Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
From the Editors Faye and Geoff
Special Note: There is
no General Club Meeting in January; the next meeting is February 6th.
EDITORIAL DECEMBER 1980
To assist with
compilation of our mag we have approached several committee members for
permission to advertise a closing date for material prior to printing. As no-one has voiced any objection, as
from this issue you will find said closing date for the next mag. The advertised date will, in fact, be 14
days prior to the club meeting! So,
if you have something that you particularly want printed in the next issue,
make sure that it reaches us no later than the date advertised in the previous
issue.
Whilst on the subject of
dates we notice that the date and place of the Committee Meetings is not
advertised. In our experience most
clubs allow general members to attend and pass comments, at Committee Meetings. Of course, only the Committee members
have voting rights. The
constitution doesn’t mention whether or not general members may attend
committee meetings. What is the
general consensus of opinion?
The Lower Glenelg
National Park camping weekend turned out to be a bit of a fizzer. Why? It seems that a lot of members
considered it too far for a 2 day weekend.
Sure, it was a fair haul, (Sunbury, Ballarat, Hamilton, Portland,
Pritchards, and return via the Great Ocean Road = 975km) but if you like to get
away for a few hours and don’t mind sore bums and stiff shoulders then it
is great, and that, to our mind, is what the Club is all about. Five of us made the effort and from all
accounts enjoyed it. So what if,
club wise, it was a non-event.
I’ll bet not one of us would have bothered to organize a run like
that for ourselves.
Seems much controversy
is raging about when we should hold our next general election. As we have
brought the AGM forwardto May should we give the current Committee 7 months or
17 months? The best way to tidy it all up is for a motion, stating the date of
the next election, to be put before the floor. The dates would be 1-5-81 or
7-5-82. Think about it. A decision
should be made no later than the February meeting.
Cheers for now
Editors Faye and Geoff.
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DECEMBER RUNS
Friday 5 General
Meeting, Club Hall. 8.15 pm SHARP.
Guest
speaker, Castrol.
Weekend 6&7 Christmas
Party. Alexandra.
Sunday 14 Mt.
Erica. 8.30am KBCP. Hallam pick up 9.45am
Sunday 21 Lerderderg
Gorge. 10am KBCP
Dec 25-Jan 1 Christmas
Camp. Tawonga C.P.
JANUARY
Sunday 11 Rye
Back Beach. 9.30am KBCP
Sunday 18 Mt.
Torbrak. 9am KBCP. Lilydale pickup at 10.15am.
Weekend 24-26 Clubman
Rally. Jingellic. (rally form on back page this mag)
FEBRUARY
Sunday 1 Anglesea
9.30am KBCP
Friday 6 General
Meeting. Club Hall. 8.15pm SHARP. Slide night.
____________________
NOTE:
closing date for articles for next mag is the 23-1-81
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ATTENTION ALL MEMBERS
I would like to remind
all members who invited guests on any club ride to please explain to them that
the club has rules that need to be followed to enable the club to run
satisfactorily. We are also having
problems with members, I think, riding in a dazed state. Member are failing to comply with the
corner marker system, passing the leader, failing to stop when the leader does
and missing turns. There really is
no excuse for the above happening.
Craig R90S
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NOTICE TO ALL MEMBERS
K & W MOTORCYCLES of
Bell St, Heidelberg have agreed to allow a 10% discount on all Kwaka and Honda
spare parts and accessories to all MTCV members. Presentation of badge or membership card
is required to obtain discount.
____________________
COMMENT
Here and there
throughout this and future mags you may come across items under the heading of
“TIT BITS”. The
committee and editors (and maybe the writer) wish to advise that these items
are not necessarily theirs, or the Clubs, opinion or attitude.
____________________
TOMAHAWK RALLY (TAS)
DATE FEB
28th, MARCH 1st & 2nd
SITE at
CRESSY near LAUNCESTON
ENTRY FEE $4.00
For more information
contact Mr YOUDAN on 3116555
BH
2323564
AH
Unfortunately there is a
waiting list for bookings, so if you really want to, go make your own
independent booking through the Tasmanian Government Tourist Bureau. I have heard that cost ids $100.00
return passage for self and bike.
Ed.
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PARADISE 5/10/80
This ride report is a
bit late, but as ‘they say’ better late than never. The lads as normal met at K.B.C.P. at
8.30 on a cool cloudy Sunday morning.
Craig gave a run down on the days ride and suggested the route to be
taken. The route was to Geelong
then to Apollo Bay via the Great Ocean Road. The road to Anglesea was fairly straight
going, so at Anglesea we all stopped for a refuel. Further on down the road we finally came
to the Ocean Road. This boosted everyone’s ego to ride on, and enjoy the
splendid scenery. All those winding
roads made every one ‘peckish’, so we stopped for lunch at Apollo
Bay. I can recommend the fish and
chips down there, they were very enjoyable. After lunch it was onward to
‘Paradise’ a lovely remote spot out of Apollo Bay. Here we all enjoyed a Harry Butler,
‘Nature Walkabout’ amongst the tree ferns etc in a forest setting.
On our way back to the
bikes it started to spit with rain, so everyone did a quick ‘flip’
into their weathers. On our way
back we didn’t muck about because of it raining. The route home was pretty straight
forward, back along the Ocean road through Geelong etc. It was just my luck to take the wrong
fork in the road and ended up going home via Torquay. Never mind it was all very
enjoyable. I think the Great Ocean
Road and surrounding scenery has to be one of the beauty spots of
Victoria. Anyway – cheerio
for now.
Regards
Julian Bull. Yam XS 650.
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POWERS LOOKOUT 26-10-80
Ten of us left Lilydale
on a beautiful Sunday morning and, heading for Powers Lookout via the Black
Spur, looked forward to some really great riding in almost perfect riding
conditions.
We all flew through the
Spur on which traffic was practically non-existent and whose tarmac was hot and
dry in the morning sun. We also
overtook three Harley Davidson choppers that were locomoting in reverse and
studiously avoiding leaning into the bends.
Before we knew it we had
passed through Alex and Mansfield and were heading up the dirt road leading to
Powers Lookout. Craig’s BMW
900 suffered a puncture but with the expected BMW efficiency had it fixed in no
time at all.
After some mountain
climbing (with the help of some ladders) we reached Powers Lookout and gazed in
wonderment at the lovely but inanimate scenery. No Moo cows or Baa lambs, just ploughed
fields and mighty mountains.
Some invisible gravel
caused one of our more stupid riders (me!) some consternation on the sweepers
on the way into Whitfield, but happily we all made it there in safety and had
lunch.
On the way home Keith
Finlay was accosted for being naughty by the amphometer boys (P.C. McNab and
friend) along with the driver of a nice new Porche. Keithy who lit his smelly pipe and
chatted with the constabulary got off while the Porshe driver was fined. After that we had a nice slow ride back
to Yea where we all went our separate ways. A really beautiful club ride.
Oh! And Tony was there on a nice new 650
Honda ($2100 on road) that went along very well and looked mean with its
classic black paintwork.
Lindsay (380
SMELLY.....oops Suzuki)
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TIT BITS
Have a vague
recollection of recently reading a comment regarding members riding without a
helmet. Well, I’ve now seen
it! A committee member without a
hat and on a club run! Sure, under
some conditions helmets are a pain in the a--- but the law requires that we
wear them and at times we do have novice riders with us, and we are observed by
others etc! Don’t you think
we should be setting an example?
____________________
Noticed a certain member
(who, rumour says, has just bought a BMW) heading for 3 weeks in Queensland, on
his Honda!
____________________
Last month I commented
about a suggestion that camping weekends were becoming a BMW effort, but the
November 22-23 weekend there were nothing but Hondas at Pritchard's!.
____________________
MT BECKWORTH – BALLARAT TOURERS CHALLENGE 16-11-80
Rounding the bend to the
car park at around 8.30am, Christine and I were astonished to find it
empty. Not even Ted! A quick whip out with the itinerary to
check the departure time. All
correct. Not like the Sunday
before, ½ hour late. Nine
o’clock, all ready to leave.
A large group of 14, largely made up of new and old committee
members. What the hell happened to
the other 60 odd members!
Don’t they know the meaning of a challenge?
A straight forward run
to Ballarat. Quick strip of all
woollen garments as the temp was rising to the high thirties. Time to leave as we were expected at
Clunes at 11 o’clock to be directed to Mt Beckworth by the Ballarat
Tourers. Mt Beckworth gave us quite
an excellent view of rolling pastures and a most inviting lake considering the
temp on the day. The Ballarat boys
had gone to great trouble in preparing for the event. Plenty of snags and bread, all
free-beers plus cans of drink extra cold.
Excellent Trophy’s for each event and a magnificent trophy for the
winning club to hold for the year, as the challenge will be a yearly
event.
Our club numbers were
embarrassingly low but the BMW club was represented by two or three non
competitors. Total number of
four-owners nil, So much for club spirit.
Needless to say, due to fierce competiveness of our members, we took out
most events and the overall trophy, which sits proudly upon my telly.
Events and winners as
follows:-
Bicy & Balloon
Slalom - Craig
90S BMW
Egg & Spoon Race - Ballarat
Tourers, SHITWING.
Blind Fold Pillion
Slalom - Tom
& Les 75/7 BMW
Special Service Event - Keithie
75/7 BMW.
Slow Race - Ballarat
Tourers, SHITWING.
After presentations were
over we quickly adjourned to the awaiting lake below. After bidding farewell, homeward bound
via Creswick, Daylesford, Woodend and dispersal at Sunbury, at least for 5 of
the members. The rest took it upon
themselves to take two turns unmarked and continue on home. Other than that
insubordinate action all enjoyed the hospitality of the Ballarat club.
Craig BMW R90/S
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LOWER GLENELG NATIONAL PARK 22/23
WHERE WAS
EVERYBODY? I had set out from home
on the Friday to go to Ballarat on my new 400/4. Readers of this magazine may remember
that my previous 400/4 had met an untimely end on the way to the annual dinner
last year. Anyway having acquired
another one, from St. Kilda Traffic Department, and having some business in
Ballarat that afternoon and evening, I thought it a good opportunity to go to
Lower Glenelg on that Saturday morning.
Bit cold and cloudy at first, as I went along the Glenelg Highway through
Skipton and past Lake Bolac to Hamilton, but it became warmer and sunnier on
the road from Hamilton, through Digby, to the Park.
I stopped off at
Jones’ Lookout to view the Glenelg River valley, then went on to
Pritchard's, the agreed camping spot.
Got there about 1pm, but no other members had arrived. Figuring it might take them more than 5
hours from Laverton, I waited...and waited...and waited. Around 3pm I decided to go on to Nelson
to see if I could find anybody, but nothing doing there.
Back to Pritchard's, set
up tent, in an idyllic spot on the banks of the river. There are several tin shacks there, and
also at other spots along the river; I suppose these were built (probably
illegally) before the National Park was proclaimed. The National Parks Service appears to be
trying to bring the situation under some sort of control, by issuing permits
for these shacks but with, presumably, some time-limit attached. Most of the shacks are dreadfully unsightly;
most have another, smaller tin shack at the water’s edge for the
inevitable fishing boat.
Around 6pm two other
bikes arrive – Faye and Geoff Morgan, our genial magazine editors, on a
CX500 and a 550/4. (Readers of this
column may note the overwhelming preponderance of Honda machinery...) Faye and
Geoff had also come via Ballarat after leaving their Sunbury home about
midday. As we were the only club
members at the official camping spot we constituted ourselves to de facto
committee and gave ourselves permission to consume alcoholic refreshments
– that is, tinnies and a bottle of sherry.
I cooked my usual
gourmet tea on my well-used Optimus stove – half grapefruit, meat filled
jaffles, bananas and custard, currant buns with apricot jam and marmalade, cups
of coffee from river water. Quite a
lot of wildlife around including black cockatoos and, later, numerous and noisy
possums. One of these extracted my
remaining currant bun from a polythene wrapper, and consumed it - without tearing the bag or the wrapping.
Geoff and Faye yarned a
bit about some of their motorbike trips and rallies. It was an early night for me and an
early breakfast. After brekkie I
walked along the river road for 2 or 3 km but didn’t see anybody. Faye and Geoff left about 10.30am to go
home along the Great Ocean Road. I
stayed a bit longer then went back the way I’d come, through Ballarat.
Later that evening,
after I got home, I phoned Faye. It
seemed that Keith Harris and Les Leahy were in the park but at a different
camping spot some 5 km from Pritchards. Les had come over on Saturday arvo but
as luck would have it he must have got there whilst I was looking for him (or
anybody else) in Nelson. A pity.
But really, if the club designates a particular camping area, then we should
all go to that area.
Mike (Honda 400/4)
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OH CANADA. AN AUSTRALIAN MOTORCYCLIST’S
VIEW OF THE DOMINION OF CANADA.
‘Oh Canada’
is the opening phrase of the Canadian National Anthem. It is also what many Australians must
say when they first see the mountains of western Canada and the beautiful
cities of Victoria and Vancouver.
After spending a little
more than a week in parts of two Canadian Provinces, namely British Columbia
and Alberta, I am no authority on Canada.
However, thanks to several members of the Gold Wing Owners Association,
I saw a very great deal. I also
visited the national parks in the following States in the USA – Montana,
Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, and California, and before going to Canada I saw much
of Oregon and Washington State.
However, I will focus on Canada in this article. I must express my thanks to the
President of the GWOA, Chuck Thurston, who with fellow members Richard, who
lives close to Chuck, looked after my bike, met me at the train station, had
the bike beautifully clean, and then conducted me on a fascinating tour through
Oregon and Washington States before safely getting me into Canada.
Both Oregon and
Washington are very scenic and very green, due, I am told, to the frequent rain
that falls on them. However, I had
superb weather, much like Melbourne in March. The roads are in first class condition
and are made for bikes. In these
states there are many bikes too, despite the rain I was told about but never
had to endure.
I suppose impressions of
any place are coloured by one’s individual experiences, and views may not
tally with another person’s view.
However, my impressions are vivid and I will try and convey something of
them, and contrast what I have seen here in Australia and in the United States.
Americans often rank
Australians in with New Zealanders because the countries are close
geographically and both are English speaking. Australians may make a similar error in
linking Americans in with Canadians, or vice versa for the same reasons. Certainly, there is much in common
between Canada and the USA. They
have a similar accent (despite the fact that I am told it is different but I
could not tell the difference), a similar electrical and telephone as well as
TV systems, at least in technical sense.
Canada changed to driving on the right hand side of the road in 1922 to
keep company with the USA. However,
the very considerable differences make for an interesting vacation. When this is combined with what is said
to be the best scenery in the world, I cannot imagine anyone not having a great
time in Western Canada.
In California, despite
its own most beautiful areas, is untidy, even downright shabby and dirty in
places, then Oregon is vastly cleaner, and Washington more so, but Canada is
immaculate. American roads are
built to the highest standards, and Canada by contrast does not have the great
freeway systems of a type found in the United States in the parts I saw. The roads in Canada are very like what
is found in the Australian State of Victoria, and are much better than would be
found in the State of Queensland, but while the surrounds of American roads are
as untidy as some outback roads in Australia, in Canada the surroundings of the
roads and freeways are kept as clean as in my state of Victoria, where freeway
grass is mowed into lawn with well kept tree plantings. The public and private gardens of
Canadian cities of Victoria and Vancouver are superb, and there was not a week
to be seen and the impression gained was that the cities in Canada are almost
manicured to perfection. Like
Melbourne, where there has been a real infection called exterior painting and
where every building seems to have been spruced up, the same insistence on
maintenance and neatness had infected the Canadians. Perhaps it always did.
But the people too are
very different. Americans are
always friendly and polite in their own country despite what impression they
may create abroad. They are keen to
talk and engage in conversation.
Canadians too are genuine and friendly, that is when you get to know
them, but also they are far more reserved.
They are also far more ‘English’ than are Australians, and
many English folk have migrated to British Columbia. Victoria, B.C., is on the same latitude
as London and I am told has a similar climate. Whereas at border custom stations the
Americans were polite and friendly, the Canadians were inclined to be
‘heavy’ or distrustful, and seemed suspicious that we might not
leave the country and take away a Canadians job. Unemployment is a severe problem in
Canada. Petrol or gasoline is more
expensive than in Australia in the USA, but in Canada it is very cheap. One Australian dollar will get you $1.30
in Canada, and even so fuel was 24c a litre in British Columbia and in Alberta,
where much of Canada’s fuel is produced it was 19c a litre down to as low
as 17c. It was really a case of
nostalgia, for the cheapest fuel you can get now in Melbourne 28c a litre and
up to 30c a litre and this will surely rise before long. Many Americans have
taken to crossing North America through Canada to benefit from the fuel cost
advantage and this made it very difficult to get accommodation in Southern
Alberta on one occasion, although there were plenty of beds available across
the border.
Canadians are well
educated and know what is going on around the world. There is almost no world news on the
American media (unless the USA is directly involved such as with the hostage
crisis) but in Canada many pages in the newspapers were given over to world
news. When asked by one Canadian
where I came from, I replied, ‘from Melbourne, the capital of the state
of Victoria in Australia’.
The Canadian replied, ‘we Canadians know where Melbourne is...it
is the Americans who would not even have a clue’. Even school boys I
spoke to on a bus in Victoria, B.C., seemed to know more about Australia then
the average Australian, and it was amazing to note the way Canadians could
understand an Australian accent whereas the Americans, except in Texas, had
some problems. Canadians and
Australians also use similar terms.
Canadian boys spoke of getting a ‘car’ and not an
‘auto’. The term
fortnight is understood in Canada whereas I had to advise Americans that it
meant two weeks. Cricket was seen
being played in Vancouver, but Canadians do not play in the test matches around
the world. However, Canadians, like
Americans, love wearing baseball caps.
Americans were always hospitable, and often would pay for my fuel (this
is unheard of in Australia), and would frequently pay for meals. While this was a great help financially
while on vacation, it also seemed quite unfair to my ever generous American
hosts. I was told frequently, ‘you
cannot pay for you are a guest in our country’. I can only hope that all my American friends
do not descend on Australia at once ‘down under to the lucky
country’. But Canadians know
about Australia, and while I was ‘shouted’ meals and the price of
fuel in Canada, my hosts there rightly could be prevailed upon to accept
something in return. Perhaps the
Canadians have more Scottish forebears!
If San Francisco is
Sydney, then Vancouver reminded me of Melbourne in terms of the appearance of
the city centre, its excellent public transport and its superb well kept
gardens. However, the similarity
ended there as Vancouver has a great harbour close by, and is surrounded by a
ring of majestic mountains which in summer are the delight of the
motorcyclists, and I was taken up some of these well surfaced mountain
roads. In winter the snow skiing is
but an hour from the city centre.
We in Melbourne think we are lucky with snow only two or three hours
away. We may well pity the Canadian
motorcyclist who can only ride for part of the year with safety. Melbourne never gets below freezing
(even though at times I feel it does), but in Canada there are few places where
it is not below freezing for long periods.
Fortunately, when I was in Canada the weather was perfect for most of
the time.
Continued in next issue.
Darren GL1000.
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TIT BITS
Is it true that
Morini’s have a tendency to attack GL’s?
Is it also true that BMW
riders can’t start XT’s?
Heard a rumour that on a
recent club run BMW’s had a tendency to lean on the right hand pot!
Recently rode a
member’s new bike. –Yam XS 850. Had 313 on the clock it did. Does this mean that now there will be
another 3 month holiday? (Just to get a decent figure on the clock of
course!) Nice bike too!!
Believe that a rider who
was invited to ride with us (well, an itinerary was left on his bike), and then
rang up for more details on a recent camping weekend probably fronted up at
Laverton assembly point. Nobody
else did! Wonder what sort of a mob
of prize dickheads he thinks we are?
I hope that the member he contacted will follow up and explain to him.
Two experienced members
who recently went on a club camping weekend didn’t see any other club
members. Why? They camped 5 km away from the
designated spot. Tourers who
can’t navigate or, did they just like riding the sandy tracks?
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