I WIN A MOTORBIKE

The Australia Motorcycle Festival was held in my home city of Wollongong (just up the road from where I live) over the weekend of 9th – 10th November, 2019. This was an event I’d heard about early in the year, and had been looking forward to going to. It replaced the Motorcycle Show that used to be held in Sydney. This was the first time it had been held in a few years, and Wollongong had been selected as the venue for the event, which was to run to a different format.

However I had forgotten all about it until a friend of mine messaged me about it after he had been in for a look on the Saturday.  So I went in on the Sunday to have a look.

It was a good show, and I enjoyed looking around; but the big for me was that I WON A MOTORBIKE!!!! I still can't really believe it!!

The Steven Walter Foundation, who run The Snowy Ride that raises money for childrens cancer, was running a raffle with a new bike from Honda as the prize. They do this as part of the Snowy Ride event each year, with Honda donating a bike as the prize for the raffle. Everyone who registers for the Snowy Ride gets a ticket with their entry, and tickets are also sold at the Snowy Ride itself and at other motorcycling events around the same time.

I've entered the Snowy Ride before, (more times than I've actially gone in it, but by registering they get your entry donation, which is the main thing). And I've bought a ticket at various events, always with that hope of winning. But you know the chances are slim, with thousands of tickets being given away with entries and thousands more being sold.

As I was looking around the show I saw the Steven Walter Foundation stand, (pictured on the left) where tickets were being sold, and the bike to be won was on display. I thought, “It’s been a while since I’ve donated or sent any money their way”, so I went over and bought a ticket.

“How many do you want?” Asked the guy selling the tickets. “Just one”, I replied. “Well, you only need one to win!” He said with a laugh. I agreed, thanked him, and went on my way. But I honestly didn't even consider winning: I mean, what are the chances, right? I just thought I should buy a ticket to make a donation again.

I'd just left when they called me. It was Sue Walter. “You’ve won the bike!!” she announced. What?? I couldn’t believe it!

Knowing that it was a ticket they’d sold at the show, she asked if I was still there. When I said I had just left, she said I didn’t have to come back – but of course I did go back!!

I went back and walked quickly over to the tent, almost expecting it to be some kind of joke, or prank someone had pulled. But no, it was real – I had won the bike!!

There were lots of congratulations, smiling faces and photos etc.

The bike I won is a Honda Africa Twin, worth $23,500 as offered for the prize, being the top-of-the-range automatic and with accessories and on-road costs.

I think they may have delivered it to my home, but I assumed that, being a new bike it would be delivered to a dealer. In any case, arrangements were made to deliver it to Motocity, the local Honda dealer in Wollongong.

Days later I was still stunned by winning it! But, while it is a fabulous bike, I never intended keeping it. For a couple of reasons. The first is that the bike is not the sort of bike I would – or even could! – ride. It is a big, tall, heavy adventure-bike. Suitable for crossing deserts or slogging up the Birdsville Track: Daryl Beattie, the former MotoGP racer and now outback adventure tour operator, rides one. Great if you're young and fit and want to cross the Simpson Desert; not so much for an old bloke with a crook back doing normal road-riding. Sitting on the bike I could only just reach the ground on tip-toes.

The second reason was that my wife and I aren't exactly rich. Our family car is nearly 16 years old (it's going fine, and we're happy with it, but it won't last forever), so I couldn't justify having that much money tied up in a motorbike. Put simply, I could make better use of the money than I could the bike.

A couple of days later, the Africa Twin was delivered to MotoCity in Wollongong. I didn't even get to ride it! If I had taken delivery of it, it would have been 2nd-hand, not new, and of course worth a lot less. I went in and discussed options with the owner of the business.

Originally the plan was to sell it on consignment; and that was how I left it for a few days. but there were some potential problems with having it on consignment. The first thing was that, according to the owner of the business, that particular model was hard to sell. The main problem was the automatic transmission. It might be expected that this would be an attraction, but apparently not. He said that the last one they had took about a year to sell; whereas the conventional models sold about one a month. That could be true: I remember Yamaha had an automatic version of their FJR1300 a while ago, and that wasn't popular with buyers.

There was also the issue of it being, of course, a 2019 bike; and so in a few weeks time it would be “last year’s model”. More than that though, was the fact that a new model was due to hit the showrooms in a couple of months time; so if it hadn’t sold by then, the value would go down again.

So a deal was done where they bought the bike outright. I lost a lot of what the bike was theoretically worth, in retail terms, (like almost a third of that!), but the deal was done and the money was mine. While it was a lot to lose, at least I had the money; and had I not taken the deal then, I potentially could have lost even more. So, as they say, “A bird in the hand...” and all that! 

However the money won't all just go in the bank! There may be a new bike coming! While I do love the bike I currently have – a Yamaha XJR1300 that I have owned almost since new for 11 years – it has been getting a bit heavy in recent years. (Notice how bikes get heavier with age, we don't get weaker! Ha ha!). So maybe a lighter bike (and much cheaper than the one I won!) might be coming. Maybe.

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