THE OLD BLOKE'S BLOG
Welcome to The Old Bloke’s Blog! Well, it's more than just a blog actually; it's a blog combined with general bits of interest, and smaller items etc.
It's a traditional type blog of things that I've been doing that will, hopefully, be of some interest to the reader too. But, as I said, it's more than that; it's also where I put items of interest that I've come across that aren't big enough for a separate article.
It's set out month by month, going down the page - so for the latest entries, scroll down to the bottom.
For previous installments in this Blog thing, just scroll down to the bottom of the page and click the button there.
I hope you find it interesting!
JULY 10, 2013. I just found this link on Australian Road Rider’s Facebook page. It’s a re-make of the old Draggin’ Jeans ad, but a different brand. Don’t try this at home, kiddies …

JULY 11, 2013. A couple of weeks ago I bought a new helmet, an Arai, as I detailed in my Blog in June (Click here and scroll right down to the bottom of the page). I gave you my thoughts on a couple of other brands that I looked at too. So I should probably bring you up to date on this.
You never really know how a helmet is going to be until you get on the bike and ride with it. And when I did that, there was a problem.
The first day I wore it was a very windy day. I was getting some wind inside the helmet, but I just put that down to the strength of the wind. On the return I was still getting some wind inside, but it was also feeling as if it might be a bit big. That was strange, because it was the same size as the old Arai I had, and it had felt good in the shop.
The next day was a lot less windy, so I went for a short run. Before I even reached the end of our street I could feel wind in the helmet and especially in my ears. During the ride I was actually feeling pressure in my ears from the wind.
Back home I swapped to the old helmet and went for a run down the expressway and back. There was still some wind, but not the same amount of wind in my ears. Very disturbing!
I finally worked out what was happening. The new helmet has a kind of slot in the padding to make it easier to fit glasses. This allows wind that gets into the helmet (and some will get in from underneath the front) to be directed straight into my ears. The fact that it does though, is down to it being a size too big for me.
According to the tape-around-the-forehead reading I should be wearing a Large. But for at least the past three helmets (and probably further back than that) I have worn an XL. The larger size has felt more comfortable. The sales-assistant (who was very knowledgeable actually) reckoned I should buy a Large; and I did notice that the breath-guard sat correctly over my nose with the Large, but underneath my nose with the XL. That should’ve given me the clue, but I felt the Large was just a bit too tight: the XL felt comfortable. I tried the test of trying to pull it off from the back and that confirmed to me that it wasn’t too big. But it is.
I tried lifting the helmet up – so that the breath guard covered my nose as it had done with the Large – and that “channel” I was referring to ended up just above my ear; just as a similar (but smaller) gap in the padding in my old helmet did. So had I bought the Large the air would not be directed straight into my ear.
So, what to do? I thought the best thing might be to sell it. So I have listed it for sale on a couple of Facebook pages and a local For Sale site. 
So if you want to buy a cheap, virtually brand new helmet, let me know! It’s an Arai Vector 2, size XL, and worn only twice. Absolutely perfect, no marks etc. Original box, user manual, and even the little bottle of silicon that comes with it. They retail for $649.95, but I’ll sell it for $480. I’ll even throw in free postage for any of readers who want it.
JULY 14, 2013.
There’s something logical about the rear suspension being at the back of the bike. That just makes sense. But on the new MT-03, Yamaha has the rear mono-shock half way along the bike!
This shock-lying-down-on-the-side thing isn’t new, but this is the most extreme example of it.The swing-arm has a big section protruding forwards of the pivot to even reach the shock.
Sorry, Yamaha, it just looks ridiculous!
Click here to go to the front page. Click your BACK button to return to the previous page.
Click here to go to the previous Blog page, Jabuary - June 2013.
JULY 20, 2013. We all know that thermal underwear can be effective in keeping the cold out in these chilly months, but we also know that specialised motorcycle thermal wear can be expensive.
Well, it doesn’t have to be expensive. I’ve been using some cheap “waffle” style thermal “long-johns” for several years now.
A couple of months ago I bought the same sort of waffle-type thermal singlet / top. These cost about $25 each from menswear shops like Lowes or Target; and they are very effective.
I’ve tested them out in some very cool conditions (single-digit temps today, for example) and they work pretty well.
Of course they wouldn’t be as effective as the high-price stuff, but unless you’re riding in freezing temperatures, they do the job of keeping you warm.
JULY 28, 2013. I went on a ride today with a regular riding group that meets on the last Sunday of the month. Friendly guys and good people to ride with. At one stage I was following a young guy on a Hyosung GT250R. He had an after-market can fitted and it was louder than my (stock) exhaust: sounded good! But it felt strange, riding my 1300cc bike and only hearing the 250cc in front of me.

AUGUST 11, 2013. Today there was a Ride For Mental Awareness. This event was created by a guy whose father committed suicide a few years ago.
He wanted to raise funds to assist in increasing the awareness of mental illness, as well as helping to fund programmes to help prevent suicide. This year the ride was led by his son (the grandson of the suicide victim). I didn't actually take part in the ride (I’m not keen on riding in groups this big), but rode to the end-point and donated. Apparently there were almost 900 bikes on the ride this year and they raised more money through T-shirt sales and auctions of donated goods etc. (The photo shows just a small number of the bikes at the finishing point). Well done everyone who was involved!
AUGUST 11, 2013. Was it a warning, or for someone else, or …? I was riding a well-used secondary road. The speed-limit was 100kph. I was indicating about 110kph, probably a touch more, when I suddenly saw a police car hiding on the other side of the road. I buttoned off as soon as I saw it, but by then it would've been too late anyway. As I got to it the red and blues started flashing. I rode on at exactly the speed-limit. I could see the flashing lights, but they didn’t seem to be moving. I kept expecting the car to appear in the mirrors but it didn't.
Factoring in about 4 or 5kph speedo-error I figured I wouldn't have been too far over, so if I was suitably apologetic, and the police officer reasonable, I hopefully would’ve got out of it. But it never came. There didn't seem to be anything coming towards me that was going particularly fast so I don't know if the flashing lights was just a warning, or meant for someone else, or if he decided it wasn't worth chasing me for what would probably end up as a warning. (There was a fair bit of traffic behind me and also in the opposite direction, so doing a U-turn to chase me might have been difficult). Hmm, nasty feeling there for a while though!

AUGUST 14, 2013. I recently met up (via social media) with a woman, Betty, who I used to go to school with.
It turns out she has been a keen motorcyclist since her early days.
She posted this photo which she described in these words: “Betty Bikie at Wollongong Harbour circa 1975 – just before the Trophy blew up. It was before helmets became compulsory and I remember having to comb the knots out of my hair every time I rode but I really didn't care.”
Ah, the freedom of it all! The bike was an ex-police Triumph Trophy 500, the single-carb model. She traded that in 1976 on a Triumph Trident 650cc T160. I think it’s a great photo, and a great story!
AUGUST 19, 2013. I mentioned Chris doing a bike-trip along the famous Route 66, and mentioned that the story would be appearing in Australian Motorcyclist. Well it is in the current edition and it’s a fabulous read! Well done, Chris! The trip sounds wonderful – the adventure of a lifetime! Apart, perhaps, from the heat. The road crosses the desert, so they were riding across desert in scorching temperatures. Um, I think you can keep that part of the trip, Chris! Great story anyway, so grab a copy of the mag and have a read.

AUGUST 25, 2013. It was a beautiful, almost spring-like, day; a great day to be out on the bike! I had a late start for a favourite lunch spot at a bowling club in a small water-side village. I arrived with about 15 minutes to spare, walked in and found the Bistro  closed – the operators were on holidays! I remembered a nearby café / takeaway place a friend had recommended, so I went there. My burger-and-chips was about twice the price of the bistro’s item, but was bigger and came with a side-serve of salad as well. A nice meal. (Make a note to add to the forthcoming “Where To Eat?” article). After lunch I walked across the road to a park right on the water and sat watching the pleasure-craft and fishing boats coming and going, people having picnics and kids playing etc. Then back on the bike for a bit of exploring and heading for home.

AUGUST 26, 2013. I’ve just torn out an ad for the new HJC CS-R2 Guardian helmet. From the specifications and sales-blurb it sounds quite impressive. Just under $200 for the graphics models, and $170 for plain versions. If the Shoei TZ-X I ordered two days ago doesn’t work out, I’ll have a serious look at these.
Yes, the saga of buying a helmet continues! (See My Blog under June 22, and July 11 above). I have never had such a hassle buying a helmet! And never, in all my years of riding, have I had to sell a helmet I’d just bought! I did end up selling the new Arai, and went back to using the old one until I got a chance to go through the buying process again. A good opportunity came when MCAS in Penrith was having an opening-sale at their new store.
15% off all helmets (20% of AGV) sounded like an ideal opportunity, even though it would mean a 230km round-trip to get there. But I’d promised to take my wife for a day out. I thought I better not promise her a day out and then go to a bike shop! “We can do both,” she said, “It’ll be a nice drive and you can go to the shop when we get there”.
So we went for the drive, had lunch, and duly arrived at the shop. She settled down with her e-reader while I went to check out the helmets. When I finally emerged from the shop over 2 hours later, she didn’t look too impressed!
In that time I tried on so many helmets (and in a couple of cases the same helmet many times) that my cheeks were sore! I even tried the Arai. I could go for the smaller size, but I was wary; and it was just too tight.
To cut a long story short, it came down to a choice between Shark and Shoei. Each time I tried the Shoei it felt more comfortable, more plush in its padding. So I went for that.
The next issue was size. In theory I should be a Large, but when buying a helmet I’ve always erred on the side of comfort, rather than go by head-dimension alone. I’ve worn an XL for as long as I can remember, but the XL in the Shoei I decided was definitely too big: so, even though it felt a bit tight, I went with the Large.
Next issue was the graphics. The graphic I’d previously chosen wasn’t available any more. After looking at the available patterns on their computer I picked one and began to order it. Then came the price. The Shoeis I’d been trying on were plain, priced at $529. I knew the graphics were dearer, of course, but I remembered Shoei as being cheaper than Arai ($649 retail), but their price was $699 – less the 15% of course. That was a bit of a shock - $170 more for the graphics! Even with the discount, that was more than I could really afford at the moment. More decision! Eventually I decided to stick with the Shoei in a plain (or “solid”). I went with a solid colour, a metallic “gun-metal” that I kind of liked. That was $559, so with 15% off it ended up being $475 – a pretty good price for a Shoei helmet! They are ordering it in and will post it to me. I’ll let you know how it goes ….

FINAL WORD. The difference in price for graphics really makes you wonder; especially when you can buy a whole helmet (for example, the HJC) for the extra they charge for graphics; and the difference for graphics that HJC charge is just $30. Ah, but it’s not quite that simple. $699 is the recommended retail – which I’ve found even MCAS don’t normally charge. My memory was right – on MCAS’ own web-site the Shoei is priced at less than the Arai; over $100 less than retail – which makes their Penrith store’s 15% discount actually non-existent over their advertised price! Although the web-site is out of date. At least the price on the plain was the same as quoted on their web-site, so I did get the proper 15% discount on that. 

AUGUST 28, 2013. Inspired by Top Gear! If you’ve watched the British car show, you’ll remember episodes where the three hosts have to each buy an old clunker of a car and drive across some challenging route with it. Various tests along the way determine which car is the winner. Well, Motorcycle Trader magazine was obviously inspired by this and have done the same thing. They’ve paired up 6 of their journos into 3 teams, and instructed them to search the magazine’s ads and each buy a bike. They’ve allocated $10,000 to this, so that each team gets $3,333.33 to spend on a bike. The competition began last month and will run over a few editions. I picked it up on the issue where the bikes have been chosen. They are a Yamaha Thunderace, a Honda VT1000, and a BMW K100. It should be an interesting contest! 

SEPTEMBER 7, 2013. They said that Western Sydney was a political hotspot, but I didn’t realise that meant that come polling-day the temperature would be 10 degrees hotter than anywhere else! I was going to go to a custom bike and car show in Liverpool, but a predicted temperature of around 30 had me deciding to go elsewhere – where the temperature was low 20s. Even so, I passed through part of the hot area, with the temperature nudging towards 31. An hour later I was in the Southern Highlands with the temperature just over 20. I started out in summer jacket with the wind-liner in, took it out when I got to the heat, put the liner back in about 40km further, and for the final run home (now dropping under 20) had a pull-over under my jacket. Crazy weather!

SEPTEMBER 7, 2013. If you’re observant, thoughtful, and ride cautiously and defensively, you generally won’t have any “moments” as you ride. You can’t eliminate all dangers, of course, but you can certainly minimise them. I often reflect – gratefully! – that I don’t have any “heart-in-mouth moments” on my rides. Today I had two. The first was a very minor one (I even forget what happened!), but both were caused by going a bit too fast and not concentrating. The second one occurred when I arrived at a decreasing-radius left-hand bend on the crest of a slight rise. The road, which was a back road with very little traffic, hadn’t been too challenging, and my mind was partly on other things. Suddenly I was upon the corner, going uncomfortably fast. As is mostly the case in these situations, I could’ve just tipped it in harder and gone around, but my reaction was to brake and run wide on the exit (by which point I would be able to see the road ahead, ensuring there was nothing coming) and then pull it back in. I applied some brakes and stood it up a bit, en-route to a wide exit on the other side of the crest, where I would release the brakes and pull it back. As I got to the crest (still on my side of the road) a car popped into view, right on my planned exit line. So I had to pull it in tighter, still on a wide line but one that would obviously avoid the car. There was actually no real danger, and I was still able to adjust my line as necessary, but when you enter a corner faster than you want to, then a car blocks your chosen escape-route, well, it made the heart race for a few minutes there!

SEPTEMBER 14, 2013. At 2am it was pouring rain. The forecast for today – which had been looking dodgy all week – was for heavy rain. So a planned weekend down the coast with an organisation I belong to (the Christian Motorcyclist Association) was looking like it was off – for me anyway. Most of the group were already there because the event began last night, but I was working so was going to go today. Despite the forecast all week, I’d checked the bike, cleaned the old Ventura bag for extra luggage and all was set. Then the rain. This morning wasn’t as bad, and I considered going, but where they were was very rainy, and a planned ride had been called off. So that, plus a couple of other things that had come up (including minor health issues), made me decide not to go. Maybe a day-trip tomorrow if it isn't raining.

SEPTEMBER 15, 2013. Well, today dawned fine and reasonably sunny. Some sites were still forecasting rain, and there were some dark clouds about, but the main activity, which centred around a church service in a small coastal village, would be on, rain or no rain. So, after an early start, off I went.
It was a great day! There were almost 30 bikes, from various locations. Two had travelled around 500km to get there. I met up with some people I hadn’t seen for quite a while, and met some people I hadn’t met before – other than through social media. After the service, there was lots of chatting and a few riders took some of the smaller people at the church for rides around the car-park. The side-car was particular popular! (As you can see!). I got a bit of sprinkly rain on the visor on the way home, but not enough to need the wet-weather gear. It was a very enjoyable day!

SEPTEMBER 18, 2013. Today I officially put my new helmet into service. The Shoei TZ-X I ordered (see entry for August 26th above) arrived a couple of weeks ago.
To take the “newness” out of the foam I stuffed it tight with a shopping-bag full of shredded paper. Pressing it in tightly would have it conform to the shape of the helmet and do the initial compressing of the foam that the head would normally do. I left it like that for about a week and then gave it a try, including taking it for a ride. The artificial “bedding-in” worked, it wasn’t quite as tight as it felt straight out of the box. The cheeks still felt a bit tight though. Shoei offer a range of cheek-pads varying by a total of 9mm. They come standard with the middle thickness, so I ordered the thinnest ones. Not too bad at about $44 for the pair (plus postage).
On the road had brought no nasty surprises. It was comfortable (apart from the cheek-pads), although not as quiet as I’d hoped perhaps.

I confirmed my suspicion that it was heavier than the Arai. The kitchen scales showed the old Arai weighing 1570g, and the Shoei 1670g. And the Shoei is a slightly smaller shell too, so with the same size there would be slightly more difference.
Anyway, the new pads arrived and I subjected them to some pressure (sitting them under a heavy object for a few days), then fitted them. Ah, yes, feeling better all the time! Now quite comfortable. So the old Arai gets put on the shelf as a spare and the Shoei officially part of the riding-gear. Finally!!!

SEPTEMBER 21, 2013. The first decent ride with the new helmet, (sorry to go on about this, but I thought some people might find the comments interesting) and it ended up being a longer ride than usual. I felt the afore-mentioned wind around the lower part of my ears a bit, and a little wind pressure inside the helmet at times, but no real problem; it proved itself to be quite good! It was quite comfortable – still a snug fit, and I could feel some slight pressure on my forehead, but nothing serious. After lunch it seemed better – my head and its new lid are getting used to each other. Its much quieter than the old one, and it’s surprising how that makes the ride more relaxing – even when you don’t think you are being effected by the noise (in the old one). Also the visor was clearer. There’s hardly a mark on the visor of my old helmet, and it looks fine, but there must be some slight deterioration, because the new one was noticeably clearer.  

SEPTEMBER 25, 2013. “I’ll just put the bike away”, I said to my wife, just before we had lunch. I’d taken it to be checked for rego and it was still parked in the driveway. As I got to the bike I thought I might as well take off the rego-label holder, as that won’t be needed now (no rego labels in NSW). It was better to do it now because I had the label holder mounted down on the left side of the bike, which is against the wall when it’s in the shed. I found the right spanner and removed the holder. The area where it was mounted had some scuff marks and gunk from the holder being mounted there. Better clean that off. I got a rag and removed some of it, but it needed more. So I got a cutting-compound polish and got most of the scuff marks out. I thought I should put a washer under the bolt now, so found a suitable washer and went back to the bike. Okay, now to put the bolt back in. Hmm, seems like some polish has got into the threaded hole. So I got some WD40 to clean that off. Now, put the bolt back in. I wiped off a bit of over-spray and noticed that the wheel felt sticky. I’d lubed the chain a few days ago, and there’d obviously been a bit of misty fling-off that made the wheel a bit sticky. Better wash that off. Get the bucket, pour in some detergent, and give the wheel a good wash. Hose the soapy water off. Then I moved the bike further into the sun to dry off. Then I went back inside for lunch. “What’ve you been doing?” My wife asked. I’d been outside for a good half-hour, and the bike still wasn’t in the shed!

OCTOBER 6, 2013. Have you ever wondered what would happen to a modern dirt-bike if it was caught in a fire? Well, the answer is that, with being made almost entirely out of alloy and plastic, it doesn’t fare well! My daughter and son-in-law had their house gutted by fire today. My son-in-law was working on their daughter’s bike – a PW50 type thing – in the garage underneath the house and suddenly some fuel ignited. How we aren’t sure. The bike wasn’t running, and there was nothing to cause a spark; and the fuel was some distance away from the bike. It didn’t explode, it just suddenly caught fire. My son-in-law had their 2-year old son with him so he grabbed him and ran upstairs, giving him to my daughter and telling her to get out of the house and call the fire brigade. He ran back with a fire-extinguisher to try to fight it but the fire was so intense that it drove him back. The fire trucks arrived within about 3 minutes; within about 5 minutes the house was gutted. If you’re interested, here is a link to the local paper’s story on the fire.
The photos below show the remains of the bikes. On the left is the remains of my granddaughter’s little bike, and the next two show the pile of melted goo that was once a shining Kawasaki KLX250.
The house was rented, and is insured, but their contents were not. Yes, a silly, but sadly quite common, omission. Many people don’t realise they need insurance; for others, especially a young couple struggling to raise a family, there always seems to be something else to claim the dollars, and insurance is so expensive. I’m sure my knew they should’ve had insurance (I’d given both my daughters the insurance talk when they got married), but … They lost just about everything. My wife and I are struggling financially, so couldn’t help out that way, but I thought I’d start an on-line appeal. A few posts on Facebook and there was an overwhelming response! People have been so kind and generous, it really does restore your faith in human-kindness.
An account has been set up for anyone who would like to donate to help them out. (Click here for the details). And if anyone has a spare motocrosser and kid’s bike they don’t want, my son-in-law and granddaughter would be very happy! (I’m joking!).

OCTOBER 12, 2013. It’s been a very long and tiring week! I’ve spent hours almost every day after work in front of the computer exchanging messages with people who have things to offer to my daughter to help them get back on their feet; and sorting out other consequences of the whole thing.
So this afternoon, it was time for a break away from it all, and clear my head.
There’s nothing like a run on the bike in the country to clear the head and settle the stress!
And then a cuppa and scones at a favourite café in a peaceful rural setting. At places like this they should probably charge extra for the serenity! The air is fresh and clean and you can almost feel the heart-rate slow as you gaze out over the landscape. Even the other customers, of which there weren’t many, were pleasant and chatty. 
OCTOBER 13, 2013. An  acquaintance of mine, Richard, has just had a major engine failure in his Kawasaki Vulcan. He’s found that, sadly, this is not exactly uncommon. He quoted a post on a Kawasaki forum from an owner who had a similar failure. “The engine balancers are driven by a chain off of the crank. When I removed the cover, a small, very well chewed up chain guide and two screws fell out onto the workbench. The screws were not stripped indicating they backed out (came undone). The then loose chain guide was the proverbial ‘wrench in the works’ jamming the chain, breaking it, and pulling on the front balancer causing it to blow out!” Richard described what happened to his engine. “Balancing shaft chain has come off the guides, forcing the shaft to exit the engine without opening the door, also pulling the shaft out of its bearing housing, with enough force to crack the main crankcase. And I was only noodling along!” The guy who posted on the forum assumed that, “Obviously the bolts were not properly torqued at the factory!” Well, either that or the screws have a potential to undo over time. (Richard’s bike has done 47,000km – not a lot of distance really!). If it was the factory’s fault then it’s pretty poor form. If it is some sort of design fault (which I think is more likely), then it is equally poor form by the manufacturer.

OCTOBER 26, 2013. Crossways is an organisation that does things to help the intellectually disabled. Today they held an event in the Southern Highlands of NSW, hosted by a local church, and supported by the Christian Motorcyclists Association (of which I am a member). They brought in a bus-load of disabled people (most appearing to have Down Syndrome), gave them a free sausage-sizzle, and let them admire some shiny motorbikes. We, of course, provided the motorbikes. It was a beautiful day to be out on the bike, and we got the free sausage-sizzle too.
After lunch, as the event was winding up, it was decided to ride to another town for a coffee and a chat. That was enjoyable, apart from one section of the chosen route being pretty choppy. Still a good ride though.
The photo on the left shows just a few of the bikes outside our coffee stop. After that people headed for home.
I had a choice of riding straight home (only about 40km from there) or take a longer route (about 130km) up and down a couple of mountains and back home up the coast. It was much too nice a day to go straight back home, so I went the long way.
A couple of the other riders lived in that direction, so I rode in company with them for about 50km (the mountains part) until they turned for home. Then I continued on my own.
A stop for a cuppa (yes, another one!) at a sea-side café provided a nice relaxing interlude on my ride home. It’s always good to do a bit for the under-privileged, and it was an enjoyable ride too!

NOVEMBER 5, 2013. The Snowy Ride has been a hugely successful event again. Centred around Thredbo in the Snowy Mountains, this annual event is held to raise funds for research into children’s cancer. This year there were about 3,000 bikes entered for the ride, so it just grows and grows. And the money the event raises is fantastic!
I joined the event in 2005, spending a few days in the Snowy area, (click here for my story on that) but haven’t been back since. Family circumstances, work pressures, lack of funds, lots of reasons I haven’t gone back, but I looked at photos and read comments from friends who did go and wished I was back down there again! The photos below were taken by a friend (and reader of this web-site), Noel Taylor, who was there.
Sadly, there were three fatalities suffered by riders riding to, or returning from, the event. Let me stress that this is in no way a reflection on the event itself! But it’s sad none-the-less. The three fatalities involved riders from NSW.
A 57 year-old man from Nowra crashed when he swerved to avoid a fox near Cooma on the Saturday morning, so may have been officially taking part in the event at the time. Police reports said that he died on the way to hospital. Another man hit a tree near Eden on his way back from the event on the Sunday.
On the Friday a 37-year-old woman from the Wollongong area went missing from a group headed for Bombala, on their way to the event. She was found down an embankment late that day. From what I heard, the group didn’t know that she was missing until they reached their stop at Bombala. I can’t understand that. In any group, riders should watch their mirrors for the rider behind them, to make sure they are okay and keep together. If a rider goes missing from the mirrors, you stop and wait; then turn around and go back if they don’t catch up.
Very sad anyway, and my sympathies to all friends and families of those who didn’t make it back home.

NOVEMBER 10, 2013. No doubt you’ve read reports on the new 2014 Harley range; and I’ve just been reading more about them as I lay in bed on a rainy Sunday morning. “Project Rushmore” might sound like a quest for more speed, but that’s not what “Rush more”.. sorry.. “Rushmore” means. What it means I don’t know, and gave up trying to find out. (Rushmore is the name of a small town in South Dakota, but I didn’t see any connection with Harley). Anyway, under this project, eight models were up-dated, making it the largest new model launch in Harley's history, according to the company. The new bikes were unveiled as part of Harley’s 110th anniversary. You’ve probably read about all the latest technical innovations, including the new liquid-cooled engine. The engines are fuel-injected and have been tweaked to give better response in the mid-range. The technology doesn’t stop there though: for example, the Street Glide has a built-in audio system, an electronic display with sat-nav and all the other stuff you’d expect on these things. So those who think of Harleys as being “low-tech” will have to think again!
Mind you, it’s not all Yanky beer and skittles: I hear that, before they’ve even reached their model year (2014), there has been a recall for a faulty clutch. Apparently it involved about 29,000 bikes that had a potential for the clutch not to release. Hmm, that could be nasty! Riders were told not to ride them and dealers not to deliver them until the problem had been fixed.
One of the up-dates has been to provide liked braking. According to one report I read, Harley – who based many of their up-dates on feedback from customers – were responding to criticism from owners of poor braking performance. A subsequent survey of owners found that many riders were only using the back brake, and ignoring the front one. Instead of showing the riders that there was a lever on the right handlebar that would solve their braking problems, Harley installed a linked braking system so that when the rider stomped the foot pedal they would get some front brake as well. (You can insert your own comment here, I’m saying nothing!).

NOVEMBER 11, 2013. I’ve just read a story on the forth-coming LAMS Harley. Rumours have been circulating for a while about Harley’s new LAMS approved bike, and here it is.
The new bike will come in 500cc and 750cc versions, with the learner-legal 500cc tipped to be the big seller of the two. In fact, Harley is tipping it to become the biggest selling bike in their whole range. A reasonable prediction I suppose, if you consider that the biggest selling cruiser is presently the learner-legal Yamaha XVS 650.
The layout is typical Harley V-twin, but as you can see, this will run liquid cooling. I reckon it looks good! Don’t rush out to your nearest dealer yet though, according to the report, they won’t be arriving until the beginning of 2015! Oh, and we will only get the 500cc version. 
NOVEMBER 17, 2013. Today I went to the Sydney Motorcycle & Scooter Show. As you probably know, it alternates between Sydney and Melbourne, so we only get it in our location once every two years. And when I say “in our location”, that depends on how far you live from the capital city. For me it’s a bit of a trip to get there. This year I took advantage of my Senior’s Card entitlement to train travel for $2.50 return. That saved about $20 worth of fuel and over $30 parking. And the hassle of Sydney traffic.
I always enjoy these shows, of course! And this one was a big one, in terms of attendance anyway. 28,000 people visited over the three days of the event, making it the biggest attendance in almost a decade.
This year I spent more time looking at the smaller stands rather than looking at and sitting on every bike there – which is about my usual procedure at these shows! Some of the ones I looked at, and was impressed with, included Ferris Wheels (I bought the excellent TV series World On Wheels on DVD, and chatted to Denise Ferris), Greg Hirst’s Temporary Australians (another good show; and I had a good chat with Greg), the Christian Sport Bike Association (very friendly people), Luft helmets (see below), The Good Wool Store (they make good sheepskin covers), and Draggin Jeans (see below). The magazine stands Australian Road Rider (I chatted to one of the staff from Cruiser & Trike), and Motorcycle Trader were visited, along with a brief look at a couple of others.
MCAS had a big sales area and were doing good business on a lot of discounted items. Oh yes, and those spanners that look like multi-grips but grip incredibly strongly (have you seen those?) are most impressive! But expensive(ish). Here are some particular things I saw.
Draggin Jeans had their about to be released new Holeshot jeans. These have almost twice the friction protection of the award-winning C-EVO (which they effectively replace), but are actually about half the weight, and still the same price.
Luft Helmets were interesting. You’ll see them advertised as being a helmet with an air-bag, but it’s not what it seems. The air-bag takes the place of some of the internal lining. What you do is put the helmet on and then, using a button on the chin-guard, pump up the inner “air-bag”. This “air-bag” forms the inner section of the padding and of course conforms precisely to the shape of your head, giving you a very comfortable fit. In the event of a crash there is a fraction of time where the head moves sideways, compressing the air and forcing it to the other side of the helmet. This cushions the impact of the head against the padding, giving a softer “landing”. There are numerous air-vents around the helmet, all easy to operate with gloved hands, so they say. (And it looked to be). Priced at $499, they are cheaper than top-line brands like Arai and Shoei, so that makes them good value.
The Mini Jump Starter claims to be the world’s smallest jump-starter and recharger. As such, it is a convenient size for throwing in the top-box or panniers. It works as a normal jump-starter, should you suffer the inconvenience of a flat battery. It also charges a myriad of electronic devices like phones, ipods, laptops, tablets etc. The downside is that it’s fairly expensive, at $199. To check them out, go to www.minijumpstarter.com.
I had a look at the new, yet-to-be-released up-dated version of Suzuki’s V-Strom 1000.
This has become a bit of a sleeper in the range, with the smaller 650 model far outselling big-brother. The new model looks good and comes with a slightly bigger engine with more power. It’s lighter and they’ve tweaked suspension and some other things too. It will come standard with ABS and traction-control.
They’re pitching it as a (much cheaper!) competitor in the adventure-touring segment – so pitting it against the likes of BMW’s GS series (although the Suzuki rep didn’t exactly mention the BMW). It’s due to be released in the first quarter of the new year.
Another unveiling by Suzuki was a LAMS version of the V-Strom 650; which should go to make a popular bike even more popular!
NOVEMBER 19, 2013. This story is an example of how the new Queensland laws are being abused – and, as in this case, not just by police! It really is ridiculous!

NOVEMBER 20, 2013. I wrote in the Feedback section that I didn’t think the Queensland government had anything more sinister on the agenda than an over-the-top, twisted-view, ill-considered approach to the outlaw motorcycle gangs. But now I’m not so sure! They’re at it again – this time combating out-of-control parties. And they’ve picked on 3 again as the number of people who constitute a crowd! A crowd they will arrest if they misbehave. Part of the problem with this – along with how easily the legislation can be abused – is that, as the article mentions, laws already exist to arrest people for being violent and being drunk in a public place. So there is no need to introduce any further laws. There was no need for new laws for the outlaw bikie gangs, and there’s no need for these proposed laws either. I’m beginning to think you were right with your view that the government is trying to create a Nazi state, Anton!  Read the story here.

NOVEMBER 23, 2013. Today I rode in the rain. So what? Well, it’s actually been quite a while since I have. I ride for pleasure, not for transport, so if it’s raining I don’t bother riding. And it’d been a long time since it’d rained while I was out on a ride, beyond a few sprinkley showers anyway. In fact, it got to the point where I was seriously considering intentionally going out in the rain, just so that it didn’t become too unfamiliar. Anyway, today it rained. Well, a bit. It poured down while I was having lunch; but by the time I’d finished, relaxed a bit, and went outside, the rain had gone and the road, a main highway, was dry. (Just had to brush the water off the sheepskin seat!).
Later on, along a back road, I rode through the sprinkley tail of a heavy shower, the wet road was sending up clouds of steam. But my route then took me onto dry roads again, although rain threatened. I stopped and put my rain jacket on – partly in preparation for rain, and partly because I was getting a bit cool in my summer jacket. I’d pull the pants on if it actually did start seriously.
At a stop for a cuppa on the way home the rain came again. This time it was enough to pull on the full wet weather gear. I was a bit out of routine with this. Where do I put my glasses? I decided to put them inside my helmet. I got the pants out and struggled into those – my boots always get caught up while trying to pull them on! Now, on with the riding jacket, then the wet-weather jacket, do up all the zips and fasteners, and … hang on, where did I put my glasses? I looked in the top-box, no, not there. I know I didn’t put them in my jacket pockets because I wouldn’t be able to get to them. Oh yes, I remember…! Finally ready, I set off into the rain – which soon eased. A little later I was riding in occasional sunshine. At that point I wanted it to rain! “Come on, I’ve got the gear on, send ‘er down!” But I didn’t get any serious rain from then on. Oh well, at least there was some rain, and I did ride on wet roads for a while.

DECEMBER 1, 2013. Time for the annual Toy Runs to start again. This must have been one of the first ones. This is the one I usually go on now: it begins about 70km down the road from where I live and proceeds about 18km north to the end point, a bowling club in a small town. Organised by the local Ulysses Club, I like this one, as it has a good atmosphere about it, and is well run. The bikes stay together and this year the intersections were blocked off (that doesn't always happen) and everyone remained in double-file to the destination. I had lunch at the club then took the long way home, detouring via a few mountain passes. A good day! 
I rode to a Christmas Carols event tonight. I was a bit concerned at leaving the bike parked in the street at night (although it does have a security system), so looked for somewhere I thought might be reasonably safe. I found a spot right outside a police-station!
Okay, so it was actually un-manned at night, so it probably wouldn’t be any safer there than it would be anywhere else in the street, but I thought it was a pretty good place to park. 
(By the way, I didn't leave the helmet with the bike!).
DECEMBER 12, 2013. There have been a few fatal motorcycle crashes recently. The ABC reports that the number of fatalities has now hit 70 in NSW, which is an increase of “around a dozen” on the same time last year. Very sad! Four of those happened in just one weekend, last weekend. When commenting on this, a police spokesman said that in three of these incidents the rider was on the wrong side of the road. Hard to see how that is anything other than rider error. Crashes that involve the motorcycle being on the wrong side of the road are crashes that plainly shouldn’t happen!
DECEMBER 6, 2013. Here’s a useful little thing. There is a web-site that gives up-to-the-minute information on traffic conditions. It has details of planned road-works, road-works in progress, accidents, break-downs etc. In NSW this is called Live Traffic. There are similar sites in other states: for example, Victoria has VicTraffic. The NSW one has a mobile-friendly version, so you can go to it on your mobile and save it as a bookmark. It’s handy if you’re planning a ride and want to check for road-works or other delays that might be happening; and if you get caught in a traffic jam somewhere, this will tell you why you’re stuck!

DECEMBER 7, 2013.
DECEMBER 25, 2013. I came across this cartoon today. I guess it’s a good thing Jesus wasn’t born in Queensland!
DECEMBER 26, 2013. Ah, there’s nothing like a ride in the country on a nice summer’s day – and this is nothing like a nice summer’s day! Cold and foggy.
Later, I pushed along a bit through just-starting rain to beat a thunderstorm home by a mere couple of minutes!
I kept thinking about that Colin Buchanan song, “Aussie Jingle Bells”, and the line, “Christmas in Australia on a scorching summer’s day.” Well, not this year!
DECEMBER 30, 2013. That was a bit close! I was in fairly heavy traffic, and came to a set of lights just as they turned green. The traffic in front of me was still stopped. I slowed and was just coming to a stop when the cars in front began to take off. As I clicked into 1st, I suddenly heard a screech of tyres behind. I looked in the mirrors and they were full of a hatchback with P-plates and smoke belching from the tyres! I took off quickly, then heard a bang! Looking in the mirrors I could see the car still stopped, and another car behind, which had obviously run into the back of it.
It took a while, in the traffic, but I circled back around, parked the bike off the road in front of them and walked over. The cars were stopped on the side of the road with hazards flashing, the people exchanging details. “Are you okay?” The girl driver of the hatchback asked. “Yes, I'm okay – you didn't hit me!” I replied. Then I asked, “Is everyone okay?” Everyone was fine, and there was surprisingly little damage to either car. The following car was driven by a young guy, also on P-plates. They thanked me for coming back, we all made sure again that everyone was okay, and I got back on the bike and continued on my way.
I wondered afterwards what the girl thought when the biker that she almost hit came back and walked over to her? I didn't really feel angry with her though. Well, I did a bit – at her inattention – but I was just thankful that she didn’t hit me! And I felt a bit sorry for her, having been rear-ended by the car behind. I almost felt as if I had partly contributed to the incident too, although it was obviously not my fault. By the time I clicked back into 1st and took off, I was a little bit back from the car in front. The girl said she saw me, but thought I was going faster than I was; although she also said she had looked away for just a second. I was also a bit annoyed at myself for not seeing it coming. I always look in the mirrors when I stop at lights, and I had here too, but as the cars in front began to move, my concentration was on what was in front.
Maybe I looked more shaken than angry, because she asked me a couple of times if I was okay. She probably got a greater shock – having almost rear-ended a motorbike, then seconds later getting hit from behind!
The guy behind was obviously caught out by the traffic ahead moving but a car in front of him stopped. Was it a co-incidence that both drivers were P-platers? I don't categorise people (I've seen some good P-platers drivers!), but lack of experience probably played a part.
Everyone was being very pleasant to each other about the whole incident. The girl wasn't angry with the guy behind, and he was pleasant and co-operative about the whole thing too. The lack of damage was quite amazing – only minimal damage to both cars. The guy in the rear car said, “The bang was deceiving. When it happened I thought I'd totalled my car!”
I felt a bit shaken at the time, but not much. I suppose there was a bit of delayed shock – I felt more shakey about 20 minutes later when I arrived at my destination; a sea-side cafe in a small town. Sitting in the cafe having a pot of tea and looking out over the ocean was nicely calming!
Click here for the next enthralling episode - from January to June 2014.