Reefton Spur Sunday 13^th Feb 2011

Misho Zrakic	Honda CBR1000	Joe Klopfer (2^nd ride)	Kawasaki ZRX1200
Damir Djikic	Honda CBR1000	Jason Wilson	Kawasaki ZX9
Ben Warden	Honda CBR954	Peter Jones (leader)	Yamaha R1
Pina Garasi	Honda CBR600	Drazen Zupancic (1^st ride)	Yamaha R1
Ron Johnston (rear)	Honda CB400/4	Rick Van	Yamaha YZF600
Pierre Ong	Ducati 1098	Yudi Iswahyudi	Suzuki GSXR1000
Rob Langer	KTM 950R	Cindy Lee	Suzuki GSXR750
Tony Grange	KTM 1100	Heyns Ferreria (1^st ride)	Suzuki Gladius 650
Dave Chisma	BMW F800	Frank Ferreira (1^st ride)	Triumph 1050

Check the magazine and see where we are riding today: Reefton Spur, short ride, Yarra Glen start. Just the ticket. Close to home. Roll out the 400/4, Yarra Glen here we come. As you come into Yarra Glen they are modifying the intersection (Lilydale side) and it is creating a traffic jam because it is down to two lanes. Turning is even worse. I eventually ride into the servo for fuel.

I can see a few people outside the Café already. Finished fuelling and ride the bike over. We had three first time riders. Always good to see prospective members. Maybe…

Tony Grande on a Ducati Super Duke? A face we haven’t see for a very long time. It was good to catch up, even if it was only for a moment. A large crowd had gathered, and soon it was time to go, but, not before Mr Jones gave us a run down on the day’s event. I informed Geoff earlier that I would go rear rider, as it was a short ride and I wouldn’t be too far behind (or so I thought).

Eventually I get to leave after everybody dragged their heels out of there. So down the Highway, through the new roundabout and up onto Old Healesville Road. The ride starts to thin out here. Those familiar with road are long gone, but some of the new riders sit back and take their time.

Ben and Misho are corner marking at the Healesville/Yarra Glen corner. As I arrive they move off, and we ride as a group along Chum Creek Road. Soon, the riders familiar with the road are gone. Ben sat behind the young bloke on the Gladius for a couple of kms before he passed him and disappeared into the distance. I know the young bloke hadn’t had his licence long (6 weeks) and that he was being cautious, but he was painfully slow.

I was nearly falling asleep on the 400/4. I would drop back, then speed up to keep myself amused. Even though it was a short ride, the nature of the ride didn’t suit Heyns. Too many corners. In reality, a no-go ride for a learner. When we got to Toolangi, Ben pulled him over and explained that the ride/Club wasn’t really suitable for him. He needed to practice, do some training and come back after 10,000 km.

I would rather disappoint new riders and send them on their way, for their own safety, rather than pick them up after a crash. Heyns wanted to catch up with his twin brother Frank. So be it.

I talked to Ben briefly and then we took off down Myers Creek Road. About half way down I had someone in a Magna sedan try to race me, but he gave up. I caught up with Heyns at Healesville.

It was a slow trip across the Black Spur, but that was alright because we had to keep to the speed limit. We got to the Marysville turn off where Ben was talking to Frank who wanted to continue on to Marysville for a coffee, since it was so close. They would finish the ride there. I was very glad to get to Marysville.

Soon it was time to go again and I was looking forward to picking up the pace!

Don’t you hate it! When you are ready to go, I had to take my helmet off to fix my ear plug. Stupid things. Got my helmet back on, and I am off. Get to the roundabout, two people patiently waiting. I waved them on. Then it’s game on. We are out of here. A few kilometres in I pass a person on a Gixxer. He looked a bit nervous, but I rounded him up and I am gone. Next, was a person on a MT01. I followed for a short distance but was out-gunned on the uphill section. Not a dog’s show in hell of keeping up.

I managed to keep him in sight and caught up with him at the Lake Mountain turn off. I wasn’t too keen on the down hill section, so I waited, and after a couple corners, I rounded him up as well. After a few more corners, I came upon someone who had crashed. I do the usual quick scan, find a spot to park and check out who it is. There were quite a few other motorcyclists there including two or three people on the Club ride. After a few minutes I sent them on their way, Joe on the ZRX12 as the new rear rider. I told him to tell the corner markers that he was the new rear rider, and tell Ben what happened, and that I might catch the ride later in the day. The crash happened around midday.

A young bloke in a Landcruiser stopped to help. He was kind enough to ring the emergency services for us on his GPS phone. There was no reception on our mobiles. We were approximately 14 kilometres from Marysville on the Lake Mountain Road. I spoke to the operator and told her it was past the Lake Mountain turn off, not up Lake Mountain.

A policeman turned up on a BMW bike, then one in a Nissan Patrol. In the mean time, Yudi was sitting on a log complaining that his arm was hurting. We got him up from where he was, and got him to sit on a rock on the road side. We took off his leather jacket and I put my RST wind jacket on him to keep him warm. Four blokes on MT01s picked his bike up from down the embankment and parked it off the road. Damage was minor cosmetic including a broken fairing on the left hand side, gravel rash on swing arm, and engine cover. The handlebars/forks were twisted.

Four of us looked for his bag which had been thrown off the bike. I found it about 10 metres away down the embankment buried in the bush. The policeman got the information he wanted but the ambulance still hadn’t turned up. Eventually one arrived from Alexandra. I had passed it on the way up.

There was an issue with the road name I had supplied. The road between Lake Mountain turn off and the top of the Reefton is Cambarville Road, not Lake Mountain Road. Hence the delay in the ambulance arriving. They had to check it out to be sure. It must be a pain for them sometimes. A second ambulance headed back to Marysville. The medics checked Yudi out and give him the green whistle, (happy gas). When they cut his shirt off, his arm, between the shoulder and elbow was the size of a football. It didn’t look good, poor bugger.

They eventually got him into the ambulance, and I collected all his gear together to take with him. They were taking him to Maroondah Hospital. I told Yudi that I would see him later.

So that left the policeman and I waiting for the tow truck. He told me about picking up the pieces after people that had crashed in the area. He rides a VTR and asked me about what tyres were good. I told him Road 2s were about the best for all round wear. I told him that he could adjust the suspension on the VTR, but if he was happy with the handling and tyre wear, then not to worry.

Finally the tow truck arrived and I gave the driver a hand to load the bike. The copper said he’s the best bloke for bikes around here; the others don’t give a dam. After the paper work was done, he gave me the green slip to give to Yudi, so he could tell the insurance company where the bike was - Buxton. We said our farewells and it was off to Warburton for lunch.

It was 2:00 pm when I left the crash site. I got to the Reefton intersection and there were some guys on bikes waving at me to slow down. The police are usually down on the short straight further on, so I stuck to about 80 clicks to be on the safe side. I cover three quarters of the Reefton, see nothing, passing quite a few bikes coming the other way.

I reach the down hill section, speed up a little bit, come around a corner, see a cop car parked, and a copper in the middle of the road. I didn’t know who he was going to stop, because there was someone coming up the hill, and closer to him, but he pulled me over instead.

(Police) asked the usual questions, and “Wanted to know why I was speeding? “I said I don’t think I was”. Unbeknown to me, Police offsider was running back down the road behind with the radar in his hand, got done like a dog’s dinner. (Ron) “You blokes aren’t playing fair. You got me on the downhill run. What do you expect?”, (Police) “We’re here to enforce the speed limit. Zero tolerance. The TAC pay our wages on Sunday. The road between Warburton and Marysville is Victoria’s worst. It has the most motorcycle fatalities in Victoria.” I would agree with him on that one. I reckon that a day wouldn’t go by without someone crashing, whether it is reported or not.

(Police) “Here is the speed you were doing, 94 in a 80 zone”. (Ron) Hmm. (Police) “Need to see your licence, and where is your rego sticker?” (Ron) “I keep it under the seat because I lost one once. It was hanging off the number plate, so I keep it there, it’s safer.” (Police) gives a bit of a lecture on speeding, (Ron) “I have just spent two hours attending to an accident” (Police) “How many points have you got?” (Ron) “I just got 3 back and I had 1, so that makes 4” (Police) “This will cost you, $239, and 3 points.” (Ron) still carry on about, booking me for speeding down hill, not playing a fair game, (Police) “I will tell you what we will do, we will forget about the speeding ticket, and just book you for not having your rego sticker on display, cost you $56 and no points”, (Ron) Phew, must be my lucky day, (Police) “You will receive the notice in the mail”, (Ron) I thanked the man, and shook his hand, you have a nice day… How lucky was that?

Off to Warburton for lunch. I get to the bottom of the Reefton and there are five cops on bikes in the car park on the right as you go over the bridge. They must definitely be having a blitz. I stopped at the Bakery in Warburton for lunch. The time was 2:30 pm. I decided it was too late in the day to go looking for the rest of the ride.

After lunch I just rode to the Maroondah Hospital to see Yudi. When I got there, he was still in x-ray, and they would send someone out to get me when he got back.

About 45 minutes later his wife came and spoke to me. I told her what happened and then she took me into see him. The look on his face said it all. He said his arm had a break in the middle. I gave his wife the paper work for his bike, and told him where it was, and to contact the insurance company and they would take it from there.

The doctor came and said they would put half a plaster cast on his arm to support it, until they could operate on it.

When I got home I told Julie about the ticket. I said the $56 and no points is better than $239 and 3 points. But she still cracked it (LOL)… That was two weeks ago and I haven’t received anything in the mail yet.

I went back and saw Yudi on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. I took some magazines in for him to read. On the third night, the doctor arrived to talk about his arm. Apparently, the plates they had sent down from Sydney were no good because they had a second look at the Cat Scans which showed, apart from a major break in the middle of the arm, the bone had a fracture running into the elbow, plus the bone was shattered above the break and this was of concern to the doctor. So they had to get different plates sent down from Sydney for the repair.

Yudi had the operation on Thursday afternoon. It took longer than expected, but he is recovering well. He was sent home the following Sunday and will be out of action for eight weeks. He has already started physio. We wish him well on his recovery.

Ron Johnston