Who’s News               September 2007

Apologies for the lateness of the Magazine. It was only printed on Wednesday 17th October. Julie and I spent a couple of weeks (school holidays) touring up the east coast to Coffs Harbour, camping along the way, and then I spent another three days in Tasmania at a conference.  Something had to give!

Freestyle Honda Motorcycles, 38 Wells Road, Seaford, generously make the following offer to MSR members: “Any accessory or riding gear purchased will attract a discount of 12.5%; any workshop related services will attract a discount of 10%; tyre replacements will be offered at extremely competitive prices with free fitting included; and new motorcycle purchased will receive free a 12 month factory Honda extended warranty.” Members should provide their membership card as identification.  The Dealer Principal is Darren Hocking and he can be reached on 1300-RIDEHONDA or visit www.freestylehonda.com.au.  Thanks to Dave Ward for initiating this.

The MSR Home Page accumulated 1004 hits during September and half of October. Total visits are 37,733 since April 1996.  The new itinerary from October to January 2008 has been posted.  A PDF version will appear in a few days.

Seen at the General Meeting on Thursday 6th September: Peter Feistl, Jacinta Thomas, Trevor Harris and Barbara Rolfe, Rob Langer, Ron and Julie Johnston, David Ward and Bronwyn Manifold, Paul Southwell, Ian Payne, Ben Warden, Renzo Cunico, Peter Philferan and Rex, the dog.  The meeting was held at 584 Glenferrie Road Hawthorn due to our “normal” venue being refurbished. 14 people

Welcome to new member, Tony Saccuzzo, riding a Kawasaki ZX7R.  He works with Geoff Jones and has been coming on the occasional ride for quite a few years. We wish him many long and safe rides.

Corbin Spurr finally committed to his membership and we welcome him.  Alas, as per Who’s Bruised below, he may be off the road for a week or two as his Hayabusa is repaired.  We look forward to seeing him back out on the mighty ‘Busa.

Welcome to new member Pina Garasi riding a late model black R6. She has been on the fringe of the Club for a while now, but was very keen to receive the Club Magazine.  Nothing for nothing in this world, as they say, particularly as we run on a shoestring budget.  She was worried we were too fast and she would hold us up but with our Corner Marking System allowing riders to travel at their own pace, she has slotted in easily. 

Pina is a regular rider with the Melbourne Branch of the Ulysses Club but only after a few rides with us is finding them too slow and rigid, and possibly too old with lots of their riders over 60 – and riding like old men, as distinct from our over 60’s brigade who ride like Stoner or Rossi! There is a much broader range of age riders in our Club and the road selection is better!  Go Pina!

Welcome to new member Nic Jacka who thrashes his bulletproof Hyosung GT 250 everywhere he goes.  He has been on almost every ride for the past 6 weeks and already is performing rear rider duties where appropriate.  The bug has bitten deep and now he is looking for a Honda CBR600 as the next step – possible in a couple of months when his capacity restrictions are lifted.  Nic represents the new generation of rider and bike, and the future of the Club. Look after him!

Email from Dave Ward: I have just ordered two sets of the Metzler Rennsport tyres. They are high performance/track oriented street legal road tyres. I can sell one set if a Club member would like them. The sizes are 120/70/17 and 180/55/17. These tyres will cost me $438 a set but I would sell them on behalf of the Club for $450 giving the Club $12. I do not need to sell them; I just thought we could help out our members. There is no fitting with these. Dave can be reached on mobile number 0413-624-598.

The Club Participant of the Year is based on aggregate points accumulated at 1 point per ride, an extra point for leading or being rear rider, and 1 point per magazine article (maximum 2 per magazine). Attending one or more days of a weekend event scores 3 points for leading, 3 for rear riding duties and 2 points for participating.

The count is for the 2007/8 year ending at the 2008 AGM in May.  Top ten totals after 5 months are: Ben Warden (49.5), Ian Payne (37), Dave Ward (31.5), Paul Southwell (26.5), Cameron Stevens (22), Trevor Harris (16), Geoff Jones (15.5), Ron Johnston (12), Misho Zrakic (12) and Marty Thompson (9.5). No positional changes to the top 9 but Marty has broken into the Top 10 for the first time (in 10 years).

Email from Peter Weyermayr: Hi Ben, I found this web site that seems to have quite a few genuine factory workshop manuals which can be downloaded for free which might interest a few members. Maybe you could stick it in the club mag or email it out.

 http://www.gofastvideo.com/gallery/album/view/375/freeracingvideos/motorcycle+service+manuals.html

Front Cover:  Montage of recent accidents on Club rides featuring Dave Ward and police car, Corbin Spurr and his scratched Hyabusa, Darren Porch and his friends in the Health Services, and Craig Morley’s broken 929. 

While Ben Warden’s Honda CBR954 was in to the local mechanic for a new cam chain (one ticking gone), the mechanic discovered a broken throttle return cable ($27). The shims were also checked with one shim replaced (shims done only 18,000 km ago). He also detected a harmonic vibration above 5,000 rpm seeming to come from the screen – it disappears if you hold the screen.  Ben later noticed the screen was out of shape – and remembered the duck. (See Hill End writeup.) The sub-frame is bent. Also, while reading an English magazine reviewing the second hand 954 market, they noted that the Exup spring loses tension and results in a ticking which disappears as the revs rise.  Something else to chase!  Bike has now done 90,000 km.

Ben is also chasing a wheel problem - when tightening the rear axle, the wheel binds. Apparently the inner spacer between the two wheel bearings crushes with repeated tightening at wheel changes. Somehow his wheels fall into that category!  Fix: replace spacer.

The Age, 7th October: Up to 600 Victorians a day are pleading to have their speeding fines dropped. Senior police have revealed thousands of people are asking to have their fines reviewed each week by the Traffic Camera Office.  Many drivers who admit to speeding are formally applying for an official caution instead of a fine because of their previous good driving record. Others simply deny speeding and say they should not be prosecuted.

There have also been cases where drivers claim their car was stolen or sold and they were not driving at the time. Assistant Commissioner Noel Ashby said police were open to any reasonable requests to review fines. If drivers are caught speeding less than 10 km/h over the limit and have not had an infringement over the past two years, they are eligible for a caution. And if a driver is caught speeding several times on any given day, police will consider only proceeding on the worst speeding offence. “We want to continue to have an enforcement regime that’s fair and reasonable and recognises individual needs,” Mr Ashby told the Sunday Age.  (waffle deleted ...Ed.)

With debate raging over the reliability of speed cameras and more motorists challenging the technology in court, Mr Ashby said police recognised some drivers might be wrongly fined because of human error but denied there was anything technically wrong with the state’s speed cameras.

Private operator Tenix last month lost the $150 million contract to run Victoria’s mobile speed cameras after a number of bungles by its operators. The errors included setting cameras at wrong speeds, programming in the wrong location, and setting up cameras near objects that caused interference, such as steel fences. Camera operators can now be fined up to $50,000 for errors. “Many of the contested cases we have are based around human error but technology carries the can,” Mr Ashby said.  “The problem is it’s so easy for technology to be blamed and for people to say get rid of the technology or don’t use it or it’s wrong and fix the system.”  “The fact is, there is no doubt that speed across Victoria has slowed significantly because of the cameras. If we shut down the system, more people would die and be injured.”

There are 83 analog speed cameras, 82 fixed digital dual cameras (speed and red light), 55 mobile speed cameras (set up randomly at 2300 locations), 21 Western Ring Road cameras, 10 point-to-point camera banks on the Hume Freeway and eight banks on the Princes Freeway between Melbourne and Geelong.

Traffic Accident Commission figures reveal that more than 650,000 motorists were caught by mobile speed cameras in Victoria from June 1, 2006 to May 31, 2007. The monthly average number of motorists caught by the devices was 54,270. In May, 53,428 motorists were caught.

Justice Department documents leaked to The Sunday Age show the number of Traffic Camera Office infringements issued in Victoria in 2005-06 was 1,079,169, worth $200 million.  The number of infringements from July1 last year to February 28 this year was 806,760, worth $148 million. The state government expects to reap$843 million in fines and regulatory fees, including speed-camera revenue, in 2007-08.

Melbourne Cup Long Weekend Road Trip. Those participating will only need to bring money and a change of clothes; all bedding is supplied.  Having said that, we’ll end up doing over 2,200 hard kilometers, the equivalent of four consecutive Sunday rides into Gippsland.  You’ll need chain lube, visor cleaning apparatus (Mr Sheen, rag), puncture repair kit, waterproofs, duct tape. Of course, near new tyres are assumed.

You’ll need a rack and bag, or a lot of okky straps. That’s for the bike.  For the body you will need sunscreen, water bottle, ear plugs including spares, sun glasses, emergency snack food, digital camera, wallet, clothes, toiletries, mobile phone charger. You won’t need good clothes/shoes as we won’t be staying anywhere salubrious.

Pack enough, but not too much as the weight will affect the bike’s handling (go up one click on the rear rebound and a smidge on the front rebound).  It will be a sensational trip but be prepared. And look out for the other riders. You’ll probably need a day off to recover, change tyres. The risks are high on strange roads with variable weather conditions, native animals abounding, but the rewards will also be high, the making of great memories. Be there.