EDITORIAL JUNE 1979
Well, here we go with our second attempt at the
magazine. We would like to thank the club members who have co-operated when
approached and asked to submit an article. But we would like to think that
others could approach us and suggest that they would like to submit something.
As you realize we have only taken the magazine
over in a temporary capacity until the next elections in October (2 down/ 4 to
go) and would like to pass it onto the next Editor as a successful
"rag". So please give us your support. We cannot make it without you.
Tom & Jude
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JUNE RIDES
SATURDAY 2 Progressive
Dinner KBCP 5.30pm.
SUNDAY 3
Red Hill near Colac KBCP 9am.
SUNDAY 10
‘Wattle Gully' Gold mine, Chewton
KBCP 9.30am
LONG WEEKEND Metung Dandenong P.O. Saturday 7.30am, sharp.
16, 17,18
SUNDAY 24
Lederberg Gorge KBCP 10am.
JULY
SUNDAY 1
'Waterfall Gully' KBCP 9.30am
FRIDAY 6 General
Meeting 8.15pm. Slide Night.
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RAFFLE RAFFLE RAFFLE
1st prize - Set of
Driving Lights - Value approx. $60
2nd prize - Car or bike
pump - Value $7
Tickets 50c each or 5
for $2.
It starts tonight,
June 1st and will be drawn at the September meeting (3 months). This
raffle is open to everyone, so sell some tickets to your friends.
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CAPTAINS'S RAVE
It has been great to see
some new faces at the recent club rides. It is obvious that the ad in the
'green horror' has been worthwhile.
But I hope that the
attitude of some of the older club members towards smaller bikes and
inexperienced riders doesn't deter them.
Remember that the only
way they can gain experience is by riding - so why not with us. The recent 250
law now gives them very little option as to the size of their bikes.
Plus I can remember some
of the offenders whom themselves started on small bikes and gradually worked up
to their 750's and 1000s as their ability improved.
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PROGRESSIVE DINNER
2.6.79
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SOUP |
RON
& ANN |
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MOONEE
PONDS |
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2.
MAIN COURSE |
BRENDAN
& SALLY GLEESON |
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UPWAEY |
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3.
SWEETS |
TOM
SAVILLE & JUDE WALLIS |
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4.
COFFEE & BISCUITS |
GREG
SMITH |
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ELWOOD |
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Tickets are still available tonight from Greg
Smith. $2.50 each.
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Dear members just a short blast from your
friendly money hungry treasurer. As club funds are rather low could you people
who have received membership renewals please pay up. The club costs money to
run i.e. hall hire, club mag and shortly the printing of new reflective club
emblem. So please pay up to your friendly treasurer.
KEITH HARRIS
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PRODUCT EVALUATION
"DAMART THERMOLACTYL" UNDERWEAR AND
SOCKS
Charles Cord told me that he had purchased some
of the new Damart underwear and that it was remarkably warmer than his aircell
underwear which he had been using up until then. His wife confirmed that the
Damart wear was like electrically heated gear. They kindly gave me a copy of
the Damart catalogue.
Next, I was reading the Gold Wing Club magazine
and read a further report on Damart, clothing which was used on a recent
I sent in my application and ordered a long
sleeve single force vest, a short sleeve double force vest, both in white, long
johns in blue, and some socks. I charged them to my Bankcard as the order was
not cheap. Two weeks later a small package arrived, and yes all of the ordered
clothing was in it. Each item is very light and looks very well made.
Cold weather soon turned up and I put on the
double force vest, L.J.s and socks and before the day was out, I could readily
agree and confirm Charlie's view that it really works. I remained really warm.
Later, I tried the single force vest and while it is not so warm as the double
one, it too does a good job. The socks are just tremendous, and they do not get
clammy like ordinary socks. Their colour is blue and they are really thick.
Damart wear requires care in washing but can be
machine washed in warm water but hot water and ironing are out. The price is
the big worry, but they are cheaper and more convenient than electrically
heated gear. Sample prices are as follows;
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Double
force vests : $30.40 |
Long
Johns : $23.75 |
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Single
force vests : $20.85 |
Long
socks : $12.25 pr |
Damart may be found at
Darren GL 1000
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MT. BULLER RUN 6.5.79
In spite of a good
weather forecast and the prospect of a terrific ride, very few starters turned
up at the car park for the scheduled 8.30 departure time. The ride, lead by Les
Leahy on the Yammy 500 started out in bright sunshine but by the time we got to
Box Hill we were engulfed in heavy fog which persisted right thru to the
Maroondah Reservoir just beyond Healesville. We had by this time collected a
few more hardy souls at Lilydale so now numbered about ten bikes in all.
The Black Spur section
carried the usual amount of traffic, and again as usual, all in small bunches
of four or five vehicles. This situation doesn't seem to worry the "Mick
Fagans' in the group but does tend to frustrate the less daring like myself.
On thru Buxton, swing off the highway at
Taggerty then on thru Thornton to the Jamison turn off, where would you
believe, two bikes were dropped in the same small patch of gravel at the
intersection - total damage being two badly mangled turn indicators and one
slightly modified points cover plus one grazed knee. Don't worry Joy, it
happens to the best of riders.
Good winding bitumen (including a section
covered with fine screenings which was a bit dicey) then a longish section of
gravel thru the hills slow us at Jamison after which it was all stops out for a
good fast run to Mansfield for petrol and lunch in glorious sunshine. Marcus on
his Gold Wing joined the ride at this point.
The run from here to the top of
For anyone who has not seen the magnificent
panoramic views of the
With the winding mountain section safely
negotiated by all, it was but a short easy run to Bonnie Doon for coffee or
whatever and a petrol refill. We also had the good fortune to meet two BMW club
members here returning from Benalla and their first glider flights. Both agree
it was 'pretty good' so lets be in it when our time comes up later this year.
(See Mick Fagan if you don’t know what I'm no about)
A wise decision by our leader to keep to a
respectful 110 kph paid off, some guy on a Suzuki passed us at a rapid rate of
knots only to be pulled over and booked a little further down the road - and we
were soon into Yea for a brief stop and dispersal.
For myself and at least two others, identity
unknown, it was a fast run to Yarra Glen mostly on the wrong side of the white
line or lines, passing an almost continuous line of cars travelling bumper to
bumper. No wonder they hate our guts when we go ripping past leaving them to
sweat it out at a slow crawl. I trust that the rest of the group on whichever
road they took from Yea, had a good run home to round off a very pleasant and
exhilarating day tour.
I just wish I could explain to non-riders why
such a day is so different to a days outing in a car. Maybe someone, someday,
will come up with the answer - but then again I doubt it.
The old guy (John Jarrold) Honda
750
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ORGAN PIPES 13.5.79
Nine bikes and one car turned up for this nice
short ride, which Tom lead on his smoke screen Kwaka. Out onto Ballarat Rd. to
Bacchus Marsh, where we turned off for Gisborne. It was quite cold through the
hills. On reaching Gisborne we had lunch, hamburgers, chips and coffee.
Satisfied, we continued on, heading towards
Melbourne, running into a somewhat strong head wind, with a few spots of rain
at Diggers Rest.
Not long after, we arrived at our destination,
parked and started the walk down the hill to the 'Pipes', where we were given a
bit of history by our tour guide, Mr. Leahy. (while Greg turned Keith on!) The
walk back was a bit hard, up hill all the way.
I took over as leader (as Tom had to go back for
Mothers Day) taking a small group back to Footscray for a couple of games of
bowls. Les was the outright winner. Scoring was Les 165-152, Big D 128-136,
Greg 126-113, and Peter GL 126-105.
Marcus watched the games rather than ask if they
had size 13 to fit him. Afterwards we all went back to Greg's place for coffee
to finish what was a most pleasant but cold day for all.
Big D. Honda 750
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TOURING IN NEW ZEALAND
After a 6 week motorcycle holiday in N.Z. it was
suggested that I write an article for the possible benefit of anyone else
considering such a trip.
Deciding it was worth the $300 (66 cents/kilo)
to fly my bike there and back, I went to the Dept. of International Motoring at
the RACV and applied for "Triptyque", a document which permits
temporary importation of a motor vehicle into N.Z. without payment of a bond to
cover import tax. Instead, $1800 was held in my bank account payable to the
RACV in the event of the bike not being exported from N.Z. They said I would
have to join the RACV but after some arguing I ended up paying $11 for the
service instead.
There are camping grounds in every national park
and main town, most with first class facilities, including communal kitchen,
shop and TV room. Also most camps have 2-4 berth cabins for around $6. N.Z. can
really turn on the rain, so a good tent is needed, also proper water proofs and
tyres if you want to ride in the stuff. Good tyres are about $70 over there.
There are not many straight roads and generally
they are better engineered and looked after than ours, which coupled with the
spectacular scenery and mild climate must make it one of the best motorbike
countries in the world.
On the South Island roads are quite empty and
fast but watch out for livestock!
Places to see and roads to travel include:
South Island
Queenstown - Arthurs Point motor camps, much
quieter than the place in town. Take the 5 hour walk up Ben Lamond, you'll never
forget it (The view I mean.)
Te Anua - Camp here for day rides to Milford
Sound and Manopouri. West coast road, stopping at Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers;
Arthurs Pass road; Haast Pass road; Clutha Valley road through Alexandra and
Cromwell; Mount Cook road - one of the best but there's no camping on Mount
Cook itself; coast road between Kaikoura and Picton.
There are several ferry crossings every day from
Picton and it is not necessary to book for a motorbike. Really tie the bike
down because Cook Strait crossings can be more than rough.
North Island
Egmond National Park - Good camp at Stratford
before early morning ride through park to lookout.
Rotorua - Camping ground with thermal pools
about 2 miles out on the Old Taupo road. Lots of thermal parks but the one at
Waiotapu was the best I saw and also the cheapest.
Bay of Islands - Good swimming and fishing at
Russell, reached either by ferry or the coastal road which offers good views
but long stretches of very deep gravel.
Cape Reinga - Camping at Tapotupota Bay, just
before the Cape. Coromandel Peninsula; Awakino - New Plymouth road; West coast
road through Waipoua Kauri Forest; Road from Wanganui through Tongariro
National Park to Lake Taupo.
Auckland - Try Romuera Motor Camp, a nice
spot off Romuera road only 3 miles south of city.
Ted Marshall BMW 750 Ducati 900
Editors Note. Please excuse any spelling
mistakes in the N.Z place names. They are really quite difficult.
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MOTHER EVAN'S SURPRISE RIDE. 20.5.79
The day started the same as they usually do and
to add insult I was running late. I just made the car park to catch the last of
the 'before the ride' speech, I needn't have turned my bike off as we left
almost immediately. Basically the run was up to Kerang, across to Shepparton
via New south Wales (we visited for a couple of minutes and returned to our own
fair state of Victoria) and home.
Simple, wasn't it.
The city traffic and fog near the Calder Raceway
made things very interesting but it cleared up to a find day. In Bendigo, our
first stop, everything was going well until the local traffic cop cruised past
everyone in his yellow Falcon to make a point of pulling over Keith on his
Honda 360 and booking him for exceeding his rights as a 'P' plater, nice one.
The run up to Kerang was ace and a pleasure to
ride, it was difficult to cruise at 120k (or was that 130k) but it gave
everyone an appetite however they rode.
Bathed in sunshine we ate lunch, the only thing
that buzzed in the Kerang main street were the local bikers with their modified
exhaust systems. The local hound by the name of 'Shifty' came along looking for
a cheap feed but with not much success. About the only interesting thing in
Kerang is the price of petrol, which at 28.3 cents per litre is not cheap.
A visiting Ducati super Sports had the only
mechanical trouble this far with what was diagnosed as a dislodged valve guide
which made things sound very unhealthy. A slow ride was in order but just after
our quick visit to N.S.W, heading for Echuca the same duke died of natural
causes. The bike was left with a kind farmer, and the rider pillioned from then
on.
A breezy ride through to Shepparton kept people
awake, the sun was low but the ride was perfect. The only thing encountered was
some road works that had been conveniently watered down just before we arrived,
which made the bikes muddy as if we had been bush bashing.
We regrouped for the assault on the homeward run
but our friend on the Suzi 500 was having problems with fifth gear so was
cruising in fourth, does wonders for the fuel economy. As we neared Melbourne,
night was setting in, the cold chills creeping through vented lengths and
unscarfed nooks. Only one speed cop on the highway, very unusual.
Twenty four bikes was the total count, including
some new comers. It was a day ride of four hundred odd miles and for most of us
an enjoyable one but never the less riding from nine till seven does take its
toll.
I can only thank our organizer for a great
run, but the weather did help.
Dave 860 GTS
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Are you an active member, the kind that would be
missed
Or are you just contented if your name is on the
list?
Do you attend the meetings and mingle with the
flock.
Or do you sit at home and criticise and mock?
Do you take an active part to help the work
along
Or are you satisfied to be the kind that just
belong?
Do you push the cause along and make things
really tick
Or leave the work to just a few and talk about
the clique?
Think this over members, you know the right from
wrong,
Are you an active member or do you just
belong???
ANON (taken from Good Vibrations May '78)
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CHANGE OF PHONE NUMBER
Our Social Secretary, Greg Smith, wishes
to notify us that his phone number is now 53164608.