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EDITORSPEAKS
Time for a break
CHRISTMAS AND THE New Year have come and gone, all of us here at Australian Motorcyclist hope you had a bit of time off and got out for a nice relaxing ride. What did we get up to? The Bear got drunk, Ralph ate salad and I actually got out for a ride for pleasure and not ‘work’. Also, I didn’t check emails for one whole week! LOL!
When I say I got out for a pleasure ride, I always enjoy each time I get out on the bike but not having to then write about it and basically just relax is what I’m on about.
Where did I go? Not that far really. A 100km loop to Wisemans Ferry for lunch and a cold drink. I would normally go up the Putty Road to Wollombi or somewhere around there but the day I chose to go for a ride the temperature was in the mid30s. I prefer a nice 25 odd degree day with blue skies but that doesn’t happen often, especially in summer!
The bike I was on was a Ducati Scrambler 1100. Ducati wanted us here at AMM to have a little ‘xmas’
present. They offered us the bike of our choice from their fleet over the couple of weeks of the holiday period, so I chose an 1100 Scrambler which I find to be a nice, relaxing ride.
What else did I get up to in my ‘break’ – I finally got the Katana all together and took it for a little test ride with a borrowed Trade plate. I did have to rejet the carbs as the DNA air filter pods flow so much fresh air into the big Kat’s lungs it needed a bigger drink. I ended up raising the needles and fitting larger main jets with the Kat having a decent amount of power and being even more fun to ride now. It is also for sale. A change in what I wanted to do with the bike has resulted in me now offering it for sale. Send me an email if you’re interested –stuart@ausmotorcyclist.com.au . You might be wondering what 2019 holds for Australian Motorcyclist. We have plans to continue our focus on motorcycle travel and we’ll start doing some more videos via our YouTube channel as a complement to our bike tests. We did try this a couple of years ago but we must have been a bit before our time as they didn’t really kick off as well as we had hoped. The world has changed massively in that time and short one to two minute videos seem to be extremely popular, so we’ll give it a crack as an extra for all of you who like checking out a brief overview and the sound of a bike before reading about it in these pages. Let us know what you think of our efforts and remember they’re not full-on reviews, just a quick overview of the bikes. Our YouTube channel is Australian Motorcyclist Magazine and we’ll also pop links onto our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages when new videos are produced. Enjoy! Cheers, Stuart.
www.ausmotorcyclist.com.au
HE’S DONE IT AGAIN!
When will the fat man learn his lesson? After squeezing through millions of chimneys, dusting off ash and fighting off one too many dogs, Santa got way too drunk again and the military were brought in to take the silly old fart away. We’re sure he’ll sober up in time for Christmas at the end of the year.
CRUISY, BABY
Metzeler has not forgotten cruiser riders and has released the ‘Cruisetec’ range designed to optimise the performance of modern and past V-Twins and intended for motorcyclists who want to get the most out of their motorcycles in terms of handling and grip. The Cruisetec is available in a wide range of sizes, right from a 150 – 260 wide rear! Check out the Metzeler range at your local Metzeler dealer or www.cassons.com.au
GO, GO, GO!
The opening round of the 2019 World Superbike Championship at Phillip
Island is just around the corner from February 22-24 and will be the first to host three races for the famed production bike series. A jam-packed thirteen races will be held on Saturday and Sunday, with the extension of the WorldSBK platform the first time since the title’s inception in 1988 delivering an exciting new frontier for teams and riders – as well as a boon for spectators. As an extra bonus at WorldSBK, all three-day ticket holders are gifted free paddock access. A three-day general admission is $120* secured in advance, or $230* when you add camping to your purchase. If you feel like splashing out, step up to a ‘Bar SBK’ ticket at $265*(with camping $375) and enjoy undercover facilities at Doohan Corner, Siberia and Lukey Heights. World superbikes is free for kids 15 and under^, and so is your bike which you can ride on the service roads to your favourite corner, park up, sit back to take in the full-throttle action. *All ticket prices quoted purchased in advance and subject to Ticketek service and handling fees. Book now and save on gate prices. ^Children 15 and under are free and must be accompanied by a paying adult. For tickets go to www.worldsbk.com.au or Ticketek.
WHERE PLANKING ORIGINATED
Roland Rollie Free was a motorcycle racer best known for wearing only a bathing suit while setting land speed records. The folk at Preservation Productions LLC has produced and released a short documentary, “Black Lightning - The Rollie Free Story”.
Check it out https://vimeo.com/ ondemand/blacklightningrolliefree
YES, IT’S STILL HERE
Yes, despite many media outlets in this country (no, not us) and around the world jumping on a report stating the Hayabusa is no longer, Suzuki Australia has released an official statement with the 2019 Suzuki Hayabusa coming very shortly. Basically it’s new colours only. Check them out at your local dealer or www.suzukimotorcycles.com.au
IT’S NEW
Peter Stevens Motorcycles is excited to announce their new Triumph Motorcycle store at 619 Princes Hwy, Tempe NSW where classic and contemporary converge for the ultimate motorcycle encounter! The
world class store will be teeming with Triumph Motorcycles, genuine gear, clothing and parts, complete with a state-of-the-art workshop and a team of factory trained technicians.
This store puts the ‘umph’ in Triumph, like-minded people can come and simply appreciate the space to hang out, test ride their dream motorcycle or kit out in the undeniably cool gear and accessories. Triumph Sydney offers finance and insurance packages for every Triumph enthusiast - this is the new Sydney destination for everything Triumph.
And, not forgetting, Peter Stevens new Harley- Davidson store is right next door, too!
HEAR IT!
Hear the Road Motorcycle Tours Italy announces the 2019 Italian motorcycle tour calendar.
Tours range from 8-12 riding visiting destinations like Amalfi Coast, Alps, Dolomites, Tuscany, Chianti, Sardinia, Corsica, or watching the MotoGP Race at Mugello and Misano circuits. Hear The Road Motorcycle Tours Italy provides motorcycle rental, accommodations in 3 or 4 stars hotel with local flavour, luggage transportation and transfer from and to the airport.
Tours are on BMW, Ducati, Moto Guzzi and Harley-Davidson motorcycles.
Tours run from April to October, so book soon if you plan on making this riding season the most memorable yet. As an extra bonus Hear The Road offers a free night in Rome to who book within January 2019.
Self-Guided, customised and/or private tours are a popular option for individuals or groups of any size. For additional information, contact: Enrico Grassi: enrico@motorcycletoursitaly. com Tel. +39 393 04 03 260
GO WILD
Compass Expeditions has been riding in Patagonia for over 10 years! The Patagonia Explorer tour is their most popular, and made it onto National Geographic Traveller’s “Tours of a Lifetime” list. It is still the only motorcycle tour ever to make that prestigious list.
In November 2019 Compass will be fulfilling a long-held plan to release a second Patagonia tour, this time for those looking to get a little bit wild. “Wild Patagonia is the tour that we have been wanting to run for many years” says Compass Expeditions founder, Mick McDonald, “It shows off another side of Patagonia, the rugged and less accessible regions that many visitors will never get to experience” he continued.
A highlight of the new tour is perhaps the most scenic road in all of South America but certainly one of the least known, the Carratera Austral, or Ruta 7 that offers an overload of scenic wonders.
Further to this, you will also be
riding sections of the famous Ruta 40 which is part of the Trans American Highway and the mind blowing Seven Lakes Ride. You’ll visit Petrohue on the shores of Lago Todos los Santos, amazing Futaleufú, home to the finest white-water rafting on earth, Queulat National Park with its hanging glacier, Las Cavernas Marmoles and the San Rafael Glacier, the stunning UNESCO listed Los Alerces National Park and beautiful San Martin de Bariloche known for its delicious hand-made chocolates and incredible vistas.
This brand new 15-day / 16-night Compass Expeditions adventure will take you across the Andes twice as you cross between Chile to Argentina and back again to complete a loop of this dramatic part of the world.
The tour begins and ends in the Chilean Capital, Santiago and all internal flights and transfers are included as is accommodation in 3 and 4 star accommodation, all breakfasts and a well maintained, recent model BMW GS to explore Wild Patagonia. For further details please email: info@compassexpeditions.com or visit: www.compassexpeditions.com/ tours/wild-patagonia
TELL ‘EM THE PRICE, SON!
BMW Motorrad, Ducati, Royal Enfield, Benelli and MV Agusta has released their new pricing for the start of 2019. Check out all the models and prices in our New Bike Prices Section. D
2019 Scrambler Desert Sled available soon at your nearest authorised Ducati Retailer.
Both the outgoing F 800 & F 700 GS models were very nice bikes to ride, but long overdue for an upgrade or total revamp; a little ‘soft’ in the greater scheme of things. BMW knew this and both the new F 850 & F 750 GS models are razor sharp for their intended segments. In fact, I found the new F 850 GS to be mega offroad and a far more purposeful all-round tool than big brother, the R 1200 GS. I know, I know there are many punters out there who are going to hate me for saying that the new 850 is better than the King of the Jungle – the stalwart R 1200 GS, but it plain and simply is. Let’s get into what the bikes are all about…
EnginE
Gone is the Rotax sourced parallel twin. BMW has designed and produced its own parallel twin now. It features two counterbalance shafts and a firing interval of 270/450 degrees, delivering far more power than the outgoing Rotax engine - and it has an awesome V-twin sound to accompany it. It is also a tractable engine to use – just like the 1200 which can lope along up steep hillclimbs and the like. The 850 has this same flexibility where you can snick up a gear and still motor up that snotty hill track, as against revving the crap out of it which you have to do on some other bikes.
ElEctronics
The whiz bang tech that’s long been a feature on bigger BMW motorcycles is now fitted to the lower end of the range, as well. Both the F 750 GS and F 850 GS come standard with two riding modes, ‘Rain’ and Road’, to accommodate conditions and rider preferences, although they can be upspecced. Other standard features include ASC automatic stability control, switchable ABS, cruise control and heated grips. Riding modes Pro option, introduces additional riding modes ‘Dynamic’ and ‘Enduro’ as well as DTC dynamic traction control and the curve-optimised ABS Pro with dynamic brake light. Finally, serious enduro riders can
option an F 850 GS up to include ‘Enduro Pro’ mode, for full off-road performance. This riding mode is configured for the use of knobby tyres and is activated by a specially-coded plug.
Throughout the 850 ride I left the bike in Enduro Pro as I liked the power delivery, ESA settings and ABS setting. On the 750 I rode a standard model and used Road mode on and off-road, with DTC switched off for the dirt.
On the 850 models and higher end 750 models a multifunctional instrument panel with a 6.5-inch full-colour TFT display and numerous features is fitted. In conjunction with integrated operation via the BMW Motorrad multi-controller, it gives you quick access to vehicle and connectivity functions.
It is also an easy way to make telephone calls or listen to music while on the road. If you, for example, connect a smartphone and a helmet equipped with the BMW Motorrad communication system using the TFT display, you can easily access media playback and phone functions.
In addition to this, the free BMW Motorrad Connected App offers everyday-suitable and practiceoriented arrow navigation directly via the TFT display. The BMW Motorrad Connected App is available for free from the Google and Apple app stores.
FramE/suspEnsion
New for the 850 and 750 is a bridge frame. It integrates the two-cylinder engine as a supporting element, unlike the previous models with their tubular steel spaceframe. The new frame has a monocoque construction, which results in increased torsional rigidity and the fuel tank moves from beneath the seat to a more traditional spot between the seat and the steering head. That gives the 15-litre unit an optimised role in wheel-load fluctuations and the centre of gravity. It also means the back of the bike is narrower without sacrificing luggage space under the seat.
Forks are standard telescopic on the 750 and inverted on the 850 and both
have good characteristics for road riding and off-road riding. Obviously the increased stability with a larger fork on the 850 is intended to handle rougher trails.
The monoshock has been upgraded over the out-going model and you can now get the upper spec models fitted with ESA Electronic Suspension Adjustment. The benefits of ESA have been raved about many times before and work as intended on both the 750 and 850.
BrakEs
Brembo takes care of the braking and there’s loads of power and feel. On the models fitted with the Enduro Pro plug, when you change into Enduro Pro the sensitivity of the ABS changes also. For example, Enduro Pro turns ABS off on the rear but also allows excellent control over loose rocks and sticks without interacting. This is why I also like this mode on the bitumen as you can start to get the front tyre locked before all hell breaks loose.
stylE
The design of both bikes features an asymmetric headlight and the GStypical flyline which make it immediately clear that they belong to the GS family.
The characteristic flyline emanates from the front GS 'beak' (upper wheel cover) over and past the fuel tank and seat to the functionally-designed and now considerably-slimmer rear. The painted parts of both models have been deliberately kept to a minimum. They are located in the upper area of the motorcycle, where they form the interface between rider and bike. The lower area of the motorcycle and the GS ‘beak’, on the other hand, are in black, to underline its robust off-road character, but more importantly from my point of view they reduce the number of stone chips you might have normally got if they were painted.
Warranty/sErvicing
The 750 and 850 GS range is covered by BMW Motorrad Australia’s threeyear, unlimited-kilometre warranty. The warranty period also includes
comprehensive roadside assistance, available 24/7/365.
Selected BMW Motorrad service and maintenance costs can be covered by a single, one-off advance payment with BMW Motorrad Service Inclusive (BMSI), which is available in two packages: Service Inclusive or Service Inclusive Plus.
BMW Service Inclusive covers a wide range of maintenance work, including oil service, oil, air and fuel filter change, the 1000-kilometre first check, valve clearance check, fork and gearbox oil change, spark plug replacement, and CVT belt change (for those bikes fitted with CVT).
BMW Service Inclusive Plus package also covers front and rear brake and disc changes.
Both Service Inclusive and Service Inclusive Plus can be selected as either three years/30,000 kilometres or five years/50,000 kilometres programs and is transferrable to new owners.
F 750 GS
Being the more road orientated model the route we took included a great mix
of bitumen and dirt roads around the Mt Macedon/Whittlesea area. As I rode a standard model the entire time I could enjoy the basics of this new model – feel what the new frame was like, combined with the retuned power delivery of the parallel twin. As previously with the 700/800 models, the 750 is fitted with the same engine as the 850, it is just ‘retuned’. Whereas the previous 700 really did feel like a step down from the 800, the new 750 doesn’t feel overly different to the 850 in terms of power and torque – it is still punchy and has enough excitement to put a smile on your face. So, if you’ve been considering a 700 or 800 in the past and didn’t like the big separation between the two models you can now pick either a ‘road’ version or an ‘off-road’ version (with the 850); they really are both excellent at their intended markets. The 750 is available in four models – ‘Standard’, Tour and two Low Suspension versions with pricing ranging from $13,590 - $17,305 plus on-roads. If you want a mainly road touring adventure bike that can handle dirt roads and some trails, the 750 is your perfect steed.
1. Ready for travel!
2. Cast wheels on the 750
3. Standard 750 gets the ‘traditional’ instrument panel
White Metallic (Rallye), Pollux Metallic Matte (Tour)
VERDICT: A NEW KING?
F 850 GS
BMW Motorrad wanted to make the 850 the most dirt-focussed model in the entire range and they have succeeded, I previously mentioned the 850 being better than big bro, the R 1200 GS and my reasoning behind this is it feels lighter, the handling is far better thanks (not only) to the 21 inch front wheel and the 850 feels slimmer, especially when navigating tight single
trails. That 21 inch front wheel is a tubeless spoked wheel – a first for BMW.
To showcase just how good the new 850 is, the route we rode was rather technical and many on the ride found it quite difficult – pools of wet, slippery mud, wet clay, wet tree roots, steep hillclimbs and rocky declines was just some of what we tackled. I found it fun and technical enough so that I could feel how the new bike works. I could try running up a steep hillclimb in a higher gear and see what would happen and I could try the front ABS coming down over rocky step offs and the 850 passed with flying colours. The other big plus for the 850 over the outgoing 800 is ground clearance. I remember taking an 800 deep into the bush a number of years ago and getting the centrestand caught in muddy ruts I was negotiating. Now, with a healthy increase in ground clearance the 850 rides straight over the top without scraping. The 850 is available in seven versions –‘Standard’, Rallye, Rallye X, Tour and three Low Suspension versions with pricing ranging from $17,990 - $22,305 plus on-roads.
Accessories
BMW has stepped up the range of accessories for both models and now even offers a ‘package’ that has a number of accessories for various purposes. I think it will make buying a lot easier as you can just say you want ‘X’ package fitted and not have to go through a massive list.
The shArp end
Where the outgoing 700 and 800 GS might have felt like the ‘outcasts’ in a way, both the F 750 GS and F 850 GS are right in the BMW Motorrad mix; you just need to decide the percentage of riding you’ll likely be doing to pick the 750 or 850 for your enjoyments. If you ride an R 1200 GS (or any other big bore adventure tourer) and you’re serious about off-road riding, the 850 should be locked on your radar and if you want a lighter and easier to manage road-biased adventure tourer, it’s the 750 that should be in your crosshairs. D
Words/photos ScOTT SMITh WWW.cOn S uMER S aDVOcaTE.ORG
We have featured some of the amazing australian Women
Who helped to shape motorcycling in this country, but here’s a story of three american Women
Who did the same in the us of a. amm
TAKe A MoMent and picture a motorcyclist… Maybe you conjured up a MotoGP rider, perhaps you visualised someone tackling the fire trails on a dirt bike. Or possibly you thought of the most recent rider with whom you shared the road on your commute. But chances are you thought of a man - not a woman.
Motorcyclists are definitely a subculture and a heavily male-dominated one at that. Only 14% (about 1.18 million) of the motorcycles on American roads are registered to women.
But numbers aside, women motorcyclists simply haven’t broken through in the American, Australian (or anywhere in the world for that matter) popular imagination. That doesn’t mean there are no motorcycle heroines. In fact, there are many female motorcyclists who deserve broader public attention for their taboo-smashing insight into the souls of two-wheeled conveyances and the people who ride them.
I think that three of them are particularly worthy of celebration: Lois Pryce, Melissa Holbrook Pierson, and Bessie Stringfield, three riders who took very different journeys on what Pierson calls “the perfect vehicle.”
One woman rode outward across whole continents and forged personal connections in remote and forbidden countries. Her vulnerability and good humour were her strengths.
Another rode inward through her own psyche to understand the allure of motorcycles and the people who ride them. Her fearless and honest
Lois Pryce
Melissa Holbrook Pierson
Bessie Stringfield
introspection were her guides. Their spiritual ancestor rode onward to confront the institutionalized racism and sexism of Jim Crow America. Her powerful faith and personal toughness were her allies.
Let’s meet them.
THE JOURNEY OUTWARD: LOIS PRYCE
Never one to follow the motorcycling in-crowd, Pryce rides smaller bikes - 225 and 250cc Yamahas that are light, easy to work on, and far more in keeping with the motorcycles in the places she travels than big BMWs, Harleys, or Ducatis.
safer than a man would be.
Lois Pryce rode all the way down to the southern tip of South America, from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, where you can smell Antarctica 620 miles away across the Drake Passage.
She rode all the way from London to Cape Town, traversing the Sahara Desert, the jungled interior of subSaharan Africa, and the sun-blasted hills of South Africa.
She rode across Turkey and crossed into Iran, a country the US and the UK have been locked in a cold war with for 40 years. It was her most intimate trip, a journey around the country that brought her into close contact with dozens of ordinary Iranians who showered her with kindness.
Pryce did what so many only dream of. She left a desk job with the BBC and set out to explore the world by motorcycle. She’s taken those three epic motorcycle trips: from Alaska to the southern tip of South America, from London to Cape Town, South Africa, and from Istanbul to Iran. Along the way, she witnessed the aftermath of a horrific motorcycle crash that left one of her riding buddies with a fractured skull and a mangled arm. She clashed with officious policemen and border control officers who seemed determined to thwart her desire to see what lay beyond the next hill. She endured the heat of the Sahara Desert and the bone-chilling cold of the Zagros Mountains in north-western Iran.
She said in an interview for this article, “As soon as you leave the Western/ developed world there’s not much opportunity to ride at 70-plus miles per hour. The kinds of roads you’ll be traveling on are full of potholes, dirt, kids, dogs, donkeys, cows, insane traffic, etcetera. This means you will be riding much slower most of the time - so a big powerful bike is wasted. Also, riding slowly means you see more. A small bike forces you to carry less stuff, which is good - traveling light will transform a trip. Another benefit of riding a small, cheap trail bike is that you will blend in better in less-developed countries. Turning up on a big flashy brand-new BMW or similar marks you out as a wealthy westerner and creates a divide between you and the people of that country.”
Pryce also gained a unique perspective on the perception that motorcycles are dangerous machines. One of the scariest days of her life occurred in the Republic of Congo, when she was forced to take a train from Loutété to Brazzaville because the road was “too dangerous” to be traversed by a lone woman on a motorcycle. She was shut up in a boxcar with her motorcycle and a dozen intoxicated male Congolese soldiers. There was no escape. She spent a sleepless night sitting on the floor of the boxcar by her bike, fending off some soldiers who wanted to steal her supplies and other soldiers who made it clear they might want something more from her. Had she been out on the road, she could have escaped those dangers.
Motorcycling is so much more experiential than driving. Riding allows you to experience life through your five senses instead of watching it through a windshield.
But despite that terrifying situation - and despite being assaulted by a meth-head gas station attendant in Iran, Pryce believes that being a woman on a motorcycle in a foreign land actually helps keep her
“Being a woman can be advantageous as on the whole,” she said. “When people see you traveling in their country, especially if you are alone, they actually want to look after you, rather than harm you. I truly do believe this is how most humans respond to others. A solo female is not viewed as a threat in any society, so people tend to be welcoming and friendly. Obviously, there is the occasional lecherous or scary guy, but you soon learn to sniff them out right away!”
On her first epic journey from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, she learned “the reason to travel is to make human connections. To make those connections meaningful and real, you have to lay yourself bare. You can’t insulate yourself and hide away. You have to be vulnerable... Your vulnerability becomes an asset and brings out the best in people.”
In between epic motorcycle journeys, Pryce wrote three books: Lois on the Loose, about her trip through North and South America, Red Tape and White Knuckles: One Woman’s Adventure Through Africa, and Revolutionary Ride: On the Road in Search of the Real Iran. With her husband, Austin Vince, she co-organises the Adventure Travel Film Festival, an event dedicated to showing 100 years of adventure travel films, listening to good music, and hearing talks from trekkers, bicyclists, overlanders, sailors - and, of course, motorcyclists.
THE JOURNEY INWARD: MELISSA HOLBROOK PIERSON
The Perfect Vehicle: What It Is About Motorcycles, by Melissa Holbrook Pierson, begins with a lyrical passage that reads like a description of a religious rite. “The key is slipped into the ignition at the top of the steering head. Then the rider swings a leg over the seat and sits but keeps the weight on the balls of the feet. With a push from the thighs, the rider rocks the bike forward once, again, picking up momentum until it starts to fall forward and down from the centerstand… The key turns; idiot lights glow.… The starter button on the right handlebar, pressed, begins a whirring below. A simultaneous twist of the right
grip pulls the throttle cables and the engine bleats, then gulps, then roars. There is contained fire within inches of the rider’s knees.”
Given Pierson’s attentiveness to the rituals of the ride, it’s not surprising that many pages on, she tells of her visit to a
motorcycle museum in Otterbach, Germany in spiritual terms: “We admired all the fine old bikes, from Aermacchi to Zundapp, sure, but I think we were at least as appreciative of the fact that they were housed in a former church. It was still a place of worship as far as we were concerned.”
But what begins as ritual soon becomes a psychological inquiry. To invert Pierson’s subtitle, what is it about motorcycles? It’s certainly more than just the ride. The closest she comes to giving a direct answer is to say that “motorcycles are a way into yourself, and a way out.”
By writing The Perfect Vehicle, Pierson had hoped to communicate the essence of motorcycling to a general audience. But that’s not the way it worked out. The book was popular among motorcyclists, but non-riders took little note of it.
In an interview for this article, Pierson also laments how technology has affected her connection with her motorcycles. “Now I feel a tad . . . distant from my bikes. This extends to the ride because I’m no longer able to pay the close attention I once did to the inner workings of the stationary motorcycle.
Or to relate in a physical way to much of what’s happening when [I’m] underway. And that’s because I can’t - it’s all inside the invisible workings of a chip that is not ‘read’ by me, but by a computer.”
Pierson came to motorcycling in her mid-twenties, after getting her Bachelor’s from Vassar and her Master’s from Columbia. Once she discovered motorcycles, a different kind of learning took hold of her. She discovered the joy, power, peace, fear, vulnerability, and happiness that can visit a rider in just ten miles.
She rode around New York City and its near environs. She rode America through and through. She rode in Europe. But the real travel is through the landscape of the psyche. The Perfect Vehicle is as much of a travelogue as Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance is about the highways of the northwest. Which is to say that it isn’t really about those roadways at all.
To make these inward journeys, Pierson doesn’t ride trail bikes, crotch rockets, or plush cruisers. She favours the sculpted, sinewy, Italian designs of Moto Guzzi: “I would know the sound of a big Guzzi in my sleep. It concentrates its aural energies in your upper chest, ringing through your bones. It is…the sound of joy.”
When Melissa writes, you are on that bike, the wind rushing by, and feeling every bump and bend in the road. Beyond summoning the exquisite sense of riding a motorcycle, she summons the bike’s physicality in its lines and weight, but especially in its sound.
Despite her status as a female rider, Pierson is careful not to attempt to speak for all women motorcyclists. “I don’t think riding itself is a gendered experience,” she said. “It’s the way the rider is perceived that’s gendered. . . . Women have to push through an extra layer of resistance sometimes, in that we may have to first take back a basic right to do what we want to do without censure. In cultures that have strong gender prescriptions, this can be at the risk of physical punishment, but in many of the most dramatic instances where this is the case worldwide, there are now examples of women who have taken to motorcycles even under pain of physical harm, which is a new and amazing
development. Men don’t face that.” Pierson’s second motorcycle book, The Man Who Would Stop at Nothing: Long-Distance Motorcycling’s Endless Road, was published in 2011. She hadn’t planned to write about motorcycling again until she encountered the extreme long-distance motorcycle subculture, people who ride 1000 miles in a single day in “Iron Butt” marathons. “It’s such a loony, all-absorbing pursuit, I knew I’d have to write about it,” Pierson remarked. “I still think those people are nuts. But they’re among the smartest, most generous humans I’ve ever encountered. There’s got to be a connection there.”
More recently, Pierson took a trip through India, another one of those journeys that broadens the mind, the soul, and the horizon.
And she’s still discovering what it is about motorcycles.
THE JOURNEY ONWARD: BESSIE STRINGFIELD
Bessie Stringfield measured only 5’2”, but she stood tall at a time when to be black and female was to be doubly oppressed. Photos of her show a sturdy woman with an inviting smile. She always appears freshly made up and impeccably dressed, even when photographed against a backdrop of dusty roads and dirt tracks. Born in 1911, she taught herself to ride in the 1920s on a neighbour’s bike when she was in her mid-teens and the modern motorcycle itself was only about ten.
“My mama had a fit,” she later recalled. “Nice girls didn’t go around riding motorcycles in those days.”
Nevertheless, on her sixteenth birthday, Stringfield’s adoptive mother gifted her with what she really wanted: a ride of her own. It was a 1928 Indian Scout, an American contraption that looked like a bicycle on steroids with a 603cc V-twin engine nestled between the wheels. It was heavy and loud and belched exhaust, but it must have seemed like freedom. It was her first and last Indian. Thereafter, Stringfield discovered Harley-Davidsons and immediately developed the kind of brand loyalty which that marque can inspire. She owned 27 different Harleys in her lifetime.
By the time she was 19, Stringfield was riding all over the country. Some say she
would choose her destinations by tossing a penny onto a map. It’s hard for us “moderners” to imagine how difficult motorcycle travel was in 1930. Roads in the United States at that time were topped with graded earth, sand, clay, or gravel - surfaces not especially hospitable to motorcycle traffic. Even the basics of navigating from town to town were difficult in an era where interstate roadmaps were still in their infancy.
The risks of motorcycling and the sheer difficulty of long-distance travel in that era would daunt all but the hardiest souls. Stringfield, however, encountered additional obstacles: her black skin and her woman’s body. It was perfectly legal in the 1930s for hotels, restaurants, and inns to refuse to serve African Americans and unaccompanied women. Stringfield spent many nights staying with black families she met on her travels. Other evenings were passed parked at a filling station and sleeping atop her bike. These aspects of Jim Crow America were almost benign compared to the more serious dangers of being black and far from home in a white world. In the 1930s, 119 African Americans were lynched. Hundreds of others were beaten, tortured, raped, and humiliated. The protection of the law was uncertain and inconstant, to say the least.
Bessie Stringfield was a black woman in a white man’s world and a woman in a male-dominated culture. She helped pave the way for the civil rights era. She’s definitely a hero!
Stringfield was undeterred. She became the first African American woman to ride a motorcycle in every one of the contiguous 48 states. She rode in Brazil, Haiti, and Europe. She raced in flat track competitions and performed motorcycle stunts at carnivals and fairs. During World War II, she served as a civilian motorcycle courier for the US Army in the pre-fax, pre-internet era, carrying important military documents from base to base.
In later years, Stringfield was remarkably reticent about the discrimination she faced on the back roads of mid-century America. In a newspaper interview of in 1981, she recalled that “Coloured people couldn’t stop at hotels or motels back then. But it never bothered me.”
When pressed by reporters and biographers, she would relate an incident where a white man in a pickup truck deliberately ran her off the road and knocked her off her bike. She told other stories about being followed down a dirt road by an angry white mob only to outrun them and fill her tank at a gas station owned by a kindly white man who let her fill up for free. But even those tellings (sic) are devoid of anger or bitterness.
Perhaps she guarded her carefullywrought image as a positive, can-do spirit. Perhaps her powerful Catholic faith impelled her to turn the other cheek. She frequently said that “the man upstairs” was looking out for her. Or maybe she was actually lucky and plucky enough to have avoided the worst of Jim Crow violence and hatred.
But one oft-told anecdote hints at the quiet pride she took in her skill and determination. When she moved to Florida in the 1950s, she found herself repeatedly pulled over by the police for “riding while black.” As Stringfield tells the story, the Miami police told her black women were not allowed to ride motorcycles in Miami.
“I couldn’t even get a motorcycle license there. Those officers kept harassing me until I got fed up and went to see Captain Jackson, a white motorcycle cop in the Negro district. He took me out to a park and told me to go through several figure eights and other tricks. I did them, and he was amazed. He said he’d never seen a woman ride like that. From that day on, I didn’t have any trouble from the police and I got my license too.”
Stringfield died in 1992 at the age of 82. She rode her Harley to church every Sunday until shortly before her death.
Recognising that it had neglected to write about her death when it occurred, The New York Times belatedly published an obituary in 2018. In 2000, the American Motorcyclist Association Hall of Fame created the Bessie Stringfield Award to honour, “an individual who has been instrumental in bringing emerging markets into the world of motorcycling.” Two years later, the AMA inducted her into its Hall of Fame.
And today, there are legions of women who ride in her honour.
THREE WOMEN, THREE JOURNEYS
Most of us who ride will never even attempt the outrageous distances that Lois Pryce covered. We’ll never have the insight to report on the combination of insecurities, contradictions, and fearless selfanalysis that allowed Melissa Holbrook Pierson to dive deep into “what it is about motorcycles.” And we’ll never (we hope) have to transcend the racism and sexism of the day and smash through the cultural stereotypes that Bessie Stringfield had to contend with for much of her riding life. Riding outward, inward, and onward, these three women have mapped out trails for the rest of us. D
creating a legacy
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ladies ‘fury’ Jeggings
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LAUREN VICKERS
A star on a fast motorcycle
Lauren Vickers does not escape notice as her Ducati 1200 Monster rumbles up the tiny York Lane in Sydney for our lunchtime meeting to quiz her on some of the passions in life. Riding her Ducati (she is the female ambassador for Ducati Australia) is part of her role to spark a new generation of riders, especially young and female, into motorcycling. She doesn’t go unnoticed by the bunch of suits who surround her and her red bike at the café. It helps that, as a model she is tall and striking. We sit down and forty minutes later I realise that my preconceptions have
been smashed out of the sultry CBD by her natural, girl-next-door charm and candor. Would you expect that from a girl who grew up on the Northern Beaches of Sydney and has travelled the world modelling since the age of 11? What has also helped was a career adjustment to the maledominated world of MotoGP. Her high heels got a workout “stomping on the toes of someone with a wayward roving hand” she says with a bit of a laugh.
Her MotoGP experience led to dealings with Pramac Ducati clients and PR work. We stray into subjects like make-up, Instagram (mainly for
my benefit: I have a 12-year-old daughter) but leave relationships out of the discussion.
It occurred to me while watching her earlier, skillfully riding in and parking her Monster, to wonder if Lauren was brought up riding on the Peninsula's bush tracks. “No, I was 19 and my first bike was a Honda CBR250,” she says and adds that the gutless high-revving pocket rocket suited her learning curve. It must have worked, because unlike a large proportion of the riding public she has let rip on the latest V4 Panigale. So, does she speed or cruise?
“Both. There is the right time for each, I love speed but it has its place
and for me, it is more appropriate on the racetrack, to get it out of your system, learn a lot and be more with your bike. Riding on the road is about escaping into my own head, free of distractions - we are plugged in all the time. I love focusing on the one task of just riding with a clear head. I find it quite calming but I do say to myself ‘don’t get complacent’. But there is no better place than the track”.
She gets the buzz and excitement of racing and understands how MotoGP bikes can rock your visceral world as they roar down the straights of racetracks around the world. The Czech GP is her favourite and she admits knowing all the stars and her insight is “these guys take everything out onto the track, they leave nothing in getting the best out of themselves. They are nuts and you couldn’t pay me enough.”
Does Ms Ducati Girl see a distinction between the sexes when the helmet is on? For her “not at all,” although she
does like the reaction at a few RBT sites where the police were as interested in her Ducati as her mascara. She says people are “pleasantly surprised that a brand like Ducati has a female as one of its brand ambassadors”. Lauren approached them and with 150,000 plus Instagram followers; I guess they can see the value. She can certainly see the value of having access to some pretty remarkable machinery.
The 1200 is her choice although she equally loves the SuperSport and the V4 despite their putting out “way too much heat in traffic around my legs”. She wants to see more women ride and has noticed the increase in conversation in the short time in her role.
Does Ms Vickers have a message for our readers? “They were all young once,” is her response with a big laugh and I shield my greying beard. “If you feel comfortable, pass down the legacy to your daughters, friends,
teach them all your expertise, all you know. Just make sure you offer anyone the opportunity to ride with you, learn from you and enjoy motorcycling like you do.”
And for potential new riders?
“People come to us, we shouldn’t be on the backfoot, get them to try something new, take a friend for a ride, give them the experience.”
Lauren also says that if you want some company on a ride, she is always up for questions and suggestions from the general riding community. Just contact her through Social Media. I pressed ‘stop’ on the recorder, we snapped a couple of photos and Lauren exited out of the lane back to her office ten minutes away. My thoughts were, motorcycling has another set of great hands helping to steer itself onto a newer and broader base.
Oh, and I noticed that I had forgotten to drink my coffee or eat a thing. D
The Girls
CoMpILEd BY stuart
“Leslie Porterfield – World’s Fastest Woman!”
ONLY A HANDFUL of years ago women had to wear men’s riding gear or get custom made gear if they wanted to be protected. Times have changed dramatically and most apparel manufacturers have woken up and make women specific riding gear. We put the call out for distributors to show you what they have on offer for women, and we also put the call out to the industry to show you what they have on offer for the ladies…
MACNA
www.macnaridinggear.com.au
RUSH LADIES
JEWEL GLOVES - $99.95
Elegant ladies glove with classic styling and superb comfort. Supple yet strong goat leather construction with a soft Bemberg lining and discreet molded “temperfoam” knuckle protection. A high level of protection, comfort and dexterity providing enhanced rider confidence. Available in Black, sizes XS – 2XL.
JENNY KEVLAR RIDING JEANS - $299.95
These slim fit riding jeans are like a second skin due to the stretchy fabric. Kevlar reinforced for maximum safety and featuring a waist lock fly closure that prevents the jeans from bursting open on
impact. With CE knee armour that can be quickly removed externally when you arrive at your destination, these jeans are more than just for riding, but are elegant and stylish as well. Available in Black, sizes XS – 2XL.
MESH
JACKET - $229.95
Classic feminine styling with a premium level of protection. Plenty of mesh to keep you cool and comfortable with a cut that complements your riding position. Includes Italian Safe-Tech CE elbow and shoulder armour, reflective panels, large pockets and adjustable waist. Available in Black/ Grey, sizes XS – 2XL.
TCX BOOTS
www.tcxboots.com.au
STREET ACE LADY AIR BOOTS - $219
The “Lady Fit” version of the Street
Ace Air, this CE certified boot has been designed specifically to fit women’s feet.
Featuring perforated leather uppers, ankle, heel and toe protection and an ultra grippy sole, the Street Ace Lady Air boots are perfect for spring, summer and autumn riding, while combining urban Italian style with safety and a feminine touch of colour.
Available in vintage look cold grey and fuchsia in sizes Eu 3-42 / US 4-9.5.
LADY BIKER WATERPROOF BOOTS - $299
This “Lady Fit” vintage style all leather boot has classic looks and a clever tapered heel and sole which looks feminine while adding a few extra millimetres of height.
Manufactured in Europe from full grain leather, the Lady Biker has a T-Dry waterproof yet breathable lining and comes with CE certified ankle, heel and toe protection. Easy to get on and take off due to the full-length zip and adjustable strap closing system, these ultra-comfortable boots are great for commuting and cruising. Available in black in sizes Euro 35-42, US 4-9.5.
SAFARIS
FOR THE SOUL
www.safarisforthesoul.com.au
HEAVENLY HIMALAYA AND MYSTICAL MOROCCO TWO WEEK ADVENTURE SOUL SAFARIS
For pricing see the website Safaris for the Soul (established by Denise Ferris of World On Wheels and Australasia’s most experienced female international tour leader) offers boutique soul adventures for women, involving motorcycles. They offer you the opportunity to take a break from your regular responsibilities, explore exotic locations, soak up nurturing yoga and meditation, enjoy the (optional) exhilaration of motorcycle riding, connect with like-minded women from around the world, attend a soul coaching workshop, make a meaningful contribution to the local community and ultimately explore and celebrate all of who you really are!
TRIUMPH MOTORCYCLES
www.triumphmotorcycles.com.au or your local dealer
MIA JACKET - $249.95
Sometimes you just need a jacket that fits, that keeps you protected and that’s comfortable. The Mia range takes TriTex climate control membranes, stretch zones and gusset straps and bundles
them up ensuring a comfortable and fitted women’s riding jacket that’s comfortable regardless of the conditions.
Available in sizes S-L.
MIA PANTS$199.95
Comfort and performance from the micro ripstop and Texland fabric outer shell, Tri-Tex climate control membrane and a removable quilted liner. The Mia Pants are designed to complement the Mia Jacket. Available in sizes XS-M.
NAVIGATOR JACKET - $399
The women’s Navigator range is designed to take whatever the ride throws at you. With large ventilation panels front and rear working on the Sympatex breathable and waterproof membrane this jacket is equally capable on the commute as it is on an adventure.
Available in sizes XS to 3XL. Matching pants also available.
ANDY STRAPZ
www.andystrapz.com
HELD CARESE JACKET - $900, TORNO PANTS - $600
Strapz HQ has fallen head over heels for the Held Carese
SPECIAL FEATURE Womens’ Gear
jacket and Torno pants - they tick the required boxes.
Of the gear Strapz has evaluated these are the best ‘tailored’. The cut of the women’s Carese jacket and Torno pants fit proper women, properly. They are not just for ‘Supermodels’.
Strapz considers the Carese the best value high quality jacket out there. Design and manufacture that represent 70 years of experience. The really clever and useful feature is the Goretex inner that doubles as an outer! Wear it over the top and keep the jacket vents open. How good’s that! We call it the Superman Suit, ‘cause the undies go on the outside.
That’s pants and jacket. No more wet cold outers that need to be dried off at night. The Goretex outer can be stored in your bag and used not only to keep you and your riding gear dry but it provides a remarkable “windbreaker” layer. Available in a number of colours and sizes.
IMT BIKE
WOMEN ON WHEELS
TOUR - SOUTHERN SPAIN ANDALUDIA TOUR
See website for pricing This tour is led by IMT Bike Marketing Director, Paloma. She is an experienced tour guide and will give you an amazing time. Discover the charm of Andalusia and visit Seville, Ronda, Cordoba and Granada with this motorcycle tour in Andalusia. See the famous “White Towns” and discover Andalusian cuisine, famous for its “Jamón Ibérico Para Negra” (Spanish Iberian Ham) and delicious tapas. Soak up the sun, meet friendly people and experience the Andalusian joy for life. A hefty dose of curves and twisties awaits
you in the Grazalema and Sierra Nevada Mountain ranges where you’ll ride perfect asphalt from high mountains down to the shores of the Mediterranean.
DRIRIDER
www.dririder.com.au
VIVID 2 LADIES JACKET - $299.95
This women’s sports touring jacket is feature packed, made with a 900D (Denier) polyester and 600D diamond ripstop outer, CE armour with hi-density foam back pad, waterproof and breathable liner (10,000mm / 8000mm), removable 100g thermal liner, mesh comfort liner, microfibre inner collar, neoprene top collar, air-vent system, arm and waist adjusters, waist expander zips, stretch panels in chest and elbows, 2 outer and 3 inner pockets and a waist connection zip for pants. Available
in Black Pink 8 – 22, Black White 8 – 22, Black Red 8 – 22, Ash Grey 6 – 22, Atlantic Blue 8 – 22 and Cream – 6 – 22.
AIR-RIDE 4 JACKET - $199.95
This great vented sports touring ladies jacket features a Maxtex 600D polyester and abrasion resistant mesh construction, Reissa waterproof and breathable removable liner, CE armour with hi-density back protector, mesh comfort liner, power stretch in shoulders, chest and elbows, precurved arms, neoprene stretch comfort collar, reflective print, arm and waist adjusters, stretch waist panels, 2 outer and 2 inner pockets and a connection zip for pants. Available in 3 colours and sizes 6 – 22.
VORTEX ADVENTURE 2 LADIES JACKET AND PANTS$499.95
/ $349.95
For ladies that like to get adventurous, this jacket and pants designed specifically for ladies is jam-packed with adventure features. The jacket features an outer shell made from polyester 900D with 1200D shoulders and elbows,
removable throat coat, CE armour with hi-density foam back pad (Prepared for optional D30 CE Level 2 back protector), removable waterproof and breathable liner (15,000 mm / 7000 mm), removable 150g thermal quilted liner, concealed chest vent panels, arm vents and large rear exhaust vents, poly mesh comfort liner, hydration bladder pocket (Bladder not included),
reflective printing, arm and waist adjusters, stretch panels in shoulder and elbow, multiple storage pockets + hand warmer pockets, waist expander zips and waist connection zip ¾. The pants feature a polyester 900D out shell with 1200D double layer knee reinforcement and double layer seat, CE approved armour in knees (Height adjustable), safety stitching, removable waterproof / breathable liner (15,000 mm / 7000 mm), removable 100g thermal liner, large panels on the thigh unzip & fold away to reveal large air vents, mesh comfort liner, power stretch panels, soft panel behind knees, TPR grip on inner knee, 4 outer pockets, dual waist adjusters, width and height adjusters lower leg, heat resistant material on lower inner leg and connection zip ¾. Jacket and pants are available in Grey / Black, sizes 8 – 22.
BMW MOTORRAD
www.bmwmotorrad.com.au or your local dealer
SANDIEGO JACKET
Ride with style this summer – in a classic mix of waxed fabric and abrasion-resistant leather. You can even remove the shoulder and elbow protectors to wear it as a casual
special feature Womens’ Gear
jacket around town. It’s incredibly comfortable, with enough pockets for all your bits and pieces. Perfect for everyday use. Available in Mid Brown and sizes 34-48.
FivePocket Jeans
Combining the classic look of jeans with the performance of motorcycling trousers, the FivePocket jeans look as stylish off the bike as on it. The straight-cut denim (with a slim fit) comes with additional length for easy cuffing, while protectors at the knees combine excellent shock absorption with a high level of comfort. Available in Denim (colour) and width/length: W26–36/L32.
G s Dry s uit
For the adventurous or touring lady that wants the best of everything. An impressively distinctive downto-earth look that is emphasised
with the new colours. The suit is now made of a new basic material: a high-strength mixture of Cordura 500 and polyamide developed specially by BMW Motorrad itself. The breathable fabric offers an extremely dense structure. For
significantly increased abrasion resistance, a PU layer with ceramic particles has been used to reinforce the sensitive areas. The GS Dry suit is unrivalled in terms of climate control: it is (claimed to be) the only garment of its kind to offer special waterproof-bonded zips at the chest and back, opening not just the upper material but the membrane, too. In addition to NP2 protectors of the latest generation, the GS Dry suit now also features the long version of the new NP Pro back protector for maximum safety. The GS Dry suit is available in identical colours for men and women for a perfect partner look. Available in sizes 34-48.
M oto D na ww.motodna.net
MotoDNA motorcycle training can offer courses for women or mix it in with the boys at any of their training
days. MotoDNA offer courses for Learners, street riding, track riding, adventure and racing. Check out the website for dates and full details or email irish@motodna.com.au
B u LL- it
www.cassons.com.au
La D ies Fury s P120
Je GG in G s - $229.95
Reinforced with Covec’s new SP120 Lite liner, the ladies Fury
jegging is an ultra-lightweight protective motorcycle skinny jean weighing only 480grams a pair and performing to the AAA rating for abrasion resistance. The Fury jegging is available as high waisted, skinny stretch denim in a blue or black colour option. CE level 2 knee armours as standard, knee and hip armour pockets, 2 front pockets legging design, 2 leg lengths, short, regular, sizes UK 04 – 16 and the jeggings are shower-resistant all over.
DAINESE
www.cassons.com.au
STREET BIKER LADY D-WP BOOTS - $249.95
Street Biker were designed as shoes for younger riders and are enhanced by small technical details. These suede cowhide shoes accommodate tough, highly resistant inserts and provide a perfect blend of fashion
and protection. They have nylon heel protectors and reflective inserts which enhance both active and passive safety factors. The insides are made using waterproof D-WP materials.
OGIO
www.cassons.com.au
MELROSE LAPTOP PACK – $129.95
Endless pockets provide a place for your laptop, tablet, books, binders, files, cords, and so much more. The front pocket even has a place for
the smaller stuff like your mobile, headphones, pencils, makeup and more. The quilted back panel flaunts elegance while the interior adds a burst of colour contrast. The Ogio Melrose women’s laptop backpack can always keep up with your on-thego lifestyle. D
Avduro II
As You Head norTH on the Cobb Hwy from Pretty Pine, some 36kms on the left, at a place that once went by the name of Black Swamp, on a desolate stretch almost always fanned by a hostile westerly, there’s an area to pull off the road and view the silhouette memorial to the myth of the ghost of the headless horseman.
I’ll leave it to the 1928 roving correspondent of Melbourne’s Weekly Times to explain it:
“…. the Trotting Cob Ghost rounded up travelling stock on the Moonee Swamp-road, (and) it was very effective for the purpose. The apparition would rise out of the earth — a pale grey horse and its headless rider — confronting the drover on his midnight round of the mob. When it had created a stampede its
mates, members of a gang of cattle thieves, would turn as many as possible of the stock into the morass along track known only to themselves, where they would remain; hidden in scrub, inaccessible to their former owners. Once upon a time, so the legend held, two drovers had quarreled, and the murdered man had ever since ridden around after sundown looking for his missing head. To meet him was said to be unlucky, and the drovers fled his presence and the robbers took the best advantage of their absence. The only man who ever stood up to the ghost was reported missing at the next muster roll.”
I bang off a few frames, swig on some water and then keep heading up the map, another 23kms and suddenly to the west, set back from the road is a hotel.
Two days ago I’d never heard of this place, let alone known there was a pub here but then, on a wild night of too much turps and too much pool plus a flood of stories at the Kyalite Pub down on the Edward, I met up with Blinky. What this 52 year old ex-shearer, exdrover, ex-a-lot-of-stuff-else is missing in the ocular dept (50%) and dental (probably around 70%) he makes up for in muscles, hats and stories - and recommendations for good pubs.
When we get onto talking about what I do, his input becomes a stream of exhortations beginning with “Ugottagota” and queries starting with, “Aveubeenta?” and I take notice because I know blokes like Blinky and I know they know pubs. I tell him where I’m headed in the morning and he with lips barely moving, he squeezes out, “ Ugottagota Booroorban.”
Now let’s get this sorted at the outset: When you try to pronounce this place, just ignore the second ‘r’ and it’s ‘b-roobin’. Say the ‘bin’ as a Kiwi would and you sound like a local already!
So I followed Blinky’s instructions, passed the monuments at the old Black Swamp and turn Super Ten at the old wagon at the entrance to what’s officially the Royal Mail Hotel but which is simply known as the Booroorban Pub. Park the bike out front under the willow, step back and take in the façade. This time a more recent quote comes to mind, from The Land Newspaper of 1954: “It must have been a fine establishment
in the days when Cobb and Co. coaches pulled in at all hours of the day and night … Indeed, it must have been one of the finest establishments in the country. Built of hand-made red bricks still in a perfect state of preservation, the place could easily be restored.”
Little, it would seem has changed in the last half century, apart from the place no longer also being the post office from which it earned its name.
I head inside to the bar which is dominated by a red-felted pool table and again there’s resonances of that scribe from 1954 whose review noted: “the hotelkeeper, was nowhere to be found. That is not unusual, because this quiet little gentleman has many jobs to do.”
This time things are very similar, just a bit different. Roger’s slow muster is not so much down to other tasks as to a physical setback.
He’s buggered his hip and is in the queue for a replacement. He can hardly walk and when he sits, it takes him minutes to get up, but he shuffles in and greets me heartily. And apologises for the lack of choice of beer.
Today’s Sunday and yesterday was the 150th birthday of the pub. A good few hundred turned up, people who’d not been near the place for years, pretty much every farming family from a 100km radius, and people from Hay and Denny.
Was a great day and pretty much cleared them out of every stubby they’d upstocked for the day at this no-draught pub. Luckily the chardy drinkers weren’t so savage and’d left enough for two glasses. Roger pours me half of what’s left then grabs himself a drink and we head outside to the front verandah.
He tells me how he comes to own this pub which stands alone, bereft of neighbours, on the side of one of the main north-south arteries of eastern Australia.
“In mid-1997 we were living in a little cottage at my workshop and Mandy, my wife, came home one day and said, “Booroorban’s for sale” and I said, “good, leave it where it is.” And she said, “no, I’m jumping in the car and having a look at it, are you coming?” But I told her I’d seen it enough so she came up here and had a look at it.”
Months earlier the Packers had sent a posse out into the bush.
“They started out around Albury and cleaned out a whole lot of licences and they spread the word around that they were going to use the gaming and liquor licences for the Olympics. They weren’t at all interested in the buildings, just the licences.”
Roger thought at the time it was strange business: “I was dubious about their story.” Turns out he was right and stocking Packer’s gestating casino at Barrangaroo in Sydney was the real motive.
Anyway Mandy drove the 73kms up from Deniliquin and had a look at the hibernating pub. “The bricks, (those same hand-made bricks) alone seemed to be worth more than the price they were asking,” explains Roger.
“I knew the history of the hotel and well, you need to live somewhere and being a builder I had our place in Denny ready for the market so we sold up there and bought this place as our home.
Then Mandy decided we might as well be doing something useful so she decided to put the licence back under it.”
All the locals from Hay to Denny supported the return of the pub but Coles sent a barrister to the hearing to object on the grounds that this small stand-alone pub would be detrimental to sales at their liquor
outlet in Griffith 190kms away. Truly! They overcame that bit of bastardry and finally, after a three year struggle opened the doors as a pub on Christmas Eve 1999. “Or it might’ve been 2000, I’m not certain. It’s a while ago now!” admits Roger.
They now run it on their own, seven days a week, unable to afford staff and forced to take separate holidays. Several times a year Roger heads out for 3 or 4 days’ fishing and then holds the fort whilst Mandy spends time with the grandkids.
My glass is empty so I tell Roger to not get up - he’s in serious pain with his hip. Instead I head inside, over a well-trod and elegantly worn down wooden threshold to the bar to get one for each of us from the fridge and he says he’ll sort out my slate later from the notes I’ve left on the bar.
Behind the bar, beside a signed Richmond AFL jersey, is the carved wooden nameplate proclaiming this as “The Headless Horseman Bar” and nearby a framed depiction of the decapitated cowboy.
A tractor with an 8 metre wide folded-up disc pulls up. It’s Boof who’s been cutting a firebreak beside the road up from Pretty Pine. He
knows about Roger’s hip so just hands him some money and heads inside for a softie.
A ute stops beside us and Roger announces it’s “Politician Pete” from a nearby merino stud. Peter’s a local councillor and counsels Roger to stay in his seat whilst he goes in, helps himself and leaves the money on the bar.
I need to get going, to get off the road before the hoppers get too numerous and as I gear up, I ask Roger if it was a good decision to come here and how long they’re planning on staying.
“Yeah,” he mulls, “it ties you down a bit but it’s a good life here. But it’ll be a lot better when I get this new hip. Then they’ll probably bury me here.” He pauses then adds, “just not too soon.”
I pick up my stuff from the bar and sort out my slate. Peter helps himself to another and brings one out for Roger. This is the 17th pub I’ve been to this week. Some of them have been real beauties, - great country pubs, but not one of them has been more authentic, more intimately part of its community than the Royal Mail at Booroorban. Dropping into the Headless Horseman Bar at the Booroorban Hotel is a total, (sorry) no-brainer! D
Lose your head
“What is it that makes us oblivious of our own history? The Royal Mail Hotel at Booroorban is a historic place …. It has never changed, only decayed, and it shouldn’t be allowed to decay if we have any pride in our past.” The Land Newspaper May 1954 Ex-builder Roger has stopped the decay and the pub’s on better footings than he is!
About 4 hours from Melbourne, this place is ideally suited for the first night stopover for those escaping Bleak City for the north.
There’s just four accommodation rooms here, all twins and they’re 40 bucks for both beds or a measly $25 if you’re on your own including a light breakfast. The rooms are basic but roomy enough and there’s decent space to hang your gear.
If you’re camping there’s a stack of room all around but do the landlord a favour and pitch out front where other travellers, unaware of the pub, might see you and turn into the place for the night. The toilets are available all night and it’ll cost you zip to camp. That’s right zip!
That’s more money to spend in the bar where the stubbies are $5.50 across the range but if you turn up on a bike with at least 3 mates, and you’re staying the night, that price drops to an even fiver.
Mandy’ll cook you a meal pretty much any time you’re hungry. It’s standard pub fare with four types of Chicken Parmy and Australian Burgers (with beetroot).
A solid 4 helmets and 9/10 for character. With its cheap bunking and free camping, it rated over 200 on our value scale where 100 is the benchmark.
CURVING OUT OF BURNSIDE, SA
WORDS STUART
One good thing about living in Adelaide would have to be that the corners are pretty much at the end of your driveway. This one is a different kind of loop compared to the usual “Adelaide Hills” rides you may have read about in the past – this loop takes in a lot of the culture the Adelaide Hills region has to offer, and as such, isn’t an overly long route to ride on its own.
BURNSIDE
The City of Burnside is a local government area in the South Australian city of Adelaide stretching
from the Adelaide Parklands into the Adelaide foothills with an area of 2753 hectare. All consumables are available here.
GREENHILL
Greenhill is about 9.3 kilometres east of the city centre in the foothills of the Adelaide Hills. Its boundaries were created in October 2001 in respect of the “long established name” with some land being moved into the adjoining suburb of Waterfall Gully in July 2002. Greenhill Creek fl ows through Waterfall Gully and feeds into First Creek. Check out https://greenhillwines.com.au/ for a tasting.
SUMMERTOWN
Summertown was originally conceived as a retreat from the hot temperatures of summer months for the populace of Adelaide (hence “Summer Town”), this is still the case today with a variety of Bed and Breakfast style accommodation located throughout the area.
URAILDA
A must do is to check out https:// uraidlahotel.com.au/ which has a brewery, café and bakery. Yum!
CAREY GULLY
The name of the town is taken from one of the early settlers of the area, Paddy Carey, and it was originally
www.hemamaps.com.au
Burnside is the starting and finishing point for this loop. It is a just a handful of metres outside of the main ‘Adelaide Loop’ (or square, or rectangle…whatever).
Jump onto Greenhill Road and head east, following it all the way out to Balhannah. Turn right onto Onkaparinga Valley Road and head down to the roundabout near the freeway. Make sure you go under the freeway on Mount Barker Road and follow the road to the end, turning right and heading up to Stirling. Get onto Avenue Road heading south-west out of Stirling and turn right onto Sturt Valley Road, which halfway along turns into Ironbark Road. About eight kilometres along turn onto Cherry Gardens Road and follow it to the end. Turn right onto Main Road and follow this into Blackwood. From here, follow your nose heading north to north-east and you’ll arrive back in Burnside. If you end up getting ‘lost’ (well, that’s what you tell the other half) and in Campbelltown, get onto Gorge Road and head out to Chain of Ponds, looping back via North East Road.
called Carey’s Gully, (This can be seen at the town’s War Memorial on a wrought iron sign). Whilst being named a “gully” the present township actually straddles part of the Mount Lofty Ranges, separating the valley townships of Uraidla to the west and Balhannah to the east. The older settlements in Carey Gully are located down smaller gullies where soil was suitable for agriculture. Recent decades have seen the decline of the Carey Gully township, with the closure of the general store which also sold petrol. Still good for a wander round though.
BALHANNAH
which renovated the property and attached the award-winning Petaluma winery to the building. It was both a restaurant and a cellar door. In 2014 the building was sold to Warren Randall, a wine and restaurant entrepreneur, who was eager to expand the property and turn it into an iconic destination in the Adelaide Hills. Mind you, it always had been. He retained the staff from the previous restaurant. It is a place of fine dining and fine wines just as it has been. For more details contact (08) 8339 9200 or check out www.
thebridgewatermill.com.au. St Githa’s Garden
STIRLING
This timeless village charms all who visit with its picturesque streets, enviable lifestyle and spirited community. Nestled in Adelaide’s clean and green hinterland whether you’re interested in its history, plan to shop, eat or explore the village and its lush surrounds, or plan for a big event, you’ll find it here. For information visit https:// stirlingadelaidehills.com.au/
Established in 1839 as a farming community by James Turnbull Thomson, who built the first hotel. The town soon grew to incorporate two once adjoining towns: Gilleston (named for Osmond Gilles) and Blythetown, named for James Blythe, another Scottish settler. Check out www. balhannahhotel.com.au and www. lobethalbakery.com.au/balhannahadelaide-hills for places to eat and refresh.
BRIDGEWATER
Bridgewater is an attractive village with a distinctly English ambience (particularly in spring and autumn) which is famous for its exceptionally beautiful Bridgewater Mill.
Three things to do in BridgewaterBridgewater Mill
Located on Mount Barker Road Bridgewater Mill, with its huge and distinctive waterwheel which still works, it was built in 1859 by John Dunn, a miller, who was eager to exploit the traffic passing through the area. He changed the village name to Bridgewater. In 1986 it was purchased by a consortium
Located in Rosewarne Crescent, St Githa’s is a combination of a stone cottage with luxury facilities which can be rented and a multi-award winning garden which is spread over one hectare. It is a remarkable, formal English-style garden with formal lawns, roses, perennials and outstanding floral displays. Walking Around Bridgewater Walking around Bridgewater is a delightful, relaxing activity both in spring and autumn. The town has a number of interesting and historic buildings including the Millers Cottage (1860), the Bridgewater Mill (1860), the Bridgewater Inn, the Railway Station, the General Store (1877) and the Old Police Station. Bridgewater does not have its own visitor centre but information about the town can be obtained at either the Mount Lofty Summit Visitors Information Centre, Crafers, tel: 08 8370 1054 or the Adelaide Hills Visitor Information Centre, 68 Mount Barker Road, Hahndorf, tel: 08 8388 1185 or 1800 353 323.
IRONBARK
Just a marker for this route.
CHERRY GARDENS
Some say Cherry Gardens is a haunted town – go there and find out for yourself. And, yes, cherries used to be grown here. Haha!
COROMANDEL VALLEY
Coromandel Valley, and its neighbouring suburb, Coromandel East, gain their name from a ship, the Coromandel, which arrived in Holdfast Bay from London in 1837 with 156 English settlers. After the ship reached the shore, some of its sailors deserted, intending to remain behind in South Australia, and took refuge in the hills in the Coromandel Valley region.
BELAIR
No, not the famous Chevrolet motor vehicle, Belair the town of SA was established during the settlement of Adelaide as a source of timber. Parts of Belair have views of the city of Adelaide, the Adelaide Plains and the coast. Belair National Park is one of the major attractions of the suburb, and Windy Point (formerly known as Observation Point) provides a 230 degree panorama making it one of the best lookouts over the city, the plains and the coast. D
THE AUSSIE & THE INDIAN TELLS…
Two women from a world apart
You may have read stories from Chris in these pages before. She rides an Indian Chief Vintage and has inspired many women to get out there and ride. Here she tells the stories of two motorcycling women from worlds apart. AMM
THE GEMINI IN JO – IT’S DOUBLE TIME!
JOANNE NIX LIVES a double life. Well there seems to be two of everything and after speaking to Joanne, I think her life and work balance seems to cope with that very nicely.
WORDS/PHOTOS CHRIS KEEBLE
She started riding in 2008. With a high level executive position with Woolworths corporate in Sydney, Joanne leads her other life down on the south coast of NSW. This two-way street has, of course, two motorbikes. A 2009 Bonneville Black 865cc and a Triumph Tiger 1050SE in Diablo Red.
speed until I could learn to corner fast”. Now she regularly rides with several groups and joins in as many charity rides as she can.
Like many ladies, the love affair with motorbikes often started as a pillion way back when she realised it’s not the position you want to be in. A constant desire to improve her riding skills, which was behind the purchase of the Triumph Tiger, was to learn a new style of riding on a sports adventure bike.
A triumphant achievement (excuse the pun) for this Gemini double life lady! Sharing the love with two bikes is not a problem for Joanne, but she explains that at this stage she has only modified the Bonneville. She has added some sweet Staintune pipes that sound terrific, a King Queen seat for comfort, a steering damper, some racks for leather pannier bags. The Tiger has not been played with...yet...
Joanne started riding with a few guys from work who were very patient and as she explains “Put up with my slow
Joanne says: There is always an underlying feeling of rebelliousness. I have conquered a male dominated pastime, one that my mother doesn't approve of and it is not what people expect of a me as a woman, especially a corporate executive!”
She urges all women to get out there and no matter what, jump in and find a way of facing any fears. To conquer her fear of road conditions in a city she would get up at 4am a few times a week and return by 7am. All this for 6 months to practise dealing with traffic lights, roundabouts, stop signs and the odd car. Plus finding a big empty car park and practising over and over.
For Joanne, the bucket list of places to ride are mainly in Australia, especially Tassie. It’s a big country and Joanne wants to discover it all. Although there
is a sneaky desire to ride a Royal Enfield in India! Oh, and Italy and New Zealand and USA for 6 months. Joanne kept adding countries, but I got the drift: this lady has a lot to conquer and I have no doubt she will.
Overall Joanne’s experience and acceptance as a female rider has been consistently positive, although once she was made to feel uncomfortable when near a group of outlaw bikers - they made it clear they didn’t think women belonged in their space or the ‘biker space’.
Joanne tells me that so many people are blown away when they learn the diversity of her interests: a very serious corporate job, a couple of motorcycles, a life playing classical piano, a single Mum. All while listening to Meatloaf, Bluejuice, Badloves on to Debussy and Mozart for some classical wanderings. Phew! How does Jo’s 17 year old daughter keep up!
Ending our chat, Jo leans forward to tell me that only a biker knows why a dog sticks its head out of a car window. Yep, ya got that right Jo! I lean forward and ask, “fancy a ride next weekend down your way!”
DESERT SANDS, EXOTIC LANDS ARE HOME TO WIDDY AND RAVEN
I first met Widdy in cyberspace. Instagram seems to be the new platform for meeting like-minded folk. Apart from the fact that Widdy rides an Indian Scout (I ride a Chief Vintage) she lives in Dubai, is of Palestinian origin and rides with a bike group called ‘The Knights’. My perception of The United Arab Emirates (UAE) was a couple of things; extravagant, desert sands, women in veils, exotic. So, when I connected with Widdy, I was intrigued at her complete departure from what I imagined. And I’m so glad my stereotyping has been shattered!
Widdy (Widad Neiroukh) is a design consultant in the UAE.
New to riding just since October 2018, she hopped on her first bike, an Indian Scout, named Raven. Added some adjustments to the bike, aftermarket slip on exhaust pipes, upgraded the
seat and footpegs to boards, Widdy is still thinking about adding a windshield. What no windshield in that country? WOW!
At first scared to ride alone, Widdy joined up with a local group called, The Knights and felt instantly protected and confident. After a few trips and getting to know the bikes and her abilities she started venturing alone or with small groups. Widdy now loves to ride with all size groups or simply alone. She and Raven! Lady riders are certainly a minority in Dubai and Widdy has also found a group of lady riders called the The Litas, Dubai.
second ride I was addicted. I'm typically an overthinker and I've never felt clarity like I did when on the bike. I was finally free, mentally”.
Her advice to women who are thinking of riding, is just do it and soon you will say; “What took me so long, why have I not been riding all my life!”
Widdy explains; “My group, The Knights, has more than 60 members and Friday mornings and Tuesday nights are our official rides. What drew me to them is the diversity of the group, there is no discrimination over race, religion, culture, language, gender, financial status or anything else. Plus the kindness they show and most importantly the respect to me as a female.”
Widdy feels lucky to have had nothing but encouragement for being a “covered’ female biker. She proudly tells me she has racked up over 5000km in two months since becoming a ‘biker’.
So what inspired Widdy all of a sudden to take up motorbike riding?
She says: “I put together a list of things wanted to achieve before I turned 30. First item on my list was to ride on the back of a Harley. I reached out to the community here and on my
Widdy dreams of a US road trip one day, but for now her favourite destination is a desert area called Al Qudra. Although she gets frustrated when riding at high speeds against the direction of the wind and the sand. Get that windshield, Widdy!
Favourite cuisine is Japanese, yet Widdy loves a traditional English roast dinner complete with pudding. Listens to Guns ‘n’ Roses, Queen and classic rock. Widdy certainly is full of surprises and I’m looking forward to meeting her in real life in August 2019 when I stop over. The worst riding time of year is middle of summer, so it will be at night that I meet The Knights and my new international friends Widdy and Raven.
Chris Keeble – The Aussie & The Indian – follow her on Facebook and Instagram You can follow Widdy on Instagram “widdyrides” D
We looked at about half of the globe in #70; here’s some more!
The Atlantic Road in Norway is well worth a visit.
NORWAY
IF THERE IS TRULY such a place as the country with the world’s best riding, it’s Norway. Okay, I haven’t ridden everywhere by a long shot, but I have ridden in quite a few places, including many that I never thought I’d get to; and Norway is out in front for me. As I say, if there is such a place as the best. Let’s not argue about that, but take a look at what the place actually offers.
The two major attractions of Norway for motorcyclists are the opportunity to ride to, and beyond, the Arctic Circle, and the fjords of the west coast. The country in between is pretty good, too. This used to be a poor country, but North Sea oil brought staggering wealth to Norway, and the government has spent wisely on infrastructure. That means long bridges and even longer tunnels, but the old roads hugging the coast or struggling over the mountains have been left. So there’s a whole network that is hardly used by anyone else –just for motorcyclists!
Norway is accessible by ferries from all over the place, with one of the most convenient running from Kiel in Germany. It is probably best to rent a bike in Germany and take the ferry; Norway is expensive. There is also access from Sweden, of course.
CANARY ISLANDS
While debating good, better, best for the piece on Norway, above, I suddenly realized that in my hurry to get across the Atlantic I forgot all about the Canaries. Lying off the coast of Africa although they belong to Spain, the Canaries are a wondrous mix of scenery, climates, altitudes –everything you can possibly imagine, from tropical beaches to the ice and
snow of Teide, the central volcano on the main island of Tenerife. Linking the islands is a fast ferry service (some of the ferries are from Tasmania) and all of the islands have terrific road networks. I have now been to Tenerife, Las Palmas and La Gomera with Edelweiss Tours and Lanzarote by courtesy of BMW Motorrad, and I will happily back the local comment that the
Norwegian back road and bridge.
One of Norway’s biggest attractions – waterfalls.
IntrIguIng
Europe
JunE 8 - 22
OThER TOUR DATE
SEptEmbEr 6 - 20
Eastern Europe off the beaten track.
Intriguing Southeast Europe Tour endeavors to take riders to places off-the-beaten tourist track, through Serbia, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Albania and Kosovo. We’ll wind through the snow-capped mountains of Albania, ride the cliff-side twisties high above the last undeveloped bit of Mediterranean coastline, and make a brief detour into the world’s newest country, Kosovo.
If you are a rider who doesn’t mind tackling a few challenging roads, handling what-comes from visiting countries new to tourism, and getting a bit of attention from locals who don’t see many riders, then this tour is for you. NEXT TOUR DATE
COUNTRIES
HIgHlIgHtS
Belgrade, Riding in the mountains of Albania, Sofia, Rila Monastery, Ohrid Lake, Butrint, Macedonian wine regions, Albanian coastline.
Serbia, bulgaria, macedonia, Albania, Kosovo
islands have close to every kind of landscape on the planet. Seriously, I can’t think of one that’s missing. Motorcycle rentals are most easily available on Tenerife, but you will also find renters on some of the other islands. Tenerife is a useful place to start because that’s where both of the main airports are.
SCANDINAVIA
The rest of Scandinavia, other than Norway, also offers some wonderful riding but doesn’t come up to the same standard! Just summarizing, Denmark is flat, Sweden is mainly green with lots of lakes, and Finland ought in fact to be called ‘Lakeland’. All are worth a visit (and I’m planning a ride around the Baltic Sea in 2020). Denmark and Sweden are connected by that amazing, long road bridge that has been immortalized by ‘The Bridge’.
BALTIC COUNTRIES & POLAND
Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia are often lumped together as if they are one country, but they’re actually culturally quite distinct. From a motorcyclist’s point of view they offer access to an older and quite agricultural lifestyle, with some pretty and historical towns.
There’s no shortage of high altitude roads on Tenerife.
An early model of motorcycle, in the Canaries.
Heading up towards volcano Teide on Tenerife.
Scandinavian ferries are much more like cruise ships.
New Zealand’s only BMW Motorrad approved Travel Partner
Guided and self-guided tours and rentals RIDE WITH THE BEST.
New Zealand’s only BMW Motorrad approved Travel Partner
Guided and self-guided tours and rentals RIDE WITH THE BEST.
I’ll write about them in more detail when I’ve been there!
I know Poland is not a ‘Baltic Country’ but it’s next door and on the way if you’re coming from Germany. It’s similar in some other ways, too, although it also has major manufacturing centres.
GERMANY
Let’s slip back west along the northern coast of Europe now. Germany is not a huge country by European standards, but it holds a lot of attractive countryside, and many wonderful cities. The old East Germany is still remarkably rural in
places, but so is most of the rest of the country when I come to think of it. Major attractions, apart from the (overrated) Oktoberfest in Munich are rides through the forests in the middle of the country, including the Black Forest; tours along the entire length of the Rhine; and visits to historical towns like Bamberg or Hamelin.
Yes, Virginia, there really is a Hamelin – and whenever I’ve been there, rats have been conspicuous by their absence!
Don’t be too tempted by the outstanding network of high-speed freeways. The Autobahn is often quite scenic, but it gets you from A to B far too quickly. The network of secondary and local roads offers much more of an idea of the country. Motorcycle rental is easy in any major city.
HOLLAND, BELGIUM & LUXEMBOURG
Small countries with small-scale countryside. You can travel a few kilometres and fi nd yourself in completely different landforms, with completely different cultures. Well, what I’m saying is that they drink different beers and eat different parts of different animals, prepared differently. It’s easy to look at these countries and dismiss them as probably fl at and uninteresting, but nothing could be further from the truth.
FRANCE
I love France, and even now, after more visits than I can remember, I am discovering new things about it. Who knew that Brittany is such a wonderful green place with rivers and brooks running through it like lace? I didn’t, until I visited a friend there last year.
Most of my riding in France had previously been done in a kind of strip along the eastern and southern
edges, and these are areas that I’d quite happily recommend to you until the vaches come home. Alsace and Lorraine have an interesting mix of
German and French cuisine as well as the amazing ‘ballons’ of the Vosges. Turning south it’s not long before we reach the endless, wonderful mountain roads of the Alps Maritimes. To the west then is the relatively flat but historical countryside which takes you to the Spanish border.
You can get a drink of absinthe in Aachen
Germany has quite a few sandstone and limestone ranges.
If there’s one thing the French like more than food, it’s sailing.
French back roads are narrow but usually in good repair.
Spain is full of remarkable historic structures like this (pedestrian, now)
ANDORRA
Skip it. It’s a huge duty-free shop. In Andorra you can even buy your motorcycle gear duty free.
SPAIN
Where do I start? With the Pyrenees, I suppose. This chain of mountains
divides France and Spain and offers some amazing riding on old border roads. Some are not well maintained, but that’s all part of the fun, right? There is also a network of modern roads. Many European car manufacturers do their ‘real world’ road testing here.
To the west lies Green Spain along the Bay of Biscay, another area with wonderful roads and quite staggering scenery dominated by the sea and by deep clefts of river valleys. The Picos, a small mountain range with vertical peaks, was supposedly the first part of Europe
Photo credits to: Andre Phillipe De-Brissac Bernard
Photo credits to: Andre Phillipe De-Brissac Bernard
It’s fun playing chasings on the empty roads of Green Spain.
visible to sailors returning from the New World. Along this coast you can taste four or more completely different cuisines, and near the western end you can stay in Santiago, the destination of the classic Way of St James.
The east coast is a vacation wonderland, pretty tacky except for Barcelona which is a hoot. The middle of Spain tends to be dry – and high –
with varied topography. Personally, I’d be tempted to move on to…
PORTUGAL
Whether they’re growing vines for port, oaks for corks and acorns for pigs (which are then used to make the mouth-watering ham) or staggeringly huge eucalyptus trees to hold their soil together, the Portuguese know what
It’s hard to beat the Pyrenees for either cliffs or roads!
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:
GET ROUTED – Isle of Man www.getrouted.com.au dave@getrouted.com.au
IMTBIKE TOURS & RENTALS
- Spain, Portugal, Morocco, Europe and Thailand www.imtbike.com tours@imtbike.com
PARADISE
MOTORCYCLE TOURS –
New Zealand & European Alps www.paradisemotorcycletours.co.nz
RIDE THE WORLD - Australia, India, South Africa, Vietnam, USA
Adventure rides out of Las Vegas www.ridetheworld.com.au david@ridetheworld.com.au
SERENDIB MOTORCYCLING ADVENTURES – Sri Lanka www.SerendibMotorcycling Adventures.com info@SerendibMotorcycling Adventures.com
SOUTH PACIFIC MOTORCYCLE
TOURS – New Zealand www.motorbiketours.co.nz offi ce@motorbiketours.co.nz
VIETLONG TRAVEL - Asia
MOTOLOMBIA TOURS & RENTALS - Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Brazil, Suriname, Guyana, French Guiana, Venezuela, Chile, Bolivia and Argentina www.Motolombia.com mike@motolombia.com
www.vietlongtravel.com sales@vietlongtravel.com
WORLD ON WHEELS - Europe, Iceland, South America, India, Asia, Mexico, Africa & Himalaya www.worldonwheels.tours Adventure@WorldOnWheels.Tours
they’re doing. The country might be small but it has lots of ups and downs both on the coast and inland, and if you avoid the British holiday enclaves in the south I suspect you’ll love it as much as I do.
NORTH AFRICA
A ferry will take you across to Ceuta, a Spanish enclave in Morocco, and you can cross the border at your leisure. You will be offered a substance called ‘hash’ wherever you stop, at least until you get down towards Fez. The best and most attractive roads in Morocco are the ones that run through the Atlas Mountains, and the towns or cities I’d recommend include Fez, Azrou, Erfoud, Ourzazate, Marrakesh and Essouira. Skip Casablanca; there may well still be a bar there called ‘Rick’s’, but it’s not worth the dirt and density of traffic.
I have been to Algeria and Tunisia, and enjoyed both of them (except for the sandstorm in Algeria and the border to Tunisia) but I would give both of them a miss these days. Likewise, for Libya and Egypt. There is some spectacular riding, especially
Portugal specializes in the most amazing ham – you won’t believe it till you try it.
South Africa would have to be one of the most beautiful countries in the world.
down into the Sahara but I suspect that the political tension and constant hassles would not be worth it.
SOUTHERN AFRICA
Sorry about the rest of Africa; I haven’t had a chance to ride it, and while I can get quite a bit of information from friends who have ridden there, it tends to be contradictory. Things also change quickly, and a border that might be safe and quick one month could be a flashpoint a few weeks later. So ride there by all means – and then write to tell me about it!
South Africa is another matter. I’ve been there a few times now, and I understand why South Africans refer to it as the ‘Sacred Land’. It’s stunningly beautiful, both in the dry and rugged parts like the Karoo and in the fertile and rugged parts like the Cape. The wine-growing country east of Cape Town is sometimes so picturesque that you want to peel it back to see what’s underneath. What is underneath is of course continuing inequality, and a pretty substantial crime rate. Stay out of the townships and other places that don’t look as if they welcome tourists…
Generally speaking, though, the black population is just as hospitable and friendly as the white. Flights from Australia go to Johannesburg in the north, where you can pick up a tour or rent a bike – or a local flight to Cape Town, where you can do the same thing. Tours will generally ensure that you see some wild animals.
THAT’S IT
Whew, I thought I’d cover the rest of the globe in this issue, but it’s not to be. Catch the next instalment of this ‘round-the-world guide, in our next issue. D
A DIFFERENT RIVER
South Western USA words/photos tHe Bear
Blythe CA at sunset, in more than one way.
Two and a half thousand years ago, Heraclitus said: “You cannot step into the same river twice”. Despite that, a few years ago, I promised myself I would not retrace my travels any more but would look for new places to go – new as in new, not just in the way Heraclitus meant. Mostly I’ve honoured that promise. And yet there are some places that almost become part of you, and that call you again and again. One of those for me is the Alps Maritimes in southern France; another is the south-western USA: southern California, Arizona, Nevada and Utah. This is beautiful country, rugged and raw but still with a reasonable number of craft breweries.
In March of 2018 I made my fourth (or fifth, depending on how you count them) visit. And my last.
It was in Needles, California, on the banks of the Colorado River, that I realised my romance with the great south-west was over.
You’ve changed*
I had come up from Mexico, a place that I’d found to be much more pleasant and relaxing than I had expected. Admittedly that was Baja California, which has a reputation for being relaxed and pleasant, but just the same. The first night back in the US I had stayed in a tiny place called Boulevard and was treated very kindly by the owner of the Back Country Inn motel who made sure that on a cold and stormy night I not only got an excellent pizza for dinner, but a bottle of local red as well.
There are few back roads down here, and as so often in the US the
1. The infrastructure has aged. No, just kidding, this was a display.
2. The Colorado River valley shows its teeth near Needles CA.
3. It should be open by the time you read this, adding mileage to Route 66.
4. Desert roads and their backgrounds are as wonderful as ever.
freeway has been built over the top of the old road. I got off I8 (that’s ‘eye eight’, for Interstate Eight) as soon as I could, and was rewarded with a ride through Plaster City, a place that, I’m sure, has much to recommend it. Sadly, I was unable to locate much of it except for an old bloke who waved back to me in a friendly sort of way. El Centro is the next major town. I guess this was the first place where I sensed that things were not well. People were camped on the median strip of the main street, and the one place that appeared to be doing good business was the welfare office. I’m probably being unfair, but that’s how it felt to me.
Brawley, up the road, was much the same but smaller and I was glad to be able to turn east on California 78. Deciding to skip the Official Centre of the World down in Felicity, near Yuma, I carried on north past the Chocolate Mountains. In retrospect, I’m sorry I didn’t make the short detour. Look it up on Google and do stop if you’re in the area.
Blythe, my overnight stop, should have warned me that something was changing out here. In the US, I look for what’s called “Mom and Pop” motels, owned and run by a family, before anything else. More of the money stays locally, rather than heading off to corporate headquarters back East. That’s paid off for me again and again, in many different ways. But here the only place I could see that met the description, the El Rancho Verde, had closed some time ago.
Blythe gave the impression of a town about half shut down, and motel rooms were available from $20 upwards. The motel in question was run by a (sub-continental) Indian family, who didn’t seem
1. Another display of things that once worked and are now parked.
2. Once was a motel, now slowly decomposing in the sun.
particularly interested in a customer but eventually handed me on from the grandmother, to the mother, to the husband and to the (I presume) eldest son. He tried to make the room sound attractive, but he had pretty ordinary material to work with. The abandoned Mexican restaurant in the forecourt with its smashed windows didn’t help. I opted for a ‘chain’ motel, a Days Inn, a few doors down for a still-cheap $50. This was a surprisingly jolly place
with a funny and friendly black woman on the desk and chairs and tables outside each unit – something I particularly like because you get to meet fellow guests that way. It still wasn’t what I remembered; while it was clean and well taken care of, the long-term maintenance was not being done. You know how chipboard swells up when it gets wet? The bottom of the bathroom door was wider than the upper parts. And the sink was cracked, as well as
You’re breaking my heart, you’ve changed
Please don’t let my pessimism stop you from visiting the South West. The whole region is almost overwhelmingly beautiful, sometimes rugged and sometimes with colour tonings that even an outstanding camera simply cannot reproduce. The food is generally good, the distances are almost Australian and overall it’s still one of the most spectacular places on Earth. Just not for me. Other rivers are waiting for my feet.
My most sincere thanks to MotoQuest for lending me the Suzuki V-Strom. I could not have asked for a better bike. They rent out their bikes, but most of their business is guided tours and they will take you to amazing places all over, especially their home, Alaska. They also have rental bases in San Francisco and Portland. In Los Angeles, find them on the interwebz at www.motoquest.com and in the real world at 2780 Dawson Street, Signal Hill, CA 90755. Phone (562) 997-7368 or toll free 1 (800) 756-1990. They offer a range of bikes including the inevitable GS BMWs.
*The headings are lyrics from Billy Holiday’s ‘You’ve Changed’.
some of the tiles in the shower.
After a hearty dinner at Steaks ‘n’ Cakes (highly recommended) I wandered down to J&W Liquors to pick up a couple of beers to quaff while I sat outside my room. The owner of the liquor shop had problems with my idea of splitting a six-pack.
“But if I do that, I would have to charge you more for a bottle than you
would pay for each one if you bought the pack,” he said, clearly seriously worried by the concept. This, in a place where shops sell cigarettes individually. “Yes,” I said, ”but that’s fine. I don’t want to drink six.” He was not to be convinced, and what do you know – I did drink, or at least shared, six.
Oh, and as I was paying, I noticed that an elderly woman was sitting
Rocks and Joshua trees in Joshua Tree National Park.
almost completely concealed at the end of the counter, with a blanket over her lap. The truck driver with whom I shared my six-pack back at the motel (he also had a half bottle of Tequila) laughed when I told him. “She’d ‘a’ had a twelve bore under that blanket, just in case,” he said. And so, on up the river. On the
1. Whatever you do at Roy’s, do not try the root ‘beer’.
2. Temperature is below zero, but the sun makes it look wonderful.
3. My favourite waitress, at the nowdefunct Carousel Café in 29 Palms.
4. Well, okay. That’s the sign I’ve been looking for.
5. This is the kind of motel I like, but they’re getting hard to find.
6. And here we are out in the real desert, which does not change.
California side you can follow it only so far before it turns towards the west, to Vidal Junction. This is a border inspection post – California takes its biosecurity seriously - and a service station, where you need to turn east again to the river and the small town of Parker. Nothing to see here, folks… upriver again is Lake Havasu City, famous for the mistake its developer made when he bought London Bridge. He wanted it to be the centrepiece of the development here, but he thought he was buying the seriously impressive Tower Bridge instead of the kind of boring actual London Bridge.
I gave it a miss. I saw London Bridge often enough when I lived there in the early ‘70s. And so we come to Needles.
That sparkle in your eyes has gone
Right on the river and a major border crossing between Arizona and California, Needles had struck me in the past as a busy, bustling sort of place. I hate to say this, but this time it looked and felt more like a town that has a serious drug
problem. There seemed to be a lot of people shambling about with no particular noticeable purpose. And that wasn’t all.
Needles appeared to have lost all of the motels at my preferred level. The larger but non-chain motels were once again really cheap and appeared to be run by people who really had something else to do. I looked at one but wasn’t impressed. When I pulled up after leaving the forecourt, to check my map, a bloke wandering past with a bottle of milk nodded to me and said, “Good thing you ain’t stoppin’ there. They got bedbugs real bad.”
Once I’d become aware of this –what, decrepitude? – I noticed it all over the place. It wasn’t necessarily as obvious as in Needles, but signs of it were everywhere. A bloke I got talking to later, in Big Bear City, over a few beers had a simple explanation. “It started in oh eight with the crash,” he said sadly. “The little guys couldn’t make money. Even the big fellas, the chain operators, decided they couldn’t afford maintenance any
more and everything started to go to shit. They just pull out the bucks they can. Trust me, it’s not just here.”
But what about the people? “Ice is cheap, Apache’s cheap, even Horse is cheap, and Cody’s everywhere, man. You got no job and no hope of a job, what’re you gonna do?” He was a salesman. “They’ll always need us, man, I’m okay.”
But we’re not in Big Bear yet, we’re heading west out of Needles the next morning and I have once more forgotten to calculate my need to fill up. And once more, Hi Sahara in Fenner is going to save “my sorry ass”. There is fuel here, just off I 40 where Route 66 crosses, in the middle of the Mojave Desert. It’s expensive, but it’s the only game in town – read the Google reviews for the outraged reactions of people who haven’t bothered to fill up somewhere sensible and find themselves at the mercy of the Hi Sahara gas station. As for me, I was grateful, just like last time when I’d been going the other way.
Route 66 was closed just over the freeway, but it should be open by the time you read this – they will have fixed the bridge that was washed away maybe a decade ago. I had to go on to the turnoff for Kelbaker Road, which joins up with Route 66 to the south. A little way to the west, Roy’s in Amboy still has the appalling root beer that’s packaged to look like real beer and tastes like seaweed steeped in sugar syrup.
Amboy Road, across the railway line, takes me south again past the salt evaporation plant. I’ve tried to look this up, because for some reason I thought that they separated lithium from the salt, too, but I could never find any information. Not that I care. It’s been many years since I took any lithium…
The next main road you hit here, after passing the Sheephole Mountains, is 62 which takes you into the small desert township of 29 Palms. I was in luck; as I rolled into town – actually, let me explain the concept of a ‘town’ out here in the desert. Choose any length of highway,
say five kilometres, which has some buildings strung along it. There do not need to be more buildings than empty space. This is a town. The next stretch of five, 10, 20m or 50 kilometres which does not have as many, or any, buildings is not a town. I’m not criticising, just letting you know what to expect. It’s called ‘ribbon development’.
As I rolled into town, or rather into the suburb of Smoke Tree (even fewer buildings than the town) I spotted the sign for the Mojave Trails Inn and Suites, on the right. The name is rather more grand than the place, but it looked fresh. Workmen were still drilling and doing other workmen-things, and I turned out to be the first customer after a complete renovation. Not cheap, but very pleasant and it’s not every day that you get to be the first person to sleep in a motel bed.
Your smile is just a careless yawn My first stop in the morning was going to be the Carousel Café, where I’ve had breakfast just about every time I’ve been in the Mojave. It was boarded up. I can’t remember where I did have breakfast, but I was back to feeling melancholic. I rode down through Joshua Tree National Park, which always fills me with awe – I’ve written about this place before; let me just say that you shouldn’t miss it and make a special point of taking the side road to Keys View, where you can see the San Andreas Fault below you.
Below the Eagle Mountains I hit I 10 and turned west. Usually I avoid Interstates, but here the alternative is rolling past one gated community filled with octogenarian rich people after another, and even the freeway seems preferable. At Yucalpa I turned off for Big Bear, but soon encountered a sign warning that the road was closed ahead – by snow. There is another road up into the San Bernardino Mountains, and it isn’t quite as high so I headed west and then north along 18. For some reason – possibly because I was still cranky about the Carousel – I ended up on 173, on a loop through Silverwood
and Lake Arrowhead. But it took me back to 18 eventually, and through a part of the high country I’d never seen before.
There was quite a bit of snow on the ground, although the road was clear, and I had some fun watching the ambient temperature on the V-Strom’s dash. Mostly it stayed at 3 degrees, but in shaded stretches it would drop to zero, and every now and then to -1. I’d booked a room at the Black Forest Lodge, which proved a little hard to find because Big Bear City has two parallel main roads, but when I checked in they gave me a suite because my booking was for three nights. Very cosy, once again a little threadbare but good value. No undercover parking, unfortunately, and one morning I came out to find the Suzuki covered in a blanket of snow.
I met the bloke I mentioned above, the salesman with the explanation for all the decay, at Murray’s Saloon on a bit of a pub crawl. Top marks to Big Bear, and to California in general, for craft beers. Just as they are in Australia, brewers are preoccupied with pale ales but at least there was a good selection of other brews on offer, many of them on draft. Thank you, Big Bear Brewing Company and others.
It wasn’t quite the season yet, so accommodation and other prices were quite reasonable, but the place was already jumping. I did a little bit of jumping – well, more kind of bobbing up and down – and made some firm friends whom I have all forgotten, as I suspect they’ve forgotten me.
On the shorter route back down I was a little anxious at first, because the bike’s thermometer refused to rise above -2 for quite a while; but despite substantial mounds of snow the road was clear of ice. Then, after tackling the Los Angeles freeway swirl, I was back at Moto Quest in Signal Hill where I had to give back the bike. What a trip. Grand scenery as always, terrific people as always, prices lower than ever but an overpowering feeling that the good days have gone. D
BEATEN WITH THE UGLY STICK
If beauty is in the eye of the beholder, where does ugliness hang out?
WORDS The BeaR
When theY get old enough, motorcycles become cute rather than ugly. That’s the only reason why anyone would consider a Scott, for example, to be good-looking; it resembles a collection of odd bits cable-tied to a spindly twin-downtube frame. The Scottengined Mercury was even worse, despite (or perhaps because of) the fact that it hid its mechanicals behind solid metal panels. What was it about Scott engines? At least George Silk created a beautiful motorcycle with his Silk 700 and its Scott engine. But I don’t have anything especially against Scott. Neither am I personally offended by Bimota’s Mantra, to bring this discussion a little more up to date, or even Pininfarina’s greatest mistake, the Morbidelli V8. These modern bikes are, however, generally considered ugly. I shouldn’t let scooters escape unmentioned, either. Harley-Davidson’s Topper was not exactly a thing of beauty, but it is far outdone in repulsiveness by every single product of the Salsbury company. I find myself reaching for
a new word to supersede ‘ugly’ when I look at one of the original Salsbury Motor Glides.
Just recently, I saw a story in which the designer copping serious accusations of applying the Ugly Stick was Phillippe Starck for – you guessed it, the Aprilia Moto’ 6.5. Intended to attract people who would not normally consider buying a motorcycle, it was not received well by the motorcycling community. Hmm, you might say, so what? If it’s not intended for them… But the universally negative reception of the bike must have unnerved Aprilia’s owner Ivano Beggio, and the 6.5 was never even promoted properly. The few that remain are now beginning to appreciate in value, even if they are not appreciated for their looks any more than they ever were.
Mind you, even if Phillippe Starck is getting it in the neck for the 6.5, he is still getting away with the ‘Juicy Salif’ lemon squeezer which looks like a model of one of the Martian attackers in ‘War of the Worlds’ and works about as well. A friend of mine has one and he says that it soaks the entire kitchen bench in juice whenever he tries to use it. The 5.95
Kmart alternative works fine. I know I’m out on a limb when I admit that I liked David Robb’s BMW R 1200 C, which also attracted universal antipathy from motorcycle scribes all over the world. It also sold over 40,000 units, which is something many motorcycles considered attractive can only dream of. I will admit, though, that the CL and CLC touring versions of the bike plumbed new depths of unsightliness. Here’s where it gets interesting. All of the above has been an attempt to get you stirred up enough to send me a list of the motorcycles that you consider ugly, uglier, and even ugliest. As usual I’m too cheap to offer a prize, but immortal fame awaits you with your name being published if you come up with something interesting. Entries to The Bear, thebear@ausmotorcyclist.com. au or Australian Motorcyclist, Unit 4b, Level 1, 11-13 Orion Road, Lane Cove West NSW 2066. D
No, this is not a Salsbury Motor Glide. It is a Mitsubishi Silver Pigeon – a copy of a Salsbury Motor Glide!
The Aprilia Moto’ 6.5. Yes, I know it looks weird. But not everything that’s different is necessarily bad.
LONGTERMERS
X-RATED
BENELLI TRK502X
THE LITTLE LION is back in its owner’s cage but the lovely folk at Benelli Australia wanted us to have a replacement, and that is the TRK502X. We wanted a bike that could get dirty if it wanted to and the X is exactly the right bike to do that from the Benelli range.
As I write this we’ve had the X around two weeks and its main duties so far have been commuting. It is a lot wider than the Leoncino so a bit of readjusting the old brain box is needed. The X has quite wide crash bars which are excellent if you bin it in the bush, but whipping through the middle of traffic requires some calculation. Maybe we should mount some mega bright spotties on the wider parts of the crash bars and watch the ‘seas part’?
The X has come with some Benelli accessories which we’ll get to in another issue, but for the time being the X is proving to be smoother and a lot more comfortable than the little lion. I guess a lion’s teeth really do hurt. Haha! SW
PONY UP!
KAWASAKI Z900RS
Making the Z900RS even better is pretty hard but there is a way to give it a few more ponies and make it even
smoother (which is hard to believe, but true). This was done by fitting a plug-and-play alternative to a Power Commander type arrangement.
Boosterplug – $223.95
Fuel injection improvements for most
complicated. The BoosterPlug claims to be a better alternative.
BoosterPlug claims the unit can be installed in less than ten minutes, it took my father about half an hour as the tank had to be lifted up. It plugs directly into the bike’s wiring harness using original connectors – no cutting or splicing. It is a true plug and play solution that has made the RS so much better. Throttle response is smoother, it has faster/harder acceleration, no low speed surging (which there was the slightest bit of) and there’s no deceleration backfires in the exhaust. My father also thinks the fuel consumption has improved. The Boosterplug has essentially added a bit more fuel into the system, so improvements in fuel consumption might not be correct (more testing to be done!). Most bikes from the factory nowadays are set very lean to pass various emissions laws and so on, the Boosterplug lets the bike run at its best air/fuel ratio for maximum performance and smoothness.
Boosterplug has kits for a wide range of bikes and purchasing from the website to delivery at your door was fast as well. It took about one week to arrive. Check them out at www. boosterplug.com SW
A FAIR THING DUCATI SCRAMBLER ICON
Dart Classic Flyscreen - $169.90
I’ve recently been specialising in looking like an idiot when I’m out riding. If I’m not trying to determine the limits of the Watroprop spinning disc in front of my helmet visor, I’m moving my hand in front of my face and upper body as if I’m invoking some kind of motorcycle demon. Be assured I’m not; what I am doing is trying to map the extent of protection offered by the Dart Flyscreen I’ve fitted to the Scrambler. Because the Scrambler is intended to be a city bike, I had never considered fitting a screen of any kind to it, not to mention that I like the bike to look and feel as light as I can make it. But when the Dart appeared on my desk, I thought –what the hell. It certainly looks light, and the fitment seem simple enough so that even I would have no qualms about tackling it.
How right I was. Despite the aftermarket Rizoma blinkers fitted to the bike, the screen which shares its mounting points with them went on without a worry. In fact, I suspect that you couldn’t get the fitment wrong if you wanted to. The Rizoma kit which has repositioned the instrument binnacle caused no problems either. Out on the road, my hand roaming all over the space between the flyscreen and my body and helmet, I found that it offers a remarkable amount of coverage despite its small size and unobtrusive appearance. Out on the motorway at, er, legal speed it made a noticeable difference even without my hand testing. It works well, and it looks as if it was made for the bike –which I guess it was. Highly recommended, and the various Dart screens are available from Motociclo in Sydney which is another point in their favour. John and Nicole have a whole Aladdin’s Cave of accessories and other bits and pieces which you will probably not find elsewhere. Visit them at 95-97 Princes Highway, St Peters; phone is 02 9557 7234 and they have a website at www. motociclo.com.au. PT D
FIGHTIN’ WORDS
Bear Army invades Wingham
PHOTOS GIL SCHILLING / PETER COLWELL
Remember how Seinfeld used to be described as the TV show about nothing? Well, meet the gathering about nothing – the Bear Army Manoeuvres. Held twice a year, the Manoeuvres gather 20 or 30 of the members of the Bear Army in a pub somewhere in Australia. Selected
by the Commanding Officer of the Army, namely me, the pub is usually in a small place that can do with the cash infusion the Army brings with it. Not that this is a charitable event; the gathering benefits nobody except the Troopers, who have a chance to shoot the breeze with fellow members.
That’s all the event is about.
‘Manoeuvres’ is really a misnomer – the only thing that’s organised is dinner on the Saturday night. In fact, it should probably be called the Bear Army Dinner, but that lacks a bit of pizzazz. Troopers usually dribble in on the Saturday and spend the day in the pub, telling lies and listening tolerantly to the ones told by others. The dinner continues this. There are no speakers, or perhaps I should
say we are all speakers. That’s what it sounds like, anyway, but everyone is usually in bed by closing time. There is no rule against sitting up late, but the average Trooper’s age is… well, let’s say we’re mostly mature. In age, anyway.
The Manoeuvres cost nothing, there is no fundraising and there are no rules. It’s considered good form to wear the Bear Army T-shirt and badge that are supplied on joining, but it’s not obligatory.
It really is an event about nothing. Or maybe not. Going by the cheerful atmosphere and by the way Troopers have become good friends, it may be about something after all. Just don’t ask me what it is!
The Spring Manoeuvres in 2018 was in Wingham, at the Australian Hotel, and by all reports it was good fun. I certainly thought so. If you’re interested in joining, just drop us a line at contactus@ausmotorcyclist. com.au. It costs $250 which gets you a two-year subscription to Australian Motorcyclist (added to your current sub if you already subscribe), a signed and numbered T-shirt, a brass-type badge and four stickers. Is that good value for money or what? I’m planning the 2019 manoeuvres as I write this. There will be an amazing destination for one of them!
Just a quick note: Bear Army Troopers are more than welcome to bring significant others, wives or husbands (only one each) to the Manoeuvres. There is no discrimination on the basis of sex, age or… well, or anything else. PT D
1. Not even beer is obligatory, but it seems pretty popular anyway.
2. The Commanding Officer on the morning after scrubs up quite well.
3. Before-dinner discussions cover a wide range of bullshit. Er, subjects.
4. Amazingly, the noise level does not drop during dinner.
TASSIE…
Every which way including loose words/photos NEalE JOllY
IT all STaRTEd with the idea of an extended weekend away motorcycling with a bunch of mates. The high country of Victoria…The Great Ocean Road.
So what’s next? The answer was Tassie! Six trips later, from 2013 to 2018, we have become very familiar with the wonderful roads and towns of Tasmania. Starting off with an original group of eight, we have grown to more than 20 hard core
riders of all levels and experience. It’s now a permanent mark in the calendar for the wives and girlfriends to accept as normal.
Experiencing all kinds of weather over the years, we now consider ourselves part time experts on Tasmania’s roads.
We’ve done laps clockwise, anticlockwise, over the top, down south of Hobart and Bruny Islandevery which way!
We are happy to conclude - Tasmania is indeed a “Motorcycling Paradise”. The trip starts with meeting up for a quick beer in Port Melbourne before boarding the Spirit of Tasmania, which immediately sets the tone for a wonderful holiday away. A great group of mates anticipating another epic adventure on arguably some of the best roads in the world.
After heading to The Spirit of Tasmania then securing our bikes and
finding our cabins, we meet in the main bar for a few pre-dinner drinks, introduce the newcomers to the team and wave Melbourne goodbye.
WHAT MAKES TASSIE SO SPECIAL?
Tasmania is the most mountainous area in Australia. It has been volcanically inactive in recent geological times but has many jagged peaks resulting from glaciation. The most mountainous region is the Central Highlands area, which covers most of the central western parts of the state. The Midlands located in the central east is fairly flat, and is predominantly used for agriculture, although farming activity is scattered throughout the state. Tasmania’s tallest mountain is Mount Ossa at 1617 metres. The mountain lies in the heart
of the world famous Cradle MountainLake St Clair National Park. Much of Tasmania is still densely forested, with the Southwest National Park and neighbouring areas holding some of the last temperate rain forests in the Southern Hemisphere. The Tarkine, located in island’s far North West, is the largest temperate rainforest area in Australia covering about 3800 square kilometres. With its rugged topography, Tasmania has a great number of rivers. Several of Tasmania’s largest rivers have been dammed at some point to provide hydroelectricity. Due to the importance of keeping these power stations operating, the roads need to be maintained and are in excellent motorcycling condition. They provide the platform for making it a “Motorcycling Paradise”.
PICK A ROAD
We all have our favourites, but it’s hard to go past the road in and out of Strahan on the west coast? Then it’s the tightest, steepest little blast out of Queenstown to the top of Spion Kop Lookout. So much fun that some of the guys go back down and do it again and again. Afterwards, it’s the 99 bends past Lake Burbury to Derwent Bridge. An absolute highlight. However, my
personal favourite is the road in and out of Strathgordon to Lake Pedder and Lake Gordon. And the spectacular Gordon Dam is truly a sight to behold.
It would be wrong of me not to include some of the roads on the East Coast including the coastal corners of Swansea and Bicheno and the ‘twisties’ of Elephant Pass. Then, for more of the same, the magnificent rolling hills and forest roads around Weldborough and Scottsdale. In short, it’s hard to pick a bad road in Tasmania. You would be splitting hairs to truly find one very much better than any other - a smorgasbord of motorcycling grin factors. Of course be mindful of the weather as the conditions change everything. One of the tricks that works to great advantage for us is having a back-up car to take care of extra luggage and wet weather gear (as well as any unforeseen medical emergencies... it also helps if that driver happens to be
a doctor! Thanks Phil!) It can be just as much fun driving if you have the right kind of vehicle. We had a Porsche as our back up car.
Yes sir, Tasmania is really the best place to ride a motorcycle, and if you are looking for something different, ride it backwards. See you there! D
Oh, what pretty eyelashes you have, Stuart!
DRAGON MXV GOGGLES
Price – $44.90
THE NEW MXV GOGGLE has been designed from the ground up to deliver the comfort, quality and features you would want from a pair of off-road goggles. Engineered to maximize peripheral vision, offer superior ventilation, reduce sweat-through and provide a super anti-fog coating that really does work, the MXV is the only goggle you’ll ever need. I have used Dragon goggles for the past five years and one of the best features I’ve found is that they have a slim frame that fits into the latest adventure helmets with their visor fitted – I just put the visor up and put the goggles on when I get to the dirty stuff with the Dragon goggles offering a complete seal around my eyes.
My new MXV goggle also comes with Lumalens colour tints, which are Dragon’s lens optimisation and colour filtering technology. I chose a pair with the Amber lens which lets 59% of light through – so you have a little bit of sun protection with the Lumalens clarity that brightens up the trails for excellent vision on both sunny and shaded tracks. The MXV is offered in three configurations: the MXV, the MXV Plus, and the MXV Max. All three models share the ventilation, fit, lenses, nose guard, tear-off packs, roll-off system, superior helmet
integration, 100% UV protection and 1.5-inch silicone backed strap. They can hold up to 28 laminated tear-offs and they are available in both Hydro and Sand configurations.
For a pair of adventure goggles the Dragon MXV (or any of the range for that matter) are a must have. Check them out at your local bike shop or www. mcleodaccessories.com.au SW
AGV X3000 LEGEND |SERIES AGO HELMET
Price - $999 ($119 tinted visor) Giacomo Agostini is a name that
just about everyone in motorcycling knows – or should. AGV recently released the Legend series of the X3000 helmet and one of them is the Limited Edition Legend series ‘AGO’. I really wanted one; not only is it one of the coolest looking retro helmets, it has the fit of a modern helmet on the inside.
After some begging to the distributor, Link International, number 999/3000 worldwide turned up at the office and even if you’re not blown away be the faux-fur lined leather helmet bag, you’ll need a hospital cart once you see the helmet in the flesh!
Essentially, the X3000 features historic shapes and modern design.
Comfort, protection and ventilation are key elements and the X3000 includes the contoured chin piece just as Ago liked it so that he could lean right up against the fuel tank. It also features a dual button visor that can be opened with the left hand alone – a great trick right there! That also applies to how
the visor is attached. You think it is via a C clip when in fact an Allen head bolt sits under a black clip –old school looks, modern day tech. The shell is fibreglass and engineered in 3 sizes, the visor has an on-off air vent with channels hollowed in the shell and it does flow a little bit of air, but the helmet looks cooler with the ‘plug’ left in.
As you would expect with such an exclusive helmet, a premium interior
and an embroidered logo is what you’ll find. The interior is also fully removable and washable (neck roll excluded) and strapping the helmet to your noggin is via a double D ring.
The AGV X3000 Ago is a special helmet that will only be worn on special occasions, I also just found out AGV is releasing a Barry Sheene version, so look out or place your order now for one of those! If you still like the X3000 as a helmet alone without the special paint, it is available in a variety of colours. See your local bike shop or www. agvhelmets.com.au SW
TCX STREET ACE AIR BOOTS
Price - $219
Casual styled motorcycle boots are big business at the moment and
TCX has joined the market with the Street Ace Air. They’re a perforated leather boot with a vintage look and a breathable lining that actually does flow decent amounts of air through the boot. The Street Ace Air are extremely comfortable with the footbed being replaceable if it wears out. They are a lace up boot but one thing missing in my mind is a pull tab on the rear to assist getting them on. A high wear-resistant sole is exactly that and gives good grip wet or dry. The boots overall appear to be very well made and should be a long term investment.
Available in sizes 36-48, but remember the TCX range usually run one size larger than you’re probably used to (eg. 48 is equal to a 49 in other brands); check them
out at your local bike shop or www. linkint.com.au RLM
AGV X70 PA solini helmet
Price - $499
AGV invented the fibre jet helmet back in 1954. Over time it has evolved and been superseded by the safer full-face helmet, though only in the racing world. It never went out of fashion on the street. AGV’s X70 embodies the eternal allure of the original’s shape, with modern protection and comfort features. Put on a green helmet with a twocolour profile: add a pair of glasses and with my similar curly hair it’s as though Renzo Pasolini, aka “Paso”, is right there before you, giving one of his legendary performances. I just
I
as
The
is a tribute to this great champion and a helmet I’ll wear on special occasions. I know people will be asking me for an autograph thinking I’m Paso, but not so sure they’ll be happy when they read, “Ralph” on their piece of paper! Whereas Stuart’s Ago helmet comes with genuine leather, the Pasolini bag and trimmings on the helmet use “ecoleather”. I’m fine with that, ‘cause it’s half the price.
I’m an extrovert as far as riding gear goes but I’ve only managed to wear the Paso a handful of times. It has been comfy and gets a lot of attention. Maybe it’s my curly hair? The AGV X70 open face is available in other colours as well, have a look at one at your local bike shop or www. agvhelmets.com.au RLM D
wish
was
fast!
X70 Pasolini
TECHNICAL
FRESHEN UP!
WORDS & PHOTOS STUART
It’s the New Year so this means it’s a bloody good time you freshened up your pride and joy! I’m talking new oil, new oil fi lter, new air fi lter, adjust and lube the chain, check the suspension, check the bolts, check the tyre pressures, change the brake fl uid, wash it, polish it
Time to freshen up with a burst of goodness!
and generally spread some love to that beautiful machine you enjoy so often, or not so often. Here’s how to do most of these very basic service items…
OILY STUFF
One of the best things you can do for your bike is to put some new
blood into it. That’s the way I’ve always thought about the oil in an engine – it is its blood and having dirty blood won’t make it perform as well as it should. Can you imagine having filthy dirty blood inside your body and the resulting lack of performance you’d have – well, your
Ready for the oily stuff
motorcycle engine is exactly the same. Grab some oil – viscosity that’s recommended is best, or as a general rule a 10W-40 is pretty much on the money. Grab the recommended oil filter for your specific model, a bike stand, an oil pan, a spanner, a can of brake clean, measuring jug and a rag to wipe your hands, and you’re ready!
Warm the bike up – you can let it idle for a few minutes or take it for a couple of minutes’ ride around the block. Put your bike up on the stand so it’s level, undo the sump plug and be careful when it comes off as the oil will be hot and you don’t want to drop the sump plug in the gushing oil that will stream out into the oil pan you already placed underneath.
Let the oil drain for a few minutes, then undo the oil filter, and again, be careful when it’s about to come off and more hot oil will flow out and into the ‘positioned’ oil pan. If the oil filter is too hot to handle, use the rag you have to help undo it and remove. Most oil pans have a post to place the oil filter so it can drain. If your pan doesn’t, hold the filter upside down and let it drain for a minute.
Once the oil is no longer coming out, install the new oil filter – smear some fresh oil on the thread inside the filter and the rubber ring seal and screw it on. Tighten it firmly, but not so you’re about to snap The Hulk in two. Most oil filter manufacturers recommend one to one and half turns once the rubber seal makes contact with the metal surface. Clean and reinstall the sump plug, torqueing it to the recommended specs, or (if you’re confident), just do it up tight.
Get your measuring jug and the specs for how much oil your motorcycle takes with a new oil filter. Pour it in the jug, then in the engine through the oil filler plug. Check your oil window, which should be full or at least to the full mark. Start the bike, let it idle for 30 seconds or so and switch off. Let the oil settle over
the next 30 minutes or so and check you’re between the low and full mark – preferably at or near the full mark and you’re done!
AIRY STUFF
Just as oil is the blood of an engine, the air filter is like your lungs – you need to breathe fresh air to perform at your best, being clogged up will have you choking quicker than a teenager on their first date. Buy a new filter, or one of the washable ones like those that DNA and K&N sell. Check your owner’s manual on how to replace it, but as a general rule most bikes will need the tank lifted and then a series of Phillips head screws that need to be undone to remove the airbox lid. Once you’ve done this strenuous task, lift it up, pull the crappy one out, place the new one in, screw the airbox lid back on, bolt the tank back in place and you’re done!
LUBEY STUFF
Are your gear changes getting harder and harder? Well, when did you last lube the bloody chain! This is what I usually say to The Bear whenever I ride one of his bikes. Turn to the section in your owner’s manual that tells you the specs on chain adjustment and measure. If you’re outside those specs, loosen the axle slightly, adjust the chain adjusters (evenly) and remeasure. Once you’re in the ballpark, tighten everything back up. Now grab your can of chain lube and spray the links of the chain. Don’t bother spraying the outside of the chain (you just need to clean it) and make sure the rubber cushions in between the links and rollers are well lubed. The rear wheel should spin quite freely now.
Grab some silicone spray (preferred) or WD-40 (or similar) and now go around and lube the footpegs pivots,
Damn! That chain is dry!
gear lever pivot, rear brake pivot and the brake and clutch pivot and that’s all the lubey stuff done!
CheCking stuff
There’s lots to check on your motorcycle but as a general rule (and remember, set to each spec as indicated by the manufacturer) you should go over with a torque wrench: the engine mounting bolts, subframe bolts, brake caliper bolts, swingarm pivot bolt, handlebars, brake and clutch lever mounts, axles and the triple clamp bolts. Then lightly go over any fairing and miscellaneous bolts making sure they’ve got tension on them and (basically) aren’t loose. Now check the pressure in the tyres – find out what’s recommended from your owner’s manual and adjust according with a hand pump, or for the lazy, a powered air pump and you’re done here!
Braking stuff
No, not that kind of ‘breaking’! If you do break stuff on your motorcycle doing any of this, you might have forgot your paddle… Changing the brake fluid regularly is essential, once every 12 months is a good idea to keep it as fresh as possible. If you’re not 100% confident with this one, get your mechanic to do it, otherwise, grabbing a brake bleeder and a friend is always good for this one. Pick a sealed bottle of the recommended brake fluid for your bike (most likely Dot 4), open the reservoir cap and if you’ve got a suction device, suck out most but not all of the old brake fluid from the reservoir. NOTE: Never let all of the brake fluid drain out of the reservoir, because that can lead to air
1. Lubey stuff
2. Make sure you use a torque wrench, not just a tool
3. Brakey stuff (This fluid is not recommended for a road bike)
in your system. Fill to the full mark with fresh fluid, fit your brake bleeder, just crack open the bleeder nipple down on one caliper and slowly pump the brake lever, noting when you get near emptying the reservoir. Then hold down the brake lever and tighten the nipple. Refill the reservoir and pump up the brake lever. Do the same procedure once again and then move on to the other caliper. You should have a better ‘lever’ and of course better performing brakes. Now move onto the rear, following the same procedure as the front. NOTE: Always remember to fill the reservoir between the two ‘Low’ / ‘Full’ marks before replacing the reservoir caps, and you’re done!
SHINY STUFF
To fi nish off, give your bike a good wash. If it’s mega fi lthy, use a good motorcycle specifi c and safe degreaser/wash, hose it off, then wash with a quality body shampoo – I like to use Aussie products
Bowden’s Own produces amazing shine!
made by Bowden’s Own. Hose it off, dry, then give the painted surfaces a nice polish with a quality wax, (again, Bowden’s Own have a great range). I do recommend taking your bike for a lap around the block to get rid of any excess water that might be lying in any nooks and crannies, but especially get it off the brakes. Now it’s time to sit back with beer or whatever in hand and stare at your beautiful ride. Or, alternatively, go for a ride and show it off to everyone! D
“You onlY live once, and the waY i live, once is enough.” Frank s inatra
HERE’S AN IDEA!
Looking for somewhere to go for a day ride or a weekend? Look no further words & photos tHE bEAR
A bike, a road (Old Pacific Hwy, to be precise) – what more do you want? Maybe a destination?
AFriend oF Mine has an unusual take on religion. Whenever he’s confronted with a moral or ethical question, he says: “What would Ol’ Blue Eyes do?” In most cases his answer is: “Go for a ride”, even though I suspect that Cranky Frankie would never have said that. But this bloke is possibly the happiest person I know, so who am I to argue?
CANBERRA
Two for T he price of one
1 2 3
If you have a bike, Canberra is a popular place to get out of – and here is a double destination that will make for a terrific day’s ride.
Head for Bungendore and then on to Braidwood. This is the Kings Highway, as I suspect you know. I’m not so sure that you’ll know how seriously this road is policed – probably more between Braidwood and the coast, but before that as well. So be good! Carry on straight ahead in Braidwood instead of turning off to the left towards the coast, and follow the sign to Breadalbane before taking the left road at the fork, signposted to Araluen and beyond. This is a wonderful stretch of road with enough fencing to keep wandering stock and most of the kangaroos off the tar. A couple of bridges can be a challenge when it’s wet, but otherwise it’s all good – until you get to the drop off the scarp down the scarp. This is a brilliant bit of road with tight corkscrew corners, and I usually find myself laughing out loud when I reach the bottom. There is little traffic along here, I suspect because there’s quite a bit of dirt before you get to the end of the road in Moruya. It’s all tar to the welcoming Araluen pub, though.
1. The Majors Creek pub, a welcome respite from the heat of the road.
2. It doesn’t get much better than this –and there’s little traffic.
3. Just watch the surface on the bridges. The rest of the road is pretty good.
4. The view from the balcony of
would be hard to beat anywhere in the world.
5. No boring modern petrol stations up here! My friend The Frog checks out one of the originals.
Having refreshed yourself with a lemon, lime and soda (make mine a pint) you’ll be pleased to know that you get to do the same road in reverse, to the end of the twisties where a gravel (but smooth) road takes you to the left in the direction of Majors Creek. You can avoid the gravel, if you like, by heading back a bit further towards Braidwood and then taking the tarred road to Majors Creek instead. Another pleasant and welcoming pub awaits you there, and you can top up on your lemon, lime and soda.
To get back home, sloshing with soft drink, you have two options. Return the way you came, or take the usually well-maintained gravel road to Ballallaba and on to Captains Flat, where the tar starts again to get you back to Queanbeyan and home.
BRISBANE
TAKE YOURSELF OFF TO BAVARIA
Haven’t had a chance to get to Oktoberfest in Munich? Frankly, it’s
overrated – full of drunk Aussies, just like your local pub on a Saturday afternoon. Mind you, they do have the Wall of Death; I bet your pub doesn’t. Where was I? Oh yes, Bavaria!
Queensland has its own taste of Bavaria at King Ludwig’s Restaurant in, or just outside, Maleny. In case you don’t know how to get there, and you don’t want to spend time on the dreaded Bruce Highway, just make your way to Strathpine and take Narangbah Road north. Then bypass Burpengary and
continue north though Caboolture, Beerburrum and Beerwah (what is it with Queenslanders and ‘beer’?) to Landsborough, where you turn left for Maleny. The road up the hill is a delight.
In Maleny, turn left onto Mountain View Road and follow that to the restaurant, which is on your left. The address is 401 Mountain View Road. There’s plenty of parking. Barbara and Klaus will be pleased to see you. Try to get a table out on the balcony which overlooks the Glass House Mountains. Even Bavaria itself with
King Ludwig’s
its view of the Alps would find it hard to compete with this!
Come to think of it, you’d better book before you go. Call 07 5499 9377 or see kingludwigs.com.au . It might be wise to book an overnight stay somewhere in Maleny as well… On the way back to Brisbane, take the back road through Cedarton, Woodford and Mount Mee.
SYDNEY
Something completely different
There’s a confession I have to make. I hope the statute of limitations (if we even have one) has run out for underage drinking offences back in 1964, because that’s when my mates and I would sneak out of Bonnyrigg High School and make our way out to Wallacia. We would do this in the Austin A40 owned by one of the above mates (oops, there’s another charge – unlicensed driving) and we’d have a couple of beers before returning to school for a relaxed afternoon.
I have a more interesting suggestion for you, using the same road. Make your way out to Liverpool or
Cabramatta and head east. These days the road is called Elizabeth Drive, from Liverpool. In Wallacia, turn right at the pub and take the road north through Mulgoa to its intersection with the freeway. Actually, if you feel like a bit of a strop, cross the river in Wallacia instead and take a run up to Warragamba Dam. There are some nice corners on the way. Then come back down to Wallacia and proceed as above.
Turn left onto the freeway and climb the escarpment on that lovely bit of road that takes you up to Glenbrook. We usually turn off the highway here after Glenbrook Park and have a coffee at one of the cafés on Ross Street, but it’s your call. Then it’s back to the highway for the dull but fortunately short run to Faulconbridge.
Take the (signposted) right turn into Grose Road at Faulconbridge Public School to the Norman Lindsay Gallery and Museum. At the roundabout, take Chapman Parade which will get you to precisely that place. The gallery sits in a large and beautiful garden with water features and statues by Lindsay. It was used in the biopic ‘Sirens’ about the artist,
“Every person needs to take one day away. A day in which one consciously separates the past from the future. Jobs, family, employers, and friends can exist one day without any one of us, and if our egos permit us to confess, they could exist eternally in our absence. Each person deserves a day away in which no problems are confronted, no solutions searched for.
Each of us needs to withdraw from the cares which will not withdraw from us.”
- MAyA AngElou, Wouldn’t tAkE nothing for My JournEy noW
so if you’ve seen that (and managed to tear your eyes off the unclad form of Elle ‘The Body’ MacPherson) you will have had a glimpse of it before. There’s an admission charge, but it’s well worth it. My mate, mentioned at the beginning of this story, likes the
1. Some might consider this a warning sign. To us, it’s a challenge.
2. The gardens at the Norman Lindsay Gallery and Museum are beautiful. Take a picnic.
3. There are also statues in more traditional materials, such as this one in bronze.
ship models more than the human models but there you go.
You obviously have a choice between the long and the short way to get back to Sydney; I prefer the longer run via Katoomba and Mt Victoria to Bells Line of Road and back that way.
To add interest to your return ride if you take the quick way, turn left off the Great Western Highway at Macca’s in Blaxland into Layton Avenue. This becomes Mitchells Pass, which takes you down to the old sandstone Lennox Bridge. The road is one way downhill from the bridge, and eventually takes you back to the highway. It’s a short but terrific ride, especially as you know there’s no-one coming the other way! D
Yep, it’s been a while since we ran what’s new in the shops for you to spend your hard earned on, but here is the latest and greatest!
GET A GRIP
OneDesign HDR tank pads – $39.95
The tank is there to not only be used for fuel, it helps you control the motorcycle and having good grip with the tank improves feel. The range of HRD tank pads look super smart, protect your tank from scratches and most importantly help with the control of your motorcycle. See your local bike shop or www.cassons.com.au
THE END IS HERE
Oxford b ar and Carb e nds –
From $14.95
The ever popular range of Oxford Bar Ends and Carb Ends are in stock and available for purchase through all good bike stores!
Serving three main purposes, style, protection and vibration reduction, bar ends are a simple yet important component of your bike that are often overlooked. With Oxford’s comprehensive range of aluminium and carbon bar ends, they’ve got you covered, no matter what you’re needs are.
TRIM IT
Oggy Knobbs Fender e liminator - $169
Now available for the Honda CB300R, Oggy Knobbs range of fender eliminators improve the style of your rear end and are totally legal when used with factory indicators and who doesn’t like checking out a nice rear! See your local bike shop or for the entire range including crash knobs and axle oggys – www.kenma.com.au
AFRICAN ADVENTURES AWAIT
Ventura b ike packs and Luggage s ystems – From $349
Those amazing folks at Ventura keep making awesome products and for those of you who have bought a
2018 and on Honda Africa Twin, it’s your turn to pack up and getaway!
Topboxes, panniers and bags are what’s available. See your local bike shop or www.kenma.com.au
REINVENTING A REBEL
Rizoma bling – H-D FXDR
Freedom has never looked so stylish, says Rizoma with their billet range of bling for Harley’s FXDR 114. Rizoma has made it even bolder with 22 components including a special dedicated collection, “Seven Collection”: front fairing, dashboard cover, fuel tank cover, front fender with essential dimensions and clean shapes, belt protection kit, transmission cover , rear shock band and of course a foretaste of the Precollection with the iconic Lunar mirrors: pure form, pure design. Check out www.rizoma.com
LEGENDS ARE FOREVER
a GV X3000 and X70 helmets
Legends are Forever: With two racing icons and the Italian helmet brands heritage of racing as the inspiration behind AGV’s Legends range, AGV has carefully replicated the original helmets worn by Giacomo Agostini and Renzo
Pasolini to bring the passion and style of a bygone era in to the current day. Incorporating the latest materials and premium linings, AGV draws inspiration from these iconic riders and helmet designs to present helmets that are truly modern in terms of ride experience, safety and comfort. You can read what Stuart and Ralph think of each helmet in this issue. To purchase see your local bike shop or to view the entire AGV range, visit www.agvhelmets.com.au
SPAIN IT IS, THEN!
IMT Bike – Southern Spain Tour
IMTBIKE incorporates Córdoba as a destination in its incredible tour through Andalusia. Cordoba is one of the most beautiful cities in Spain. Declared a World Heritage Site, Cordoba is a living legacy of history that portrays the different cultures (Christian, Muslim, Jewish) that infl uenced this city through time. Its famous patios, spectacular mosque, its culture and friendly people have made it one of Southern Spain´s gems that shouldn’t be missed.
This 9 day tour begins in Malaga, a city known as the “city of light” for the number of sunny days it has year round. This trip highlights other gems like Granada, Seville and Ronda as well as many more “pueblos blancos” that we’ll encounter throughout this mountainous region of Spain.
AFRICAN SAFARI
Safari Tanks – Honda Africa Twin
More items for the Africa Twin, this time from Safari Tanks who offer you a 75% increase in fuel capacity! Feel what it’s like to get well over 500km out of your tank and in the Outback this is essential. 34 litres in total see your local bike shop or available now from www.safaritanks.com.au
IMTBIKE has improved its routing by adding an overnight stay in Cordoba in a high quality hotel right on the banks of the Guadalquivir River. This guided tour is offered March 16-24, 2019 & April 27-May 5, 2019 or it can be converted in a self-guided tour at any time of the year.
For more information on this Andalucía Tour and other motorcycle tours and rentals please contact IMTBIKE at: tours@imtbike.com. Or visit them at www.imtbike.com
BLOW THROUGH K&N Air Filter – Aprilia
RSV4 - $124.95
K&N air fi lters has released their reusable and washable air fi lter for the beastly Aprilia RSV4. Designed to provide increased horsepower and torque, with a pleated media providing a large fi ltration area offering long service intervals and the multiple layers of woven cotton gauze media offers excellent fi ltration. Specifi c base seal and sealing bead ensures no dirt or dust gets through without being fi ltered. Check out this and the entire range at your local bike shop or www.ctaaustralia. com.au
SHOCKING
Progressive Suspension
465 Series H-D
Softail Shock
Sick of gut churning jolts up your spine, then check out the 465 Series state of the art high pressure gas monotube shock
design for the new HarleyDavidson M8 Softail models. It utilises a large 46mm bore with defl ective disc damping, threaded body and a 5 position rebound adjuster. The beefy 16mm hard chrome shaft rides on custom Viton seals for a low friction and leak free life. Each shock is hand-built, tuned and dyno’d and come with a Lifetime Warranty. Progressive Suspension is proudly distributed in Australia by Rollies Speed Shop For your nearest dealer phone 07 3252 5381 or visit www. rolliesspeedshop.com
HOT STUFF
Shark Lorenzo Diablo Replica Helmet - $1099.95
A limited-edition production of this uniquely styled ‘Devil Spirit’ helmet, along with a host of exclusive additional accessories, is sure to cement this Race-R Pro as a true collector’s item among Shark’s already impressive line-up of Replica helmets.
The Race-R Pro is the pinnacle of Shark’s helmet technology, from design through to manufacturing. It meets the demands of racers worldwide at the highest level in critical areas
such as stability, weight, comfort, aerodynamics, and features a class-leading 4.2 to 2.8mm varying thickness fl at visor.
Additional Lorenzo Diablo accessories included: premium box and bag specifi c to this model, an extra ‘Dark smoke’ tinted antiscratch/anti-fog visor, a pair of Skull Rider ‘JL99’ sunglasses and sponsors’ stickers provided in the box. Check them out at your local bike shop or www.fi ceda.com.au
DATELINE
Metzeler 2019 Calendar
It’s always nice when checking out the date to see a nice motorcycle picture and Metzeler hasn’t disappointed with the release of their 2019 calendar with exquisite pics of motorcycling available in two versions –Classic or Cruiser. Get to your local Metzeler dealer or www.metzeler.com to order.
OOPS! DID YOU FORGET? IT’S NOT TOO LATE!
Yamaha Gift Cards
Did you accidently forget to buy that someone special in your life a present for Christmas? Well, it’s not too late to get them a great gift card from Yamaha. Available in whatever amount you like and four different versions of card, see your local dealer or www.yamaha-motor.com.au
SIT DOWN, RELAX
Wunderlich Seats – BMW R nineT
Wunderlich has completely redesigned the BMW R nineT’s seat. Now enthusiastic R nineT riders are spoiled for choice, as the product, which is suitable for long distances, isn’t just available as a complete seat and as a single seat for both the rider and the passenger; it comes in three different colours too. The seats fi t all R nineT models, excluding the racer. One thing that all seats have in common is a painstakingly crafted foam core with a special material structure and a new contour, as well as a brand-new shell. The
progressive two-layer structure with a soft top layer and a rigid core guarantees even distribution of forces, thus guaranteeing optimised weight distribution across the entire seat and relieving the pressure on the coccyx. The sweat-reducing, grippy cover material looks classy, while the dropped and additionally welded “Cut” seams also help to create a
high-quality fi nish. All of the seats come in the colours black, brown or classic orange as an option. They are all completely made in Germany, and Wunderlich offers a fi ve-year warranty. Depending on the design and the colour, the seats cost between €299 and €519. See your local dealer in Australia or visit www.wunderlich.de D
AUSTRALIA
GRIZZLING
WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?
“I feel so proud of myself; I bought a Rubik cube and finished it in 6 months while the box said 3-4 years...” Anonymous
FROM HERE TO ZERO
Remember a few years ago, when the Victorian government introduced signs warning of trees close to the road? The signs were mounted on steel poles which were significantly closer to the road than the trees were. These same big brains are now trying to impose ‘Vision Zero’ on Victoria and eventually all of Australia. It “is a philosophy of road safety that eventually no one will be killed or seriously injured within the road transport system… In October 1997, the Road Traffic Safety Bill founded on Vision Zero was passed by a large majority in the Swedish parliament…”
It hasn’t worked, as I’ve gone to great lengths to point out in another article, and I’m not going to bore you with the statistics that demonstrate that, again.
The main point is that imposing Vision Zero means banning motorcycles to ensure “the optimum state of the road transport system”.
Keep an eye out for this idiocy and fi ght it when and where you can. Otherwise you can kiss motorcycling goodbye.
GOOD LUCK WITH THAT
Here’s a terrific news item. “Citing pollution and road trauma statistics, the Hanoi People’s Council has voted overwhelmingly in favor of banning motorcycles in the inner city by 2030. Instead, the city is aiming to develop public transport to better serve its 7.6 million residents…”
Ah, right. Public transport that will
allow wide-screen TVs, wardrobes, bedsteads or a half dozen pigs at a time to be transported, the way they are at the moment on motorcycles. It will be interesting to see how they do that.
“Together with coal-fired power plants and local heavy industry, Hanoi’s 5 million motorcycles – the vast majority of which are 110-125cc scooters – contribute to some of the worst pollution in South-East Asia,” the item goes on. Maybe taking a stab at eliminating the “coal-fired power plants and local heavy industry” might be a more realistic goal. But wait!
The report concludes with a quote from “(state-owned) Vietnam News… that when 15,300 households across 30 districts of Hanoi were surveyed last month… 90.3 percent of respondents agreed with the plan.” Ah, the wonders of state-owned media, and surveys in one-party totalitarian regimes!
MORE DISTRACTIONS! GREAT!
Another recent items trumpets that “Augmented Reality HUD display manufacturer DigiLens has revealed a new version of its waveguide HUD unit that is thinner, lighter, easier to manufacture and notably cheaper than its previous technology. The Silicon Valley startup has also announced a partnership with Bluetooth giant Sena to potentially build motorcycle helmets with integrated audio-visual HUD systems…
“The new MonoHUD unit uses only two inkjet-coated lens layers, which the company claims makes the eyepieces crystal-clear to look through while still being capable of 8,000-nit daytime levels of brightness in a full color, 640 x 360-pixel display with an eight-hour battery life and an AR field of view covering 25 degrees worth of one eye’s visual field.”
Oh, neat. And just what can we expect to see displayed on our visor?
“navigation prompts, speed, media track and incoming caller notifications,” apparently. I’m going to hold out for replays of The Bugs Bunny Show.
Peter ‘The Bear’ Thoeming
WHATSAYYOU
WE
LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU, the letters are among the most keenly read parts of the magazine. Please try and keep letters down to no more than 300 words. Then you can read many, not just a couple. We do reserve the right to cut them and, unless you identify yourself and at least your town or suburb and state, we will print your email address instead. Please address letters to 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.
LETTER OF THE MONTH
IT’S SURPRISING whom you see out on a ride, but sadly for Peter on this occasion it wasn’t me (see below). But for all your effort Peter, you’ve won the awesome Nelson-Rigg backpack and t-shirt from distributor Link International (www.linkint.com.au
CAP IT
Dear all, I read with interest the proposal for the Australian Motorcycle Council to launch a rating system for motorcycle clothing. The Council are a great bunch of people (of all genders) and passionate about their charter, BUT, that particular wheel has been invented. Most stuff sold here has a passing nod to the CE rating, or is genuinely CE rated - or now European EN standard, as the Bear pointed out. If, the MotoCAP rating system is adopted, how does that affect my
/ www.nelsonrigg.com.au), well done! Send me your t-shirt size, mate, and postal address. Cheers, Stuart.
WAS THAT YOU?
Hey Stu, I’ve gotta ask... I was at Grey Gum Cafe on Saturday AM around 930 and there was a Z900 there and a ‘mature’ aged gent who looked like he was
the owner...reminded me of your story that your Dad had acquire the long-termer (almost from day one)... then this amazing Ducati 1298 pulls up and a guy gets off who looked like you (from what I know from the mag)... He sat down with the Z900 bloke and chatted very familiar... wanted to ask the bloke if it was you but didn’t want to look like a dick... not sure... Was it you?
Cheers anyway.
Peter Oastler
Hi Peter, Nah wasn’t me or the old fella. If you do see me, don’t be afraid to say g’day. Cheers, Stuart.
Cheers...if I see a great Resto Katana I’ll be more certain.
I’ll be selling that pretty soon. Looking to buy a Kawa H1 500 ;) Cheers, Stuart.
gear that was purchased before the scheme kicked in? Will I have a time frame to update, or can I soldier on? Hopping into bed with any insurance industry group to set standards is a disaster waiting to happen - those leeches will set the bar so high they will be able to knock back every claim! Stick with the Euro standard, and let the buyer work out if he/she is comfortable.
Tangentially, but related, in issue 69 you covered motorcycle boots. I shudder every time I see footwear with laces being used on motorcycles. Most of us know at
least one person whose lace has wrapped around a foot peg/gear lever and resulted in a low speed spill as the unsuspecting mug tried to put a foot down on stopping. Motorcycle clothing used the experience of the horse riders 1000’s of years of R&D to evolve into stuff that does not snag or become entangled in your mount and associated equipment in the event of a sudden parting of company. Remember that when buying new kit and leave laces for your walking shoes.
Regards, Greg B
FURTHER RESPONSE FROM THE MCC
The Bear, I thought I’d made a reasonable attempt to answer Stuart and your main criticisms of the MotoCAP scheme in my letter published in edition 71 while keeping the letter to a reasonable length for publication. This letter is somewhat longer in reply to your comment to my letter. I certainly answered Stuart’s criticism of its effect on cost and insurance claims raised in the article in edition 70 “Wear the CAP”. Your criticism of whether some arbitrarily level of MotoCAP will be made mandatory is answered in the FAQs on the MotoCAP website that states:- “There are no plans to make the MotoCAP testing a mandatory standard in Australia or New Zealand.” However, I can hear you saying “but what about in the future?”. To answer this we need to consider the practicality of doing this taking into account Australia’s diverse climate. The thermal comfort rating would need to be high so riders in Darwin don’t suffer heat stress. This would result in light weight, well ventilated garments being mandated. This type of garment is likely to have a relatively low protection rating. Therefore, this approach would limit riders in Hobart access to garments with high protection ratings. If different levels were to be set for in each State, this approach wouldn’t help in WA or Queensland. If Australia were to be divided up into several climatic zones, riders would have to check when planning a ride if they will be crossing climate zones and if the gear they plan to wear is legal. This approach would, no doubt, result in much confusion. Mandating some level of MotoCAP, seems to me, to be totally impractical. As for your suggestion of adopting the European Standards, the MotoCAP thermal comfort rating is not subjective but determined by testing the garment for its ability to breathe and allow swear to evaporate. The European Standards don’t test for thermal comfort so adopting the European Standards will deny riders this important rating which allows them to choose a garment they can wear in summer. Many riders report they don’t wear protective gear in summer as it is too hot. Besides, while the original standards of EN 13595 for jackets, pants & one piece suits and EN 13594 for gloves, give a reasonable levels of protection, the recently introduced draft standard prEN 17092 gives much lower levels of protection. prEN 17092 has 5 levels of protection AAA, AA, A, B & C. The AAA rating, the highest, is about a 1 or 2 Star MotoCAP rating. Garments appearing on the market made to prEN 17092 are proving diffi cult to determine to which level of protection they conform. It is necessary to read the fi ne print in the instruction booklet to determine this important rating. So riders could inadvertently purchase a garment thinking it AAA whereas it is only an A. As for your comment “Australia is just crawling out of its insular hole for standards. Why go backwards?” MotoCAP is not a Standard but a scheme designed to
give riders reliable information so they can make informed choices. Adopting prEN 17092 would be going backwards due to its lower levels of protection and lack of a thermal comfort rating. It has been said that the gear we want to wear has not been made yet. A 5 Star scheme gives manufacturers a stretched goal to develop product that is superior to that of their competitors. A Standard just sets the lowest common denominator and there is no incentive for manufacturers to invest in developing better product. The introduction of MotoCAP has already resulted in a number of manufacturers inquiring as to how to improve the protection and thermal comfort ratings of their gear. There have also been inquiries from start-up companies looking to make motorcycle gear, they wish to design gear that will have high ratings. This desire to improve the quality will result in gear being made that we actually want to wear, that is, thermally comfortable, light weight, water resistant while still giving a high level of protection. Safe riding, Brian Wood Chair of the AMC’s subcommittee on Protective Clothing.
Brian,
The Bear forwarded me your reply. I hope you do realise the motorcycle industry is doing it tough, very tough and you trying to bring in this “suggestion” will drive the price of riding gear through the roof – can you not see this?
You say there may be no plans to make this mandatory but I can very much guarantee this ridiculous testing and rating system will be a massive backwards step and I’m sure some dopey bureaucrats will think this is a wonderful idea for a promotion and make it mandatory, along with insurance companies. You do know that Australia is not even a pea on the map in terms of motorcycling compared to the rest of the world, don’t you? You want money to be spent in Australian motorcycle shops,
don’t you? Well, bringing this in will force more and more people to buy gear from the web. Why buy a jacket for, say $500 when someone can pretty much get the same for $200 from overseas?
I hate to say it, Brian but I feel MotoCAP is just someone’s stupid idea to make them feel important and is not in the best interests of motorcycling in this country.
As for the thermal / cooling effect of a garment I think people have their own eyes and can see what they like themselves. “Ooh, that has nice venting”, or, “ Oh, I like that this jacket has a 100g quilted liner” and so it goes. People already investigate this for themselves when buying a motorcycle garment and we don’t need to be driving prices up for already struggling riders, shops and industry.
I don’t know about you, Brian, but I don’t like to be ripped off and this is how I feel about MotoCAP and the likely results that will come from it. Cheers, Stuart.
BSW SPITFIRE? HUH?
G’day Stuart.
Fully agree your editorial, #70. Curiously, many of the riders I’ve spoken to on my travels, when I ask them about their electronic controls seem to agree that they play with them until the novelty wears off and then forget about them. To my mind the fancy systems are just something else to go wrong and the further one is from a dealer the more likely the failure. Then one has the eye-watering cost of having the bike trucked to a far-distant repairer or suffering, if lucky, the unholy joy of limp-home mode. Nah.
On a more cheerful note I must confess my admiration for Bear’s writing. Always highly readable, often reflective of life actively pursued. And occasionally quite educational. For instance, all my trade life, well over 50 years, I held the belief that Sir Joseph Whitworth’s great claim to fame was his invention of the first standardised Imperial thread system; British Standard
Whitworth - BSW - but I never knew that using those letters he set up a manufacturing operation making Spitfire motorcycles. They were apparently bloody good ones because while the great man shuffled of this mortal coil in 1887, the bikes, it seems were still being made and sold up to the advent of CB 72s. Bear’s must indeed be exclusive knowledge because I can find no reference elsewhere and I have searched the length and breadth of Dr. Google. I am in awe. Cheers, Ross Halpin, Mitchell.Q.
Hi Ross, Google isn’t always “your friend”. LOL! Cheers, Stuart.
No, Ross, you’ve got that wrong. The BSW Spitfire was a standard Spitfire fighter with the wings removed and the wheels relocated under the fuselage. A few of them retained the cannon in the wing roots.
Cheers, The Bear
Thank you both. The learning process never ends. Cheers, Ross.
FIRE UP!
Boys, I’ve read the Motorcycle Council is wanting to start up this MotoCAP bullshit. Who the hell do they think they are? Aren’t they meant to represent us, the motorcycle rider, not come up with shit like this MotoCAP. Seriously, this has pissed me off no end. I want to know that if this drives up the price of my motorcycle gear and motorcycle insurance are the fools at the Motorcycle Council going to pay for the increase because of their incompetence? Yeah, that’s what I thought… Wankers. All I can say is I’m glad Stuart and The Bear are sticking up for us, but it will probably fall on deaf ears at the council
Cheers, Garth Northmead, NSW D
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BEARFACED
MEMORIES ARE MADE OF… WHAT?
IPROMISED YOU IN the most recent issue that I would continue my reminiscences about the bikes I’ve owned, but I have to admit that my memory is letting me down. One bike I will of course never forget is the Honda XL250 I bought for the around-theworld ride with my mate Charlie. We had very little trouble with our bikes; in the more than 130,000km I put on mine, I broke a shift drum stopper and a throttle cable. The first was replaced for me by a friend in India, who had a friend of his make me a new one out of surgical steel. The second was a bit more difficult; it was the actuating cable (XL250s had two throttle cables) and I shifted the return cable into its slot. That meant rolling the throttle off to accelerate and twisting it on to slow down, not an easy task to learn in peak hour downtown Denver traffic. Sadly, on my return to Australia I made the mistake of lending the bike to a friend’s kids, who ran it into the ground. Some of its parts live on in Charlie’s XL, but the frame has gone to the Great Recycler in the sky.
During the time Mrs Bear and I lived in London, I parked the Honda in my cousin’s garage and bought a Suzuki GS750 from a bike shop part-owned by the Mighty Crozza. I don’t know if Graeme ever even saw the shop, but his association with the place was good enough for me. The bike never let me down, not even in the snowy days of mid-winter when I rode it to work.
The main problem with my memory is not age, as you might infer, but the way I had access to so many press bikes, some of them on
long loans. For instance, did I own the Z1100ST that bent a valve coming into that little town with the windmills on the Nullarbor – Penong, thank you – or was it a press bike?
I know that the other bike that blew up on me, or more correctly my then technical editor Grant Roff, on the Nullarbor was a press bike, Honda’s first Turbo. But the Kawasaki? I just can’t remember. What I do recall was that it was the first fuel injected motorcycle that I had ridden any distance. In those days the ignition mapping for fuel injection was a little more basic than it is now, and if you rode the bike outside its map (in other words, over 130km/h), fuel consumption went through the roof. Mrs Bear and I were stuck on the Hay Plain, but rescued by a road repair crew (in a diesel truck) with spare petrol for their whipper snipper.
I did own a Z1100 when we started Bike Australia magazine; I’m just not sure if it was an ST. I rode it down from Sydney to Melbourne loaded with all of Mrs Bear’s and my worldly possession that wouldn’t fit into our VW Beetle. Before that, while I was editing Two Wheels magazine, I had a GSX750 but I’m pretty sure that was a long term loaner. I’m also pretty sure that it was the Suzuki I picked up from their Sydney office with two plugs in the rear tyre…
In Melbourne it gets really difficult. I developed a mania for elderly BMWs and owned three of them.
One, I attempted to turn from a perfectly good R80/5 (I think) into an RS. I bought a replica fairing from somewhere in Victoria and Jack Burger, the man behind JAB, made a mounting set for me. Jack’s work was fine; mine less so and the bike never looked or
performed quite right. Another of the bikes ended up with a sidecar, and that worked pretty well.
Among the other bikes I found myself with at one stage or another were a beautiful Silk 700S which was simply not suited to the Australian climate, and a Yamaha SRX6 which I loved dearly. When my thoughts began to turn to the possibility of fitting a Rickman-style fairing to it I had a rare blast of common sense and sold it to buy a Honda GB500 TT2. That was already equipped with the fairing, but with my usual urge to fiddle I got John Fretten Motorcycles to slot a Honda Dominator 650cc engine into it. Worked well, but I couldn’t have the kickstarter and the battery had a way of dying on me… memories of my Royal Enfield Super Sport, which was also a bump starter. But this was later.
When my fascination with BMWs wore off, I found myself infected with a similar infatuation with Ducatis. I couldn’t afford an SS, which is what I really wanted, but a GT in reasonable shape came up for sale and I settled for that. It wasn’t long before I decided once again that I needed to modify the bike, and I started looking around for an SS fairing. Fortunately (for me), a friend who owned a real SS ran out of money for some scheme or other and offered me the bike at a very reasonable price. I sold the GT and bought it.
The bike’s frame was painted blue, and my mate alleged that it was one of the three Blue Frames supposedly imported into Australia to be raced. I never bothered to find out if that was true, mainly because the square case engine appeared to be wrong for the type. It was a wonderful machine but I sold this bike when I could no longer ride it; I needed physio treatment whenever I got off it.
What else did I own in Melbourne? There were at least another couple of bikes, but I really can’t remember what they were. Give me a month; some of it may come back to me! D
ADVERTISERS LISTING
BORIS WORDS BORIS MIHAILOVIC
IT NEEDS TO BE COOL AGAIN
SOMETHING QUITE
unfortunate has happened to motorcycling in recent times. As a result, there’s not a lot of joy in the industry at the moment. Gone are the heady days of the Eighties and Nineties, when companies like HarleyDavidson could not make enough bikes to sell to the hordes lined up inside their showrooms.
What’s happened? The bikes being produced now are several orders of magnitude better in every way from the stuff we were riding back then, right? So it’s not that.
It’s actually a multitude of things, small and not-so-small, which when combined, have created the perfect storm for plunging the western world’s motorcycle market into what can only be described as a depression.
Sales are booming in developing countries like India and China. Their middle class is vast and expanding, and there is a huge demand for small and medium-sized bikes.
Over here, where the electricity is reliable and raw sewage does not run down a furrow in the main road, things are very different.
New bike sales are somewhat in the toilet. No-one is buying superbikes, noone is buying supersports, no-one and none of their mates are buying Harleys, and while the LAMs market is…well, “kind of steady” according to hopeful industry insiders, hordes of wobbling L-platers are not really over-running our streets. The Adventure market is still more or less OK, but pretty much everything else may as well be running down an open sewer in Calcutta.
I’m of the view that this is because there is a perception among young people – the ones who really should be buying bikes and towards whom the market should be addressing its greatest efforts – that riding a bike is no longer cool.
And that kills me.
I started riding bikes because they were cool. Any idiot could see that. I wanted to be cool and buying a stupid motorcycle was the fast track to that hallowed summit.
Sure, it was fun. But it was also pants-wettingly dangerous, and hence cool. Girls would look terrified when you asked them if they wanted a ride, but most of them got on. Some only ever got on once, while others became girlfriends and ultimately wives.
And then, as the cool demographic which was buying bikes in the Seventies, Eighties and early Nineties began to age, it also began to lose its cool.
Once upon a time, an outlaw motorcycle club member was the living avatar of the coolest two-wheeled thing ever. He was only slightly cooler than the demon-grinned, oil-stained Ducatiriding psychopath, or the wide-eyed, long-haired maniac astride a Moriwakipimped Kwaka, his jeans tucked into his boots just so and the tops of his footy socks saluting the world.
Everyone rode like they meant it, many died or were maimed, but those of us who survived were the scarred but living embodiments of cool.
Sure, there were piss-smelling middleaged weirdos in Belstaffs who rode old Bimmers in what they imagined was a forthright manner, but no-one ever thought they were cool. Not even them.
The young, cool crowd rode all the other stuff, fought with the cops at Bathurst, howled at the moon, chucked lairy wheelstands down the main streets of our cities, and owned all the cool there was to own.
But the older you get, the less cool you are. It’s a fact of life. Like liver disease. And as a result, today’s youth does not think bikes are cool.
It looks at a Harley, once the unshakable icon of cool, and it sees
it being ridden by a fat Gandalf, with an equally blowsy harridan on the back who looks more like a cheap sofa than a woman.
It looks at a Ducati and it sees it being ridden by a cashed-up ponce from the fancy suburbs who’d rather park his Panigale in front of a coffee shop than carve mountain bends more than 20km from his house.
It looks at the latest Japanese superbike and sees it being ridden (almost always badly) by a 40-year-old who has ensured the entire back tyre is made of the strips of a hundred chickens, and who looks more like a dad than the youth is comfortable with.
And even if he can step over these uncool horrors, and wants to buy a bike anyway, then that cabal of sexpests, liars and thieves who keep telling me they are my government, charges him more money than he’d pay for a medical degree, and forces him to ride some underpowered rubbish while wearing a fluoro-vest.
That’s not cool.
That’s bullshit.
It’s no wonder young people don’t want to ride.
Us old bastards have bought all the new bikes we’re ever going to buy. We’re only going to get older, and we’re going to start worrying about which nursing home we’re going to die in rather than hacksawing our exhaust can in half after drinking five beers in the shed one night.
You wanna save the bike industry?
You need to make riding bikes cool again.
And while ever we push that Safety First Last and Always paradigm, which is sautéed in a vile sauce of political correctness, virtue-signalling and blind compliance to the law no matter how stupid it is, that is never going to happen. D
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