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EDITORSPEAKS
Satisfaction
ARE YOU COMPLETELY
satisfi ed with your current bike? Think about that for a minute and be quite critical when you think about each point of your motorcycle. Is it one hundred percent comfortable, does it need more power (or have too much), does it handle perfectly no matter what the road is like and does it meet or exceed your riding demands? This can be a subjective question that we could talk about for days, but I guess what I’m getting at here is whether you can grab a motorcycle straight off the showroom fl oor and be one hundred percent satisfi ed with every aspect you expected from it.
I’ll use my father as an example here. As you’ll read in this month’s long term section we’ve got a Z900RS as the replacement for the wonderful Z650L. My father snaffl ed the keys from day one and has fallen for this bike in a big way. I kind of knew this would happen, as his current ride, a 2012 Honda Crossrunner, was good for him a few years ago; but now as the body stiffens up a little more I could see that he was in need of something more accommodating of his type of riding. Day trips of
over 300km happen frequently and multi-day trips every few months. Big distances mean that you need a bike that sits you in a comfortable position and while the Crossrunner has a nice upright handlebar, the pegs are in a sporty-ish spot. I think Honda just left them the same as on the donor bike the Crossrunner was designed from, the VFR800. When I rode the Crossrunner it never felt like something I’d like to be riding as an all-day bike. It handled okay, but could be better; the power was adequate but the VTEC was a pain at times and so on it goes.
I’m being very critical of this bike as I want you to do the same with yours. It wasn’t until Dad got on the Z900RS that he realised what he’d been missing. All-day comfort, plenty of power that doesn’t require you to dance on the gear lever all the time, a seating position that doesn’t have you in some weird unsupportive foot position and handling that is about as bang on you’re likely to get off the showroom fl oor. I think that every time my father has been out on the Z900RS he’s called me to tell me how wonderful it is to ride. I guess all of the wisdom passed on to me over the years has fi nally made the return trip!
Let us know what your critical look at your own bike reveals to you. Cheers, Stuart.
Deep in thought - I’m trying to work out all the new electronics on the Triumph Tiger.
NEWS
BLOWN AWAY
Yes, not only were people’s minds blown away at the 2018 Isle of Man TT races this year, so were the records. The rain stayed away for the first time in recent history which allowed some rubber to be laid down around the course. Times in practice (which aren’t officially recorded) saw Dean Harrison on his Silicone Engineering Kawasaki get to the low 134mph mark which was above the previous 133.962mph set by Michael Dunlop last year. Come race time the stop watch was being closely monitored with records tumbling in all classes. The outright new record was set by Peter Hickman in the Senior TT with a blistering 135.452mph lap! Dean Harrison set the TT Superbike race record with a 134.432mph lap. Peter Hickman also set another record in the Superstock race with 134.403mph, Michael Dunlop set two records in Supersport – 129.197mph and 122.750 for the Lightweight TT class. The sidecar team of the Birchall brothers continued the theme and set a new lap record of 119.250mph. Unless the weather holds again as it did this year, these times could stand for some time to come.
*Thanks to Pete at Protec Images for this great snap of Dave Johnson getting it crossed up over Ballacrye Leap.
GOING TO MARKET
Indian Motorcycle has put months of public speculation to rest,
confirming that an FTR 1200, inspired by Indian’s storied history in flat track racing, will be going into production.
While a formal release date has not been set, plans point toward the bike going on sale some time in 2019. In addition to announcing production intentions, Indian also announced a competition where riders can enter to win one of the earliest bikes to come off the assembly line. Riders intent on owning the new Indian FTR 1200 can visit www.win-ftr1200.com for a chance to win the highly anticipated new model. Get to it!
IT’S SUPER
On Father’s Day weekend this year - September 1-2, there are expected to be tens of thousands of people on the NSW Newcastle foreshore watching the 4th year of the Newcastle International SuperMoto, with hundreds of thousands more watching across Australia and around the world via live-stream broadcast. The event is free to go and watch, but you can also get grandstand upgrade tickets, which are available through Moshtix. For more information, contact Graeme Boyd on
0418 435 235 or graeme @newcastlesupermoto.com.au
HOOPLA
Ficeda Accessories has taken over Australian distribution of Dunlop motorcycle tyres from Monza Imports.
Ficeda Accessories has a long history with the iconic tyre brand, successfully distributing Dunlop throughout Queensland, South Australia and the Northern Territory for several decades. The decision to streamline distribution recognises the need for a unified approach to the Australian market and has been some time in the making as Dunlop assessed the market and appraised potential partners before coming to a decision. Fulton Enterprises will continue to distribute Dunlop motorcycle tyres in Tasmania. D
TRIUMPH WANTS TO up the mark for both the Tiger 800 and 1200 from the previous models, so we headed off to northern NSW to find out just how good they’ve become. The launch for the new Tiger 800 and 1200 was a multi-day combination of both the XRT road biased version and the XCA off-road biased version.
First day was the XRT 800 and 1200. We rode up through many of the lovely twisty bitumen roads in northern NSW and southern QLD with a mix of some dirty stuff thrown in. On day two we did a bit of an ‘enduro’ style loop on the XCA 800 and 1200 which really showed just how much these bikes have indeed upped the mark. Then on day three we rode a combination of bitumen and dirt on the XRT models and spent some time roaring up and down a beach on the XCAs. This is now where I might split up the different capacity bikes and give you a rundown on the 800s, then the 1200s.
800 XRT/XCA
The Tiger 800 XC and XR family has been significantly improved with over 200 chassis and engine upgrades. These are complemented by major offroad improvements that work handin-hand with on-road enhancements. And, Triumph didn’t stop there: improvements to technology, comfort
and style really have turned the Tiger 800 models into serious adventure contenders.
A more responsive, optimised triple engine livens things up, as does the lighter, free-flowing muffler with improved sound – because hiding those sweet triple tunes should be illegal! One thing many owners of
the previous model 800s asked for was a shorter ratio first gear. The new model has this, which helps to improve low-speed manoeuvrability and acceleration. As an example: when we did the enduro loop on the XCA model there were some very gnarly sections that required you to carefully
thread your way. Some of the hotshot off-road riders on the launch blasted through, but the more ‘tame’ offroaders like me were thankful for the extra control the lower first gear ratio offers. I didn’t have to slip the clutch all the time and could concentrate on not crashing into deep ruts or down the side of a cliff!
An extra for the XCA model is a new “Off Road Pro” riding mode, with a choice of up to six riding styles. This changes all sorts of parameters including the electronic suspension settings and you can turn things off. One touch cruise control is featured on both bikes and is a breeze as you’d expect. This system doesn’t have the ability to increase/decrease your speed as you ride along, it is designed for you to press the button at the speed you’d like to help reduce fatigue, not be a full on cruise control you’d find on a touring bike. Of course, the cruise works exactly like any other cruise control, in that you can deactivate it via the throttle, brakes and clutch.
Technology is abundant on the 800s – a full colour five inch adjustable TFT instrument panel provides precise information with intuitive operation and can be setup in a number of configurations for your liking. Controlled by the backlit switch cubes and joystick using the features of the instrument panel, these are intuitive and comfortable to operate. All-LED lighting is fitted to the 800s, offering improved visibility and enhanced style, not to mention the feeling of a higher quality product.
Brembo front calipers give premium capability in all conditions and are so good I could use a single fi nger on the front brake while riding off-road, giving me more control because I was able to keep a better grip on the handlebar.
Ergonomics have taken a step up again from what was pretty good on the previous model. The seat is better and the five-way adjustable windscreen and aero diffusers give wind protection for awesome aero comfort at speed.
Triumph has stepped up the game
with the new 800 XRT and XCA. We will be looking at taking an XCA for some serious off-road riding to really get a handle on it in the near future –we’re really impressed by it.
1200 XRT/XCA
The previous big boy 1200s were great bikes, but pushing them hard off-road was not their forte. Triumph knew this and has now given you bikes that can take a beating.
First up, the 1200s are up to ten kilos lighter which doesn’t sound like much but is very noticeable when riding. They’re easier to manoeuvrer and from a general feeling similar to when you have over eaten and feel lethargic, they’ve come to feeling that you’re fuelled up and going great.
As with the 800s, the 1200s feature a full colour five inch TFT instrument panel but the technology doesn’t stop there on the 1200s. Hill hold control, electrically adjustable windscreen, cornering ABS, cornering traction control and an integrated braking system are just some of the advanced features the new 1200s offer. TSAS (Triumph Semi-Active Suspension) by WP Suspension is fitted to both models, whereas with the 800s, only the XC versions have TSAS. You can set TSAS to many different parameters but I found the pre-programmed settings by Triumph were all I needed. Scrolling through the six riding modes also changes TSAS.
Triumph Shift Assist (a quickshifter) gives silky smooth gear changes both up and down, and significantly reduces rider fatigue (as they all do). It is one of the smoothest quickshifters on the market.
Adaptive Cornering Lighting is another great feature on the 1200s. Providing enhanced night-time visibility; I see this type of system becoming the norm in a few year’s time as it improves the safety level of riding a motorcycle at night substantially.
Triumph has again partnered with Arrow exhausts, fitting a titanium and carbon fibre silencer to both 1200s. Lightweight with a nice triple
sound only adds to the quality. I normally rabbit on about power at the start of most tests; the increase in power for the 1200s is not a huge difference, but for me, has smoothed things out. It is more user friendly if you like.
Ergonomics are excellent for both rider and pillion. Heated grips, and heated rider and pillion seats and seat comfort that will keep your pillion in a million happy all day long. Triumph go to great lengths to maximise rider/pillion comfort with the help of medical grade materials. As I mentioned, the 1200s have an electric adjustable screen which in the highest position will deflect wind off your pillion. To add to the convenience the 1200s have two 12v power sockets and one USB socket and for the rider, keyless ignition is now standard.
Riding both the XRT and XCA on and off-road it is the choice for taller riders and two-up touring riders who want to get off the beaten track. They are a huge leap forward from the previous models putting the 1200 XCA (especially) closer to the competition in terms of spec and capability.
ACCESSORIES
As Triumph has done in the past, the list of accessories for both the 800 and 1200 is massive. Try something like over 50 parts available for each model!
THE BIG DECISION?
From the four motorcycles we rode during the launch, choosing which bike you’d buy comes down to what you really want to do. This is probably common sense but…go the XCA models if you’re seriously going to look at doing 75% or more dirt riding, otherwise look at the XRT as it’s better on the bitumen and still handles dirt roads with ease.
Triumph has stepped up the game ten-fold, especially with the XCA version of both the 800 and 1200. Tigers which used to tread gently
Street. Dirt. Adventure. Touring. Whether your ride of choice is tarmac or trail — or equal parts of both — Arai has the perfect helmet for all of them : the XD4. Renowned for years as the industry standard for comfort, quality and protection, the XD4 features Arai’s proprietary FCS ® cheek pad design, class-leading venting, a fully removable and washable interior, and a sleek shell shape and high-flow peak and side cowl vents that deliver excellent aerodynamic stability at street speeds.
The Arai XD4. Standard- setting performance, on road and off.
over sharp rocks now have paws of steel and will handle a belting over properly gnarly trails. For the XRT models – two-up touring and not being scared to travel on some unsealed roads is what they’re all about. Great job, Triumph. D
TRIUMPH
TIGER 1200 XRT & XCA
PRICE: $27,600 / $29,300 (plus on-road charges)
WARRANTY: Two years, unlimited distance
SERVICING INTERVALS: Every 16,000km or 12 months
ENGINE: Liquid-cooled in-line three cylinder, 4-stroke, DOHC, 4 valves per cylinder
BRAKES: Front, twin 305mm discs with radial mount four-piston ABS calipers. Rear, 282mm disc, twin-piston ABS caliper.
FUEL CONSUMPTION: N/A
THEORETICAL RANGE: N/A
COLOURS: XRT: Korosi Red, Crystal White. XCA: Marine, Crystal White
VERDICT:VERY VERSATILE TIGERS
GOT TO GET AWAY*
Let someone else do the worrying WORDS THE BEAR
MOTORCYCLE TRAVEL
is one of the most enjoyable things I can think of. So enjoyable that I think I’ll start off with a song…
I’M GOIN’ UP THE COUNTRY, BABY DON’T YOU WANT TO GO?
“What? And sleep under bridges again? No. Thank. You.” That’s a not uncommon response when you ask your Better Half if she/he wants to go on a bike tour with you. Choose an organised tour and you can not only guarantee better accommodation, you can show it. And believe me, some of the places you’ll stay will be spectacular. Tour operators know what goes down well with clients.
I’M GOIN’ TO SOME PLACE, I’VE NEVER BEEN BEFORE,
Let’s face it, it’s always easier to go back to somewhere you’ve been. Any place you know will offer fewer surprises (some of which may well
be unpleasant) and will be easier in any number of ways. But is that what you want? Once again, choose an organised tour, especially one to a new and exciting place, and you can rely not only on novelty but also on all the advantages of a familiar destination – because the organiser will know it. Edelweiss’ choice of Carcassonne on one of my trips as a stopover was wonderful.
I’M GOIN’ WHERE THE WATER TASTES LIKE WINE,
With a good operator you will not only ride wonderful roads and see amazing sights, you will also eat and drink the best – or at least the most interesting – of your destination’s comestibles. I’ll never forget being taught how to pour sidra, the famous
*With thanks (and apologies) to Alan Wilson for Canned Heat’s words from ‘Goin’ Up the Country’.
New Zealand
local cider, in Asturias in northern Spain with IMT. To be honest I never did learn how to pour it, although I managed to get enough into my glass for just one drink.
WE CAN JUMP IN THE WATER, STAY DRUNK ALL THE TIME.
No, I don’t suggest you drink to, er, excess on any motorcycle trip. But a smart operator will know that a rest day in a place that offers outstanding bars and other non-dry entertainment venues can be a highlight of any tour. After the hangover wears off, anyway. And you wouldn’t believe some of the stuff they drink in various places; did you know that a Cuba Libre is just
a rum and coke – but with lime juice added? Very nice indeed.
I’M GONNA LEAVE THIS CITY, GOT TO GET AWAY.
Need I say more? Probably not; Australian motorcyclists have never headed overseas in greater numbers than we do now. Make a point of checking the Federal Gummint’s website www.smartraveller.gov.au/ for background and warnings about various countries. The website is a bit pessimistic, but it’s best to be wary. The country’s own website will tell you if you need a visa or other paperwork. Check out the rest of this article for suggestions just how and where
you could “get away”. I’ve listed the countries most popular with Australians for bike tours, with some of the operators who will take you there and (mostly) show you a good time. There may still be rogue operators out there, but motorcycle tourism has been around for long enough now to weed out most of the duds. Generally speaking, anyone who advertises with us, or whom we mention in our stories, is going to offer good and reliable service.
NEW ZEALAND
Easily the most popular destination for Australian motorcyclists, New Zealand – and especially the South
Bonjour
Immerse yourself in the magic of Provence, once a mecca to Impressionist painters, still the perfume capital of the world, and home to world class chefs and restaurants. Several destination are two-night stops, giving our riders the option to sip espresso, tour perfumeries, explore art galleries and Roman ruins, or to ride suggested day trips. We’ll start in the Mediterranean port city of Nice, once the summer home of European elites. We’ll visit Roman ruins, sample local cuisines and wines, look deep into the Verdon Canyon, stroll Medieval villages, go vertical in Vercors, let Aix and Avignon charm us. We’ll also ride west to the ancient volcanic region of Massif Central.
Island – offers wonderful riding, good food (now the Kiwis have learned not to cover everything in cling wrap), excellent wines and terrific people. You may have to cope with some gentle and even not-so-gentle ribbing about being Australian… when I mentioned once that it seemed a little damp after two solid weeks of rain, I got the response “Australia is hanging onto the High!”.
The South Island is the preferred target for its spectacular scenery and no less spectacular roads. Three major passes cross the mountainous spine of the island, and there are numerous other must-ride roads. The West Coast is a wild place both for its landscapes and its weather, and of course the south offers you an opportunity to see the World’s Fastest Indian. To be fair, though, the North Island has its own charm, both for the amazing volcanic region in its middle and the beauty of its gentler agricultural land. You really can’t go wrong in New Zealand – although it does get a bit chully –
& Destinations
sorry, chilly – in winter. The best time to visit is summer, as long as you avoid school holiday time when the roads are chocka with camper vans.
It is relatively easy to take your own bike across the Tasman Sea, but if you’re only going for a two- or threeweek holiday you will probably find an organised tour more convenient. And if you don’t want to rid with a group, most of the operators offer bike rental. Some of them will do the planning for you, as well, and suggest routes and even accommodation. If you’re on a budget, camping is easy.
VIETNAM
Australia and Vietnam have been tied remarkably closely ever since the Vietnam War. This is known locally as the American War, and few people give a stuff about it these days. Vietnamese people are generally cheerful and good with foreigners, except for the ‘tribal’ women fl ogging handcrafts in the mountains.
These harpies are best avoided. Traffic is intense but scooter riders and car drivers are generally more than competent enough to deal with it. You should try to be predictable and just go with the various fl ows and remember not to hesitate, because if you do you really are well and truly lost. Despite overall competence on the road, Vietnam has a horrendous road toll.
As in China, the most important tool on your bike is the horn, and if you don’t use it you don’t exist for the rest of the traffic. It is not rude to use it, and it is certainly not prohibited the way it mostly is in Australia. Local riders and drivers are obliging and helpful if they know you’re there. Blow that horn!
Take a look at the roadside vehicle checks; they remind me irresistibly of Victoria, but they’re not checking for licenses or rust or unsafe brakes; the focus here is on lights and especially on the horn. If yours doesn’t work the bike will be confiscated and loaded
Vietnam
New Zealand’s only BMW Motorrad approved Travel Partner
Guided and self-guided tours and rentals RIDE WITH THE BEST.
USA
Journeys & Destinations
aboard the nearby truck that will take it to the police station.
It is possible to rent a bike and ride around Vietnam on your own, but you need all sorts of paperwork to enter some of the country, especially near the Chinese border. That’s where the most beautiful countryside is, too, so an organised tour is the way to go. It also means that any mechanical problems (fairly common) are not your problem.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
The US has become somewhat less popular recently, due partly to the appreciation of the greenback against our dollar, and partly the political scene. Neither of these should
be enough to make you strike out the US from your list of potential destinations. It is still relatively cheap if you look for bargains in food and accommodation: I recently found a Travelodge practically within walking distance of Los Angeles International Airport which was not only well priced, in an area that has horrendously expensive hotels, but also has a uniquely ‘50s look. Take a look at Travelodge Hotel at LAX; they have well-priced day rooms too, something that can be invaluable at LAX if you’re changing flights. Oh, and unlike the other, vastly expensive, hotels around there they have free breakfast - and free Wifi!
Okay, so, how do I write about riding a place as large and varied as the US?
I have often noted that the US is a whole world, and I mean it. But your decision is really very simple; the best way to cope is not to try to do too much. Just decide where you want to go and what you want to see, then find an operator who will take you there. Weirdly enough, even though it has been over-exploited for years, Route 66 is still worth the trip – and by the time you read this, the roadworks west of Needles should be done and the old road reopened.
Quite apart from the scenery, the US has some wonderful motorcycle (and other) museums, local culture and cuisines. The idea that America is all fast food could not be more wrong; yes, there are chain restaurants everywhere but there are also local and fiercely traditional places to eat. Much of Australia’s own culture is based on the US, whether we like it or not; the beginning of this transfer goes back to the gold rushes when miners travelled freely between the Australian and American gold fields. It wasn’t all one way, either; there’s a place called Ballaarat (that’s the old Australian spelling) in Death Valley. It’s where Peter Fonda throws away his watch at the beginning of Easy Rider.
I have many places in the US that I really love, although I’m sad to say that recently a lot of the western States have experienced a downturn that has seen motels and cafés close and others gradually decline for lack of maintenance.
Just one more thing – don’t mention Donald Trump or argue about his… achievements. He has divided the country like nothing else since slavery, and you never know where people stand.
CUBA
I suspect that before long, much of Cuba will be a Latino Disneyland. At the moment it is a struggling but cheerful and proudly independent nation, wracked by shortages and limitations caused by American embargos. But its tourism potential is so enormous that I think it will succumb to the staggering amounts
of money that the international tourist industry is ready to pour into hotels and other infrastructure. Cubans love their country and their way of life, but the big bucks have a way of changing people’s attitudes.
For the time being, though, you can see it all without the same chain restaurants, cafés and shops as the rest of the world. Sure, you may find as I did that one café after another along a main road had no way to heat the coffee because the power was out; but frankly I’d rather have that minor annoyance, tempered by the local attitude that that’s just life, than a predictable coffee from a surly socalled barista in a branded chain outlet. And I met Che Guevara’s son at one café where they did have coffee. Cuba does not have much outstanding motorcycling. The relatively good roads are straight, and the curved ones are generally in pretty poor shape. Here, it isn’t the riding that’s important but the fact that you get to be part of people’s everyday lives on your bike. Get there before it’s gone.
Cuba The Balkans
THE BALKANS
Very few places in the world are as spectacularly endowed with scenic beauty as the Balkans. Whether you’re in Croatia, Slovenia or any of the other small countries that have emerged since the disintegration of Jugoslavia, the limestone hills and wooded valleys are wonderful to see and even better to ride through. This is one of the places where the European Union has done sterling work with the road network, and while there are still dud roads there are also many excellent new ones. Food and culture are a match for the scenery, and the people are friendly and interested in foreigners. Some of the history, especially the very recent and violent breakup of Tito’s federation, is harrowing but worth hearing because it gives you an idea of the many reasons for the political scene here. A good tour operator will make sure that you get an idea of all this.
I’ve loved this part of the
Mediterranean lands ever since I first found myself here, back in the early ’70s, and whenever I visit I find that there are more fascinating places I’ve never even heard of. Go with an organised tour, and you will not only enjoy the country and the roads, you will also have a chance to begin to understand what made the Balkans what they are.
INDIA
All right, so maybe the USA is a whole world in one country – but India is a whole weird world in one country. From the Himalaya, one of the most popular motorcycle destinations for Australians of all ages and skill levels, to the crowds of the Ganges valley and the tropical canal towns of the deep south, India has more variety than I suspect any other place in the world.
Despite the impressive advances India has seen in the past few decades, it is still a pretty rugged sort of place
How to get away
We are always happy to help you out with advice on touring overseas or in Australia. Send me any questions at contactus@ausmotorcyclist.com.au or check with our in-the-know adviser David Reeves at Ride The World (Australia). Take a look at his webpage, www.ridetheworld.com.au, or contact him at david@ridetheworld.com.au.
where road safety and infrastructure are concerned. It is certainly one place where I would recommend you go with an organised tour.
SOUTH AFRICA
What can I write about the country that its own people call ‘The Sacred Land’? South Africa has its political and social problems, but that does
SOUTH AFRICA HAS
www.edelweissbike.com
nothing to detract from the beauty of some great motorcycle rides like the Garden Route, along the east coast, or the wine country down south around Franshoek. It does, however, make it more advisable that it might be in some other countries to seek the security of group travel. No biggie, just… well, peace of mind. Put yourself into the hands of a
India
reliable tour operator here and you’ll have a chance to see and do all that South Africa has to offer. Hey, I even got to pat a rhino!
Sri Lanka
You might find yourself confronted by a bear on the highway in Alaska, but in Sri Lanka that could be an
elephant peering at you, trying to decide whether it’s happy with your presence. Despite recent and now settled fighting (restricted to the north of the island), Sri Lanka is a natural wonderland with a luxuriant variety of animals and plants. That’s all the more so because the elevation of the island varies so much; the high country has different flora and fauna from
South Africa
Sri Lanka
the coastal lowlands. That makes for interesting wildlife and roads, too.
One fascinating aspect of Sri Lanka is the large number of tea plantations. These turn the highlands into carefully manicured rows and rows of tea bushes, all looked after and harvested by brightly-clad women with woven baskets over their shoulders.
In many ways, the island is oldfashioned – and in a really charming
way. The streets of Kandy bustle with people in the way that all Asian streets once bustled before they were clogged by cars. Accommodation ranges from the cheerfully basic at coastal surfing hostels to the most impressive Rajstyle hotels in the high country. Sri Lanka is so close to Australia, and so easy to reach – Qantas is promoting connections with the local airline – that I can only imagine that it
will be the next hot spot for Australian motorcyclists. I’ll be joining you there, no question about it.
ITALY
Over the past couple of decades, I have probably spent more time riding in Italy than anywhere else outside Australia. The reason is simple: every year I have been invited to IFMA, the
0024 + years
Milan motorcycle show, and every year I borrowed a bike from one or another of the Italian manufacturers and I’ve gone for a ride before the show started. Believe me, you can cover a lot of territory when you have a week or two every year for twenty years, but I doubt that I’ve seen a tenth of what is worth seeing, and ridded a tenth of the roads that are worth riding.
The most obvious destination for a keen motorcyclist in Italy is the Dolomites in the far north. Probably the most spectacular part of the entire Alps, the Dolomites are veined with outstanding roads offering more hairpins than Naples has flies during a garbage strike. I well remember when the road tester for Laverda took me for a quick run into the southern Dolomites, where all new Laverdas were tried out.
Italy Mexico
There is more alpine riding to the west, and then there are the Apennines down along the west coast, with the Cinque Terre town set on the waterfront like multicoloured jewels. Yes, all right, I did have a few café corretos while I was there… Further south there’s the central high country, the coast below Naples, the harsh but beautiful country in the heel of the Italian boot - and so much more. when the road tester for Laverda took were tried out.
MEXICO
There are organised tours that will take you to places like the Copper Canyon, and I would definitely suggest you tackle these with a tour group; but I would even take on a Baja California trip with an operator. I’ve just done it by myself, and I know that I missed a lot of stuff I would really enjoy. There’s a complete story (probably in this issue) about that trip – take a look at that for more about Baja and Mexico in general.
SOUTH AMERICA
I’ve lumped an entire continent together under one heading because tours typically cover more than one country. What you can count on no matter where you go, however, is spectacular scenery. Most of this is due to the Andes, which dominate South America and run through seven countries. At 7000km, the Andes are the longest
South America
mountain range in the world. Roads in South America are typically… well, not typical. They range from outstanding motorways to wretched goat tracks, and it can be hard to tell where you are going to find which extreme. Having an experienced guide can mean that you will traverse more remote roads, because he/she will know where it’s possible to get through and where it isn’t. Yes, I write from personal experience.
Accommodation can be just as variable as the roads; a combination of poverty, rapid development, heavy tourism, lonely remoteness and other contradictions make it a tossup what quality is available sometimes. South America, I’d say, is the last remaining place on Earth where you can count on having an adventure.
“Everybody complains about the weather, but nobody ever does anything about it,” said Charles Dudley Warner within the hearing of Mark Twain, who quickly appropriated the comment. You may find yourself thinking about it when you’re riding in South America, more than anywhere else. No matter which tour you choose down there, chances are that you will find yourself traversing different climates and in one or more of them the weather may be less than clement. Unfortunately, the only response to this is - suck it up. Although it is just possible that your guide may know an alternative route where it isn’t raining. Of course it may be snowing instead.
NORWAY
Umm. Right. Norway. Err… how can I put this? Stuart and many other Australian motorcyclists think that New Zealand, especially the South Island, is the best motorcycle country in the world. At the risk of receiving a visit from the Unzud mafia, I have to demur. Norway is the best motorcycle country in the world. There is just nowhere on this green planet where I’ve ever been that has so many spectacular mountain roads and passes.
Roads are generally in excellent condition; Norway is a wealthy country, and they spend a lot of the money on infrastructure. There are staggering tunnels and bridges as well as picturesque ferries. One drawback is that back roads do occasionally suffer from frost damage. Another is that Norway is expensive. But it’s worth the money.
SPAIN
Australia is often promoted as a land of contrasts, and of course it is; but Spain can lay claim to the same soubriquet. From the mountainous northern coast, often called Green Spain, to the central high country and the southern and eastern coastal stretches it is about as varied as a country can be. As you may have seen in the news recently, it even has different languages. Add to that a remarkable variety of
motorcycle travel experiences in Vietnam and Indochina and have a long association with Australian Motorcyclist putting together escorted tours
food and drink, and you’ve got an opportunity to experience something pretty unique.
Like Australia, though, Spain is not the kind of place you should try to explore all in one go. It is much smaller, of course, but its many varieties are also crowded much closer together. One moment you’re
on a dry high plain, then you’re in a deep, green defile with its walls lined with grape vines; now you’re on a salty, wind-blown beach road and then you’re among apple orchards reaching as far as the eye can see. The roads, often built with EU money, match the scenery… except when they haven’t been upgraded,
and they don’t! They might be grim, but they’re still fun.
One wonderful part of riding in Spain is the opportunity to stay in Paradores, State-owned hotels which have often been set up in ancient castles or monasteries. Outrageously luxurious, and used by most of the tour operators. D
Felixstowe Shipments to Felixstowe twice every year.
A thens Shipments to Athens every year.
B A rcelon A Shipments to Barcelona every year. Motorcycle shipping
dave@getrouted.com.au or call: 03 5625 9080
TOUR OPERATOR DIRECTORY
The guide to the stars
- The who’s who in the zoo of motorcycle travel worldwide is what you’ll fi nd here. These companies want to make your motorcycle travel the best it can be. We’ve travelled with many of them and know them all, so they come highly recommended. In alphabetical order, they are:
TOURS – New Zealand www.motorbiketours.co.nz offi ce@motorbiketours.co.nz
VIETLONG TRAVEL - Asia www.vietlongtravel.com sales@vietlongtravel.com
WORLD ON WHEELS - Europe, Iceland, South America, India, Asia, Mexico, Africa & Himalaya www.worldonwheels.tours Adventure@WorldOnWheels.Tours
Metzeler Grand
Metzeler has been making a big comeback push lately. The idea is to show everyone the joy of motorcycling –naturally on the Metzeler range of tyres. If you remember back to the brand’s glory days in the ’70s and ’80s, if you weren’t riding on a set of Metzelers you were more than likely riding on some blocks of wood. That popularity has faded away somewhat in the past few years. Today, the other brand that comes out of the same factory (Pirelli) is the world’s leading seller of black hoops for motorcycles. Metzeler is not taking that lying down and aims to increase market share, especially in the Asia Pacific region. So going to the best motorcycle country in the world (in my humble opinion) and setting up Metzeler’s Grand Tour with a chance to ride four in
different disciplines was the perfect way to experience the thinking behind the factory’s latest hashtag#metzelerwanderfeel.
The “wander” is you riding your motorcycle and the “feel” is the amazing feeling you get from that. Doing it all on the outstanding range of great tyres Metzeler has on offer was the icing on the cake.
The Grand Tour was held in Queenstown, New Zealand, if you hadn’t worked it out by now. Only a select few motorcycle scribes from the Asia Pacific region were invited to “wander feel” on cruisers, enduro, road and adventure bikes around the glorious sights that only the South Island of New Zealand can provide.
First up, it was riding Harleys out to Glenorchy on my favourite road in the world, then Yamaha WR450s in the afternoon along Skippers Canyon.
The next day we took the bitumen to Lake Hawea and in the afternoon there was a great run around the back of The Remarkables through the Nevis Valley on Yamaha Super Teneres.
The five tyres I rode on for our four different wanderings were the ME 888, MC 360, Roadtec 01, Sportec M7 RR and the Karoo Street. Each tyre was absolutely perfect for each discipline – loads of grip and loads of feel meant I could enjoy the “wander”.
A decent dump of snow fell the night before my first day on the Harleys and WR450s, so the sights were simply as stunning as they come. Sure, we did have to watch for any potential black ice in the morning on our way out to Glenorchy but the great levels of grip available meant I never really thought about any sort of sliding.
Skippers Canyon is an old gold mining route and a must-do if you’re in Queenstown. It is classed as the sixth or seventh most dangerous road in the world. The road is virtually a single lane the entire way and if you move off that line you’re down the side of the cliff. The sights are simply stunning so take your time, ’cause no one will find if you go over.
Another of the top rides you could find anywhere in the world is up the Crown Range Road to Wanaka and then out to Lake Hawea and back –think ‘race track’ and you’re pretty close. You just need to watch what time of year you ride this road. The snow can stop you in your tracks, and the first few weeks after the snow season mean that there is both fine and coarse grit on the road. So long as you’re aware of that - and you’re on a set of Metzelers! - you won’t have any trouble.
Finally, the Nevis Valley. This is somewhere I’d never been before and it too is a must-do when in Queenstown. As soon as you step off the plane you’re confronted by the massive Remarkable mountains, and having the opportunity to ride behind them is one you’ll never forget. I was told that the Nevis Valley has its own kind of individual climate. It can be sunny and ‘reasonably’ warm in Queenstown, yet a stone’s throw over The Remarkables it can be freezing cold, snowing, windy and down-right deadly. That made it all the more enjoyable for me.
A part of the “wander feel” that Metzeler wanted the select group to experience was the experience of fine dining, so we ate at some of the most exquisite places on offer in Queenstown. These are restaurants where you might plan to eat yourself if you were visiting the area. Two places to note especially were Botswana Butchery, where I’ve eaten before and which is simply the grandest restaurant. The second was the Black Rabbit Café out at Bannockburn – the largest and tastiest burger I’ve ever had, bar none! The two days of riding were organised by the great folk at Dirt
Bike Tours New Zealand (www. dirtbiketours.nz). The Columb family knows every nook and cranny of the South Island, so if you want the best possible experience off-road, I strongly urge you to get in touch with them. They offer rides on WR450s and Super Teneres as well as four wheel drive buggies if it’s too snowed in to be on two wheels. Tell the boys that I sent you and don’t believe a word they tell you about my riding with them except for the good (or is that legal?) bits. Hahaha!.
Metzeler certainly threw the grandest of Grand Tours over the two days I had in Queenstown. The company showcased the high quality product it offers with the #metzelerwanderfeel they wanted us to experience. Get on a set and see exactly what I mean: no matter what you ride, Metzeler has an awesome tyre for you to “wander” and to “feel”. D
Granite Sleet
Snow
BMW
R
LOVe Is nOt JUst in the air here, it’s also on the ground. The most recent version of BMW’s enormously successful R nineT range I straddled before this G/S was the Scrambler, and while I liked it, it did not really do it for me. But take the same tyres, the same engine and even the same running gear and transform it into the Urban G/S… and suddenly it becomes a thing of beauty. That’s with little more than a mild
What’s in a name?
Presumably the G/S in this bike’s name is a reminder of the original BMW adventure bike, the R 80 G/S. It meant ‘Gelände/Strasse’, or ‘off-road/ on-road’. Just in case you were wondering, the current suffix ‘GS’ means ‘Gelände Sport’. But where does ‘Urban’ come in? Sure there are roads in the city, but off-roads? Are we being encouraged to tackle the odd golf course with one of these machines? Could be fun, I suppose, especially with the block pattern tyres… you could certainly outrun any golf cart ever made.
cosmetic shift into heritage dirt-style. I’m in rapture, even more than after my first proper kiss. Why, you ask? Seriously, I’m going to put most of the bike’s overwhelming attraction down to the look all in white with blue (in two shades) blocks and the red seat. Also, the optional wirewheels (and Metzeler Karoo tyres) add more to the off-road potential. And the rather fruity sounding muffler with that swept-up look helps too. The front
and rear guards are different, as is the seriously retro headlight surround. You might expect that the suspension tweak to fall in line with the G/S (GS) family image, with 125mm front and 140mm rear travel (up 5 and 20mm over the standard R nineT) wouldn’t make that much difference. It does, just enough.
The badging along with the colour scheme pay respect to the go-anywhere original R80 G/S of the ‘80’s. But if you’re expecting to match my pinup idol (he was short, too) Gaston Rahier’s flatout runs across the African desert, think again. Dakar aspirations fade like the light of the sun in a Saharan dust storm once you acknowledge the firm but relatively short travel suspension and the decent 220kg weight. There go any sand dune jumping pretensions. Although Stuart, being Stuart, did take the G/S along some single-line trail and found it to handle rather well – just not in super gnarly terrain.
The biggest concern, then, for anyone captivated by the style of the GS is: what’s it good for?
The ‘Urban’ is probably more ‘urbane’ than city-focused, but the bike has some outstanding on-road user-friendly features. Top of the list are the totally sorted fuelling and punchy power delivery. The Brembo brakes are fine and friendly, and the long-established connection between Bosch electronics and BMW hardware means they should offer top service under any conditions. The result is a package that suits both commuter and tourer needs... with one exception. The seat ate my inner thighs
after even a relatively short burst; by the time my freeway run had gone on for an hour I’d had about all I could take. It didn’t bother me after the freeway, seeing I have 19 roundabouts to play with before I cross the bridge over the lake separating the town from my house. Those memorials to modern motoring give the turn and squirt nature of the 81kW, 1170cc Boxer motor a bit of exercise. Gearbox and clutch are smooth and light and equal anything else on the road with a shaft-drive for enjoying 190-odd gearchanges. With the traction control off I can even fly the front wheel in second gear a dozen times. A few days with this and other types of urban chaotic behaviour have me high-fiving myself and grinning like every day is a birthday.
I would be tempted to add a couple of inches of seat padding, raise the ‘bar the same amount and bolt on some hand-guards and an after-market tacho and analogue clock just for fun of it. Also on the list would be a change to less dramatic tyres more in keeping with pushing harder on byroads rather than offroad. This would fit my image and the Urban’s better.
As a back-country roads specialist, an urban terrorist and a traveling companion for the escapologist the Urban G/S would be one of maybe two motorcycles I could see in my retirement future. Thank you to the almost analogue R nineT, for offering more fun than an ant at a kid’s birthday picnic. BMW has this one nailed. D
FUEL CONSUMPTION: 5.42 litres per 100km, premium unleaded
THEORETICAL RANGE: 313km
COLOURS: Light White
VERDICT: IT’LL STEAL YOUR HEART
BMW R NINET URBAN G/S
MOUNTAINEER
[moun-tn-eer] a climber of mountains, especially for sport South Island, New Zealand
WORDS STUART PHOTOS MILES HOLDEN
QUEENSTOWN
Queenstown was carved out of the land by glaciers, rivers and lakes, but it has since been shaped by innovative adventurers and entrepreneurs drawn to the region from all over the world to make this place home. It’s called the adventure capital of the world and if you love adrenaline running through your veins then you’re in the right place. This also includes the awesome motorcycle roads that surround this area: they’re so good you’ll think this place is surreal. Packed with cafes, restaurants and
shops there’s plenty to see and do in Queenstown if you just want to wander around town for a little while after you’ve been on the bike.
CROWN RANGE ROAD
The highest main road in New Zealand. It reaches an altitude of 1121 metres, which does bring challenges. In winter, the road is often covered in snow and ice, making for difficult riding conditions and sometimes impassable ones for a motorcycle. In summer the road is usually packed with tourists, so keep
your eyes open, but in all the times I’ve been there I’ve never failed to have an awesome ride along the Crown Range.
CARDRONA
Besides the ski resort, the main thing in Cardrona is the hotel. It is one of the oldest and probably the most iconic hotel on the South Island, although the current building was constructed as a movie set. Rumoured to be the most photographed building in New Zealand, the ‘historic’ facade hides an
www.hemamaps.com.au
SOUTH ISLAND, NEW ZEALAND
Head out of Queenstown on Frankton Road and follow it out past Lower Shotover and Lake Hayes to Arrow Junction. You’re now on the Gibbston Highway where you’ll see the signs for Crown Range Road, Cardrona and Wanaka. Turn left and head up the hill which takes you all the way to Cardrona, then (predictably) on to Wanaka. At the T-intersection in Wanaka turn right, make your way up the hill, being sure you fill up at the BP servo on your right hand side. A few hundred metres up the road, you can turn left onto Lake Hawea-Albert Town road, signposted Albert Town, Lake Hawea, West Coast. Follow this all the way until the lake has switched from on the right to on the left and finally into Makarora. Have a coffee at the general store or simply fill up and blast back to Queenstown. Note – I know all the twisties on this route are mega fun, but the New Zealand Police has been having a bit of
a crackdown on speedsters lately. If you get caught 40km/h or more over the posted limit you’re walking, simple as that. Keep that in mind because when you’re out of the towns on this route, it would be a LONG walk!
TEAR-OUT MAP #66
DISTANCE
262km return
FUEL
Queenstown, Wanaka, Makarora.
COLLECT THEM ALL
award-winning restaurant, legendary beer garden (in which you can waste many hours just lazing around) and charming hotel rooms with an atmosphere second-to-none. If you wanted to stay out of the hustle and bustle of Queenstown, the Cardrona Hotel is a good option. www.cardronahotel.co.nz
WANAKA
I really like Wanaka. It has the charm of Queenstown without a lot of the hustle and bustle. Wanaka has outstanding natural beauty; sitting on the edge of Roys Bay it is simply stunning. There’s also the world famous Wanaka Tree, which is probably the most photographed tree in the world! Wanaka’s lakes and mountains and proximity to Mt Aspiring National Park makes it the penultimate base for outdoor activities (after Queenstown) and where there’s mountains, this means corners and plenty of them for motorcyclists. But it’s not just the outdoor enthusiasts who have plenty to do, stroll the streets and be inspired by galleries, stylish shops and be spoilt for choice with a great selection of cool cafes and restaurants.
LAKE HAWEA
A place of vivid beauty. You’ll be blown away by how stunning Lake Hawea is. Then you’ll be blown away by how good the road is –fast sweepers, tight turns… you’ll be having an absolute ball riding this stretch.
BIKE HIRE
If you want to do a fly-in fly-out trip check out Paradise Motorcycle Tours NZ (www.paradisemotorcycletours. co.nz) for road bike hire and for those seeking a dirty time, get in touch with the Columb boys at Dirt Bike Tours NZ (www.dirtbiketours.nz). D
We’re heading into the land of “The Secret River” – if you’re familiar with the highly acclaimed novel of that name by Australian author Kate Grenville. You might have caught up with the story through the stage play or TV mini-series adapted from the novel. It’s a land of motorcycling that’s both exciting and visually stunning; as well as a land rich in historic landmarks, notably linked to World Heritage-listed
remnants of convict-built structures: The Convict Trail.
You have likely read in earlier editions of Australian Motorcyclist about the great motorcycling roads through the Hawkesbury-Hunter Ranges, with the Putty Road and the Wisemans Ferry/ Wollombi Road high on the list. This article includes the latter but there is so much more with alternative and complementary routes through the ranges and beyond. I’ve also highlighted
the unique attractions that can be enjoyed along the way.
The GreaT NorTh road
Once the Sydney colony spread to the Hunter area (centred on Newcastle) north of Sydney, road access became a necessity. With the early expansion of the colony into the food bowl of the Hawkesbury area and the subsequent need for better transport to it, this became an inevitable stopover for the
READERS TRAVEL
link between Sydney and the Hunter. Thus was devised the concept of the Great North Road.
Most of the Sydney end of the road has been lost to city development but there’s still a stretch at its original beginning in Five Dock that preserves the name. It’s more readily identifiable from Baulkham Hills to Wisemans Ferry but is called the Old Northern Road. Motorcycling Nirvana kicks in with a vengeance soon after the Old Northern Road absorbs Wisemans Ferry Road for the last 10km to the Hawkesbury.
At the time the original road was being planned, there was already a ferry service across the Hawkesbury River on the holdings of Solomon Wiseman that catered to the needs of the many settlers along the tributary Macdonald River. It was obvious that the Hawkesbury would be crossed at this point, thus locking in Wisemans Ferry as a lasting part of the history of the road. The daunting challenge was to breach the forbidding escarpment north of the river, lined by cliffs and crags for miles into the wilderness.
A route pretty much headlong into the escarpment was surveyed and given approval. Curiously, it seemed to ignore the many informal tracks that the Aboriginal inhabitants and early colonial settlers had been using to traverse the ranges. The most spectacular – and World Heritage Listed – part of the Great North Road is along the section from close to where Wisemans Ferry drops you on the northern bank of the Hawkesbury River. Unfortunately, you can’t ride this section (except on a bicycle) but an easy stroll a kilometre Or so up Devines Hill Ascent, where you can park the bike, is a fascinating treat that transports you back to the harshness of convict road gangs and the remarkable feats of engineering and construction that delivered the Great North Road.
This is the highlight of the Convict Trail. It features an array of convict built remains, such as stone retaining walls, cuttings, culverts, buttresses and stone cut drains. It’s an hour (or more if you have the time and enthusiasm) that will be well rewarded.
There are also impressive structures, including bridges, at several other places along the Great North Road beyond Devines Hill Ascent all the way to Bucketty and onto Wollombi and beyond.
WISEMANS FERRY
But let’s go back a few steps and approach the village of Wisemans Ferry on the currently-called Old Northern Road. It identifies itself as such from around Baulkham Hills, but you probably won’t feel much history until you get closer to Wisemans Ferry. The road climbs to the top of a high ridge where, from Hawkins Lookout, you get a broad overview of the valley below in which the village of Wisemans Ferry is nestled. The sweeping turn of the Hawkesbury River is spectacular, the Webbs Creek Ferry (an alternative to Wisemans Ferry) and Webbs Creek itself can be clearly seen as can the Macdonald River flowing into the Hawkesbury. It’s a view worth a stop to take in the feel of The Secret River and its surroundings.
From here the road winds sharply and drops steeply into the village of Wisemans Ferry where the first sight is the old 1826 Wisemans Inn. It
as the
and
much of its old structures and charm. It was Solomon Wiseman who inspired Kate Grenville to write The Secret River. Much of the story turns on his role in local affairs, including the construction of his mansion, and the family turmoils involved. Wiseman’s grave stands today in the Wisemans Ferry cemetery. The book, of course, is fictional so Wiseman is never mentioned by name; nor is there historical evidence that a lot in the novel ever took place as it’s set out in the book.
THE SECRET RIVER
Without reading too much into the name, there is a bit of mystique about the Hawkesbury River with its mouth tucked away almost secretly in the upper reaches of Broken Bay and the initial unregulated settlements that developed along both it and the even more potentially secret Macdonald River with its course secreted well into rough country stretching far north of the Hawkesbury. It’s along the Macdonald that one of the rides from Wisemans Ferry takes you.
A key feature of the story in the novel is the relationship between the
local indigenous inhabitants and the newcomers. While the grimmer aspects depicted in the denouement of the story have been criticised for having no historical basis relating to the area, as a work of fiction I guess it’s fair game to create events or transpose them from other settings. Putting that issue aside, there are known indigenous groups whose identities are retained in names of the national parks within the ranges. There are also archaeological sites that preserve aspects of their lives, traditions and culture. These, of course, are highly regarded parts of the history of the area.
LEAVING WISEMANS FERRY
Decisions, decisions! If you take Wisemans Ferry across the Hawkesbury, you have a choice of turning left or right. I’ve done both on different trips. On the first trip I had planned to go left but wet weather and intelligence from a local resident warned of a treacherous climb on an extremely slippery gravel road from St Albans to Bucketty. So it was a right turn on that ride.
The right turn takes you on an adrenalin-filled, bitumen joyride the ‘long way round’ to Bucketty and Wollombi (more on that later).
started life
mansion of Solomon Wiseman
stills exhibits
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A left turn takes you to St Albans on a 20 km half bitumen and half wellpacked (and seemingly porous) road base of some sort. That sets you up for the 38km gravel road from St Albans to Bucketty.
If St Albans is your choice of destination, there is another option: from the village of Wisemans Ferry you can take Webbs Creek Ferry across the Hawkesbury and have a bitumen road all the way to St Albans.
WOLLOMBI THE LONG WAY ROUND
This road begins at the Wisemans Ferry exit and reidentifies itself as Wisemans Ferry Road. It starts with a picturesque ride along the northern banks of the Hawkesbury River for some 26km staying pretty much on the same ridge line but sweeping with the river bends.
After another 11km or so alongside Mangrove Creek, the road climbs into rougher country and swaps between different ridge lines making for varying experiences of turns and climbs. There are a few stretches of more civilised life but lots more rugged-country riding with mostly flowing curves before getting to Bucketty some 80km from where you left the ferry. Somewhere along here Wisemans Ferry Road abandons you and puts
you onto George Downes Drive. Bucketty is where you meet up again with the Great North Road coming in on your left as the last part of the gravel road from St Albans. Even if you’re not gravel-inclined, it’s worth a turn into, if only for a few metres to stop and have a look at the Bucketty Precinct convict structures that are at the intersection but viewable only from the side road. They include sandstone walling, drains, and culverts.
If you’re a bit more adventurous, you have only about 7km along the gravel to the unique St Albans Road Ramp on both sides of the road, with lots of convict vestiges all along the way. Then it’s only a couple kilometres more to Mt Manning where the Great North Road emerges onto the St Albans/Bucketty Road.
The next stage from Bucketty to Wollombi is a 25km ride through an interesting mix of hilly, rugged country and smooth turning through open farm country. And there’s plenty to see and enjoy.
Along this stretch you’ll encounter a few culverts and bridges that are part of the Convict Trail as well as places to drop in for a look or a refreshment, such as the Great Northern Trading Post at Laguna: “truly an eclectic, unique place to have a drink, a fabulous meal
and listen to live music;” and Mulla Villa with its convict era links and buildings (and good coffee and scones).
Wollombi itself is loaded with history and worth a look around before venturing further.
It’s here that the Great North Road splits. One branch goes straight ahead to Broke. The other turns right to head towards Maitland. Both branches have more relics from the convict era. If you go right and want to stay the course (i.e. stick to the original Great North Road route), you’ll need to turn off the main road as you come out of Cessnock and veer left onto Old Maitland Road, but there’s gravel underfoot. Underwheel? If you’re over convict-built culverts, stick to the bitumen.
ST ALBANS
St Albans and its gravel road to Bucketty had been my original plan on the first trip, so it was something I was looking forward to.
The planned route was via Wisemans Ferry rather than Webbs Creek Ferry. Turning left off the ferry takes you first across Thomas James Bridge. You don’t see much from the road so it’s easy to overlook. But the bridge built in 1830 is the oldest in-use bridge on mainland Australia (the only older one is in Tassie). It’s supported by 6-metre-
high stone abutments quarried from the surrounding hill side. It’s quite a sight if you look under the bridge.
Just past the bridge is the Great North Road Heritage area with its gate to the Old North Road. I leisurely walked this section on the previous visit while killing time at Wisemans Ferry in unkind weather. It was undoubtedly a special experience which I could easily have been tempted to repeat had it not been for shortage of time: I needed to get to Mudgee that night. But don’t miss it.
The next 20km was an easy and pleasant cruise including 10km of gravel to the tiny village of St Albans. The road leaves the Hawkesbury River soon after passing the Great North Road gate and follows the tributary Macdonald River up what locals from soon after the first colonial settlers called the Forgotten Valley (a lamentation over lack of government attention and services).
St Alban’s most historic landmark is the old Settlers Arms Inn built in 1836; but the Forgotten Valley started to house colonial settlers in the form of escapees and emancipated convicts within a year or so of the first fleet’s arrival.
Coffee and cake at the Settlers Arms seemed a good enough pretext to tarry there long enough to imbibe the ambience before setting out on the 38km of gravel to Bucketty.
The road turned out to be a stark contrast to the local reports on the first trip. Maybe it’s especially susceptible to wet weather, possibly reflecting a combination of surface, climbs and lots of turns. The report I had got previously was that a 4x4 had trouble on the slippery surface. So be warned if it’s wet.
On my second trip I couldn’t have asked for a better road. The surface was mostly smooth, with only a few short sections mildly corrugated (despite being told in St Albans that the road was badly corrugated in parts). While there were climbs and several tight-ish turns, none were what I’d call switchbacks. Overall, the ride was a very pleasant, unhurried, photo-filled jaunt.
It begins by staying with the Macdonald River well into its Forgotten Valley before parting company and starting to gradually take up altitude
and wooded surrounds. The road gently winds its way, quite curvy but not demanding, as it heads up to higher plateaus of grazing land. All very idyllic.
Along the way, well into rugged country, I encountered an unexpected and enchanting highlight: a veritable chorus of bellbirds. I had originally been concerned that my bike had developed a mysterious squeak until I stopped to take photos of a spectacular overhang. The ringing of bellbirds was almost deafening; but delightfully so. Many of you – like the author – will undoubtedly recall the rote learning endured at school about “the notes of the bell-birds….running and ringing.”
About 9km short of Bucketty the Great North Road emerges from the right to join the St Albans/Bucketty Road, having continued beyond Devines Hill Ascent. At this point the Great North Road is accessible by vehicles from the St Albans/Bucketty Road. About 2km down the Great North Road from here is the convict-built Circuit Flat Bridge. I would have liked to visit it but the road (more a 4x4 track) looked a bit challenging and I was riding solo so I resisted the temptation. But it would make an interesting side trip.
If time had been on my side, I could have taken the walking track from the nearby expansive Mogo Creek Campground. It looked a great place to camp: lots of flat grassy space, BBQ places and toilets; and accessible from Bucketty on only 10km of gravel.
Joining up with the Great North Road for the last 9km from Mt Manning to Bucketty, you return to the Convict Trail and convict structures abound. Coming down from the high point of Mt Manning with a drastic drop-off on the left, you cross the St Albans Road Ramp – a very substantial and high support for the road on both sides to get it across a large depression. Then it was on to the Bucketty Precinct.
From there, it was up to Wollombi as described above.
A Few OptiOns
The combination of the left and right turns after exiting Wisemans Ferry on the north side of the
Hawkesbury can be turned into a neat loop, with Bucketty serving as the northernmost point.
A night’s stay at Wisemans Inn would add a lot of feel for the history of the place and allow a more leisurely and rewarding encounter with the Convict Trail. I spent three nights there on my first trip. If you’re not into gravel, staying a night would also give you the opportunity to ride to St Albans on the bitumen from Webbs Creek Ferry. Next day you could ride to Bucketty and beyond.
There’s a loop begging to be done by going to Bucketty (either via the left or tight turns from the ferry) and proceeding beyond Bucketty to Broke and across to the Putty Road for the return sector of the loop.
My choice on the most recent visit was St Albans, Bucketty, Broke, the Golden Highway; and then back through the Bylong Valley to Mudgee before taking in the newly fully sealed Bathurst to Crookwell road.
epilOgue
If you’re stirred even a bit by the history, you’d benefit from delving into the work of the Convict Trail Project. They have an informative website with brochures and maps called Convict Trail – Caring for the Great North Road. The URL is www.greatnorthroad.com.au
And what of the Great North Road itself?
Before it was finished it had already started to drift into decay. It was long and hard going, with inadequate feed for horses and bullocks; and badly maintained. Alternative routes previously used through the most difficult parts up that forbidding escarpment north of the Hawkesbury were soon preferred. Then the coup de grace came with the introduction and attraction – pretty much coinciding with decline in the use of the Great North Road – of steamship travel between Sydney and Newcastle. The Great North Road was consigned to history long before it could fulfil its promise. D
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HOTEL WINGHAM
Larger than life
WORDS/PHOTOS COLIN WHELAN
So anYWaY MY office isn’t exactly dingy and there’s more than a stingy ray of sunlight that feebly reaches it and the air sure ain’t foetid but sometimes (often!) I just feel the need to get out to the bush – if not to catch up with a Clancy then certainly to immerse in the true Australia.
This was one of those times. So I turned to my trusty old pre-cursor to Trip Advisor and trolled it for reviews of a fair dinkum pub.
And stumbled on this:
“THE AUSTRALIAN HOTEL.
This is not only the leading hostelry in Wingham but is credited with being the largest hotel in the whole of the north coastal districts. The building is of most commanding proportions…. It is substantially built of brick; and contains 34 large and lofty rooms, including bedrooms, parlors, dining-rooms…. spacious sample-rooms, billiard-room, etc. The whole of the house is particularly well ventilated, nicely furnished, and kept scrupulously clean. The bar is stocked with good brands of “fermented and spirituous liquors,” and a sufficient stock of first-class cigars and cigarettes is always on hand. Excellent stabling accommodation is provided,
and it may here be noted that the hotel is illuminated at night by acetylene gas, which has lately been installed”.
So: bedrooms – tick, billiards –tick, food – tick, liquor – tick, parking for my ride – tick, even lighting – tick ! This was sounding like a place with potential.
And this wasn’t from some sycophantic local rag, no this resonated with the authority of the august “Australian Town and Country Journal” of 1899.
But maybe things had changed since then. A new owner might’ve taken over in the last 120 years so I forged on seeking more reassuring news and reviews, just a bit more current.
In 1928, (much more recently!) the Wingham Chronicle and Manning River Observer, breathlessly announced: “Mr. E. McElwain…. of the popular Australian Hotel, Wingham,… is… putting in a septic tank.”
So plumbing – tick (This was getting better by the moment!)
And then in 1936, (pretty much
yesterday), the same paper heralded even more improvements. Under the heading, “Improvements in Hand. Refrigerating Plant”, it announced that the same bloke, “of the Australian Hotel, Wingham, is… installing a refrigerating plant at the Australian Hotel (in) Wingham.”
Cold beer – tick! I was pretty much out of boxes so time to get moving! I head up Buckett’s to Gloucester and brunch at Roadies. Then I swing Super Ten back on Bucketts for a bit over 20kms of sweet bitumen until the gravel starts for the approaches to Mount George. Then there’s 18kms until the beautiful causeway crossing of the upper Manning, two more kilometres of dirt before I turn right onto Nowendoc Rd.
One of the real bonuses of an adventure bike, I reckon, is not just the ability to ride the rougher road surfaces. So often the sealed roads that lead to the dirt sections are pristine, clear of truck ruts and deserted of other traffic. The 30kms of the Nowendoc Road from the Mt George turn to Wingham must be one of the
sweetest boutique rides in NSW.
By the time I get to Wingham I’m exultant, pumped and tonguing for a drink. It’s mid Saturday arvo and out front there’s a gaggle of bikes and I’m damned sure they’re not heading for the dirt, and guessing from the ute pulling the three bike trailer that’s going to be following them, you can guess what brand a lot of ‘em were!
As I head in the riders are heading out of the pub to their bikes and inside the bar’s populated by maybe half a dozen blokes. Off at the far wall the horses are running on the monitors with the sound turned right down and folks are chatting at a few tables.
Above the doors are some beautiful leadlight works and on one wall a stretched hide with maybe a ton of local brands burnt in. It’s all simple, authentic and comforting.
Trenton’s looking after the place and he tells me I’ve just missed Gary, who runs the place with his partner Tracey. He was one of the riders I passed on the way in. So I’m in a pub that’s owned by a rider who’s comfortable enough with his priorities to take a Saturday arvo off to go riding with his
Get there!
The Australian Hotel at Wingham is one of those valued pubs that stay true to their heritage whilst bending to the needs of modern visitors and locals.
If it wasn’t surrounded by great riding roads, it’d still be worth visiting. If it wasn’t run by a rider and staffed by good people, I’d still sing its praises.
If its bar wasn’t stocked with friendly regulars who’re proud of their place and up for a chat, I’d still suggest you drop by.
And if it charged 50% more for its rooms and its drinks I’d still be telling you its good value.
But it’s got all these things and more. It’s easily into the four helmet band, with the lack of room heating really the only major minus. And it rates a massive 160 on the value scale where 100 is good.
Feeling a bit jaded? Get your arse into gear and head to Wingham and the Australian Hotel for a couple of nights. Then in the light of tomorrow, head north or west or even south on roads that’ll reinvigorate you beyond belief then at night kick back and with the locals. It’s another place where you can be sure the most entertaining person in the bar didn’t arrive with you!
mates. I relax onto my perch and grab a middy.
Trenton’s a local bloke who first worked this bar about 12 years ago and stayed for four years before heading to town and trying other things. His parents had the town swimming pool for 15 years and when he’d tired of the smoke, and came back to Wingham with a partner and 5 kids, got his old job back.
As we talk his eyes keep scanning the room and he’s pouring beers for locals almost before they’re off their stools and heading for the taps. No-one has to tell him what they’re wanting – same goes for my second.
As we’re chatting a bloke from the other end of the bar slides up. Probably no more than 5”5’ (I think that’s about 165cm?) with eyebrows that go up in the middle making him look constantly amazed. The peak of his work hat’s been stitched together and his fingernails have been bitten back further than wheat stubble in a sheep paddock in a drought.
His name’s Mark Dunn but, “everyone calls me, ‘Dunny’”. He’s wearing a green T-shirt with gold piping.
I take another swig of Great Northern, and I think:
“Does it get more fair dinkum than this?”
I’m in the front bar of a pub which happens to be called, “The Australian Hotel”, listening to a bloke whose preferred name is, “Dunny” and who’s dressed in a green and gold T shirt
with the word, “Australia” and the flag printed on his chest. And Dunny’s talking about shearing and cattle and life in the bush.
Maybe if it was Anzac Day!
Dunny’s working on becoming a local – apparently that involves living in town for 30 years. He sold his pig farm down at Milton because the new roads and bypasses have meant that part of the NSW south coast ‘is now just a bloody suburb of the shire!’ He’s got the sneering delivery of that last word just perfect.
He bought a place just down the river for about a quarter of what it’d be ‘down south’ and now runs some cattle and tries, not always successfully, to keep his partner from falling off her horse.
When I ask him who bent his nose he’s surprised because he’s had it straightened, well sort of. He used to be a boxer, a featherweight but had trouble finding willing opponents who were around his weight. Just amateur stuff, and he enjoyed it but he’s never been hit outside the ring.
“I was a pretty decent boxer but I was a bloody good runner. I’ve won most fights by about 20 metres,” he laughs.
The arvo flows on and I head out for a feed. The façade to the restaurant is unlike anything I’ve seen before in any country pub. From across the dance floor in the back bar it almost seems
like you’re on the street checking out a hole in the wall store-front café. There’s a trio of blackboard menus one of which has to be 3 metres high and all the usual suspects are featured.
Tracey, (remember, she’s one of the bosses!) ran the restaurant here for many years before she had time off and the food is pretty much all you could want.
My steak with creamy peppercorn sauce is done perfectly. You can get fed here lunch and dinner every day of the week and there’s specials most nights: 2 for 1 on Wednesdays, Beer and Burger deals on Mondays, ten buck rumps for lunch…that kind of thing. You won’t go hungry. If you’re on the hunt for that meat tray, raffles are held each Wednesday and Friday in aid of local clubs, and there’s a live band every Sunday arvo.
You can enjoy it all in the front bar where the gambling channels are gloriously mute, the back dining area with some great murals and old memorabilia or out on the huge west facing back deck.
Upstairs there’re eleven rooms available in various combinations of single, twin, double and double with single. It’ll cost you just 35 bucks per head and if you’re on your own and a double’s available, you’ll get to stretch out at no extra. And before you hit the sack you can park around the back and under cover in the old bottle department if you need to.
Downstairs there’s two very effective open fires but in the rooms upstairs it’s just the blankets that’re going to keep the cold at bay.
All the makings for the morning brew are available in the common area and with my room facing the east, I enjoy the kickstart on the ‘randah as the sun shines into my morning.
Around the corner there’s a couple of very decent cafes and I plonk for the eggs benny with asparagus. It’s all good!
I’d come to get a dose of real - a heaped serving of authentic, a pub that’s stood the test of time and remained true. I couldn’t have come to a better place than the Australian Hotel at Wingham. D
KawasaKI Z900Rs Café
Yes, I’d like green eggs and ham – would you?
WORDS stuart ph O t OS nick wood photography
Kawasaki has now released the ultra-standout green Z900RS Café. It’ll make the others green with envy. After all, the platform for this bike is the Jaffa coloured Z900RS which is probably one of the best you could start with, but… When I say, “but”, I am talking about the handlebar and seat – for me they spoilt this amazing bike, although others I have spoken to mentioned they preferred the lower bar and more shapely seat. Had I ridden the Café first then Jaffa second, might it be a different story?
Nonetheless the Z900RS Café is a standout high quality motorcycle that really does attract a crowd. Wearing sunglasses is mandatory as the bright green paintwork will pop your eyeballs out.
There are many subtle differences (and some not so subtle) when you compare the Café with the RS. Many of the Café’s features are things you would probably like to have on the RS too. The most obvious differences are the headlight cowl, brushed aluminium muffler, lower handlebar, seat and paint. The not so obvious differences are the blacked out front
guard brackets, radiator side covers, cam caps, aluminium air intake side covers, ‘DOHC’ side covers and the all black wheels with green stripes. This all turns a retro motorcycle into one that will probably attract a different rider as well. I imagine an owner would be someone after the high quality this bike offers with a bit of the flair and sport the Café brings. Would it attract the ‘Café Latte’ crowd? I don’t think it will.
Having a different seating/riding position, the Café does handle differently. It is a little slower, or mid-weighted, on turn in and overall
manoeuvrability – this is great for a sportier ride when the pace starts to pick up. The seat – rather than sitting “on” it like the Jaffa, you sit “in” the Café. After my fi rst thoughts I sought many others’ opinions and some liked it, some didn’t.
As with the Z900RS, the Café has that peachy sweet in-line four cylinder engine, same frame, swingarm, forks and shock; this is a motorcycle that comes straight off the showroom fl oor with a higher spec than anything else around the same price.
As I mentioned in my RS review,
the instruments on this bike are simply amazing. Two analogue gauges similar to the original Z1’s sit either side of an LCD middle panel that you’d never know exists when it’s not turned on. Very clever engineering by the folk at Kawasaki HQ.
Accessories are limited but in a there really isn’t much you’d need/ want to do to this bike – it is all done straight out of the box.
The Kawasaki Z900RS Café has the fl air, the lair and the quality to bring you smiles for miles. Pop down to your Kawasaki dealer and your eyes will glisten. D
SPECS
KAWASAKI Z900RS CAFE
PRICE: $16,799 (plus on-road charges)
WARRANTY: Two years, unlimited distance
SERVICING INTERVALS: Every 12,000km or 12 months
ENGINE: Liquid-cooled in-line four cylinder, 4-stroke, DOHC, 4 valves per cylinder
BRAKES: Front, twin 300mm discs with radial mount four-piston ABS calipers. Rear, 250mm disc, single-piston ABS caliper.
FUEL CONSUMPTION: 5.91 litres per 100km, premium unleaded
THEORETICAL RANGE: 287km
COLOURS:Vintage Lime Green, Pearl Storm Grey
VERDICT: GREEN EGGS AND HAM - TASTY
NOT SO FAST IN MEXICO
WORDS & PHOTOS THE BEAR
“ISHALL REMOVE THE number plate and take it to the police station,” said possibly the best-looking policewoman I have ever met. The form-fi tting Mexican municipal police uniform didn’t hurt, either. “When you pay the fi ne, it will be returned to you.” She reminded me irresistibly of Michelle Dubois from the TV show ‘Allo ‘Allo, who used to say: “Listen very carefully; I shall say this only once,” but the policewoman spoke English with only a very slight accent and the situation wasn’t funny.
Don’t get me wrong, I like La Paz - and not only for its policewomen. In a country that is apparently irretrievably messy it stands out for its litter-free roads and streets. But I had been warned about the police in Baja California and their tendency to extort fifty bucks American at any and every opportunity. I was on my way back north at this stage and had encountered no such hustle, and somehow, I felt that things weren’t going to go that way in this case, either.
This was not the only time that Baja confused me. In a departure from my usual habit when visiting a new place, I had actually done quite a bit of research. Normally, I just check what is likely to get me incarcerated or beaten up and try to
“I
fell in love with Mexico. I fell in love with the people.”
MATTHEW HEINEMAN
avoid that; otherwise I wing it from the start. That has stood me in good stead in thirty or forty countries. Mexico, though, was a little different. I believed some of the scary tales, and as a result tried to be prepared. That wasn’t really the right way to go.
My friend Clement Salvadori, an acknowledged expert on Baja, had been encouraging me to visit the place for years. Then a week or so before I was due to do just that, he sent me a news report about Los Cabos, the collective name for Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo at the tip of the peninsula.
“The bodies of six men have been left hanging from three different bridges near the Mexican tourist resort of Los Cabos on the Baja California peninsula…” it read. “Los Cabos’s police chief, Juan Manuel Mayorga, was shot dead last week.”
Clem added reassuringly: “But this is all locals squabbling, not focusing on tourists.”
Oh, good. Right. Los Cabos is (are?) unavoidable when you visit by road. Can’t miss it. And the main road runs under those very bridges.
None of the above turned out to be the main problem, though. The main problem was me.
Just ridin’ alonG
When I go on these trips I go primarily for one reason – to ride. That might seem obvious, but there are always lots of other things to do and see. The scenery, the people, the food, the – dare I say it – drink, the culture in general. And more personal things like relaxation; taking it easy and just mellowing back is a wonderful option on any trip. When Mrs Bear and I travelled through
1.
2.
Back street in El Triunfo; the café has terrific food and a good selection of local beers.
Another lunch stop, way out in the desert. These places always seem to be open and you’re always welcome.
North Africa and on to Turkey and the Eastern Bloc countries, we focused on all those things.
For me, though, travelling alone these days, the core of a trip is the ride. When I collected the Suzuki V-Strom 650 that tour operator MotoQuest was kindly lending me, that was what was mainly on my mind. But for Baja California that was wrong.
Unless you’re on an enduro bike and heading for the hills, I think Baja is a holiday, not so much a riding, destination. Sure there are a couple of wonderful stretches of bike road with excellent corners, especially around Loreto, but there are more straight and relatively dull transport stages. On a bike like the V-Strom the ideal would be to take camping equipment and advantage of the many wild, wonderful beaches and rough but passable sand and rock tracks. I did sample some of those; MotoQuest thoughtfully includes an air compressor in the bike’s equipment, so you can pump your tyres up again after reducing tyre pressure when a sandy track or the beach call you.
So I had the wrong idea and as a result I knocked over the couple of thousand miles down to Cabo and back in considerably less than the three weeks I had allocated. Not that I wasted the trip; I have plenty of wonderful memories. But if I go back, I will take a tent and set myself up on one or another of the beaches for a few days as well as spending more time in some of the towns – and dipping into both the clear ocean and the spirit of the peninsula.
I’d better tell you a little more about my Baja journey.
You won’t have any trouble finding Mexico from San Diego. Head south and the freeway channels you right into the border, and before you know it you’re there. You will have arranged insurance before going this far, and just across the border at Tijuana you will pull over to the right, find the INM office (it’s not really difficult) and buy a Tourist Card, also known as an FMM. It costs 500 Pesos, about US$25, and is valid for multiple entries (only to Baja) for up to 180 days.
Nobody will ask you to do this; it’s up to you. If, however, you’re asked for your card at a roadblock and you don’t have one, you’re in trouble.
Might as well get the roadblocks over with now. They’re infrequent – maybe every 200 miles – and can be run by the army or one or another arm of the police. There doesn’t seem to be any real difference. You may be asked for your passport, where you are going and how fast your bike is. Motorcyclists are often just waved through, and even if you’re not, the guards will almost certainly be good-natured. Should you be a person of the female persuasion you will get considerably more attention than males. Still goodnatured, but there is no phrase for ‘political correctness’ in Mexican. Okay; you’re through. Turn right and follow the border to the sea and Highway 1. There are two Highway 1s; a tollway and an ordinary blacktop. Take my advice and pony up for the tollway; this part of Mexico looks to be surfaced in more rubbish than soil and is lined with extremely ugly
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condominiums. Some seem to be more or less finished. Get down to San Miguel and then Ensenada before you slow down and look around.
I had climbed out of the Flying Kangaroo early that morning and had collected my bike from MotoQuest before lunch, so I thought I’d better pull up a little earlier than usual and get some sleep. I found the Hotel California (there are dozens of these, not connected by anything except the name, all down the peninsula), paid
the exorbitant price, ate a tasty meal at a small cantina across the road and sacked out. Tomorrow would be another day.
Captain Kangaroo
And indeed it was. I won’t bore you with the minutiae of my trip because, with my advice I suspect you will be able to do it better than I did; I rode more or less happily along Highway 1, stopping for fuel (Pemex has competition these days, but not
often), food and an occasional photo and feeling pretty cheerful about the whole experience. The kids are great; they are perfectly happy to just check you out and will smile at the drop of a smile on your part. I was carrying a batch of small kangaroo keyrings and clearly made the day of several of them when I handed out the little (Made in China) marsupials. The coast is fairly thickly settled, and also fairly well strewn with garbage. A number of huge strawberry farms
On the beach, complete with palm-thatched campsite. The water is beautifully clear.
had fences around them designed to keep the rubbish out.
Part of the charm of third-world countries is that they all have their own scams. In Afghanistan, for instance, it’s the price of petrol. In Mexico it’s the availability of single rooms. Hotels and motels will advertise singles (one double bed) and doubles (two double beds), but when you ask, the singles are always full and you have to pay the extra for a double. In one place in Guerrero Negro, the desk clerk said, “It is a double, but with only one bed…” My raised eyebrow did nothing to lower the price.
Mind you, it’s not exactly a huge surcharge anyway, and seeing that a beer costs rather less than a dollar – and there are far better beers available than that Mexican beer drunk with wedges of lime by people in Australia who don’t know any better – that’s damn good value. My preference is for the Dos Equis Oscuro. Bohemia Vienna is even better, but not widely available. Food is cheap, too, and while it’s somewhat different from what we know as Mexican tucker it’s pretty universally tasty and, as far as I could tell, healthy. No sign of Montezuma’s Revenge.
Once in the middle of the peninsula I got the full effect of the Mexican landscape with various kinds of cactus and scrubby, er, scrubs. Even when the road runs through flat country the scenery is very grand, and some of the mountains add grandeur of their own. Transport stages there may be, but it’s not boring. The enormous Valle de los Cirios (Valley of the Candles) protected area lives up to its name with huge saguaros (I hope that’s right) cacti. It’s wise to keep your eyes on the road because there are series of huge potholes, but a lot of the road is quite good. There are a couple of places where Pemex has not bothered establishing petrol stations for a few hundred kilometres, but I found blokes by the side of the road selling fuel out of 44-gallon drums whenever I was running a bit low. Prices were reasonable.
It pays to look just a little more deeply at all sorts of things in Baja, not least the towns. At first glance, Santa Rosalita looks like a disaster; a mining town with rusted infrastructure and a nearly impassable road along the
1. Somebody always has a grin and a welcome for you, no matter where you are.
2. You can always tell when you get near the course of the Baja desert races.
3. Lunch stop. The food was good and cheap, with fish tacos on the menu just about everywhere.
4. One of the roads out to the coast; this one’s in good shape.
5. Those spikes will go right through a tyre. Probably not a new one.
NEW
MotoPlug
POWERED PHONE HOLDER
This is a great little product which keeps your phone secure on your bike AND charged at the same time. The mount holds any phone with a width between 60 to 100mm and will clamp to handlebars with a diameter of 22 – 32mm.
Comes complete with a 150cm long fused power cable with battery circles, two sets of clamp inserts for smaller diameter bars, an Allen key wrench, spare fuse AND the USB to iphone or Android cable to power your device.
DUAL PORT USB POWER ADAPTER AND VOLTMETER
This adapter will fit any 12V merit power socket. The two USB power ports offer 5V/2.1 Amp per socket. When the adapter is plugged in and powered, it will display the voltage of your
battery. The USB charging ports will supply enough power to charge a phone, tablet and GPS.
NEW
MotoQuest
My thanks to Phil Freeman, Brenden Anders and the rest of the crew at MotoQuest in Los Angeles. They lent me one of their perfectly-prepared Suzuki V-Strom 650s, which was the ideal bike for Baja. With rental offices in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland (Oregon) and Anchorage (Alaska) they have the West Coast of the US covered. They offer a wide range of bikes including the V-Strom I rode; BMW F, G and R series GSs; Harleys; and Honda Africa Twins.
MotoQuest is probably even better known for the outstanding tours it offers in places as widely separated as the USA, Japan, Romania, Ecuador, Patagonia, and many more; take a look at the comprehensive www.motoquest. com or drop them a line at info@ motoquest.com for full details and bookings as well as rentals. If you want to experience a much better-organised trip through Baja, check out their Baja Backroads Adventure. Maybe I should have taken that…
seafront. But follow the main spur road inland, and you find a fascinating place with small parks, cafés and vinecovered cosy-looking B&Bs.
Just south of Mulege I stopped for lunch at a roadside café and couldn’t find my key when I got back to the bike. The Mexican support service sprang into life. The woman running the café swept the whole place out, looking for the key; one customer got down on hands and knees to search, while the other one offered to ring a locksmith he knew to get him to come over. A delivery truck driver joined in the search, as did a couple of women who emerged from the back of the café.
Eventually I found the key, but not before calling the MotoQuest help number in Los Angeles. The bloke who answered had the perfect solution to the problem: “Just keep looking;
it’s there somewhere,” was his sage advice. He’d obviously given it a few times before. I had simply slipped the key into the cooling vent in my pants instead of the pocket, and that’s where it still was…
GETTinG OFF
I especially liked Loreto, which is where European settlement of Baja and indeed of all California began in 1697. The Jesuit mission church is impressive in its timeless way as is the small museum next door, and the shady walk that connects it with the seafront is relaxing, cool and conducive to meditation over a drink. The beer is even cheaper here. There were no beggars and few hustlers, despite the fact that Loreto is obviously popular with gringo holidaymakers. I stayed a couple of days myself, watching daily life along the seafront parade. At one point I thought a passing elderly Honda Civic might have a hole in its muffler, but it didn’t. It didn’t have a muffler at all. Occasionally a small truck with a loudspeaker strapped to its roof passed, like something out of the Blues Brothers, haranguing me rather pointlessly – I couldn’t understand a word.
The few times I left the main road, I found a mixture of dust, sand, gravel and fair-sized rocks on the tracks. Not unlike Australia, really. If you’re used to getting around fire trails here, you’ll have a head start over there. The difference in Mexico is that so many of the tracks lead to one or another of the coasts and its empty beaches. I only let the tyres on the V-Strom down a couple of times, and that probably wasn’t necessary. The on/off road tread made a slightly annoying hum on the tar but worked well once I was off it. When I did try to follow tracks into the mountains which line some of the road, as in Puerto Escondido, only took me so far. You would need an enduro bike there.
Back on Highway 1, I saw a roadrunner! They’re smaller than the Bugs Bunny version would have you think, but they look exactly the same. They don’t make that “meep meep” noise, though, as far as I could tell.
But then I’m not a coyote. Road kill, by the way, is infrequent but I’d still be reluctant to ride at night, given the state of some of the roads.
There was not a great deal of traffic once I was away from settlements. Semi-trailers, American-style 12 wheelers, were the most common transports. Most of them were white and enclosed, although there were many Coca-Cola trucks.
I avoided La Paz on the way down the peninsula, mainly because it looked deceptively industrial from the ring road. A new-looking freeway took me first to Todos Santos – a Mexican middle-class Lorne, in Victoria – and then Cabo San Lucas. This is where American college students spend their spring break holiday, drinking and attempting to mate with other American college students. I stayed in a cheap, old and once clearly quite grand hotel outside town and ventured in to sample the hospitality. It turned out to be a Mexican version of the Gold Coast and quite unique for Baja – it was the only place where I got watered drinks and bad food, both expensive.
1. No shortage of condiments on the table of the average café. That’s Our Lady of Loreto in the background.
2. The topes, speed bumps, have a new name but they’re just as vicious.
3. Bano, Senor? Out there. Ramshackle long-drop toilets are a feature of the roadside cafés
4. Those weird tall things are Boojums, a kind of cactus that’s given the Valley of the Candles its name.
5. A fairly typical stretch of road between Guerrero Negro and San Ignacio.
6. Another diversion into the mountains. I suspect the locals still use mules after a certain point.
Heading east in the morning I passed San Jose del Cabo, the other Cabo that makes up ‘Los Cabos’. Despite its predilection for suspending drug cartel members from its bridges, this is mainly a collection of, once again, American-owned condominiums. Condominia?
On the way north again, this time on Highway 1, not the freeway, I stopped in the very pleasant little town of El Triunfo. Lovely café, lots of interesting
historical buildings to photograph, but unfortunately limited accommodation. And then I was back in La Paz, where you first joined me… By now I was trying to bribe my way out of my dilemma without looking as if I was trying to bribe anybody at all. “Ah, please don’t take the number plate… and, ah, that sounds like a lot of trouble… couldn’t we… sort this out here and now?” I asked, a faint sheen of perspiration forming on my
brow. My Michelle Dubois-lookalike new first-best friend raised a perfectly drawn eyebrow.
“You would be amazed how many people want to ‘sort this out right here’,” she said. I prepared to be charged with attempted bribery as well as parking in a bicycle lane. If she was going to take the number plate for a parking offence, what would she take for attempted bribery? A body part? But then she changed tack. “You are
not really) she was in the police car and away. I caught a glimpse of the huge grin on the driver’s face, and realised that she had almost certainly been taking the piss. Chalk one up for the La Paz police force.
staying in La Paz?” she asked.
“Ah, yes. Yes, I was just checking if the hotel had a room. I’m definitely staying in La Paz. Yes.”
“Very well,” she replied, just the slightest touch of humour creeping into her beautiful but severe countenance. “Listen carefully. I will say this only once.” No, not really. What she said was, “I will not charge you. But you know not to do it again!”
And before I could express my lifelong gratitude for her leniency, and possibly ask what time she got off duty (no,
And chalk one up for Baja California, and I suspect Mexico in general. There might be rubbish all over the place and bike-eating potholes on the main roads, but the people are cheerful, unfailingly polite and astoundingly helpful and nobody even seemed to suggest that they might hang me off a bridge down in Los Cabos or anywhere else. I may have messed up my own visit somewhat, but I still recommend the place. In fact, I love it. Just make sure you go with the right attitude and whatever you do, don’t park in bicycle lanes in La Paz. Unless you want to make a really good-looking new friend. D
1. Family life in the evening in Mulege, one of the towns on the Sea of Cortez side of the peninsula.
2. No worries about running out of fuel even on long, Pemex-free stretches.
OilY Bits
LasT issUE i ‘PRoMisED’
I’d have the 1987 GSX-R1100 firing like a beast but life got in the way and it’s not. But it’s close. Real close.
A caravan road trip got in the way of getting things finalised this month but I did get a number of things done, which took up more than a few hours of toil.
Last issue I’d pulled apart the brake calipers, which was a real mission as they had been sitting for some time. Moving parts do not like inaction, especially when you allow the lubricating bits to go off and the parts to corrode. You may remember that I needed to use both heat and a slide hammer to get one brake caliper piston out of its bore. Serious stuff, and something I’ve not needed to do before. Usually some
compressed air is all that’s required.
As the calipers needed to look their best before I’d bolt them onto the repainted fork legs, I had to have them clean as can be. A close friend has a vapour blaster and what took him half an hour would have taken me hours by hand, and I still wouldn’t have been anywhere near the level he got the brake calipers to. This made life much easier.
I’d purchased a rebuild kit for the calipers. The rear caliper needed new pistons and seals but the front caliper pistons were reusable as they are stainless steel. A clean up on a wire wheel was all that was needed. A caliper seal kit for the fronts, and seals and pistons for the single rear caliper cost in the vicinity of $250. Putting it all together took a couple of hours, and is an enjoyable task, especially with a
beer and some music playing in the background. Most kits come with the rubber grease you need, and if you take your time and think about the process, and what goes where, a handy person or a person looking to expand their skills can do it without much drama. I’m not trying to tell you guns out there to suck eggs, I’m more aiming this at enthusiasts who want to have a crack. If you are unsure then take it to a workshop but expect the bill to be somewhere north of $500. People don’t work for free.
Then I had to paint the calipers, as they were originally gold. I was able to pop down to the local auto store and have a spray can made up to match the calipers as closely as possible. Once again, take your time, prepare the surfaces well and it will turn out fine. They came up a treat, and look fantastic
WORDS PiCKo
bolted up to the freshly painted forks and wheel. New pads went in also, as the originals, while having plenty of pad left, were impregnated with brake fluid and unsafe to use.
GO JUICE
Next I was on to the carbs. On this model they are CV or Constant Velocity style. Modern everyday fuels wreak havoc on carburettors, and where once upon a time you could just empty the float bowls and put some fresh fuel in the tank before starting up after a long lay off, not now. I’ve tried to go the easy route and do that but just about every time now I need to dismantle the carbs for a thorough cleaning. Again, it’s something you can have a crack at, and don’t panic. You will usually find some screws don’t want to play ball, but a sharp whack on the end of a screwdriver, or an impact driver will loosen the most stubborn of them. CV carbs have a diaphragm and this needs to be checked to make sure it hasn’t perished or cracked. If so it must be replaced, and you might as well do all of the carbs while you’re at it.
Otherwise, no doubt, you’ll be pulling them apart again before too long. Needles are another source of pain, as they can wear and corrode from fuel. Check them; poor running down low and midrange will be the result of too much wear.
Carb cleaner and compressed air are your friend here. Remove the main and pilot jets, make sure they are clear, and also remove the needle and seat which
is where the fuel goes in from the petrol tank. Spray carb cleaner in every orifice, let it sit for a while then blow out with compressed air to make sure each ‘hole’ is clear.
I bought four Keyster brand carb kits for the GSX-R, which cost a paltry $60. In each kit is a needle and seat and a float bowl o-ring. Each kit is different
Lookin good!
CLASSIC GAS
for different models. Needles and seats wear and this is one of the reasons carburettors can flood. Once they are in, set your float levels and put it all back together. Google is your friend here, or even better a workshop manual.
While you’re there, replace the fuel lines, for peace of mind and make sure the choke slides work etc. On this bike I also lubricated the throttle cable.
These are all things that aren’t too hard to do, and will save you plenty of money. Don’t get me wrong, it’s nice being able to pay someone to work on your bike to do every little bit, but when you are resurrecting a classic that’s been sitting for a while, the cost can and will blow out, probably more than you expect.
If you want to have a crack, don’t panic or get stressed if things don’t go to plan. In other words, put that hammer away before you break something that’s no doubt going to be hard to replace.
And it’s a nice feeling when it all slides nicely back together.
Next issue I hope to have it all sorted,
the original exhaust repainted, the carbs back on and the engine tuned. (Well, get to it then! Ed) D
1. Before and after.
2. Make sure the carb diaphragm is in good condition.
LONGTERMERS
BAG ME UP
APRILIA SHIVER 900
Ventura Imola 14-22
litre seat bag – Price: $119
Ventura Seti-Moto 11 litre seat bag – Price: $99
Ventura Suki-Moto 9 litre tank bag – Price: $119
WE WANTED TO HAVE the option of getting away for a couple of days on our Shiver, and Ventura had exactly the right options among the variety of bags on offer. Two different sizes of seat bag and a smaller tank bag did the trick, allowing any of us here to commute or go away for a couple of days’ touring with our gear all sorted.
The Imola bag is great for a couple of days on the road. It also expands as required, so that depending on what you’re carrying, you can keep everything compact.
The Seti-Moto bag is what we’ve been using as our “commuter” bag. It’s just the right size to carry wet weather gear, (small) lunch, wallet, keys and
phone, and we’ve also used it as an alternative to the Imola bag for touring as a place for the camera, snacks, bottle of water, wallet, keys, phone and so on.
The Suki-Moto tank bag might be small but it does have a clear map pocket which does allow you to use a GPS or smartphone through the clear plastic top. It attaches with suction caps, a neat solution for plastic, fibreglass or aluminium tanks but not as secure as other fastenings; there is a security strap so you won’t lose it even if all the suction caps let go. For all your luggage needs, whether they be small or large, Ventura is the brand to send you packing. See your local bike shop or Kenma – www. kenma.com.au SW
Benelli leoncino
Puss, Puss - Hello little lion
Benelli really has the hit the nail on the head with the introduction of their little lion. The Leoncino is a great looking bike and we’ve now got one to whirl around on for a few months. I have no doubt we’ll make the heart of
the little lion beat faster while patting it and loving it like any other pet. As I write this we’ve had the Leoncino for an enjoyable three weeks and Ralph and I have been fighting over the keys; it’s such a nice bike to commute on. In the following issues we’ll give you a full rundown on whether this little lion has sharp teeth or purrs like a kitten – or both! SW
KawasaKi Z900Rs irresistiBle
Kawasaki had a card up their sleeve when they contacted me requesting I return the delightful Z650L well before the planned return date. They wanted to replace it with the amazing Z900RS! To say I’m blown away
with the Z650L’s replacement is an understatement, the Z900RS is a visually stunning machine and also an awesome machine to ride.
Since picking up the Z900RS I’m having one little bit of trouble with it – and that’s getting the keys off my old man! I think I’ve “been allowed” to have one ride of it, while my father (a rider of many decades’ experience) “tests” it for us. I have a sneaking suspicion he’ll buy this one, he has fallen for it big time.
As you’ll see by the photo, Kawasaki has already fitted some of their genuine accessories from the word go, so you’ll read about the start of those in the next issue. In the meantime I think I’ll have to contact Telstra and get my dad’s phone line fixed. He seems not to be answering my calls. Hahaha! SW
SUZUKI GSX1100S KATANA MOMENTUM IS BUILDING
After pulling the big Kat all apart at D Moto one Saturday morning I’ve been madly restoring all of the bits and pieces. Everything on this bike will be receiving some attention, whether that means it’s being restored or replaced but as the wallet
is thin, the restoring is more likely. I have had one big problem with this bike and that is it has the wrong front end in it. Somewhere in its life it’s either been pranged or more likely, someone has wanted to quicken up the steering and slotted a 16 inch front wheel in it. They also fitted the forks, triple clamps and handlebars that go with the replacement wheel. As I want to make this bike appear standard I found a set of forks, triple clamps and handlebars – all very expensive and rare as rocking horse crap but the thing that I was really worried about was finding the correct pattern 19 inch front wheel.
For the 1984 model, Suzuki had a different pattern wheel. My extensive searches and help from the gents on the Katana Australia forum turned up nothing. I found plenty of 1983 and earlier wheels, but nothing in the ‘84 pattern. Just as my desperation was about to turn me off this project, I discovered a wrecker at Liverpool who had one lying in his shed. He mentioned that it was probably thick with dirt and dust from years of dormancy but I didn’t care, I wanted it. After a suitable price was set I drove straight there so I could get a firm hold of such a rare wheel. Of all the parts for a Katana 1100, this 19 inch front wheel would have to be rarer than hen’s teeth (which is more rare than rocking horse crap!).
Mick Hone Motorcycles has taken more of my money and I guess one good thing so far is that my list of items to buy is near complete and as I write this my tray of parts that need restoring is getting smaller. I just need to wait for the frame to return from the powder coaters as well as the wheels and swingarm which I’m getting ceramic coated. SW D a at shed. He mentioned that it was probably thick with dirt and dust
THE ROYAL ROAD TO BRAIDWOOD
Going retro on rentals WORDS/PHOTOS BOB WOZGA
“The only Zen you can find on the tops of mountains is the Zen you bring up there.”
ROBERT M. PIRSIG
AT THE SYDNEY Motorcycle Show last year, I noticed that retro bikes seemed to be drawing large crowds. Kawasaki’s Z900RS and W800, Yamaha’s SR400 and the Triumph Bonneville all had crowds milling around admiring the sleek lines, chrome and classic looks. The ones that really struck me for some unknown reason were the Royal Enfield Classic and Continental. There was something about the raw style of
them that captures the imagination. DKW, Ariel, BMW, BSA: these are the sorts of bikes my Dad used to ride in Poland after the war. The bikes were built to look like a piece of art; they made you feel that you were part of the machine and not just a passenger being taken on a joy ride. They were built mechanically simple but enjoyable to ride on both country and city roads. I can understand why my Dad was so fond of them and still gets
excited when he sees an old bike. So, the Gods were smiling when they guided me to the Eagleriders Rental stand with the Classics, Bullets, GT Continental and Himalayan on display. The fact you can rent them out for a day, weekend or months was, well, a Godsend. Eaglerider has been around since 2013 and was focused predominately on Harley –Davidson but had the forethought to look into learner legal bikes, from which the Royal Enfields stood out with their looks and reliability. Sydney is the only franchise that rents out Royal Enfield, other state offices also rent SWM, CFMOTO, Suzuki, Triumph and BMW. They also run organised tours.
The seeds were sown for the idea of a weekend ride on these bikes. All that was needed was a destination and date. Simple enough.
The lads jumped at the chance when I put forward the idea of a weekend trip on Royal Enfields. None of them had ever been on a long trip; some had spent most of their two-wheeler time on scooters in Asia, some just on city roads. Most had never been through this part of the country.
A call to Eaglerider Rentals at Burwood in Sydney’s west revealed that Santina was easy to deal with. With so
much distrust in businesses in general these days, it was refreshing to find the staff so honest, and delivering what they promised. Great bikes, well maintained, in great condition and ready for us to pick up on the day without any hitches. We picked up two Classics, a Bullet and a Continental. They also gave us the ground rules of the bikes due to insurance regulations – no dirt roads, no wheelies and no shooting firearms from the bikes (according to insurance companies, all bike riders are gun mad).
Yeah, I thought that too.
We chose a weekend in May for the mild weather conditions and in total we had four Enfields, one Honda (which soon became an honorary Enfield) and car as support crew.
I have come to the conclusion that motorcycle riders are the best travel companions. You can be part way through a conversation at traffic lights then dart off when the lights turn green, ride for an hour or two and pull over for fuel and continue the conversation where you left off. Unlike travelling in a car, it also lets you immerse yourself in your thoughts without being interrupted because your passenger doesn’t like the sound of silence in the car. It also allows you
to play spotto without your passenger giving you weird looks.
The lads turn up early in the morning and were given a warming breakfast of BBQ bacon and eggs and coffee. Then we rumbled our way through Picton and along the old Hume Highway to Mittagong. Looking over the shoulder every so often to ensure the pack was together, I took the scenic route along Range Road and Tourist Road to the top of Macquarie Pass. Maybe it’s not the Himalaya, but hey, the Royal Enfields were in their element along this road, cruising along the tarmac past green fields, stone fences and gliding around the bends. Australia really does have a unique landscape. The Robertson Pie shop was a welcome stopping point. It was also the start of Jarod’s quest for the perfect cheese and bacon pie. Many were consumed over the weekend.
The red, gold and brown leaves sweep to the side of the road as the Royal Enfields rumble along the lanes and it feels like we’re riding through a Robert Fisher painting. The warm smell of smoke from fireplaces tells us we’re coming into Moss Vale, Exeter and then Bundanoon. It’s a little bit of Britain down here. When we stopped at Marulan to refuel and
legs, the bike only needed 13 and half Indian rupees to fill. To the sound of the sitar, we headed through Bungonia towards Tarago and the final destination – the Royal Hotel at Braidwood.
The Royal Hotel was a welcome sight when we got into town. The beer is cold, the food is hot and its atmosphere is welcoming. The rooms were basic but that is what we were looking for, except Craig. He needs to stay in a hotel with pool and palm trees and spa and cocktails, which is what he is accustomed to when overseas. He didn’t want to stay with the riffraff he rode down with, so every time he bought a beer, we made sure he had an umbrella in it.
Braidwood is a mesmerizinglooking town. Steeped in history of bushrangers and gold, the town is heritage listed because of its original streetscape: Georgian architecture and
wide streets. Standing in the middle of the road you can imagine bullock drivers swearing and cursing as they roll through town. It is a major stopping point between Canberra and Batemans Bay and harbours cafes and galleries, not to mention bakeries with bacon and cheese pies. Well worth a visit.
The following morning, after breaking the ice from the bike seats, a quick photo shoot of the bikes beside the park brought some onlookers who stopped to have a chat about the bikes. They were astonished to find these bikes were neither restorations nor imitation, but were exactly as they come from the factory in India. Pretty much hand made as they have been since the 1950s.
Rod planned the return trip via Bungendore, Lerida Estate Winery –very nice reds - into Goulburn. Can’t miss the Big Merino. Then through Berrima and back to Sydney. A very
well thought-out route with varying riding conditions, from country lanes to open road and expressway conditions. I was rather impressed with the Classic I hired for the trip. Knowing it is built pretty much the way they have been since 1954, I expected it to have a bit of vibration and not be as fast as a modern bike. It still has drum brakes on the rear wheel, only a speedo and nothing else, but it was still a very enjoyable and reasonably comfortable bike. It rides comfortably at around 90km/h and suits the country roads perfectly. It also didn’t have a problem on the expressway at 110km/h. Others may differ, but I thought it was great. Rod did have an issue with vibration on the Bullet he was riding and the vibration stayed with him for a little while. We noticed this when he bought a round of beers when we got to the bar. By the time he brought the schooners from the bar to the table,
they were only half full because his hands were still shaking from the ride.
Jarrod had grown up on sports bikes and the Continental suited him to a tee. It still had vibration but nothing to complain about. He is now looking at buying a sport bike for himself and will be continuing his quest for the perfect cheese and bacon pie.
Craig, aka Duckman, had no complaints about his Classic except for the fact it did not have a cup holder for his martini – obviously shaken, not stirred.
The drivers requested to remain anonymous.
I was most impressed with Jim aka Wingman on his Honda CB125, which he got all the way down to Braidwood. It was a bit of a struggle for a smaller bike and did take a toll on fatigue levels, but he pushed
himself and got it back home with plans of doing another trip – on a larger bike.
We handed the bikes back and no, we didn’t go on any dirt roads. The councils had gone and paved all of the ones we looked for. We tried doing wheelies numerous times but couldn’t get the wheel up and didn’t get to shoot from the bike, the Uzi jammed and the shells to the twelve were old and wouldn’t fire.
These rides are more than just being on the open road on a bike, they are also about mateship and looking after each other, ensuring everyone is ok. If someone was fatigued, we’d pull over or slow down to ride to the slowest rider. If someone was lacking riding gear, you would spot them a jacket or face mask so they could come along and not freeze. They are also about destressing
and taking the Mickey out of each other, making sure no one slips into a depressive state from life’s pressures. Over breakfast one of the lads was complaining about having a sore wrist, he chased his mate down the street when told that he should have found a loose woman, which would have stopped that from happening.
Dire Straits sang about Industrial Disease in the ’80s and this trip was the ideal cure for its symptoms, clearing the mind of the stress of work, exams, deadlines and anything else that was getting us down. Thirty years down the track we still have the same pressures, maybe more with mortgages, kids, bills etc. Instead of
“…seeing Dr Parkinson who declares 'I'm not surprised to see you here You've got smokers cough from smoking,
brewer's droop from drinking beer
I don't know how you came to get the Bette Davis knees.
But worst of all young man you've got Industrial Disease'
He wrote me a prescription he said 'you are depressed.
But I'm glad you came to see me to get this off your chest.
Come back and see me later - next patient please, Send in another victim of Industrial Disease',
..maybe you would be better off getting you friends together and doing a road trip. It’s cheaper and more enjoyable than seeing a shrink.
Thanks to Rod, Craig, Jim, Jarrod, Phil and David. This is an unpaid story and endorsement – credit given where it due. D
a nd it doesn’t hurt very much at all words & Photos thE BEar
“Human kind / cannot bear very much reality,” said T S Eliot, and by damn he was right. The reality of the gathering darkness across the Hay Plains, along with the equal reality of a near-endless procession of kangaroos waiting to try themselves against my crash bars and the steadily diminishing reserve of fuel, all wrapped in the undeniable reality of a non-operational electric starter and the lack of a kick starter were combining to test my bearingof-reality capacity. When the engine finally sipped the last of the reserve, coughed and stopped and the bike rolled to rest on the shoulder of the Sturt Highway somewhere between Hay and Narrandera, reality had me by the Dell’Ortos.
I got off, popped the R 90 S onto its centre stand as far off the roadway as I could while still on the solid tar – the buggers have a way of falling off the stand on uneven groundand looked around in the near-dark. There was a house at the end of a dirt driveway a hundred metres or so across the road, and I was about to leave my helmet and gloves on the bike and head across there, when a cheerful voice not far behind me said, “What’s the matter, mate?”
The voice belonged to an equally cheerful bloke on the other side of the fence, and when I had explained the problem he said, “Well, the next petrol station is just around the corner there”. I had miscalculated when I thought I’d make Narrandera, but only by a little way, it seemed.
“Could I push the bike there?” I asked. He grinned and said, “If you’re feeling fit, I suppose so. Better wait until I get over to you; I’ve got a jerry can.” He climbed into a Landcruiser waiting a little way away and sure enough, came around to pick me up. The petrol station was about a kilometre and half away, so I was glad I hadn’t tried to push. I was pretty much out of pushing what with the effort earlier in the day in Hay, where I had pushed the bike all the way down the main street.
We got back to the bike and I poured the precious fluid into the tank, wondering how I was going to break the news to my good Samaritan that he was about to be asked to push me as well. But when I tried the starter, just on the off chance, the bike fired up and ran happily. My friend – I never did get his name – said, “What are you going to do now?” He was relieved when I told him I’d stay in Narrandera. “The ’roos are pretty bad,” he noted, and sure enough as I slowly rode into town a couple of huge greys bounded across the road in front of me. A couple more waited in the shadows but decided it wasn’t their day to become crow food. If you know this bloke – he’s got 13 acres on the northern side of the Sturt, not quite reaching the river, and he’s currently digging a dam and fixing his own hydraulics – please do something nice for him and bill me. My newfound friend had recommended the Lazy Lizard restaurant, which suited me fine because it’s part of the Gateway Motel. That’s where I usually stay in Narrandera. It was recommended to me several decades ago by someone from the Kawasaki race team. They always stayed there because there was room for the team trucks, and I’ve never seen reason to change my preference. I’m happy to recommend it for quality and price. Being Monday night, the restaurant was closed but I had a decent seafood platter chased down by a few beers at the Charles
Sturt Hotel. Usually I stay away from seafood if I’m not near the coast, but slowly I’m beginning to accept that it makes little difference; even right on the beach the tucker generally comes from the freezer.
This trip had begun in Victor Harbour, in South Australia. I’ve written elsewhere about my decision to buy a silver smoke BMW R 90 S being advertised there by my other new best mate Rai. He had made the same sort of eclectic decision that I would have made, and installed a reconditioned R 100 engine and gearbox in the bike when the original donk was going to cost far too much to rebuild. The result is a bike that has all the style of the R 90 S, but with electronic ignition and substantially increased reliability. Not much, if any, extra power; BMW must have thought that 50kW was as much as any motorcycle really needed. Who knows, they may be right in this brave new speed camera infested world of ours, even if they weren’t at the time.
The R 90 S was in better condition than I had expected (thank you, Rai), if anything, and I took off for Goolwa and Strathalbyn across the flat South Australian landscape. It was unregistered, and I had only a three-day Permit to Move, so I didn’t have time to do too much by way of exploring the byways of this wonderful continent – that will come later, because that’s exactly what I’ve bought the bike for. For now I had to get home to Sydney, and I chose something close to the most direct way.
This probably sounds a little weird for someone who has put together the Australia Motorcycle Atlas for Hema Maps, but I navigate mostly by memory, not maps. I knew that I wanted to cross the Murray on the Wellington ferry, and it was easy to find that by just following the signs. Then it was a matter of turning left, then right, then left again and I was on the Mallee Highway.
I’m not entirely sure why I pulled the plug for the day at Lameroo. It was still fairly early, but it was also beginning to rain – well, drizzle - and I seriously felt like a beer. The Lameroo Hotel Motel supplied that, as well as an opportunity to have a chat with a couple of the
Terrific seafood platter at the Charles Sturt in Narrandera.
locals in a convivial atmosphere. The room I found myself in was small but comfortable and reasonably priced; unfortunately, being Sunday, the pub did not offer meals. The Lameroo Café provided one of the worst hamburgers it has been my misfortune to sample, and sample it was all I did.
My advice would be to avoid staying in Lameroo on a Sunday night. I don’t know what the pub’s food is like on the other nights of the week, but it would have to be better than the café’s.
A good night’s sleep, assisted by a comfortable bed, a reasonably priced bottle of rosé and some suitably soporific local TV, saw me head out bright and bushy-tailed in the morning. This is silly, of course. There’s absolutely no point in being bright and bushy-tailed in the Wimmera because the kangaroos are always going to be brighter and bushy-tailder than you are. I rode carefully but eased the speed of the BMW up bit by bit to match my mood. Ouyen provided a good breakfast, and pretty little Tooleybuc a decent cup of coffee.
I like Balranald but the Sturt Highway to Hay turns off before reaching the township, and I didn’t really have a reason for popping in. I was on the Hay Plains by now, part of that enormous flat so-called ‘floodplain’ of the Darling, Murrumbidgee and Murray rivers. This isn’t really a floodplain; I’ve seen it referred to as a peneplain, which means the various rivers are not responsible for its formation. Whatever; it’s big and it’s flat. And these days it seems to be occupied by cotton plantations. I’ll never understand why a dry continent like Australia should grow a thirsty crop like cotton, but then I don’t understand a lot of things, like why we don’t all vote for Pauline Hanson and get it over with.
After stopping for lunch in Hay, the bike refused to re-start. There was no rattling of the starter motor or anything else; the voltmeter dipped a little and that was it. I tried all the usual things like pretending not to be looking at the switchgear and then quickly pressing the button, but nothing worked.
Now R 90 Ss are big beasts; they were
sporty and slim when they were new, but then so was I at the time. I stuck my head into the bar of the Riverina Hotel across the road, but I could see I wasn’t going to get much help with pushing. One of the drinkers had a Zimmer frame, another couple had sticks – one with that quadruple head that says “I can’t even keep my stick upright” and none of the others looked as if they’d seen the inside of a gym for a decade or three. They were nice about it but they were the wrong crowd to ask. I finally got the barman and one reasonably fit-looking bloke to help, but they were less than enthusiastic. Can’t really blame them. The bike sneered at our halfhearted attempts and failed to start.
I pushed on alone. Fortunately for me, Lachlan Street slopes very gently down towards the river so I was not quite in terminal cardiac arrest by the time I reached the Kawasaki dealership. The woman at the front desk was cuddling a rescued joey in an old jumper and kindly suggested I wait a few minutes for the boss to come back. He was rather less kindly and clearly just wanted me out of his shop and off his patch. “I don’t have any BMW parts,” he said, or words to that effect. This seemed rather pre-emptive to me, since neither he nor I had any idea what was wrong and if the bike would need any parts, but there you go. He is not intrinsically a happy man, I suspect.
The bloke just down the road at Atlas Fuels, on the other hand, was very happy indeed – both in general outlook and to help. He is a bit of a general motorcycle fixer, although he didn’t know anything about BMWs either (and I bet he didn’t have any parts) but he was straight into it. “Where’s the starter motor?” he asked, and when I directed him to the front of the engine he whipped the casing off and wiggled the rotor to see if it was perhaps just slightly in the wrong position. No luck there, or after a thorough check with a volt meter.
“Let’s try pushing it,” I said, hope springing eternal in the ursine breast. The bike started immediately and ran happily. Mr Atlas Fuels cheered and refused to take any money. Give him your business if you need petrol or help
in Hay, and tell him I sent you. I took off for Narrandera, and an hour and a half or so later is where you came in.
The morning dawned cloudy and a light rain was spitting down in the motel parking lot, but the bike started at the first prod of the button; I was beginning to suspect that the problem lay with the killswitch, so I’d left that alone the night before. Rolling out of town on the Newell Highway in the strengthening rain, I passed a Highway Patrol car parked by the side of the road with its radar looking for miscreants. The country cops get up early these days; not like the great days of motorcycle transport along this road.
In the late ‘60s and on into the ‘70s, the Newell Highway was the preferred route for motorcycle scribblers collecting bikes from Melbourne, or returning them after tests. The bike trade was mostly centred in Melbourne while the media were in Sydney. Most of this travel was done at night, and we preferred the Newell to the Hume because there were fewer towns – and therefore fewer police. For some reason, none of us ever hit a kangaroo. Maybe we were too quick for them. Ahem.
West Wyalong is unusual because it has a curved main street. There are few country towns like that; a straight street up the middle of town is the rule. I’m not sure that there is anything else that’s notable about West Wyalong, but the town has a pleasant kind of vibe and I stopped at one of the service stations for both fuel and breakfast. Tank and belly full we headed up the road to the MidWestern Highway turnoff to Grenfell and Cowra, and finally home via Bathurst and Lithgow. This is pretty familiar country, for me and I suspect for you too.
The traffic got thicker and thicker as I rolled into Sydney, and while the rain seemed to ease, the pollution certainly didn’t. As usual I started sneezing just as the city’s central high rises came into view. Reality? Ah, I can handle it. With the occasional run out in the country for mental refreshment, anyway… D
“God bless the King! (I mean our faith’s defender!)
God bless! (No harm in blessing) the Pretender.
But who Pretender is, and who is King, God bless us all! That’s quite another thing!”
JOHN BYROM
NEIL SEDAKA WAS right when he wrote that breaking up is hard to do. And it’s especially difficult when you’re calling it quits with a royal personage. But please, Road King, don’t take it personally. My new love is, admittedly, a younger bike… but the Pretender is also a relative of yours.
stylish ’round town bike. Both screen and panniers come off easily and leave no obvious signs of their absence.
And it’s not you, Road King, it’s me. You’re just as good-looking and versatile as ever; more so, in fact, with the Milwaukee-Eight engine. No, it’s definitely me. Or perhaps I should say that it’s the fault of the Softail Sport Glide. Honestly, I was just taking it for a ride for a couple of days. But its looks, handling and performance – and the way it just felt so good on the road – turned my head. I hope we can still be friends, your Majesty.
As it comes, the Sport Glide is a slick and quick (relatively) light tourer. Remember we’re talking cruisers here, so 317kg ready for the road is not especially weighty. The range is somewhat over 350km, which is just right, and the seat height of 680mm will be a source of cheer to many riders of the female persuasion or those afflicted with Duck’s Disease.
I’m not going to suggest that the Sport Glide is a stripper, but with some of its ‘clothes’ – the windscreen and the panniers – removed, it becomes a
I took the bike from Sydney down to the Araluen pub for the recent Bear Army Manoeuvres, and sampled just about every kind of terrain that anyone would choose to cover on such a machine – and even one type that they might not. City riding is a snack, especially since you can get your feet down easily at the lights. Some of the Sportsters make this a real chore, so I was pleased that it was so slick. Suburban roads are actually enjoyable. And once on the freeway, the bike really comes into its own with a relaxed riding position and good ergonomics. The windscreen does a pretty good job, too, and the seat is another winner from Milwaukee. Not forever, I must add. After 400km or so you do start to feel your coccyx.
Note to self: it helps if you sit properly upright.
Back roads are lots of fun. Ground clearance is only 120mm, but the cornering clearance is enough to allow spirited riding. As with all Harleys I’ve ridden lately, the suspension was impressive and ate most potholes quite
comfortably. On the Sunday morning after the Manoeuvres, I braced myself and tackled the road down to the coast. This is almost entirely gravel, and not always particularly smooth. The Sport Glide handled it acceptably; I would not seek out gravel or formed dirt roads, but neither would I make a point of bypassing them. If you’re going to be carrying a pillion, the Sport Glide’s seat is a wee bit… er, wee. But more comfortable pillion accommodation is available. As well, the ability to adjust rear preload will be welcome.
Is the Sport Glide a replacement for the Road King, then? No, it’s not. It can’t match the luggage capacity, the sheer road presence and the equipment level of the bigger bike. For many people, especially owners of big ’Glides, it will not even enter the calculations when they’re looking to update their Harley. For me, though, it does the job beautifully – and I suggest you at least give it a try before deciding on your next Harley-Davidson. Unfortunately, this story has a sad ending. After all we’d been to each other, my Sport Glide left me and went back to the H-D press bike pool. But my love will go on… D Give me land, lots of land, and the
starry skies above…
NEWINTHESHOPS
BAZZA!
Barry the Bike
Jeremy and Mary Ann Furness had an idea to write children’s books about classic motorcycles, and that’s how “Barry the Bike” was born. Currently there are three books in the series, of which Jeremy’s plan is to write eight. We received the three books and find them fantastic for both children and adults with an interest in motorcycles! We will have a full review in an upcoming issue but I urge you to buy the books anyway, they’re great. To purchase, visit www. barrythebike.com, Amazon or email jeremy@rawcreative.net
YOU’VE GOT THE POWER
Motoplug powered phone holder - $49.95
This is a great little product which keeps your phone secure on your bike and charged at the same time. The mount holds any phone between 60 –100mm and will clamp to handlebars with a diameter of 22 - 32mm. Easy to install, the unit comes complete with a 150cm long fused power cable with battery circles, two sets of clamp inserts, an Allen key wrench, spare fuse and the
USB to iPhone or Android cable to power your device. Available online through www. rockycreekdesigns.com. au or all good bike shops through Pro Accessories.
We’ll be testing this when The Bear gets his BMW back out of the workshop…
OUCH!
Rjays Stinger II jacket - $179.95
This all-round textile jacket features CE approved body armour in the shoulders and elbows and the back, external PU shoulder armour caps, 100% waterproof and breathable, air vents on chest, stretch panels across shoulders and elbows, two external and
one internal pocket, adjustable waist with Velcro tabs, removable thermal lining, zip to pant feature and bicep and forearm adjusters. Available in Mens XS-3XL and Ladies XS-2XL.
HOT IRON
SW Motech Honda Africa Twin
Most popular Adventure bike of 2018? SW-Motech has well thought-out accessories now available for the Africa Twin. Products like the EVO tank ring, gear lever, handguards, extension for side stand foot, chain guard extension and brake reservoir guard are already available,
and of course a large selection of tank bags, tail bags and SysBags as well as products in the field of navigation and ergonomics are waiting to be loaded onto your bike.
The removable PRO side carriers for TRAX ADV aluminium cases, Adventure-Racks and centre stands will follow shortly. See www. motorradgarage.com.au to purchase.
HOT STUFF
Ixon Soho jacket - $379.95
Ixon is well known for creating highquality motorcycle products that combine safety and style. The Soho jacket is no exception. The durable softshell outer material blocks the wind and keeps the heat in, while the removable warm liner (which can be worn as a casual jacket) turns up the heat on those fresh winter days. The Ixon Soho uses certified CE protectors combined with abrasive-resistant materials and reinforced seams to create a motorcycle jacket that will protect you – should you send it down the road – all wrapped up in a sleek, stylish look not usually associated with safety products. The Soho is available right now from all good motorcycle retailers around Australia in sizes S-2XL. D
GRIZZLING
Yep. My own latest ‘new’ bike is 45 years old. Forty-six, actually. And I’m a classic baby boomer…
NOT ONE, BUT TWO
“Peccantem me quotidie, et non poenitentem, timor mortis conturbat me.”
We read in the Catholic Office of the Dead, in the third Nocturn of Matins, that “Sinning daily, and not repenting, the fear of death disturbs me”. Something, I suspect, that a number of unrepenting executives in the motorcycle industry contemplate nightly when they say their prayers. But is motorcycling really dying?
As was the case with Mark Twain, I think the reports of its death are an exaggeration. And yet so many people seem to believe it.
As so often, most of the information that leads to the mortuary comes from the US. We know that Australian sales figures for new motorcycles continue to dip in most categories, but it is in America that a bit of research and theorising has been done to explain the same trend.
The baby boomers, who have been the stalwarts of the bike shops, are getting older. The median age of motorcycle owners in the US has increased from 32 to 47 since 1990, according to the Motorcycle Industry Council, and “the boomers are now in their sixties and seventies and their most recently purchased bike may possibly be their last,” writes Neville Elder in The Telegraph in the UK. And younger potential buyers have less money. “Someone looking to buy their first ride will be looking at a minimum of [US]$7,000 for the most basic Harley-Davidson model. However,
a vintage [I think he means ‘old’] motorcycle can be bought for as little as $1,000, and some work and modifi cations can turn it from a ride to work to an extension of the rider’s personality.”
Neville Elder quotes John Iiames, a 35-year-old architect living in Kansas City, ironically the place HarleyDavidson is leaving next year: “There’s not the same sense of ownership with a new bike as there is with getting an old bike from the seventies and bringing it back to life, and not have a $300 payment on it every month.”
Tom Pulliam, another architect, backed that up: “I bought my first bike for $800, rode it around found out I liked it. New bikes are inaccessible… Old bikes have more style.”
Gen X and the Millennials have in common a certain frugality and a preference for spending money on experiences rather than things. Never mind that the money they spend on a bike is effectively spent on an experience anyway; there are many other experiences they want to try, they all cost money and so there isn’t necessarily a lot of cash available for any one of them. Motorcycling may be an enjoyable and welcome experience, but it isn’t the only one.
Mind you, it’s simply not true that new bikes are inaccessible. HarleyDavidsons, Indians and the more sophisticated big bikes from Europe and Japan are not cheap, it’s true, although you arguably get better value in them today than ever before. And both American professionals – I mean,
architects? – and blue-collar workers generally earn good money (as long as they have a job, admittedly), and there are always cheaper bikes from the Japanese, and more recently the Chinese, manufacturers.
If, then, money is not the main and certainly not the only driver that sends would-be riders to the second-hand leavings of the baby boomers, what is it? The clues are pretty obvious in the quotes, above. “Some work and modifications can [make an old bike] an extension of the rider’s personality,” says one; “Old bikes have more style,” says another. So they like fiddling with their bikes, and they like them to be individual. If you fiddle with a new bike you may well void the warranty, and you’ll certainly reduce the resale value. Trust me, I know this – I’ve done it so often… And, frankly, I find it hard to tell modern motorcycles apart. Sure, many of them have style. But they have the same style as most of the others. It looks, then, as if we need to separate motorcycling and the motorcycle industry. Motorcycling is doing fine; there are workshops springing up all over the place where you can muck about with your bike, or you can do it in the privacy of your home garage. The motorcycle industry, on the other hand, has some serious problems. Let’s hope that the stimulus of “timor mortis” will send them in the right direction – whatever that is.
Peter ‘The Bear’ Thoeming
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 contactus@ausmotorcyclist.com.au or Australian Motorcyclist Magazine, Suite 4b, Level 1, 11-13 Orion Rd, Lane Cove West NSW 2066. All opinions published here are those of the writers and we do not vouch for their accuracy or even their sanity.
I’M SURE THE ACCIDENT that Grahame details below is something we all dread. It does happen once in a blue moon so keep your wits about you out there although I really can’t see that Grahame could have done anything differently in this case. Good luck with the recovery, mate. Here’s an awesome phone holder/charger from the great folk at Rocky Creek Designs to help you along. www.rockycreekdesigns.com.au
AN OILY SITUATION
Hi Peter and Crew, It’s been a while so I thought I’d drop you a line to tell you about my recent incident.
After getting a new rear tyre and a battery for the interstate ballistic missile (ZX-14) I was headed north out of Sydney towards Brisbane
to spend Easter with my beautiful fiancé. The trip was going well, the bike was just cruising along, stopping every 200k to top up the tank and my stomach. I was really enjoying the freedom of the open road after three weeks sharing a small cabin on the biggest ship in the Navy.
Just south of Ballina on the Pacific Hwy near one of the Tabbimoble creek crossings, on a perfectly straight piece of road, the bike went out from under me and I found myself sliding down the road. I was only doing 80km/h so the slide wasn’t that bad; at least until I hit the end of the guard rail. I hit it leg first and shattered the top of my left tibial plateau, that being the bottom half of my knee joint. I’d like to thank the car drivers who stopped and waited with me until the ambulance turned up. The police turned up as well and after the mandatory breath test, they informed me that there had been an accident in the exact same place two weeks previously. That accident resulted in an amount of oil being spilled on the road which was supposedly cleaned up, but the night of my accident was the first wet night since so the oil was brought up to the surface which caused me to lay it down.
Funny though, on the night of my accident there were no Oil Spill warning signs posted?
So onto the important stuff: the bike received a few scratches
on various parts, a broken clutch lever, some minor cracks to the fairing near the mirror mount, a hole worn through the fairing and adjacent stator cover, but like myself, it’s safe and recovering well until I am mobile enough to attempt a rescue.
I fi nally made it to Brisbane, after a week in Lismore Base Hospital. Many thanks to the staff there for putting my knee back together and looking after me. I’m now about halfway through my recovery, and about to start physio, I’ve still got another few weeks in my leg brace before I can even think about throwing my leg over a bike, but I can’t wait to get back in the saddle.
So even with the best intentions and all the safety gear, which I’m happy I was wearing, shit can go wrong and it doesn’t have to be your fault. If I hadn’t hit the guard rail with my leg it could have been my back or my head and I mightn’t have been here today to write about it. Be vigilant out there.
I’ve attached a few photos for you to use and abuse.
Regards, Wardy
Hi Grahame,
My father had a similar style accident in the rain a few years ago (8 busted ribs as a result) which resulted in 70km of new bitumen being laid. Good luck with the recovery and if we need any screws around the house and Bunnings is closed, can we come and borrow some of yours? LOL!
Cheers, Stuart.
WORDS FROM THE WISE
Hi Stuart,
As a full time paramedic with over 30 years in the job I can certainly say how valuable a Personal Location Beacon (PLB) can be to motorcyclists and emergency services!
I’ve been riding since I was a kid and have had a few “offs” in later years.
I’m lucky to live in the NSW Snowy Mtns and I have carried a PLB on me for the last 8 years whenever I ride. A lot of my riding is solo and in remote areas. Even if you ride on main roads you can easily go undetected over the edge of your favourite bit of road and die a lonely death.
What concerns me is the position a lot of riders carry their PLB's or Spot Trackers. Many are attached to shoulder areas, a backpack or even on the bike somewhere. It may look good but it may cost your life.
I can tell you that anything attached to your shoulders will be smashed or thrown any direction from you in most accidents. Shoulders and collar bones take a hammering, in my experience.
You do not want to be lying in the scrub badly injured and unable to walk or crawl. looking for the PLB attached to your backpack or bike, in a paddock somewhere or smashed to pieces! Carry it on your body. Find a spot you think you can get to it if you have a broken back, leg, arm or worse. I carry mine in an inner chest pocket. Everyone will have their own spot. For under $300 with a ten year battery life, the size of a pack of playing cards, get one. Put it in your jacket pocket and hopefully you will never have to use it in your travels.
Cheers, Paul Tumut
Thanks, Paul. We have had some interest from readers in PLBs, to the point where I think we may do some sort of comparison between them – The Bear
SOFTLY, SOFTLY
Hi Bear,
I reckon Boris has gone soft in his last few columns. Is it because he’s just a grumpy old bastard and now that it’s a bit cold outside he needs his cup of tea
REAL AUSTRALIA
and a blankie? Oh! I forgot the wool slippers as well. Harden up a bit, Boris. Regards, Simon Glen Innes, NSW
TAKEN THE BAIT
Hi Stuart, You threw out a big hook and I bit on it. My piece is attached (follows). Kind Regards, Bruce.
I realise that if you choose a ridiculous title for an article you’ll get people to bite and possibly provide copy for a future edition. I also realise that any “Best of .....”, “Most influential...” etc, articles are pure opinion pieces which not everyone will agree on. Then I saw what bikes were included and I noticed that most reflected our esteemed Editor’s obsession with motorcycle power, enough to burst a dynamometer; acceleration, enough to pull your arms from their sockets; and speed, enough to peel your skin off. Most readers of Australian Motorcyclist should be aware of Stuart’s obsessions by now and we more grown up readers can overlook it and forgive him for his loveable boyish enthusiasm.
The article might better have been titled “Ten Bikes that Changed the World Since 1945” or more truthfully “Ten Bikes Which Changed Stuart Woodbury’s Motorcycle World including a Couple of Suggestions from The Bear and Ralph”. Logically, the notion of changing the world suggests that the change occurs following the introduction of the particular motorcycle.
Looking at your choices in detail, one could hardly include a motorcycle released recently like the Yamaha MT09 as there hasn’t been enough
time to determine whether it might be world changing. So that is a prophesy about something that hasn’t yet occurred.
The BSA Gold Star came at the end of a long line of the big British Single and was the final development of the big single pushrod engine. So coming at the end of a line could hardly be described as world changing.
Certainly the Honda Goldwing could be classed as a world changer. There was nothing like it beforehand and whilst some have tried to match it, it is still in a class of its own. Similarly the BMW R1200 GS was, when it appeared, also in a class of its own. Again so many have tried to match it as the ultimate adventure tourer. In my view it would easily make the Ten Bikes that Changed the World list.
The Ducati 916, Triumph Bonneville and Suzuki Katana all fall into the same category. All were masterpieces of styling which in their time caused onlookers to gasp.
The integrated styling of the Katana had not been seen before, at least since 1945, and definitely not in a Japanese motorcycle. The Ducati was such an exquisitely elegant piece of machinery it was a work of art perhaps as only the Italians could do. Just about every UK motorcycle factory was producing a vertical twin in the 1950s and there wasn’t much in it but the stand-out in 1959 where everything looked just right was the Bonneville. Even the name was perfect for the image. It would be hard to argue that the Bonneville wasn’t the stand-out bike of the era. Subsequent influence on the rest of the world as game changers is arguable with perhaps the Ducati being the most influential.
The Vespa (I bet that was the Bear’s choice) would make any list of the Ten Bikes That Changed the World, in any era. There are two bikes which I find hard to believe you guys left out. The first of those is the humble Honda Cub. Presumably excluded by Stuart because of its lack of power, speed and acceleration. With around 23 million examples made since its introduction it probably should be Number 1 on a list of bikes that changed the world.
The second omission also came from Honda and I am thinking of the Honda 750 Four.
This bike sent shock waves through the world’s motorcycling industry. Although it came 30 years after Gilera’s across-theframe four cylinder Rondine engine it was the first time this sort of superbike was available to the buying public. It was a real world changer as the other Japanese manufacturers followed very quickly. Although Kawasaki’s Z900 was an outstanding motorcycle it followed the Honda 750 Four, so in any world changing motorcycles list the Honda would have to be included ahead of the Kawasaki as it was so influential on the Kawasaki design. That the Kawasaki was a better bike should be put down to development and is not relevant to world changing.
I won’t argue with Stuart’s choice of the Honda Blackbird. It was a bike whose time had come. World changer? Maybe. It is hard to think of other bikes which were world changers. Perhaps the DKW 125cc bike which spawned the BSA Bantam, Harley Davidsons and lots of others is one example. Similarly, the Adler 250 Twin two stroke influenced the design of all those two strokes twins from Yamaha, Suzuki and Ariel
WHAT SAY YOU
(Leader and Arrow).
Bikes which I rather like which sadly failed to have an impact on motorcycle thinking, perhaps because they were ahead of their time, are the Phillippe Starke designed Aprilia and the Harley Davidson XLCR. Perhaps that could be the subject of another article. Your Faithful Reader and Subscriber, Bruce Walker.
MORE FISH ON THE TABLE
Hi Bear/Stuart et al, I thoroughly enjoyed your latest mag, and in particular the “Bikes that changed the world” feature. Whilst I know it’s all subjective; I think you totally missed three bikes and got one “half right”.
The “Kwaka 9”, or as my mate DA refers to it: the Z1, was definitely an inclusion.
But: the Ariel square 4 surely has to be there, my old man used to rave on and on and on about them, but hey, believe it or not; I actually listened to him. In reality it was way ahead of its time and inspired other manufacturers to come up with something nearly as good. The RD/TZ series from Yamaha also changed the way (not just two stroke) bikes performed and handled. The technology and simplistic design were ingenious and made every other brand try to match them.
Whilst you gave an “honourable mention” to the Honda XL250, I believe the Suzuki V-Strom actually defined the Adventure/Tourer Bike series that is so popular now, and with good reason.
And what about the XS1100, it recorded an 11.77 standing quarter mile standard and redefined super bikes. Some near 40 years later, they are still a respectable superbike.
Whilst I’ve never ridden a Z1, my mate DA has one and it’s absolutely unreal. Now the reason for my “objectivity” is exposed.
I must admit, I had a heap of RD’s. One particular one was an RD250A, the first RD250 with a front disk brake. $835 for a drum front brake, $900 for the disk brake, and only $935 for the RD350, my old man made sure I settled on the 250, probably a good idea, in
up a wide choice
hindsight. The transfer ports ended up razor sharp (don’t know how), it blew everything off (well damn near everything). But; my aforementioned mechanic mate detested replacing the rear spokes virtually every weekend, so I traded it on a Datsun 180B, the person that bought the bike would have had no idea what they got themselves into. My old man must have known what happened to my stock standard RD, he didn’t say anything; but for some reason he kept on wanting to borrow it, just to see “what these new Japanese bikes were all about” Then there is the XS1100, which I haven’t hardly seen for the last six months, as it’s at DA motorcycles in Adelaide being renovated (not restored). Whilst the “XS” was probably in the Z1’s shadow initially, it made a good thing even better and once again set the standard for superbikes that actually handled and didn’t have any frame flex. Ok they had a bit of “torque lift” but they out handled and outperformed everything else and set the high standard for everything that was to follow. The V-Strom is a ripper. It paved the way for blokes like me to enjoy the bitumen and also enjoy hitting the dirt with style, class, performance and comfort. Whilst I had several trail bikes, an all-rounder was a godsend. It is just as comfortable on the bitumen or the dirt. This bike has opened up a wide choice of motorcycling for a new (and older) generation of motorcyclists. And for that alone it should have been included in your top 10; along with the Aerial, RD/TZ and the XS1100.
C. E. Paproth Bear Army trooper #46
Hi Chris, I did mention that I’m sure we missed some and because there were only ten we had to pick. While I do love an RD/RZ (especially an RZ350) there are no more two-strokes so that kind of rules them out.
I’m sure we could all banter on for many hours about what else could be included as there have been many other bikes that one might class as a game changer. Many beers must be consumed at the next Bear Army event I suggest. LOL! Cheers, Stuart.
Hi Stuart, I’m sure you’re right, but in the morning we all probably won’t remember what we eventually agreed on the night before…. Cheers, Pappy
BOGANS PLAYING GOLF?
G’day Stuart, Well, I’ve been busy lately. First I see you riding around then I meet up with The Bear on a Bear Army gathering. Then I’m off the Ulysses AGM (last one). On my return home I found two unusual letter boxes. Hope you like them. Now for a Bex and a lie down, all this activity is tiring, LOL! All the best, Ezio
Ps. Both letterboxes are on Tottenham Rd south of Nyngan. D
R nineT Scrambler
R 1200 R
R 1200
R
R 1200
K 1600 B
K 1600 GT
K 1600 GT Sport
K 1600 GTL
K 1600 GTL Elegance
$18,750
$22,500
$22,500
$23,100
$23,450
$30,940
$36,490
$36,490
$36,990
$37,990
$40,490 adv SpoRt
S 1000 XR
$22,190 adv touRing
G 310 GS $8090
F 700 GS
F 800 GS
F 800 GSA
R 1200 GS
R 1200 GS Rallye
R 1200 GS Rallye X
R 1200 GS Tour
R 1200 GSA
$12,890
$16,940
$18,650
$21,850
$23,050
$27,250
$27,250
$24,890
R 1200 GSA Triple Black $29,585
ScooteR
C 650 Sport
C 650 GT
CAN-AM (BRP) www.brp.com
*All prices are ride away Road
$14,150
$14,990
Spyder RS SM5 $19,990
Spyder RS S Red SE5 $23,990
Spyder RS S Wht SE5
$23,990
F3S SM5 $25,790
F3S SE5
Spyder ST S SE5
Spyder ST Ltd SE5
Spyder RT SM6
Spyder RT S SE6
Spyder RT Ltd SE6
$28,890
$25,490
$28,990
$31,490
$39,990
$41,990 CF MOTO www.cf-moto.com.au
adv TouRing
CB500X $7999
NC750XA
VFR800X Crossrunner
VFR1200X Crosstourer
Africa Twin Adv Sport DCT
sCooTeR
NSC110 Dio $2799
MW110 Benly
NSS300A Forza $7499
HUSQVARNA
www.husqvarna-motorcycles.com/au
Road
Vitpilen 401 $TBA
Vitpilen 701 $TBA
701 Supermoto $TBA
INDIAN
www.indianmotorcycles.com.au
*All Indian Motorcycle prices are ride away
CRuiseR
CVO
Roadmaster $40,995
Roadmaster Elite $49,995
KAWASAKI
www.kawasaki.com.au
Road
Z125 Pro KRT
$4249
Z300 ABS $5999
Ninja 400
Ninja 400 KRT
Ninja 400 SE
Versys 650/L ABS
Ninja 650/L ABS
Ninja 650/L KRT
Ninja ZX-6R
Ninja ZX-6R 636 KRT
W800 SE Black
$6499
$6749
$6759
ADVERTISERS LISTING
SWM
www.swmmotorcycles.com.au
TRIUMPH
www.triumphmotorcycles.com.au
*Some Triumph prices are ride away road
Street Triple S 660
Street Triple S
Street Triple R
Street Triple RS
675
Bonneville T120
Bonneville T120 Black
Thruxton 1200
Thruxton R 1200
Tiger Sport
Speed Triple S
A BMW MANIFESTS
NOT LONG AGO I HAD an epiphany. Derived from the ancient Greek epiphaneia, “manifestation, striking appearance”, this is an experience of sudden and striking realisation. The term can apply in any situation in which an enlightening realisation allows a problem or situation to be understood from a new and deeper perspective.
In my case the enlightening realisation was that the money I had in my ‘motorcycle account’ was not doing me any good. Left over from my ill-advised purchase and subsequent sale of Craig Vetter’s own Triumph Hurricane (it turned out that I couldn’t manage the kickstart with my buggered knee and hip), this was earning something like 1% interest, and that was annoying me every time I saw a statement. It was time to make the account live up to its name and buy another bike, and what better choice than a BMW R90S? I’d owned one many years ago and had enjoyed it enormously, putting thousands of kilometres on it attending weird events like the Wine & Cheese Rally, which I organised up in the Pilliga. Anyone out there apart from Peter Colwell and The Frog who attended that and is still alive?
Now, are you familiar with the work of American entertainer Jimmy Durante? My favourite among his many jokes is: “I walks into dis classy restaurant and I orders pheasant under glass. I’d nearly finished the glass and was about to start on de pheasant, when I sees dis sign. It says: ‘Watch yer hat and coat’. So I watches my hat and coat, and what happens? Somebody steals de pheasant.”
An illustrative lesson in the advisability of staying focused. After several months of trying and failing to find an R90S I could afford, I
came across a near-perfect example of another motorcycle I used to own and regretted selling, namely a Kawasaki Turbo, and I lost focus.
So I buys de Turbo, and what happens? An ideal R90S turns up on Gumtree.
But I had spent my motorcycle account money on the Turbo, and I wasn’t about to sell that again. I was seriously in love with it even after such a short time.
It’s amazing how resourceful you can become at a time like this. Three or more decades before, I had gone halves with a mate in Melbourne to buy a player piano. Don’t ask me why; I seriously don’t know. The thing had gone into storage almost immediately because said mate found his lifelong mate (until the divorce) and we both moved out of the house we had shared into smaller accommodations. The piano went into storage. I rang him and suggested that we might dispose of the instrument and share the proceeds. He offered to buy me out instead, and suddenly I had enough money to buy the BMW. I was so chuffed that I didn’t even mind that he subsequently sold the piano for considerably more than the value he had put on it when he paid me out. I had the cash I needed.
The tricky thing about this bike was that the engine and gearbox were in a couple of boxes – and buggered. Rai,
the owner, said he’d been quoted something like $5500 to have them reconditioned. But with great good fortune he had found an already reconditioned later model 1000cc engine and gearbox which, he’d been assured, would fit right in – and which was for sale for less than half what the work on the 900cc engine was going to cost.
Just for once, the optimistic predictions about the suitability of the bigger engine were right and the resulting hybrid not only worked like a beauty but also looked like it – helped by the double-lobed tappet covers with which Rai equipped it. I’ve always hated the later ‘breadbox’ covers, so that was fine with me. Here I was, then, with a nonstandard (and therefore relatively cheap) R90S plus the potential to return it to standard for $5500 – because Rai was selling the old engine and gearbox along with the bike. Frankly, with an offer like that who needs a player piano? Of course there had to be a problem. In this case it was location, location, location. I live in Sydney while Rai and the bike along with its bits were in Victor Harbour in South Australia. But did that faze me?
You’ll find out elsewhere how I dealt with this little problem. D
BORIS
SLOW, FAT AND LAZY
WORDS BORIS MIHAILOVIC
YOU ALL KNOW WHAT
the biggest-selling motorcycle brand in Australia is, right? It’s Honda. It supplies Australia Post with postie motorcycles, which takes up a meaningful chunk of its 2076 bike-sales.
But who’s the biggest seller of, well, big bikes?
That’d be Harley, with 1812 units sold Year-To-Date 2018. Sure, those sales are down a chunk from the year before (19-odd per cent), but that’s still a lot of bikes – none of which are sold to government agencies or used as fleet vehicles. All of those Hogs are going straight to the customer.
So cruisers, big ones, are the bikes we’re all buying. We’re also buying Adventure bikes and big tourers. Superbikes and supersports not so much, but big nakeds are also doing kind of OK.
But cruisers are the big sales gorilla in the room.
Why is this so?
Why are Australians choosing big-arse cruisers over other types of bikes?
The answer is simple. And it’s the same reason SUVs are enjoying record sales.
It’s because we’re fat and getting fatter. And in the case of motorcycles, it’s because not only are we fat, but we’re slow and lazy as well.
And if you’re fat, slow, and lazy… well, hell, pilgrim, you got no business hoiking your oversized greasy hams onto a sportsbike, do you?
Doubtlessly some of you are already typing letters of outrage to Editor Woodbury. I encourage you to do so. All editors like to get letters from their readers. It means you care. You can be like the sub-literate muppet Dave from Cairns, whose letter Stu published last issue and who is of the view my writing does the readers and advertisers no favours. Apart from the brief frisson of pleasure Muppet Dave’s whining gave me, it also
demonstrated how omniscient Muppet Dave is in that he speaks for all the readers and all advertisers.
But just to clarify, I’m not here to do anyone any favours, Muppet Dave.
Still, I do feel I’m doing you all a favour now by telling you that we’re all pretty much slow, fat and lazy, which is why we’re buying lots of Harleys.
There is no denying we’re fat.
The Heart Foundation has stated: “In 2014/15, six million Australians aged 18 and over were overweight (Body Mass Index of 25.0kg/m2 to 29.9kg/m2). This accounts for more than a third (36%) of adult Australians. More than 3.5 million Australian men were overweight, or 42% of all males aged 18 and over.”
We’re fat because we’re lazy and we eat crap. In 2014-15 there were 22,700 stomach surgeries performed on 22,700 ham-planets too lazy to stop eating garbage and to exercise. In 2004-5 there were only 9300 such surgeries.
And as a result of being fat and lazy, we’re slow. Not all of us. But most of us. I know this because I’m not all that quick a rider, but I pass pretty much everybody I see when I’m out for a blast. Sure, I do get my arse handed to me from time to time – which fills me with joy because someone else is trying hard and paying attention and riding like his life depended on it. But by and large, I pass lots of people most of the time.
And most of them are on big cruisers being slow.
I get it. You bought a Harley because…well, you know, no-one expects a Harley to go fast and so you have the perfect excuse for riding like some clueless catastrophe-inwaiting.
Heh. You know nothing. Go for a ride
with an outlaw club some time and tell me you think big cruisers can’t be ridden fast. Try keeping up with Editor Woodbury when he’s got his dander up. Hell, come for a ride with me and I’ll show you how fast I punt a big cruiser.
So it’s not the bike. It’s you, fatso. You’re slow because you don’t ride very well, and your laziness is evident by your burgeoning belly and your refusal to upskill yourself by doing riding courses.
Fat, middle-and-late-yeared cruiser riders are exactly the kind of gronks who should be lining up to do riding courses and braking and cornering schools.
Look, I’m not at my ideal fighting weight either. So I’m kind of chucking rocks in a glass house. But I battle it all the time. I’m approaching 60 faster than I’d like and I will not go gently into that good night. Piss on that. I lift weights five times a week, I don’t eat junk food, and I am constantly upskilling myself as a motorcyclist. My life depends on all of those things. Your life depends on it too, Blobbo. I understand you think you’re too old to be wedging yourself onto a Fireblade. You’re not. You’re just too fat. I struggle too. I do it, but I suffer and then I have to ride it really fast to replace my suffering with terror.
So I get why you’re buying Harleys. You’re slow, fat and lazy.
How about you sew that to the back of your faux-outlaw leather vests and own it? D
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