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EDITORSPEAKS
Riding
I’D LIKE TO START by saying it was great that a number of you reacted to my editorial in #87. I wrote that to get you writing in to us! It did get the blood pumping in some of you, huh? The majority of emails I received were in agreement that this has been hyped up a bit too much. Check, ‘What Say You?” for some of the emails I received. What more than a bit of stimulation for those that have been stuck at home! LOL! But, in all seriousness the main issue I have sympathy for out of this virus are the many that have lost their jobs as a result. It is devastating. Sure, death is never good, but you have to admit it will come to all of us, in whatever way the lottery of life chooses it to be dealt. Now, on to riding…
I bet the majority of you have listened to the warnings about staying home and so on, the roads have been rather quiet, but I have seen a number of you out and about. One person I spoke to (keeping social distance, of course) said he was, “doing exercise”. I said it’s not really in the terms of what the authorities might class as exercise but in terms of not going mad sitting around the house, it was a great stress reliever he agreed. If restrictions are still in place by the time you read this, think about taking the bike to get some bread and milk. Any kind of ride is a good ride. I hope once the restrictions in place are lifted you all get out and do those rides you’ve always thought of. Just do it, is what I say to you. Plan that trip, whether it be in Australia or overseas
to an amazing destination doing a tour with one of our great advertisers…just do it. You probably noticed a number of travel advertisers have had to suspend their advertising for the moment. It is more than understandable, but some tour operators have a different approach and one that I think is smart thinking –brand awareness. It is to remain in the minds of those reading the magazine. People will be sitting at home pondering getting back out on the bike and thinking about that trip they’ve always wanted to do. When it comes time to actually do that trip, the tour operators you’ve consistently seen over the months will be the ones that pop straight into your mind and ones you will probably book with. This issue is our yearly Adventure Touring feature. We have a number of excellent adventure machines tested and, as always, great adventures; which gets me onto the word, “adventure”. You might instantly think this relates to travelling on dirt, but adventures come in all forms. Some of the most memorable adventures I’ve had were created by the people, places and misadventures that happened on the trip. I can tell you, staying at five star hotels and living it up will fade away over time, the places you stayed at which might have had no heating, no hot water, the beer ran out, the time you or your mate ran out of fuel, or whatever are the ones you’ll be laughing about with your mates until you’re no longer living.
From all of us here at Australian Motorcyclist, we can’t wait to see you out on the road very shortly.
Enjoy!
Cheers, Stuart.
EXTENSION
Yamaha Motor Australia has introduced a three month warranty extension to give motorcycle customers added peace of mind in these uncertain times. The initiative has been introduced to ensure that customers who are unable to use their Yamaha products during the current period of enforced inactivity are not left disadvantaged.
The Three month Warranty Extension applies to all Motorcycle, Outboards and WaveRunner products and to these groups between 1 April and 30 June 2020:
• Existing warranty holders
• Warranties that expire within this period
• New models purchased within this period
TAKE THAT BACK
We reported not so long ago that Norton Motorcycles had closed down and not to expect another Norton again, especially after the amount ex-CEO, Stuart Garner owed and the general stink around the way he conducted the business. Well, the Indians may have come to save the day with Indian two-wheeler manufacturer,
TVS Motor Company acquiring Norton Motorcycles (UK) Ltd. The £16m acquisition comes as a historic move from TVS as it is poised to strengthen the India-based brand’s position in international markets. It marks TVS motorcycles’ entry into the mid and high-capacity premium bike market. The deal is a win for both parties. We can only hope TVS does produce Norton Motorcycles and not just ‘sit’ on the name.
MOVING FAST
It’s hard to predict how all the Covid-19 virus situation will play out. The
information of what we can and can’t do changes almost by the minute (it seems) and as we write this, NSW has allowed motorcyclists to ride again. Other States, such as SA and QLD, and of course, not forgetting those Northerners, NT have allowed motorcyclists to ride freely (to a point). Hopefully by the time you’re reading this other States have freed up restrictions.
CAFÉ TIME
Rush into your local Kawasaki dealer to grab an amazing 0.99% finance deal on their ‘Café’ range. Bikes included are the awesome,
Z900RS Café, W800 Café and Vulcan S Café. How do you like your ‘café’? Hurry as this deal won’t last long!
THE ONLY ONE
If it’s Adventure and uniqueness you’re looking for, this could be you! Whether it’s commuting to work, loading up with the essential grocery shopping, planning for
New Panigale V4: The Science of Speed
The Panigale V4 is reinvented, becoming faster and easier to ride and putting both professional and less expert riders at ease as they chase just one goal – to beat the clock. Every element of the new Panigale V4 serves to heighten its performance and aerodynamics, allowing for full exploitation of the engine, brakes and chassis, as well as guaranteeing the rider optimum protection. With the S version, the Panigale V4 adopts electronically controlled Öhlins suspension and steering damper based on the second-generation Öhlins Smart EC 2.0 system, Marchesini aluminium forged wheels, a lithium ion battery, sports-style hand grips and a black mudguard.
The new Panigale V4: the king of Ducati Superbikes.
weekend getaways or exploring this great land of ours (once current restrictions are lifted), Ural sidecars are becoming increasingly popular as an adventure lifestyle motorcycle choice, feeling right at home on the dirt and just as comfortable on the tarmac. Plus, they’re the only three-wheeled adventurer on the market.
The all-new 2020 Ural Adventure is out now. Priced at $30,750 + ORC, jump onto www.imz-ural.com.au and check out the entire range.
COVID BUSTER!
Classic auctions continue at Shannons with the announcement of an innovatively timed on-line auction of around 100 Classic vehicles, memorabilia and number plates.
The auction replaces Shannons showroom auctions originally scheduled for Melbourne and Sydney during May. Bidding Online will open on May 20, with final bids closing two weeks later on June 3.
All lots are located at either Shannons Sydney or Melbourne showrooms, but are being brought together by the Online Auction.
They include 47 cars, seven motorcycles, 25 memorabilia lots and 22 Victorian and New South Wales black and white numerical Heritage number plates.
All auction items can now be previewed at www.shannons.com.au with walkaround videos of each car lot posted, along with more than 20 static
images, lots of details and individual vehicle history. As with live Shannons auction, pre-inspection reports will be produced for all cars and posted to the Shannons website.
Those interested in more specific details of any lot can also contact Shannons auction advisors to view a personal, real-time virtual video tour.
“We are offering a new and exciting development of our Classic Auction business,” said Shannons National Auction Manager, Christophe Boribon.
“We pioneered Classic Vehicle Auctions in Australia nearly 40 years ago and we remain its key player today,” he said. “Enthusiasts look to us for leadership and with our online concept in these different times, we are delivering.
“The new Virtual Tour option is a perfect example. If you have a particular interest in any lot, or lots, you can
inspect it by Facetime video or another platform in real time, while asking question of the Shannons Auction Team member you are dealing with.
“More than 30 per cent of all our auction lots today are purchased sight unseen by phone and internet bidders, so in reality this is an exciting development for all enthusiasts, who could be anywhere in Australia, or overseas.”
For more details of Shannons Online Classic Auction lots, visit www.shannons.com.au . For further information, or to arrange a virtual video tour or inspection appointment of any specific lot, contact the Melbourne or Sydney auction teams on 13 4646 (Option 6), or by email on auctions@shannons.com.au .
Alternatively contact the team directly: Melbourne: (03) 8588 0809 Sydney: (02) 8019 4180 D
#GO ADVENTURE
KTM 390 ADVENTURE
ADVENTURE MORE
Fuel your restless spirit with a new adventure every day. Discover KTM’s sporty attitude and proven performance credentials aboard this new, compact single-cylinder travel-enduro machine –the KTM 390 ADVENTURE. Versatile ergonomics, smooth power delivery, and innovative technology all come together in a comfortable, lightweight package – created for those who want to fit more adventure into their daily lives. See your local authorised KTM dealer for a test ride today.
KTM 790Adventure R
IF YOU’VE RIDDEN a KTM
before you’ll know they’re normally a little more ‘hardcore’ or raw than their competition and I was expecting a similar experience when I got hold of the 790 Adventure R. How that all changed when I fi red up the 790 and rode off…
Rather than creating that rawness, KTM has produced a premium adventure tourer that rides extremely well to the dirt and on it. They have realised you have to ride on the bitumen to get to the dirt and then once you get to the dirt it needs to behave just like a KTM is supposed to. This can be a hard combo to get right, but they did it. You will read further on in this issue about Ralph’s view on the road-biased 790 Adventure, but I headed up Bells Line of Road out of Sydney and into the dirt out the back of Bilpin.
When you first look at the 790 Adv R you’ll notice the two big bulges placed down low on either side, I initially thought it could have been some kind of fairing, but upon closer look it’s the fuel tank. Harking back to the 990 Adv R with its twin fuel tanks, the 790 R has the low slung fuel tank to lower the centre of gravity – essential for great handling off-road.
With the main volume of the tank placed as low as possible, the 790 is also narrow in the knee area when standing and provides great control, and, at the same time, the fuel tank design allows for a straighter seat, giving you additional freedom to
move. It also helps to keep the seat relatively low, making the new bikes accessible to shorter riders without compromising on the ground clearance needed for great off-road performance. Fuel capacity is 20 litres and with my average of 5.06L/100km you can expect around (or just under) the 400km mark. This makes a great adventure range and if you go deep outback you can carry a jerry can and spend long days between servos.
- one driven off the crank and the other off the exhaust camshaft, to smooth out the initial throttle response, and the result is silky smooth power the second you crack open the gas.
numbers for a road/off-
refined as the 790
The engine is mounted as a stressed member of the chassis and runs an “LC8c” eight-valve, DOHC, 799cc, parallel-twin, four-stroke that first saw action in the KTM 790 Duke. 70kW of power and 89Nm of torque are excellent numbers for a road/offroad combo and as refined as the 790 Adv R is in the bottom part of the rev range, one KTM trait that has been retained is the strong pulling power KTM bikes are renowned for in the top end.
The 790 runs twin balancer shafts
The six-speed gearbox is matched to the KTM Quickshifter+ unit (one of the best in the business) for clutchless up and downshifts, with KTM fitting the same Power Assisted Slipper Clutch (PASC) seen in the larger LC8 motors like the 1090s. The clutch itself is cable operated rather than hydraulic, simply because you can fix a clutch cable in the middle of nowhere easily as opposed to a hydraulic unit—and the
PASC system doesn’t need one, anyway.
One area that adventure riders will be pleased with is the air filter, which now takes about two minutes to change. The airbox is located under the seat and the intake is at the rear of the chassis - simply take the seat off, undo the top cover and the air filter is out. Ideal for the insane fine red powder which clogs everything up when you head into the outback.
Turn-in is light and stable – very easy to punt hard on the bitumen and then light and flickable on the dirt – this size of adventure bike really does do away with the need for a big boy adventurer, as you can do so much more. If you get to a technical section that will require every last bit of your expertise to get you through, a lighter adventure bike like this and others in the same market open up the possibility for less experienced adventurers being able to travel to more places.
In typical KTM fashion, the 790 Adventure R’s chassis and subframe are tubular steel units with the shock mounted at 45° compared to the near straight up/down shock of a 1090 R. That gives the engineers the ability to lower the seat to a starting point of 880mm which can be changed with different accessory seats.
The KTM doesn’t run electronically-adjustable forks like the ones on the BMW F 850 GS Adventure, instead preferring the mechanically adjusted WP XPLOR fork and WP APEX PDS shock.
This is the first time the XPLOR fork has been used in a production KTM. At 48mm, it’s fully adjustable and gives 240mm of wheel travel. This fork first saw use in proper rally racing, with development riders like KTM USA’s Quinn Cody and Spanish Dakar legend Jordi Villadoms tasked with the job of developing it for public use.
Unlike the WP AER air forks currently in use on the KTM motocross machines, the XPLOR fork is a spring unit with
Riding the Adv v Adv R
I was lucky enough to do a back-toback ride of the Adv and Adv R and if I was spending the money I would certainly opt for the R version – it feels so much better on and off road. You have to muscle the Adv into a corner, whereas it is near effortless on the R. I also preferred the flat seat on the R which is quite comfortable too.
compression and rebound circuits separated into the left (comp) and right (rebound) fork legs. The frontend also houses a non-adjustable WP steering damper.
At the rear, the APEX PDS shock also has 240mm of wheel travel and is fully adjustable with separate high and low-speed rebound and compression damping circuits. The shock lies at near 45° and mounts directly to the swingarm, with a wheelbase of 1528mm. Being the PDS system that first saw use in the 1090 R, the shock doesn’t need to run linkages, with bottoming resistance provided by a second piston working together with a closed cup at the end of the stroke, supported by a progressive rate spring.
The spoked, tubeless wheels are 21-inch up front and 18-inch at the rear – the perfect combo for adventure riding.
Brakes are dual radial-mounted four-piston calipers clamping down on 320mm discs up front and a twin-piston caliper biting a 260mm disc at the back. KTM is using their own Cornering ABS that’s lean angle sensitive and switchable on the 790.
Ergonomics-wise the 790 Adventure R can be altered almost to your heart’s content. Change up the seats (as mentioned) and the top triple clamp has six different mounting points for the handlebar, allowing you to move positions across 30mm, the standing position did feel a little cramped for me, but would be almost on the money for shorter riders.
The 790 R runs a bash plate as standard, as well as hand guards and tank shrouds, although there’s plenty more protection in the KTM PowerParts catalog.
Like every new bike these days electronics play a massive role in how the 790 Adventure R performs. Via the TFT dash, the 790 Adventure R rider gets all the modes as standard in Street, Off-Road, Rain and Rally, a first for any KTM adventure machine.
In all but Rally mode, you cannot
independently vary the Motorcycle Traction Control (MTC) system intervention. The MTC is lean angle sensitive, intervening when rear wheel slippage falls outside a certain parameter for a given lean angle. Street mode will give you the most direct throttle response, a medium level of MTC intervention and lean angle sensitive/Cornering ABS; Off Road gives a slightly softer throttle response, disengages the antiwheelie and lean angle sensitive ABS on the rear wheel and provides less TC intervention to allow you to slide and drift; Rain mode gives full MTC and lean angle sensitive/Cornering intervention, a light throttle response and reduces peak power.
KTM 790 ADVENTURE
PRICE: $22,695 (plus on-road charges)
WARRANTY: Two years, unlimited distance
As mentioned, this is the first KTM adventure machine to come with the new Rally mode, which allows you to get into the menu and independently vary traction control on the fly (from off (zero) to the maximum intervention of level nine).
Through Rally mode, you can also vary the specific throttle responseStreet, Off-Road or the separate Rally map, which gives a more aggressive throttle response compared to OffRoad. Like Off-Road mode, Rally mode also disengages lean angle sensitive ABS and allows you to lock the rear wheel while having ABS on the front - or you can switch the system off entirely and do skids all day long. In Rally mode, you can make the bike as soft or as aggressive as you want. Like Road throttle with no MTC or ABS? Go for it. Like Off-Road throttle with level 5 MTC and Off-Road ABS? Rally mode lets you do that.
You do get a 12V socket for charging devices (although not a USB port) but one thing that should be standard (and isn’t), is cruise control.
KTM PowerParts (their accessory line) is very much focussed on the job at hand – performance and travel.
KTM call the 790 Adventure R, “the most travel capable off-road bike” and you know, it’s pretty bloody close to that title. D
BRAKES: Front, twin 320mm discs with radial mount four-piston switchable ABS calipers. Rear, 260mm disc, two-piston switchable ABS caliper.
FUEL CONSUMPTION: 5.06 litres per 100km, premium unleaded
THEORETICAL RANGE: 395km
COLOURS: White/Black/Orange
VERDICT: REFINED
HARDCORE TRAVELLER
Sliders
BERTRAND “The Frog”
CADART
WORDS the bear PHOTOS from all over
IF BERTRAND CADART had been a little less annoying, I would not be writing this now. The musical tastes of the Pacific islands would not be what they are, Mad Max would have been a different film, and Bertrand would almost certainly not have been awarded the Chevalier de L’ordre National du Mérite, an order reserved for those with distinguished military or civil achievements who are not French citizens and therefore not normally entitled to the Legion of Honour.
Talk about irony.
I wonder if his commanding officer in New Caledonia, where Bertrand served as a French Marine back in the ‘70s, was still alive to see that Knighthood being awarded. It was this officer who made sure that Bertrand was in the brig for insubordination or something like it when his unit was shipped back to France, leaving him stranded in the Pacific when he’d done his time.
Never one to bemoan his lot, Bertrand with a comrade bought an ex-MP BMW bike in Nouméa and took ship to the nearest major landmass, Australia. As a schoolboy he had bribed his father’s gamekeeper to let him ride the man’s Torrot motorcycle in secret, and he was keen to revisit the experience. The idea was to ride the bike back to France, no doubt with the expectation of riotous good times along the way.
Australia got in the way of the journey but not of the riotous good
1. Even after he moved to the Sunshine Coast, Mad Max fans found Bertrand. Here’s one with a beautifully restored version of the bikes from the film.
2. Bertrand and I on one of our tours, The Murray Meander.
3. On the veranda of King Ludwig’s Bavarian Restaurant and Beer Bar in Maleny, solving the problems of the world for one last time.
times. A job at Radio Australia came along, where he became the voice of this country to the francophone Pacific and where he played the music of Australian performers like Renée Geyer and Margret Roadknight and shaped an entire musical culture.
He also met wife-to-be Paula, who supported him when he decided that motorcycling was more interesting than radio, and began designing and making his iconic La Parisienne bike fairings. The OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) were not making faired motorcycles in any numbers and Bertrand set up to serve the same market that his contemporary Craig Vetter in the US was beginning to supply. In the process he met another bloke who was to be a large part of his life, South African immigrant and gifted engineer Jakobus “Jack” Burger. Jack, who created the unforgettable JAB Gearsack luggage, designed and made the frames which allowed Bertrand’s fairings to fit a multitude of motorcycles.
As usual, Bertrand was not one to hide his light under any kind of bushel. The logo of La Parisienne was a beret-wearing frog and its ‘official’ colours were eye-searing green and yellow metalflake. Jack and Bertrand raced, supported race teams and generally threw themselves into the already colourful and hectic Melbourne motorcycle scene.
Bertrand never stopped learning, even if his personality sometimes seemed simply too large and all-enveloping for there to be room for anything more. He even learned patience from the more sedate Jack Burger.
“Once the bike we were riding broke down,” Bertrand told me in
1.Two wise men: Jack Burger and Bertrand.
2. A couple of snaps of one of the Japanese fans who travelled all the way to Bicheno to visit Clunk.
3. Bertrand’s carer Josefina, grandson Murphy and the man himself.
his unmistakable French accent. “I got off all ready to start troubleshooting, but Jack took a bottle of beer out of the pannier, knocked the top off it and sat down on the embankment by the road. ‘First we have a drink and relax,’ he said. It was an excellent lesson.”
When George Miller, then an unknown with a film script, walked into the La Parisienne factory he could not have come to a better place. Not only did Bertrand and Jack set up the bikes for the film, but they gave Mad Max an unmistakable look. Bertrand even took on a role in the film as the intellectually challenged bikie, Clunk. I asked him once how he’d come to play someone with that kind of disability, and he thought for a moment. “Maybe it was my accent?”
Bertrand lived in Australia for some 47 years, but he never lost that accent. I often teased him about it, claiming that as he got more drunk the accent faded away. It wasn’t true, but I couldn’t let him be the only one who annoyed people.
He didn’t come into his own with his capacity to annoy those who deserved it until he had settled in Tasmania, quite a few years later, but even when I met him in the early ‘80s he took no prisoners among the hypocrites and the arrogant. He’d had a horrific bike crash, spent a long time in hospital and subsequently lost La Parisienne but the weekly Scrabble nights at his and Paula’s place were always fun for Mrs Bear and me, newly moved to Melbourne and without a social network. He was a social network all by himself.
The all-enveloping hospitality Bertrand showed us was an essential part of his nature, something he never lost through all the years I knew him. Some of them were tough years. By now he and Paula had two children, Anne-France and Mathieu.
– I don’t recall what it was – with blocks on the footpegs and other ‘safety features’ and brought Anne-France to the BIKE Australia Rally at Genoa, in Gippsland, at the age of four. I don’t know if that had anything to do with developing AnneFrance’s take-no-prisoners attitude, but she is doing her father proud to this day.
Bertrand changed motorcycles frequently and acted as Australian agent for several prestigious French brands including Moto Martin and the Fournales shock absorbers he represented until his death. But it was aboard a newly-bought stock standard six-cylinder Kawasaki that he performed one of his most outstanding feats. He had moved to Paula’s home town of Geelong, and managed to accrue so many points for speeding on his ride home from Melbourne on the freeway that he lost his license – on the one trip.
Another memorable ride was from Melbourne to Sydney with me on my Kawasaki Turbo and Bertrand on his Suzuki GR650 – he wasn’t flush and they were cheap because nobody
the Snowy Mountains. I was waiting for him at one of the dams and he appeared with smoke billowing from the front brake. He’d been braking so hard that he had set the brake pads on fire.
The move to Tasmania was a classic case of cherchez la femme. Bertrand and Paula were no longer together, and he followed a woman to Bicheno. The relationship didn’t work out – I never pressed him for a reason – but he fell in love with the east coast. Unfortunately that wasn’t quite enough, at least at fi rst; Bertrand missed his friends and fell into depression until Anne-France, who visited him when she could, had had enough. She told him to pull himself together.
That was all it took to set Bertrand on the path to becoming possibly Australia’s best-known small town politician. He became involved in local government, was elected mayor and set about re-casting the Glamorgan Spring Bay local government area in his own image. He made Bicheno Australia’s first motorcycle-friendly
Bertrand lived in Australia for some
seat of his bike – I don’t recall what
took the road through
The leukemia tried in vain to attack Bertrand’s joie de vivre. He introduced me to these insane burgers.
the mayoral car for a 600cc scooter initially lent to him by fellow Taswegian Stuart Strickland at Honda MPE, built a petanque court in the municipality and proceeded to turn Tasmania’s conservative politics on its head. He ran for the unwinnable seat of Lyons for the Liberal Party, and did everything he could to link his new home with the country of his birth. He waded ashore in tight white leggings and a red coat as Bruny d’Entrecasteaux (I think) in a reenactment of French landings in Tasmania and was instrumental in a number of French television specials focusing on Tasmania, New Caledonia and of course, not least, himself.
The scooter was the cause of a wonderful conversation at a State function in Hobart. A senior policeman took Bertrand aside.
of a wonderful at are they
“You know, we are having a lot of work-related injury claims up on the northeast coast,” he said, or words to that effect. “Officers are dislocating their necks as they look the other way when a certain motor scooter goes past.” Bertrand took the hint. Somewhat and some of the time.
Mad Max continued to be part of his life. Every now and then, the door of his shop in Bicheno would open to admit a fan. Most of them were middle-aged Japanese men who had come to pay their respects to Clunk, a character considered especially significant in Japan.
Unfortunately (or maybe not), Bertrand really annoyed a lot of his more conservative and curmudgeonly constituents, among other things when he called them “the most bogan of bogans”, and the pendulum swung a long way in the other direction when
he left the council and Tasmania after he developed leukemia. He moved to Queensland to be close to his kids and Murphy, his grandson.
“They are trying to reverse everything I did in Glamorgan Spring Bay,” he told me rather sadly. But he wasn’t finished annoying people. Even as he slipped into the last few months of his life, he stood in the federal election for the seat of Fairfax for the Liberal Democratic Party, a move which got up the noses of some of his best friends.
With his carer Josefina in tow, Bertrand powered on through the leukemia and the treatment which knocked him around, even staging a living wake for French television. He died just short of his 71st birthday. Bertrand was a wonderful friend and always larger than life. This is notan-obituary because I somehow can’t think of him as dead. D
1. Cadart Racing, in the days when tents served as pit stops and you could get away with those colours.
2. A still from Mad Max showing Bertrand in character as Clunk, signed to Mrs Bear and me.
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YAMAHATénéré 700
It’s a no-brainer WORDS STUART PHOTOS NICK WOOD CREATIVE
BACK IN ISSUE #83 Ralph went on the launch of the highly anticipated Yamaha Ténéré 700 and I couldn’t wait to get hold of one and take it on ‘my loop’ out the back of Lithgow to see if the hype matches reality. The Ténéré 700 certainly looks the part – straight off the start line at Dakar and with Yamaha fitting up a brand spanker set of aggressive motocross knobbies. I was set to cultivate lots of dirt.
Set at 880mm, the seat height is about right for an adventure bike. I reckon anywhere from 860-900mm is perfect as you want loads of ground clearance and suspension travel – the Ténéré has both at 240mm ground clearance and 210mm F / 200mm R travel. This could make the seat height a little hard to handle for those with short legs, unless you get the accessory low seat (20mm lower) and low rear shock dog bones (18mm lower), but the Ténéré’s seating position feels low and spacious while riding with the high set tapered handlebar.
I found the Ténéré extremely roomy and simply awesome for stand-up riding when the trails get rough. I could position myself for any type of terrain I came across and be comfortable dealing with it. In fact, I could go so far to say the Ténéré 700 is one of the best handling adventure bikes I’ve ridden. Never have I been so comfortable that I could consistently power slide out of corner after corner and not feel like I was going to
end up on a gurney. The standard suspension settings are pretty much on the money. For my size I’d try another turn of preload in the rear, but to put things into perspective, legend Stephen Gall rode this exact bike recently at a Ténéré Tragics event and after playing with the suspension settings, reverted back to standard and found them perfect. Mr Gall is a lot more ‘lean’ than I am though. LOL!
Housed in the frame is the ultrafun, MT-07 derived ‘CP2’ parallel twin. Built with a 270-degree firing order there’s plenty of
of very useable torque. I knew this engine would be perfect for an adventure bike and I was right. Rev it, load it up, whatever, it loves it! Handling with aggressive knobbies is average on bitumen (no matter the bike), but aside from this, the Ténéré is light and easy to manoeuvre. But on the dirt is where this bike shines. My only gripe with the Ténéré is a small one and to many, not really one to be concerned about. It is that the Dakar styled instrument panel vibrates quite a lot. I love the styling though and how it is set up high and I also love that Yamaha
bar above the instrument panel for fitment of a GPS (or whatever you like).
In terms of comfort I could ride the Ténéré all day, this has a lot to do with how roomy the bike is, but also the Ténéré has (what I class as) one of the best screens on the market. Most adventure bike screens will cause some buffeting to a peaked helmet, but the Ténéré is smooth as silk. Funny, because the screen looks like a straight up and down piece of Perspex.
The bike I rode had a number of accessories fitted to it – all enhancing the adventure experience. They included…
muffler
Headlight guard $172.70 Tank pad
Bark Busters
GYTR clutch lever
GYTR brake lever
Pro Taper grips
$39.94
$171.90
$151.00
$188.27
$19.95
Mono Seat Rack $308.10
This leaves the front seat standard but the rear passenger section replaced with the accessory “mono seat rack”. It’s removed via the lock as per pillion seat removal.
Whenever you ride a motorcycle on dirt roads/trails (especially in the Outback) in Australia you need to clean the air filter. With most adventure bikes it can be a right pain to access this, but on the Ténéré it’s easy as – simply undo two allen head bolts to remove the front seat and there it is. The air filter access is right under that front seat section. For $72 you can get an accessory GYTR foam filter that’s washable and reuseable – perfect!
Two other accessories I would personally recommend that weren’t
Photo by Barnabas Imre
test
fitted to this bike are the Side Protection Grip Pads for better control standing up while braking and the Rally Seat so there’s even more room to move around standing and sitting.
One thing you never want to think about with a bike you own is how it will crash, but riding off-road the risk goes up that you could easily fall off, or have your bike slide into the bush. With the accessory skid plate and Barkbusters I reckon the left-hand side of the Ténéré will easily handle a simple fall, the right-hand side could be another story as the water pump and hoses are a little exposed, but a set of engine guards would fix that up quick smart. I also reckon someone in the aftermarket world will make a little guard to protect this area.
There is a reason the new Yamaha Ténéré 700 has become the number one seller in this country already –it’s priced right and it’s the perfect Aussie Bush Basher for every adventure you could think of. If I was to buy an adventure bike – this is the one I’d pick. D
FUEL CONSUMPTION: 4.86 litres per 100km, premium unleaded
THEORETICAL RANGE: 329km
COLOURS: Ceramic Ice, Power Black, Competition White
VERDICT:YOU NEED ONE
Gotta have the gear
COMPILED BY STUART
YAdventuring?
OU’VE GOT THE bike, now you’ve got to have the gear. This can be kitting yourself out with kit head to toe, but don’t forget the bike needs some kit too. Check out what the distributors of fine adventure gear want you to know about…
ROCKY CREEK DESIGNS
rockycreeksdesigns.com.au
MotoPressor Pocket Pump - $49.95
Still the same fast little pump with features including: CE Approval –this means it comes with a 5-year warranty. Chuck is “screw” on – this ensures no leakage when filling, 2m cable length, pumps up to 32 psi in under 4 minutes. Packs small so it can fit anywhere, your pocket, your pannier or under your seat. This is Rocky Creek’s most popular and best-selling item, EVER. See for yourself why adventure riders love this pump!
PA013 SAE to Dual USB port adapter and Voltmeter - $39.95
Hook the charger up to your battery and you have two USB charging ports AND a voltmeter. Most
importantly this unit has an ON/ OFF switch so when you’re not riding, turn the unit OFF and you won’t drain your battery.
Comes with a 1m long SAE to SAE lead and a mirror mount. The charger outputs a total of 5V/4.8A to two USB ports. When the adapter is plugged in and powered ON, it will display the voltage of your battery. The USB charging ports will supply enough power to charge a phone, tablet and GPS etc.
MOTORRAD GARAGE
motorradgrage.com.au
SW-Motech PRO Tank Bags and Tank Rings – From $182
Due to be released in May, the PRO Tank Bag range is sure to impress with looks, features and functionality. The PRO range includes sizes from 3-22 litres and most bags attach to motorcycle tanks via the patented PRO tank ring, which uses a mechanical snap lock. The range also includes a strap-on and a magnetic version.
Motorrad Garage Tyre Repair Kit - $39.95
This comprehensive motorcycle tyre repair kit is a must have accessory for all riders.
It includes everything you need to repair tubed and tubeless tyres including patches, glue, tubeless repair cords, CO2 canisters
and regulator, and even some instructions.
All of this is packed into a compact nylon carry bag for easy storage under your seat, in your tank bag, or even in your pocket.
BMW MOTORRAD
bmw-motorrad.com.au
Rallye Jacket - $1320
Ready to take on any challenge, the BMW Rallye Jacket is made of abrasion-resistant ProTechWool on the outside and elastic, breathable mesh lining inside. The watertight insert can be worn either under or over the jacket for optimum protection from rain, wind and dirt. A true globetrotter’s jacket, it contains a range of internal, external and waterproof pockets in an array of sizes - so you can store
SPECIAL FEATURE Adventure
everything you need on your next adventure.
Rallye Pants -
$1050
Stay dry and comfortable in the BMW Rallye Pants, no matter where your journey takes you. The elastic inserts provide maximum
flexibility, and the long leather trim on the interior of the knee provides secure grip during off-road riding. The wind and waterproof BMW Climate Membrane insert contains advanced comfort mapping – with membrane qualities matched to different areas of the body. With adjustable NP2 protectors on the knees and hips, stay comfortable and protected.
Rallye Gloves - $140
The BMW Rallye Gloves are designed for off-road use and hot weather. With an elastic and breathable material blend, and advanced leather and foam cushioning under the knuckle hard shell, they provide optimal protection with maximum comfort for all day riding.
GS Pro Boots - $590
Going off-road means making no compromises. And you certainly won’t be making any with these high quality, offroad enduro boots made of 100% full-grain leather. They’re fitted with a removable padded inner boot, and have an articulated ankle joint for comfort and
you certainly won’t be offroad enduro boots
LAKE BLUE GRANITE BLACK GRAVEL GREY SNOW WHITE ROCK RED SLEET
protection. Take on your next adventure with a form-fitting calf and shin protector, plastic heel and toe reinforcements and soft, smooth cuff around the boot that helps keep dirt out.
GS Carbon Helmet$900 - $1000
The GS Carbon Helmet has a sleek design worthy of the off-road scene that inspired it. A carbon shell and integrated BMW neck strap offer maximum rider safety. The sun shield and aerodynamic spoiler, optimised in a wind tunnel provide the comfort to match. There are two helmet shell sizes available, ensuring you have outstanding impact absorption and safety performance. The helmet is also compatible with BMW Motorrad communication systems to keep you connected.
KENMA kenma.com.au
Ventura EVO-60 Jet Stream Kit - $579
Ventura EVO-60 Touring Kits are perfect for longer trips with a generous 60 litre capacity. Release the two quick-release buckles securing the bag, slide it off and you are left with a flat rack making the EVO kits a great choice for modern adventure bikes.
Extremely versatile and ideal for all occasions, the expandable pack will easily fit a helmet and is moulded to hold its shape when empty, features
four external and one internal pockets, durable ballistic fabric, front and top carry handles, double slider
zips with rubberized tabs for ease of use with gloves, stylish reflective piping and quick release buckles for secure fast fitting. Pack dimensions H 60cm W 43cm L 35cm.
Ventura Seti-Moto Seat Bag - $109
The Seti-Moto is a semi-moulded bag designed to sit on the pillion seat. The Seti-moto Seat Bag is a great and simple luggage option. You can fit it easily and quickly to take advantage of the large 11L capacity. This bag will more than adequately hold some shoes, some clothing and a few other essentials for your next trip. Dimensions: 13.2” x 8.9” x 9.7”
Grypp Cargol Tubeless
Puncture Repair Kit - $79
Be prepared, get a Cargol tubeless
puncture repair kit right now before you head out on your next adventure. Cargol GK013 includes heavy duty tools & pouch, Cargol Turn & Go plugs, rope plugs, and
three CO2 bottles with straight and 90 degree adaptors. Get yourself off the side of the road faster and safely back on the road again with this great Cargol combo kit. CASSONS
cassons.com.au
Arai XD-4 - From $799.95, ($899.95 Model Shown)
The XD-4 must be one of the most versatile helmets ever: adventure, grand touring or off road, and without the peak looks pretty good on a naked bike too! No matter the riding conditions, the XD-4 is ready for it. Can be used without visor with goggles, without peak but with visor, any way that suits you.
SPECIAL FEATURE Adventure
Bell Helmets MX-9 Adventure MIPS - From $349.95 ($379.95 for model shown)
From the roughest singletrack to urban blacktop, the MX-9 Adventure MIPS helps get you there with protection and style. They’ve taken the MX-9 and added even more capability with an integrated antifog, anti-scratch faceshield. The
shield flips up and has enough room for goggles in extreme conditions, or it can be removed completely. Conversely, the adjustable visor can be removed for a stealth street look. MIPS protection, Velocity Flow ventilation, and a removable, washable, anti-microbial liner round out a highly adaptable package.
OGIO Dakar 3L - $179.95
Packed with 100 oz. bladder and loads of storage space, the Dakar 3L Hydration Pack delivers streamlined organisation in one easy-to-carry pack. Other features include a dedicated anti-sloshing hydration
bladder compartment with hook and loop secure strap for holding bladder in place and tube channel port, top fill closure and anti-slosh stabilising handle for easy fill and cleaning, insulated cooler fabric lining that keeps liquid cold for 30% longer, large front compartment for storing extra gear and accessories, upper zippered felt-lined electronics pocket for security and protection, expandable front storage pocket with protective EVA moulded armour and air ventilation for large gear, one expandable and one zippered side mesh pocket, ergonomic padded back with directional air flow, multiadjust harness system. Measures 44.5cm H x 25.4cm W x 20cm D + 12 L (includes bladder) + 929g.
Gaerne G-Adventure
Aquatech Boots - $329.95
Gaerne’s G-Adventure boots were designed with the adventure touring, dual sport and ATV rider in mind. They will keep your feet dry with their waterproof and breathable all weather membrane, while their full grain leather construction will provide a comfortable fit and long lasting wear. Available in Sizes 41-48 Euro, 7-13 US. Made in Italy for superb quality.
Leatt 2020 GPX 5.5
Neck Brace - $619.95
Made of reinforced polyamide, the GPX 5.5’s rigid, non-flexible structure offers revolutionary
protection and has been improved over the years to be very comfortable. Leatt neck braces are tested and
proven to help reduce neck forces and thereby your risk of a serious neck injury by up to 47%. Designed to fit all riders comfortably, the chassis is fully adjustable whilst the structure remains rigid during a crash. It has an engineered collarbone cut-out to help keep your helmet and brace away from your most fragile bones during a crash.
SUZUKI
suzukimotorcycles.com.au or your local dealer
Suzuki Tank Bag –Large - $339
Durable nylon tank bag affixes to the tank with a snap-on ring. Bag removes with a simple pull of the release cord. Large bag expands
→ bmw-motorrad.com.au/r1250gs Experience the superior benefits of a BMW GS Boxer, with the all new BMW ShiftCam engine. The variable camshaft ensures optimised power delivery – in both high and low engine speed ranges. Leave others in the dust with next level performance, all whilst enjoying the benefits of class-leading connectivity and functionality.
from 11 to 15 litres and includes a rain cover and shoulder strap for convenient carrying. Optional Map Case: 990D0-04605 easily attaches to either bag and features a transparent front for hassle-free reading. Requires Ring Fixation: 990D0-04110.
Suzuki Tank Bag – Small - $229
Durable nylon tank bag affixes to the tank with a snap-on ring. Bag removes with a simple pull of the release cord.It includes a rain cover and shoulder strap for convenient carrying and has capacity of 5 litres, extending to 9 litres. Requires Ring Fixation: 990D0-04110.
ANDY STRAPZandystrapz.com or Ph: 03 9786 3445
Avduro Panniers - $475 a set plus freight. Add $50 for a pair of Linerz
Since their inception in 2003 Andy
Strapz panniers have evolved in line with the demands of modern Adventure riders. The name itself nods its lid to a mix of Enduro and Adventure.
Made in Melbourne from Andy’s tried and crashed, 17oz Aussie, Dynaproofed canvas, they are packed (pun intended, sorry) with new approaches to the existing features. The basics of the bags remain unchanged from those Andy made for himself all that time ago. If it ain’t broke…
Although the basics stood the test of time and Aussie riders, that doesn’t mean the nice little extras can’t be tweaked and improved. The side pockets are bigger with the rear closed via roll top. Front is the same mesh style of old but uses a special shock cord loop to prevent water bottles bouncing out under the most severe conditions.
Crashability, one of the key design briefs set by Andy, has also been improved by changing the side buckles to a low profile ‘ladder loc’ buckle.
Dust proof, highly water resistant (Andy’s Linerz make a 100% waterproof system) and most importantly 100% tough.
HELD BIKER FASHION
heldaustralia.com.au
Hamada Adventure Gloves - $145
Adventure / Enduro glove featuring
a Nyspan and microfibre back, Goatskin palm, colourfast and sweat-proof, upper hand lined in Coolmax from DuPont, Velcro adjustment at cuffs, air-vents on fingers, silicone-printed palms, visor wiper, hard plastic knuckle protection and ball of thumb underlaid with shock-absorbing foam. Available in a large range of sizes.
Molto Jacket - $650 –
Mention this feature and only pay $550!
Feature packed jacket made with Heros-Tec 500 Denier fabric, Gore-Tex Z-Liner, mesh lining, stretch panels at elbows, soft collar, height adjustable waist adjustment, Held Clip-in Technology, internal cellphone pocket, dual arm adjustment, map / document pocket, air-vent zippers, 2 waterproof external pockets, 1 inner pocket, connecting zip, special Ripstop material reinforcement on crash zones, optional EN 1621-2 back protector, reflective print, Velcro for optional chest protector and
exclusive EN 1621-1 CE-approved Held cloverleaf Sas-Tec shoulder and elbow protectors. Available in Black-white, Black-fluorescent yellow or Greyblack, and sizes S - 5XL. And it comes with a 5-year warranty.
TOURATECH touratech.com.au
Offset Handlebar Riser - $240.99
Touratech’s handlebar raisers provide riders with greater comfort and better control when touring on their BMW GS motorcycles. While the raisers increase the handlebar height by 35mm, they also bring the handlebars 20mm closer to the rider. This provides greater ergonomics for taller riders, as well as a much sportier riding style. So, say goodbye to back pain, and say hello to a more upright and comfortable riding position. The raisers are available for: BMW models R1250GS, R1250GS A, R1200GS, and R1200GSA.
KRIEGA kriega.com.au
Trail 9 Adventure backpack - $269
Kriega’s 2020 collection of bombproof motorcycle luggage and accessories for hardcore riders has arrived, kickstarting with the distinctive Trail 9 Adventure backpack. Priced at $269 and available in the choice of three striking colours (black, lime and orange), the Trail 9 Adventure backpack is a compact and convenient way to carry a nifty nine litres of gear via multiple compartments to store your stuff as you see fit. The main storage compartment carries four litres and uses a robust roll-top design to keep your
stuff clean and dry even in heavy downpours. A separate five-litre compartment can house a 2L, 3L or 3.75L hydration reservoir ($59, $75 and $85 respectively) or anything else that needs quick access via a YKK heavy-duty and water-resistant zipper.
The distinctive honeycomb net exterior is a Hypalon net that cleverly holds even more gear under tension via an elastic cord so you can dry wet clothing such as gloves, or air out your stinky socks.
The Trail 9 features a light version of Kriega’s proprietary Quadloc harness system as found on all its backpacks, which means it takes the weight off your back and shoulders and redistributes it to your chest and torso for all-day riding comfort, even with heavy loads. There’s also a removable waist strap for added stability.
If you need more space, then check out the Trail 9’s identical-looking bigger brother, the Trail 18 ($349) which, at 18 litres, is twice the size. As with all Kriega products, the Trail 9 Adventure backpack comes with an unmatched 10-year warranty.
M.A.P. Motorcycle Adventure Products
motorcycleadventure.com.au
e nduristan Blizzard s addle Bags - from $379
The Blizzard Saddle Bags feature an innovative shape, which will not restrict your movement while riding off road. If you lean to the rear
www.ausmotorcyclist.com.au
SPECIAL FEATURE Adventure
during steep descents, the bags will not interfere with your calves. The bags will not get entangled in the scrub, since there are no unnecessary straps on the outside of the bags, and you do not need a rack to mount theses bags. Last but not least, they are made of extremely durable 3-layer fabric, all straps are double stitched and the front straps’ buckles are good for up to 225kg.
KAWASAKI
kawasaki-motors.com.au or your local dealer
Long sleeve T-shirt - $45
Great 1005 cotton softness and comfort for everyday wear, utilising 155gsm, attractive green Kawasaki branding with featured honeycomb print across the chest, Kawasaki logo and branding on the lower back, Kawasaki logo and branding on the sleeve, cotton jersey and twin needle stitch for strong and neat finish. Adult sizes from Small - 3XL and Kids sizes from 04 – 14.
Hoodie - $69
Show off your true colours with this black Kawasaki Hoodie. Great softness and comfort for everyday wear, utilising 340gsm cotton polyester blend and featuring a Kangaroo pocket, attractive Plastisol print, Kawasaki logo across the back. Great for work or play on or off the track. Sizes from XS – 5XL.
PLEASE NOTE: Kwaka recommends that you select a size
1-2 sizes larger than usual as these hoodies are slightly undersized.
SCHUBERTH schuberth.com.au
E1 Helmet - $999
fog lens. The chin piece of the E1 can be swivelled up as a single piece together with the visor and shield. The shield can be fixed in three different positions. The visor can be used independently from the shield. Coolmax textiles provide a good climate on the inside of the helmet and transport moisture effectively away. This creates constantly a good climate and permanent cooling for the driver. The inner lining is ÖkoTex 100. It can be removed easily and can be washed.
The characteristics and functionality of a flip-up helmet combined with the looks and the feel of an adventure helmet. The E1 is available in sizes from XS to 3XL. This conforms to head circumferences from 52 to 65 centimetres. A complex air channel system on the inside of the helmet shell provides a comfortable air flow. The head aeration leads the air into the helmet for circulation. The visor aeration prevents the visor screen misting-up. The large regulatable auxiliary aeration on the chin piece gives you space to breathe on demanding tours. It adds fresh air by the litre when it really counts. All Schuberth visors comply with optical class 1. They warrant an undistorted view and are antiscratch treated. Turbulators for noise reduction on the visor edge. The visor mechanics allow a quick exchange completely without tools. Of course the E1 features an anti-
exchange completely without tools.
pendulum effect, lift, or buffeting and on top of it is extremely quiet. Apart from the adapted helmet shape, a spoiler is responsible for this
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GETTIN’ DIRTY
Burra’s, Lagoon’s and a Ferry WORDS STUART PHOTOS NICK WOOD CREATIVE
THIS DIRTY MAP is an awesome ride and one that I do quite regularly. In fact, if you do this ride you may well come across me testing an adventure bike. This is the perfect route for adventure machines so churn it up!
KURRAJONG
Kurrajong, the Aboriginal name for ‘shade tree’, which grew in abundance in the town, was settled around 1790. In earlier times the seeds of the trees were roasted as a coffee substitute.
Prior to 1823, attempts to cross the Blue Mountains had been unsuccessful until Archibald Bell followed some Aboriginal women who had been kidnapped by the
Springwood tribe.
Wheeny Creek runs through the Kurrajong area to the Colo River. The area was renowned for its orchards and a steam rail link was opened in 1926. This helped farmers to get their produce to the Sydney region.
The views from Kurrajong Village are spectacular, where you can see the Sydney Basin from Penrith to the city, the Harbour Bridge from Kurrajong Heights, and from Bilpin you can see the orchards, the beautiful rolling green hills intermingled with the rugged bush covered rocks and views of the Grose Valley.
Listen to the unique call of the bellbirds and the smell of clean refreshing air.
CRAGO OBSERVATORY
Crago Observatory is the ASNSW’s “local” dark sky observing site at Bowen Mountain set on 4 acres of Crown Land. Visitors are always welcome. There is no charge, but a gold coin donation is appreciated. Sky tours using the observatory telescope start around 1 hour after sunset and usually continue until midnight or later. They show visitors any visible planets as well as many deep-sky objects such as galaxies, nebulae and star clusters. When you arrive, park in the cul-desac at the end of Lieutenant Bowen Drive. Walk past the gate at the entrance to the fire trail and the observatory is located about 100m down the dirt road. For observing dates, check out: asnsw.com/
www.hemamaps.com.au
Starting out of Kurrajong jump onto Grose Vale Road and make your way to Bowen Mountain Road. Follow this to the end and turn right. A few hundred metres up you’ll be on Burralow Fire Trail (go around the rocks). When you get to the end, turn left, follow this road again and turn/veer left once you get to the Y intersection. You’re now on Patterson Range Fire Trail. Follow your nose north which will spit you out on Bells Line of Road at Bilpin. Turn left and head west.
About four kilometres along you need to turn right onto Mountain Lagoon Road. Follow the bitumen for a while and it will soon turn to dirt as you approach a small incline. You’re now on Mountain Lagoon Trail. Follow it to the Y intersection and veer left. This is Comleroy Road which you need to follow to the end and turn right. Follow Upper Colo Road all the way and just before you get to the bridge on the Putty Road, take the right turn which takes you onto the Putty Road. Turn right onto Putty Road and head back to civilisation (if you wish). As an alternative, longer and more enjoyable route, rather than taking the right turn onto Putty Road head under the bridge and continue on the dirt. This is now Lower Colo Road. Follow it to the end and turn left. This is West Portland Road which turns into Greens Road shortly afterwards. Follow this all the way to the end, turn right and jump on the ferry. This ferry operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week but ceases for scheduled maintenance on the first Tuesday of every month between 9am and 11am.
You’re now at Wisemans Ferry and it could be a good time for lunch and a cold drink. If you want to keep pressing on, jump onto Old Northern Road through the twisties and head back to civilisation from here.
node/745 . Observing is weather dependent. Check if observing will be going ahead on the Facebook page: facebook.com/CragoObs/.
BILPIN
A diversity of mountain scenery with great walls of sandstone and endless canyons, combined with charming orchards and fruit and veg stalls offering all local varieties of stone fruit in season and autumn apples. Visit local artisans in metalwork, ceramics, art, opals, wonderful dried flowers and woodwork, combined with numerous charming coffee stops all featuring homemade apple pies, jams, local honey and the proudly local made, Hillbilly Cider.
COLO
While for this route it is mainly just a landmark, the priority of your visit to Colo should be having a feed and a drink at Colo Riverside Café, about 100 metres across the bridge on the Putty Road.
LOWER PORTLAND
A peaceful hamlet mostly used by boat skiers. For this route, it is a landmark.
WISEMANS FERRY
Wiseman’s Ferry is the oldest ferry crossing still in operation in New South Wales. Surrounded by beautiful national parks Wisemans Ferry is a rustic village on one of Australia’s most famous waterways. Take one of the two ferries available across the sparkling Hawkesbury River to explore St Albans, the Hunter Valley and Gosford. Filled with Aboriginal and European history, the area’s heritage shops and famous pub make a great spot to relax on a getaway from the city. The nearby Dharug National Park contains 16 kilometres of the convict-built Old Great North Road that once connected Sydney and Newcastle. You can walk the first 1.6 kilometre section of the old road, and you used to be able to ride it, but it has long been closed to vehicles. D
Hotel homebush
THIS IS ALL SO BLOODY foreign to me - staying home every weekend or day-off.
It’s foreign to me to not hang with mates at the end of the day or at the gym where the losing battle is so regularly fought.
It’s foreign to me to head to the other side footpath when someone’s coming the other way rather than pausing as we pass and shooting the breeze for a bit.
It’s all damn foreign and I want to go home.
Problem is, I bloody AM at home! And there’s nowhere to go.
So, it’s totally fitting that the emotions that’re so novel (now there’s a word I’ve heard waaaay too much of) and foreign that we’re all feeling are best summed up by a foreign word. And that word is “Zugunruhe”
I’m suffering from it and if you’re not, I’m not sure what the hell you’re doing reading this magazine in the first place.
It’s pronounced ‘Tsoo –goon- rooha” and just why it’s not been picked up by some long-lunching light-bulb momenting man-bunned wunderkind who waltzes into the agency each morning in pants that are too short and socks that are not existent as a slogan for some type of bikes, preferably from Bavaria, is beyond me!
Because if John Hegarty - make that Sir John Hegarty - can be labelled a genius for plonking ‘‘Vorsprung durch Technik” on Audi cars throughout the English speaking world, why hasn’t some other knight-in-waiting tagged a bike – and I’m thinking adventure bikes - as being ‘Heilung fuer Zugunruhe’ … the cure for that thing you’re suffering from!
Runs off my tongue no less easily!
It was first used in 1804 by Johann Andreas Naumann, a German farmer and amateur naturalist who was so bloody good at his ornithological hobby that he had a thrush and a kestrel named after him. (More lasting than a knighthood!)
He was studying migratory birds and stapled together ‘Zug’ (meaning ‘migration’ or ‘move’) and ‘unruhe’ which can be translated as ‘anxiety’ or ‘restlessness’ to describe the activities and the obvious mindset of birds before they begin their circannual migrations and the state of trapped birds during their usual migration periods.
"In accordance with their inherited calendars, birds get an urge to move. When migratory birds are held in captivity, they hop about, flutter their wings and flit from perch to perch just as birds of the same species are migrating in the wild. The caged birds ‘know’
they should be travelling too…. Zugunruhe … is … an expression of the migratory instinct in birds,” wrote William Fiennes in “The Snow Geese”.
So Zugunruhe is pretty much translatable as ‘migration anxiety’ or ‘the frustration of wanderers when caged’ and if you just replace the ‘flittering’, the ‘fluttering’ and the ‘hopping about’ with ‘tinkering in the garage’ and ‘basically getting frustrated on the sofa’ you have the bike rider manifestation of the malady.
And it’s now been researched in non-migratory birds as well - and in some mammals. So, what you’re feeling – what we’re ALL feeling is totally natural.
And the only cure is for the cage to open and the wings to flap - for the garage shutter to go up and the right wrist twisted down.
What I’m going to be doing in these months when pit-lane’s closed, is highlight some bloody deserving places that should be on your migration path once the season’s been declared open and the days get longer.
Way back in the days BC (before Corona), when I had more energy and less time and needed to get from Sydney to Adelaide in two days, Balranald was often my overnight spot – sleeping rough beside the Murrumbidgee out at Yanga near the only blade tree I’ve come across with two sets of embedded shears. Then in the morning continuing the rush west.
Nowadays, with much fewer deadlines and a bit more sense, I take a bit more time and lot more detours and make sure I slow to smell the saltbush.
And when I get to Balranald I tend to turn north on the (all sealed) Ivanhoe Road. About 20kms there’s the entrance on the left to Paika Station. In 1899, in response to Sir Samuel McCaughey’s theft of water for irrigation upstream at Leeton, Paika became the birthplace of this country’s wetlands environmental protection activism.
Five km later and I’m pulling into the wide expanse out front of Penarie’s only building – the mysteriously named Homebush Hotel -- and park Super Ten just beside where the phone box
You’re welcome
In a land of faded colours, of vast swathes of land painted, seemingly, in Payne’s grey, it’s pubs like this that provide the vibrancy and colour. And they survive not because there’s bugger all else around and the nearest other pub is a long slalom ride, weaving through already road-kill and the soon-to-be. They live on out here because they’re hubs of their scattered communities and just as the tracks of sheep in the dry fields converge at the water troughs, the utes of the farmers make these pubs the centres of their social times.
And genuine places like this welcome the blow-in, the foreigner, the tourist and the traveller as long lost mates even on the first visit.
The Homebush is open every day and being in NSW, there’s food on whenever the doors (and serving window) are unlocked. And the tucker’s damn fine. Accommodation is 9 motel style air-conned rooms, 3 with double beds and the rest with singles. Rooms cost most folks 35 bucks a head, but it’s $5 less for people arriving on two wheels. There’s a million acres out the back where you can throw your tent or swag and the amenities are open 24/7. Just go easy on the water.
There’s also a huge covered bbq/camp kitchen with all the makings including a microwave where you can slide your ride under cover if it’s allergic to starlight.
For unique character this rates 5/5; Value is over 200 where 100 is decent and overall, with its discount for riders, it rates 5 helmets.
used to be, back from the pub beside the small green patch which buffers it from the main road.
You don't get much more ‘outback pub’ than this place and you don't get much more ‘outback publican’ than Nugget who runs the joint. Chances are he’ll be out the front talking with anyone who’s rocked up before you and rolling his umpteenth durry for the day. That’s unless he recognises you or you’re a local in which case he’ll have disappeared inside when your bike or car or ute or truck or B’Double or road train slipped off the tar and onto the dust, to pour your draught or grab your packaged preference.
And have it waiting for you where you usually sit. And you’ll drink it without paying until you’re ready for another and then slip Nugget some cash or a card and he’ll head back inside to do it all again. No-one’s a foreigner here.
Only other bloke there last time I fronted was Dale who works, pretty much like anyone else who doesn't work on-farm out here, at the firewood factory a bit up the road toward Ivanhoe.
Working only with hardwood, mainly Jarrah and Red Gum, the place sends out up to 7 B-doubles a day when they’re going flat chat. The mill’s story reflects the progress out this way. The first big customers were the paddlesteamers on the ‘Bidgee about 5 kms east but the railways killed them and so sleepers became the staple product but then concrete sleepers proved stronger and less nutritious to termites so that also died away.
Today Dale spends his time “sitting on my arse pressing buttons on the splitter” turning long dead wood into chunks of fuel for hearths across Australia. And he keeps his distance from the machinery – he’s a rare longtime mill worker with every finger, every knuckle.
He tells of a bloke, a bloke who shoulda known better, who went to remove a stuck log, ‘and the skin from his entire arm was just ripped off, from his shoulder to wrist’, and Nugget nods. He knows a few other stories like that from the mill.
A ute swings off the tar and heads in. Nugget checks it and disappears inside. By the time Carla, a lifetimer in these parts who lives 60kms or so up the road, has extricated her two young kids from back seat and headed over, there’s a handle waiting for her. She’s never yet got inside without her drink being ready.
A whizz-bang splutters in and two of the filthiest blokes I’ve seen since a pair of water drillers I met in Cooma maybe 20 years ago, get out. They’re work mates of Dale and’ve just finished a shift. They’re from Clermont-Ferrand in France, base of Michelin, and call themselves ‘the last of the French Foreign (there’s that word again) Legion’ and they feel an affinity with this place so different to their verdant, mountainous and church-filled home.
Dale shares tales of rousie days and busting his guts on an old Koerstz
Squatter No 1 Woolpress, invented by Christian Koerstz another foreigner, this time a Dane, who migrated to Sydney and created his machine in 1890. (If you’re out this way, there’s a great example of it in the woolshed at Kinchega.)
I ask Nugget about the highlights of his almost 4 years here and the most memorable turns out to be slicing the tendons on his right hand with a kitchen knife when he was handling a Good Friday crowd of about 40 on his own.
Dale and Carla were both here that day and remember it well but chat turns to previous publicans and ‘Filthy Phil’ by agreement wins the memorability (if not the popularity stakes). It was during his time that the pub, and the town for that matter, lost its telephone box.
“It was a weekend, a Saturday arvo, I think and everyone around seems to’ve been
here and it turned into a serious session and one of the young fellas asked his mate how high he thought the telephone box - it was one of those old red ones, wooden ones and it never worked. Was always out of order and was really frustrating – this was before everyone had a mobile. Anyway this fella asked his mate how high he thought the useless phone box would fly with a stick of gelly under it. That’s all the gelly he had with him. And another fella said he had a stick too so they stuck both sticks of gelly in the old telephone box, wired it up and cleared out all the cars. But see, it wasn't like some rocket that went straight up like they thought. When they hit the detonator the thing blew in all directions. Shrapnel hit the pub here and no-one ever found the handset. And Telecom – it was Telecom back then, anyway, they never replaced it.”
Nugget, who worked on infrastructure for Telstra for 18 years in Brisbane before heading south: “Just make sure you mention it was a long
time before I took over.”
He’s about to close the kitchen so I order what turns out to be one of the best, most generously topped Supreme pizzas that I’ve ever had.
Dale heads out to his room out the back, the foreign legion hits the road (and hopefully the showers), Carla and her boys take off for the 45 minute trip home and I lend a bit of a hand cleaning up before heading
out to my motel style room at the side of the pub.
I share one of my favourite quotes with Nugget. It's from C.E.W. Bean’s 1910 book, “On the Wool Track” and it goes: “(this) is a country where bad men are very bad, and good men are magnificent; but where all men are interesting.”
He takes a puff on the rollie. “Yup!”
Now later, as I write this back in locked-down Sydney, I’ve learned
that there’s another foreign-named activity that can help me, (and you too, dear rider reader), to get through our “Zugunruhe”.
For this one we have the Finns to thank. It’s known as “kalsarikänni”.
It means, “getting drunk in your underwear”, and right now, with no RBT between my fridge and my bed, doing it doesn't seem too foreign at all. D
“I'm forever blowing bubbles, Pretty bubbles in the air, They fly so high, nearly reach the sky…” COCKNEY
TWhen I got in touch with him about shipping the BMW over to Christchurch for me as soon as the bubble was blown, it turned out he’d been thinking along the same lines. He’s put many of his regular shipments on hold.
“Shipping Aussie bikes to NZ in January 2021 will be my focus for the rest of this year,” he said. “I think Europe will be closed to tourists for longer than NZ and Australia.
driver’s licence. A Carnet is not necessary to take your bike to NZ. A 15% bond is collected and held by NZ Customs while your bike is in NZ. It’s fully refunded when the bike is sent back to Australia. Get Routed can put you in touch with someone who can insure your bike for riding in NZ. Your Aussie provider will not cover your bike in NZ.”
The crunch is of course the cost.
he proposal to create a ‘bubble’ around Australia and New Zealand and drop travel restrictions makes sense for a lot of reasons. It will be a gift to the tourism industry of both countries, it will give the airlines something to do – and above all, it will allow us to go and ride those wonderful roads across the Tasman. Not roads actually across the Tasman. Roads over there, on the other side of the Tasman in the land of Lemon & Paeroa and the Roads of the Rings. You know what I mean. We’ve been writing about the various motorcycle tour and rental companies for a while now, but it suddenly occurred to me: My new, allegedly around-the-world bike is unlikely to get a run anywhere soon, although I am keen to cross the Nullarbor again some time. But what about taking it to NZ for a good run?
No sooner thought than dood. Done. I called my old mate Dave Milligan at Get Routed, my favourite motorcycle transport company. Milligan originally hails from New Zealand and could easily have scored a role as one of the curmudgeonly dwarves who shared the screen with Bilbo Baggins. Not that he’s all that short, but he’s got the look and the attitude. Fortunately, his gruff exterior hides a highly efficient heart of gold.
“I’ve heard that Tourism Ministers for NZ and Australia are concentrating their efforts on TransTasman tourism for that very reason. Also, I have no doubt that America will be the last place on people’s minds for a holiday - they just don’t seem to be getting the message Kiwis and Aussies have taken on board.”
Focusing on the New Zealand run means that Get Routed will be loading containers of bikes in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne very early in the new year. Always assuming that the bubble is blown and doesn’t pop, but it’s in the interest of both governments to make it happen.
“Bikes will be available for collection in Christchurch at our unpack depot on Monday 25 January and will be loaded at the same place on Friday 5 March for the return shipment,” he says. “Secure storage is available at our Christchurch unpack depot for those who don’t wish to be in NZ for all of that time between 25 January and 5 March. There is a flat $NZ50 fee for any length of storage.
“Your bike helmets, boots, jackets etc can go in the container with your bike at no extra cost. Your clothing suitcase which you take on the plane will be empty and can be stored at the unpack depot, free of charge.
“You can ride in NZ on your Aussie
Taking bikes to NZ and back costs $2173 per bike and $3673 for bikes longer than 2.3 metres. A BMW R1250GSA is a $2173 bike with the rear rack removed. You will need to compare that with the cost of renting.
In my experience, accommodation in New Zealand is not a problem, whether you’re camping (highly recommended) or staying in motels, hotels or hostels.
“A great place to start looking for reasonably priced accommodation is www.top10.co.nz,“ says Dave.
“At your first stop they will provide you with an up-to-date road map of NZ including all their holiday parks. I recommend the Arcadia (www. arcadiamotel.co.nz) for your stay in Christchurch -- it’s the closest motel to the unpack depot and where we stay when unpacking the bikes.”
Get your map of the South Island and a highlighter ready. To ride the best roads in NZ and therefore some of the best in the world, according to Dave, just follow this route:
“In the South Island, Christchurch to Hokitika via Arthurs Pass. Hokitika to Wanaka the Haast Pass. Wanaka to Queenstown via the Crown Range. Queenstown to Glenorchy and back to Queenstown. Queenstown to Te Anau and on to Invercargill via Tuatapere and Riverton. Invercargill to Balclutha via Waikawa and Owaka.
Milton to Cromwell via Roxburgh and Alexander. Cromwell to Tekapo via Omarama. Tekapo to Geraldine to Methven to Rangiora via the Inland Scenic Route. Rangiora to Hanmer Springs and Reefton via Lewis Pass. Reefton to Greymouth, to Westport and to Murchison via the mighty Buller Gorge. Murchison to Tapawera to Motueka and on to Collingwood over Takaka Hill. Back to Motueka, to Nelson and Picton via Queen Charlotte Drive. Picton back to Christchurch via Kaikoura, a great coastal ride not to be missed.
“Five years ago I rode that route over 10 days then went back and rode it in
reverse. It’s amazing how that changes your perspective and the scenery was just as good, if not better.
“Don’t underrate the North Island; there are some great roads in the North island. Don’t miss the East Cape road from Gisborne to Opotiki via Hicks Bay, and the Coromandel Peninsular. There are others, but the North Island has a bigger population, so the roads are not so empty.”
Dave is happy to help if you have any questions by email at dave(at)getrouted. com.au or phone 03 5625 9080 and 0412 689 849. The website is www. getrouted.com.au and he’s on Facebook at www.facebook.com/getrouted. D
1. Err… is that all going to fit into a pair of panniers?
2. Here’s a chance to add a few more stickers to the GS.
3. It looks like it’s all stowed away. Excellent job.
4. Happy campers ready for the road. What a nice clean bike.
5. No shortage of helpers loading (or is it unloading?) bikes.
6. Relaxing after the ride.
Motorcycle Shipping
To EuropE and nEw ZEaland & back
organise your next european or new zealand bike shipment with dave at get routed... Your bike is our priority
Ship your motorcycle to new Zealand and don't miss out on the burt Munro challenge, the bEarS Sound of Thunder and classic racing at pukekohe and riding the best roads EVEr!
TECHNICAL
Tiger 900 Triumph
The world has changed, so has the Tiger WORDS stuart/ t riumph PHOTOS t riumph
One bike that we’d hoped to have tested for this issue is the new Triumph Tiger 900. One platform, five different bikes are what’s on offer. Triumph claims the Tiger 900 is “designed to set a new category benchmark for maximum adventure, and is completely transformed with an all-new more responsive 900cc triple engine, an incredible standard of specification, new state-of-theart ride-enhancing technology, and an aggressive new Tiger style and attitude. On top of that, the new Tiger 900 range is now significantly lighter than previous Tiger models, making these the most capable, agile and dynamic middleweight adventure bikes available.”
Well, we’ll find that out soon enough, but to pull some of the highlights of the new bike/s from Triumphs information supplied, the five models available are the, Tiger 900, 900 GT, 900 GT Pro, 900 Rally and 900 Rally Pro, all ranging from basically a nice road tourer to the fullhouse off-road Rally Pro.
The all-new higher capacity and higher performance 900cc engine is now fully Euro 5 compliant, and has a new unique 1,3,2 firing order for greater character and feel, which should sound awesome. Triumph claims improved intake noise under load, more feedback from the engine to the rider, a distinctive engine sound, and improved tractability and throttle feel, pulling harder, lower down. The result of that is a much closer association to the throttle character, sound and feel of a twin lower down, while maintaining all the torque, feel and delivery in the midrange and top-end of a triple
The new engine delivers 10% more peak torque than the previous Tiger 800 models, now 87Nm at 7250rpm, with improved torque low down and across the rev range. Power is also up across the entire rev range, with 9% more in the mid-range, and 70kW peak power at 8750rpm.
The stripy fellows are up to 5kg lighter than the previous generation, the new steel trellis frame is not only lighter, but has a modular
construction, with bolt-on aluminium rear sub-frame and bolt-on pillion hangers, delivering the most adventure-centric set-up ever for offroad focused riding.
There is a very high specification of suspension across the new 900 range with premium Marzocchi or Showa (Rally, Rally Pro) components tailored to deliver the ultimate capability.
All of the new Tiger 900 models now feature category-leading Brembo Stylema brakes for superior stopping power.
Long distance travel has been improved, with a new larger 20 litre fuel tank and new adjustable screen, delivering superior wind protection with a simple singlehanded adjustment.
Ergonomics are also improved for the new models, optimised for rider comfort when touring, off-roading and anything in between. The seat is narrower, and the handlebar is 10mm closer, giving a more comfortable upright riding position, and a greater level of rider control when static and on the move. Additionally, each
model has a dedicated and unique footrest position to suit the expected style of riding, and a built-in easily adjustable two-position seat height mechanism. This enables riders to change the seat height by 20mm to their preferred set-up.
The new Tiger 900 range features a significant step forward in its rideenhancing technology, with state-ofthe-art features including:
• New class-leading 7” TFT instruments (GT & GT Pro, Rally & Rally Pro only) – Featuring dedicated Tiger start-up logos, the new larger TFT instruments present rider information in four different styles with complete clarity. There are also four different colour options to choose from and high/low contrast versions for excellent visibility in all lights. The 7” TFT screen is now bonded to the glass for a crisper image, with no reflective layer. (The base Tiger 900 model features 5” TFT high contrast instruments)
• New My Triumph connectivity system and app (GT Pro & Rally Pro only) – With TFT instrument styles designed specifi cally for connectivity, the integrated My Triumph connectivity system and app seamlessly enable phone call and music operation, turn-by-turn navigation, and GoPro control – all accessed via the switch cubes and displayed on the 7” TFT screen. (The My Triumph connectivity system is available as an accessory option on the GT and Rally models, including a dedicated Bluetooth connectivity module)
• New optimised cornering ABS and traction control, with IMU (GT & GT Pro, Rally & Rally Pro only) –New optimised cornering ABS and optimised cornering traction control comes as standard on the mid and top spec new Tiger 900s, and is enabled via an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) developed in conjunction with Continental. This supports the automatic selection of the appropriate level of ABS and traction control
intervention by constantly measuring roll, pitch, yaw and acceleration rates, in order to calculate the lean angle. This fully integrated technology system ensures greater riding stability at all times.
• Up to six riding modes – Riding modes adjust throttle response, ABS and traction control settings for maximum rider control in all riding conditions. The new anti-stall feature on the Off-Road and Off-Road Pro modes automatically increases the idle revs to prevent stalling. The Off-Road Pro riding mode, exclusive to the Rally Pro model, is Triumph’s most extreme off-road set-up for advanced off-road adventure, with ABS and traction control turned off, and an off-road throttle map.
• New all-LED lighting, with daytime running lights (DRL*) – The headlight, tail light and indicators* on all new Tiger 900 models are now LED powered for maintenance-free active safety. In applicable markets, the headlight features Triumph’s signature shape DRL* for enhanced visibility in all lights. The GT Pro and Rally Pro models also feature LED auxiliary fog lights for additional long distance capability.
• New Triumph Shift Assist, up and down quickshifter (GT Pro & Rally Pro only) – Enabling smooth, comfortable clutch-less up and down gear changes while maintaining the accelerator position, the Triumph Shift Assist reduces rider fatigue and improves the ride. (Available as an accessory on the base and mid-spec Tiger 900 models)
• New secure mobile phone storage and USB charging (GT & GT Pro, Rally & Rally Pro only) – A secure
compartment under the seat houses a handy 5V USB power socket to enable uninterrupted use of the My Triumph connectivity system.
• Highest level of standard technology specification (GT & GT Pro, Rally & Rally Pro only)
– Fitted as standard for maximum rider comfort and convenience, the mid and top spec Tiger 900 models feature illuminated switches with a 5-way joystick, electronic cruise control and heated grips.
• Fully loaded GT Pro and Rally Pro technology – Exclusive to the top spec Tiger 900 models are the uniquein-segment heated seats (with separate pillion control) and the tyre pressure monitoring system (TPMS).
Colour options for the various models are…
Tiger 900 Rally & Rally Pro: Matt Khaki, Sapphire Black and Pure White, all featuring contemporary new decals and a distinctive white frame inspired by the ‘Tiger Tramontana’ rally bike
Tiger 900 GT & GT Pro: Korosi Red, Sapphire Black and Pure White, all featuring premium tank badges and contemporary new decals
of over 65 genuine Triumph accessories is available for the new Tiger 900 models, all designed alongside the bikes themselves to ensure seamless integration, and made to the same exacting standards of manufacturing quality and finish. There are two new luggage ranges created in partnership with Givi – the Trekker side-opening panniers with 52 litre twin helmet top box, and the Expedition top-opening panniers, with matching 42 litre top box. Plus there are accessories for added comfort, protection, capability, style and security.
Two new inspiration kits deliver a complete package of accessories designed to suit different riding needs, which can be used as inspiration for riders to create their own perfect bike.
The fully loaded ‘Trekker’ kit showcases the Tiger’s even greater touring capability with the Trekker panniers with powder coated mild steel mounting kit, Trekker top box and backrest, the sliding carriage kit, tank pad and screen deflector.
Tiger 900: Pure White and your unleash Tiger 900s
Specs
TRIUMPH TIGER 900
PRICE: $19,050 - $22,550 (plus on-road charges)
WARRANTY: Two years, unlimited distance
SERVICING INTERVALS: Every 16,000km or 12 months
ENGINE: 888cc liquid-cooled in-line three cylinder, 4-stroke, DOHC, 4 valves per cylinder
POWER: 70kW @ 8750rpm
TORQUE: 87Nm @ 7250rpm
Alternatively, the ‘Expedition’ kit showcases the more overt off-road focused accessories available with the Expedition panniers and stainless steel mounting kit, 40 litre roll bag, headlight guard, fork protectors, aluminium radiator guard, upper engine bars and LED fog lights. Roll on Triumph getting us this bike so we can really give it a workout in the bush. It sounds the goods, so hold your horses and we’ll unleash the new Triumph Tiger 900s shortly. D
COLOURS: Pure White, Korosi Red, Sapphire Black, Matt Khaki
VERDICT: SOUNDS THE GOODS
cOMe Out Come out
Who (and where) ever you are WORDS/PHOTOS the bear
The Turbo needed a run and I needed some photos for this story so this was taken at work, for me.
Here’s hoping…
As I write this, we are no longer just allowed to go for a ride – as far as I know, everywhere in Australia. I hope that will no longer be true when you read it. If it is and you can’t make a case for your ride being vital to your wellbeing, just dial up Google Maps and pretend you’re out there on the road. A pretty poor alternative, I know, but better than sitting in a corner of the garage looking hopelessly at your bike. None of these suggestions involve any contact with another human being.
IT IS, I’VE HEARD IT said, an ill wind that blows nobody good. And so it is with the coronavirus. While motorcycling is not usually a way of ‘social distancing’, it can be if you make it that. You don’t even need to ride by yourself. Just keep the obligatory meter and a half from your fellow riders when you stop, and avoid smacking them for alleged errors they made on the ride. Yes, I know that can be hard… This little cheer-up is a lot more important than you might think. I have been working from home for all of a week and a half now, and I’m getting the first signs of cabin fever. The funny thing is that I normally work from home quite a bit. Why the itchy feet then? Because I don’t have the option of just riding over to the office and spending the day
there, that’s why. There’s a big difference between sitting in my office at home by myself and having to sit in my office by myself. Whoever and wherever you are, there is a way of dealing with cabin fever: it’s called going for a ride. And whereas it may be good enough to just get out there and blow off some steam, there are places to go that will repay the effort and the (currently remarkably cheap) petrol you burn. Do not sit at home and risk cabin fever; head out and risk gravel rash instead. Just kidding. Make sure you have a good reason for the constabulary if you should be stopped.
1. Here we are at the Grandis picnic area! If you’re set on actually picnicking, be wary of the leeches.
2. Stoney Creek Road is quite a nice bit of light gravel – although it can be boggy after rain.
THE GRANDIS, BULAHDELAH. 250km each way from Sydney CBD.
I’m going to start with Sydney in this issue, just because that’s where I live. I have to start somewhere. Other cities in later issues. And please, if you have any suggestions for day rides from anywhere, just drop me a line at thebear@ausmotorcyclist.com.au .
You can do this as a diversion off the freeway.
Presumably, if you are reading this, you are a motorcyclist. As such I suspect that you know the Wootton Way. But
just in case you don’t, it used to be the Pacific Highway between Bulahdelah and Coolongolook before it was bypassed by the freeway. It is significant because it allows you to do some bypassing of your own, substituting it for 20km of the usual dull freeway. The Wootton Way is an odd kind of road, having been widened and re-surveyed not long before it was superseded – so it’s quite a good bit of a run. Do watch out for moss and leaf litter; it’s terrific that it doesn’t have a lot of traffic, but that also means that it doesn’t get a lot of maintenance.
So, leave Bulahdelah on the freeway heading north and take the Wootton Way turnoff a couple of kilometres out of town. Keep an eye out for the turnoff to the Grandis, NSW’s tallest tree, on your right; it is not marked properly on our map. This is probably because, despite being called Stoney Creek Road it is in fact a track, not a road. Unless it’s been raining pretty hard you will find it perfectly rideable on a road bike if you’ve ever tackled any gravel at all. Probably even if you haven’t. The Grandis, a Flooded Gum (no, it’s not actually flooded), is off to the left of the track, well signposted and only a few metres’ walk away with a small picnic area.
Once you’ve taken a good look and the obligatory selfie, continue along Stoney Creek Road to the amazing underpass under the freeway. It’s almost as interesting as the tree, which is admittedly a bit older at 400 years and not made of concrete. If you have loud pipes (I hope you don’t) you will have a chance to sound off. Some way further, the track meets Lakes Way. Turn right and it will take you back to the freeway. Honestly, don’t worry about the track surface. You can see in the photo that it’s in good shape.
1. This is the turnoff from the Lakes Way. It’s signposted much the same way as the Wootton Way turnoff.
2. It’s not one of the access roads to Mordor but just the underpass for
Stoney Creek Road under the Pacific Highway freeway.
WEST HEAD, NORTHERN SYDNEY. 50km each way from Sydney CBD.
A dead end, but there is some additional riding.
My favourite story about West Head concerns a mechanic who had been servicing a McLaren. You know those
three-seaters that cost a gazillion dollars. Apparently, when it was time to take the car out for a drive to check that the servicing was all done properly, he chose to invite a couple of friends for a quick dash out to West Head. On the way he crashed the car. A request for advice from McLaren in the UK as to repairs was met by a simple instruction: put the car in a container and send it back to the factory. It cost a million dollars to fix.
The West Head road can invite such misbehavior, but of course you aren’t likely to do that. It is in Ku-ring-gai National Park, accessible from McCarrs Creek Road between Terrey Hills and Church Point in Sydney’s north. Watch out for feral bicyclists send that.
1. The end of the road.There’s an interesting sign that tells you all about the way West Head was fortified during the war. It, er, doesn’t seem to say which war but I think it was WW2.
2. The warning sign at the toll booth. Do be careful with fire at any time, please, and note that the road will be closed if fire danger becomes too high.
who have been known to spit at riders who don’t give them what they consider to be their divinely allocated patch of tarmac. Not good in the days of the coronavirus.
The attraction of West Head is not only the road but also the lookout at its end. You have an uninterrupted view of an oceanic panorama and the antics of Sydney’s rich disporting themselves at Palm Beach. Well, you might need to bring some glasses. Anyway, a pleasant lookout where you ought to be able to stay a metre and half away from your fellow voyeurs. I have no doubt that yachties will be out self-isolating on their boats, and there are few things more calming than watching sailing.
It does cost $12 to enjoy this ride, but if you like you can get your money’s worth by adding the loop down to Akuna Bay Marina where they’re doing quite reasonable takeaway coffee, as well as the diversion down to Cottage Point.
1. National Parks and Wildlife keeps the surface of West Head Road in pretty good condition, although there care always some patches and, more significantly, a couple of places where water runs across the road.
2. The Turbo, illegally parked at the lookout. I wanted to get a shot with the sign in the background, but you can’t read it anyway. Not that it matters.
NEWNES, BLUE MOUNTAINS 185km each way from Sydney CBD.
Another dead end, but Wolgan Road is fun both ways.
Once upon a time, Newnes had a pub and was a popular weekend camping spot for four-wheel drivers and motorcyclists, as well as rock climbers and all sorts of other riffraff including many of my friends and me. Jim Gale, the publican, would keep the place open as long as anyone wanted to drink. He had a cockatoo back up the Wolgan Road who would call him if he saw the licensing sergeant’s car go past on the way to the pub (there was nowhere else along the road he could be going), and Jim would close the place and turn out the lights. The drinkers waited in the darkness across the road until the cop had gone again, when the pub would reopen. In those days the track leading in was a bit of a challenge after
Wolgan Gap, but since the fl ash Emirates resort was built, most of the road is practically racetrack standard (no, I’m not hinting) and the little bit of dirt at the end is hardly worth mentioning. The building that was once the pub is still there but is now a private residence, although the campground has actually been improved and now offers pit toilets. Ah, luxury.
The sandy crossing over to the left bank of the Wolgan River is usually not too diffi cult, but there is relatively little riding over on that side anyway and you can easily walk down to the remains of the shale oil extraction plant that was the reason for the town’s existence. It’s pretty overgrown these days, but a bit of effort will take you
Camping is not allowed as I write this, and as far as I know there is no helpful cockatoo up on the Wolgan Road to warn campers of a police raid, so you’ll need to make this a round trip. Keep in mind on this and any other potential rides that country people really don’t want to see you, on the off chance that you might be bringing the coronavirus. Stay legal, stay healthy and stay nice, okay? D
1. National Parks and Wildlife keeps the surface of West Head Road in pretty good condition, although there care always some patches and, more significantly, a couple of places where water runs across the road.
2. The Turbo, illegally parked at the lookout. I wanted to get a shot with the sign in the background, but you can’t read it anyway. Not that it matters.
Alps Adriatic Adventure
TOUR DATE
AUG 22 - SEP 5, 2020
AUG 29 - SEP 12, 2021
KTM 700Adventure
Nice one, Mattighofen
WORDS RALPH PHOTOS NICK WOOD CREATIVE
ONE OF MY PET hates is the use of the term ‘nice’ especially when it is used to describe an element of a motorcycle’s character or behaviour. Maybe it’s a word you can apply to puppies or kittens -- until the time their needlelike little teeth break your skin and cause infection. Nothing that gets you soaking wet, overheated from rides in 40C+ temperatures or smelly from oil and fuel spills should ever have the ‘nice’ tag in its description.
And there is nothing in the 790’s personality where ‘nice’ applies. Refined? Yes. Competent? Yes. Great fun? Yes. And if someone did apply the soubriquet ‘nice’ to any KTM, then the factory might well feel insulted enough to chase them off to that island off China called Japan. KTM doesn’t do nice, it does thrilling and a little over the top in a stonking, live-wire, ‘I’m wearing my Alpha badge today’ kind of way. So you won’t find a ‘nice’ here. On the other hand, the more technical things
will be in Stu’s piece on the ‘R’ which started on page 12; as they share so much in the engine and management stakes.
So seeing that nice is out and technology is elsewhere, what am I going to write about?
The importance of the 790 to the adventure market would be hard to overstate, although this model unlike the ‘R’ is more road focused. The clues to the road focus of the bike are 40mm less suspension travel and a 30mm lower seat height. The standard 790 wears a wider and taller screen and the suspension is a different spec, with I imagine a slightly lower cost. The bikes feel totally different in the saddle and they feel different to ride. Think of the Adventure as an all-roads touring motorcycle that looks like a big dirt/adventure bike, while the R is a dirty big adventure bike that you can tour on. I like the looks of the up-specced R although the ride of the lower, and easier to manage base model suits me better on the road and the trails we tried. That said, the R looks much more butch.
A 799cc engine putting out 70 kilowatts will always be useful on-road, although it would be nice, er, good to lose the hard seat
comfort. Plenty of mid-range torque means there is never a time when most riders, especially in everyday riding conditions, would be wishing for more power. A large number of real-road bikes slots into the 700 to 900cc class, so 790 needs to be good and it is. I didn’t like the noise below 3000rpm but it dissipates quickly once you are underway and get the revs up. You will be away pretty smartly; the pick-up is instantaneous with what feels like almost non-existent resistance from crankshaft inertia. It’s a very slick motorcycle under acceleration. I often forget that there are quickshifters fitted to some bikes, as I generally go back to the smoother owner-owns-the-result way. This is one QS that deserves praise and not just for the upshift. Before you know it, 120 is ticking along at 5000rpm and the world is moving past a lot faster than you might think.
Operating the controls is smooth and light and adds to making the twin a really enjoyable roadie, tourer or commuter. The handling is light and stable but I’m not entirely happy with the 21 inch front wheel. This is a more road-oriented adventure tourer, and I reckon a 19 incher would have worked better and also offered KTM more separation between the 790 twins. I like my bikes to go well enough to feel confident in keeping up with anything on a twisty bit of tarmac, but the 21 incher lets this bike down. From the initial ride on I wanted to mention that this bike offers one of the best looking and enticing views from the seat of any of the
dual-purpose tourers out there. The screen is the right height and width. Almost every surface is black, which cuts out reflections. The top tripleclamp, handlebar mounts and the branded handlebars themselves are all satin black. The handlebar protectors and clamps carry the theme along with the front brake master cylinder and dash surrounds. It creates a sense of purpose and lets the excellent 4.3” TFF screens become a feature.
Glance down and you’ll see that the space above your knees is very narrow and the twin bulbous sections which make up the 20L fuel cell are almost out of sight. The only time I would even give it a thought is trying to thread through a very rutted track or among trees. For most riders I can’t see it ever becoming an issue. Benefits are immediate the moment you let out the light clutch.
twins.
I like
my bikes keeping up with of tarmac,
one of the views from the
If KTM wanted a point-of-difference they certainly made one. It’s the single piece of form and function that creates so much interest and comment. Despite the look I’m a massive convert to the benefit of carrying 20 kilos of hydrocarbon low-down. We did a decent bit of off-road work for Nick and his camera and my 790 was easy to manhandle despite my low instep and limited skill level. Note to self: get a knee operation.
The KTM is surprising, agile -- and more than anything, it goes like a hundred metre sprinter chasing gold. It isn’t supremely comfortable, far from it and it is missing some important things especially as it weighs in at over $20,000 before on road costs. The 790 needs and should have cruisecontrol and a centre-stand. At least the latter is available for $419.95. You are probably going to hit the Powerparts booklet for a one-piece comfort seat. The wiring is a little untidy around the steering head. Maybe KTM knows the owners are going to be a hands-on group and are looking for involvement with their thrills.
At any rate, if you can pony up the initial bucks, with such a frugal engine the 790 Adventure makes one of the best Apocalypse-right-Now escape machines. D
PRICE: $21,195 (plus on-road charges)
WARRANTY: Two years, unlimited distance
SERVICING INTERVALS: Every 10,000km or 12 months
ENGINE: 799cc liquid-cooled twin-cylinder, 4-stroke, DOHC, 4 valves per cylinder
FUEL CONSUMPTION: 4.0 litres per 100km, premium unleaded
THEORETICAL RANGE: 400km
COLOURS: Black/Orange/White
VERDICT: A GREAT ESCAPE PLAN
Adventure better: Part 3
If something goes wrong
Adventure… Better
The guys at Motorrad Tours know a thing or two when it comes to travelling on a motorcycle (as the name suggests). In this series, they share that knowledge and their experience to help you get the most from your next trip.
NObODY LikeS tO talk about the potential for things to go wrong and, chances are, it might never happen. You can never guess what trouble you might run into, but having a universal plan of attack in your head for any incident can be the difference between a great adventure and an embarrassing farce. Fail to prepare; prepare to fail. It’s a funny old saying, suggesting that preparing to fail is the wrong thing to be doing. Of course you should
prepare for a trip, and nobody wants to prepare to fail, but as part of any preparation you should certainly prepare for failure. Now we’re not suggesting you should morbidly list off all the things that could go wrong and then talk yourself out of ever leaving the house, but having a plan for more common problems you could encounter can save a lot of time and stress. So leaving aside meteor strike or even a, err, worldwide pandemic, the most likely snags are going to be bike
WORDS RichaRd Millington PHOTOS MotoRRad touRs
trouble, body trouble or a crash, so here’s our tour guides’ guide to making a molehill out of a mountain.
MEchanicals
The only thing worse than something going wrong is when the avalanche could have been nipped in the bud by a bit of preparation. Example: it’s a three-hour ride to the ferry, the ferry leaves in five hours and one of the bikes in the group gets a puncture.
Group A, whom we’ll call Team
Smartypants, took the time ahead of their trip to make sure one of them was carrying a puncture repair kit and a compressor and had figured out how to use it on an old tyre before leaving. The puncture is noticed, repaired and re-inflated with only twenty minutes’ delay, five of which was spent admiring the snazzy 12V compressor. They make the boat to Morocco in plenty of time and are lapping up the desert sun before you can say ‘nice toolkit’.
Group B, team ‘It’ll Be Fine, It’s
Who is Motorrad Tours?
Richard Millington is the founder of Motorrad Tours, with years and literally millions of kilometers of route planning and tour delivery under his belt. From the Highlands of Scotland to the rice paddies of Vietnam, Richard and his team work tirelessly to put together impeccable tours that keep people coming back time and time again. So if the above sounds like a lot of effort to you, or if you want to see the best a country has to offer the adventurous motorcyclist, give Motorrad Tours a call on +44 (0) 1622 776686 or log onto their website www.motorrad-tours.com to see where they are headed to next.
Supposed To Be An Adventure’, notice the puncture and stop. With no tools to repair it, they try to ride on a flat, miss the ferry and waste days in Southern Europe trying to find a tyre for the stricken bike. Now the puncture is one easy example to sort out and underline the points we made previously about what tools to take and doing a bit of tinkering on the bike to familiarise yourself before you go. Having that sensibly-stocked toolkit, along with the knowledge of how to use it can fix a surprising array of roadside mishaps, the most common being punctures and fuel issues (running out or putting the wrong stuff in). But some problems aren’t practical to sort at the roadside; they’re either outside the scope of your tools/skills or you may need parts. If
local garage to repair it or call on your breakdown policy.
Most breakdown policies will look for a local garage for you, saving you the legwork and the difficult decision of which garage to trust. If you’re hunting for a garage yourself, start by looking for a franchised dealer, that’s always the best option as they’re more likely to have parts in stock for your bike. Don’t be surprised if you get to a dealer and they’re too busy to be able to help immediately – be patient and polite. Where a franchise isn’t an option, you have to make do with what you can find – if that’s a mower repair centre in the middle of nowhere, so be it. Obviously you need to exercise a little common sense here; if the only tools you can see in the workshop are a lump hammer and a one-meter tyre iron, it’s unlikely you’re going to want to trust them to replace your clutch. And if all else fails, you’ll need to call on your breakdown policy to get the bike recovered. It’s worth noting that a replacement vehicle from your breakdown policy rarely means another bike – it’s usually a hire car; not so much fun if your trip was to the mountains for a spot of tyre
from your
ILLNESS
If you or one of the group wakes up in the morning feeling a bit groggy, and you’re certain it’s not a hangover, then don’t rush to be on the road. When you’ve found the empty crate of beer in their room, obviously revert to stomping around loudly until they’ve sobered up and remind them for the rest of the trip about the riding time they cost you all. If it’s you that went too big at the bar, hide the empty bottles and feign a migraine. The last thing you want is anyone heading out onto the road under time pressure when they’re not firing on all cylinders – that’s asking for trouble, especially with something more serious than a hangover. Ferries can be rebooked or rescheduled and important landmarks will still be there next year. Don’t put yourself or your mates at risk by trying to ride a twisting mountain pass when all your brain can think about is where the next toilet is. If you’re staying in a hotel, they should be your first call for help contacting a local doctor; they will often have one on call. For something less serious, the receptionist should be able to point you to the nearest pharmacy. Sometimes the answer is to just stay put for a day or two and allow some time to recover. For anything more serious than having a bit of a bug, you need to start talking to your insurance company sooner rather than later. It is often one of their requirements to be notified early and it tends to be a slow process getting things in motion to get treatment or repatriation sorted.
CRASH
If there is one sight guaranteed to get the heart racing and the brain
entering panic mode, it’s a bike on the deck, be it our own, one of our group or a stranger. Any crash scene looks dramatic and sets the adrenaline pumping so there are a few hard and fast rules to remember if you do come across an incident. Rule number one is pause. Don’t make it worse, don’t do anything, don’t say anything for a moment. If you’ve approached the scene on a bike, stop carefully, park somewhere safe and out of the way and take off your helmet and gloves at your bike. Don’t be the person who arrives at the scene of a minor incident, panics and ends up in the ambulance themselves.
We have seen it – a gnarly-looking crash, rider unscathed, but the ambulance ended up being called to take away the guy who arrived wanting to help in a mad panic, forgot to put his sidestand down and dropped his bike on his leg. So pause, get your bike parked safely and think before you head over. It’s a basic principle of any first aid training that the first person to consider when dealing with an incident is yourself – don’t become another casualty. If you are the first person on scene, you’re in charge. Keep people calm, give them jobs to do like calling an ambulance, warning traffic, taking pictures of the crash scene and making sure your own bikes and kit are
somewhere safe.
Once the police or ambulance arrive, it’s out of your hands; relax, let them do their jobs. If you pick up the crashed bike, make sure the engine isn’t still running or you’ll be picking it up twice. Consider leaks – if there is oil running out of it, you have a slip hazard that could cause another crash. Fuel leaks are less slippery than oil, but obviously come with their own rather explosive problems – back to basics; make sure you are safe first. Once the incident itself is dealt with, contact the insurance company as early as possible as it will typically take 48 hours to make any decision. Be prepared that sorting it all out will take time.
A couple of extra things to remember – firstly, if you come around the corner to find complete carnage, with bits of bike hanging from the trees, don’t take that as written that the rider is in the same state. It’s not uncommon for a rider to walk away fairly unscathed from the most dramatic looking crashes, as all the energy has been dissipated into tumbles and rolls, rather than one big, crunching impact. Secondly, apply the pause rule to every incident, but particularly the smaller ones. If your mate drops their bike at the lights, don’t drop yours in the rush to help or worse, pick theirs up in a rush and drop it on the other side. They won’t thank you for that.
PROBLEMS BACK AT HOME
The rule with a problem occurring at home while you are away is not to take it out on the road with you. Stop, spend a morning or even a day sorting it if necessary, fl y back home for a day or two if that’s what it takes, but don’t take it out on the road. Be it a family or business issue, you’re far better off sacrifi cing a day’s riding and getting it sorted, than spending three days not enjoying the riding, thinking about when your phone’s going to ring. If it’s something that can be sorted on the phone, let whoever know what time you’ll be off the bike and available for a call and switch your phone off until then.
REMEMBER
We like to think of this as working Murphy’s Law to our advantage –if we make sure we’ve got a bit of knowledge and skill to deal with a situation, chances are it’ll never happen. But if and when it does remember to stop, pause and think. And as we covered in our previous features, preparation is everything. A half decent toolkit, good medical and breakdown insurance and a trip planned with rest days will cover most of the bumps and scrapes you can get yourself into. D
Our motorcycle memories
“…YOu WOuLDN’t KNOW a DiamOND i F YOu hELD it iN YOur haND t hE thiNGs YOu thiNK arE prECiOus i CaN’t uNDErstaND.”
StEELY DAN
WHAT GOT YOU hooked on motorcycling? Was it the sound of a motorcycle roaring past as a kid, some hot model adorning that shiny piece of art, or is it the specs/ride review that got you hooked? Stuart, The Bear and Ralph take a step back in time to relive what, when, where and perhaps why motorcycling runs through their veins…
Stuart fi rst got introduced to motorcycling by his father, Ian, and it was while being pillioned on Ian’s Suzuki Katana back home from a Sydney Motorcycle Show being held at Rosehill Racecourse in the 80s that he was hooked for life. Sideways wheelspin away from a set of traffi c lights was all it took. When Stuart looks back now it was probably because of some oil or something on the roadway, but at the time…being a young boy, it was the coolest thing ever.
The Bear got hooked on motorcycling back in the ‘60s when he was at university, and even worked as a courier riding a Harley-Davidson outfit for a while. Most of his memories from those days are happy, except when his own Harley WLA refused to clutch start and he had to push it back up the hill.
Ralph started riding and buying in the early seventies. Riding to high school on his $110 Yamaha YL100 two stroke twin on the outskirts of western Sydney. Five decades and 86 motorcycles later he has some clarity now in making up his mind!
Here are their picks from each decade since then – some they’ve owned and some they wish they had.
e 1960s
THE BEAR – HONDA CB72
The Japanese Allrounder
It was a four-stroke 250 twin with no particular claims to performance, bought second-hand, but it ran rings around my mates’ clunky Harleys, BSAs and Triumphs. Without the unnecessary bodywork of many of
its Japanese contemporaries, it was a lean bike that looked like a proper motorcycle (British style was still the model) and took me everywhere. I eventually yielded to peer pressure and bought a Harley-Davidson WLA from Johnno’s in Redfern, $400 in the colour of your choice.
Ralph was too young and Stuart wasn’t even thought of, so no choices from them for the sixties!
e 1970s
STUART – KAWASAKI H2 750
Everything Wrong, Is Everything Right
“The Widow Maker”, “A bike that is unrideable” are just a couple of
comments that were thrown around about the three-cylinder two-stroke Kawasaki H2 750. It wasn’t until just a few years ago that I was lucky enough to actually sample this ‘death machine’. It was a moment I will never forget (thank you, Nigel). It didn’t want to stop, the handling was average, but, boy, that two-stroke motor, when it came on song it would wheelstand and be such an aural delight I needed a man nappy to soak up the wee. Many people think I’m just a bit crazy for wanting a machine that does everything wrong, but sometimes it’s not the actual motorcycle but the stigma behind it that gets the juices flowing. Plus, riding modern motorcycles, they all stop and go pretty well, riding
THE BEAR – HONDA XL250 The Little Bike That Could
Another second-hand 250cc Honda, this one a single. It would
be ungrateful and disloyal of me to nominate any other bike. Mine took me around the world, and although it was diabolically uncomfortable – no aftermarket seats in those days – it was a trusty companion. The shift-drum stopper and one of the throttle cables were the only parts that let me down.
RALPH - BMW R 100 S The Gentleman’s Express
My fi rst real and new bike was the R100/7 BMW. I really wanted to buy the S version, with the dual front discs and the cockpit fairing, and it wasn’t the extra $300 that stopped me. It was my friend Mark who had the S; and because we did a lot of travelling together, I needed to be different. At the time, they were the best thing on the road as well as the most reliable. They made you feel special after a heap of small motorcycles.
The 1980s
STUART – SUZUKI GSX-R750
That Poster On The Wall
I distinctly remember going to the Sydney Motorcycle Show with my father and seeing the ‘brand new’ GSX-R750. It looked like nothing ever before it and, in my mind, how could there ever be another motorcycle like it in the future? I got a poster from the nice lady on the Suzuki stand and as soon as I got home it took pride of place on my bedroom wall, in a position where I could see it as I fell asleep and as soon as I woke up. I have ridden big brother, the GSX-R1100, but the fi rst model 750 is the one that pulls the heart strings.
THE BEAR - BMW R 80 G/S
The Progenitor
This was my fi rst new bike; as the editor of Two Wheels magazine I could fi nally afford this extravagance. The moment I saw the G/S I knew that this was the logical replacement for the XL; everything about it just said “take me anywhere”. I hit the orange seat with some vinyl spray and the rest of the bike with the contents of a rattle can – both
black, of course – and I had my ideal motorcycle. As the ‘80s wore on and it seemed that every other bike on the road was picking up more power, I transferred my affections to a Kawasaki Turbo.
RALPH - LAVERDA 1981 JOTA
The Thunder
I didn’t get my fi rst of three Jotas until 1986, but as a founding member of Club Laverda in NSW I just had to own one. If you haven’t ridden one you won’t know that, short of an MV Agusta 750, there was nothing else on the road that sounded or looked like a triple 1000cc Lav in the ‘80s. Every other motorcycle made in the ‘80s was a pretender
e 1990s
STUART - HONDA CBR900RR FIREBLADE Tank Slapper Heaven
Of course, you all knew the CBR900RR Fireblade was going to be my ‘90s choice. I’ve owned a few and race one. Back in the 90s it was the 16-inch front wheel and the lightning (tank slapper) steering and the wild paintjobs that won me over. If you haven’t ridden one, you must. You’ll be surprised at just how competitive this Fireblade still is compared to modern day machinery.
THE BEAR – DUCATI 750SS
The Torture Tool
One of the more popular torture devices in the Dark Ages was the rack, which caused pain by stretching the joints of its unfortunate occupant. The
Ducati SS did the job by compressing its rider’s joints instead. Whenever I climbed off after a ride (and before I dealt with whatever had gone wrong this time) I felt as if several major joints of my body had been squeezed so hard that they were no longer capable of changing their position. But lord oh lord, was it a magnificent bike to ride!
Ralph -- Ducati 916 art from any angle
I have owned quite a few Ducatis and have ridden many 916s on the road as well as on the racetrack but never had one I could call my own. The point is of course that apart from being a spectacular ride, they were and are absolutely beautiful. In the nineties there would not have been another bike that any of us would have admired and wanted to own more than the 916. Still good buying.
The 2000s
StuaRt – BMW S 1000 RR arm Socket Extension Maker
The release of BMW producing a litre sportsbike was scoffed at by many at the time…until you rode it. I remember heading to Phillip Island for the Aussie launch in 2008 or 2009. BMW put on a fancy affair but the proof that BMW had produced an absolute weapon was coming onto the front straight and lighting up the rear tyre to then hit around 12-13,000rpm and get an arm socket ripping second wave of acceleration. It was a game changer in the litre sportsbike world which saw bikes jump from around 150-160hp to 200hp! Yeeeow!
thE BEaR – BMW R 90 S / R 50 outfit twosies is funsies, but Nothing Beats threes
Over the years I’ve built up more than half a dozen sidecar outfits. This one, which cannibalised two perfectly good and fairly rare motorcycles (the R 90 S
provided engine and transmission, the R 50 donated the frame and running gear) turned out to be useful but never really ideal; for a start the Ural sidecar was too heavy. I didn’t build the perfect outfit until I matched a Yamaha Bolt to a replica Steib chair. Still, the Beemer outfit covered a lot of miles and was a lot of fun. I don’t seem to be able to find any photos, so you’ll have to settle for one of the Bolt.
RALPH - KTM SUPERDUKE / BMW R 1200 GS Split Decision
I owned both in the late 2000s and these bikes meant different things for
me and my riding. Both bikes I bought without test riding, and placed an order prior to their arriving in Australia. It’s proof that marketing hype works! Both represented freedom in every sense -performance or travel, wheelstanding or chugging through the countryside. Both were instrumental in consolidating their brands in their respective markets.
e 2010s
STUART – BMW R 1200 GS Water-Cooled Magic
Let it be known, BMW have pretty much always held amazing new bike launches and the introduction of the
water-cooled R 1200 GS was one of the most memorable ever. We rode fast bitumen, fast gravel, loose dirt, single trail and just about everything else in between and either side. To have a bike that is near unbeatable on the bitumen to then ride off-road and go places you could never imagine taking a big adventure machine is truly amazing. There is no wonder BMW has sold so many 1200 GSs.
The Bear – harleyDaviDson “72” sporTsTer Build Me a Dream
Back in the ‘60s, my friends and I were all trying to build the ultimate chopper. To us, that was the California style, the bike that was eventually created for the silver screen in Easy Rider. None of us ever came close to succeeding, which was not surprising seeing we were mostly using sidevalve WLA Harley engines and frames welded up from plumber’s pipe. But the Motor Company eventually built it, and I bought one – waiting only for one model year so I’d get ABS.
ralph -- aprilia rsv4 v for Madness
In this decade I was lucky to ride almost anything and buy nothing. It was the decade of building a business and having children, so spending was off-limits. Of all the bikes that fitted me best, did what I wanted on the road and racetrack (and luckily, they were all press bikes so I didn’t have to pay for the maintenance) and turned me on the most, it was the V4 Aprilia. The Aprilia was always the answer to the question I was most asked: “Which motorcycle would you buy?”
The 2020s
sTuarT – DucaTi v4 sTreeTfighTer / yaMaha Tenere 700 Two for The price of one?
We’re dreaming here, right? So, why can’t I pick two bikes? One for the
road and track, and one for getting dirty. 220hp (with accessory exhaust) in a naked bike is what I’ve been hoping and dreaming of for the last ten years. Ducati has done it and I want one…bad!
Having just ridden the Tenere 700 I’m blown away by how much control it gives you. I don’t know if I’ve had so much fun in the bush…ever. Get one in my garage ASAP!
THE BEAR - BMW F 750 GS
I’ve just bought one of these after sampling everything out there, and it suits me best for the remaining years of my long-distance travel. Relatively light, with a 19” front wheel which makes it capable both on the road and in the gravel, able to be set up just as I want it and capable of carrying all the gear I’ll ever want – it’s as close to an all-purpose bike as I’ve ever seen. And it’s fun to ride.
RALPH - DUCATI V4 STREETFIGHTER
The future can only get better. This decade is so good in so many respects. So much choice, so many varieties of
motorcycling but the one that really speaks to me knowing that I probably have another five to 10 years of quality motorcycling left in my body is the latest Ducati. This is the decade when I would happily own anything given to me at the moment so it’s a great time to dream.
Tell us we’re dreamin’
The motorcycle you want, but are unlikely to own due to certain fiscal restraints, like the kids’ food and education, but that you’d keep for ever?
STUART – HONDA NR750
I’ve gone a bit left field here, as I’d give my left kidney for a Kawasaki H2 750 but I just love the technology (for the time) of
the oval piston, Honda NR750 – a real racebike produced for the road. They pull massive money now too. A conservative 100k plus will put you in the ballpark. it’s
THE BEAR – KAWASAKI 750 TURBO
I foolishly sold my Turbo when I lived in a house without a garage, but I managed to buy another one a few years ago. I’ll be buried (or cremated, or whatever) with this one in the garage.
RALPH -- BMW R 100 S
A softly, softly approach to keep riding into the sunset. However, I would probably be happier and it makes far more sense financially to stay with my first dream bike from the start of my riding career --the BMW R 100 S.
What about you?
Okay, now is your time to tell us what motorcycle was, THE ONE that got you hooked. Send us an email at contactus@ausmotorcyclist.com.au and we’ll compile the list. D
THERE IS A PERCEPTION that adventures start with the turn of a key, untying the rope from a wharf or the first step out the door. There is a myriad of quotes regarding adventure, what it means, how to find it, how to know if you are on one. But it really starts with curiosity; a desire to learn or see somewhere new that will put you out of your comfort zone. It basically starts with an idea.
A couple of years ago I took a group of friends on a road trip to Braidwood
on hired Royal Enfields. None of us had ridden an Enfield before, some had never ridden country roads, some had never been to that part of the country before: we all had something new to see, new to learn and all of were out of our comfort zones in one way or another. It turned into such an amusing road trip that it
sparked the idea to make it a yearly or two-yearly boys’ weekend. Where haven’t we been and how would we like to get there? That was the question asked over a few beers with a mate, Rod. Well, the saddle of a Harley would be a nice way to see the world. Looking at an old map: checking out the mid north coast and returning inland looks like a worthy trip, we’ve never been through parts of that before. The idea was hatched, the means and destination had been set. To save procrastination the date was set. The adventure had begun.
For the bikes, we returned to Eagle Rider Rentals at Burwood. Santina and Will gave us a great deal on the Royal Enfields previously and did the same for the Harley Davidsons on this expedition. The initial destination was the National Motorcycle Museum at Nabiac. A route was roughly plotted on Google maps to head north with the return via Dungog.
Overnight stopping points were suggested and prices checked.
Three days is what we would need for a comfortable trip. Costings were tallied and came to around $1000 each for the weekend plus spending money. Each of us chose our bike and we chose wisely.
A Sport Glide, two Street Glides and a Breakout were booked. Jim came as road crew in his HJ panel van that he had lovingly restored; Greg came on his trusty KLR. Not as good as a DR but still not too bad a bike.
We set a date two years in the future; this ensured we would ride in the milder months while daylight savings was still in effect. The error we made on the Royal Enfield ride to Braidwood was that it was scheduled in May. Shorter days meant at 3.00pm you felt the day was ending, at 5.00pm it was dark and we were rushed to get to destinations before wildlife starts to come onto roads.
Over the months, in between work,
reading autobiographies of Neil Young and how he accumulated so many cars in his time or watching Longmire looking at the scenery, maps were opened and towns were researched to discover any oddities they had, what attractions were nearby and any interesting buildings lining the streets.
Each region has its own architectural vibe, from the south coast to north coast to differing parts of the west; each region is a little different. There is much to see and do in country towns that you will not experience in tropical resorts. Kudos to Rod who spent hours going over maps , checking distances, looking at accommodation, writing track notes so no one gets lost, organising a GoPro and experimenting with mounts to give the best footage. Leading into the latter part of 2019, the country was gripped by drought. Fires raged for 6 months, the air was filled with acrid smoke, the sound of sirens and news reports of a national
catastrophe over the airwaves. This was followed by dust storms that crossed the nation. Water shortages were increasing and towns were drying to critical levels, then we were hit by floods. I’m waiting for the locusts. We are not out of the drought yet, but the rain helped immensely not just the dried dams and rivers but the morale of the people in towns who were on the brink of abandoning their homes, farms and towns.
There is always an upside to everything, we may not see it at the time, but there is always something we can use to our advantage. We saw the people come together to support those in need, we supported the RFS and emergency responders, we gave, we volunteered, we put our names down to volunteer where we could. We stood defiant to what was threatening us. There was a brief respite, we celebrated our victory and then we were hit with a global pandemic. A global emergency,
neither the Tracy family, Chuck Norris nor James Bond could save us from. Yes it is very serious, it is highly contagious and it is something all of us have been thrown into without our consent and the daily changes to routine are very confusing, however, it should be remembered the changes to our lifestyle are there to protect us. Just as making us wear a helmet, jacket and a roadworthy bike are there for our protection not as revenue raisers.
After the fires, there was a drive to get people to venture into country towns to stimulate their economies, protect them from hardship and show they are not forgotten. Sadly we now need to keep people out of country towns to protect them. Makes it hard to show they are not forgotten about. There is always an upside though. We will change the way we work, study, conduct business. We will increasingly watch out for each other, gain a greater respect for people’s professions even realise that
working from home in isolation can be detrimental in the long term but beneficial short term. We may travel more locally instead of jetting off to a crowded city overseas where you meet the same people from your local pub? Shows how small the world actually is. By the time this piece is printed, things would have changed multiple times. This forced isolation is a prime time to do the preventative maintenance on our bikes we have been putting off. It’s also an opportune time to research places you always wanted to go, spend the time going over old issues of magazines, pull out old travel books that have been sitting on the shelf waiting to inspire you to somewhere or books on how to do running repairs on the side of the road. Pick up new skills that will come in handy on your next ride. Things look bleak for the moment but they will not last for an excessive amount of time. Even if this virus and lockdown lasts 18 months,
plan for something to do at the end of it to celebrate getting to the other side unscathed….. Except for grazed knuckles from slipping spanners.
Friday the 13th. What a date to choose to head out of Sydney. Despite avoiding all black cats, ladders and anything else that could bring bad luck, it turned out to be the last weekend for some time to venture out and explore the state. After that, state lockdowns were imposed. The entering of museums, eating in cafes, restaurants and drinking in bars have been banned. We were fortunate.
A clear blue sky and typical early autumn morning greeted us as we arrived at Eagle Rider to collect our machines. A briefing by Will on what we can and can’t do on the bikes, what the buttons do, the screen on the Street Glide is not for your wife to watch MAFS while stuck in traffic and he knows where we live if something happens to the bikes, we are then on our way. Coming from the seating position of a DR650 to a Sport Glide, I have to admit it took me by surprise to not find the foot pegs directly below me as well as the sudden boost of power when releasing the clutch. By the time I hit Pymble, the muscle memory set in and all was ok.
The first regrouping point was the Brooklyn boat ramp where we met Greg on his KLR. This was the first
of many rest stops where we had to wait for Jim to stop talking to flocks of people coming to talk to him about his panel van. It’s a 1975 HJ 308ci 4 speed m21 gearbox 3.08 ratio diff and amazing what memories are evoked in people when they see an old panel van. Along the expressway, the Sport Glide cruised exactly as it should have, effortlessly floating along the doted lines, giving a burst of power when needed to pass a car or truck. Reaching Williamstown, we duck into Fighter World. Talk about big boys’ toys, an Aermacchi jet, Mirage, Vampire and an F111 are a few of the fighters displayed inside. The child in you is hard to restrain when you are free to sit in the cockpit of a Macchi, can’t help but say “I feel the need for speed” while your mate sits in the navigators seat feeling like a Goose. It was a revelation to find the RAF was working on a fighter jet as early as March 1943 with the Gloster Meteor. I had always been under impression the Luftwaffe were the only ones toying with jets in the mid ‘40s. There is always something new to learn. The museum also illustrated the rapid advancements in technology in a relatively short space of time. When you see a biplane hanging above a ‘50s fighter, you realise we are a pretty smart, resilient species that won’t go down without a fight… and that aircraft was
designed with slide rule technology.
The day ends at Bulahdelah. Once a major stopping point when travelling to Queensland, it is still an attractive town, a gateway to Myall Lakes where house boats and yachts can be hired to explore the waterways or to throw a line in for perch, blackfish or anything else that is biting.
At the bottom of town, an abandoned service station still stands, sun bleached signs advertise Chrysler and Plymouth cars and Morris commercials, ghosts from the past. Just as bypasses can be detrimental to some towns, they can also have advantages, towns can reinvent themselves preserving their charm and old roads are preserved for those who remember and appreciate them. The old Bulahdelah bends are still there. Now known as the Wootton Way, once notorious for accidents caused by frustration at being caught in lines of holiday traffic behind a caravan or truck, this is a 22km stretch of bliss that winds through giant mountain eucalypts. Sweeping bends, flat surfaces, dual lane in some parts and we didn’t see another car along this stretch while the Harleys glided over the bitumen. Greg ”Rossi” on his KLR showed us how to ride it properly. When we got to the end at the Pacific Highway, the idea was thrown around to turn back and do it again. A few minutes further north is the
National Motorcycle Museum at Nabiac. Deceiving from the front, it’s like stepping into the Tardis. The inside opens to 3 warehouse-sized sheds full of motorcycles, automobiles and memorabilia. It’s a privately owned museum that was set up by and run by the Kelleher family to help prevent our motorcycling heritage being shipped overseas. That was 18 years ago, now there are over a thousand bikes on display and the place is still growing. Some models were ahead of their time like an old Malvern Star with a 25cc engine that looks not too dissimilar to the E-bikes screaming around city streets today or the adventure bikes with CD players to keep the rider amused while listening to the Doors as they ride into dark flashing skies. For a $15 entry fee, we are entertained for a good couple of hours as we recognise bikes of our youth and memories of cuts, grazes and forest tracks.
After hunting down cheese and bacon pies for Jarad in a Nabiac bakery we head west to Dungog via Gloucester. It’s not long before Jim Morrison starts singing in my helmet and I realise how resilient the bush is. Driving through Merriwa last October, the land was parched and the ground crackled underfoot, today it is emerald green with low clouds rolling into the valleys shrouding the hills. Visibility decreases as my glasses are covered in water and my face feels exfoliated after being blasted by a million beads of rain. The Harley doesn’t miss beat and we wind our way to Morgrani Lookout to pull over and put on the wet weather gear. Looking at the roadside map with Greg, we are already looking for secondary roads to explore on a return trip. A welcome respite is found in Gloucester at the Roadies café. Hot coffee and a burger will do wonders to your morale even when driving on a wet day. Watching the world go by, a group of riders on vintage bikes cruises along the main street heading toward Krambach, doesn’t matter how old or how good the bike looks, you still get wet.
Entering Dungog, a potholed road leads to a truss bridge that seems miles long and leads us into the town centre. A wide, empty street with 1900s
architecture, horse and dray replaced by 4x4s and utes. It’s a picturesque town. Petrol pumps mounted on the curb in front of garages, closed for the afternoon, a reminder that you can still get stranded in a town if you’re not careful. In front of the Holden dealer, an “Out of Order” sign on the petrol bowser reads like an epitaph on a headstone. Like all towns that are fighting to stay alive, some of these places have hidden gems that stand out from everything and make the journey there worthwhile.
The Hunter is renowned for its wineries, but The Tin Shed Brewery steps out of the box and specialises in beer and really good food. Owned by Haley and David Collis it has the laid-back feel of a mate’s shed that holds a brewing kit on steroids – very relaxed. You can sit in or out and the guys behind the bar are more than happy to talk to you and explain their brewing process. It is also in a great location due to the adventure sports the region offers: Enduro championships, trail bike adventures, mountain bike trails as well as walking trails and fishing. Did I tell you the burgers are huge and the ribs look like they came from a brontosaurus?
The following morning while we’re refuelling at Paterson approximately 200 bikes of all descriptions head north as part of the “Black Dog Ride.” It is amazing to see so many riders participating in an event like this. We wait for Jim to come down the road, thinking maybe he is parked in by the bikes. Twenty minutes later he finally arrives -- every man and his dingo wanted to talk to him about the HJ. Rolling into Wollombi, we get to the pub just before the lunch crush. This is home to Dr Jurd’s Jungle Juice, a story in its own right and very popular stopping point for riders and anyone who wants to explore this area. The sound of the band playing in the pub carries through the village while we amble through arts and crafts shops looking for trinkets for our wives. Any band that can play Credence Clearwater Revival, Bob Dylan and Pink Floyd cannot be too bad. A winery is a short walk from the pub.
We explore while people pull Jim over to talk about his HJ. Heading along the Northern Road to Peats Ridge, the rain comes again, blinding me. I pull over to put on my wets, change glasses and let the lads ride past. A farmer pulls up to check his snail mail and tells me we are lucky because a few weeks earlier the road was covered in water from the amount of rain they had and we might not have been able to ride through it. We have had a very lucky weekend so far. The Northern Road is littered with “Slow Down” and “Slippery when Wet” signs and I can see what they mean when you can’t see out of your glasses. It is a road to be revisited. Just out of Peats Ridge, we pull over as Greg has picked up a nail in the rear of the KLR (This would not happen to a DR). Unfortunately without a spare tube or repair kit, all he can do is try to make it home by pumping the tyre every so often. He makes it as far as Brooklyn and calls his brother to collect him and the bike. The bright side of this is that while Greg was waiting in the rain, shortly afterwards another person stopped with car problems. He had a six pack, so they sat in the rain, under a tin roof and shared a beer and a few stories until help came for both of them. There are good people in this world.
Craig left the group early on the Sunday morning to get home, pick up his wife and take her for a ride through the south coast and Southern Highlands. His wife now wants him to buy a Harley.
Jim got home and is looking for a decent sound system in the HJ before he goes for another long drive. Jarad has a new respect for Harleys after growing up on sports bikes and is still looking for the perfect cheese and bacon pie. Rod begrudgingly handed back the Street Glide and is going over all the GoPro footage and updating his editing skills to be ready for the next adventure in a year or two. I’m looking at maps... a Mad Max run to Broken Hill and Silverton looks interesting. D
The guide to the stars - The who’s who in the zoo of motorcycle travel worldwide is what you’ll find here. We’ve travelled with many of them and know them all, so they come highly recommended. In alphabetical order, they are:
Europe and Thailand www.imtbike.com tours@imtbike.com
TOURS – New Zealand & European Alps www.paradisemotorcycletours.co.nz
RIDE THE WORLD MOTORCYCLE TOURS www.ridetheworldmotorcycletours.com david@rtwmotorcycletours.com
Cafe directory
INLINE4 CAFE
Best café and fully licensed restaurant on the way to Philip Island Circuit
I Vista Place, Cape Woolamai Philip Island, Victoria 0427 475 681
ROMANIA MOTORCYCLE
TOURS – Europe www.romaniamotorcycletours.com office@romaniamotorcycletours.com
SOUTH PACIFIC MOTORCYCLE
TOURS – New Zealand www.motorbiketours.co.nz office@motorbiketours.co.nz
TE WAIPOUNAMU MOTORCYCLE
TOURS - New Zealand www.motorcycle-hire.co.nz nzbike@motorcycle-hire.co.nz
WORLD ON WHEELS - Europe, Iceland, South America, India, Asia, Mexico, Africa & Himalaya www.worldonwheels.tours Adventure@WorldOnWheels.Tours
ThE ShAggY CoW
Expectational coffee and food stop in the Southern Highlands 112 Main St Mittagong 02 4872 2966
York LANE
City Laneway cafe/bar run by the original Ducati riding ace racer. York Lane behind Clarence St 02 9299 1676
PITSToP AT MT MEE CAFE
A great ride to a beautiful location north of Brisbane 2070a Mt Mee r d, o cean View, Queensland 07 342536520
grEY guMS CAFé
Really the Centre of the Universe if you are travelling up The Putty 8679 Putty r oad, Putty NSW 02 6579 7015
ChuBBS
Definitely a haven for people interested in classic motorcycles and filling their bellies! 42 Windbourne r d, Brookvale 0420 546 477
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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
SOF THE MONTH
OUNDS LIKE RUSSELL
could need a new pair of undies from the number of ‘chicanes’ he’s encountered. We can only provide him with a T-shirt and backpack from the amazing folk at Nelson-Rigg. Check out the entire range at nelsonrigg.com.au . Send me your t-shirt size and postal address, mate. Cheers, Stuart.
DODGEM CITY
Dear Sir,
In his letter (AM #87) Hugh Spencer reminds me I’ve had my own suite of touring obstacles. My daily work commute involves motorcycling from Gympie to the Sunshine Coast in south east Queensland, a round-trip commute of 170km. Mostly I choose the
EXERCISE?
So the state government has lifted it restrictions on motorcycling saying that it is considered exercise. All these years I thought I owned a hi-spec, top end tourer. Now it turns out to be nothing
newly constructed 4 lane divided Bruce Highway with an added touch of country through Bli Bli township and along the lower reaches of the Maroochy River. For the most part it’s a pleasant and safe trip on a modern highway as you can see from the pic, however there are sometimes unusual hazards presenting, apart from the omnipresent pieces of unfortunate critter, truck tyre treads and 40 km of wire rope barrier (but that’s a story for another time).
October 2018’s storm season in these climes saw destructive hailstorm cells rip through Gympie town and surrounds, providing loads of work for every tin and glass tradie in South East Qld. Pity they didn’t all care to fasten their loads securely as they came and went. In the following eighteen months I’ve encountered many potentially lethal fallen objects on the tarmac, including a full 3 metre sheet of corrugated colour-bond, numerous smaller off-cuts of the same stuff, a stainless steel kitchen sink (a dual tub one at that), a 6 metre x 2.4 metre slab of steel reinforcing
more than an exercise machine and not a very good one as my legs still look like chopsticks. I'll never look at my K16 with the same adoring eyes again.
Regards,
mesh, a ‘brass’ bed end, two (mangled) iron outdoor chairs, the side of a box-trailer cage and a small tree blocking more than one full lane of the two available (can’t blame the tradies for that), not to mention the many sheets of plasterboard in various stages of disintegration.
Even though the road safety jingle goes “Every K over is a thriller”, or something like that, I must agree with Hugh, there’s a time when slow and super vigilant is the only way to go.
Russell Lewis Gympie Q.
Hi Russell, Sounds like you missed your calling in life…’Roller Derby Pro’? LOL!Cheers, Stuart.
Harry Stephens Pitt Town
PS I'm still looking forward to some numb-bum and tired legs after a days or twos workout, along with some arm bending
to improve my biceps
Hi Harry,
I’m sure your legs look fine to the ones that care…your family. As for your bike not being a very good exercise machine, you better get an adventure bike and do some hillclimbs, that will get the muscles burning! - Cheers, Stuart.
COVID 1
Dear Stuart,
Clearly there is a lot of economic downturn as a result of COVID19 and it is further impacting on car sales and I would think motorcycle sales (which I think have been down anyway pre Covid19).
There is nobody much on the roads in the ACT except those who by necessity have to go out for work or food and essentials.
I have been managing to use the bike for essential trips within the confines of the ACT border but that is a big change from our weekly ride group where we would usually ride out of the ACT to, say, Goulburn or Boorowa or Yass or
Braidwood. Purpose to ride, have a social get together and have some food whilst out. Now, no such trips.
I know there has been panic in terms of buying up of products like loo paper, tissues, hand sanitizer, pasta, canned tomatoes and other products. This panic buying has been ridiculous in my opinion and created a problem of store supply where there was no need to stockpile goods at home. I note that the news reports say that a small supermarket group Drake’s has refused to buy back 150 x 32 roll packs of toilet paper and 150 x 1 ltr sanitizer. I am GLAD they refused a refund as the individual concerned was having about 20 people chase these products and then he attempted to re-sell on E-Bay. Serve the bugger right for being a scungy individual!
All that said, I think your quoting of figures of the people that die daily from cancer, heart disease, diabetes, mozzies and murders is an unfair comparison! Yes to date the total numbers of COVID19 deaths World Wide would be exceeded by a week’s worth or less perhaps of the
reasons for the daily figures of these deaths, however this pandemic of COVID 19 is not normal and as you would know has the potential for totally overwhelming the hospital and medical resources of all countries. I am not aware of any cancers etc you can catch from shaking someone’s hand or touching contaminated surfaces. So, comparing normal worldwide deaths to COVID19 deaths is like trying to compare apples and oranges.
I felt your editorial came across as dismissive of the seriousness of Covid19 and smacked a bit of self-centredness in highlighting the inconvenience it has caused you. I like bikes and riding too, but many people have had to alter travel plans etc for the greater good.
I think that all the media reporting though is worrisome for Australian people as it is repeated and repeated and like the bushfires you do not get a break from it. Every time you turn on the T.V, look at Facebook, listen to the radio it is in your face or ears.
I try to reduce my listening/reading/ watching to once or twice a day to keep up with developments - more than that is
quite frankly depressing.
Cheers, Edward Towner
Subscription holder for a number of years
Hi Edward,
I was just trying to put things a little bit into perspective here. Remember Swine Flu? That killed about 500,000 (some say) and there was no mass hysteria like there is with this new flu. Anyway, let’s hope we’re all out riding, laughing and enjoying motorcycling again soon. Cheers, Stuart.
COVID 2
Hi Stuart,
Just a comment on your post. The 26,000 people who die of cancer can't pass it on to me through a sneeze or touch. The 24,000 people who die of heart disease can't pass it on to me through a sneeze or touch. Same for diabetes.
It is truly sad what has happened and I'm missing one of my rides which is in this issue.
Sorry you missed all the launches. Maybe read Bear’s article where he semi-quoted "I complained about my socks but then I met a man with no feet".
Regards, Harry, Pitt Town
PS We're all cranky.
Hi Harry,
So right you are. Hopefully you’ve got out for a bit of a ride… even around the block to warm the oil up!
Cheers, Stuart.
COVID 3
I’d just like to put it out to all the epidemiologists reading this, that they should steer clear of advising how to edit a motorcycle magazine. While I appreciate that epidemiologists have studied a lot, I suspect the magazine editing units of study were fairly limited. It is often seen that if you rant where you have no expertise, then you rapidly demonstrate how little you know. Best Regards, Scott Young
Hi Scott,
I wrote my piece to get a reaction, and I got one. I also wrote that piece to try and put things a little bit into perspective. Remember Swine Flu? There
wasn’t mass hysteria about that, and that flu killed around 500,000 in a short time. Cheers, Stuart.
Yeah me too – but I missed my target unless you are secretly an epidemiologist. Swine flu is a more valid comparison – at least it was contagious – unlike all the stuff you put in your editorial!
Best Regards, Scott Young
COVID 4
Dear Stuart, I’m very disappointed in your editorial of May 2020, where you complain bitterly, it seems, of the terrible disruption you have suffered as a result of the Covid-19 virus. Yes, there have been significant changes we have all had to make. You seem to be minimising the death rate when comparing them to other causes, but perhaps you need to rethink that. Today is Anzac Day and I’m sitting down to read the magazine, which I’ve bought from day 1. On the first wave on the beaches at Anzac Cove 2000 Aussies were killed. That’s about 2000 a day. It went on and on just like this virus is killing hundreds of thousands. Forgive me but your attitude seems to balance the deaths against the disruption you have suffered. Is this what you are suggesting? So is it a matter of “sorry Grandad you will have die because I need to go to NZ for a new bike release”.
Is this how you value life?
I have been riding for nearly 50 yrs, have owned as many bikes, currently have a small collection of registered and project bikes and I don’t see myself as disposable, so that you can be less inconvenienced. I would ask that you think more deeply about your editorial and its implications for many many people, it may cause less deaths (debatable) than other causes but it is indiscriminate and a very nasty disease, one to which I’m am vulnerable and quite likely not to survive if I were to suffer it. The measures we can take are saving lives, there is little we can do in a similar collective manner that can save lives for the other causes you mention.
If your apparent (please tell me I’ve misinterpreted you) attitude prevails we shouldn’t be surprised if others see motorcycle riders in the same light, - oh!, they are a minority so it doesn’t matter how many die or in fact lose their right to ride in
pursuit of society’s convenience. The next page I turned to I see an ad for Boris’s new book with some choice terms. Really. I like some of Boris’s work, envy the fact that he survived his past life but let’s remember that standards apply or rather, should in what is the last remaining bike magazine published here.
Have a look at the American magazine “motorcycle classics” where there is never a political view expressed or a whinge, despite what must be almost irresistible motivation, given the partisan nature of US society. Have a look at Boris’ column and your own and explain why you guys need to complain so much in a motorcycle magazine.
I’ll give it one more edition but if the politics and whinging don’t stop, it will be my last.
You call on us to support the magazine and I want to, I really do, but why destroy such great articles and photos with such attitudes at an editorial level.
And no, I’m not some lefty snowflake, I just want my motorcycles straight, like my whisky.
Regards
Paul Whittaker Queanbeyan
Hi Paul,
Thanks for writing in. I have no idea why you’d include ANZACS in this?
Anyhow, the editorial was to show the mass hysteria that the media has blown this up as. If you remember a handful of years ago, Swine Flu killed something like 500,000 in a short period of time and no one seemed to bat an eyelid at that?
Thank you for being a long term reader, you’ll probably find that Boris will always be Boris and I will keep working hard to produce a great mag for you.
Here’s to getting back on the bike for a great ride, soon.
Cheers, Stuart.
Thanks Stuart,
The Anzac reference was regarding your comment on the number of deaths for covid19 being 2 K a day, about the same as Anzac Cove etc. You’re right though, the media does seem to be running this response, at least it gives the politicians a chance to shine (or not) and we need that.
I’ll keep reading the mag.
Paul D
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BEARFACED THE PLEASURE OF SOLITUDE
LIKE MOST OTHER people, I’m tired of the coronavirus lockdown. But not for the reasons that I see every day in my emails. You know, “I can’t go for a ride”, “I can’t go to the pub”, ”I can’t go to the bike shop to check out the new XYZ1800”, “I can’t go and see my brother-in-law…” and so on. None of this bothers me particularly; I’ve had patches in my life where I haven’t been able to go for a ride for considerably longer than this lockdown has lasted. Admittedly I’m not being fair here because I can go for a ride – it’s risky, but since I am a “professional motorcyclist” riding is work for me. Just try explaining that to the average single-minded highway patrol officer.
I don’t mind not going to the pub for a while since it means I don’t have to listen to the cretinous ideas some of my comrades produce. I mean, nobody would be intellectually deficient enough to suggest injecting antiseptic into her, his – or your –lungs. That sort of idea is reserved for presidents of the united states (I can’t bring myself to use capital letters there). But still. Some of them will tell you with straight faces that if only their parents had bought them an Ape delivery trike as kids, they would be cleaning up Rossi. Plus I don’t need to see the latest XYZ1800 because frankly, motorcycle design at the moment leaves me cold. As for
visiting my brother-in-law, let’s let that one go through to the keeper.
Overall, I don’t really mind being restricted to quarters for a while. Admittedly, cat videos have begun to pall but I just love all the stuff about space and physics and other science subjects, as well as the wonderful historic material about motorcycles.
No, what bugs me can be extrapolated from this quote I found in one of those science posts.
“Isaac Newton did his best scientific work while staying home with his parents at Woolsthorpe during the Great Plague of London in 1665–66, when Cambridge University closed down. Over a year of independent work, he developed calculus, optics and realized the nature of gravity.”
He what!? He did all that and still had time to sit under apple trees reading books? Things can’t have been all that cozy with the olds, either, because less than a year before this he had threatened to burn down the house with them in it. Seriously. When he wasn’t standing on the shoulders of giants he was proposing pyrotechnics.
Oh, I know I’d never have come up with calculus no matter how long I sat under any kind of tree. It’s just being reminded of Newton that annoys me as I work on my theory that antineutrinos decay into Dark Matter and bovine farts propel Dark Energy.
No, no, it’s more like when I get an email from someone I’ve previously regarded as a mate who tells me he’s bored because he’s “taken care of all the chores that have been waiting for attention for the past 20 years,” and the one who claims that “the garden has never looked so good, and we’re expecting a bumper crop of kohlrabi with all the work that’s
gone into their bed.”
This suggests that I, too, should be subjecting myself to backbreaking labour in the garden or revive and hammer away at long-ago-abandoned projects where Mrs Bear sucks her teeth and suggests that perhaps she should be handling this job because she has “smaller hands”.
It hurts that I’m not better off financially, not because I’d like more money (although, you know, if you have any spare readies…) but because then I would be able to quote one of Hilaire Belloc’s more trenchant little observations in ‘Lord Finchley’ when I’m referred to as “bone lazy”, the way one of my more prominent critics has a way of doing:
“Lord Finchley tried to mend the Electric Light Himself. It struck him dead: And serve him right!
It is the business of the wealthy man To give employment to the artisan.”
But I am no Tevye with his wish to be a rich man. I have no desire to fill the garage with the latest, hottest and fastest motorcycles, for instance. Many people do not realise that buying, for example, a [insert name of fastest current road-legal motorcycle] commits you, irrevocably, to a style of riding appropriate to that bike. You cannot be out there on a road rocket and ride it like a damp squib. Nomen, as the Romans so rightly had it, est omen. If it says ‘Supersports’ on the side, you must ride it like one or be exposed to the obloquy of everyone else on the road. Even Porsche drivers, those sad souls. No, no, give me a garden with an apple tree to sit under (and preferably a gardener who comes around every fortnight or so, lockdown or not) where I can imitate Newton but without actually discovering anything much. D
BORIS
LBORIS MIHAILOVIC
OSING YOUR REASON for being is difficult, isn’t it? All over the world, that is exactly what’s happened to motorcyclists as we surf the wild waves of the Plague.
After all, if riding motorcycles is your thing, your whole thing, and nothing but your thing, then to be told you can no longer ride until the Plague ends or the Zombies come for you (whichever happens first), you have lost your reason for living.
Australia is essentially a dumpster fire of confusion about what is permitted during the Plague. What we know so far is:
The billions of dollars in fines usually raised by the Highway Patrol are now not being raised because people are not riding as much, but that money needs to be replaced. So now the police are fining everyone for everything. But using their “discretion”, which few find any comfort in because police “discretion” is very similar to police “intelligence”, in that those words don’t mean what you think they mean.
Millions of dollars in fines have already been issued, and more is to come.
The police have also launched a murder investigation at the hapless and diseased crew of the Ruby Princess, which you’ll recall was a wonderful cruise ship full of fun. And Plague.
Clearly, the people responsible for this Plague-spreading fiasco are the legions of waiters, toilet-cleaners, and deck-washers currently waiting for our Homicide Squad to pin murder raps on them.
And while all this is going on, none of us can ride our motorcycles, probably. No-one is clear on that. So we stare at our idle motorcycles.
And post pictures up on Facebook of old rides and runs. But even this is fraught with peril since one couple
COPING WITH COVID-19… OR NOT
got charged with breaking quarantine by posting up pictures of a trip they did a year ago.
My friends are also locked-down to various degrees. Of course, the more they drink the less locked-down they feel, or the more paranoid they become about getting the Plague. It’s a rich conflict. The really pissed ones are sharpening shovels and axes and forming legions to march on China to exact revenge for the eating of Plague-bats or something.
But in the main, they are bored. And this boredom is tinged by concern. Not fear, of course. Just mild concern. They are motorcyclists, after all. Panicbraking into a decreasing radius hairpin at 170km/h is where true fear lives – not sitting in a house in your underpants, illuminated by Netflix and nourished by lager, wondering if the neighbours will dob you in for wheelieing up the street in your girlfriend’s underpants. That’s just boredom. And bored hands are the devil’s tools.
So it’s fair to say most of us will be hardcore Satan-worshippers before this is over.
All the motorcycles we own are now cleaner than they were since they were bought new. Every nut has been kissed by a spanner. Chains have been cleaned and lubed and adjusted, then re-adjusted. The bike itself has been moved several times, with each new position in the garage offering a new viewing angle for when you drink beer and stare at it with fond memories of when you used to ride. If your bikes were bought second-hand, then they are now worth more than they were when they were purchased. New tyres, new air in those tyres, 4367 coats of polish, and cables so lubed they leave drip marks under the bike. You find yourself scouring the classifieds. Before the Plague, you were not in the market
for a new bike. But now that your days may well be measured in days, is it such a bad idea? How good would it be to own a Brough Superior, huh?
Or how about that project bike? Now is the perfect opportunity to buy an old Shovelhead and build that show-winning chopper using old bits of screen-door and plumbing off-cuts you have lying around. Or maybe even have a crack at building a WSBK-spec Superbike.
It’s pretty simple, really. You drink half a bottle of tequila, log onto eBay, and just go nuts. It’s not like you’re using your stupid credit card for anything else right now, right?
Hell, you probably don’t even have a job, so it doesn’t matter if you get a full race-spec set of Öhlins forks and some of them fancy Brembos with carbon discs to go with the carbon wheels you just bought. After all, the banks can’t get blood out of a stone and if there’s no money after the Plague, what can they do?
Do you have a dirt-bike? Then you’re better off than your road-bike-owning mate. It’s not like he can build a track in his yard, can he? But all you need are some bricks and some boards and some good Christian shovel-work and you can have your own motocross circuit. It will be tight and technical, but that’s nothing six beers can’t sort, right?
Too lazy to build or dig? Then you’re suddenly all about Trials. Pull off your seat, get a sledge hammer to lower the sub-frame a bit, and off you go. Hop up the stairs, down the stairs, then wheelie it onto the pot-plant, balance and hold on the back wheel, and mind you don’t put your feet down or you’ll lose points… and repeat.
So that’s kinda where we are right now. Though by the time you read this, we may well be somewhere else in the Plague cycle. D
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