Upskilling is a part of life, do it for your riding too
TRIUMPH STREET TRIPLE 765
It’s new, it’s improved, it’s awesome
DUCATI SUPERSPORT
Old principle, great ride
SWM SUPERDUAL
Solid, well-priced adventurer
KTM 390 DUKE
Is this the best small naked?
URAL RANGER
Ready to take on the Sahara
Styling that really does attract attention
HARLEY-DAVIDSON
Does it sing your song?
SLEEPING
There’s
“The road to happiness lies in two simple principles; find what interests you and that you can do well, and put your whole soul into itevery bit of energy and ambition and natural ability you have.”
JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER
GOSFORD CLASSIC CAR MUSEUM
Cars? What about bikes! Yep, they’re there too
BUDGET TOURERS
Got a small budget?
We’ve got tourers for you!
LONG TERMERS
Another new beauty joins us
FINE CHINA
CF Moto show them how it’s done
EDITORIAL
He’s talking all sorts
NEWS
Oh! That’s quite interesting!
WHERE’S THE BEAR
Easy? Well, try and guess to win!
GRIZZLING
He’s stuck his finger in the electrical socket
CLASSIC MORRIS
Flies? What have they got to do with motorcycles!
WHAT SAY YOU?
All sorts are having a say, have you?
NEW BIKE PRICES
Buy it! Now is the best time!
BEARFACED
Should he go back around the world?
BORIS Café racers be gone!
Editor Stuart Woodbury
Contributing Editor J Peter Thoeming
Sales Manager Ralph Leavsey-Moase ralph@ausmotorcyclist.com.au
Photo Editor Nick Wood
Designer Amy Hale
Photographers Nick Wood Photography, Half-Light Photography
Contributors Robert Crick, Jacqui Kennedy, Robert Lovas, Phil Gadd, Boris Mihailovic, Lester Morris, The Possum, Colin Whelan
Australian Motorcyclist Magazine is published by Australian Motorcyclist Magazine Pty Ltd. PO Box 2066, Boronia Park NSW 2111 Phone 0412 220 680.
This publication is copyright. Other than for the purposes of research, study, criticism, review, parody or satire and subject to the conditions prescribed under the Copyright Act 1968, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted without the prior written permission of Australian Motorcyclist Magazine Pty Ltd. Opinions expressed within this publication do not necessarily represent those of Australian Motorcyclist Magazine Pty Ltd. No responsibility is accepted by Australian Motorcyclist Magazine Pty Ltd or the editor for the accuracy of any statement, opinion or advice contained in the text or advertisements. Readers should rely on their own enquiries in making decisions tailored to their own interest.
We encourage you to keep or recycle this magazine.
The
Iwords of wisdom just bubble forth. True.
’VE JUST COME BACK
from Airlie Beach which, unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ll know was obliterated by Cyclone Debbie recently. I was up there for the BMW G 310 R launch and it’s great to see a manufacturer who recognises that an area needs some cash injected into the local economy. Well done BMW for travelling all that way to hold a new model launch.
The name Michael Dunlop will mean something to most of you, although I guess some will have never heard of him. He is the nephew of TT legend Joey Dunlop and the son of TT winner and Irish road racing legend Robert Dunlop. I have just read Michael’s new book – Road Racer – It’s in my blood. It is sort of a tell-all autobiography of the highs and lows of racing with ‘virtually’ no money, and trying to live up to the Dunlop name. I read the 288 pages in two nights. I was hooked in by the love of his father (early on in the book), which I could relate to. One thing that really stood out was that Michael would know when his father was due home, and would wait out the front for him. I used to do this with my father and if he didn’t arrive ‘on time’ I’d do nothing else until he turned up. Trying to show your father that you are good enough to live up to his reputation is something I can also relate to, so I found Michael’s book engaging until I got to the part about Michael’s ‘friendliness’ towards my mate, Cam Donald. I spoke with Cam about this and he mentioned to me that it is “complete bullshit” and in fact it was Cam who had Michael on the ground. There were also no “lawyers” as Michael
mentions, so Cam is a little miffed at the blatant lies in the book. If you want to read it, Michael’s book is available in hard copy and as an e-book.
Our What Say You letters pages have been getting hard to fill lately. Are you all too busy to write to us? Or is it that you find we’re doing a great job and have nothing to write to us about? Is there something else you’d like us to be covering in the magazine? What about telling us about something that has annoyed you about motorcycling – it could be a local council, crap road – or anything! This is ‘your’ magazine so contribute to it and get your name in lights! It won’t take long – a quick email takes no more than a couple of minutes at the most. Send them to contactus@ausmotorcyclist.com.au or stuart@ausmotorcyclist.com.au .
As you read this I am pretty much set for my annual blast around Wakefield Park raceway for the PCRA (Post Classic Racing Association) 1 Hour endurance races. I will be racing a CBR125R in the Commuterlite class (yes, you can laugh), possibly a 250 Proddie bike and I will also be racing my CBR900RR in Pre Modern F1 all with my mate, Dan The Man! We won The ‘Big Bike’ class outright and Pre Modern F1 by a lap last year and if I win this year it will be four years in a row. My usual team mate, Alex Pickett, has to work and was unable to get the time off – the joys of shift work! Wish me luck and if you read this before the 27th of August, and have nothing better to do, come down to Wakefield Park and cheer me on.
Enjoy!
Cheers, Stuart.
DOWN TO ZERO ZERO MOTORCYCLES GONE
Zero Motorcycles is ending consumer sales in Australia and other Asia Pacifi c markets with immediate effect; however, Zero’s police and authority fl eet business (in the US) will continue.
Zero and its distributor partners in the region have invested signifi cant resources into developing these markets over the past several years, but have been unable to build an economically sustainable retail business.
“This decision came after much deliberation, and was the best choice for the business at this time,” said Todd Andersen, VP of Sales, Marketing, and Aftersales.
“However, all of our owners are extremely important to us, and we will continue to provide support to Australian owners through GBT Imports, our exclusive distributor, to ensure a matchless ownership experience is maintained.”
Zero will continually monitor the region for changes in economic and consumer trends that could create more positive market conditions for electric motorcycles in the future. The Bear explains a little more in his Grizzling column.
DOWN, DOWN. PRICES ARE DOWN MOTORCYCLES SALES STILL DOWN
Half-yearly motorcycle sales for 2017 have totalled 50,908 compared with 53,084 for the same January – June period in 2016. The April to June sales period recovered some of the ground lost in the fi rst quarter of 2017 when sales dipped by 6.7 per cent, fuelling industry expectations for a positive second-half outcome. Both the road and off-road segments declined during the fi rst half of 2017 however, whilst road bikes are down 12.8 per cent, sales in the offroad segment recovered sharply in the second half and are now running only 1.7 per cent behind the YTD 2016 results.
overall among the road bikes with 4433 sales for the fi rst half, followed by Honda (4201 sales) and Yamaha (2865). Overall, Honda is Australia’s topselling motorcycle brand with 12,608 sales (YTD 2017) (thank god for the Postie!), followed by Yamaha (9827 sales), Kawasaki (4567) and Harley-Davidson (4433).
We have been told manufacturers are desperate to move stock, so now is the time to be getting to your local dealer to haggle out a great price on that new bike you’ve always wanted!
GOING SOCIAL
CASSONS ONLINE
Cassons Motorcycle Accessories is now on Facebook and Instagram. For Instagram search: @cassonsaustraliamotorcycle and for Facebook, search: Cassons Australia Motorcycle.
LET’S GO TOURING! AUSTRALIAN MOTORCYCLIST READERS TOUR
Harley-Davidson narrowly retained its top-selling status
We are in the fi nal stages of preparing our next readers tour for 2018 and it will more than likely be to Vietnam. All the details will be revealed in the next issue. Who’s coming with us? D
THE TRIUMPH STREET
Triple has always been the fun machine of the naked Triumph range. It is light, manageable, and the 675-triple engine would sing sweet tunes all the way from idle up to the rev limiter.
But there’s a new King of the Street with a rearrangement of numbers in its title that would confuse even those that are half- normal. Welcome the Street Triple 765.
Not only has engine-size been increased, but the entire bike has had a thorough going-over.
The Street Triple range consists of four bikes – the 660 Street Triple S LAMS model, Street Triple 765 S, Street Triple 765 R and the top of the range Street Triple 765 RS. You can also get a low-seat R version, which I guess could be classed as the fifth model!
The engine is simply not just a bigger bore, it is much more than that. To give you a run down, here are the extensive revisions in the new triple –765cc displacement which comes from an increased 78mm (increased from 74mm) bore and increased stroke of 53.4mm (up from 52.3mm). There are
over 80 new engine components, new high-volume induction and exhaust system, new improved gearbox design which consists of a shorter first and second gear, along with a more slick gear-change, a new slip assist clutch on the R and RS, and Euro 4 homologation. A quickshifter (only for up-changes) is standard on the RS versions, but can be fitted to the S and R as an accessory.
Besides the RS decals, the easiest way to identify the RS is via the bellypan
THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING
Meet a full-on track and street weapon. The all-new race-bred 765cc inline triple powered street fighter that delivers an astounding wall of torque at 77Nm @ 10,800rpm, and a game-changing power output of 123PS @ 11,700rpm, 16% up on the previous generation. With an avalanche of rider-focused technology, razor-sharp looks and lightweight agile handling, courtesy of its range-topping suspension, tyres and brakes, it’s the most explosive Street Triple we’ve ever made. To find out more visit triumphmotorcycles.com.au
Of the 765 models, each has a different power/torque curve which does make each bike feel different to ride. The S model has 83kW and 73Nm which makes it feel similar to the outgoing 675 model just smoother, as power and torque are slightly up. The R has 87kW and 77Nm, with the RS topping at 90kW and 77Nm, but there is one big key here that makes the R a much better engine to ride on both the road and track – the power is higher all the way from 3000 – 10,200rpm with a much smoother/more linear power curve through the entire range, whereas the RS does have another 3kW/5hp above 11,000rpm but up to that point the power curve is nowhere near as smooth. How this relates to actually riding the bike/ Well, you have more feel with the throttle and having more, smoother power with the same torque curve makes the bike accelerate faster. Backing up and controlling the bike is an extensive electronics package. A new, smart-looking TFT dash is fitted to both the R and RS (the S gets the same analogue tacho as the previous model) and this new dash is like a mini computer! The dash is full-colour, angle adjustable, has six different screen configurations on the RS and three on the R, gear position indicator, lap timer on the RS (only), all the usual bike info – temp, trip metres and so on, and yes, there’s a fuel gauge; and to finish off there are even self-cancelling indicators, and all the features are controlled by a five-way joystick on the left switch block.
A number of rider modes are featured on each model. The S has Rain and Road, the R comes with Rain, Road, Sport and Rider. The RS has the same modes as the R but with the addition of a Track setting. The most important feature I see is the Rider mode where you can set the power, ABS, and traction control to just how you like
them. I went with Sport power (full power), Track ABS (front only) on the road, and off for track riding. The modes can be changed while riding, except for changing to ‘Rider’ which requires you to come to a stop, so it can sort the change to the ABS.
For the tech-heads the electronics, which include ride-by-wire throttle in addition to the CAN system, uses a LIN system (Local Interconnect Network) for rider controls and instrumentation functions managed by the switch cubes and new TFT instrument panel – these bikes are getting smarter by the day!
A lighter, stiffer frame with a Gullwing-styled swingarm looks sexy and works beautifully. Matched to the Showa (on the R) and Öhlins on the RS there is no over-flexing and the frame is precise in changes of direction. Suspension on the RS however was not as good as I was expecting. Öhlins has fitted much lighter springs than I would expect for the premium model which lets the rear sag too much – taking weight off the front wheel, whereas the R sits higher in the rear and puts the right amount of weight on the front tyre. For the track I did have front and rear adjusted (on both the R and RS) with the Öhlins rear spring being wound down a long way to get some sort of stiffness into it. If not for the sticky Pirelli Supercorsa tyres on the RS it would be hard to push. The R comes with Pirelli Rosso Corsa II tyres which offer less grip than the RS tyres, but I could still ride the R seconds faster around the rough layout of Lakeside
Raceway in Queensland. The basis of the Öhlins suspension is top class, but if you buy the RS get the springs sorted for your weight and style of riding –you’ll thank me later for it.
Braking on each model is different. The S comes with basic two-piston Nissin front calipers; the R has Brembo M4.32 and the RS has the awesome Brembo M50 calipers. The RS also comes with a ratio-adjustable master cylinder where you can change from 19, 20 and 21ratios with 21 offering more aggressive braking and feel and 19 being a great road setting for dodgy conditions like rain or rough bitumen. Build-quality is top class as per all the latest Triumph models. Every aspect of the bike has been looked at and finished off to be a premium product and I like that! It also makes you feel proud to own one as you can sit there and gaze over your bike with all the amazing different aspects and angles there are to enjoy.
Accessories are extensive and beautifully done, complementing the various aspects of the Street Triple. I quite like the neatly packaged Arrow slip-on muffler and the swingarm protection kit which stops your boot from rubbing any paint off.
Picking which model from the range depends on, A: Budget, and B: The level of features you want. I gelled most with the Street Triple 765 R on both the road and track. If it came down to choosing where my money would go, I’d get the R with the accessory quickshifter fi tted and I’d be happy as a pig in mud. D
WARRANTY: Two years, unlimited distance
SERVICING INTERVALS: Every 15,000km or 12 months
ENGINE: Liquid-cooled triple cylinder, 4-stroke, DOHC, 4 valves per cylinder
BRAKES: Front, twin 310mm discs with radial mount four-piston ABS calipers (R&RS). Rear, 220mm disc, single-piston ABS caliper.
FUEL CONSUMPTION: N/A
THEORETICAL RANGE: N/A
COLOURS: Diablo Red, Phantom Black (S), Jet Black, Matt Aluminium Silver, Crystal White (R), Matt Silver Ice, Phantom Black (RS).
VERDICT: BE THE STREET
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Photo:
Ducati SuperSport launch
TAKE A CONCEPT
that has sold many tens (if not hundreds) of thousands worldwide, put an Italian badge on it, give it a catchy name and hola, you’ve got the new Ducati Supersport and Supersport S! The concept? The ever popular Honda VFR800. The light sports tourer with a punchy engine is back and you’ll realise that the hype surrounding the release of Ducati’s new Supersports is completely justified once you ride one. Pick either the ‘base’ Supersport or the higher spec S version. There are several differences between the models; the extras fitted to the S model include Ohlins suspension, up and down quickshifter, passenger seat cowl, USB socket and the Ducati Multimedia System. Ducati has aimed the Supersports a bit more on the sporty side of the sports tourer ‘platform’. The
bikes have more upright bars than a sports bike, and the seat is more comfortable.
Housed in the famous Ducati trellis frame is a ‘new’ 937cc twin which is focused towards torque rather than outright horsepower, and rightly so. Eighty per cent of the 96.7Nm of torque is available from 3000rpm and
then progresses to stay above 90% all the way to 9000rpm – excellent for touring and for sports road riding. You don’t really feel the ‘smallish’ amount of power (83.1kW) thanks to the punchiness of the torque. So, in laymen’s terms it’s a lazy engine that can be ridden in a higher gear and will still provide amazing fun in use.
Handling is on the comfortable side of sporty too – it’s not too hard, nor too soft. The base model has Marzocchi forks and a Sachs shock, whereas the S version has Ohlins front and rear. I found both versions work well but of course the better damping of the Ohlins offers just that much better feel.
Being reasonably lightweight at 210kg wet helps make the Supersports easy to manage no matter your size. A variety of different-sized riders were on the launch with everyone finding the bike easy to deal with.
Ergonomics are well suited to sport and touring riding as you would
expect. An 810mm seat height lets you get a foot on the ground and the seat to peg height and seat to bar reach are relaxed enough for 300km odd trips before having a break. Accessory lower or higher seats are available if you need to tune the bike to your size. The screen is also adjustable by 50mm on a push-forward pull-up lever arrangement. You can also get a higher screen for more protection.
Brembo braking and Bosch ABS take care of the stopping duties and as expected they do an excellent job with tons of power and feel.
Electronics are extensive, as with most of the rest of the Ducati range. The Ducati Safety Pack (DSP) consists of three levels of ABS and eight levels of traction control. I liked having the ABS set on Level 1, which is front ABS only, as an all-round road and track package. We did ride on a private road so we could unleash a bit and explore the limits of both ABS and traction which I preferred to see switched off.
Three riding modes are available – Sport, Touring or Urban. Each mode can be setup with variables like a certain ABS setting, power setting and/or traction setting. On the S version you can also select how you want the quickshifter to work – off, up only or up and down.
Build quality is something you would not have seen before – there are no visible screws/plugs on the fairings which gives a sleek and high quality appearance. Add in the LED lights, indicators built into the mirrors and high class paintwork and the pricing of each version will give you a happy smile that you’ve got value for money.
Accessories are plentiful. Ducati had one accessorised bike on display during the launch which had a heap of carbon and the exquisite high mount twin muffl er Akrapovic exhaust (which sounds bloody good by the way!). Ducati also offers three accessory packs to make things simple – Sport, Touring and Urban with each providing a range of items suitable for each purpose. And don’t forget there’s now a whole range of Ducati rider wear for both men and women to really complete the look. Ducati is marketing the new Supersports as “Sport, made light”. This is not what you’re thinking as in “lightweight”; rather, the word “light” means easy to ride. But they’ve missed one word in that slogan – “fun”! I really think you’ll enjoy either version but for my money, the S is featured packed for the price. D
ENGINE: Liquid-cooled L-twin cylinder, 4-stroke, DOHC, 4 valves per cylinder
BRAKES: Front, twin 320mm discs with radial mount four-piston ABS calipers. Rear, 245mm disc, dual-piston ABS caliper.
FUEL CONSUMPTION: N/A
THEORETICAL RANGE: N/A
COLOURS: Ducati Red, S: Ducati Red, Star White Silk
VERDICT: DUCATI - LIGHT
Seats
Riding Suits
GOSFORD CLASSIC CAR MUSEUM
Bunnings never looked so good!
WORDS/ PHOTOS STUART
THE GOSFORD CLASSIC
Car Museum has just turned over its 100,000th visitor in the twelve months it’s been open (not bad!). Ralph and I were invited up to Gosford to have a look at the place, which is not far off the freeway. It is the old Bunnings hardware building at Stockyard Place in West Gosford. It can be a little tricky to find, but as you come down the hill from the F3 turn left at the first set of lights on Manns
Road and the museum is only a couple of seconds away.
It claims to have the largest collection of cars in the Southern Hemisphere and is one of the 5 largest in the world with over 450 cars and bikes. When you walk inside you certainly get a grasp of just how large a collection it is. It’s also an expensive collection, estimated to be worth around $70 million.
Unlike a number of other museums around the country, the entire collection is privately owned. It has been no mean feat to amass it; a full time buyer is employed to find the best, the rarest,
Gosford Classic Car Museum
3-13 Stockyard Place, West Gosford NSW
Open Wed-Sun 9am-5pm
info@gosfordclassiccarmuseum.com.au
www.gosfordclassiccarmuseum.com.au
Tickets available at the door - $20 Adult
the quirky and the exquisite from around the world, all for us to look at and enjoy.
A small selection of bikes adorns the various ‘world’ sections in the floorplan, but we were told by marketing manager Kim Bradley that the number of motorcycles is on the increase with various models constantly being sought. If you happen to have a collectable motorcycle in excellent condition I reckon it could be worth a call to see if the museum wants to have a look at buying it.
On average it will take around two to three hours to wander through the collection and at the end of your wander there is a nice souvenir shop on your way out. One of the things that really makes the museum interesting is that they turn over twenty or more vehicles every month, so returning for another visit every six months or so would be a whole other experience
to be enjoyed. This is a big ‘selling’ point for me. Once you’ve seen most museums, you’re not really going to see new attractions for many years, but at the Gosford Classic Car Museum seeing new additions is a certainty! The location of the museum also makes for an awesome day out riding to and from Sydney. There are a number of routes to choose from, the most popular being the Old Pacific
Ralph’s favourite car and bike
Ford GT40, Moto Guzzi Stornello 160
1. Brand spanker!
2. Plenty of Aussie muscle to enjoy
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TRAVEL
Highway and the lovely ride out through Wisemans Ferry so make it a big day out and ride some twisties on your way to visit the museum, enjoy some lunch and a coffee at the onsite 1964 Airstream American Diner (worth seeing in itself) and then ride some more twisties on your way home –what better way to enjoy a day out by yourself or with a group of mates! Clubs can book to visit the Museum with a designated area to park your bikes while you peruse the lovely vehicles inside.
Visiting the Gosford Classic Car Museum is certainly a must do. Ralph and I had a great day out riding to and from the Museum and then soaking up the amazing display of cars and bikes. It’s also a cheap day out – only twenty bucks to get you through the door! D
Stuart’s favourite car and bike
Ferrari 250GTO, Ducati 450 Race Bike
1. Militaria is outside the entrance
2. The Kombi Keg!
The Great River Road, Part 2
BLUES, BEER, BBQ & BOURBON ALONG BIG MUDDY TRAVEL
WORDS & PHOTOS THE BEAR
If Route 66 is a journey through the heart of America, then the Great River Road is a trip through its viscera. Billed as America’s Greatest Drive and the oldest of the many National Scenic Byways, it was just begging for a look; but the view I found for Part 2 of this story was not entirely expected.
ONE AFTERNOON when I was looking for fuel, I came to Cairo, Illinois. The view that met me down the main street could have been a scene from a dystopian movie like The Road. I was riding through a townscape that was simply devastated. Houses and shops looked
Motel quality varies widely; check out the room before you commit.
abandoned, with the wind plucking at advertising signs long bleached by the sun and washed out by the rain. Every second building had been demolished. A few people stood around in small groups or sat on the kerb. Cairo’s ‘Historic District’ had been knocked down except for a boarded-up movie house – and an iron archway across the road, with rusted letters announcing the no longer present district. On my ride through town on the broken roadway I counted seven buildings that looked as if they had once been service stations. Five of them were simply abandoned; one was some kind of community centre offering food stamps, and the other was now a liquor shop advertising a litre of vodka for $6.60 with a ragged, sun-bleached sign. The only prosperous-looking places in town were the Ford dealership, oddly enough, and a couple of Federal buildings which looked like well-kept fortresses. Their lawns were the only bits of flat land not swamped by rubbish.
Frankly, I would have been reluctant to stop even if there had been anything for me to buy. I turned around. There was no way I was going to get fuel here, unless I was ready to test the Springfield’s capability to run on ethanol… but $6.60 a litre was a bit steep for the bike.
While you might think, as I did, that cotton is the primary crop in the Mississippi Delta, corn and sugar cane are giving it a run for its money these days. All three of them are of course planted and harvested by giant machines in even more gigantic fields; no human labour is required except for the machine drivers, and even they are gradually being replaced by technology working within laser grids. If President Trump is going to bring jobs back to the Delta, he’s going to have to find something other than agriculture to provide them.
But both corn and sugar can easily be turned into ethanol, and – would you believe it – ethanol is just really strong
vodka. Coincidence? I’ll let you decide. The weird thing is that there are two parts to just about every town down here. The centre of town is usually devastated, and that is not an exaggeration. But around that brokendown core there is often a belt of well-kept houses in green gardens with new cars in the driveways and an almost Leave It To Beaver atmosphere. The people who live in that belt are almost exclusively white. Segregation in effect? I don’t know; I’m glad I only have to write about the South, not make sense of it for you. One thing I would like to emphasize is that no matter where I was, among black or white people, I always felt safe.
For the rest of the way to Memphis I think I made a mistake. Instead of crossing to and fro between Missouri, Arkansas, Kentucky and Tennessee, I stayed on the western side of the river at first and then crossed just once, which meant I missed out Kentucky almost entirely. Considering that this
is the State where Tennessee whiskey comes from, this might seem like a strange oversight; but most of the whiskey is made further to the east. Memphis deserves a story all of its own, and I think I’ll write that one day soon. After all, it doesn’t just have bags of its own attractions; it lies among some of the best motorcycle roads in the US, as well. But let me hit the high - and maybe some of the low - points here.
I missed the World Championship Barbecue Cookoff by a day, and though I was desperately disappointed it didn’t really matter that much; Memphis and ribs, as well as other barbecue
1. There’s been no home cooking served here for many a day.
2. The swamps have a dark, moody beauty all their own.
3. Highway 61, the Blues Highway – Bob Dylan knew what he was writing about.
4. I have no idea what it was, but it was certainly huge.
5. Seven bucks a litre, eh? Sounds like party night… every night?
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specialties, might as well be spelled the same. Beale Street, which I had expected to be just a hokey tourist trap turned out to be a hokey tourist trap that was an incredible amount of fun.
A lot of that was due to all the other people, many of them bulky enough to make three people, who were having huge amounts of fun.
I snapped a couple of substantial black ladies wearing t-shirts advertising some kind of sorority reunion. “Hey,” said one of them, “there’s six of us!” As she looked for the others to get into the shot, I demurred. “I couldn’t even handle you by yourself!” I said. “Oh,” she shouted over the aggregate noise, “it might be worth a try!”
Memphis city has many empty lots, like most towns and cities in the Delta, but it also has a flash section of downtown centred on the nearlegendary Peabody Hotel on Main Street. A little way out, and definitely not flash, is the Lorraine Motel where Martin Luther King Jr was assassinated. The place is a shrine now, and part of a respectful museum. Across the road is the Blues Hall of Fame and there are several more or less famous restaurants nearby. Further out, along another main road, is Graceland. I’ve visited Elvis’ birthplace in Tupelo, the small wooden house that his father built and which has been relocated into a park, so it
2. This is a single serving at BB King’s Blues Club. Check the deep-fried pickles.
3. BB King isn’t just a blues legend; he knows how to make a buck, too.
4. The Mark Twain Guest House looked good enough to move in. So I did.
5. How come this damn riverboat followed me everywhere I went?
6.That’s Sue at Indian of New Orleans. She’s a lot of fun, and helpful as well.
1. Here we are in Memphis, outside the justly famous Sun Studio.
it seemed only natural that I’d also take a look at his home. I paid the $10 for parking and wandered up to the complex of modern buildings which forms the beginning of the Graceland “experience” – you take a minibus across the road to the real building – and gradually realized as I dug my way through everything from Elvis keyrings to bobble heads, shot glasses and endless t-shirts that I didn’t want to be there.
I’m not sure why I felt like that. It wasn’t a matter of commercialization. That started a long time back, when “Colonel Tom Parker” (real name Andreas Cornelis van Kuijk) took over Elvis’ management. I turned back, blowing my ten bucks’ worth of parking, and headed instead for Sun Studio, billed as “the birthplace of rock ‘n’ roll” but in fact so much more. The place is a tourist attraction during the day but still functions as a recording studio at night, and it feels like it. I’ve spent considerable time in studios, photographing Australian blues musicians, and I felt at home straight away. The cheap tour is priceless; you get to see where Elvis stood when he was recording (take that, Graceland) and the anecdotes are wonderful.
“God dammit this is great,” said a red-headed bloke who looked like an overweight Irish truckie. His girlfriend, in a blue Beatles t-shirt, cradled the microphone Elvis had used and crooned to it like a baby. Others peered respectfully at the memorabilia, including a small radio transmission booth that had been used by a famous DJ, rescued from a downtown hotel. You are in the presence of The King, of Johnny Cash, of Jerry Lee Lewis and of many more musical giants.
3.
1. Causeway over Lake Pontchartrain… is that spelling right?
2. Pickup band blowing in Bourbon Street in New Orleans. Good jazz.
See the cross? That’s where Elvis stood when he was recording.
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some excellent home-barbecued ribs near the crossroad made my day. My night… meh. There was no live music on offer, but I was buggered anyway so I checked into a cheap, vaguely musty motel which appeared to be frequented by plainclothes police.
I couldn’t get directions in Greenville for the back road I wanted to follow to Rolling Fork, Muddy Waters’ birthplace. Finally, I stopped at the municipal centre and wandered into the mayor’s office. The man himself was chatting with a bloke in orange overalls whom I took to be one of the town engineers.
The Spirits of Australia
God dammit it was great.
My first destination after Memphis was Tunica with its Gateway to the Blues Museum in an old railway station on Highway 61. This is a top place, small but filled with an outstanding selection of instruments and other memorabilia. You can even record your own blues song; beat that! The funny thing about this place is that the displays are just about all owned by the Harrah gambling group, who have a big casino nearby. How nice is it of them to lend the stuff to the museum!
I was right into blues country now. Next stop was Clarksdale, and I must
admit that I have only ever stood in one other place where the Devil is reliably reported to have appeared. That was in Wartburg castle in Germany where Martin Luther (the original) threw an inkpot at the Evil One who kept bugging him. In Clarksdale, at the crossroads where Highways 61 and 49 meet, Robert Johnson allegedly sold his soul to ol’ Lucifer in return for guitar skills. Traffic must have been a lot slower then; if you tried to do a deal with the Devil here today you’d be run over before you’d even got your blood on the contract.
A reverent wander around the Delta Blues Museum next to the tourist information office and a look at Ike Turner’s former home (how unlikely is a skiing accident as the cause of death of a blues legend?) followed by
I like Qantas, for several reasons. The seats are okay, the food is pretty acceptable these days, the service is good and the Bourbon bottles appear to be near bottomless. This is important to me. When you change the TV program or film you are watching, you do not have to go through the interminable and identical advertising that Emirates, for example, obliges you to endure. The timing of overseas flights is not brilliant, but that’s more down to Sydney airport’s curfew than anything else. Even the Frequent Flyer system is not too bad although not as consumerfocused as it could be.
But there is one thing I definitely do not like, and that is the way the airline forces its employees to lie to passengers (unless there’s an explanation I can’t see). Ask for an upgrade when you arrive for your flight, and you will be obliged quite happily, as I was in DFW. But only if you’re paying cash; not when you want to pay with points. Here comes the explanation: upgrading you on points is impossible because the catering can’t be arranged at such short notice. So… why is it possible to upgrade you for cash? Someone is telling porkies, and I felt quite let down as I told the front desk lady that no, I didn’t want to pay $1200 or so for an upgrade.
Not nice, Mr Joyce.
The motel where Martin Luther King Jr was shot is now a shrine.
He cheerfully took me outside, gave me explicit directions and then, probably mistaking me for a New Yorker, sighed.
“Tell ’em up north that we’re not really behind the times down here, will you?” he said. “We even have running water now.”
“You do?”
“Well, we’re getting it next week.” I promised, and here I’ve done it – even though it’s even further south, not north.
Riding the back roads on the Springfield was pure pleasure.
Occasional quick rain showers were dealt with by the windscreen, the leather seat was so comfortable that
1. Just some of the reference material available for this ride.
2. Playing for tips on Beale Street, Memphis. Good, genuine music.
3. That’s the sign of good eatin’: a home-built barbecue parked outside.
I hardly noticed it and the purr of the 111-cubic inch engine was both companionable and reassuring. It was nice that people constantly admired the bike, too.
And that was pretty much the pattern for my ride: get up, desperately search for coffee, not ‘coffee’, and ride into the morning that was already heating up. Track down a little blues museum or just one of the many historic markers, drink my lunch, more riding and then a search for a convenient motel with a barbecue bar handy. Live music was a bonus, and I unfortunately didn’t find much; apparently the time for that is during one of the many festivals. I did limit my food intake to one meal a day, usually dinner, because I simply can’t eat as much as Americans do. Despite my initial worries about returning as a chubba, I actually lost a kilo during the trip. So that proves that beer is not fattening.
Vicksburg is a pretty, little, touristy town where the American Queen, one of the remaining riverboats, caught up with me again. She’d been following me down the river from St Louis by way of Memphis and now Vicksburg; she continued to follow me to Natchez and then to New Orleans. She’s full of geriatrics who apparently pay $600 a day each for “the pleasure of sitting on your ass” as one of the passengers told me. I discovered here that I do not like tamales, and that a view of the river
bridges from your motel room at sunset can be awe-inspiring. While I was down by the levee photographing the American Queen (the riverboat) I met three Texan ladies. They allowed as how the grandfather of two of them had been a riverboat captain, and that the phrase “high falutin’” was derived from the ‘falutins’’, the smoke stacks of the riverboats. If you were high falutin’, your stacks were higher than everyone else’s and you didn’t have to breathe their smoke. Don’t tell me travel doesn’t broaden your mind, now.
In Natchez I rode a bit of the Trace for old time’s sake; it is to motorcycling what their pills are to ADHD sufferers. The quiet green beauty and thoughtful surveying calm you right down and make the 50mph speed limit seem like the most natural thing in the world… Overnight I stayed in the Mark Twain Boarding House down in Natchez Under the Hill. The place only has three rooms, so I might even have stayed in his. I couldn’t pass Breaux Bridge with its Saturday morning Cajun dance. On the road again, I stopped at St Martinville for lunch and had the best hamburger I have ever had at the Kajun King Oyster Bar opposite the church. It’s a fair stretch down to Venice at the mouth of the Mississippi and I stopped south of New Orleans to fill the bike. As I came into the office to pay, the two ladies behind the counter
1. Park your bike and wander across the road to catch live music in New Orleans.
2. I had the best hamburger I’ve ever had behind this unpromising façade.
3. That’s Rick or John holding my beer. It’s a long story, but he told it well.
4. Sunday afternoon barbecue for the family. These people have the tools!
5. This is what bbq ribs are all about, with chili beans and potato salad.
Nothing about the end of the world.”
were just giving directions to a young bloke who was heading in the same direction as I was.
“Just follow the road, and after Port Sulphur you’ll see it on the right,” said the older of the two, a white woman whose tooth was desperately looking for company.
“I hear there’s some dangerous people down there,” replied the young fellow.
“I live down there,” said her colleague, a large young black woman. “Do I look dangerous?” He backed out of the office with an apologetic smile, and I couldn’t help myself.
“I don’t know… you look like you might do some damage,” I said with a grin.
She smiled back. She had all her teeth. “Why, I’m just a sweet li’l thang!”
After riding all the way from Minneapolis, I didn’t make it to the end of the road. There was water over a fair stretch of it just near the end, and it looked like salt water. You don’t take other people’s bikes into salt water. Not that it apparently mattered. A bloke in a car who did brave the water – it’s amazing what rental cars can stand –rather glumly said when he got back, “There’s just a sign that says you’re at the most southerly point of Louisiana.
“Y’ can park right outside th’ room,” drawled the desk clerk as she handed me the room key that night at – yes, another Days Inn on the outskirts of N’orlens. Seeing that this was right on the street, I wondered whether there was a safer place to leave the bike. Just like all the other desk clerks whom I’d asked that question, she looked at me in surprise. Nobody, she assured me, would touch the bike because it was covered by one of their CCTV cameras. I locked it up and hoped for the best, and it was still there in the morning.
Not all of the clerk’s advice turned out to be so easy. When I asked about somewhere to eat, she waved her hand and told me that I just needed to walk two streets down to find a whole bunch of restaurants. Now the trouble is that ‘streets’ in this case are main roads; side streets don’t count. I didn’t know that, so I began to wonder about the directions when I encountered a Shoney’s restaurant. I shall draw a veil of silence over my experience there, except to say that the fried catfish sandwich was the worst meal I have ever been offered in my life. In my life, no kidding. You would not have given it to a brown dog. And the upholstery had been slashed. And one of the other diners was packing – a neat little automatic at his belt. Oh, right, I said I’d draw that veil of silence…
The trick to scoring a reasonable
room rate at one of the big hotels in New Orleans is to ring as early as you can after 6.00am and ask what their best promotional rate is. I got a single room (only one Queen size bed) with free parking for $64 a day plus tax, which is about a third of the rack pricing. For a visitor, the Big Easy is a terrific place. It’s all set up for you, with a huge variety of bars, restaurants, bakeries and whatnot else. Prices are pretty reasonable, and best of all there’s music on practically every street corner. Even at night, most of the bands in the bars play for tips and there are no cover charges. Tip well; that’s all the income these people have.
I left the Springfield parked for a couple of days – most of the New Orleans tourist area is walkable – and got my fill of music and Cajun food, along with some excellent craft beer and the occasional daiquiri. Then I rode out to Indian of New Orleans to turn in the bike, caught a cab to the airport… and you can probably figure out the rest for yourself.
Oh, and I nearly forgot. Those Texan ladies I met in Vicksburg also told me that the folks along the Mississippi have no idea how to barbecue. Texans are the ones who know. So it seems like another trip is due some time…
Our thanks to everyone I encountered on this trip, but especially Indian Motorcycles and Guido Ebert. D
The band at one of the cafés on Decatur Street, playing for tips.
Bear arMY
Good times in Gulgon
WORDS the bear ph O t OS john fox
The Bear a rmy’s Southern Manoeuvres in Gulgong were a total disaster. Fights broke out in the bar, motorcycles were vandalised in the night and the weather was appalling. The entire town joined in barring the Army from ever coming within a cockie’s mile of the place again. The drag races in the main street resulted in several tyres blowing out, and serious damage to an historic building. Three members, including The Bear, spent part of the night in the lockup.
“It IS a traDItION tHat trOOPerS BUY tHe GeNeral a Beer”
Okay. Happy? That paragraph was inserted to make the half dozen troopers who were prevented from attending, feel better about missing a briliant event. None of the things above are true, of course, and everyone thoroughly enjoyed the hospitality of the Prince of Pubs, er, the Prince of Wales. Much wisdom was uttered and many of the pedestrian problems of the world were solved quickly and effectively. Shame none of us could remember the solutions in the morning. Still, it gives us something to talk about at the next manoeuvres in September. There are two a year, with the location and timing set by the General, otherwise known as The Bear.
Bear Army manoeuvres consist of an afternoon of informal debating and drinking, followed by an evening of dining and drinking and a night of more informal debating. And drinking. Responsibly of course. There is no formal structure and there are no rules as such; we’re all there to have a good time and meet the fellow troopers we’ve met before, as well as those we haven’t met. Many clubs and other organisations of motorcyclists work for road safety or raise funds for charities. We salute their members and the people who organise events for them. They are doing a wonderful and vital job. However, the Bear Army is designed to be as low maintenance and low stress (and low expense, when possible) as it can be. Many if not most of our troopers are also members of clubs which raise funds and so on.
Becoming a member of the Bear Army is very simple. Just send us your t-shirt size, address details including (this is vital) email address and $250 and you get a two year subscription to Austraalian MOTORCYCLIST Magazine, a Bear Army t-shirt and brass badge and a selection of stickers. There are no further payments (except to resubscribe to the magazine when your sub runs out) and no obligations. Oh, well, a little respect for senior staff, I suppose. That’s me. In case you’re interested in joining up, there are plenty of places left. Just drop a note to info@ausmotorcyclist. com.au. Oh, I nearly forgot; it is a tradition that troopers buy the General a beer, or a glass of wine with dinner. D
1
6 5
1. Check the eyes on the bloke behind the bar…
2. It’s early afternoon and already The Bear is fuzzy.
3. Who said Ducatis have one forward and five reverse gears…
4. The 1st Division Newcastle Heavy Horse was there.
5. The scene of the Manoeuvres, the Prince of Pubs.
6. So many wineries, so little time.
LAUNCH TEAROUTMAP#55
THE NORTH OF THE SOUTH
South Island New Zealand 1 WORDS/PHOTOS THE BEAR
WE’RE GOING ABOUT
our guide map differently this (and next) month. Instead of showing you the good roads in the South Island, we’re showing you the good roads you might miss. The reason is simple, of course. If I were to show you all the good roads, even the ones you’ve probably read about, I could just colour in all the roads in the island… yes, it’s that good. But shown on this map are a few goodies you might otherwise miss. That still includes quite a few roads, so I’ve divided the island into two; here’s the first half, roughly north of Christchurch. Towns are listed alphabetically, not in order of size or importance.
BLACKBALL
A small coalmining town off the main State Highway 7, Blackball is unremarkable except for the pub. Named, possibly under the influence of one too many Monteith’s Black, the Blackball Hilton it attracted the ire of
Hilton International who forced them to drop the name. It is now called ‘Formerly the Blackball Hilton’. Don’t try to outwit the kiwis – not if you’re American, anyway. You can also buy the unique local salami.
BLENHEIM
A quiet town set among wineries, the main attraction of Blenheim to me are the air museums at the Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre. Both WW1 and WW2 aircraft are displayed, with the knockout attraction being Sir Peter Jackson’s WW1 displays including a swatch cut from the Red Baron’s aircraft. This is possibly the best air museum I’ve ever seen, and I visit a lot of them.
CULVERDEN
There’s nothing really remarkable at Culverden, which is a good spot to fuel up and otherwise resupply. Last time I was there, there was no mobile phone reception. I don’t know if that’s normal.
GREYMOUTH
While Greymouth matches its name in some ways, being a bit industrial (fairly unusual in Unzud) it does hold one of the proudest fi rms in either island: Monteith’s Brewing. Tours are available, hours being 11am-9pm November to April and 11am8pm the rest of the year. Book on line. They have good, wellpriced tucker, too.
HANMER SPRINGS
High in the mountains and with an excellent hot spring centre, Hanmer Springs also has some good restaurants and a pub that’s tucked away on the main drag. Plenty of motels.
HURUNUI
Nothing here except a pub, but it’s historic and makes a good stop. It offers both Monteith’s and food. Maybe Speight’s, too.
The bridge to Hanmer Springs.
www.hemamaps.com.au
THE NORTH OF THE SOUTH
YELLOW
ROUTE
QUEEN CHARLOTTE DRIVE
HAVELOCK TO PICTON
This 30km road cuts the trip between Nelson and Picton by a considerable distance, but that’s not why you should sample it. It is just about the perfect motorcycle road, varying between climbs and descents through mountainous terrain and short, quick straights on the farming flats. It offers spectacular views across to the rugged country that surrounds the many fjords reaching north from the island. Highly recommended, but probably best during the day. At night the possums come out to play.
BLUE ROUTE
GREYMOUTH TO MURCHISON
As long as the cliffs haven’t shed too much rock onto the roadway beneath and there’s no ice on the bridges, this is possibly the best bit of road in New Zealand – which would make it close to the best in the world.
After a relatively unpromising start, Highway 6 hugs the beach on one side and the cliffs on the other before opening up for some quick riding between Barrytown and Punakaiki. After that it becomes even more adventurous with cuttings through small spurs,
bridges and short open sections. You get some rest after Charleston before turning right with the highway and powering up through the Buller Gorge and some challenging mountain riding before you reach Murchison. Along the way you have the option of turning off for Reefton or Springs Junction.
GREEN ROUTE
LEWIS PASS
WAIPARA TO GREYMOUTH
Of course you know that there are three passes over the mountains between the west and east coasts, but Haast and Arthur’s tend to get all the publicity. Lewis in fact has some of the most stunning scenery in the entire South Island, and also offers some wonderful riding. Turn off Highway 1 just north of Christchurch at Waipara and continue north on Highway 7.
Don’t miss a quick stop at Hurunui. Past Culverden, keep left and stay on 7 where 70 takes off to Waiau and Kaikoura. Up and over and you’re at the Hanmer Springs turnoff. From here you follow the Waiau and Hope rivers upstream with some wonderful views of both the river valleys and the snowy peaks on the other side. Lewis Pass itself comes up quite quickly once the road turns north. It turns west again and takes you to Springs Junction with its café and petrol
station and the option to take Highway 65 to Murchison. From here it’s a wonderful run along the Inangahua River to Reefton, where you turn left and continue the fun to Ikamatua. Turn off to the right here onto the Atarau Road which takes you through farmland to Blackball. Its continuation along the Grey River ends in Greymouth with the Monteith’s Brewery.
ORANGE ROUTE
MOLESWORTH TRACK/ ACHERON ROAD
Dashwood to Hanmer Springs
This mainly unsealed 200km road/track has the reputation of being fairly tough, but I’ve met a learner rider who had just done it on her Grom. I’ve not sampled it myself, although it is on my bucket list. There are several water crossings and there is neither fuel nor food, and no mobile coverage. The road is closed during winter, and you will need a special permit in the shoulder seasons. You can check the Department of Conservation website (www.doc.govt.nz/parks-andrecreation) to see whether the track is open, and if you need a permit.
COLLECT THEM ALL
1. State Highway 6, Twelve Mile Bluff. 2. A British soldier steals the Red Baron’s boots.
3. Cheeky!
MURCHISON
If it had a few additional interesting buildings Murchison would be picturesque; as it is, it has a large roadhouse which offers large helpings of everything from cakes to… well, other stuff. I’ve only ever tried the cakes, which were good and good value. Once upon a time all Unzud food, including the pavlovas, tasted faintly of mutton. I am pleased to be able to report that this seems to have stopped.
PICTON
This is where the ferry leaves for the North Island. There’s a pleasant little shopping centre and several places to overnight, including a convenient YHA, if you’re catching an early ferry.
PUNAKAIKI
Both the resort and the pub are good value here, with large and comfortable rooms at the former and large and appetizing meals at the latter. Oh, and Monteith’s is on tap, as well as Speight’s. I think. It was a late night last time I was there…
WESTPORT
A Little way off the main road, Westport offers a good opportunity to refuel the bike and to partake of a coffee in one of several main street cafés. D
SWM 650 SUPER DUAL
The have and the have not’s WORDS/PHOTOS RALPH
HERE AT AUSTRALIAN
MOTORCYCLIST we’re very fortunate to score a ride on the first SWM Super Dual in Australia. While twenty-four hours doesn’t make a definitive review, those short hours, along with a lot of miles on all of its competitors, tell us that the Italian firm is on a winner and the spec’ sheet tells a lot of the story.
Here’s why - for under ten big ones if you are in the new bike market you can’t go wrong!
tripping. Even the riding position and the stepped seat are winners.
Yes, the SWM is looking like a ‘how did they do it for the price’ item.
The list of goodies that you will find over and above the more basic dual-sport single cylinder tourers out there adds up to an interesting valuefor-money spend. Quality black alloy wheels lace up to matt grey hubs, and Brembos with braided lines take care of braking duties. The screen and dash give an air of purpose and the bodywork looks like it means business, while a rack along with the red crashbars and plastic handlebar guards is already included. The gap between this bike and the successful Suzuki DR650 and the Kawasaki KLR650 gets eroded quickly when you find Metzeler Tourance tyres and a centrestand to help out when you need to change to more aggressive off-road tyres or repair flats. Even the nineteen litre tank strikes the right balance.
Stock fitment of radiator guards along with a sump guard says that Italian firm SWM wasn’t taking shortcuts trying to keep the before on-road costs under $9900. Add decent foot-pegs (with removable rubber inserts) and an alloy tapered bar at one end and an alloy swingarm at the other. A big tick for pillion pegs that can be unbolted for shorter day
Bear in mind the model I rode was a non-LAMS version and also was representative of the first shipment with a 19” front wheel rather than the 21” front which will be available by the time you read this. The first shipment is sold out anyway so you will need part imagination and part anticipation to understand the differences the bigger front wheel and the reduced power, if you are punting on a LAMS model, will mean.
But you won’t be disappointed. In fact, you’ll feel slightly smug that for so little money there will be a very competent single cylinder sitting in your garage which will be easy to use and enjoyable as a travelling bike or a commuter.
With 41kW on tap the single had plenty of touring ability at 110km/h and even the famed single-cylinder vibes didn’t intrude. The handling is light and precise and the suspension was on the firm side but this suggested to me that: one, it would run in, a little bit softening up as the various metal surfaces find their happy equilibrium; and two, the Super Dual won’t need to visit a suspension specialist to carry the forty or fifty kilos that tend to burden the average ‘round Oz’ tourer in addition to the rider. The gearing was spot on with quick acceleration off the mark and relaxed engine speeds of 4000rpm at 105km/h and always surprisingly smooth. No annoying, teeth-rattling vibes, just the pleasant reminder that you are riding a lusty single. In fact, it kicks along
very well as the engine felt more alive and forthcoming than most LAMS bikes. It has the pickup of a teenager just turning eighteen with no one to hold them back.
The six-speeder is, well, twenty percent better in that regard over the five-speed ‘boxes of the DR and KLR. The well sculpted seat matches the suspension, being firm, and the cockpit has such a natural feel with all the right angles between for, feet, hips, elbows and wrists. Late in my stint I had a small thrash along some roads with lots of bumps and stutters and the standing position was about perfect for my so called normal height of 178cm. The suspension worked a little better with more weight either fore or aft according to the inclination and speed.
Accessories available include an optional ‘GT Kit’. The GT kit is Givi panniers and LED riding lights - retail is $1500. An 18/21 wheel kit is also available to suit for $1299 (including disc rotors and tyres). There are a number of other accessories to choose from, like inexpensive options of fog lights and hard luggage which might just fit the bill for a lot of riders.
This is a motorcycle I have been keen to ride. Its social media campaign has had the dual-sport riders in a bit of a frenzy. I almost wanted to find as many faults as possible so as not to compromise the current state of my bank balance. My ten year old son, whenever he sees ‘that’ orange brand, always says he will buy me one for my birthday (will never happen) but I would seriously be happy if he didn’t. An SWM would just about fit the bill for the type of riding I like best.
I’m sure the latest dual-sport on the market can be a tempting treat or a birthday present to yourself. I can see the fervent ADV bods will want to see a larger fuel tank (me, I would carry a rear bladder) but I struggle with the concept of needing more than nineteen litres on a bike so economical. From the Super Dual’s tip all the way back to the twin mufflers the SWM has the mark of a solid, well priced cross-over tourer. D
SPECS
SWM 650 SUPER DUAL
PRICE: $9990
WARRANTY: Two years or 20,000km
SERVICING INTERVALS: Every 5000km or 12 months
ENGINE: Liquid-cooled single cylinder, 4-stroke, DOHC, 4 valves per cylinder
BRAKES: Front, single 300mm disc with Brembo four-piston caliper. Rear, 220mm disc, single piston caliper.
FUEL CONSUMPTION: 4.6litres per 100km, premium unleaded
THEORETICAL RANGE: 400 km
COLOURS: Silver
VERDICT: ADVENTURE FOR THE SOUL AND THE POCKET.
Words/Photos ThE bEAR
Should you be thinking of visiting Tasmania – and among motorcyclists, who isn’t? – you could end up being confused by the variety of accommodation on offer. Let’s just take a look at some of the range. We have recently used all four of these alternatives, so we know what we’re on about (sez you – the sub). Let’s leave out the top end, like the exclusive wilderness retreats, and the bottom end, like sleeping under bridges, and check the happy middle that we actually use.
Well, these days, anyway. I used to sleep under bridges but then someone gave me a credit card!
AfloAt
The pair of Spirits of Tasmania have undergone a renovation and are much more like European ferries now. There is no silver service restaurant; instead you have the convenient self-service Market Kitchen plus a couple of bars and a convenience store. Sleeping is in Deluxe, Twin Bed and Four Bed cabins and recliner chairs – a bit like an aircraft. The cabins are reasonably spacious with private bathrooms, and I for one always sleep well to the deep throb of the engines, secure in the knowledge that my bike is tied down securely below.
SLEEPING AROUND IN TASSIE
There’s a bed for everyone
Spirit of Tasmania www.spiritoftasmania.com.au
13 20 10, 1800 634 906
Bicheno
If you’re after a taste of the sunny East Coast, there’s nowhere like Bicheno. And Bicheno by the Bay offers pretty, well-equipped cabins of different designs near-waterfront and within easy walking distance to the facilities of the town, including the pub. The cabins have bikeports (others may call them carports) and feel just like home with their comprehensive kitchens, separate bedrooms, good-sized living rooms and sunny decks. An excellent option for a base to explore the East Coast, and it’s good to know that your bikes will be out of the weather at night.
bicheno by the bay
The esplanade, bicheno www.bichenobythebay.com.au 03 6375 1171
in hoBArt
Like any tourist city, Hobart offers a wide range of accommodation. One place I go back to when I can is Wrest Point –not for the casino but for the comfort and the views from the tower, which are wonderful (there are also Motor Inn rooms in a separate building). Rooms have been recently updated and are world
class. You’re out of the hustle and bustle of Hobart’s CBD, and the hotel has beautiful gardens on the riverfront (with a mini golf course) and four restaurants plus the same number of bars. I ended up dodging around a boom gate to find a place to leave my bike but that was fine; made it all the safer. There is also dedicated motorcycle parking.
Wrest Point
410 Sandy bay Road, Sandy bay www.wrestpoint.com.au
03 6221 1844
out West
Cottages attached to a pub this time. And not just any pub! The Tarkine Hotel is the only hostelry for quite a few kilometres around, so it’s good to know you’ll be staying just around the back. The cabins are wonderful; they’re miners’ accommodation relocated here and equipped with all mod cons. Modern kitchens and bathrooms go well with the traditional decoration of the living and sleeping areas. You could be forgiven for spending your time sitting on the veranda or in front of the fire and reading, if there weren’t so many things to do in the immediate area. Try not to miss the Pieman River cruise. There is a bit of gravel to get into Corinna from whichever direction you choose, but it’s graded regularly and has always been
Bicheno cabin with bikeport and veranda.
MotoGP Phillip Island
Please visit us at our Pop Up Shop 1/82-84 Thompson Ave, Cowes (next to Aldi) from Oct 17–23. We will not be at the track! Open from 9am– 9pm every day!
IC NEARVIEW EYEWEAR
Available in:
in good shape when I’ve tackled it. Well, maybe the Western explorer gets a bit hairy at times…
Tarkine Hotel
1 Main Street, Corinna www.corinna.com.au/the-tarkine-hotel/ 03 6446 1170
There you have it. Of course Tassie has a lot of other choices for accommodation, including many beautiful b&bs, but this should give you some ideas. Maybe I should get down there again myself… D 1. Boarding one of
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KTM LAUNCH
Baby, baby!
WORDS stuart
PHOTOS s M a C MEDI a
Iremember attending the world launch of the KTM 390 Duke a handful of years ago. Held out of Salzburg in the pouring rain, a fresh dump of snow made things a little interesting. The little Duke performed flawlessly and was fun to ride. Flick the calendar over to the present and KTM has updated the 390 Duke to one mighty machine.
New styling, new suspension, new electronics, more power and more fun really lets this bike take it to the allconquering Kawasaki Ninja 300 and Yamaha R3 which have dominated the smaller capacity LAMS class.
Styling is very much like big brother, the 1290 Superduke R which you read about in the most recent issue. The LED headlight uses essentially the same principle as big bro with the middle bar being the LED cooler with the LEDs shining outwards onto the reflectors to project the light forward. The side panels give an aggressive look and wrap a larger 13.4 litre fuel tank (previously 11). Two
390 DuKe & RC390
Stuart falls over in the first corner. No, just kidding.
Sporty
I also got to ride the RC390 during the KTM Street launch. Essentially it hasn’t changed a great deal other than some new graphics, the same new fly-by-wire throttle as the Duke and the larger 320mm front disc fitted with a radial mount four piston ByBre ABS caliper. Bybre is made by Brembo as a ‘less cost’ version of the Brembo models. The RC390 hasn’t been given the fun of the new engine enhancements, but look for those next year, which will really make this a weapon on the track. If you’re racing the over 300cc Production class I reckon this will be the bike to be on once the new engine is fitted.
striking colour schemes are available – Orange and white or orange and black. Both are predominately rich in Vitamin C (orange) and turn heads as you ride along. During the launch we cruised down out of Sydney along the coastline and many a neck was snapping trying to get a glimpse. Handling has been significantly improved. WP Suspension has fitted 43mm upside down forks and a preload adjustable shock. This gives the 390 Duke precision and stability and amazingly easy manoeuvering. The single cylinder engine is the most significant improvement for me. Previously it lacked a little punch for my liking and the moniker ‘390’ flanking the side panels. KTM waved its magic wands over the insides and gave it a fly-by-wire throttle which is quite refined. Add in a slipper
clutch and this baby is smooth as. Speaking of new electronics, the 390 Duke has been fitted with the latest generation Bosch ABS which works well and a TFT display which you won’t find on any other bike of this size/capacity/class. The dash is extremely stylish and jam-packed with features. You can also get the accessory ‘My Ride’ to pair the dash up to your phone – amazing technology for this class of motorcycle. Braking power/performance has also been improved beyond the Bosch ABS. A larger 320mm front disc gives loads more stopping power and excellent feel – just what the doctor ordered.
Ergonomics are nice. Everyone on the launch was laughing at me - the ‘Giraffe on the tiny bike’ - but I was more than happy riding around on the 390 Duke with its relaxed head up riding position.
Most people who buy a 390 Duke will also be keen on the extensive list of KTM Powerparts to bling up their ride. I especially like the orange rear sprocket and orange chain, along with the carbon Akrapovic slip-on muffl er. To complete the package, the Powerwear Urbanproof jacket matches perfectly.
If you asked me if I’d buy a KTM 390 Duke when they were first released I would have said, “No”. Ask me now with the release of the new 2017 version and I’ll gladly say, “Yes”. The bike has been improved dramatically making it a perfect LAMS bike or commuter and weekend blaster. Take one for a test ride and see what I mean. Just make space in your garage because you’ll be riding it home. D
SPECS
KTM 390 DUKE
PRICE: $6995 (plus on-road charges)
WARRANTY: Two years, unlimited distance
SERVICING INTERVALS: Every 15,000km or 12 months
ENGINE: Liquid-cooled single cylinder, 4-stroke, DOHC, 4 valves per cylinder
BRAKES: Front, 320mm disc with radial mount four-piston ABS caliper. Rear, 230mm disc, single-piston ABS caliper.
FUEL CONSUMPTION: N/A
THEORETICAL RANGE: N/A
COLOURS: Orange/Black. Orange/White
VERDICT: FILL YOUR LIFE FULL OF VITAMIN C!
Ural ranger Sahara
escape the rat-race
HOW DO yOU review a Ural sidecar? Is it the same as reviewing an old 35mm film camera where ninety-five percent of the audience says “what’s a film?” And how do you convince someone that 120km/h is as fast as you dare go and it feels entirely sufficient, if not a touch scary, chasing Stuart on his Fireblade downhill on the M1 freeway travelling north? And the looks and comments which never abate! Why is it that my brother’s Ducati 1198 Panigale Tricolore garners less admiration than the Russian-built Sahara? And why is it ‘Sahara’ and not ‘Gobi’? Why does cruising at a scenery-engaging eighty clicks feel almost as rewarding as belting along at 180 on a BMW GS in the NT? What about the fact that if it is dark you can always switch on the axillary lights on the front of the chair for possum spotting or firewood hunting, taking advantage of its off-roading
ability - climbing almost any rocky hill you can think off. And then the pièce de résistance is sitting around the camp-fire and rolling out the tool-kit, spade and tyre-pump and toasting the Bolsheviks.
The answer to the first question is ‘don’t know, just ride it’! So, with that in mind
let’s combine some elements of what we like best. Riding, relaxing, sightseeing and grazing. After all, surely it is less about the tool used to capture the experience, than the experience itself? Well, unless you are piloting a Ural. Designed for the traveller, the 750cc boxer twin is out of
its time in a modern world. The ability to ride a sidecar outfit is also a rare skill to have these days. But the average bod with a bit of ‘indoctrination’ can ride, tune and even repair the only sidecar outfit currently available for sale new on the Australian market.
The ride experience is somewhere between comfortable and rickety. The unit isn’t overly long so you will feel bumps that don’t worry a Harley-Davidson. But then you can ride along safely snapping video or photos one handed or in my case give a running commentary to my two kids, one in the chair and one on the seat behind me. For their safety and enjoyment, I take the quieter road full of eucalyptus and golden sandstone escapements anyway.
Only an hour or so north of the Sydney metro you can ride for a day or two and never feel pushed to exceed the magic eighty. Roads like the famed Old Road from Cowan to Peats Ridge or Gosford, or my favourites like the little loops taking in Yarramalong Valley, Kulnura and Central Mangrove and ducking off to Wollombi to the north or across to Spencer, St Albans and Wisemans Ferry to the west. If you are lucky and avoid the obvious busy weekends then the roads can give the impression of being remote and old-worldly. A few slow and deliberate gear-changes through the four speeder and top gear is where I leave the Sahara for most of the day, soaking up the northern sun warming on our faces and chests as the old-school boxer twin chugs along easily enough.
Some Grazing
PIE IN THE SKY 1296 Pacific Hwy, Cowan NSW 2081 02 9985 7018
JERRY’S GOURMET KITCHEN AND C AFE 693/695 George Downes Dr, Kulnura NSW 2250 02 4376 1166
OLD ROAD C AFÉ 170 Pacific Hwy, Mount White NSW 2250 02 4370 1122
This model has had an update in the fuel-injection system which piles on a lot more torque than the last model while the gearing is lower to help tackle the extra weight of all the farnarkle fitted to this dress-up of the Ranger model. The spare wheel, tools and racks add weight and the third wheel doesn’t go flying all the time while you are solo, although it does make the engine work a little harder. This Sahara version we tested also had a tonneau cover, spotlight, shovel, sidecar bumper, leg guards, jerry can, sidecar 12V outlet, tyre pump, fuel tank glovebox, LED headlight, blacked out engine, Givi windscreen, LED dual sidecar lights and hand guards!
SPECS
URAL RANGER
PRICE: From $24,970, $27,190 (as tested) (plus on-road charges)
WARRANTY: Two years, unlimited distance
I have a sneaky little road which is a great test for every bike I want to put through its paces by exploring the limits of suspension, brakes and steering. Dog Trap Road from Somersby to Ourimbah serves a dose of bumps and tight corners and the Ural came through with seriously flying red, white and blue colours.
My arms were given a workout so there were lots of stops and look-sees.
Try the newly opened Wyong Milk Factory for great food, coffee and music. It is family orientated, too. On the way, you will find a string of eateries full of bikers in the district. Old favourites like The Pie in the Sky at Cowan is one of the usual starting points for a day-tripper. The pubs at Brooklyn, Wollombi, Wisemans Ferry and St Albans are popular too.
Our weeks on the Ural were proof that in this digital world there is still room for some slow lane mojo. It is a machine that challenges you ‘to live in the moment’.
You wouldn’t buy the Sahara to be a wallflower and you would buy one to try and bend the centrifugal forces acting on the planet. I would own a Ural to give me experiences like no other device could whether it had two, three or four wheels. I have a saying about the eighty odd bikes I’ve owned: ‘had the bike, took the photo, moved on’ has been my motto. I would be tempted to consider any Ural a ‘keeper’, not least for the price; you’re looking at well over $26,000 for this unique experience. D
LasT year, The sa Sidecar Gathering was in August, a couple of weeks after the Border Run.
This year, Beetle decided to move it up the calendar and to a different location, which had us scouring Google Maps for Whyte Yacowie.
We found it between Burra and Peterburough in the wilds of SA. I had a great run under cloudless skys heading south to meet up with one of my mates, and the run west was also most pleasant. The plains around Moulemein where green for a change, and the Bakery at Balranald was in top form.
Most of the Three Duck Tours group was at Three Duck HQ in Mildura on the Friday night, and made the most of a great breakfast at the
Cafe Paris in the Deacon Mall on Saturday morning as the roll-in-rollout bike show got under way.
There was a stopover in Renmark for some essentials, then we got serious and made tracks for Burra.
At the Burra servo there was a queue of bikes for fuel and everyone was aiming for Whyte Yacowie.
There is a new coffee shop in Burra with very friendly staff, and they are open seven days. They got us for an early lunch and we rode off well satisfied.
There are some interesting long sweepers crossing what was once the rail line as you head north.
Through a couple of small villages, and suddenly you are braking for the pub at Whyte Yacowie.
I dont think this place was ever very big, although it‘s certainly even smaller now than in its heyday, but
there were plenty of outfits parked outside the pub. Trish, Beetle‘s better half, was on the veranda collecting the entries and selling the merchandise. There was a big banner there promoting the PAMS Ride that Beetle is running later in the year in support of the Guide Dogs (see www.pamsmcride.com.au for more details ).
This rally and the Farina Rally on the Queens Birthday Weekend, are both fund raisers for Beetle‘s chosen cause – the Guide Dogs.
Steve, the publican had mowed the back paddock and it proved a great place to set up camp. Close to mod-cons (the pub), and close to a wood pile and fire buckets for later in the evening.
The Jamestown Apex Club came on board and supplied Beetle with their BBQ Trailer to aid
Owned since new!
feeding the mob, and threw in $100 to help things along.
Having established a rough camp and seen to re-hydration, I took a stroll and saw some pretty impressive outfits. Some of the regulars from the ADV Rider web site were on hand: Clancy with his GSX1400 Suzuki and 3Legs with his home built Special were impressive. John Cecil was there with his work in progress, a K Series BMW-based creation that evolves as improvements are streamlined and function takes precedence over beauty. The Awards ceremony lurched into being before the sun went down and the following were handed outLongest Distance Sidecar, Rod White from Moruya NSW, 1335 km Longest Distance Solo, that was me Publican‘s Choice, went to BeezaJohn and his M21 BSA 600 single, with Tilbrook chair, that John has been riding for 40 years Oldest Rider, went to 93 year old Dudley Noble from Port Lincoln. Dudley‘s mates pointed out that he had previously been employed by the RAAF, attached to Bomber Command, travelling by Lancaster on the Berlin route. Well done that man. Later in the evening, the pub put on a choice of roasts with veg that was well received and most folk tucked in. Beats a charcoal and bean jaffle any day!
Following a most pleasant evening, we greeted the dawn with the rooster from next door crowing in time with the braying of the donkey in the next paddock. Surpisingly there was no dew, so a quick pack up, a restorative cuppa and we were off to Burra for another crack at the new coffee shop. Bacon and eggs sangas and more tea. My journey home becomes erratic here, but eventually I made it home without once having to pull on the waterproofs. An unusual occurrence to be sure.
Next year, the SA Sidecar Gathering will be back at Whyte Yacowie, so keep an ear to the ground. Its a great ride through the long sweepers of South Oz to a sleepy little pub that has a most interesting group photo, hanging on the wall in the main bar. D
John Cecil.
Our “house”.
Beeza John. Beetle.
Be gOOd Or Be gOne
McSorley’s Old Ale House, USA
WORDS/phOtOS CoLIn WheLan
SO anYWaY, I’m in a saloon in New York, not far from the East River, but my thoughts have just zoomed back home to the Riverina and Deniliquin on the Edward.
Maybe 10 years ago I was down at Denny speaking with a great gentleman who’s sadly since passed away. Bill Mulham was the lifeblood of the local historical society and we spoke for a couple of hours about the history of the area.
At the end he asked if I knew about the shear tree to the north of the town. Seems that in 1914 a young shearer signed up for the War To End All Wars and stuck his shears into a tree at Pretty Pine, saying he’d get ’em when he got back.
He never returned and the shears are still embedded in the tree, only by now they’re about 5 metres up. I was comfortable enough with Bill to tell him one of the few things I remembered from high school science was that trees grow from the top, only grasses grow from the bottom and so the shears simply couldn’t rise up as the tree grows.
Old Bill smiled and just said, “Well that’s the story and it was in the Pastoral Times when he did it.”
So that remained unresolved and it’s come back to me as I sit in a bar on the lower east side of Manhattan, half a world away. It’s lunchtime on a sunny Spring day and things are looking up after yesterday’d been wasted searching for a good pub.
I’d started off at Pete’s Tavern over on East 18th. This place shouts loud that it has the longest continuous service in New York City, uninterrupted since 1864, so it promised to be an interesting mix of hallowed history and Lower East Side attitude.
It’s a quiet midweek afternoon and the workers have headed back to their variable height desks. The barman has little to do but it’s still too much to answer any questions about the heritage of the house, and I get the strong sense he’s disconnected from everything other than the knot of regulars at the far end.
Beneath the beautiful pressed-tin ceiling, I grab a lager and a seat away from the bar. On the wall beside I’m hoping to see some images of the history, the story of the place the barman’s incapable of sharing. But there’s bugger all. The place seems to be owned by Gary and John. Any images of the pub’s story have seemingly long been replaced by tacky self-indulgent wanking shots of Johnny with Brad and Angelina, or Gary with Tom Hanks or with Martin Scorsese or any number of other people who are famous for something, or for nothing other than being famous.
Quick backtrack:
A brace of books was pivotal in my early impressions of the USA and New York.
The second one I read in 2001. Back in 1969 I raced through The Electric Kool Aid Acid Test about Ken Kesey, author of “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” and his adventures with a gang that called itself the Merry Pranksters in a bus whose destination board simply said, ‘Further’!
Crammed full of crossovers with the beat generation of Kerouac and Ginzberg, and especially Neal Cassidy and entangling the Hells Angels and the Grateful Dead, whose song Truckin’ remains the best ever road song, it was written by Tom Wolfe.
He went on to write The Right Stuff about the early USA space programme, a book whose style can truly make you breathless as you read it, and in 2001 he delivered to the world, The Bonfire of the Vanities. The book features very highly on any list of Great Books Turned Into Terrible Movies, and its most remembered quote is just two words: “Bullshit reigns”.
Yep, as I head out of Pete’s after just a single drink, this quote comes to mind but also a second bit from the same book torpedoes my brain:
“ …. in my house, when a turd appears, we throw it out. We dispose of it. We flush it away. We don’t put it on the table and call it caviar.”
No sturgeon of any type, let alone a virgin one has any legacy at this place so I headed further south to Fraunces Tavern on Pearl St. This place was built in 1719, making it arguably NY’s oldest building and it served as George Washington’s HQ. Sadly most references to its amazing history have been removed to the museum upstairs (entry $5) and the pub is part garish neon and part dimly-lit alcove bar-room with the atmosphere of Pluto.
Wasted day. Tomorrow has to be better! And so it is and, after walking straight past, asking a bemused local and U-turning, I’m in McSlorey’s Old Ale House on East 7th Street.
I slide up to the bar on the sawdust covered floor and a beaming, welcoming Theresa asks what I’d like.
“What ya got?”
“We’ve got light and dark.”
Light ale and dark ale: That’s all they sell and it’s all they ever sold. No wine, no spirits, no larger, no pilsener no stout, just ale: light ale and dark ale.
Oh and you can’t have just a single glass. The stuff only ever comes in pairs. Five bucks fifty’ll get you a pair of glasses: a couple of lights, a couple of darks or if you’re feeling risky, one of each.
I go for a mixed brace as a taster, settle into a tableside chair and relax into flaneur mode and that’s when Deniliquin comes to mind.
Above the bar is a pair of lights joined by a brass beam maybe a yard long. I’d seen these lights in a 1912 painting of the bar by John French Sloan. But not long after the painting had been done,
additions to the fitting were made. Straddling the beam are nineteen turkey and chicken wishbones, covered in 7 years of dust.
“In 2010 the Health Department came by and told us to dust them off – they hadn’t been touched since 1917 or 18 when they were stuck up there.”
The story is that when the USA joined WWI and the locals, mainly Irish lads, joined up, they’d spend their last day in town having a drink and a meal at McSloreys with the men of their family and then, before leaving the bar for the last time and heading for the front, they’d hang the bird’s wishbone over the rail for luck.
The rite would be completed when the soldier returned home and retrieved his lucky wishbone.
Nineteen circles were never completed and those wishbones have remained untouched, save for a single dusting, for the last century. Like the shears at Denny and at Pretty Pine, their true stories will never be told.
When the regular middayers head out and things quieten a bit, Theresa has time to share her story and that of the alehouse.
“I came here because McSorleys was the last bar in New York to admit women which it was forced to do in 1970. Until that time its motto, inscribed into its drinking mugs was, “Good Ale, Raw Onions, No Ladies” but I soon understand there’s a hell of a lot more to this place than a single claim to (in)fame(y).
Theresa’s been running the place for the last 23 years when her father, who began working here in 1964 before buying it in 1977, invited her to move from washing dishes for university pocket money, and into the front bar.
Her dad had bought the place from the widow of a retired Irish cop who’d purchased it from the last of the McSorleys in 1936. On my side of the bar is Richard, Theresa’s cousin who’s worked here for 45 years, just like Pepe who was just knocking off when I came by.
As Theresa gets distracted by the light and dark requests of other customers, Richard just slides seamlessly into the story that’s being told. Both know the
tales, the histories and the place’s story is woven with their own stories.
It’s no surprise that the original name for the place was “Old House at Home”. The ambition is to stay true to the 163-year-old aim of the founder to have a haven; a sanctuary away from the outside rush.
In 1970 when the doors were opened to women, McSlorey’s dropped its single motto and replaced it with two. The first is writ large above the bar: “Be good or be gone” and the other, more spoken than written, but understood by all is simply the wry observation: “We’re older than you.”
I know it’s hard to believe but I actually do a bit of research before I hit these places and not long before I got to NY I read a review in Harpers Weekly which described McSorleys as,
“ (a)n ancient landmark, a relic of one phase of American life that has passed. It is this type of saloon that is passing away…. Entering the saloon one seems to leave present-day New York and to find oneself in a quieter and more aesthetic place. No-one can sit quietly and not feel there is a personality there, a personality respected and cherished by (the owners).”
Good praise about a place trying to keep true to its own ideals don’t you think? Well what more do you think when I tell you that was written in 1913?
I look up at the portrait of the founder on the wall and I think of the other book which molded my early thoughts of America. It too was written by Tom Wolfe but, amazingly another unrelated Tom Wolfe!
In 1934 Wolfe the First wrote his magum opus, You Can’t Go Home Again and 34 years later I shelled out $2.25
for my paperback copy. It’s on the desk as I write this. It’s about a writer who leaves a small town for New York, writes a novel about his home and then returns as a famous author only to be despised and hated by the old friends and acquaintances he has portrayed (or betrayed).
Not far in, Wolfe wrote a passage which has remained with me ever since, and which resonates as I sit back at my table, confronted by another couple of ales and a plate of old style (what else?) cheese and raw onion:
“…. a phrase that had been running through his head all evening, like an overtone to everything that he had seen and heard, now flashed once more into his consciousness: --He who lets himself be whored by fashion will be whored by time.”
This is an idiosyncratic saloon which has whored itself to no-one and, in being true to itself, to its history and its present, has become has one of the great destination bars of the world. D
IF YOU LOVE MY Pub of the Month yarns, why not buy my new book with loads more than what the guys at Motorcyclist have published for me.
To buy a copy just go to Facebook and search for ‘Nothing but the Pub’ and then just hit the ‘shop now’ button or visit -
https://nothing-but-the-pub. myshopify.com/
FUELING UP IN THE BUSH
This time the Bear has stopped for fuel just off one of Australia’s greatest bike roads. Well, it would be if the powers-that-be would only repair the surface! Both tarred and gravel roads from here offer a lot of enjoyment to riders.
Answers to contactus@ausmotorcyclist.com.au.
HERE’S THE WINNER!
WHERE’S THE BEAR #5 was definitely too easy. Obviously, a lot of you have travelled out into the outback to take a look at the Qantas Founders’ Museum or the Stockman’s Hall of Fame. The name that popped out of the hat was Niels Holm, who writes: “Featured on page 89 in the Australian Motorcyclist, July 2017 Magazine - The Bear travelled to Longreach in Queensland. He is at The Qantas Founders Outback Museum. The Qantas Founders Museum is
located in Longreach, 177 km. from Winton, the original home of Qantas. The museum was opened on 9 June 1996. “The other major tourist attraction in Longreach is The Australian Stockman’s Hall of Fame, which pays tribute to pioneers of the Australian outback.” Congratulations, Niels; the Digital Lock & Cable will be on its way to you from our friends at Rocky Creek Design as soon as you send them your postal address!
I can see clearly now…
Visor fogging is easily solved with a good insert. But your glasses fogging behind your visor is something else. You could just open your visor, which will keep your glasses from fogging, but now you’re letting in freezing air or water. Fogstop is easy to apply, actually works very well and one application last quite a long time. The full kit comes with an application pen and a microfi bre cloth. To apply, unscrew the end of the pen, give the other end 3 or 4 pumps to get the liquid fl owing onto the brush, brush/paint your
So, where has The Bear wandered off to this month? Can you pick this place which is so far away (?) from any other fuel?
glasses, let dry for 10-15 seconds then lightly wipe off the excess with the supplied cloth. You’ll get around 70 applications from the pen, that works out around 50 cents an application. Cheap insurance for clear vision and safe to use on all types of lenses (but not contact lenses). Alcohol, silicone and ammonia free. Can be used on safety glasses, safety goggles, prescription glasses, face shields, masks, visors, sports optics, windows, mirrors.
Improve your riding
UPsKILLING Is essentially what life is all about. I’m sure you’ve said to yourself, “If only I knew then what I know now”. The upskilling principle applies to motorcycle riding, too. Believe it or not we’ve all got the skill (in there somewhere) to be high-level riders. Sure, it can take some riders longer than others to master the skills, but we’ve all got it. You just need the training.
I’ve done two courses in my riding life – both when I was working for NRMA for articles on rider training. I used Stay Upright for both – their Advanced Course first, then their Cornering and Braking Course. I still use techniques from both of those courses in my riding today –especially on the road, of which the Advanced Course teaches you many techniques to give you the defensive skills to be a safe and enjoyable road rider. The scary/fun part I remember was getting the chance
to have a pillion ride with racing legend, Wayne Clarke. With nothing but him to hold onto and coming over the dogleg at Oran Park on the back wheel then backing it into the final turn was a time in my life I thought I was going to die. Hahaha!
There are many more companies offering rider training, here’s a bit of a rundown on who, what, where…
maschine
The guys and girls at maschine offer off-road/adventure training and various disciplines of riding off-road. Hate sand? Learn how to master it with maschine. Slow through corners? Become a cornering maestro with maschine! Nick Selleck is head coach and a really friendly guy who teaches in a relaxed, no-pressure environment –this helps you to pick up your skills
easier and have a lot of fun in the process. Get in touch with the team at www.maschine.com.au Courses are available across the country.
ha RT
Honda Australia Rider Training (HART) has a simple philosophy: “At HART we understand the importance of balancing enjoyment and safety to fully reap the rewards of motorcycling. With this in mind we have created a number of courses designed to increase experienced and returning riders skill by incorporating both physical and mental skills apart from their learner courses. At HART, St Ives, we utilise our two-kilometre private circuit to train riders in a “real road” situation without the concern of other road users. We have also created a two-day Adventure bike
course to cater for this growing group of riders that incorporates an overnight stay and takes in some of the amazing beauty of Sydney’s western ranges.”
Contact HART at www.hart.honda. com.au Courses available on the eastern seaboard.
SKILLMASTER
Paul Riley and his team at Skillmaster offer road-based training that will help you upskill in a relaxed and friendly environment.
“From learners to those with decades of experience, no one is beyond learning skills or reinforcing techniques which can help on the road,” Paul explained.
Experience gained through operating an Ambulance Emergency Response Motorcycle has helped shape the way training is provided for road riders, and Paul even teaches Melbourne motorcycle paramedics a ten-day training course because safe road-riding
is different to being safe on a race track. All training provided is designed to tap into the strengths of individual riders and provide exercises and practice which can help to improve your skills in day to day riding. Contact Paul and his team at www.skillmaster.com.au NSW based courses.
BMW MOTORRAD
BMW Motorrad offer off-road/ adventure training with a variety of disciplines covered. It’s not only open to BMW riders, but all makes and models of off-road/adventure machines. Contact them at www. bmwmotorrad.com.au Courses available on the eastern seaboard.
STAY UPRIGHT
Stay Upright has been running ridertraining courses since the early 80s and
offers Road, Track and Dirt courses apart from its Learner courses. Stay Upright’s Roadsmart course has something for everyone to upskill their riding. Contact them at www. stayupright.com.au Courses available on the eastern seaboard.
MOTODNA
The team at MotoDNA offer track riding, road riding and adventure riding courses in both NSW and Qld. The team consists of both road riders and world-class racers to help you improve your riding. Contact them at www.motodna.net
CALIFORNIA SUPERBIKE SCHOOL
The principle of CSS is building up your skills through a number of courses. Founder, Keith Code, is
Adventure Ride
credited with breaking the sport down into its essential components and bringing real understanding to riders in all categories. His step-by-step approach will make sense to you. Each skill builds upon the last and creates a complete package of control and confidence.
The school’s levels are done in order, One through Four. Each level can be completed in one day. Each of the first three levels presents five precise technical riding skills, bringing together an entire area of riding. Level Four becomes your tailored program. Contact them at www.superbikeschool. com.au Courses available on the eastern seaboard.
TOP RiDeR
Owner, operator, and racing legend, Bernie Hatton probably sums it up best:
“We are a well-respected and recognised team who live and breathe motorcycles. We love what we do and we love sharing it with our customers! We have over 32 years of experience and we understand that everyone has different needs and wants, that’s why we offer invaluable training programs in every genre. No matter your experience or want, we have a course to suit you. We are there to help you every step of the way on your motorcycle journey and serving
your needs is our #1 priority.”
Contact them at www.toprider.com.au Courses available in QLD and NSW.
OUTFiTs
Riding an outfit is a skill totally different to riding a motorcycle with only two wheels. Essentially there isn’t a dedicated ‘school’ teaching this rare art of sidecar riding, but if you’re considering or have bought a Ural outfit, ex-importer Jon Taylor is still around to help you get the skills you’ll need.
To give you a VERY basic rundown
on how to ride an outfit you need to throw out any thoughts of countersteering and so on. You turn the bar left to turn left and right to turn right. You also need to accelerate to turn left and back off to turn right. This can take some time to master. Then you need to learn how to fly an outfit. I remember Jon Taylor saying to me, “Let’s head over to the airfield runway and fly it”. I thought he’d gone mad and was expecting some hidden wings to pop out! But, no, flying the chair is what he meant. This is a skill you need to learn and be comfortable with. Some will learn it straight away, some will take time, but knowing what to do when the chair fly’s is essential.
The Yamaha Bolt outfit we built a while ago had an extremely lightweight chair and turning left required a skill level of outer-space proportions. A Ural chair is much heavier and a lot harder to fly, you just need to relax and let the outfit walk around a bit and keep that principle of turn left to go left…turn right to go right in the back of your mind. Throttle application
Who to choose?
turning left and right is a skill best learnt in an area that has plenty of runoff. Don’t let this scare you away from an outfit, it’s just like learning to ride a bike as a kid – a whole new set of skills and I hope my very basic lesson on how to ride one gets you out to at least experience the joys only an outfit can bring. D
Technical Skill - Personal Service
Cylinder
Welding
Race
So there is our little rundown of who the main players are in the motorcycle rider-training world. Who you choose to go with can come down to personal preference and what you feel you want to achieve from your riding. Check out their websites, check out the feedback received and decide from there.
BUSINESS FOR SALE FOR SALE
Wouldyouliketoownalifestylebusiness Wouldyouliketoownalifestylebusiness whereyoucanenjoyyourlifeandhelpothers whereyoucanenjoyyourlifeandhelpothers to be better riders on the road? to be on the
Skill Master has been established for 6 years and in corporates road tours, one on one and small group courses so training is always personalised and pertinent Business includes ute, 3 bike trailer and an FJR1300.
If you would like to enjoy your work, ride often and watch others improve and enjoy life more, please call 0414 974 815 or email paul@skillmaster.com.au www.skillmaster.com.au
TRIUMPH BOBBER
THE FIRST TIME I saw a Triumph Bobber, I was torn two ways. On the one hand, I have disliked just about every bobber I’ve ever seen. Mainly due to the fat front wheel, bobbers have always seemed out of proportion to me. The one exception I can think of is the Harley-Davidson 48, but (significantly) it was only when I rode it that I decided I liked it after all. On the other hand, though, I found myself attracted to the Triumph’s well-integrated look and reasonablysized front wheel. The obvious solution was to wait until I could ride one, and to make up my mind then. Why the fuss about the styling? Well, a bike like this stands or falls on its appearance. You can buy a pretty standard naked Triumph with essentially the same engine and much of the same running gear; the Bobber stands out by the way it looks. Or that is what I thought.
In fact, there are some other differences between a ‘normal’ T120 Bonneville and the Bobber, going well beyond the styling. For a start, while it has the same 1200cc ‘high torque’ engine and the same gearbox, the Bobber has been retuned for more power and torque at the lower end of the rev range, only losing out
somewhat at the top. A new airbox helps with this, as do tweaking of the ECU and cam changes. Suspension is from a different manufacturer and features a monoshock at the back. The bike is a single seater, also unlike the Bonneville. But – okay – it’s the styling that makes the Bobber stand out.
Triumph calls the bike a ‘genuine factory custom’, which has resulted in some grumbling from the “you don’t buy a motorcycle, you make it” customizing crowd. Can factories build custom bikes? Are the words mutually exclusive? It probably depends on how you read them; remember that Willie G. Davidson launched the modern style at Harley-Davidson with the SuperGlide, which was based on Californian customs.
It’s a pretty pointless argument because the two sides simply have no common ground, but Triumph’s design brief did include an instruction to make the bike “a platform for customization”. I think we can look forward to quite a few private custom versions that go well beyond the factory look. The accessory range is good, and will continue to grow. This discussion aside, the Bobber is a particularly good-looking bike. One reason for this is that Triumph successfully combined several different influences: the ‘donor bike’, the T120; historic Triumph design elements, like the battery box and the rear mudguard loop; the California Bobber look; and
The Bear trying to point out that the road is wet. Yes, Bear, we know!
Brushed alloy is exquisite
outstanding build quality. Then they added a masterstroke. Unlike many ‘specialty’ designs, such as Honda’s good-looking but underpowered Fury, Triumph did not spare the horses. The HT engine gives the Bobber some truly satisfying punch off the lights and makes it fun rather than a pain to mix it with the traffic. Add a wonderful exhaust note and you’ve got a bike that is a true pleasure to ride.
A pleasure to ride? Really? What about the handling?
Well, that’s another aspect that Triumph has covered. The front tyre is not so fat that it might affect the handling (H-D overcame this on the 48 with a lot of tuning of the front geometry) and the bike simply delights in the twisties. Both ABS and (switchable) traction control are standard. Punching out of corners is a delight provided by both the acceleration and the sound, adding to the secure way the bike sits on the road.
While we’re on the subject of sitting: initially the seating position looks a little odd, mainly due to the high pegs, and it does allow a slumped posture. But once
you’re used to it, the position is relaxed and timelessly comfortable. I’ve always been an advocate of ‘bucket’ style seats, and the one on the Bobber (which can be set in a low or a high position) is terrific. Kudos to Triumph for avoiding the cliché of the pair of spiral springs under the seat. It looks clean and tidy.
What else? The radiator is placed carefully and, from whatever angle you look at it, never intrudes into the minimalist styling. The bike has two riding modes, ‘road’ and ‘rain’, which both give you access to full power, just delivered differently. You can also get heated grips and cruise control, but this is not primarily a touring bike; for one thing, the fully suspended rear end would make it difficult to carry luggage.
The Triumph Bonneville Bobber’s natural milieu is Cruiser Country, where it’s power and handling will see it well out in front of the other denizens. Without racing. D
Sexy rear! No! Not, The Bear!
SPECS
TRIUMPH BONNEVILLE BOBBER
PRICE: $18,000 (plus on-road charges)
WARRANTY: Two years, unlimited distance
SERVICING INTERVALS: Every 16,000km or 12 months
ENGINE: Liquid-cooled parallel twin, 4-stroke, SOHC, 4 valves per cylinder
ure it’s great to read about all the latest and greatest motorcycles that get released, but in the sad, real world a lot of us simply don’t have the cash to pony up 30k for a new tourer. s o i thought i ’d come up with a list of great tourers of the recent past which now sell for not-so-much moolah. i have no doubt there are many more available but the ones on the following list are all tried and true motorcycles which have proven to be reliable machines.
i scoured the Bikesales and g umtree websites for the prices people are currently asking for these bikes, and for each model i ’ve included the average price range i found. t he following bikes are in no particular order of preference and this isn’t meant to be a full description of each bike, rather a list that might get you thinking about all the amazing bikes you can – you really can – afford! i ’d certainly be happy with any one of them…
THE BUDGET LIST
HONDA ST1100
95-99 MODEL - $3-4500
BIG UPS: RELIABILITY SMALL DOWNS: HOT FOR THE RIDER
A cracking motorcycle that has had a large following worldwide. Many Police Forces, medical and other bodies have used the ST1100 as their choice of workhorse. If you need proof, this shows they’re motorcycles you can trust. When
I worked for the NRMA as a Motoring Advisor I got their two remaining ST1100s out of storage and got them going again. From what I can remember they do pump out a bit of engine heat on the rider but the fairing works very well at deflecting the elements, so much so that in light rain you can nearly get away without wet weather gear. The only thing I’m not a fan of is its weight, at 317kg you do feel it at low speeds and in carparks at a standstill. There are no common issues with the ST1100s other than the exhaust can be prone to some rust, especially in the collector underneath.
BMW R1100RT
99-00 MODEL - $5-6500
BIG UPS: COMFORT SMALL DOWNS: TRANSMISSION SHAFT SERVICING
A highly underrated bike, the 1100RT might not look as flash as some of the others in this list – it’s been called the Flying Egg - but boy does it fulfil its touring brief. Comfy seats, loads of fairing protection and a sit up and beg riding position make this thing an all-day rider. One bonus is that the RT has a low
HONDA ST1100
centre of gravity and overall wet weight is 290kg.
The only common issue with the 1100RT is the input shaft of the transmission – check to see if it has been serviced, otherwise expect that it may need to come out in the future (a fairly major job).
YAMAHA FJR1300
01 AND SIMILAR VINTAGE SELL AROUND $5-6000
BIG UPS: SILKY POWERPLANT SMALL DOWNS: HARD TO GET TO BATTERY
The FJR is a slick-looking tourer that does its job and does it well. It has a mega silky-smooth engine with bags of torque, handles well and offers business class like luxury
for its time. Weight comes in at 294kg (wet) which makes it one of the lightest big tourers around. Common issues? None really, except if the shock linkages haven’t been greased over the years. The only other pain is the battery location is hard to get to, so plan your wiring up of those devices for a weekend with some beers at the end to make you feel good.
TRIUMPH SPRINT ST
05-08 - $6-7500
BIG UPS: THAT TRIPLE SMALL DOWNS: REGULATOR/ RECTIFIER
I’ve covered a lot of kays on the Sprint ST and apart from the
BMW R1100RT
YAMAHA FJR1300
smaller fairing compared to the ‘big tourers’ in this group, the ST is comfy and will eat up the kilometres. In a way, the ST is very similar to the VFR800 with its more sporty sort of riding position. Weight is 210kg dry, which will equate to around 240kg wet. The triple cylinder engine is the ST’s main attraction and once you’ve heard a Triumph triple on song, you’ll fall in love. Common issues are they have an old style regulator rectifier that tends to fail which can lead to a burnt out stator and a sprag clutch failure. They also like frequent oil changes.
KAWASAKI GTR1400 08-10 - $8-12,000
BIG UPS: WE’RE TALKING TORQUE SMALL DOWNS: REGULAR SERVICING REQUIRED
If power is your thing, then the GTR is your pick. I included it in this list for that reason and that it tours extremely well with so much torque that it makes for ‘lazy’ touring. The GTR is also the most expensive in this list, which might reduce your interest slightly. It does have variable valve timing like the VFR Honda’s but is a little smoother
TOUR DATES November 5 - 19 November 26 - December 10 15 days
We’re presenting a two week ride through Northern Thailand and wild Northwest Laos.
Sukothai (UNESCO World Heritage Site), Phu Rua, Vientiane, Vang Vieng, Luang Prabang (UNESCO World Heritage Site), Mountains to Oudom Xai, Chiang Rai, Golden Triangle, Mekong River, Road of 1,864 curves, Long Neck Hill Tribe, Doi Inth
TRIUMPH SPRINT ST
KAWASAKI GTR1400
in operation. Weighing in at 304kg (wet) and being fairly wide through the fairing it can be a harder to handle for smaller riders. Common issues are the shaft drive, and rear tyres – both as a result of the weight and power, the shaft drive needs some servicing love from time to time to keep it in top condition, if it hasn’t received any love it can get sloppy.
HONDA VFR800
99-12 - $5-9000
BIG UPS: WHAT’S NOT TO LOVE?
SMALL DOWNS: REGULATOR/ RECTIFIER
Wow! What can be faulted with the VFR800 – not much. Some people don’t especially like the VTEC and how it works but once you’ve lived with one for a while, you become accustomed to it. The VFR is a little more sporty in its riding position like the Sprint ST, but being relatively lightweight at 240kg (wet) and easy to handle is what wins in this group of bikes. Common problems are very rare, probably the rarest in this group, but failure of the regulator/ rectifi er unit is something that possibly can go kaput.
SEARCHING
Remember that the second hand market can be a pain in the backside with some of the offerings being served up. Don’t just buy the first bike you see unless it really is in perfect condition. If you’re unsure of any potential mechanical faults, get a professional to check it out for you. Don’t be put off if the bike you like doesn’t have panniers. Wreckers have these at reasonable prices, or you can use soft throwovers. With all the money you’ve saved buying a second hand tourer I reckon you could shout The Bear, Ralph and me a beer some time. How does that sound? LOL! D
HONDA VFR800
BIKETEST
HARLEY-DAVIDSON STREET ROD 750
Does it sing my song? Words Stuart Photos HaLF LIGHt PHOtOGraPHIC
There comes a time in a parent’s life when they pluck up the courage and mention to their 29-year-old child’s home-stay may be over. Mum and Dad might need a little breather and hopefully free up enough spare funds to buy that aspirational
Winnebago and Wide Glide in the process. Of course, there will be many angst-filled tantrums surrounding this separation, as the ‘kid’ pulls the last emotional rope left in the locker. And emotional rope like: “Guys, I’m going to need a set of wheels and the Street
Rod isn’t that expensive, especially for a fair-dinkum Harley-Davidson”. Ma and Pa, I am thinking, would believe a $12,995 invoice is a small price to pay for freedom (both theirs and the off-spring’s) but kids are smarter than their parents. And
it’s a fair bet that invoice will grow as the kid adds extra goodies to his Harley purchase.
It’s the American (and Australian too, apparently) way!
So as the avatar of your life’s toil and
purpose rides away on his new Harley, wearing the 30-year-old, but now fashionable again, leather jacket you no longer fit into, you can have a bit of a giggle as the last-to-leave charges off looking for second gear and a place to
plonk those spindly long legs. So the riding position on the new Street Rod 750 (much to my shock) is a little weird. Long skinny legs will need to be contorted onto the ’pegs and as they attempt to operate the
foot controls, especially as your right foot sits on a rubber plate mounted to the exhaust. I even found it hard to articulate my ankles. But maybe kids have better ankles in that regard.
Still, despite quietly wishing my arms were as long as my legs as I stretched out to grab the flat handlebar, there was a bona fide Harley V-twin heaving between my knees.
Well, not actually heaving all that much. The liquid-cooled V-twin is as modern and refined as it needs to be to meet current emission requirements.
So when the son or daughter give it the berries, like dad told them to, all the un-characteristic American multivalves will go belting up and down in unison with the equally un-Harley-like 9000rpm crankshaft limit. Even the gear-change is sweet.
The reason why the footpegs seem so strangely placed soon became evident.
Cruisers normally start scraping their pegs early on in the piece, which is why Harley riders aren’t given to wearing leather race-suits and race boots.
Harley’s cruise and GSX-R’s go around corners. Although this HarleyDavidson, ridden by an expert, will go around a corner near better than a Gixxer ridden by a muppet, and not many H-Ds can claim that ability.
Dynamically, modern motorcycles have come a long way in the last 30 years, back when freedom was a lifestyle and not a meaningless word. The Street Rod’s dynamics are quite good and modern. It does corner well, and is graced with equally modernlooking USD forks and a triplet of disc brakes controlled by a reasonable ABS system. The ’Rod is very effective and safe in that regard.
It sits a timid 205mm off the deck
(although that’s higher than the Street 500), so the latest Harley-Davidson isn’t big on suspension travel. You’ll find yourself avoiding the obvious bumps and joins on the tarmac, and you’ll also spend some time wondering whether its dark good looks and performance are worth more than a bit of comfort or the sharpest brakes ever. I found the Street Rod actually goes as good as it looks.
The look of the engine, especially from the left-hand side is spectacular and muscular. It’s black as sin with highlights of brushed alloy on the fins. Yes, the right-hand headers and muffler border on the over-done to meet a noise requirement, but that’s the world we live in.
From the moment you open up the taps. the V-twin 750 pushes along at a responsive and energetic rate. Power starts early and the mid-range is where
the biggest kick can be found. And the power doesn’t tail off at all once extra revs are called up.
I found some vibration intruding further up the rev range on the digital rev indicator. But then for some, mechanical sympathy sits in the shed of shame along with the wrecked lawnmower. Freeway cruising is best up to 120km/h and while the 65Nm lend themselves to speed, at an unrestrained 145km/h, those vibes will send the message home early enough. Apart from just cracking open the throttle there isn’t much of a soundtrack, but most Harley’s are rarely left untampered-with in the exhaust area, just check out the accessory cattledog for all your noisy needs.
Overall the Street Rod is several steps forward in terms of solid engineering and fun laced with brand kudos and
more than equal measure of mean looks. The contorted riding position is a back-step, but given the ‘High Output’ Revolution X is such a great engine platform there will be more and varied choices on the way. One hundred models in 10 years means the American firm can let one past the keep occasionally.
My whole time on the Street Rod I was waiting for that chemistry to occur; that time when a bike sings its siren song to you, and you hear it. I only heard the whisper of an out-oftune melody and the vague murmur of excitement. You can bet my slightly tinged views won’t be shared by the massive group of new riders to the brand or those who may be jumping up from the Street 500 or away from the more antiquated 883s.
Hell they may even use their own money, rather than mum’s and dad’s. D
SPECS
HARLEY-DAVIDSON STREET ROD 750
PRICE: $12,995 ride away
WARRANTY: Two years, unlimited distance
SERVICING INTERVALS: Every 10,000km or 12 months
ENGINE: Liquid-cooled V-twin cylinder, 4-stroke, SOHC, 4 valves per cylinder
BORE x STROKE: 85 x 66mm
DISPLACEMENT: 749 cc
COMPRESSION: 12.0:1
POWER: N/A
TORQUE: 65Nm @ 4000rpm
TRANSMISSION: 6-speed, wet multi-plate clutch, toothed belt final drive
SUSPENSION: Front 43mm inverted fork, non-adjustable, travel 132mm.
FUEL CONSUMPTION: 4.9 litres per 100km, premium unleaded
THEORETICAL RANGE: 325 km
COLOURS: Pearl Mira Red, Matt Black, Metallic Triton Blue
VERDICT: NAKED CRUISING? SOUNDS LIKE FUN!
Stuart getting the keys from Kawasaki’s Milo Dokmanovic.
WeLL, sort oF , anyway. We have another new longterm bike in the Australian Motorcyclist garage – the sweet Kawasaki Z650L. If you remember back in AMM #49 where I attended the launch and raved about the Z, I can now give you what it will be like to customise it with some cool accessories and what it will be like to live with it day to day – commuting, weekend blasts, and Kawasaki has even booked me into one of its Team Green trackdays at Wakefield Park (Dec 4), where I aim to show just what can be done on a ‘learner’s’ bike against the likes of the super powerful ZX-10R and I hear the exquisite H2R, which will be making an outing! Look
Two
T o one
Royal Enfi E ld Classi C 350
We’ve all been enjoying the Classic 350 in the last month. Ralph, The Bear and myself have been puttputting around the city and its outskirts for all sorts of duties, even if it’s just to get out to smell the roses.
I have removed the rear seat in the last month to expose the lovely rear-wheel-wrapping guard and its shiny Chestnut paintwork. This took all of 10 or so minutes, and I think you’ll agree with much better it now looks.
The single-cylinder engine is also starting to free up after hitting its first 1000km, but the thing we’ve found riding the Classic 350 around is how many people come up to you and tell you how good a job you’ve done on the restoration. When you say it’s a brand new bike, they mostly look at you in a weird way while admitting, “Yeah, it does look new”. I assume they’re thinking it is an old bike that’s been restored! Oh well, better to play along than try and explain it is a 2017 model! Hahaha! SW D
out if you’re riding at this KTGA trackday, you’ll more than likely be shown up by a LAMS bike. If you think you’re man (or lady) enough to beat me – come along and let’s have an awesome day exploring the limits of your lovely bike.
The particular model Z650L we have is the brand-spanking new 2018 model with its green frame and matteand-sparkle black paintwork. As soon as I got it home I polished it up so the sparkle is near blinding to stare at. I’ve also bumped the rear preload up to full. Braking is magnificent and the parallel-twin engine is extremely punchy, and these two qualities I’m going to enjoy blasting around Wakefield Park later this year.
Kawasaki has a number of accessories it will be fitting to the Z, while we’ve got some great Oggy Knobb gear courtesy of Kenma, and Rizoma is coming to the party with its range of exquisite goodies. Remember the movie Twister, where Bill Paxton says, “Going green” and Phillip Seymour Hoffman’s character gets overly excited about “greenage”? Well, once you’ve seen the end result I have in my head for this bike, you’ll be knocking down our door to get a hold of it. Speaking of which, if you want to buy the Z650L put your name down now and I’ll pass it onto Kawasaki.
We’re going green, baby! SW
INDUSTRY
FINE CHINA
Words DAVID MCMULLAN
For many years, if you asked a motorcycle enthusiast or commuter to name a Chinese motorcycle brand they would not be able to, except perhaps to name the rebrand (something like Llexmoto or Zingbikes). Just possibly they might know that Lifan, for example, is a major manufacturer but that would be rare. This is due to the Chinese motorcycle industry’s propensity for re-branding (re-badging) and little has changed to this day.
In more modern times an exception has arisen, and that is CFmoto. CFmoto has been a revelation in the Chinese motorcycle industry in many ways as they have adopted a more ‘western’ attitude to business philosophy and marketing. They are one of the few Chinese motorcycle manufacturers that sell internationally using their own brand and trying to promote brand recognition. CFmoto is now considered a serious motorcycle company internationally as they have striven to develop models that the bigger motorcycle factories have not. These models include a range of 650cc bikes. CFmoto’s bikes have received great reviews around the world (australian moTorCyCLIsT ran a pair of them across australia and back) and have propelled CFmoto to the position of most recognised Chinese motorcycle brand. In addition to this CFmoto is making a name for itself by manufacturing highly styled and large displacement (by Chinese standards) UTV and aTV vehicles.
CFmoto also developed China’s first large displacement touring line (the Chinese industry considers any displacement over 500cc to be ‘large’). These bikes utilise a liquid cooled parallel twin engine that delivers 41.5 KW of power.
o ne of the aspects of business that CF m oto is to be commended for is its willingness to explore markets that other Chinese motorcycle manufacturers do not. To export to Australia takes an ECE certificate and many Chinese companies will not invest the money necessary to get one because of the limited market opportunities Down Under. CF m oto actively pursues the UTV market in australia and has been earning rave revues from australian motorcycle magazines.
The CFmoto touring bike 650nK uses quality parts, which shows the kind of commitment to technology and specific riding details that CFmoto offers and other Chinese manufacturers ignore. It is another reason why CFmoto, despite being a much smaller company than the Chongqing giants, commands the motorcycle magazine headlines when it comes to Chinese bikes.
It’s not just CFmoto’s eye for technical detail that impresses but also its modern attitude to marketing. a cursory glance at the CFmoto website (the original Chinese one, not one of the many international websites) will show the difference in their attention to detail from other Chinese motorcycle traders. To many Chinese companies a website is just a necessary evil and they are unwilling to commit the effort, thought and money necessary to make a professional version. CFmoto’s website is comprehensive and useful, much more than just a necessary afterthought. To get an idea of what I am saying here, look at CFmoto’s website and then compare it to the websites of much bigger manufacturers like Zongshen, Loncin, Lifan and pretty much anyone else. For example, have a look at the
CFMoto is setting new standards in Chinese motorcycle manufacturing – not only with the bikes but also with marketing.
Zongshen website and you’ll see that their ‘news’ section hasn’t been updated since 2014.
CFmoto (in cooperation with WK Bikes) first entered the isle of Man TT in 2013 and became the first Chinese manufacturer to do so (in fact the only other Chinese manufacturer to enter a bike into serious motorsports racing was Loncin in the 125 motoGP many years ago). With Gary Johnson on board the bike registered a commendable 109 mph practice lap in its first year and has since gone on to improve year after year culminating with Johnson claiming 4th spot in the lightweight TT (just 2 seconds off the podium, beating suzuki and Kawasaki). CFmotos success has prompted big exporters like Loncin and Zongshen to market their own brand names with Zongshen electing to market the ‘Cyclone’ range in a brand recognition campaign. In addition to this CFmoto seems to have kick-started the scramble for the development of bigger displacement engines. Companies that have never produced an engine over 250cc (with the exception of certain aTV engines) are now actively seeking technical nous from abroad and sinking hundreds of thousands of dollars into engine research and development. In terms of the Chinese motorcycle industry, CFmoto has become quite a catalyst for evolution.
David McMullan is based in China. He is Chief Editor of China Motorcycle News and Auto Trade China magazines as well as Organiser of the CMPF Motorcycle Parts Fair and the Electric Motorcycle Show. David can be reached at dmcmullan2000@yahoo.co.uk, or see www. chinamotorcyclenews.com for more insights into the Chinese motorcycle industry. D
GRIZZLING
BACK TO ZERO
DID YOU WANT to buy one of these rather smart-looking (in recent incarnations) electric motorcycles? Better hurry; there will only be a few left in the shops by the time you read this.
Can that be right? Surely they weren’t selling? Zero has even announced that the company is ceasing ‘private’ (non-government or other fleet) sales in Australia.
Well, as it turns out they did sell… perhaps not well, but a friend in the retail business tells me that he’s sold all the bikes he had, bar a demo. The big problem was the price; some $25,000 for what is after all little more than a commuter is steep. Retailers are actually not especially fond of Zeros, or other electric bikes to come. There will be no servicing income since the bikes require little but new tyres and an occasional computer upgrade; servicing of petrolpowered bikes is a major income generator for bike shops at the moment.
But Zero is doing much better with its ‘authority’ sales, mainly in the US, to the likes of the police, park rangers, border guards and the army.
“Hey, kids, check out my new bike!”
Does this mean that electric bikes are not going to happen? Far from it, he said. The problem is batteries. The next generation, smaller and with more output available for performance, will overturn the market completely. In the meantime Harley-Davidson, Indian, BMW, KTM and you name the other manufacturers are all working on viable electric bike designs for those batteries. And the Japanese are not far behind, if they’re behind at all. They may not make so much fuss about their electric bike development, but they are no doubt also pretty much ready to go.
So it’s no longer a matter of ‘if’ we get a rush of competitive electric bikes onto the market. It’s ‘when’.
And the man who probably holds the answer to that is Elon Musk.
SHH, POLICE
Don’t laugh at the smileys on the mirrors; this style of police bike
is gaining sales all the time. This particular one was on show in China, but I’ve seen much the same thing recently in New Orleans. I was reminded of it by the electric bike story, because this is electric as well.
In the 1950s, Pierre Mendes France, who was President of the French Council of Ministers at the time, was told that the German Army had re-equipped its infantry with rubberrather than leather-soled boots. “Ah,” he said, “so next time we won’t even be able to hear them coming.”
It’s much the same with these little scooters. The miscreants will be surprised by the appearance of the Law, and even if they aren’t incapacitated by gales of laughter they will be apprehended silently!
Don’t let anyone tell you that Bible-belt preachers don’t have a sense of humour. Mike Grant and I found this sign in rural Louisiana, and despite being less than religious really liked it. That’s putting the fun back into fundamentalism!
Peter ‘The Bear’ Thoeming
claSSIcMORRIS
Those damn flies!
Flies have two large ‘compound’ eyes which are made up by each large eye employing a series of many, many small, hexagonal ‘ommatidia’ - or facets - which combine to make the so-called compound eye. It is said these very complex eyes allow for fairly good eyesight up close, but
with some blurriness for objects further away.
Flies also employ three much smaller, far simpler eyes mounted in triangular fashion right on top of their heads which are far less complicated than the compound eyes and can only detect light and shade, but which should serve the insect –
one would think – very well indeed. But if an errant fly is not paying close attention to the many things which surround it, those five eyes are not worth a cracker if it comes to being belted savagely into oblivion by a rolled-up newspaper or a far more effective fly-swatter; or worse still, being despatched by a quick fizz
WORDS lester Morris
from some heartless human pointing a can of insect repellent at it while depressing the device’s plunger.
The dragonfl y’s eyes are also of the compound type, but they bulge out of its head sideways so far that it can enjoy almost 180 degree vision to each side without needing to turn its head about. How handy would eyes like that be to any other of God’s very strange creatures? But I wonder how a dragonfl y could manage to switch from normal binocular vision directly ahead and/or to the sides if it needed to have a quick look out of one eye or the other at what may be trying to creep up on it
Clearly, even though a fly’s eyes allow it to see much of what is happening about it at close range, it still needs to keep a wary eye(s) open at all times, for it can still blunder into a spider’s web or be quickly shafted by a frog’s highspeed sticky tongue if it is not watching where it is going.
As an aside, I wonder how those long-suffering eyeballs manage to survive for any reasonable period
during the heat of an Australian summer; unlike us, and any other mammalian species, they don’t seem to have any eyelids! Fried eyes might be a serious problem for those poor buggers, but I imagine fi sh, who have no eyelids either, would not suffer this grim condition.
Some spiders have only two or four eyes, which doesn’t matter much to those types, because they may not need any more, for their large, intricate webs do most of the work for them. Most spiders, however, have as many as eight eyes. These types of arachnids usually have two quite large, glaring eyes which look straight ahead, a couple more which are closely attendant but a bit smaller, and up to four spread around the sides of its head which are all but invisible. How these odd characters manage to make any sense of their surroundings with eight eyes projecting their various images from different angles upon a brain the size of a pin-head has probably never been recorded, but they still seem to get by quite well just as they are.
The so-called ‘jumping spider’ also employs eight eyes, with their two huge eyes in the front, two smaller ones between them, and four more scattered about underneath. The two main eyes are said to be much more effi cient in detecting movement than other spiders’ eyes, for they can much more readily detect movement (not just light and dark) which is probably the reason why you can’t easily catch one of the little buggers!
Chameleons have just two strangely revolving, bulging eyes. These odd reptiles enjoy the unnerving facility of being able to stare straight ahead with one eye, while the other one looks backwards over its shoulder! How this is done without the creature wondering if it is coming or going remains a mystery to most of us. I wonder if they have the facility of turning one eye or the other off as need be, although I suppose they can close one and/or the other should the need arise.
There are, of course, numerous variations of this, including both eyes staring straight ahead as it latches
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on to an unwary grasshopper before spearing the unfortunate creature with its too-long, swiftly-retractable, folding tongue.
But look at we poor humans, who have but two beguiling eyes, which can see far, far better than many other creatures (excepting falcons, kestrels, eagles, kookaburras and other critters far better equipped than we will ever be) but which can still be of little help if we don’t use them as they were intended to be used.
For example, there seem to be many motorists who use their eyes for little more than boring pin-holes in the number plates of cars directly ahead, which is probably why one often reads of one of those drivers running into the back of a parked truck (s)he didn’t see coming. These drivers are also known to bounce off a luckless motorist who is dumb enough to try to change an offside rear wheel while seated on the roadway and not keeping an eye open for myopic drivers who are on a collision course with them. It happens all too often, as we are all too well aware.
Pity the poor motorcyclist, however, who might need a little bit of everything which has been doled out to lesser creatures if he is to fully enjoy his various pursuits. He might need the fly’s eyes for close-up work like peering at his speedo often, a dragonfly’s eyes for wide vision, including the swift sighting of halfblind jackasses who spear out of side streets with little or no warning, or change lanes in front without signalling their intent. A rider might well need the jumping spider’s finely tuned eye to assist his sharpened reflexes in steering clear of other road users as he flashes about in his very own, private safety bubble, as I like to call it, while allowing no-one to enter his domain. Should someone insist on joining a rider in his own little bubble, then quickly evacuating that bubble and generating a new one with little more than a light touch on the brakes or, better still, grabbing a large handful of throttle, is clearly the answer to that intrusion.
The chameleon’s rotating eyeball could be a great asset to any motorcyclist; in particular to look directly ahead but to peer over a shoulder at the same time. One needs to always keep a lookout for those vehicles coming up too fast (and too closely) astern, for a small, vibrating rear view mirror is not always enough on its own, and can never replace a swift look behind. This applies not only when moving in traffic, but especially if the rider is stuck trying to make a ‘safe’ (?) right-hand turn into a side street but is trapped by heavy traffic which is approaching quickly from in front as well as behind. Please, don’t try this at home – or anywhere else!
Again, acute hearing also helps our optic senses, for the sound of tortured rubber behind as a car tries to scrub off speed when an unexpected motorcyclist is suddenly spotted directly in the driver’s path should be accompanied by the two-wheeled vehicle suddenly accelerating out of trouble, without a split-second’s thought as to what may be happening astern. As motorcyclists, we can’t simply sit there and wonder what is happening behind us, nor waste precious seconds looking into our mirrors to find out: the trick is to get the hell out of there in a situation like that, my friend…and to do it NOW!
Naturally, this is made infinitely worse by modern cars which often have ABS brakes. These newly advanced braking systems are very efficient, but they don’t lock a vehicle’s brakes, so that modern cars scrub speed off very quickly indeed, but make little tyre noise in doing so.
Consider this: A serious motorcyclist going about the business of pressing-on in traffic might like to have up to eight eyes but has to make do with two of them – highly efficient though they are. Most people – including motorcyclists –have brains somewhat larger than a spider’s pin-head-sized organ, so eight separate images could be very easily accessed by that large glob of fat in our heads with its trillions
of electrical connections; if we had eight eyes, that is, which most of us don’t have! This would allow us to almost instantaneously assimilate a great many facts at once, assess what they mean to us and then swiftly act upon them. We would then do this, for the most part, automatically.
But our two eyes are enough to keep us ever vigilant on many, many fronts at the same time. They are (usually) quite capable at one and the same time of keeping a close watch on ever-changing speed signs; our speedo readings; speed cameras; highway patrol cars or police motorcycles; the ebb and flow of the traffic which surrounds us; changing weather conditions; a thin film of sand just laid on a favourite corner; that sharplooking bird in the short skirt and tight halter-top at the bus stop; swiftly-changing traffic lights; other riders; local, or unknown, recentlydiscovered motorcycle stores; other traffic trying to enter our little safety bubble; drunken layabouts; old ladies with large shopping trollies who shuffle slowly across pedestrian crossings; heavily laden, multi-wheeled trucks which rattle and bang alarmingly; sighted, but otherwise-unseeing schoolkids; the large SUV’s their mothers drive; myopic imbeciles who should never have been granted a licence; those who have newly-acquired licences but were last seen driving a camel across the burning sands; recently licenced rickshaw drivers…the list goes on and on – and on again!
But if some of us have survived for decades riding many motorcycles over poor road surfaces while dodging any one of that longwinded list of potential killers in that over-long, boring paragraph above, it could be said that two eyes are all we would ever need. Provided the information they impart to our king-sized brains is acted upon at once, of course, so that our instantaneous reactions are put to good use when the chips are down and it is every man, or woman, for themselves! D
WHATSAYYOU
WE
LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU, the letters are among the most keenly read parts of the magazine. Please try and keep letters down to no more than 300 words. Then you can read many, not just a couple. We do reserve the right to cut them and, unless you identify yourself and at least your town or suburb and state, we will print your email address instead. Please address letters to thebear@ausmotorcyclist.com.au or Australian Motorcyclist Magazine, PO Box 2066, Boronia Park NSW 2111. All opinions published here are those of the writers and we do not vouch for their accuracy or even their sanity!
HOW’S THIS
80 YEARS OLD, huh! Well, happy birthday, Bun! Our own, Lester Morris hit the big 80 a couple of years ago and is still kicking strong. Some might say he is a “six million dollar man” with some of the crashes he’s had over the years. We’d love for you to write
GET A LIFE
Hi Bear,
I read with interest, Stuart’s “Words of Wisdom” in the last issue (#54). I really think some people need to get a life and let people do what they want to do. If racers want to experience the thrill of racing at the Isle of Man – let them! Sheesh! I reckon the whingers, do-gooders and whatever probably haven’t even been there to experience such a beautiful event. I went back in
some tales of your travels for us. The Bear.
A BIG SURPRISE
Hey Peter,
Hope all is well, you surprised me by popping up in the Ulysses magazine and your story of Mini Me.
I have a small story to tell about a mate of mine – a fellow Ulysses Club member. He can tell a good story and I have tried to encourage him to write something down but with no success as yet.
Unfortunately he was involved in a motorcycle accident a few years back which did some considerable damage. He can now only leave his home for a short period of time. He is a six million dollar man but is not quite as quick and agile as Steve Austin.
After spending a few days travelling in your company I would have loved for you to meet him but as circumstances are as they are,
2013 and loved it. Can’t wait to go back soon. Thanks, Brad
HEY, WHAT ABOUT US?
Geez, you guys get to ride some bikes or what! The last issue was chock-a-block full of bike tests and I love it, but how about letting us ride some for you? Keep up the awesome work team!
Regards, Shannon
Thanks, Shannon. We love to hear from
this is a dream.
What may be possible however is for me to obtain one of your latest greatest rides books and perhaps ask you to scribe a few words to him in the book.
It his 80th birthday coming up soon and I would love to be able to give him something special.
I guess people hit you up for all kinds of favours and I understand completely if you have too much going on for this kind of thing. Let me know if I have sparked an interest.
I will send cash and beer. Cheers, Ross Clements
Ps: His name is John Easterbrook AKA, The “Bun”
Hi Ross,
Let me see what I can do – no promises, but how about you win a set of the lovely Alpine ear plugs in the mean time! Send me your postal address. Regards, The Bear
our readers and we love even more that you think we’re doing a great job. Cheers, Stuart.
FILTER IT
Hi Stu, Ralph, and Bear, I was listening to a radio program recently and a caller was having a whine about lane fi ltering and how dangerous it is and blah, blah, blah. I was so enraged that people with obviously no idea get on their high horse and whine about motorcyclists.
It feels like we get one win and two knocks on the head, so to speak. What can we ever do to get through to these brains?
Regards, Bill.
Bill, we have tried over the years and the various motorcycle council bodies have and still do try but sadly it’s like beating your head against a concrete wall until you bleed. All we can do is educate those around us about the joys of motorcycling and that lane filtering is as safe as any other riding or driving. Regards, The Bear.
GET REAL
Stuart,
I have a bug-bear to get off my chest. Why do certain riders take along a flask of coffee or tea or whatever then pull up at a café with outside seating and take up the tables without purchasing anything from the café? This really pisses me off as they are taking up tables for paying customers. I’m talking specifically about the Grey Gum Café on the Putty Road and many moons ago, the Halfway House. You’ll see these riders pull up, take up a table and pull out their flask and drink away. If only I had a baseball bat, they’d soon know that what I think many other riders think!
Thanks, Garry.
Hi Garry, yes I have often wondered about this too. I’m sure the café owners are biting their tongues in frustration, but what do you do? Cheers, Stuart.
WHEN’S THE NEXT ONE?
Guys, I missed out on your recent New Zealand tour and was wondering what you’ve got planned for the next readers tour? I’m keen as to come along and have a great time! Cheers, Damon.
Damon, do you have mental telepathy or something? Or have you planted a camera in our office somehow? The reason I say this is because we are in the final process of finalising our next readers tour! This time we’re going to Vietnam! Look for the full details in the next issue. Cheers, Stuart.
PASS THE KLEENEX
G’day Stuart,
I had tears of laughter streaming down my face after reading Boris’ last column about how he was incapacitated after water skiing one time. I can only imagine the frustration he must have suffered having to perv on bikini clad hotties and was too “limp” to do anything about it. Keep up the good work, Boris! Regards, Christopher.
RYD ON
Hi Stuart,
I want to thank you for your great review on the Shoei Ryd helmet. I went and bought one (orange one) and absolutely love it. I think it’s the best helmet I’ve ever owned in my 20-odd years of riding. So, thanks again. Regards, John.
Thanks, John. It’s great to know our product reviews help you guys and girls choose what you end up buying. Cheers, Stuart.
WHERE YOU RIDIN?
Hi Bear, I see you’ve got a Himalayan as your next bike. I am keen to see what you think of it as an everyday bike and how it goes in the dirt. I know it won’t really be the bike for the places someone like Stuart might go, but I’m a manicured dirt rider if you like, so I’ll be looking for your thoughts from now on. Thanks, Giles.
Hi Giles, I guess you could class me as a “manicured” dirt rider as well nowadays, so I’ll try to get dirty from time to time for you. The Bear.
GO STUART!
Hi Stuart, I just want to congratulate you on a damn fine job of producing Motorcyclist for us each month. I really think you’ve upped the mark since taking over from The Bear many moons ago. I love the high quality photos and very informative articles
WHAT SAY YOU
contained within the pages. Keep it up, mate!
Kind regards, Sampson.
Hi Sampson, thank you and I feel a little fl ustered with your kind words. We all try to produce the best content for you each and every month. Glad you like it. Cheers, Stuart.
WHERE’S IT GONE?
Gents,
I notice that New in the Shops has been missing the last couple of issues. I am always keen to see what’s new on the market to spend my money on. Let me know. Thanks, Ron.
Hi Ron, we simply haven’t had the room to fi t it in lately, the same with this issue. I promise it will be back next issue! Cheers, Stuart.
THUMBS UP
Stuart,
I have read before that you use D Moto for your tyre changing and Shaun built the engine in your racebike. I just wanted to say that I recently used the guys at D Moto for a new set of tyres and George, Shaun and Mark were great to deal with and they did a great job at helping me choose the right tyres for my bike. Thanks, Giovani.
G’DAY!
Stuart and Ralph
It was great to meet you in the fl esh the other day when you were at the Pie in the Sky café on the old road. I also loved checking out the new long term Kwaka which I mistakingly thought was the Z900. Maybe we can get out for a ride someday? Cheers, Sam.
Hi Sam, it was great to have a chat over a nice coffee with you too. Enjoy your riding. Cheers, Stuart.
SEX SELLS?
Hi guys
I want to know when you’re going to have some bikini glad birds in the mag? You know what they say – sex sells!
Regards, Adrian.
Hi Adrian, “birds” in bikinis? I’m not sure how a pigeon or a parrot would look in a bikini! LOL!
Cheers, Stuart.
WITH THANKS
G’day Stuart,
I want to thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to discuss what types of bikes you thought would be suitable. I have now sold my bike and will go and ride both the new Yamaha MT09 and Kawasaki Z900 to make my fi nal decision. And can I just say to any other readers out there, if you want some advice on what type of bike you should look at, give Stuart a call he knows his stuff!
Thanks, David.
Hi David, thank you for the kind words and it was no problem at all helping you discuss what type of riding you’re doing, price range and what types of bikes fi t into that category. Cheers, Stuart.
HAPPY CHAPPY
Hi Bear and Stuart, I recently was in the market to buy some aftermarket accessories, namely a topbox, Oggy Knobbs and I wanted some braided lines. I remember reading about your long
term Tracer with its topbox and I think braided lines? So I sourced out the contact details for Kenma and I spoke with Mick who was amazingly helpful and was even prepared to custom measure the braided lines if not available. They had already been made by Venhill so Mick even helped me choose just the right colour of the brake hoses. I got one of their topboxes and some Oggy Knobbs in case I drop it. So I guess what I’m trying to say here is the folk at Kenma are excellent to deal with.
Regards, John
WHERE’S THE BEAR Guys,
Peter has his Where’s The Bear page and they have all been way too easy to guess. So, Peter why can’t you make them a little harder to guess?
Cheers, Alan.
Alan, the main aim of Where’s The Bear is so that you can win something without having to do much other than send a quick email. If it was too hard to guess, maybe only you would be the one entering? Or is this your point?
The Bear
LOVE IT
Boys,
Love the last pullout map around Bright. It has to be one of the most stunning areas to do some adventure riding. I went to the Touratech event there earlier this year and had a ball. Can’t wait for next year where I plan to do some more exploring of the surrounding trails. I reckon I’ll even do the map from the last issue, of which I’ve already started programming it into my GPS.
Thanks, Craig.
OKAY, TELL US WHAT YOU REALLY THINK
Bear,
I want to congratulate you guys there on a great mag. I used to read you in that other rag you did for a while but it has turned to shit and not even worthy of wiping my backside with. I hear the people that run that rag recently closed some of their bike mags, no wonder and I reckon that ARR would not be far off the chopping block. I can only assume that this would disappoint you in some way cause you started that mag and where it’s ended up is sad. Oh well, onwards and upwards to you guys!
On ya, Frank
GOTCHA!
Hi Stuart,
I got you guys! In issue 54 in the Ducati 950 test you made a mistake. It’s on page 16 and says, “swuttons”. I think you meant to say, “buttons” did you not? Love the mag by the way.
Kind regards, Leigh.
Hi Leigh, no you haven’t caught me out this time, “swuttons” is followed in brackets by “(switches/buttons)”. I thought having one word for both would be more interesting and I reckon it caught your interest that’s for sure!
Cheers, Stuart.
LAMBO
Hi guys, I see in your News section that Lambretta are making a return. I sold my old Lambretta Series Three 125 Special and wish I had kept hold of it now! Maybe I’ll even have a look at buying the new one when it arrives on our shores?
Cheers, Richard
I could be lining up beside you for one, Richard. I love my Vespa 946 and think a Lambretta would look quite nice beside it. The Bear D
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BEARFACED
GGET BACK, GET BACK
ET BACK TO where you started from. No. You can’t do it, I promise you. I once discussed this point with Ted Simon, author of Jupiter’s Travels, when he was on his second trip around. It was all quite different, he admitted.
The reason this has come up is that I’ve stepped back from some of the daily work here at AMM and I’m therefore spending more time at home. I suspect that it is for this reason that Mrs Bear suggested the other day that I might like to retrace my aroundthe-world ride, or at least part of it. I pondered this for a while, as I tend to do these days (it’s true that you get wiser as you get older) but then decided that mostly, I wasn’t tempted. How could that be? Well, I’ve resampled some of my original route in recent years, and… well, let’s see.
Mrs Bear and I spent a couple of weeks on holiday in Penang, earlier this year. While I like the place very much, it isn’t the town I used to know. The ferries still run but there are also two road bridges between Penang and mainland Malaysia, and that gives a completely different atmosphere. It’s much more like any other Asian city now; only the historic precinct holds places and things that I remember. Geez, that’s a bit of a blow right there… only the historic precinct…
But let’s take a look at it in order. You can’t catch a ship from Fremantle to Singapore any more, so that’s out. In Singapore, they’ve knocked down
all the old shophouses that I liked so much – although they did rebuild them when they realized how important the houses were for the spirit of the island. They have all mod cons now including indoor toilets. It’s not the same, folks. Malaysia is full of modern hotels and resorts, and I actually had trouble finding one of the old Chinese hotels when I was there recently. They were great; as often as not your bike would end up in the owner’s lounge room, and walls started a foot above the floor and ended three feet from the ceiling to allow cooling air flow. There were no showers; you went out the back to a big concrete trough and poured cool water over yourself with a plastic dipper.
I haven’t been to Thailand since my 1978 visit, but I can just imagine what Phuket is like today. Back then, there was a mud track out to Patong beach and the single line of coconut-frond covered ‘hotels’ which served it.
Life was slow and easy, and… well, yes, okay. Nepal, likewise, has not been on my travel calendar since those days. I’m pretty sure it lacks the grubby charm it had then, at least in Kathmandu and Pokhara. The mechanic whose
proudest possession was a set of screwdrivers has no doubt been replaced by electronic analysers in air-conditioned service bays. The roads are probably as bad as ever, I’d guess, since they’re washed away at regular intervals. Do the roguish Tibetan peddlers still perch on the steps by the main road in Pokhara, hoping to unload some prayer wheels or ‘holy’ necklaces?
You might think that India would have changed beyond recognition, but not so. There are many good roads now, replacing the likes of the singlelane tar of the Grand Trunk Road where Sikh-driven trucks would face off, each trying to get the other one to turn off into the mud at the roadside. But the markets are the same, the trishaws still buzz along loaded to the gunwales with plastic homewares being delivered to stalls that nearly block the roadway. The road surface itself is still slick from cow dung and the incense smell is so strong that it clears your sinuses more quickly than any cold medicine. Saris hanging over the road still attract buyers with eye-searing colours, and strange foodstuffs bubble in fat aluminium containers over gas rings.
Yes, India now has more ‘knowledge workers’ than the US, and computer programmers by the thousands; but they still pick up the ingredients for dinner from a roadside stall on their way home. When I’m in India, I usually can’t wait to get out; but the moment the plane lifts off or I pass the border’s boom gate, I start thinking about going back. Nothing has changed there.
Pakistan? Afghanistan? Iran? I might have to think about them, and others, next month… D
ADVERTISERS LISTING
BORIS
SERVES ME RIGHT
NO, THEY HAVE NOT returned. And since they hadn’t actually gone anywhere, they really have no place from whence to return. Café racers have simply ceased to exist.
Still, some people are making a digital name for themselves by leeching off the borrowed glory of a very unique and never-to-beseen again motorcycling subculture that existed in England in the late 60s and early 70s.
Groups of young blokes would ride their British motorcycles to a “caff” – one of the most famous was the Ace Café – where they would drink tea, play rock’n’roll on the jukebox, and shoot the shit about their motorcycles. Now and again, two of them would be moved to race each other through the often damp, cobblestoned streets of London. If there was no-one to race, a bloke would put a record on the jukebox, jump on his bike and ride a predetermined course in an effort to be back before the record had fi nished playing. Many of them would seek to break the old imperial “ton”, or 160km/h in our money, and become a “Ton-Up Boy”. Which was no mean feat on shitty old Nortons, Beezas, and Triumphs.
So in order to make their bikes go faster, the blokes would strip them down to their bare bones, fit clip-onstyle handlebars and home-made rearsets, and set off to find café glory or a good surgeon.
Once a year, many of them would travel to Brighton Beach and spend an afternoon beating the crap out of dandies on scooters, as seen in the movie Quadrophenia. Rockers (the blokes on bikes) versus Mods (the blokes on scooters) was the subject of many horrified newspaper headlines.
So that’s a basic primer on the café racer culture that died out with the advent of the Japanese superbikes like the Honda 750-Four. It is by no
means complete, and like any subculture, is a lot richer and more varied that I have space to go into.
Still, this unique and now extinct paradigm has been appropriated by those man-bun- crowned shitweasels, whom you might recognise as Hipsters. To look briefl y at any of their dreary websites, you would think they are the inheritors of something worthwhile.
But they’re not. And for one simple reason. Café racing was all about riding the bikes. And it’s not about riding motorcycles for these clowns. It never has been. It’s about food, and music and fashion. It’s about raising money for charity. It’s about exhaust-wrap and badly resurrecting dreary old two-wheeled shitboxes, since none of them would know a Paul Smart Ducati from a soy latte.
At a recent International Festival of Speed (back when it was the Barry Sheene Festival of Speed) the new promoters, bearded girl-jean-wearing bravos to a man, were asking who Agostini, Schwantz and Spencer were.
So they don’t ride (not really, and not far, hard or crazy), and they know dick-all about our gods and legends, but they do have an awfully big social media reach. And they host websites with pictures of customised motorcycles on them. They do write words about these motorcycles, but they’re not worth reading and will give you the plague if you persist.
Are they the café racers who have returned?
No. They are not the odour off the steam off the beer-piss that splashes onto your boots when it comes to café racers and café racing.
Even many of the bikes they feature have jumped the shark so many times, it’s almost self-satirising.
But it’s like an echo chamber for these sad yutzes. Their fellow checkshirted beardies comment on these dreadful “builds” that have been “murdered out” or some such shit, and it’s like reading the chatter of
gleeful chimpanzees discussing their own piles of excrement.
The custom bikes themselves are never seen being ridden in public, or smashing the bends on some isolated public racetrack.
The bikes these porridge-brains do ride to their local coffee shops are also jump-the-shark customs – but two rolls of exhaust tape, a yellow headlight lens, and some dirt-bike tyres on an old SR500 do not a café racer make.
So why does this bother me?
It doesn’t. I’m more of a point and laugh kinda bloke when it comes to this entire borrowed glory caper. But I don’t like fakes.
I don’t like pretend outlaws. And I don’t like pretend café racers. I just don’t like people pretending to be something they don’t get, will never get, and instead choose to bastardise by imagining some heritage or connection which would never be theirs no matter how many angle grinders they own.
At the end of the day if you wish to build a proper café racer out of a 1969 Triumph, do it. If you wish to build one out of 2017 Panigale, I would whole-heartedly support that too.
But then you need to ride it.
You don’t need to dress-up like a sexually-fluid lumberjack to do that.
Nah. The café racers haven’t returned. But if they ever did, these makebelievers wanna pray they don’t decide one night to drink their tea in one of those edgy, pleaseserve-my-food-ona-roof-tile joints.
It might get messy. D
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AMM SEPTEMBER 2017 STREET TRIPLE 765 / DUC SUPERSPORT / SWM SUPERDUAL / KTM 390 / URAL / H-D STREET ROD / TRIUMPH BOBBER
