’s book … “No Room for

Watermelons” Tony Gray

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Committee Reports

OCTOBER 2017

Kelly Wicks

N

Regalia Officer’s Report

othing to report for this month.

CLEARANCE Adventure Satchel

was $35.00

now Bucket hats (small only) was $20.00

now Men’s grey polo shirt was $40.00

now Men’s grey T-shirts was $25.00

now Men’s fleece vest Was $35.00 now Ladies grey polo size 12 only was $40.00

now Ladies navy polo with white piping was $40.00 now Ladies fleece vest was $35.00 now

$30.00 $16.00 $ 35.00 $20.00 $30.00 $35.00 $30.00 $30.00

Kelly Wicks regalia@bmwmcq.org.au

Craig Brennan

T

Records Officers Report

here is little to report this month, as per usual.

The only things of note was a discussion with the web upgrade team to explore the possibility of automatically notifying members when their membership is due and to see if a link to PayPal on our web homepage is possible, to enable new members to join up immediately.

Our current setup is quite complex. These changes will simplify life for members and myself.

“Winter” has gone already and the best riding season has ended.

This saddens me because I didn’t take enough advantage of the season and must now do something to rectify this scandalous failing on my part.

The Yellow Peril continues to be an ongoing project and I’m happy to say it will be like that for a number of years to come. HOORAH!!! She is now back on dual seat registration and I’m expecting pillions in the very near future. That should be fun.

The centre stand is looking the worse for wear after a mere 38 years and I am wonder if there is a better than OEM replacement available for /7’s? I shall (shudder) have to do some research on that.

Enjoy another month of activities with the club. I hope to see you around.

Cheers!

Craig

Committee Reports Greg Gaffney

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OCTOBER 2017

Secretary’s Report

MINUTES OF THE SEPTEMBER GENERAL MEETING 07/09/2017

Opened: 7.35 pm Apologies: Tony Malone, Phil Gresham, Tony and Jane Gray, Richard and Wendy de Groot, Darryl Gowlett, Mark Gilbert, Garry Lawrence, Ariella Woods and Charlie Brown Minutes: Read by Geoff Hodge seconded by Paul Hughes.

Visitors: Sasha Woods is looking forward to getting a bike to participate in the club rides and Dick Bone who’s riding a Kawasaki Z1300 6 cylinder.

Members First Meeting: Anita Wyndham riding a BMW G650 Xmoto, Leo Cruise with a Silver Smoke R90S and Sebastian (Bob) Wale with a BMW R1200GS

GENERAL BUSINESS

The secretary, after spilling his beer, advised the club of the major version upgrade about to be commenced on the club web site.

The Treasurer Tony Gray will be away for two months. Tony’s treasurer’s report will appear in the journal.

The editor Dave Hepburn discussed an issue which was raised regarding the restricting of the journal to club members only. Dave expressed his pride in the club and would be happy for non-members to be able to view the journal. Dave also expressed this may assist those members who do not have email and also promote new members.

Liezel Samuel noted she and Huw viewed the journal on-line as non-members which subsequently led them to join the club. This will be discussed further at the next committee meeting.

Kelly advised members that to justify the cost of providing a t-shirt for the B2B at Cherrabah she would require at least 25 prior orders and to please notify her within the week.

Trent reminded members about the ride to the coffee shop at Mt Tamborine on Saturday 16th, and The Ginger Beer run to Bellingen on the 22 - 24 Sep.

Duncan spoke in detail of the B2B #14 to Cherrabah on the 30 Sep and 1st October. Please contact Cindy to join the wine tour on the Sunday. The ride there will be via a touring route and a GS route.

Finally Trent advised all members to ensure they book their accommodation for the Xmas Party at Evans Head and advise him or the treasurer Tony of their payment for the gala dinner.

Richard and Charlie have organised a number of events for the 60th anniversary and these will be passed onto Trent.

Bill spoke of our last service day with sausage sizzle lunch at Charlie’s. This was well attended and involved a great tutorial in changing steering head bearings.

Richard advised all members that the committee meeting is held at the Yeronga Services club on the Monday after the General Meeting starting at 7:30pm. Members are welcome to come along if they wish and have dinner at the club beforehand.

Raffle: 1st – Maggie Rafanowicz, 2nd – Bill Luyten, 3rd – Tony Cuffe, 4th Merle Meinicke Closed: 8.45 pm

Greg Gaffney secretary@bmwmcq.org.au

Submissions for the next journal (NOVEMBER 2017 Edition) close on the 15th

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OCTOBER 2017

Getting in early - CHRISTMAS 2017

Club Christmas Party 2017

Well it is Christmas Party time once again

We had such a great time in 2015 that we are going to return to Evans Head just across the border again.

The RSL Club has prepared a sumptuous feast of Canapés, Main Course and Desert for $46 per head. The party will start with our exclusive use of the Outdoor deck just like last time (with a wet weather alternative up our sleeve). Drinks will be upon consumption as before from our exclusive use bar.

There will be the usual fabulous prize giving members draws and lots of music and fun

Accommodation options are below: Mention the BMW MCQ Christmas Party 1.Evans Head the Bowlo Holiday Cabins on 02 66824343 and ask for Margaret 2. Evans Head Pacific Motel: 02 66824318 3. Evans Head North Coast Holiday Park: 02 66824212 4. Evans Head RSL Flats: 02 66824282

I would make accommodation enquiries very soon as the town is filling up.

To reserve your place, YOU MUST pay the meal price of $46 per person to the club, by one of the following methods 1. Direct debit to the club bank account BOQ BSB 124001 Account 10243020 2. By cash to the treasurer at a club meeting 3. By PayPal to the club account by using the PayPal app and utilising treasurer@bmwmcq.org.au

In the reference section of each of the above methods please include your surname and XM (and the number you’re paying for). i.e. Hughes XM2

Once you have paid, please email Events@bmwmcq.org.au and let Trent know how much you have paid and by what method please. That way the club can easily track your payments.

It will be a fabulous weekend. Some people go for several days, others come on down on the Saturday afternoonIt’s up to you. There will be an “interesting” lead ride down on the Saturday from Brisbane The one thing for sure is it will be a great time

September Club Ride to Mulgowie Pub

T

here was a very close call for a written report on the September ride to the famous Mulgowie Pub led by our esteemed president Richard so I had put this together at the last minute...then Richard’s report arrived: I had coveted some photos from face book for the edification of those who do not subscribe to Facebook: Richard,s report is on page 8....Ed.

Situated in the picturesque Laidley Valley, Mulgowie Pub is the home of mouth-watering meals, icy cold drinks and locally made farm fresh produce. Relax on the newly built timber deck and enjoy the peaceful country atmosphere.

The Mulga is known for regular events, including music festivals, family fun days and the popular twice yearly Outback Bull Ride.

Stay in cabin accommodation behind the pub, or book a powered or unpowered campsite at the nearby Mulgowie Hall Recreation Reserve.

All Mulgowie Hall function and camping bookings are handled by the pub. Christmas Party 2018?

OCTOBER 2017

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OCTOBER 2017

Cindy Bennett - BMW off Road Training

BMW Off-Road Training (Level 1)

have previously done 2 lots of off-road skills training with Dakar winning rider Simon Pavey, however my fall in Africa resulting in a broken fibula had sapped some confidence when riding off road where I expected a disaster to befall me, resulting in an overly cautious and tense riding style.

This led me to enroll in the BMW Motorrad Off Road Training Level 1 course at Canungra, held in late August. I had previously heard good reports on this training from a couple of our ex-Presidents (Paul and Frank) who were graduates of the program.

Upon arrival at Metz Café in Canungra on a cool Friday morning there were soon an assembled a group of 20 keen and nervous GS riders, most on 1200GS bikes, but a few on 800’s and a couple of us sensible folk on the tried and true 700GS.

My bike was less than a week old and I was looking forward to giving it a good work out over these 2 days. The major difference being my new “Gus” doesn’t have low suspension - a disadvantage of my old 700GS “Betty” on gnarly tracks where she just didn’t have the clearance.

The location of the training was about 5 minutes ride from the Metz Café at a farm which had good hills, gullies, gravel tracks, mud holes and of course trees to provide some handy obstacles to practice tight uphill turns.

The 3 trainers for our group were Chris Urquhart and Shane Booth, ably assisted by Miles Davis. All 3 have impressive resumes and plenty of skill, with Chris and Shane Enduro riding champs and Miles recently having completed the Finke Race on a 1200GS – an amazing feat!

Several of the group had never ridden off road previously, and this proved no issue with the trainers taking us from setting up the bike and rider to the basic skills of slow speed maneuvering and building from there. The sessions were well timed with plenty of breaks and a good mix of theory explanation, demonstration and practice time.

At the end of Day 1 there had been a few offs in the soft grass (not me for once!) and minor grass fire flare-ups on some bikes due to a lot of dry grass around the paddocks. However, all the group agreed that their skills had improved in leaps and bounds during the day with the straightforward explanations and positive encouragement of the trainers.

Excited about Day 2 we headed back out to the paddocks and onto hill recovery of the bikes, basically stalling them going up a steep hill and getting them pointed down in an efficient style without having to pick them up off the ground or having them roll out of control away from you. This was followed by controlled riding down steep slopes;

that did take a few attempts when perched at the top and looking vertically down.

However, trust was put in the trainers wise words and in a standing leaning back body position with a relaxed upper body and the correct application of back and front brake combo I made it safely down – then followed by repeat again and again as it got to be fun trying the different surfaces of the hill with tree roots and rocks providing more challenge.

Heading to lunch my increased confidence led me to riding through a deep muddy section of track and half way through realised I was on the slope not the bottom so a slow speed off was marked as Gus’ first fall. I stepped off onto the bank in a graceful manner and as he hadn’t fallen flat was easy to retrieve from the muddy bog. He now looked GS hard core with mud stuck clinging to his lower bits.

At the end of Day 2 we were a confident off road riding group who slalomed around the paddocks and tracks of the farm, forging up vertical slopes and executing tight up hill turns around obstacles with relative ease.

I can highly recommend this training by BMW Motorrad. The professionalism of the trainers and the logical and supported build up of skills made the 2 days fun and educational. They also have Level 2 of the same course and I am definitely considering this, but might pass on their sand riding course.

Mounting up the GS ponies

Cindy Bennett - BMW off Road Training

A gentle slope to ascend

Gus looking the real deal

OCTOBER 2017

15

The trainers demonstrating the art of jumping mud puddles!

These boots (and pants) are made for GS’ing

16

Sebeastian Wale Rides Coast to Coast From the Right-to the Left and Back OCTOBER 2017

I

never actually had a desire to ride across Australia.

In fact, now that I think about it, riding across an entire continent in under 3 days…complete madness. I guess that’s why I love it.

I had planned to leave on the Monday, but as is often the case, plans change. Recently, I’d been having a few issues with the charging system and the Friday before I was to leave, it decided to die. Now, with any normal bike the alternator is accessible and an easily replaceable item. With the advent of the new R1200GS design (ca.

2013) BMW made the brave (some would say stupid) decision to place the stator at the rear of the motor, just in-front of the gearbox. Supposed to last a long time… In real terms, this means that changing out a defective unit and replacing it is a BIG job, time consuming and when you’re paying for a mechanic, that means a huge bill.

Now my Mechanic did everything he could to get my bike, Melinda, back on the road as quickly as possible and I got her back Wednesday arvo.

“He who does not travel does not know the value of men” - Moorish Proverb

Sebeastian Wale Rides Coast to Coast

OCTOBER 2017

17

I managed to hit the road Thursday morning, taking my time with 750 - 1300 km days. My immediate goal was to make it from Brisbane to the S.A. /W.A. border by Saturday evening. No mean feat and not a ride most would consider sensible by any means, even better.

The ride to the border (S.A. /W.A.) was relatively uneventful. I rode, I re-fuelled, I repeated. The first day was a test of the bike and we only covered around 800kms: The next day, 1000 and third day 1200. There was plenty of wildlife along my route:- kangaroos, emus, goats, but the only thing that crossed my path and posed a potential risk was an eagle. Maybe he was a little deaf.

Eventually I arrived, at the Border Village, at around 1800 on Saturday night. This was perfect timing for dinner and a couple of bevvies. Of course, most of the other Long distance riders had arrived there the previous night, but they hadn’t had their bike rebuilt earlier in the week. The rider, who’d ridden the furthest to arrive here, had done over 7000 kms.

It was good to achieve something and have a rest. I considered staying two nights, as the next day it was drizzling and miserable. But around mid-morning the skies cleared and I decided that there was not enough here to keep my interest. So I packed my moist tent and headed over the border and on to Norseman. Leaving so late, I didn’t arrive at Norseman till around 1800. I was quite mindful that the wildlife would be on the move and riding could become dangerous. I wanted to get to the caravan park and put up my tent. Unfortunately, the office was closed and I had to settle for the pub. Shame that, pizza and beer for dinner.

With only my next goal in mind (Denham, Shark Bay) and a look at wave rock, I decided to get up early the next day. 0400 hours found me warming up Melinda and her heated grips: it was a fresh 5 degrees, but that was soon to change and it got down to an exceedingly stupid -0.5.

The difference between 5 and -0.5 is enormous. It was brass-Monkey cold; it couldn’t have been colder if it had snowed. Now that I think about it, it would have warmed up had it snowed. I was constantly being “reminded” by Melinda to beware of ICE!

Wave rock added another 300-500 km to my trip, but what’s a few hundred compared to 10k? As for the rock…I saw it, I stood on it, it was shaped like a wave.

After wave rock, it was onward and upward heading toward Denham, Shark bay: the most westerly point on the Australian Mainland (depending upon your reference). Six days and 5000+ kms and I arrived at my destination.

An area shrouded in some dark Australian history; pearl harvesting, fishing, dolphin feeding and of course the migration of the Grey Nomad. I settled into the caravan park, spitting distance from the beach and set up camp. 5 days I was to rest and prepare myself for my next challenge, the return journey.

I love long distance riding, I love non-stop riding, I love doing things others shy away from and I just love it.

The plan was to ride from the most westerly point (namely Denham) to the most easterly point (Byron Bay) in 3 days or less. Easy-peasy, I hear you say. The ride ended up being around (exactly) 5120.9 km and I achieved it in 68.5 hours; well under my 72 hour goal. Now some will ask “so, how fast (speed) did you cross the Nulabor?” But my whole approach to long distance/endurance riding is: managing fatigue, speed, rest, nutrition and unseen events. I didn’t have to speed. Although for a country so insanely massive our speed limits are way too low. I mean seriously, if we had a national speed limit on highways and motorways of 130 km/h I could have saved 10 hours. That is not an insignificant amount of time. For most, that’s more than a day’s drive. (An argument for another time)

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OCTOBER 2017

Sebeastian Wale Rides Coast to Coast

Anyway, I stayed within the speed limit of each state (even more of a challenge to achieve my goal). I rested well, even slept a few times; I ate properly, and had time to attend to a spotlight repair.

The ride itself was just like any other ride. I was not entirely familiar with the different rest-stops we have in Australia, but now I believe I am a little wiser. I found places to rest, places to pitch my tent and sleep, places to eat. I was impressed with how good I felt after a few hours off the bike, resting against a tree or in my tent and with a little food in my belly.

Somewhere, in the early part of the ride (2nd day) I noticed in the distance along the Nullabor, a gigantic piece of machinery was approaching. Escorts, flashing lights, making painfully slow progress. I wasn’t at all sure if what I saw coming my way was indeed real. It seemed to be wider than the actual road. Now mind, this is the major road that connects the East-Coast of Australia with the West-Coast. Could this be a thing? I slowed to 100, then 80, then 60. It was then that I realised it was indeed that big and covered the entire paved surface. I was tempted to duck and continue (bit silly really).

The approaching Behemoth did recognise that I was there and it attempted to make room for myself, I wasn’t at all convinced that there was enough room and decided that the verge was probably the safest place for me to pass. This is the same verge that I had been eyeing earlier with suspicion. It sloped away from the asphalt road, looked to be covered in a loose, coarse, soft, slippery, dangerous for motorcycles, gravel. Once I left the relative safety of the paved surface for the verge, I discovered that it was indeed covered in a loose, coarse, soft, slippery and dangerous for motorcycles, gravel. Oh, and I was still at speed.

I suppose it’s moments like this that people say “their life flashed before their eyes” what a load of rubbish. It’s moments like this that I wish I were a better rider. Despite every fibre in my body screaming BRAKE AND SLOW DOWN, I quickly realised that that was not what I needed to do. Washing speed off caused the bike to become unsteady and wobble. My only other option was to give a bit ‘o gas, power through this and re-mount the tarmac. The whole time thinking; that I would go down, bite the dirt and become laughing stock of the transports’ escorts.

I actually managed to power through this, I mounted the road, I looked around and with an air of “I do my own stunts” and I powered off along the Nulabor. I’m quite sure that the escorts and others had been looking-on and thinking that I was going to go down like a fat kid on a see-saw (or lead balloon). To tell the truth: when I stopped about ten minutes later for a “rest” and reflect, so did I.

Just before the NSW border I fuelled up in Yunta, SA. Here, I got chatting with a member of the constabulary, on escort duty. His normal service vehicle was a BMW R1200RT but today he had the relative comfort of a marked Ford Territory. We chatted about bikes, how he could never afford the service costs associated with the BMW on his wage, and other bike stuff.

They were accompanying another massive piece of mining machinery that was heading to Broken Hill.

From Yunta, Broken Hill was about a 2 hour ride or so. The friendly policeman indicated that if I were to get stuck behind them then I would be unable to pass. That would mean that my times would be totally thrown out.

I had to hurry, Instead of having a 5 minute break and coffee; I quickly finished refuelling, paid and got back on my trusty steed. The trucks were warming up and the flashing lights were flashing. I don’t know if they waited for me to get underway, but I have a sneaky feeling that said policeman delayed their departure somewhat.

Just over the SA border is a flat expanse, broken only by the rest stop Little Topar. This place often experiences strong winds and today was no exception. With an awesomely, powerful Northerly attempting to blow me off the plain and temperatures in excess of 34 degrees, it was not my most pleasant day on a bike. Starting out my ride the previous day at Denham, I still had on my thermals and was quickly overheating. Dehydration is a major enemy of concentration and endurance. I quickly got changed, but had lost way too much water. But it could have been worse, and I was still hanging out for a proper coffee.

Sebeastian Wale Rides Coast to Coast

OCTOBER 2017

19

All that was on offer in Little Topar was an urn of boiling water and a tin of what someone had called “instant” coffee. I grabbed a quick mug, chugged it down and was on my way. Another mug of this drink was unnecessary.

In preparation for this type of ride, as Australia seems to have the stupidest animals that are hell-bend on committing suicide by traffic, I contacted Clearwater (CA) and purchased a hybrid kit of one Erica and one Sevina. The amount of light generated by this combination is equivalent to that of several small suns jammed into a couple of Vegemite jars. In other-words; very, very, very, very bright; and bright enough to raise the eye-brows of more than a few truckers’. I have the ability to identify lane markings, cats-eyes, road-markers etc approximately 1-2 kms away.

Unfortunately, on my last evening, just around dusk, my lights began to flicker, then they would spontaneously strobe (not groovy), finally they completely failed. Now, I’m not afraid of the dark, but the only time I saw and roos on my journey was after the lights failed. As I was travelling through rural areas, plenty of roadkill, I decided to drop my speed by 10-15 km/h, not good when the clock is ticking. My next fuel and food stop just happened to be at a large roadhouse (Gilandra), perfect for a bit of road-side repair work. Having re-fuelled, had a good feed, something to drink and feeling rested, I attacked the lights. Beginning with all the connections the CAN-buster and finally the fuse. The Fuse! Why did I not start here?

Once I discovered where the problem lay, I spoke with the station attendant and asked if she had one of these - holding up said fuse. Fully expecting to be charged an arm & a leg for a replacement, she replied with, “I’m sure I’ve seen a few of those lying around here somewhere”. After a bit of rummaging through several drawers, she managed to produce 3 fine specimens, all of which she gave me and wouldn’t let me pay. Having installed the fuse, I discovered that the Sevina had completely failed but the Erica still came on (searing my retinas in the process). I guess one small sun will have to do the job. Off I rode, into the darkness of Central New south Wales.

Around this time I had a bit of a glance at my rear tyre. Now, my tyres were renewed not long before I left for the trip. The front was sweet as, at least half its life remaining, but the rear…well, I was a little worried that I would have to stop and source new rubber. Upon closer inspection, I did have tread, just enough to keep going, although it was no longer round. I guess the combination of heat, cold, poor roads, rough roads; long straights with minimal curves took their toll on my rubber.

Not long after this point I decided that I was sick of sticking to the major roads and wanted something a bit more biker friendly and fun. I ended up riding through the Gibraltar Ranges. I had never heard of the place and to say that I was pleasantly surprised is an understatement. Slightly west of Grafton, absolutely amazing and definitely the highlight of my 10k + km rides across Australia and back. I would even go as far as to say that it could be one of my favourite roads in the world. Maybe the time of day had something to do with it, but this was near the end of a 3 day marathon, early hours of the morning, just before day-break, I had the roads through these ranges to myself. I did note that there were plenty of roadworks underway and am sure that during the day the road would have been down to one lane for many kilometres, controlled by traffic lights. But by beating the commuters it was absolutely amazing. Along this road there is a camp site/caravan park, Jackadgery where I re-fuelled, maybe a destination for my next ride?

From here I headed onward to Byron and my destination. I arrived at 0759, taking timezones into account; I had definitely done it in less than 3 days. What a relief, what a blast!

What have I taken away from this experience? Australia is so stupidly, enormously massive. But three days is more than enough time to cover this distance. There is more to Australia than meets the eye. I’m very surprised (and glad) that I didn’t come across more wildlife.

Saying all this, I’ve made some serious decisions about my next adventure. Just this past week, I purchased a 2001, R1150GS, in Germany. I plan, amongst other rides, to circumnavigate Iceland in one day, ride Nordkapp, Norway - Gibraltar in under 3 days (5,500 kms) and maybe even ride the FHB in under 48 hours, again.

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HEX ezCAN

OCTOBER 2017

HEX ezCAN - As described by Bill Luyten

a brief description, Bill Luyten

Setting the fuses

A drop-down menu sets the electronic fuse for each output channel. Select the appropriate fuse level for each accessory. The initial fuse settings are preset but can be changed according to your requirements.

Configuring the lights

There is a day-night sensor on the instrument cluster.

The HEX ezCAN extends this functionality to the accessory lights so that their brightness can be set separately for day and night, dim and bright . The sun slider (☀) sets the brightness for day riding, while the moon (☾) slider sets the brightness for night riding. Dim

S

pecifically designed for the:

BMW R1200 LC, R1200, K1600 & F800

I mentioned this device briefly at a recent club meeting. The HEX ezCAN is From HEX Microsystems, the developers of the GS-911 Diagnostic Tool.

A one switch solution that lets you add and configure accessories with ease and without cutting any wires. It’s simple and easy to fit additional lights, an air horn, accessories and emergency brake lights that make the bike safer to ride. The HEX ezCAN is configured using downloadable software for Windows or Mac.

Configuring accessories

Configure the electronic fuses of the four outputs and select the functions of accessories according to your specific requirements. On the accessory channel, you can also set the delay time-out. Once you switch the ignition ‘OFF’, the accessory output channel will remain powered for the period of your pre-set delay time-out before powering down.

and

bright settings are done individually, hence the two different icons.

All lights can be activated or deactivated by holding in the turn signal cancel button (For R1200 LC & K1600) or trip / info button for (F800 & R1200) for 3s (i.e. toggle on and off). If configured, the auxiliary and horn outputs will remain active when the lights are deactivated.

Four additional options for auxiliary lights:

1.

Off when turn signal active: Turns the corresponding accessory lights off when a turn signal (indicator) light is active. This prevents the turn signal from disappearing in the brightness of accessory lights.

2.

Strobe when horn is active: Strobes the accessory lights when the horn is active.

3.

Strobe on “flash to pass”: Strobes the accessory lights 3 times when «flash to pass» is activated by pressing the high-beam headlight flash button 3 times in quick succession.

4.

Inverse flashing when hazards active: This flashes the hazards and forward-facing auxiliary lights alternately, preventing hazards from disappearing in the brightness of accessory lights and adding extra visibility to oncoming traffic.

5.

3-Wire Mode (F800 & R1200 only): If you are using three wire auxiliary lights, switch this mode on for dimming to work correctly. Note that in channel configuration 1 & 2both auxiliary lights turn of when the indicator is on and it is not possible to control the lights separately in 3-wire mode.

Control brightness via BMW Motorrad Multi-Controller (Wonder Wheel / Selector Wheel)

The Multi-Controller can be used to adjust the brightness of the forward-facing auxiliary lights. There is currently no way to dynamically change or adjust brightness of lights from the motorcycles control while riding the F800 and R1200.

HEX ezCAN - As described by Bill Luyten Setting the time-out of the accessory / Ignition supply

To avoid power cuts to the accessories connected to this output during ignition cycles, use the slider to set the preferred time-out delay.

Choose the configuration of accessories that you would like to install.

Open the channel mapping window of the HEX ezCAN configuration software. Use the drop-down window top-right to view different output configurations.

Channel mapping icons explained. For more information see http://hexezcan.com/

OCTOBER 2017

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MERV BONE - How Things Change Cont’ Cunningham’s Gap, little traffic as I rode up using the centre lane, sure enough a long black line of fresh oil dropped by a truck in the left lane, was not there 2 days ago.

I had a good run down to Stanthorpe, now 9.5C at 9.50am, what a cool set of numbers thought I. Just ahead a lonely tray back Ute with a canapé on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere, yep an unmarked speed camera as I cruised by at 99km/h.

Tenterfield for some fuel and headed for Glenn and onto Guyra. I was down this way in April and it was 14C but today as I rode passed the Highest Caravan Park in Australia, a crisp 8C.

In April the flame trees were in full colour and the Poplar trees a golden yellow and about to lose their leaves. All the rain had made the fields green and the clear blue skies, just lovely.

Today the skies still clear and blue, the Poplar trees just tall sticks reaching for the sky.

The flame on the flame trees had gone out and the fields brown and dead from the winter frosts. There were some green pine trees and wattle trees with yellow flowers to add a bit of colour to the landscape. It is dry and there was plenty of road kill around. I now pay more attention to the tyre pressures on the dash each time I pass dead animals on the road after Alison’s flat tyre earlier this year.

The New England with its changing season is still fantastic. Armidale and you start to head down the Great Dividing Range to a great biker friendly pub at Bendemeer where I stopped for a Bendy Burger and coffee.

Continued on page 31

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OCTOBER 2017

Country Road Experience - Duncan Bennett

COUNTRY ROAD EXPERIENCE

G

elände Straße (Country Road) Experience; to observe and undergo, to gain practical knowledge and to have a spiritual conversion. All of these were available options at the GS Experience hosted by BMW Motorrad at Canungra in August.

For a modest fee of $49, BMW were offering a two hour opportunity to test two of the GS range on a farm road, and a winding bitumen road. Opportunity accepted, it was off to the 11am Thursday event via our standard M1, Waterford and Tamborine route, with the heavy downpour at Waterford allowing me to appear a little more hard-core upon arrival at the Metz Café in Canungra. Parking the Triumph well up the road and out of sight of the BMW Motorrad gathering at the café, I was soon registered and waiting with the others for the return of the 9am group.

Did the Experience, got the T-shirt]

A line-up of the 2017 bikes was checked out first, and most helpfully Chris Urquhart gave a full demonstration of the upgraded electronics packages on the 700GS and the 800GS, which now approach the 1200GS package. Although the ride-by-wire and rider mode selections are available on my Triumph Tiger 800XCx, the BMW GS range offer two very big advantages.

Firstly, when you choose a rider mode, it stays in that mode, which means that during long periods on the dirt you don’t have to keep resetting the mode back from Road to Enduro every time you crash and it stalls.

Secondly, the BMW GS allows setting of suspension modes on the run, so the suspension mode can be changed from the stiff Sport to the soft Comfort during the transition from smooth bitumen to a bumpy paddock because you over-cooked a corner, allowing you to feel nice and comfortable while you crash again.

Finally the 9am group returned and were pried off and sent packing, with Miles Davis giving an introduction of the BMW Motorrad team and a briefing of how the two hour GS Experience would pan out for the 11am group. Hour one would be the Gelände part, followed by a return to the Café Metz and a swap over to another GS for the Straße part. Names and corresponding GS models were read out, and we were soon mounted up and off.

First selection for my experience was a standard 2017 R1200GS. Miles had insisted that we push and poke at the buttons while out on the road to get a feel for the differences the modes would make. Once out into the clear road heading north to Wonglepong, a quick and easy change to Dynamic mode and some near front wheel-lift moments showed the increase in throttle response, although the stiffer suspension from the automatic suspension control (ACS) wasn’t really noticeable on the long sweeping corners.

Having becoming dangerously fascinated by what was on the dash, only the almost un-felt response of the ABS prevented me from accidentally piling up another Experiencer’s backside like a blind hip-thrusting Elvis on the dance floor as I grabbed at the brakes.

We turned off the highway along the Biddaddaba Road and stopped at the Beaudesert-Nerang road intersection. This has a neat short section of bitumen heading onto a gravel road; perfect for Gelände demonstrations. Miles Davis explained what was about to happen and what the test was designed to demonstrate, before Shane Booth fired up his 1200GSA. Initially there was a bit of free-styling by Shane who hadn’t been part of Miles’ briefings, while we tried to figure out what on earth he was doing, but eventually there was dove-tailing of test intent and outcome. The most impressive was the ABS transition demonstration, with a full-noise Shane applying the brakes on the gravel with the delicacy of a psychotic toddler and rolling onto the bitumen, the dotted line of skid marks and the incredibly short stopping distance a tribute to the BMW electronics.

Country Road Experience - Duncan Bennett

Then it was our turn, and Enduro and Enduro Pro modes received a work-out on the gravel with some nervous drifties undertaken as appropriate for riders who had only just signed up for a hefty insurance excess payment in the event of a crash.

The Enduro mode was fairly idiot-proof, the traction control seemed to kick in well before the machismo limit was reached, keeping the sideways movement to a safe yet ego boosting range.

Enduro Pro wasn’t attempted, because even though huge drifties seemed to be well within the new machismo limits, a few riders following quite close behind may have been annoyed to be sprayed with heman gravel.

Once back on the bitumen, a few more muckabouts with different modes were tested apart from Rain, which should not be able to be engaged on a dry day to protect a rider’s hard-earned reputation. We were quickly back into Canungra and the Metz Café, where a perfectly executed turn-around in the rear car-park inspired the gathering 1pm to 3pm crowd.

The bike swap was completed, with an F800GS Trophy the inappropriate and unwitting victim for the Straße test. The Trophy certainly looks better set up for Gelände, but is basically the same as the normal F800GS with a few cosmetic options to make it look more enduro.

OCTOBER 2017

So off we went, up the goat track to Mount Tamborine with 1200GS riders leading the charge around the hair-pins with their fabulous electronics packages. Once up on top, we turned right and went down the escarpment via the tortuous Henri Roberts Drive which challenged the BMW brigade’s cornering abilities.

The Trophy was theoretically not ideal especially on Continental TKC80 tyres, but even when pushing it as hard around corners as I felt comfortable doing, it didn’t miss a beat. A turn around and then a trip back up the Henri Roberts was faster due to more familiarity, and the Trophy took the higher speed in its stride. Even the challenging descent of the goat track with the ugliness of the steep 180° switchbacks with high risk of over-cooking them didn’t upset it. As Miles Davis said about the electronics – it is all about the ABS coming into the corners, and all about the traction control coming out, but you are on your own whilst in the corner.

Some regret was felt pulling back into the Metz Café at 1pm, a Trophy trial on the Gelände would have really been fun, but it likely wouldn’t prove much as it would undoubtedly be fabulous with the low centre of gravity and 21” front wheel. The 1pm to 3pm group were waiting for us as we parked, I was tempted to take the keys with me as none of them looked like they deserved a test ride as much as we deserved a second go. Howard was the only BMWMCQ member in the group, who were then completely smashed in a violent storm going up the goat track. The gods also thought they didn’t deserve a test ride as much as we did.

It was a great fun day, very well organised and the explanations and practical demonstrations of how the electronics work across the range of GS bikes was excellent. Walking back up to the darkened alley well out of sight of the Metz Café to get back on the Precious, there was perhaps a moment of regret that the 800XCx doesn’t have the same electronics package, but that disappeared once the cruise control was set on the highway. Small hint there to BMW for their next F800GS release.

Duncan Bennett

Waiting for Cindy to provide a distraction so I could “borrow” a Rallye suit

23

24

OCTOBER 2017

THREE ISLANDS TOUR - TONY AND JANE GRAY

THREE ISLANDS TOUR – PART ONE Jane and I aim to do a big bike trip each year, usually alternating between Australia and Overseas. Each trip has a theme and for 2017 we chose an Island theme, three in fact. Tasmania is an old favorite of ours, Phillip Island for the Moto GP is a regular for me but new for Jane and Kangaroo Island (KI)was a new location for us both.

The Grey Ghost was serviced and shod with new Michelin Anakee 3s and loaded up for yet another trip with 144,000km showing on her dial. We set off south in early September with predictions of cold wet weather ahead. Our route took us over familiar territory via the New England and Newell Highways to West Wyalong where we turned west and encountered the first of those Grain Silo Murals at the small town of Weethalle. This one was only completed in July and is having the desired effect of attracting tourists to this tiny location. The mural is very impressive.

Crossing the Hay Plain is something I have avoided since the 1970’s and my memories of flat open terrain from those bygone days haven’t changed. What has improved markedly along this route is the thriving community in Mildura. The town gives every impression that it is doing well – it passed the Harley test – my benchmark as to how much spare cash the locals have indicated by the number of Harleys cruising the streets. We did the short run up to Wentworth to see the confluence of the Darling and Murray Rivers. The Darling’s journey to this point has been as long as ours as it wends its way from Queensland covering what is the longest river run in Australia. As we moved into South Australia we picked up 30 minutes on the clock and encountered that most famous of South Australia’s features, the vineyard. It is very rich country indeed and very dependent on the waters of the Murray River to feed that wealth. It is easy to understand all of the commotion coming from the various factions competing across four States for these valuable waters.

We skirted north of Adelaide in order to explore the Yorke Peninsula to the west of the city and encountered quite severe wind that was to become an unwelcome companion for the following week.

During our anti clockwise circuit of the Big Island in 2016 we had explored the Eyre Peninsula but had then turned north through the centre of the country so we were sort of picking up where we left off last year. The winds then, also in September, had threatened to tear us off the bike so it appears to be quite normal conditions for early Spring in SA. We made our base at the very pleasant seaside port of Wallaroo where the locals proudly compare themselves to those internationally famous windy cities of Wellington and Chicago. We preferred the Eyre to the Yorke Peninsula but our view may have been jaundiced by the wind.

The golden fields of canola contrasted beautifully with the adjacent green grain crops in a very patriotic display of our nation’s sporting colours.

As we left the Peninsula towards Port Wakefield at the head of The Gulf of St Vincent the intensity of the wind threatened to toss the Grey Ghost off the road. An articulated crane heading in the opposite direction was overturned and he must have weighed 100 times that of our travelling mass. Sobering indeed.

We again skirted Adelaide (we don’t like cities) in favour of those beautiful bike roads in the Adelaide Hills.

Unfortunately the weather was not playing ball and we pulled into Hahndorf for lunch just before a torrential downpour. The rain cleared enough for us to enjoy some beautiful twisting B roads as we wended our way down the Fleurieu Peninsula for our appointment with the late afternoon ferry crossing from Cape Jervis to Kangaroo Island.

The sea was angry with white caps stretching across to KI. Fortunately neither of us suffer motion sickness and the Grey Ghost is the most experienced sea traveler of us all having crisscrossed to Europe twice by ship as well as multiple ferry crossings on two continents. She was tucked into a pocket in the stern of the large sea ferry where the swell is least felt.

A couple of ropes and she was ready for the 45 minute crossing. That separation from the mainland gives islands a special feel and riding down a ship’s ramp back to terra firma always excites. KI was an unknown entity to us and our research (as often happens) amounted to zilch. Dr Google told me that Kangaroo Island is the third largest island within Australia falling behind Tasmania and Melville Is and covers some 4,405 sq. kms with a population of 4,417 so 1 person/sq. km.

We had just booked a simple self contained unit at American River where there was little commercial activity so we needed to get to our digs, unload the bike and get to the shops at Kingscote to get supplies for the next 5 days. The first surprise for us was the size of the island. Even though the ferry port at Penneshaw, our digs at American River and the commercial/ retail hub at Kingscote are all at the western end of the island we still covered 110 km by the time we got back to the unit with our supplies in the dark. Now riding in the dark is not recommended on KI because a lot of Kangaroos live here. The name was actually bestowed on the island by Matthew Flinders who landed at Kangaroo Head thinking he was on the mainland. The local kangaroos didn’t recognize these new intruders (there were no aborigines on KI) so were a bit too inquisitive for their own good but to the benefit of Flinders crew who hadn’t eaten meat for 3 months. Little did the Roos realize what carnage was to come when we got cars onto the island.

THREE ISLANDS TOUR - TONY AND JANE GRAY The next 4 days we spent enjoying the extent of KI during which time we racked up close to 1,000km.

There was abundant bird and marine life to be seen but not as much of the marsupials that we had expected. Certainly there are plenty of Kangaroos and we did came across a couple of Koala and an echinda crossing the road as well as many roadkill possums. What impressed us most was the spectacular seascapes along the western end of the island within the Flinders National Park. These are spectacular but so far from the ferry terminal that many day visitors do not get the chance to enjoy them. Colonies of NZ and Australian fur seals hug the rugged rocky headlands and fortunately for them there were no White Pointer sharks to be seen during our visit. They do frequent the area for a feed of seal.

We arrived on KI during windy and showery weather and left in the same conditions. Fortunately we had also enjoyed 2 cool sunny days and 2 with passing showers so not bad for this time of the year according to the locals. What we found was quite a special place where the locals give the index finger ‘wave’ when passing on the open road in the same manner we had encountered on Norfolk Island. The open road speed limit is 110 in line with the rest of SA (come on Qld!) and the scenery is very special. It is a quaintly old fashioned sort of place which seems to have been discovered by the Chinese and European tourists more so than fellow Australians. If you are used to and expect 5 star luxury then you are likely to be disappointed. It is not that sort of place. There is no permanent water supply on the island so most enjoy the abundant clear clean rainwater supplemented by a desalination plant. There is abundant wind and solar power as well as electric car recharging points along the most populated eastern part of the island. A sign of things to come for us all: There are vineyards, a boutique brewery and sheep-dairy! Abundant seafood: and decent coffee shops and bakeries. Get in and have a look but be prepared to spend at least a few days as it is bigger than most think.

We bid our farewell to KI as we hit the mainland and set off in the direction of our second island, Tasmania.

Tony and Jane Gray

OCTOBER 2017

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OCTOBER 2017

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BMW 2017 K1600GT Sports Review

T

BMW 2017 K1600GT Sports

o start and then end the review with a positive, firstly the Shift Assistant Pro is just amazingly good and leaves all previous iterations in the museum. You can relegate the use of the clutch to moving off and stopping, so seamless is the ability to shift up or down at almost any throttle setting or bike speed. Previously there was always a need to have throttle opening parameters ‘just right’ to get a smooth shift in other models I have ridden but they now look very dated compared to this latest development.

The K1600 has been around for nearly seven years now and remains the best sports tourer (GT version) or tourer (GTL) on the market. A huge torque band from the 1649cc engine means that only 500rpm off idle you are getting the benefit of 70% of the available torque; with the electric/fly-by-wire throttle this is just a minor wrist movement. For a ~320kg bike to achieve a 3 second 0 – 100kph acceleration and then go on to equally rapid mid-range numbers is a testimony to this magical Bavarian product.

The list of Australian-standard gizmos would fill a page of this magazine, but much of what was unique in 2010 is now found across the BMW Motorrad range: standard switch clusters started on the K16 and almost all Motorrad bikes have the ubiquitous ‘wonder wheel’ to control various functions. The ability to reset modes at the touch of a button started with the K16, as did the layout now common across the fleet.

One that is still unique to the K16 is the gyro-stabilised low beam headlamp, which maintains the beam horizontally when cornering and vertically when accelerating/decelerating. The first allows the beam to light up the road around a curve regardless of the bike lean angle, the latter prevents the low beam flickering up or down and dazzling other road users which meets ADRs for HID Xenon headlamps. Allied to the optional BMW driving lights, night time riding is far better than most other models plus the LED ‘Owl Eyes’ can be set to super bright as a Daytime Running Light to give a better chance of being seen and avoided if the driving lights are not optioned.

Heated seats and grips are standard as is the adjustable screen (which auto parks when the ignition is off), keyless ignition, GPS ready (but not the GPS, Navigator VI is the latest model), panniers capable of taking your helmet when needed or enough gear for a week away, tyre pressure monitors, central locking at the touch of a button, two power sockets, etc. etc. The alarm system is standard and armed via the keyless remote, activating both the electronic immobiliser and the audio alarm system. Tyre pressure monitor is also standard and has compensation for ambient temperature plus a warning should you lose pressure in the case of a puncture.

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As if all that isn’t comprehensive enough; how about ‘pull-away assistant’? The hill start assist enable via a pull on the front brake puts pressure into the rear brake to hold the bike until either another pull on the brake lever, or an increase in throttle to pull away from the stopped position; just the job when holding at the lights on a hill or moving off from a tricky spot.

The ABS is the bees knees; the very latest Bosch integral ABS includes sensors for pitch, roll and yaw giving one (if not the) best braking systems on the market today. It will even manage an emergency brake when leaned over in a corner, but don’t expect it to overcome the laws of physics! A couple of random emergency stops, one on a damp road, gave quite impressive stops of about 21 metres from 80kph and 30 metres from 100kph, GPS speeds used and not the speedo. The ABS feedback was imperceptible from the handbrake and just a tad of pumping through the footbrake, but for normal use the linked brakes work extremely well with handbrake application only. Linked (partially integral) braking works impeccably with application of just the front brake lever controlling front and rear brakes proportionally according to the Bosch IMU; you certainly get what you pay for on this bike. The brake lights have now matched the BMW car line with the light flashing under heavy braking plus setting on the hazard flashers when the bike is below 10kph in a panic stop.

Handling on the K16GT belies the actual size: listed as a massive 332kg on road with 90% fuel and more than 2.3 metres long you would expect to be mounted on a fairly staid steed. Far from it; this bike can not only lift its skirts and fly but will corner as if on rails, with impeccable manners. Having done some 225,000km to date on my various K16GTs I have had some fun times, none more so than on closed roads with big sports bikes disappearing in the rear view mirrors along demanding twisties. Conversely the bike will give mile after mile (OK, kilometre after kilometre) of comfortable, relaxing touring just eating up the distances leaving the rider refreshed and ache free at the end of thousand K plus days. I have an annual 1,000km day on Victoria’s alpine roads mid-winter through demanding turns that would challenge a litre sports bike, all without stress or strain. Much of this is due to the high specification Dynamic Traction Control (DTC), Electronic Suspension Adjustment (ESA), ABS and refined suspension design, all of which combine to make an average rider into a good rider, and a good rider into an excellent rider!

Reverse gear is a new option introduced for 2017, as the size and weight of the GT and GTL when fully loaded can be a challenge.

Continued on page29

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OCTOBER 2017

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f one single donation can save three lives, imagine how many more could be saved if your group donated together. (Quote from Club Red web site.)

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f you have enjoyed reading the stories in this and previous editions, you may be surprised to know that they were written by members just like you. Therefore you can be assured others would like to hear your story.

Send your stories and pictures or requests for help to editor@bmwmcq.org.au

BMW 2017 K1600GT Sports Review

Tacked on to the left side of the gearbox, this can readily be identified by the extra bulge of the gearbox cover, which unfortunately intrudes onto the rider’s left foot in some circumstances. Operation of the reverse is reasonably simple having selected R (for reverse, strangely enough) on the left cluster the rider then presses the starter switch and waits for the RPM to increase to about 1900 at which stage the gear engages to get the bike going backwards. It will be an option that will certainly appeal to the larger GTL riders with passenger and lots of luggage, maybe not so much to a rider of this model as the GT Sports is less likely to be so heavy in normal use.

The new 2017 model has an increase in fuel capacity, up from 24lt to 26.5lt, which is a handy 50km extra range under normal riding. Usually a rider should expect about 5lt/100km, which has been my experience, one up without panniers; that is my preference and a rider with panniers plus more weight could expect about a 10% increase in fuel burn to 5.5lt/100km. Recommended fuel is 95RON, and the bike is approved for E10 (10% Ethanol) if you can find 95RON with that spec. But why would you treat this magnificent specimen of 21st Century technology to anything but the very best fuel available? As a keyless model even the fuel cap has no key and various interlocks prevent it from being opened unless the bike is stationary with the ignition switched off; with a time out so that it cannot be opened after the bike is left parked.

The test bike has the lowest available screen in the K1600 range, all of which are adjustable while riding. The GT Sport (this test) has a quite low screen and at the highest setting it remains low enough to give almost naked bike airflow. Going up the range the GT has a much higher screen capable of good weather protection, and the largest screen comes with the GTL and is one to be ‘looked through’ at the highest setting.

All have a neat parking when the ignition is switched off which locks the access door to the GPS, then on start-up and pull away the screen will raise to the last used height.

Another change introduced on this year’s model is to the ESA damping choices. Whereas previous models have allowed Comfort, Normal or Sport the new 2017 choice is reduced to Road or Dynamic: spring preload remains the same with rider, rider plus luggage or two-up with luggage. Riders with experience of earlier models would only notice the small disadvantage of the reduction in damping choices, but on rough roads it used to be handy to be able to dial down to a Comfort (Soft) setting and smooth out the ride. This doesn’t seem to be achievable with the new settings, but the sophistication of the overall setup never ceases to amaze me.

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As mentioned at the start there is yet one more positive: BMW Motorrad has fitted dual horns to the 2017 K1600 range and you can forget about aftermarket replacements for the ‘old’ scooter horns. Well done for listening to the riders, hopefully this improvement will find its way across the Motorrad range.

A great bike, which continues to lead the Motorrad range and sets a benchmark in sports tourers, which remains unmatched after seven years of production.

Article supplied by John Eacott - photos are of Johns bike: as he puts it “ Attached photos are mine in Ackland Street, St Kilda, showing the bike in a more natural habitat: next to the coffee and cake.”

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OCTOBER 2017

BMWMCQ 2017 EVENTS BRG

BMWMCQ 2017 Events Calendar

OCTOBER

Thursday 5 7:30pm Monthly club meeting TBA Sunday 8 Monthly Club Ride Sunday 15 TBA Laverda Concours Wednesday 18 6:30pm Hamilton Hotel dinner meet Saturday 21 9:30am Saturday Coffee Run Sat 28 - Sun 29 8:00am Red Rock Camping Weekend Sunday 29 12:00 Sunday Lunch Ride Tuesday 31 6:30pm German Club NOVEMBER

Thursday 2 7:30pm Monthly club meeting Saturday 4 10:00am Ellaspede Dust Hustle TBA Sunday 5 Monthly Club Ride Wednesday 15 6:30pm Hamilton Hotel Dinner Meet Saturday 18 9:30am Sat Coffee Run Tuesday 28 6:30pm German Club DECEMBER

Saturday 2

Christmas Party Thursday 7 7:30pm Monthly club meeting TBA Sunday 10 Monhtly Club Ride Saturday 16 9:30am Saturday Coffee Run Italics font denotes event organised by other clubs

Ride Leader / Contact

Tingalpa

TBA Duncan & Cindy TBA TONY GRAY? Kingsford Smith Drive Ascot TBA Nth NSW - Charlie Brown to provide details

TBA Woolloongabba

Tingalpa

Northgate Dusthustle.com TBA President Kingsfor Smith Drive Ascot TBA

Woolloongabba

Evans Head NSW Services Club Tingalpa

TBA TBA

Extraordinary EVENTS Calendar

Remember members, if you ‘log-in’ to our Club’s Web Site you’ll find our journal is in full colour take a moment and have a look @ www.bmwmcq.org.au ‘Viewing Tips’ - PDF is best viewed as a Two Page Spread -

Click on ‘View/Page Display and tick ‘Two Page Scrolling’ Be sure both - ‘Show Gaps Between Pages’ and ‘Show Cover Page In Two Page Vew’ are TICKED

Regarding Submissions

Submissions to the journal should be relevant to BMW motorcycles and or to the BMWMCQ and its activities. Articles or Letters to the Editor may or may not be published if space does not permit or if the content of the submission and or letter is not considered to be of interest to members or not in the interests of the Club, our sponsors or advertisers. Members are encouraged to use this, our journal; to express views, float ideas or make inquiries of other Club members on technical, organisational or other matters which may benefit the Club and its associates Submissions should be kept to a reasonable length and maybe edited or published in part only, if the Editor considers it necessary.

Note – submissions close on the 15th of each month! BMWMCQ

Michael and Ann (the royals) GS Road Trip Europe GS Road Trip Europe, West and UK

F

rom Oslo, we descended Sweden’s nice west coast from Gothenburg via fast roads. Skåne is the southern province in Sweden and birth place to Scania, Kockums, Findus and Absolut Vodka just to mention a few icons and the place of my Alma Mater (Lund Uni.). It’s great for a drive around the scenic coast and through plenty of Sherwood style forests in the northern and north west.

In Copenhagen, we recommend Nyhavn quarters (with a pub crawl), the Mermaid statue and Bakken as obvious attractions. Further on, In Roskilde, you’ll find a very special Viking ship museum with the biggest ship ever found (built in Dublin) and new construction of several ships as well. We then crossed the Stora Belt Bridge, biggest of its kind, between two of the Danish main Islands.

And instead of Rodby Ferry crossing, we picked a Ferry across from Bojden to the Danish town of Sonderborg. We checked out plenty of attractions in Lubeck and Hamburg. In Berlin, many attractions have now been closed to traffic (for photo shots with bike, so walk in only). But not the Victory column in a roundabout be sure to climb to the top. The infamous old Berlin Wall is now full of very attractive artworks (Opposite a very large Mercedes Office!). On the trip down to Paris, we rode a special MC road going through Belgium, namely Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps; Rt N62Paris.

We stayed in Paris took a train in to the city for a long visit to Sacré-Cœur Basilica and a spin on the Hop-On-Hop-Off bus for several hours. Paris traffic is too much at times. The main reason for our Paris visit this second time on the trip however, was Versailles, closed on our first pass at Easter.

Parking the motorbike was easy, just right up to the left of the main entrance. Here are some tips. 1) Be there at least 30 minutes before opening, 2) avoid Tuesday (Mondays are closed so rush on Tuesday) 3) expect queueing for a minimum of 25-45 minutes at the entrance, triple that if you are late. 4) Bring a rain poncho (you don’t want to leave the queue if there are showers). 5) Try to have done your toilet visits before.

We noticed the queues were unbelievable by the time we left. It was however a great visit.

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OCTOBER 2017

(London 14th Aug)

During the D-Day’s Overlord invasion, the five legendary beaches were; Sword, Juno, Gold, Omaha and Utah. They each have their character and are a good visit.

Just 200 meter up from Utah, we pitched our tent at a campground on holy ground. Next day, a ferry from Cherbourg (Fra) took us to Poole (UK), for quicker access to Lands-End at the bottom left of England, via Dartmoor National Park (Must do). Lands End was well worth the Visit with such a beautiful coastline.

On this trip, as we headed for Ireland, we went straight for Holyhead in Wales and The Irish Ferries, M/S Ulysses to Dublin. It turned out that it is (was 2012) the world’s Largest Car Ferry, so quite impressive. The Main highlights around the Irish “continent” (going clockwise from Dublin) were, Old Military Rd(Wicklow National Park), Copper coast, Ring of Kerry and Dingle Peninsula, Cliff of Moher, Burren, Slieve, Glengesh Pass, The Causeway and once back in Belfast our favourite, the Titanic Museum and the Crown Hotel/Pub!.

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OCTOBER 2017

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Michael and Ann (the royals) GS Road Trip Europe There were many more attractions during our circumnavigation.

After 80% great weather in Ireland (by luck dodging storms), we had many regular showers once back in Lakes district in England. So, we only toured a couple of days up to Glasgow and Edinburgh. However, coming back down in a sunny afternoon, we came across a great MC road, the A107 from Edinburgh to Lockerbie. It gave us hours of pleasure and views. On the way, we had to stop for a parade. There was a Gold Panning opening parade festival and world championship. One of the competitors was Matt Kelava 74, from Ballarat Australia.

The next two days, we took our time to get to London on boring motorways. The last 2.5 hours produced completely torrential rain and 12C In London plus I had to check in for a ÂŁ600-dental repeat surgery of the same tooth root canal problem on that same wet day.

We spent the best of one day in London cleaning the bike for shipping and 4 days around the City with attractions like the world athletics and all the typical London icons.

What an awesome trip it had been (Kilometres Log Below)

OCTOBER 2017

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David Whale Tours Ausralia

O

n our recent travels we passed through the sleepy town of Peterborough SA. A fellow traveller spotted my BMW beanie and told me about motor cycle museum tucked away in a side street in an old church.

Just contact us if you have questions or want to hear about specifics.

Royal (Michael) and Ann

Continued on page 35

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OCTOBER 2017

• BMW trained technicians; • BMW national service technician of 2006 (metro winner), Adrian Cash; • Log Book Service followed by BMW Motorrad Maintenance Schedule; • BMW software used for diagnosis; • Re-set service light, time & distance; • Great deals on the leading brands of motorcycle tyres.

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MERV BONE - Reflects How Things Change - Cont’ Lunch over it was a short ride to my old mate Al’s place outside of Tamworth. Al is the owner of the Rickman Kawasaki which was at the VJMC Rally earlier this year, Tony G will remember that bike I’m sure, impressive.

That night was spent reminiscing about time spent with Nancy and her husband Col over a bourbon or three. Col sold me my first motor bike all those years ago and I was hooked.

Thursday the 31st, we drove to Gunnedah for the funeral, it was big. Nancy and her volunteer’s ran the Waterways Wildlife Park just out of Gunnedah and if you have been there she was the person greeting you. She knew everything about raising Koala’s and caring for sick and injured animals.

Her life’s passion it was.

Friday, ah the first day of spring as I left Al’s at 9am. A barmy 10C as I headed for the Moombi ranges and climbed up to the single lane section. There was that smell again, cow shit and sure enough a green tinge on the road from a cattle truck or two. Stay in the wheel tracks and don’t apex the corners as this stuff can be slippery.

North of Bendemeer I rounded a corner to see a sign, “oil on the road” and to the right the chard, burnt out wreck.

On Thursday a grub stole petrol from the servo at Armadale airport garage, raced down the highway and came around a corner to find a stop moving truck. He slammed into the rear of it and died in a fiery blaze, road closed of many hours.

Karma!

My next stop was up near Bolivia Mountain for about 45 mins. By now the skies had plumes of smoke and haze as the area was engulfed with fire. The police and RFS had stopped traffic from travelling through. I took the opportunity to take a photo and shed my thermal gear.

Under way again, a quick fuel stop at Tenterfield then into Qld again and on to Warwick. A right turn and out to Killarney for the

OCTOBER 2017

35

lovely run over Queen Mary Falls. As I headed towards the range I could see more smoke from the fires in the forest. The view from Carr’s Lookout towards Boonah was poor because of the smoke haze.

There was only one creek crossing to dirty my wheels and no shocks from the free roaming bovines that are in this area.

The rest of the ride was uneventful as I cruised the lovely back roads of Boonah to arrive home by 4.30pm safe and sound.

Thing change, some for good, some bad, depending on how you look at it, that’s life Merv Bone 3663

David Whale Tours Australia continued

The owner was more than happy to chat away about all the bikes on show and a few that weren’t.

He claims that most on view are all in operating order and that he rides them as often as possible.

Well worth the $5 entry fee.

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