EDITORIAL OCTOBER 1980
Well, it’s finally
arrived, my last magazine. The Morgans
will be taking over as of the November magazine. I would like to thank all those who have
submitted articles over the past year, without those of course you would have
had a very small magazine. I do hope you
will keep sending them in and give the Morgans the support that you have Jude
and I over the past year. Thank you.
Smithy.
____________________
ELETION RESULTS.
PRESIDENT KEITH FINLAY
V. PRESIDENT JOHN McKENNA
TREASURER PHIL DUFFY
SECRETARY IAN TAYLOR
SOCIAL SEC. DAVID SHEATH
ASS. SEC. MARC SULOT
CLUB CAPTAIN KEVIN ROBERTSON
V. CLUB CAPTAIN CRAIG DAWSON
____________________
OCTOBER RUNS
Friday 3 General Meeting
Club Hall 8.15pm SHARP
Sunday 5 Paradise via Great
Ocean rd. KBCP 9am
Sunday 12 Mt. Howard KBCP 7.30am.
Weekend 18/19 Camping, Walkerville Nr.
Waratah Bay 8am Cranbourne.
Sunday 26 Powers Lookout KBCP
8am. Lilydale 9.15am.
NOVEMBER
Sunday 2 Club Captains
surprise ride. KBCP 9am.
Friday 7 General Meeting
Club Hall 8.15pm SHARP Darren’s movies of USA trip
____________________
CLUB SAFETY.
Over the last few weeks
riders have been ignoring the safety aspects of riding. Apart from being against the Law, it is also
against club policy to ride without your helmet on. Remember, no matter what speed you’re
travelling at you can seriously hurt yourself and spoil the day for the rest of
the club.
____________________
The club would like to
congratulate Les Leahy on him becoming a Life Member. Les has done a great deal for the club over
the last few years; it was Les who started off the Club Member of the Year
Award and also the design and printing of our T-Shirts to name just a few. Congratulations again Les.
____________________
PRESIDENT REPORT.
DECEMBER
Rides well attended
except for the Xmas Camp in the Snowy River Valley. Reason for this was the indecision on the
committee to make sure there was a specific area for camping. However it’s more my own fault as the camp
was really my own idea. Do not think
that the Xmas Social was that great. Looking
at it from and overall view that is.
(Bulldust, ED.) Xmas hamper raffle was really good and everyone wanted to
win it and be in it. If we hired a
removal van like we did years ago and went to a pub and then come back it would
be more of a Xmas Social breakup.
However that is my personal view.
JANUARY
Rides not well attended
except for the Clubman Rally. Even had
one ride cancelled after 4 turned up in the city and decided that this was not
enough to justify going. Meanwhile at
Cranbourne 4 people there decided that there was not a good enough turn up so
they also decided not to go. All in all
8 people stuffed up what could have been a long but good ride. The weather was cold I might add. Unfortunately the committee has been forced
to add to the rules of the Club Member of the Year award to stop a little bit
of bickering which could get worse if allowed to go unchecked. I received a complaint from some members,
that on the cancelled there was not one committee member along and that this
was a disgrace because the ride didn’t go on and would have had there been a
committee member there.
That is one of the biggest
loads of shit I have heard of in a long while.
Will be glad at the end of the year when I retire from this committee
and don’t have to sympathise with everyone because of my position. Looking forward to being a back bencher
actually. Regret at this stage that we
don’t have a rally of our own, but on the other hand, the club as a whole is
not really orientated and that is a good thing.
FEBRUARY
Rides very well attended
and people are becoming interested in meeting other clubs and their members more. The Aust. Day Weekend was good with about 20
members up at the Clubman Rally. Which
is a beautiful site. Quite a few of the
members went up to Canberra for the MRA, FAM Protest Rally. Will have to be
careful and make sure that the club doesn’t get too rally orientated and not
put on a ride for people in Melbourne area as well as a rally on the same
day. Had one of our best rides ever in
conjunction with the Ballarat touring club.
The atmosphere was great, and that’s an understatement. We had a cricket match of two innings in
which we (modestly) showed them how to win.
A great day and a great time, one of the best rides I’ve been privileged
to be on.
MARCH
March kicked off to a
good start, when at our General Meeting a representative of the Auto Cycle
council of vic. A Mr. Marc Wigan gave us a lecture on the pros and cons of our
club becoming an affiliated club with the ACUV. He also went on a smidge, about
how many committees he was on and how important they and he were to
motorcycling in Aust. Most of us
concluded that he loves himself although he did appear to justify his
existence.
Raffles, service days
and theatre nights are getting away again as requested by members. The start of the month saw Phil jetting away
to the USA to be followed in the middle of the night by Darrin and Ted. There is now positive proof in the no. of
active people in the club, that the changes made over the last 18 months are
having the correct long term effect. I
am also more than happy that there is no animosity between the people who led
the changes and those who resisted them.
Rides were all well attended with the notable exception being the Mt
Matlock ride with a smidge of dirt. Pity
because it was a wonderful day and a marvellous ride.
APRIL
The start of the month
got underway with a Gen. Meeting being held on the 1st Wednesday,
due to Easter, Good Friday being the 1st Friday of the month. A surprise decision from that meeting (from
my own personal view that is) is that there is still a rather strong desire to
find out more about the ACUV from about ½ of the members. We will have a look into this matter more
carefully and seriously as a club and make sure that if we do or don’t become
affiliated we make the right decision for everyone.
The absolutely
marvellous type weather is still going strong and rides are very well
attended. It’s a pity that the 5pm
Saturday night theatre show was so poorly attended, reasons were not really
obvious but I think we should try and persevere a bit more with that kind of
format.
The Cape Liptrap
Lighthouse ride was a bit of a no no apparently. Reasons being that the club didn’t actually
get there (close enough, Ed). Still, getting there is not everything, but it
sure helps. The BBQ at Maroondah reserve
with the game of baseball was good from almost every point of view and firmly
enhances the shorter type rides for the wintery months.
MAY
Started off with a very
successful slide night. The 1st
ride for the month was the sports day held on a farm near Mt Macedon. It was without doubt the best organised I’ve
ever had the pleasure of being too. The
professionalism of DAWSO as an organiser of a bunch of rabble was nothing short
of a miracle, and the type of events with their variety and innovation did
justice to the hard work that Tom and his helpers put into it. The family day was also a success even though
it was a bloody cold day.
JUNE
Well the economy started
off with everyone striving for perfection and a few cheating (ref. to Phil
Duffy) Les Leahy won the day on his R65 which is probably the 3rd
time he has won this event on at least 3 different bikes. So there must be a moral there
somewhere. The general meeting saw the
introduction of an annual fee collecting time and it seems to be well
liked. Snake Valley was a ripper of a ride
with one GL falling into a 6’ hole.
Tarra Gallaway was a write off as far as attendance goes. We actually got some members to French Island
and a lot of people were happy when the Pres. fell off on their ride.
JULY
Well July started off
with a movie night which was successful with the members if not the sound. The counter lunch at Eildon was not what I
would call a raging success but it was worth the effort (Why not ED.)
The Joss House was a
ripper of a ride, one of those rides that comes once in a blue moon. (thank
heavens, I think he must have his rides mixed up ED) and the day trial was a
soppy success for all except Craig, considering the type of weather we had and
the number of people on rides it was more than successful month.
AUGUST
Well the Auction night
was once again on as usual some bargains were to be had although a few people
did buy stacks of books with no apparent value to them, or did they know
something we didn’t about their contents.
The snow ride was terrific with us clearly being the best snowballers
around. (school girls by the bus load aren’t much comp. anyway) Due to the fact
that I’m going away on holidays I had to wind up this mini revue or the rides
and goings on in the club. (thank God ED.)
It is history that WE made
some drastic decisions in the club (the WE being all the members) and that
those decisions were luckily the right ones.
We were dictated by a small group and decisions were made without our
consultation and it seemed that the people in power were forgetting what their
jobs were. Whether they knew what the
problems were and didn’t know how to remedy them is a matter for conjective
only what happened in reality we should only look to the future.
My stint as Pres. has
been one of great rides and events. I
look upon the club as one big large club ride.
We are unique in Australia if not the world in our ability to have a
ride week in, week out with a never ending cast of riders on a never
ending ride, sounds soppy doesn’t
it. Well if it is I don’t mind being
soppy. I also believe that the club is a
direct reflection on motorcycle booms that occur in this country. Over the past 24 years of the club, the
members have ridden the machines of the day that are selling in great numbers
and it is with this in mind I will forecast that the majority of people in the
club will be riding mid-range bikes that have a good touring speed but also get
good MPG. This won’t happen overnight
but will probably take about the same amount of time to come about as the
superbike did which was early 70’s to 80’s.
I do hope that people
read this part, as it was written piece meal through the year to give then an
idea of what their Press. thought of things that made an impression on him be
they be good or bad.
It is with mixed
feelings that I stand down, one is relief that I no longer have to carry the
decision making burden of being an active PRESIDENT and the other is regret
that things that could have been done and changed weren’t.
However the overall
results show we didn’t go backwards and that’s all that really counts.
Mick R100S.
____________________
MT. IDA(or the lost club run)
Mt. Ida is a fairly
small hill crowned with a fire tower and a trig point near the town of
Heathcote. But it was to prove rather
elusive for some of our members on this run.
We started as usual at
the car park with about 21 bikes and led by Craig. Set off via the Bulla, Romsey, Lancefield
route. A windy but otherwise uneventful
ride found us at Heathcote for lunch.
Our leader relying on a rather poor map clipped from a newspaper, set
off for Mt. Ida our final destination.
That’s where things started to fall apart. Our 1st attempt after several kms
of dirt road found us at Costerfield on the Nagambie road, after enquires there
it was back to Heathcote for another try.
Somewhere on the way we lost part of the club.
Back in the town we
tried another road, this time success. A
rough and rocky road to the top the last section leading to the fire tower suitable
only for motorcycles or goats. While
taking in the view a bright orange dayglo helmet was spied in the
distance. Ted on his Morini eventually
made it to the top. Although his Morini
baulked at the last section. The rest of
our straying sheep we never saw again for that day at least.
Heading back to
Heathcote to see if we could rejoin the lost ones our leader decided to add a
bit of variety by avoiding the road down and trying the fire trials. Some members thought it was a bit rough and
took the direct route while the remainder went rock hopping or trial riding
until we ran out of trial, around a few fallen trees and across a boggy
paddock, over a fallen fence and back to the road. Back at Heathcote we rejoined the sensible
ones and decided to return home via Yea and Yarra Glen with the exception of a
couple who had to get home early.
A good run on good roads
to Yea where we dispersed. Eleven bikes
completed the run out of 21 who started.
The missing ones will no doubt have their own tale to tell.
Frank BMW 750
____________________
THE AUSTRALIAN LIBERAL
PARTY HAS CHOSEN THE FRENCH LETTER AS IT’S OFFICIAL EMBLEM. THE REASON BEING, IT STANDS FOR INFLATION,
HOLTS PRODUCTION, GIVES PROTECTION TO A BUNCH OF PRICKS AND GIVES ONE A FALSE
SENSE OF SECURITY WHILE BEING STUFFED!
____________________
Did you hear about the
Irish marksman who shot an arrow into the air and missed...
Heard about the latest
innovation in Irish submarines?
Screen windows to keep
the fish out.
Did you hear about the
Irish football scalper?
He was arrested for
selling tickets inside the ground.
____________________
LOGAN FOR A RUN
Because of a few rallies
being on only a small number of bikes turned up for this ride. Craig led while I watched from the rear. Up the Tulla Freeway we went through the
Bulla Cutting, Gisborne and Woodend where we turned in a westerly
direction. The sky was looking pretty
gloomy at this stage. Going via Trentham
Falls I had to wait while the GL was filled.
Moving on we passed through Hepburn Springs then gradually getting out
onto the open road and the weather now changing into a perfect day. Some of the scenery was a treat to see, we
seemed to go a long way before coming into Maryborough, where we picked up some
food and got caught up in their Wattle Festival.
Craig took us on a
little ride before we finally left heading for Logan, and starting to wonder
whether we were ever going to get there.
As our next stop was at St. Arnaud, where we sat in the park eating
lunch while the locals carried on a bit. (very noisy). On leaving we headed towards Bendigo, with a
slight diversion taking place just out of town, has the leader noticed on one
of the signs “Logan 21KMS”. On going
through the only thing I noticed there was a garage and we considered ourselves
lucky that we didn’t buy lunch there as there were shops.
Not long after we went
over a section of good dirt road with a couple of nice little dips. Through to Tarnagulla via Marong before
stopping on the outskirts of Bendigo for afternoon tea. Then continued along the McIvor Hwy to
Heathcote and Kilmore where we met Don and Jan, who went on a short ride rather
than go on ours, as they felt it too far to go for them.
We dispersed there after
a good ling ride. Being a pillion rider
for the day is not the same as riding your own bike for the day.
Big “D” P.S. Honda being reconditioned.
____________________
PUMA RALLY 6th & 7th
Sept.
Although the Puma Rally
wasn’t an official club run this write up was done not only to fill in more
pages of the magazine, and to keep Smithy occupied, but also to give those
people who don’t attend rallies a general picture of a typical rally.
Looking out the window
at eight o’clock on Saturday morning revealed a beautiful day, a beautiful day
to mow the lawn, wash the car or do some gardening or do whatever else suburbia
does on a beautiful Saturday morning.
But not me, I packed the bike and headed for Keith Finlay’s residence by
10.30 am Marcus, Dave Sheath, Kevin Robertson, Keith and myself left
Essendon. Our 1st stop was
Ballarat where we regrouped; from there we headed along the Glenelg Hwy to
Skipton for lunch. The good weather
continued throughout the afternoon and the rest of the weekend without change. After lunch we continued our journey through
Dunkeld and Cavendish and finally arrived in Balmoral. Incidentally Balmoral is the closest town to
the rally site which is about 30km away.
Arriving at Balmoral brought a pleasant surprise; the main street was
lined with bikes to a greater extent than Elizabeth Street on a Saturday
morning.
The Puma Rally has a
reputation as being the hardest rally to reach because of mud. This year was quite different, the rally site
was changed there was no mud, but plenty of dirt and gravel. Dave decided to leave the gravel and make his
own way through the bush. The main
problem was that there happened to be a 8” high dirt gutter between the road
and the bush, somehow the BM disliked the idea of hitting the gutter at
speed. The results were 1st
right pot 2nd left pot 3rd headlamp and one badly shaken
rider. Dave decided to stick to the road
after that little incident.
At arrival at the rally
site we collected our badges and picked a camping site. Thanks to Marcus who bought a little electric
pump blowing up our lolos was made a lot easier. In the evening we visited most of the
campfires. A lot of good stories were
exchanged amidst a little amber fluid, it beats watching T.V. on a Saturday
night.
The next day we left the
campsite around 10am and headed through the mountains instead of around
them. After about 1 ½ hours riding we
left the dirt and arrived onto some superb winding roads, everyone seemed to
have a good time including Dave on his trials universal equipped BM.
We finally arrived in
Halls Gap, here we fed the bikes, ourselves and then went sightseeing. By the time we got back into Halls Gap it was
well after 2 o’clock so we decided a move towards Melbourne would be nice.
We headed back through
Ararat for our next fuel stop and then to Ballarat for tea. By the time we finished our pizzas dusk was
very close. Never the less Dave seemed
to have a great time cruising around 130-140kms without lights down Ballarat
road. We stopped at Keith’s place for
coffee before making our ways home. We
did around 800 kms that weekend, around 150 of that was dirt. Possibly the
worst thing about the weekend was the thought of going back to work the
following day.
Marc. Suzuki X7 250
____________________
A LETTER FROM AN IRISH MOTHER
Dear son,
Just a few lines to let
you know that I’m still alive. I’m
writing this letter slowly because I know you can’t read fast. You won’t know the house when you come home –
we have moved.
About your father. He has a lovely job. He has 500 men under
him. He cuts grass at the cemetery.
There was a washing
machine at the new house when we moved in.
But it hasn’t been working too good.
Last week I put 14 shirts in, pulled the chain, and haven’t seen the
shirts since. Your sister Mary had a
baby this morning but I haven’t found out whether it’s a boy or girl. So I
don’t know if you are an aunt or uncle.
Your uncle Dick drowned last week in a vat of whisky in the Dublin
brewery. Some of his workmates tried to
save him but he fought them off bravely.
They cremated the body and it took 3 days to put out the fire.
I went to the dr. on
Thursday and your father went with me.
The Dr. put a small tube in my mouth and told me not to talk for ten
mins. Your father offered to buy it from
him. It only rained twice this week, 1st
for 3 days and then for 4 days. Monday
was so windy one of the chickens laid the same egg 4 times. We had a letter from the undertaker. He said that if the last payment on your
grandmother’s plot wasn’t paid in 7 days – up she comes.
Your loving mother.
P.S. I was going to enclose $10 but I had already
sealed the envelope.
____________________