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 news, things of interest, and smaller items etc.

It is, basically, a traditional type blog of things that I've been doing that will, hopefully, be of some interest to the reader. 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. So don't think that it's all about me! Some of it is, but it's also a newsy kind of thing, relating stories of interest, products I've discovered and so on.

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, just scroll down to the bottom of the page and click the button there.

I hope you find it interesting!

JANUARY 4, 2014. First ride for the year today. Also the first since my close-encounter-of-the-rearward-kind that I described on December 30. I actually felt a little nervous! Not just in traffic – which there wasn’t a lot of where I went – but generally. It passed though.

It was to be a group ride with some riding friends, but I had to pull out, although still intended to go for a ride if I could. I did ride, and ended up riding to the same destination as my friends, although I lunched at a different place and went by a slightly different route.

It was a long-ish ride – by my standards. The weather was good, although it was quite windy. At one stage, for about 40km, I was heading into a strong head / side wind that was gusting up to 57kph. It didn’t affect the bike much, but it was a bit unpleasant for the rider. It turned out to be a good ride anyway.

Along the way I stopped in for a cuppa at a shop that hires bicycles. So I parked  the big Yamaha among the peddlies.

There were quite a lot of bikes out, and a significant number of riders wearing just T-shirts, or shorts.

JANUARY 7, 2014. The Old Road (former Princes Highway north of Sydney), Royal National Park, SeaCliff Bridge, Macquarie Pass, Robertson to Kangaroo Valley to Nowra. There are some great riding roads in that lot, and all within a total distance of under 300km. That was the route chosen by a mate, Steve, when he took a friend of his for a ride. Of course they had some distance to reach the start, and then around 80km further south to an overnight destination.

Steve lives about 250km away from where I do, but I joined them for the Macquarie Pass, Kangaroo Valley, Nowra section. (I was official “tour-guide” for this). They enjoyed the rides. Steve’s mate made sure he was in front of us on the twisty mountain sections so that he could give his Kawasaki ZX10R a good run. Between Kangaroo Valley and Nowra he was frustrated a bit by the traffic, but that’s always a problem along there: and there aren’t a lot of safe overtaking opportunities. Speed-limits of 60kph on The Old Road and through Royal National Park are frustrating too – and totally unnecessary!

Anyway, it was a good ride. Living so far apart, Steve and I rarely get to ride together, so it was good to do that. His friend on the Kawasaki was a nice young bloke too. Cool temperatures, with a bit of rain on the way home for me (and just after they left home for them) were the only other downsides, but that didn’t spoil the ride!

JANUARY 10, 2014.

Proof again that you don’t have to go far to have an enjoyable ride.

I had been thinking of a day-ride, but was delayed a bit with other things and then we had visitors. It was great catching up with our relatives who dropped in unexpectedly (they are in the area for about a week, having flown down from Qld), but it all resulted in it being around 3pm before I got the bike out.

A ride along some interesting mountain roads, a visit to an historic little village and a nice pot of tea and banana-bread along the way (Yum!).

(The photo on the left was taken outside an old shop, now cafe, at the "historic little village" I mentioned above. It wasn't the place where I had my cuppa).

I still did about 130km, in beautiful weather!

JANUARY 10, 2014.

Thanks to a regular reader who kindly posted it to me, I have just started reading Casey Stoner’s book. I’m sure it is going to be an interesting read!

One great thing about it is that it has an index in the back, so if you want to know what he has to say about a particular person, incident or bike etc, you can look it up and go straight to the page. Very good idea!

Here’s what the reader had to say about it: “It’s one of those books that once you start reading it’s hard to put down. Mostly covers his early rise to the top with some interesting views of the current crop of GP riders. I won’t spoil what’s written, but lets just say the man tells it the way he sees it.”

He says that he has never been a fan of Casey, and “After reading his story I’ve not changed my opinion: but I do have respect for his riding.” From that, and from what little I’ve read so far, it is definitely worth the read!

Click here to go to the front page. Click your BACK button to go to the previous page.

JANUARY 25, 2014. As you may have noticed (and I did mention in an up-date email to our regular readers), I have been publishing all the later articles in a wider page width - 960 rather than the previous 800. That brings it closer to current common screen resolutions. (Closer, but still a lot too narrow for most probably). Still, it looks a lot better than the previous 800. So tonight I went through a few of the index pages - including the front page - and increased their width too. I think it does look better - especially the Bikes index one where there is room on one line to write the extra comments and up-dates, rather than squeezing them in around the existing text. Unfortunately, at this stage the site is still not suitable for viewing on mobile phones or tablets. But it's looking better!

JANUARY 27, 2014.

On the Australia Day weekend and I was certainly intending to go for a ride, but it got delayed. Saturday and Sunday got taken up with other things (and it was a bit rainy as well). Today ended up partly taken up with something else too, but I did get out for an afternoon ride. I ended up at a Coolabah Café for an afternoon coffee-stop. That seemed like an appropriate place for the Australia Day holiday.

JANUARY 30, 2014. It’s stating the obvious really, but worth mentioning as a good reminder. I read a small piece today about what you could do if you have a sports-bike that you love and don’t want to give up, but find it’s getting too uncomfortable for long hauls (or even short hauls as our bodies become less agile and flexible). There were five relatively simple modifications:

1 – Fit a set of adjustable foot-pegs, allowing the pegs to be less rear-set than current.

2 – Fit bar risers, which of course reduce the amount of lean-forward in the riding-position.

3 – Fit softer more comfortable grips.

4 – And along with that, fit a throttle palm-rest.

5 – Have the seat re-upholstered to make it more comfortable.

Yes, there’s a few bickies in getting that lot done, but probably not as much as buying a new bike; and if you love your current sporty, this will make it more pleasurable to continue riding. 

FEBRUARY 8, 2014. In October last year my daughter and her family had a fire in their home that gutted the house and destroyed most of their belongings – including a Kawasaki motocrosser my son-in-law had and a little mini-bike my granddaughter had.

Well, they now have those bikes replaced. My son-in-law has a new (2nd-hand) motocrosser. It’s a Honda, rather than his favoured Kawasaki, but he is enjoying being back on a bike again! And some friends of his gave them a little bike for their daughter. So she has a bike again too! And there’s even a little PW50-style bike (actually a Thumpstar or similar) for the younger daughter and son. (Their son is not quite three and can ride it, with no training-wheels! He’s an amazing little kid!).

The photos here are of my son-in-law on his new bike, with the little bloke checking out his Dad’s new toy, and my granddaughter on her new bike.

FEBRUARY 17, 2014. I’ve often joked that what I need for the bike is air-conditioning. I ride for enjoyment, and there’s not a lot of enjoyment in sweating away on a scorching summer’s day out on the bike. Well, it looks like there is an answer. I suppose it’s an extension of the “cool-suit” that racing drivers wear when racing cars in hot temperatures (the temperature inside a V8 Supercar, for example, can get to around 60c!). Anyway, this might be just the answer for hot summer days out on the bike. Click here to see it. (Thanks to Rod who sent in the link).

FEBRUARY 18, 2014. I’ve just been reading an article on charity rides in the latest edition of Australian Road Rider (which, incidentally, is their 100th issue!).

If you’ve been following these Blogs you will know that charity rides are something I’m pretty keen on. Not only have I participated in a few, but I have also organised  some too. You can read about the two major ones I’ve done here and here. (The photo on the left was taken on  one of the rides I organised).

It’s an interesting article and highlights just how many there are and, more importantly, how much money is raised by them! Shaun Lennard, chairman of the Australian Motorcycle Council, says he has no idea exactly how much has been raised by charity rides but says it, “Must be millions!” When you look at individual rides and how much they raise I’m sure he is right.

Lennard also rejects the criticism that riders only do it to counter negative views of bikers held by the community. He says, “That’s a by-product, but not a motive to do it. Critics who say riders do it just for that are wrong.” I think there is something in the basic human nature of most people – and Australians, especially, might I suggest – that makes us want to help people in need. For me, I love helping people where I can and I love riding, so combining the two is a win-win activity for me. And I think that’s how most riders view it. I also know that the motivation for many riders getting involved is that they can identify with the cause. For example, I know people who have suffered depression or other mental problems, who take part in the annual Black Dog Ride. In any case, charity rides are a great thing for all involved!

FEBRUARY 23, 2014. It’s been a stressful few weeks, with my young grandson being hit with a serious health problem. Partly because of that (and partly because of bad weather) I hadn’t had the bike out for a couple of weeks. But with my grandson showing positive signs, and the weather looking reasonable, I was anxious to get out on the bike and de-stress a bit!

It was opportune too, as a group I ride with who have a ride each month had their scheduled ride on.

I had thought of going for a ride on my own, but a group was better. I do like riding on my own, but being “alone in your helmet” can give you too much time to think sometimes! A much better way to clear the head of the other worries was to be riding with a group I enjoy riding with.

The photo shows our group at a lunch / afternoon tea stop. The bikes, from left to right, are Suzuki GSX1400, Hyosung 250, Ducati 749, Ducati 1100, BMW cruiser (owned by Greg, the guy who organises the rides) and my Yamaha XJR1300. The young guy on the Hyosung 250 kept up pretty well, but said, “The pistons were nearly coming up through the tank!” at highway speeds. 

FEBRUARY 26, 2014.  As most people in NSW would know, lane-filtering is to become legal in NSW from July this year, following a 2-month trial that was conducted in Sydney a little while ago. You can read the story of the decision here. In short, it says: “Under the scheme, fully-licensed riders will be able to ride through stationary or slow-moving traffic at speeds up to 30 km/h; but not in school zones, beside kerbs or next to trucks and buses.”  Note that it is for “experienced riders” only: L and P plate riders are not allowed to do this.

This is, of course, a good decision. People have been doing it anyway, for years, but it has always been illegal. (There was no specific law on lane-filtering, but several laws that could be applied to it). It’s good to see that the authorities have recognised the benefits to this. Although I don’t know why we have to wait four months before the law is introduced. I can see a couple of issues though.

Firstly, they say “not next to kerbs”. I presume they're talking about inner-city streets where the bike may try to go up the left in between cars and a pedestrian footpath. I can see the sense of that, where a pedestrian might step off the kerb and try to cross between the stationary cars, but it's a very grey area. What about a suburban setting where there is ample room between the traffic and the kerb? I don't ride in heavy traffic very much, but when I do encounter stationary or very slow-moving traffic – and it's usually in this suburban type setting – riding slowly up the left is the only way I'll do it. There is more room and it's far safer (in these situations) than squeezing between two lines of traffic.

It also says, “Not past trucks or buses.” I can see the sense of that one too: it’s harder for them to see you, and with their greater size there is less room. But for a rider filtering between traffic stopped at traffic lights who comes upon a bus or truck, they, presumably, aren't allowed to ride past. So rather than reach the head of the queue, they will be “stranded” between the lines of traffic, not being able to pass the bus or truck. They would then be forced to ride just behind the truck or bus while traffic in the other lane goes past them. That's dangerous!

So I think there are some issues about this that need further thought or clarification.

MARCH 7, 2014.

A friend, Noel, is currently on his way to the Snowy Mountains area where there will be a celebration of the 30th anniversary of the Yamaha FJ1100 arriving in Australia.

I hadn’t heard anything about this, and didn’t realise the model was celebrating this milestone. From the FJ1100 came the FJ1200 and of course the FJR1300. Noel has an FJR1300 and is huge fan of the bike.

The photo on the left is an FJ1200 I saw at a Toy run a couple of years ago. The owner had owned it for a long time and was still loving it.

MARCH 8, 2014. I was riding along a quiet country back-road when a red Ferrari convertible appeared in my mirrors. It followed for a while then, reaching a bit of open road, suddenly blasted past, the engine wailing into a glorious sounding high-pitched roar! I suppose I could’ve clicked down a gear, twisted the throttle and made it harder for him to overtake (an XJR1300 on the boil would give it a good run for its money!), but I was sitting around the speed-limit, and thought that a motorbike racing a Ferrari at 30 or 40kph over the limit would probably have had us both thrown in gaol! I just sat back and enjoyed the sight and lingering sounds of the Italian super-car as it faded into the distance.

Later in the day I was on an undulating main highway, in the left lane in heavy traffic. On an up-hill section that was quite steep, the traffic in my lane began to slow, while the traffic in the right lane maintained speed and began filing past. I was happy enough to just sit there until we crested the hill, but then I saw one of those Smart cars (those things that looks like a windowed Porta-loo on wheels) coming up in the right lane. As we got to the steepest section I expected it to die away, but it didn’t – it maintained speed and sailed on past. Okay, I was held up by the traffic in front, but still, being overtaken, up-hill, by one of those stupid little things was a bit of an insult!

MARCH 15, 2014.

Not surprisingly perhaps, this is called Forest Rd. Gently undulating with flowing corners, it’s a road I enjoy riding. The only down-side is you have to watch out for those hoppity things! I’ve never seen one along there until today – and that one was dead on the side of the road.

This part of my day's ride was enjoyable - as was lunch in the sea-side bistro of a bowling club. But as I got closer to home, weather spoilt the enjoyment a bit.

The weather forecast had indicated possible showers and storms and fairly hot temperatures where I headed, but it was okay. Mostly very pleasant (a couple of towns were a bit warm), and no rain. Until about 40km from home.

As I rode into a small town the road was wet; and puddles beside the road indicated a decent shower had passed through. I stopped at a favourite café and while there checked the radar. A big band of rain – some of it heavy – heading straight across my path between where I was and home. If I’d waited long enough I might’ve missed it, but I pulled on the wet-weather gear and headed off. A sprinkley shower suddenly turned into a rain storm and it bucketed down! A tightly twisting section of highway with off-camber corners, now with small rivers of water running across them, was not pleasant in that sort of downpour! About 20km on it eased, and by the time I got home the sun was out. At least the wet-gear worked and I stayed dry.

MARCH 20, 2014. I’ve always liked Triumphs (and almost bought one a few years ago), but I keep hearing disturbing stories of quality issues. An example was a Yamaha FJR owner who decided to buy a Triumph Trophy for a change. When he took delivery of the bike he found there had been some assembly problems, resulting  in it not running right. Then within the first four months of ownership he had two recalls, one pending, and a probable replacement of the top-end. I was told that the top-end replacement was not uncommon on the model. He has now decided to go back to Yamaha. That’s disappointing from a manufacturer that makes great bikes that are a welcome change to the usual Japanese machines.

As if to highlight this, I was told that during 2013 Triumph had 8 recalls across their model range. BMW displayed their well-known quality issues of the past few years, with a total of 5 recalls. Next in-line was Kawasaki with 4, Honda (surprisingly!) with 3, and Harley Davidson with 3. Suzuki had 2 recalls and Yamaha 1. (Thanks to Rod for this information).

MARCH 24, 2014. Do you remember the old Yamaha SR500? They were basically an XT500 trail-bike converted into a road-bike. These days they have a bit of a cult-following, with clubs catering for riders who own these machines. Well, it’s coming back! Although, surprisingly, with 100cc less capacity in its single-cylinder engine.

It will be known as the SR400 and it looks just like the old SR500. The add reads: “Remember when kick-start was the only option, traction control was your right wrist? A phone had a line and a camera had film?”

As they say, they are going for “serious recall.” So they aren’t actually aiming it at young learners; they are aiming it at nostalgic oldies!

I don’t know why they reduced the capacity, compared to the bike it so obviously copies. It will, of course, be LAMS approved, so maybe they thought a 500cc version would deliver just too much torque for a learner. (Or for for us oldies perhaps?). (I remember riding a mate’s XT500 and being able to easily loft the front wheel into the air on take-off, change up a couple of gears and still have the front wheel hovering above the road). Kick-start only is very nostalgic, but I’m not sure the right choice for a bike today.

In any case, I'm looking forward to taking one for a test-ride - if I can get it started! (I also remember that kick-starting my mate's XT500 was hard to do, even back then when I was a young bloke!).

APRIL 1, 2014. Well, this got a few people going!

Australian Motorcycle News posted this photo, with a story, on their web-site, and it soon started appearing on Facebook pages.

The accompanying story said that the Victorian government had last night passed a law requiring motorcyclists to display a number-plate sticker on the front of their helmets. The sticker could be purchased from VicRoads for $19.95, and all riders would have to have this fitted by April 30.

People posted comments about the government being morons, and what happened if you had more than one bike, and were they registering the rider not the bike, and ….! But the date today is?

APRIL 2, 2014. Well this is something you don’t often see! The NSW state government is actually doing something to improve safety for motorcyclists! They are fitting what they call a “rub rail” underneath existing steel guard-rails to stop fallen riders from sliding underneath the existing rails and into the supporting posts. Apparently these barriers have already been fitted on some popular motorcycling roads in Queensland. A good idea – although if you do fall off and hit them, it’s still going to hurt! But it won’t snap you in two, as might happen if you slammed into a post! 

APRIL 3, 2014. Yes, I know we should all be thinking “green” and trying to conserve the planet, but as I soon as I see anything about electric cars – or bikes – I go “ho-hum” and quickly turn the page. Now, I know they raced Zero electric bikes at the Isle Of Man, but I’m still not interested! And these non-interesting (but we really should be embracing the new technology!) electric bikes are now available in Australia. Prices begin at around $20,000 for a model with 33kW (powered by a couple of rechargeable torch batteries or something I suppose!) and go to $25,490 for a naked sports model with 50kW. They say it has a range of “up to 253km” (if you ride it very gently I’m guessing) and a top speed just shy of 160kph. And at the end of that 253kph (if you actually do make it that far, without falling asleep!) you’ve only got about 10 hours to wait while it recharges.  

APRIL 4, 2014. Here is an interesting and informative article on surviving the dangers of motorcycling. Some good tips here; we can never know enough or be reminded too often of techniques and things to be aware of that will make it safer for us out on the roads. It was put together by the people from Motorcycle Trader magazine.

APRIL 8, 2014. Here’s a scary little clip for you: a rider narrowly misses having a head-on crash with a car. He was obviously riding like an idiot, so let’s hope his near-death experience will teach him a lesson!

APRIL 10, 2014. The Thunderbird has been a big success story for Triumph ever since it first debuted here in 2009. Last year the up-market Storm version was the best-selling bike in the whole Triumph range. So it’s worth mentioning that there is now another version to choose from. It’s called the LT (it stands for “Light Touring”, although I don’t know what the “Light” bit is all about!). It has the same slightly enlarged engine from the Storm and adds typical American-looking valanced mudguards, lots of chrome, and leather saddlebags. At 380kg (ready to ride) there’s a lot of motorcycle there! That’s about 40kg heavier than the standard model – and I thought that was heavy! A nice looking bike anyway! Click here for a launch report.

APRIL 11, 2014. Yamaha have announced that they have introduced an up-graded version of their popular tourer, the FJR1300. Well, really it’s the 2013 model they got overseas which has now been introduced in Australia. It has up-side down front forks with electronic suspension front and rear. I’m told it has been available in limited numbers for a few weeks now, but I only saw the announcement in a news statement from Yamaha today. It makes a good bike even better! Click here to see the promo.

APRIL 12, 2014. Another wasted Saturday! Well, not wasted exactly, but instead of being out riding, I am sitting at the computer writing about bikes – up-dating things on this web-site. It’s been one of those annoying days when it looks nice and sunny one moment and then cloudy and ominous the next. The radar showed rain around, although all we’ve had at my place was a few sprinkles. The forecast was for rain and possible storms: and the wind was blowing at over 40kph with gusts up to 57kph. I called a riding friend, but we both agreed that it wasn’t the type of day to enjoy being out on the bike. Last weekend was similar, although without the wind. I did go for a ride; just a short one though, as it got cold as soon as I rode over the mountains from my home, and rain was building up ahead. So a possible day-ride turned into a 100km jaunt and back home for lunch. Hopefully this constant rain we seem to be getting will clear soon!

Well, not a complete waste I suppose. Apart from up-dating the web-site, I fiddled around with an old classic car that my daughter has been storing here. This is the daughter whose house was burnt, that I described in my post of October 6 last year. I didn’t mention it then, but along with the motorbikes (which were all burnt into a molten mass!), my daughter had an old car that she was restoring. The car itself survived, although all the interior (seats, trim etc) as well as a lot of external badges etc. were destroyed. The car was brought to our house and has been kept in our back yard. Nothing has happened since. (My daughter faces a big job of restoring the blistered paint, getting replacement interior and so on to continue the restoration). I had started it once during that time, but I thought I better give the engine a run. It took a bit of coaxing, but eventually I got it started, and after it had warmed up a bit and the oil circulated around the motor it ran quite smoothly.

APRIL 16, 2014

Click here to go to the previous Blog, July to December 2013.

Here’s one for all you Yamaha XJR1300 owners out there. This was a photo taken on a ride and meet-up in the south-west of England. There were 13 bikes in all (including a couple of “ring-ins” from other manufacturers, by the look of it). And there was beautiful sunshine! (That's a bit rare in UK isn't it?). As an XJR owner myself, I find this photo quite enjoyable! (I wish I’d been there!).

APRIL 19, 2014. Sunshine! An Easter weekend and the sun finally comes out; for the whole weekend (or so they are saying). So a ride was definitely on! I joined a couple of riding friends and we went on a good ride, with lunch at a picturesque old pub that serves good food at reasonable prices. And would you believe, the place even has a section of the parking area reserved for bikes! Gotta like that!

The ride went into an area that I hadn’t been to for a while, and included a couple of back-roads I hadn’t been on at all: it’s always good to ride somewhere different! Temperature was beautiful! Enough to wear my winter jacket, but sunny and warm. (The return trip was a little cool though). Hopefully I might get another ride in before the weekend is over!

APRIL 20. Have you heard about the new movie, “Why We Ride”? In case you haven’t, it’s like a modern-day version of “On Any Sunday”. Well, tonight I found a link to it, where you can watch a preview and also buy it. Here’s the web-site. www.whyweride.com. It looks like a great movie! The best place to buy it seems to be Ebay – but check the price for postage, as different sellers vary a lot. I’ve just ordered one.

APRIL 21, 2014. Easter Monday, and I got another ride in for the weekend!

Traffic returning from the long weekend can be a problem, but heading away from the most popular route (which becomes grid-locked in peak holiday times!) was easy enough to do. More traffic on the road than usual, but nothing that was really a problem.

I headed off into the Southern Highlands of NSW, where the trees are just beginning to catch-on to the fact that it’s autumn. Another couple of weeks and it will beautiful!

An RSL club bistro provided a burger and chips for $8 that was really nice – my kind of lunch! (Especially with cash being a bit short). And no, despite the photo, I wasn’t the only one there; I just parked out of the way of the other cars there.

So an enjoyable run in the country, and a second outing for the weekend.

APRIL 21, 2014. This is probably stating the obvious, and something many of you will know already, but for the benefit of those who might not know, here it is: a chin-curtain is really very effective.

It’s one of the old jokes (probably partly true) that one reason many bikers have beards is to keep their neck warm. (Softens the impact of bugs too, I believe!).

I often wear a neck-scarf – partly to keep my neck warm and partly to keep it protected from bugs etc – and in winter I will pull it up over my chin and even over my mouth when it’s really cold. But when I bought my current helmet, late last year (check my blog for last year, if you’ve got an hour spare to read the whole story!), it came with a chin-curtain. I don’t remember wearing it much last year, but I put it on today.

On Saturday (April 19 above), I mentioned that the return trip was a bit cooler. I wasn’t feeling cold though, apart from the wind whipping up under my chin. So, especially as I was heading into cooler temperatures today, I fitted the chin-curtain. The difference is quite marked – no wind blowing up from underneath the helmet. My under-chin area remained nice and warm and the air movement inside the helmet was reduced (or totally eliminated). They aren’t available for all helmets, but if you can get one for yours, it’s worthwhile. And worth considering when you buy your next helmet too. (Fitting it and removing it takes only seconds).

APRIL 22, 2014.

Fun in the school holidays! I got this photo from my daughter today. She took her kids to an off-road riding area today. This is her two daughters enjoying a bit of quality time on a quad-bike. (And yes, it is the elder girl sitting behind who is piloting the quad, with her young sister sitting in front. Oh well, they weren't going fast).

MAY 13, 2014. I was watching Classic Restos on TV (it’s a car show more than a bike show) and they spent two episodes covering the Burt Monroe festival in New Zealand.

Someone they featured, among many riders interviewed, was Allan Kempster, a man who lost his right arm and right leg in a bike accident, but today is not only riding again, he is racing! (I took these photos off the TV, so they are very blurry). What an amazing man!

Having posted the photos on social media, I discovered that a friend of mine (Phil Hall, who’s writings have been published here) has written an article on him. Check out the story (and much better photo!) here.

MAY 17, 2014. Privileged! Reserved parking spots just for bikes, right at the entrance to the car-park! I mentioned a pub that had special parking spots for bikes in my entry on April 19 above, and here is another “Bikes Only” parking area. This one was at Huskisson RSL Club, on the NSW South Coast.

Maybe that's because the rest of the car-park is on a fairly steep slope that wouldn't be suitable for bikes to park. Or maybe they just want to keep the rabble away from the front door! In any case it is very welcome! Food is good, and cheap, and there’s a great view over the harbour too.

Actually it was quite a day! From having lunch overlooking that beautiful harbour with boats coming and going and the sun sparkling on the water, to listening to some wonderful music at a concert tonight, and in between seeing dolphins from the balcony of a sea-side café. And joining all that up (apart from the concert, I went to that in the car), there was riding in beautiful warm weather! Some of the roads were highway, but there were some nice sweeping flowing secondary roads too. As I said, quite a day really!

MAY 17, 2014. By the time I got home it was late enough for cars to be turning on their headlights. A few kilometres from home I noticed my shadow being projected onto the car in front by the headlights of the car behind me: and the road in front seemed unusually dark. The last couple of side-streets to home were negotiated on high-beam, switching to dark road when cars approached. Yes, a blown low-beam. In 5 ½ years of ownership this is the only thing that has broken, or failed. The only things I’ve replaced have been regular maintenance type things – tyres, filters, and a set of spark plugs. Yamaha continues to provide me with excellent reliability. And being a naked, with the old-school type headlight, changing the bulb should be a snap.

MAY 19, 2014. About 150kW and 230Nm. Top speed? 218mph - which is 354kph in our money. In fact the name of the bike reflects its top speed; it's called the LS-218. It's the latest superbike to be launched by Lightning in the U.S. If you’ve heard of Lightning, you’ll know they are all-electric; and if you’re anything like me, at the mention of  “all electric” you’ll start going “Ho, hum” and tune out. But those numbers are impressive! Of course there is a caveat: ridden at highway speeds the bike is said to have a range of 160km. So on any decent ride you’d be looking for a Fast-Charger, which apparently are “springing up throughout the U.S.” It takes about 30 minutes to re-charge at one of these. (Of course superbikes like this aren't really meant for road-riding, so I suppose range isn't as critical. But how long would the batteries last at full-noise on a track?). The other caveat is that sale price will be the equivalent of around $41,000AUS. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – I don’t think electric is the answer: or if it is, it’s a long way off being a satisfactory one.  

MAY 25, 2014.

A warm, sunny day brings the bikes out! It was a busy weekend for me, and I just got in a fairly quick ride to a popular bikers meeting point at a tourist lookout. Always a good place to have a look - at the bikes, although the scenery is pretty good too!

I don't know if they were traveling together, but among the bikes gathered at the lookout above were these three. A more unlikely trio you'd be lucky to find! An old Yamaha XS1100, a Ducati 848, and a Vespa.

JUNE 1, 2014. A rainy, cold day to start winter. I suppose there are a lot of constructive things I could be doing – including writing up the latest road-test – but instead I’ve been playing about on Facebook. And I have now set up a Facebook page for The Old Bloke. I did try this a couple of years or so ago, but got tangled up with something, because had I proceeded I would’ve been running the web-site through Facebook. So I left it. But then, on this particularly rainy cold day I had another go at it. And this time it is up and running as a proper Facebook page.

The web-site will continue as always, of course; the Facebook page is just the social-media face for it. (Any organisation or web-site has to be on Facebook these days, doesn’t it!).

One advantage to having the Facebook page is that I can easily post more photos – and ones that are bigger than the ones posted here. For example, I have just uploaded an album of about 30 photos of a Classic Bike Display. So items on the web-site here that might get one or two photos will have more photos – and in bigger size – on the Facebook page.

Now, I know a lot of people don’t bother with Facebook (who wants to read about what someone has just made for lunch, right?), but apart from the trivialities it can be a useful way of keeping in touch with people, and sharing information and what’s been happening. And in that sense there will be items posted on the Facebook page that won’t make it to the web-site: more day-to-day stuff (but, no, I don’t mean posts about what I’m having for lunch, or every time I go to the loo!).

So it’s worthwhile for those sort of things; and in that sense a worthwhile addition to the web-site here I think.

Here’s the link to the page.

JUNE 6, 2014. Well, the Facebook page has only been up a few days and already we have 109 “Likes”! So it’s going well. As I said above, it has the advantage of being able to post more day-to-day stuff, and bigger photos too. And it’s more immediate. For example, only a couple of days after I got it up and running a reader posted a photo of a bike that had been stolen. As far as I know it didn’t result in the Harley being returned to its rightful owner, but at least we got the photo out and had people in the area looking out for it. So it’s going well!

JUNE 7, 2014. As the sun slowly sinks in the west over the rural countryside, The Old Bloke turns his steed for home.

The forecast had been for rain over the whole long-weekend, but Saturday dawned clear and sunny. The forecast still said a high chance of showers around mid-day, but it was almost that when I left and the sun was still shining brightly.

Considering that just 2 weeks ago I was riding in a summer jacket, it was surprising just how cool it was though. The warm end to Autumn has turned to a cool beginning to Winter! Two weeks ago it was mid-20s and I was riding on the coast. Today I was in the mountains with the temp about 11, and dropping to single-digits by the time I got home. I had dressed for cool, but could’ve done with a bit more winter-wear on. 

JUNE 7, 2014. Two bike reviews (not by me, but by Bikesales.com.au) that are very different. The bikes are very different, and the reviews are very different.

The first one is a big lump of new cruiser from Yamaha – the strikingly styled Stryker. With a front-end that is raked-out almost as much as Captain America’s Harley in Easy Rider, you’d think this would be impossible to steer and handle, but they say it’s actually quite good – thanks to some clever suspension-geometry engineering by Yamaha. They say that, (typical of many cruisers), the brakes aren’t too flash and the rear suspension is harsh; although they reckon the seat helps give it a comfortable ride. I have to say that, on the road, I think the lower rear makes it look like it’s been squashed by a very heavy rider! But it looks wild and mean, and according to this report, it works well. I’m sure that is a combination that will get many people shelling out the 15 grand for one. Click here for the report.

The second review I read is of a scooter – the re-launched Vespa Primavera, which comes in both 125cc and 150cc versions. This review is very different because the tester gets into true scooter-mode, punting it through the city and surrounds, visiting a Vespa dealer / museum and several cafes along the way. The approach is best summed up by this quote: “Scooters don’t peel layers off your quality of life; they enhance it. Enjoyment isn’t always derived from riding at warp factor: convenience and quality of life are the big ticket items.” And reading this report you get a good feel for that “quality of life” he is talking about. He’s not just giving you a test-report, he’s giving you a taste of what scooter-life in the inner city is all about. It’s an excellent review of what seems to be an excellent little scoot that brings out the best of convenience and retro-cool. Click here for this one.

JUNE 18, 2014. This was one I was going to just leave as a Facebook entry, but the photo (and words I suppose) was liked by so many people that I thought I would put it up here on the web-site too.

One of the advantages of being self-employed is that if I get a bit of a free time, I can go for a ride. I've had a couple of days like that recently; days where I've been able to take a couple of hours out of the morning, get the bike out, get the gear on, and go for a ride. Just a short ride, with a relaxing cuppa-stop in the middle. Then get home, put the bike away, get changed, have a late lunch and be ready for work. 

Both times I've done the same ride: a cruise down the highway to a seaside cafe that is a favoutite of mine. Friendly service and a fabulous view out over the ocean make for a nice relaxing time! Then a return along a winding, undulating country road that is a very enjoyable ride.

It's an 80km loop from my place. Not far, but most enjoyable!

Click here to go to the next installment of my Blog. July to December 2014.