JUNE 2020
www.bmwmcq.org.au
OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE BMW MOTORCYCLE CLUB OF QUEENSLAND INC. Established 1958
OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE BMW MOTORCYCLE CLUB OF QUEENSLAND INC.
The Committee President- Paul Hughes Ph: 0409 814 633 President@bmwmcq.org.au 1200 GS / 700 GS
Vice President - Mark Gilbert Ph: 0400 151 750 vpres@bmwmcq.org.au R 1200GS / F800GS
Secretary - Tony Gray Ph: 0409 493 605 secretary@bmwmcq.org.au R 1200 GS (The Grey Ghost) R 60/6 Treasurer - John Eacott
Ph: 0428 383 826 treasurer@bmwmcq.org.au 2017 K1600GT
Events - Mark Mustchin Ph: 0416 061 638 events@bmwmcq.org.au R 1200GS
Editors - Cindy & Duncan Bennett Ph: 0401 610 671 editor@bmwmcq.org.au Triumph Tigers Records- Greg Gaffney Ph: 0411424 219 records@bmwmcq.org.au R 1200 RT
Tools/Spares - Bill Luyten Ph: 0438 123 747 tools@bmwmcq.org.au R1150 Rockstar - R1200 GS LC
This Issue - JUNE 2020 Contents:Editorial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Committee Reports . . . . . . . . . . 5 BMWMCQ EVENTS CALENDAR . . . . 12 NATIONAL MOTORRAD RALLY . . . . . 14 from the pen of jane gray . . . . 15 ACROSS THE TOP. . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 MOTORCYCLISTS IN SHEDS . . . . . . . 21 IN HAHNDORF”S WAY. . . . . . . . . . 22 BIKE SAFETY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 BLACKBUTT PIE RUN . . . . . . . . . . 31
Advertisers
TeamMoto - INSIDE COVER Caloundra Motorcycles - P.46 Northside Motorcycles - P.47 Munich Motorcycles - P.48 Good Wool Store - P.48
THUNDER RALLY. . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 A QUICK GLANCE . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 CHRISTMAS IN JULY. . . . . . . . . . . . 37 MAINTENANCE CORNER . . . . . . . . . 38 THE GIRL ON THE BLUE BIKE. . . . . 40 21ST FRIGID DIGIT . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 FOR THE AIRHEADS . . . . . . . . . . . 45 ADVERTISING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 ONLINE INSPIRATION. . . . . . . . . . 50 BMWMCQ BOOK EXCHANGE. . . . . . 51
TeamMoto Springwood & GC- P.49 TeamMoto M&W- BACK COVER
On The Cover John Eacott’s Mt Lindsay Highway - a cracker of a photo. - Plus lots more incredible Photo Comp photos throughout -
Regalia - Rosi Johnson Ph: 0424 961 597 regalia@bmwmcq.org.au R1200R
Dealer Liaison - Don Grimes
Ph: 0411 601 372 R1200GS; K1300
Club Details BMW Motorcycle Club of Queensland Inc.
2. Improving the service and availability of spare parts for BMWs in Queensland using the advantage of a united effort.
Address all correspondence to: The Secretary PO Box 3669 South Brisbane QLD 4101
4. Organising day trips, tours and outings.
ABN 30 351 243 651
Monthly meetings are held on the first Thursday of the month at the:
Geebung RSL Club
323 Newman Road Geebung A Club Ride is usually held on the first Sunday after the monthly meeting. BMWMCQ AIMS The objectives of the BMWMCQ are to increase the enjoyment of motorcycling by: 1. Improving the opinion of the public towards motorcycling in general and associated members particularly, by careful, courteous, considerate riding, especially when riding with the Club, and rendering assistance to all road users in difficulty.
3. Decreasing maintenance and running costs by mutual assistance on mechanical problems. 5. Encourage and support Regional Ride Groups 6. Affiliation with other clubs/associations where such affiliation would be of mutual benefit. DISCLAIMER The views and opinions expressed in this Journal are those of each contributor and are not necessarily shared by the Editor, management, and / or membership of the BMWMCQ. The Editor reserves the right to refuse any advertising or delete any material which could be considered or interpreted as questionable, libellous or offensive, without consultation. WEB SITE Visit: www.bmwmcq.org.au
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Editorial
JUNE 2020
Cindy & Duncan Bennett
Editors’ Report
R
ighto, we’ve just about got the ‘Rona out of the way and just in time for the best riding weather. Between riding to work and recent short excursions the bikes have been putting on even more k’s than normal... Some fabulous photos in this edition, with everyone’s now highly developed GPS skills we should be ready to leave the cat in charge of home security and get back out where we belong.
Will see you on the road, again
Cindy & Duncan Letter to the Editors...
We received the below letter via email from Lyn Dyne of the Gold Coast Club in relation to the photo in May’s Journal (supplied by Peter Ferguson) of the K bikes outside Mungungo Pub. Great to hear from Lyn and her memories of this event: Hello Cindy & Duncan
I have just read your Club’s May Magazine forwarded on by our Secretary and note the photo (page 35) taken outside the pub at Mungungo which was taken on the weekend of 3/4th November 1990. Back then Ken and I were riding a K100RT and a K100RS, although a bit hard to distinguish in the photo, a copy of which I also have in my album. We had booked a room at the pub but a few of us ended up sleeping on the floor of the verandah. Having left Brisbane on the Friday night we ran into raging storms, so bad in fact that some of us stopped at the BackPackers at a servo south of Gympie for the night. Please give my regards to Richard Maher, Tony Malone and Peter Ferguson. Regards Lyn Dyne BMWMOCGC
Hi again I forgot to mention the trouble we had getting back home. The storms had knocked out the power throughout the area and some garages in the smaller towns couldn’t pump fuel but when we managed to ride at a snails pace to get to a bigger town, the situation was the same. One of our group managed to contact someone from the servo with a generator so we could get some fuel! Lyn
Submissions for the Next Journal close 28-ish JUNE 2020 VENUE FOR BMWMCQ GENERAL MEETINGS GEEBUNG RSL CLUB 323 NEWMAN ROAD GEEBUNG MEALS OPEN AT 6.00 PM MEETING STARTS 7.30 PM
NEXT MEETING : ZOOM from your couch 7:00pm 4th June!
Committee Reports
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1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
Paul Hughes
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JUNE 2020
President’s Report
asn’t it been great to get out riding? This time of the year is spectacular in the Scenic Rim and after ISO it has been especially exciting. I have managed to stay away from the most ”popular” riding venues and have enjoyed solitary rides in unspoilt and uncrowded places. Restrictions are starting to ease and utilising the Queensland Government published “road map” enables us to plan a few more activities. At this stage the following events have been confirmed: Christmas in July has been moved to 18 July to take advantage of the longer travel limits etc. Don’t forget to reconfirm accommodation bookings. The Motel has reduced the cost of the rooms to welcome us. The Frigid Digit will take place as advertised (last weekend in July). There is a new long weekend in August and the committee is looking at an event for that date. The Cane Toad Rally at the end of August will take place as advertised. The BMW Clubs Australia Rally 2020 is under review. The border closure issue and limitations on social distancing numbers are something we will need more clarity on to complete planning. At this stage the rally is proceeding. From mid-July we will be able to reinstate our regular monthly social functions. Details will be posted on Facebook and the club web calendar.
We will be having our first Zoom General Meeting on June 4 at 7.00 pm. An email with a link and details will come out a week prior. If you have General Business items please email them to: president@bmwmcq.org. au well before the meeting. Zoom meetings are an efficient way for us to conduct the meetings and also allow country and regional members to attend. The photo competition is proving very popular. Please keep all the entries flowing in so we can ensure plenty for our judge, Richard Maher, to be able to shortlist prior to the membership having their say. The second monthly Membership draw saw David Osborne come out the winner. Another deserving recipient. The next draw will be held on 8 June. You have to be a financial member to be eligible. The media, especially social media, has been abuzz with stories on over-population of “hot spot” motorcycle locations with associated complaints from residents about noise and congestion as well as poor road behaviour. We don’t want to add to that criticism or make anyone uncomfortable so please use common sense in utilising these venues and roads. There have been several nasty accidents occurring and I don’t want to see any members hurt or penalised. Geebung RSL have advised they won’t be returning to being open until stage 3 of the restrictions easing. We will then have discussions in how we return to the regular in person monthly meetings. Until then Zoom it is. Take advantage of the fabulous riding weather and get out and about on the bikes. I have found that a ride in the Scenic Rim with a picnic with some friends is just the thing to shake off the ISO blues. As the regions open-up, think about showing support for our regional hospitality venues, who could certainly do with our cash. Above all else ride safely and just enjoy it. Cheers, Paul
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JUNE 2020
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Mark Gilbert
Vice President’s Report
i all,
Well another month has passed and more restrictions have been lifted. This month some propositions have been raised by those “experts” on-line (note, I do not claim to be an expert). The first was that if you don’t ride everyday you can’t claim to be a good rider or passionate about the pastime. I disagree, my opinion - and it is only an opinion - although to be good at anything you need to practice after sufficient practice the required skills are implanted in the subconscious and muscle memory which can be retained for a significant period of time. I do not think riding everyday is a prerequisite of being a good rider, although after a period of not riding as with this lockdown I would suggest ease into it slowly to reinforce the skills. I feel that I need to get out on the bike a bit more and in particular get back into riding on dirt a bit. The second point about passion what can I say, let’s look at the guys in the club who own airheads for example, they are passionate about their bikes, maintaining and riding them. Do they ride them every day, I do not know, perhaps some do and some don’t, but does that make them any less passionate about them? I think not. Another bit of advice I read which sounds valid was about scrubbing in tyres. We are all familiar with that when you get a new tyre it still lacks a bit of grip due to the compound used to help it release from the moulds when it is made. I recall Terry from Bike and Rider in Mt Isa telling me about when he sold a new GSX 1100 Suzuki to a fella and even after been warned to take it easy as the tyres will take some time to scrub in, opened it up leaving the shop and almost dropped it with Terry recalling both his feet above the seat but somehow saved it at least that time. What I didn’t know from the online advice was that the releasing compound is not on the tyre, it is in the tyre. To scrub the tyre in you need to get heat into the tyre to effectively get the releasing compound out of the rubber. In closing, I hope you are enjoying whatever amount of riding you can fit into your busy schedule. Mark Gilbert
Congratulations to Dave Osborne for winning the $100 May monthly sponsor raffle draw. The last thing Dave remembers winning was a chook raffle in the 1980’s! Dave has chosen TeamMoto as his prize recipient.
Committee Reports
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JUNE 2020
John Eacott
Treasurer’s Report
he shutdown of club activities has led the Club Committee to decide that our Advertising Supporters will be given free advertising through until the end of June, with new invoices to be issued on 1st July 2020. This will impact on our income by some $2,000+ but is considered a small price for the club considering the support that we get. This is reflected in the P&L and the lack of Advertising Income on the first line. Otherwise our Club finances continue to be positive with support being given back to members via monthly prizes for spending at those Advertisers.
BMW Motorcycle Club of Queensland Inc
Profit & Loss Prev Year Comparison February 1 through May 9, 2020
s
Feb 1 - May 9, 20 Ordinary Income/Expense Income Advertising Income Interest Received Membership Fees Total Income Expense Affiliation Fees Auditors Fees Australia Post / Post Box Rent Bank Charges Computer costs Internet Services Software Expense Total Computer costs
Feb 1 - May 9, 19
0.00 194.28 3,495.20
4,150.00 2.80 3,144.74
3,689.48
7,297.54
0.00 660.00 201.00 10.00
238.00 0.00 195.00 0.00
184.67 63.59
152.90 69.95
248.26
222.85
141.00 0.00 62.68 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 1,155.00
55.35 58.46 56.35 100.00 10.00 56.36 91.74 1,540.00
Total Expense
2,477.94
2,624.11
Net Ordinary Income
1,211.54
4,673.43
58.00
27.00
Government Charges Miscellaneous PayPal commission Postage Telephone Website Domain Expenses Website Hosting Expenses Website Maintenance
Other Income/Expense Other Income Donations Income Event income 2020 BMW CA Rally income Event income - Other
1,251.00 0.00
0.00 2,000.00
Total Event income
1,251.00
2,000.00
Regalia Sales Tools & parts sales
0.00 0.00
25.00 10.00
1,309.00
2,062.00
1,309.00
2,062.00
2,520.54
6,735.43
Total Other Income Net Other Income Net Income
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JUNE 2020
Greg Gaffney
Committee Reports Records Officers Report
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here were a lot of bikes out riding last weekend as well as many other isolation escapees. The promising news was we did not appear to have increased our state’s COVID-19 numbers. It is a shame however they are considering keeping the Queensland border closed till September! Oh well looking forward to Xmas in July at Kingaroy and the Cane Toad in August.
Greg Gaffney New Members : Troy Rowell, Neil Andersen, David Harvey, Graham & Rosemary records@ Nichols bmwmcq.org.au
Committee Reports
JUNE 2020
Bill Luyten
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Covid 19 freeTool’s Report
New Tools!
The club has purchased three new tools for club members to borrow: 1. A 34mm socket for rotating crankshafts when replacing alternator belts or adjusting valve clearance. 2. The Optimate 4 Desulfating Battery Charg/Test Maintainer with BMW CANbus cable (Accessory socket charging) or Alligator clips for direct battery connection.Modern BMW bikes with CANbus electrical systems don’t like being charged through the accessory socket and will shut off a standard charger. The Optimate charger communicates with the bike and keeps the accessory socket alive to continue charging the battery. 3. The Lancol Motorcycle Battery Tester. Mutiple Function: Status of charge display, status of health display, voltage test, CCA&AH capacity test, internal resistance test. Alligator clips are also available to connect this charger direct to the battery of all bikes.
There are special tools available including the GS-911WiFi and 3 pin diagnostic tools.
Special Tools
• Twinmax electronic carburetor balancer (Twin BMW engines) • Vacuumate (electronic synchronization of throttle valves up to 4 cylinders) • Clutch alignment shafts (3 sizes) • Compression gauge (cylinder pressure) • Steering head bearing puller and seating tool • Gearbox output flange puller • GS-911 Wi-Fi Diagnostic tool (Wi-Fi and USB Version) • GS-911 3 pin Diagnostic tool (for older bikes) • Tyre Pressure Monitor Sensor (TPMS) tool • Enduralast hall sensor tester • Brake bleeding tool (suction bleeding via the brake caliper) • Compression tester Club Tool Loan: Repair Manuals $50 deposit (refundable) for GS911: Tools I have various Repair Manuals available to borrow mainly and spares can be picked up at my place in for the older bikes. Springfield. Contact Tools Officer Cheers, Bill Bill Luyten 0438 123 747 wluyten@bigpond .net .au or Tools for loan Club email: spares@bmwmcq.org.au
Rosi Johnson
Hi All!
Regalia
regalia@bmwmcq.org.au
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nother month gone by but the outlook for riding our bikes is looking better each week. Looking into getting a Club Shirt and other merchandise set up.
Been talking to Daniel from Gold Star Embroidery and getting prices and hopefully an online order form soon. Finalising colors and style of the shirt at the moment. Also been looking into bags, beanies, hats, caps and wallets. If anyone has any suggestions on what else they would like to get, I’m happy to look into it . See you all out on the road again, happy riding. Rosi
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JUNE 2020
Tony Gray
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Committee Reports Secretary’s Report
ell who would have thought that heading into June and mid-winter the country would still be in the grip of a pandemic – albeit with the first green shoots of recovery appearing? Hopefully they take root and we successfully dig ourselves out of this crisis. Technology has been a huge help in keeping the country as well as our club running. Before Covid the term Zoom (or Zoom Zoom) conjured images of a car commercial now I know it as an effective communication tool that has allowed the committee to function, the odd virtual social drinks to happen and shortly we will experiment with a virtual General Meeting on June 4. I hope you give it a try. A great thrill for us all was having new member Brian Floyd join in the social drinks from Russia – now that was never possible without Zoom. Hopefully you are all aware of the two competitions currently running for the benefit of all members. Our first two member draws have gone to life member Greg Dunne and long term member Dave Osborne. You don’t need to do anything other than maintain your financial membership to be included in each monthly draw for $100 in goods or services from one of our journal sponsors. The other competition has been running for 2 weeks now with the first $100 voucher prize to be awarded after week three. You need to be active and submit a photo to be involved in the photo competition so start going through your photo library. Competition details are on the Club Facebook site and website. Get involved as it is proving to be a lot of fun and stimulating discussion between members at a time when our opportunities for face to face meetings are very restricted. Jane and I have been out and about on day rides – it is amazing how far you can get within a 50km radius from home. Now that has grown to 150km there are many ride opportunities around the Great South East – just don’t cross that border.
Point of Ayre the northernmost point of the Isle of Man, 2012. On a clear day (not this one) you can see Scotland.
PHOTO COMP ENTRIES
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There has been a great response so far for the Photo Competition with great prizes on offer. Here are a selection of some of the entries - remember its not too late to enter for upcoming weeks! Meredith Herpich - Blue, blue and more blue. This Photo was taken in 2017 just out of Cadaques on the East Coast of Spain. We hired bikes from IMT Bike in Barcelona, great company to deal with and very good bikes. I loved this R1200R I had for 4 weeks and rode more than 5,000kms all around Spain.
David Jansen - When reliability means everything
Mark Taylor - my GSA in the Snowy Mountains in 2019
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BMWMCQ 2020 Events Calendar
BMWMCQ Club Events The current situation around COVID-19 (Coronavirus) and subsequent government mandated restrictions means that the Club needs to modify events around the “Road to Recovery” map. Initiatives such as Zoom General Meetings have been implemented to keep members engaged at this time when group rides for any distance are still over a month away. Members are thanked for their patience in these unprecedented times.
EXTRAORDINARY EVENTS CALENDAR Date 18-20 September 9-11 October
Event 13th Far Cairn Rally 2020 Thunder Rally
Location Tottenham NSW Nundle NSW
Contact BMW Touring Club NSW Ducati Owners Club NSW
Just imagine if you’d forgotten the cable ties and 100mph tape? Some photos from Klaus and Kerry Zillner’s trip into the Red Heart, story starts on page 16.
JUNE 2020 BMWMCQ 2020 Events Calendar BMWMCQ Club Events (so far) for JUNE/JULY 2020
Datee Thurs 4 June
Start 7:00pm
Event ZOOM Committee Meeting
Details Email to be sent for link to join the inaugural Zoom Committee Meeting
Contact President Paul
Sat 18 to Sun 19 July Sat 25 to Sun 26 July
4:30pm
Christmas in July
Oasis Motel, Kingaroy (see flyer in this journal for details)
Cindy Bennett
08:00am Frigid Digit
Meet at Mount Coot-tha Carpark Gary Bennett (see flyer in this journal for details)
Standard Ride Meeting Places
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JUNE 2020
BMW MOTORAD RALLY
ountdown to the BMW Clubs Australia Motorrad Rally is back on!
The sponsors are coming on board for the Rally and planning work continues to make this a memorable event for the Club on the long weekend of 2nd to 5th October at Stanthorpe. Registration cost is $64.39 per person and includes Rally entry, dinner on the Saturday Night and breakfast on Sunday morning along with a welcome pack including Rally Badge and Sticker along with goodies from our generous sponsors. Registration bookings are now open directly from the BMWMCQ website (no login required), or just click here and do it right now: www.motorradrally2020.com.au
Accommodation options include camping at the Showgrounds, or your preferred style of lodging in or around Stanthorpe. A list of suggestions is provided on the registration page. Thanks to our generous sponsors, some are doing it tough:
FROM THE PEN OF JANE GRAY
JUNE 2020
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BMW THOUGHTS JEGMay2020
Before - we could have ridden or flown But now we’ve spent so much time on our own Busy or bored while we stayed in at home Buffing & polishing all that chrome? Because we’ve been good, again we can roam Be it only small groups & by nightfall be home Meeting with friends like we did in the past Months have gone by, what a shadow they’ve cast Maybe they dragged or flew by so fast Marking time, who knew how long it would last Make sure you have fun but don’t be aghast Most gains can be lost if we go full blast We never expected the world could implode Watching news daily where numbers explode Waiting so long to get back on the road Weary from all the bad news overload Welcoming the chance to go beyond our postcode While happy & thankful for our humble abode
Between you & me, 1.5 metres please Believe it or not there’s a restriction ease But tucked in behind it’s a bit of a squeeze Backseat bikers – don’t you cough or wheeze!! Busily planning rides is such a tease Balmy weather means we’ll never freeze Missed opportunities – what a shame Maybe one day we’ll relight the flame Make believe hugs aren’t quite the same Masks might help or so they claim Memories on FB the latest game Mystery places for you to name Worrying will only send you grey Wondering when it will all go away Will you come riding just for the day? We might find coffee along the way Whatever we do it’ll be okay We’re happy just to get out and play
Jane Gray - I took this photo during our Lap ride in 2016. It was taken in the Kalbarri NP along the Murchison River outside Kalbarri WA. An easy 2 wheel drive road they said - lucky we ride a GS.
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By Klaus Zillner, Member #4515
ACROSS THE TOP to Airlie Beach and Townsville, followed by Mission Beach and finally Cairns.
M
y wife Kerry and I had signed up for a Compass Expeditions trip from Cairns to Alice Springs starting in late July last year (2019). We decided not to rent a Compass Expeditions bike but ride our own BMW GS Adventure from Brisbane to Cairns and then onwards to Alice Springs. Firstly a couple of details on the bike: BMW R1200 GS Adventure (Triple Black edition 2017), outfitted with a number of useful accessories from Touratech and Wunderlich. The panniers were BMW stock with the top case from Hepco & Becker. The bike had about 2,500 km on the clock when we started the trip. We had done a few longer trips in Europe in earlier years but had never undertaken a long journey in Australia on a bike. We tried to pack as lightly as possible and actually managed to stay within the prescribed weight limits of the pannier & top box, while still fitting all of our essentials. Still the bike with two up and full luggage felt pretty heavy when we took off on a sunny July morning.
The itinerary (part 1) was as follows: Brisbane (Samsonvale) to Hervey Bay, then onwards to Bargara near Bundaberg, then to Rockhampton and Mackay (2 x overnights to rest the bones and do some laundry), then
Overall a very enjoyable and fairly uneventful journey; the weather was kind, a bit cool in the mornings but nice and warm during the day. We encountered the occasional crosswind but no drama. We generally followed the A1 with a couple of side trips to the coast but mostly stayed on the main highway to Cairns; traffic varied but got lighter the further north we went; plenty of trucks and caravans but no issues as such - except for the ever present roos in the late afternoons which we managed to dodge...despite the hundreds of carcasses littering the side of the highway!
The bike held up beautifully and required no maintenance as such, except for the usual checks on tyres, oil etc. I did not bother with fuel consumption calculations but reckon that
ACROSS THE TOP we used around 6 litres per 100 km most of the way.
Accommodation varied as well, we mostly stayed in small hotels and motor inns located at nice spots, secure parking and close to places of interest (to us); in particular Airlie Beach and Mission Beach offered some really nice boutique hotels which we indulged in. We arrived in Cairns about 3 days before part 2 of the journey, just to give us enough time to rest our bones, buy a few more supplies and some gear (i.e. a duffle bag, sleeping bags etc for the onward trip). I also had new tyres fitted on the bike (more off-road capable to tackle the rest of the trip).
We met up with the rest of the Compass Expedition team (tour leaders and riders) and got to know the team members; Australians apart from two Americans (total 10 riders/ bikes plus 2 pillions).
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The Compass Expedition tour we joined was the “Reef to the Red Centre� tour with most of the participants carrying on to Broome (from Alice Springs). We only booked to Alice because we had commitments back in Brisbane and figured that after 5000+ km in the saddle we needed a break anyway.
The Compass tour (itinerary as per their website) took off from Cairns across the Atherton Tablelands to Forsayth, then onwards via Croydon and Normanton to Karumba on the Gulf of Carpentaria. Along the route we visited the Undara Lava Tubes and Cobbold Gorge (2 nights there) along the Gulf-Savannah route. From Karumba we headed south again (via Normanton) where he hit the dirt and onwards to Gregory Downs. Things got a bit more challenging now and we were happy to have a support vehicle with us that accommodated our
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luggage including the panniers (and the top case on occasion - a hard shell top case turned out to be a poor choice on corrugated dirt roads). We then crossed the Gregory River and continued towards the Riversleigh Fossil site, then Lawn Hill Gorge (on canoes...) and finally Adel’s Grove.
Accommodation varied between decent motor inns and a couple of nights in tents, the latter not overly comfortable but enjoyable nonetheless. The scenery was great and the dirt roads were mostly manageable, although at times Kerry travelled in the support vehicle as the bull dust & hidden rocks became a real hazard; a couple of creek crossings gave the bikes a wash while half-wild cattle were trying to chase us off the road - adventure! Unfortunately one of the American riders came to grief when coming off her bike on a tough gravel section and hurt her back (she was medevac’d to Mt Isa but later re-joined the tour in the support vehicle). From Adel’s Grove we continued to Mt Isa, the landscape ever changing and riding conditions getting a bit better, we finally hit bitumen again northwest of the Isa. Again the weather was kind to us, all sunshine and only a bit of crosswind at times. The major hazards were roos, emus, cattle and dust from the road trains (who demand right of way as our American co-riders soon found out!). After overnighting in Mt. Isa we headed
ACROSS THE TOP south to Boulia for the Min-Min lights ready for our last legs over to the NT. From there our trip took us westwards on the Donahue Highway to the remote Tobermorey Station in QLD (tenting again!) and Jervois Homestead in the NT (tents once again). All of that was on dirt roads varying from gravel to bull dust and bad corrugations to fairly “smooth” graded sections, challenging bikes and riders. More cattle and more road trains doing the muster - watch out!
Kerry and I were lucky not to come off as we hit bull dust at about 60-70km/h and I just managed to get the bike on “harder” ground after a big “death wobble”, wiping a bit of sweat off my brows...a close call!
The pillions were happy to ride in the support vehicle just to avoid a major mishap and injury as quite a few riders came off in the challenging sections; at the end two bikes ended up in the
ACROSS THE TOP trailer and two riders (with light injuries) in the support truck. It was pretty tough going at times on the Plenty Highway in the NT but once the Harts Mountain Range came into view we knew we did not have too far to go. Alice Springs was only a couple of 100kms away and the “highway� turned to bitumen again and we hit the Stuart Hwy north of the Alice.
The first beer at Alice tasted fantastic as we washed off the dust and toasted our accomplishments. We had done well over 5,000 kms (since leaving Brisbane), felt a bit saddle sore but happy to have achieved our goal. While the rest of the Compass Expeditions tour continued to Broome a few days later, we enjoyed (re)visiting Alice Springs and prepared our bike to be trucked back to Brisbane.
The BMW held up nicely, no real issues except
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for a few loose nuts and bolts, dust everywhere but tyres looking great (not one flat tyre!). After a couple days in the Alice (with morning frost on the golf course opposite the hotel!) we flew back to Brisbane, full of great impressions and fantastic memories. What a great trip!
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MORE PHOTO COMP ENTRIES
Craig Brennan - I falls over, then I gets stuck. Somewhere in the Conondale State Forest , 2018
Rosi and Steve at John ‘O Groats, Scotland
Mark Morrissey - forget where...but what a pic..on the Darling Downs on my 75/6 I think...
“Our Rally”
MOTORCYCLISTS IN SHEDS DRINKING COFFEE By Richard Maher, Member #474
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elcome to the first instalment of “Motorcyclists in Sheds drinking Coffee”. During our forced isolation experience I was forced to watch NETFLIX. This is not something I ever thought I would lower myself to watching. However, after the kicking and screaming subsided I found a series that appealed to me. Comedian Jerry Seinfeld’s “Comedians in Cars getting Coffee” I liked what I saw, the episodes are only 15 minutes long and Seinfeld usually borrows a vehicle for the trip. Right up my alley!! As we can’t ride anywhere far and only a few extra people are allowed per household I have a captive audience. Technically I’m not borrowing anything like I normally do except a cup for coffee, but if the keys to something are offered it would be rude to decline the hospitality. I had to start somewhere so I started with a trip to see Tony Gray in a leafy street out in the western suburbs. Tony is collating images members have sent in to be considered for the Photo Competition in our Journal. I’m judging the images so I invited myself over. I have been inside Tony’s shed before. Tony has a shed by which all other sheds could be judged. The space is clean, it’s organised and I felt like I should have kicked off my work boots and left them at the door prior to entry. Next time I might bring a surgical gown and those white booties the CSI guys use. Tucked up neatly inside is a cross section of motorcycles from the 70’s to the present day. Tony’s son in law is working on a stripped down K100RT on one work bench and a Ducati sits on another bench patiently awaiting assembly. Tony’s son in law clearly has been given instructions to leave no part of the K Bike unpolished, the work on this motorcycle to date is impressive. I’m glad someone is capable of this level of detail. I’m not. I’ll be keen to see it when its finished. This K bike might just be a serious contender to out-shine Gary Bennett’s very tidy K1100RS. We continued our chat while I set up the camera and the light and our motorcycle yarns
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flowed freely. I ask what’s in all the cupboards, cabinets and shelves? Apparently when you strip a motorcycle for restoration you wrap the parts and label them clearly in preparation for the assembly, who knew?! Then we remembered Tony has a Jane so we summonsed the lady of the house and got down to business taking pictures to prove I was here. Tony and Jane’s beloved BMW R1200GS the Grey Ghost takes position one on the starting grid in the garage, with the Kawasaki ZRX1200R Eddie Lawson Replica Replica in position two and the Blue BMW R60 poised in third spot. The brick and the duke on the second row with a pair of Yamahas rounding out the last position on the grid. Everything in this shed has a place. Even the Memorabilia. I’ll take a wild guess here and say that the flags, stickers and posters hanging around the shed have been earned the hard way and not purchased online. I make a note to ask about the back story on the Isle of Man Flag on my next visit. As I throw another technical question at Tony my wife texts me with a request to pick up something for dinner on the way home. I say my good-byes and head off. I’ll continue my chat with Tony and Jane again soon. As this story goes to press Tony has acquired another BMW, an 1100GS this time. I might just invite myself over again soon. Note to self: Don’t forget to ask for a coffee next time.
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South by South-west Part 2
IN HAHNDORF’’s WAY
the wilderness feeding the famous Snowy River which rolls down into Victoria to the coast at Marlo. By Duncan Bennett, Member #4171 To quell the wild guesses we heard, the dirt runs for about 88km over the border. Apart from a couple of e left Part 1 at the close of the Compass nasty drainage ditches and potholes, the surface was Expeditions Reunion in Jindabyne. If you near perfect the entire way, with the small bonus of haven’t read Part 1, then nothing in this Part will spectacular scenery and precisely zero traffic. make any sense whatever. You’ll be asking how on earth we managed to find ourselves starting in southern NSW and finishing in Hahndorf South Australia, and before you know it you’ll be looking at your partner or the cat and wondering what level of distraction will be required to get the TV remote back. Spill a noticeable amount of red on the carpet? Start a small fire? Start up a dry ‘Rona cough? Not worth the hassle, go back and read Part 1 and you won’t have to extinguish a burning cat… Farewells to a lot of close friends completed, thanks not even close-to-adequate doled out to the Compass crew, we took our fully reloaded selves out on the road south at the start of Day 11. A fair bit of discussion and review had preceded the decision on the route this day – to Barry Way or not to Barry Way? That was the question. Opinions on the length of the gravel section and the rideability were as widely varied as the number of people asked, from A very nice assembled-from-Woollies1 million kilometres and certain death to fully sealed stuff lunch with cup of tea over the border at the and “she’ll be right”, presumably while looking at imaginatively named Suggan Buggan, population Cindy. “He’ll be right” still a vague hope for half the apparently zero, and we pressed on to where the party, we decided to go for it. bitumen suddenly and miraculously re-appeared like an accidentally flushed $100 note. The road through to Buchan (that Buchan road!) was the finale for burned out areas, and a stop in the small town lasted a lot longer than planned due to meeting a couple on a 1200GS who lived on the famous Black Spur outside Healesville near Melbourne. Their stories of picking weekend sports bike riders up off the road outside their house, plus their stories of travels in Africa and around the world had us enthralled for a long time, so we were heading into the later afternoon by the time we ran down a section of the Princes Highway into Lakes Entrance. The accommodation selection process then commenced, honed over years of getting it horribly Start of the Barry Way at the Wallace Craigie wrong, but this trip we were aided by the total Lookout exclusion of pubs following the Narrabri Tourist The actual rather than the wild guess Barry Hotel disaster of ’18 and a couple of others since. Way starts with about 30km of bitumen, then enters Criteria for the perfect motel are exacting – right in
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IN HAHNDORF’s WAY
Another day, another obscure border crossing the middle of town, secure parking, huge rooms with space to spread every article of clothing and gear without any touching, bed the size of a tennis court, at least 45 power points, big screen TV with Netflix, 1GBps Wi-Fi, a washing machine and dryer, and almost embarrassingly cheap. We didn’t quite get there with the Bamboo Motel, selected on the logical basis of a tropical name in a distinctly un-tropical place, but not that far off. A big walk up and down the esplanade to discover I had zero memory of a place I was last saw in 1983, a spanking fish dinner at a seafood café, and the successful day was concluded.
The one house, zero horse town of Suggan Buggan Day 12 objective was to ride west and ride on a ferry. The Portsea to Queenscliff ferry was the target, so the GPS was continually tweaked to avoid the highway after the breakfast stop in Bairnsdale. Yarram was the coffee and unnecessary cake topup stop, before bouncing along the bottom (i.e. the Victorian coast). Past Port Albert, the scene of
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kayak glory in about 1980 when a school mate and I won the K2 kayak doubles event, simply because there was a howling some-direction-ly wind which generated huge seas and miraculously we were the only ones who didn’t sink or capsize or drown or get lost. Not sure where the small cheese platter trophy ended up, perhaps the Australian Sports Museum. We pressed on through Leongatha to luncheon at Pearcedale, apparently a town without toilets, but an incredibly tempting shrubbery behind the shopping centre. Temptation quickly overcome by discovering a child-care centre behind the shrubbery, it was a squirmy slog into the southern Melbourne ’burbs although fortunately too early to hit peak hour.
All aboard via our private motorcycle lane The ferry operates every hour on the hour, so our arrival at 2:45pm into the Portsea terminal was an example of schedule perfection; off the main road, into the queue, and within about 5 minutes we were being directed to park in the centre of the boat. After a small domestic dispute over parking technique was resolved by a retreat verging on a rout by the least feminine and therefore most un-right of the spousal protagonists, we raced to the facilities then settled in for the crossing of the Port Phillip Bay heads. The heads are a notorious stretch of water, with all the Port Phillip Bay water attempting to get out and back in twice a day through the evocatively named The Rip. It was another of my old stamping grounds, with a lot of hours spent around Portsea and our destination of Queenscliff, reaching warp speed on drift dives toward The Rip and trying to surface before entering the shipping lanes in Bass Strait. The trip across is fairly short, but the history on display is still powerful; fear of the Russians
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IN HAHNDORF’s WAY
after the Crimean War prompted building of forts around the heads and construction of the Pope’s Eye to mount guns to stop the enemy getting in to Port Phillip Bay. The development of artillery outstripped the pace of building of the fort and guns that could fire projectiles more than half the distance across stopped the Pope’s Eye foundations when they were just above the water.
road proper. The ‘Rona had clearly stopped some of the big sources of tourists visiting the road, so apart from the odd painful experience getting stuck behind people insisting that 30kmh was insane even when the scenery was mainly local resident’s wheelie bins, we were probably some of the very few in recent years who have ridden the road as it should be done.
The mutiny on the Bounty also started with Bligh offering up motorcycle parking advice Disembarking nearly first after being given preference as is our right, we headed around the coast to our random destination of Barwon Heads. Expectations of finding the perfect motel in Barwon Heads were quickly downgraded to finding any motel at all – there just aren’t any. Eighteen loops around the same roads in a howling gale with threatening rain and a motel still hadn’t appeared, so we tried the Barwon Heads Caravan Park. Miraculously a last-minute cabin cancellation had occurred, although we realised we were starting to see the effects of The ‘Rona and weekend plans for many seemed to be tightening up. A wander down to the local craft brewery bar and a light dinner saw us out for the day, besides a bit of rolled-up sock basketball play on the courts near our cabin in the huge park. Day 13 plan was the Great Ocean Road. We’d just missed this road due to time constraints in 2016, so on bikes it was a first for us. The road now seems more famous for slow tourist traffic, some of which travels on the wrong side of the road, than the scenery but regardless must be done. A breakfast in Anglesea at a small café, where an order was filled by racing out to buy the ingredients from somewhere not that close by, and we hit the
The Great Ocean Road was, well, great A mandatory stop was taken for a photo of Cindy sitting on a lawn in Lorne, requesting guesses for where we might be on WhatsApp. Well done to Maxine Lawford of Victoria, unfortunately we forgot to send your prize, having forgotten to purchase it. Lorne has some interest to the family as my then six year old father remembers standing out on the front lawn outside their holiday house as embers and ash rained down during the infamous Black Friday bushfires on 13 January 1939, which burned out nearly 5,000,000 acres of Victorian bush and destroyed or severely damaged many towns, some of which would go through it all over again in 1983 and 2009. A coffee stop in the stillcrowded Apollo Bay accompanied by half an hour trying to find a shop selling micro SD cards so Cindy could once again take photos of my bum from her helmet camera, and we headed into the wilderness of the Otways. According to the Collins Dictionary, a chimera is an unrealistic idea that you have about something or a hope that you have that is unlikely to be fulfilled. Somewhere in the Otways, petrol stations transitioned from a numerous reality to a chimera, and a methodical yet increasingly moist-
IN HAHNDORF’s WAY browed calculation indicated we were going to need to activate flux capacitor drive to make it to Lavers Hill. If we’d had flux capacitor drive, we could also have gone back in time to sensibly get fuel in Apollo Bay, but it doesn’t come standard on any Triumph Tiger 800 model. Luckily a rusty old pump with 91 which Garmin wasn’t aware of appeared around Glenaire, just as the moisture was spreading to the palms and the breathing was reaching a slightly panicky pant. Filled up and with renewed confidence in our ability to avoid adventure, we charged on to the most popular spot on the entire coast – The 12 Apostles.
Taking bets on the next of the 12 Apostles to go; 3:1 against on the little pointy one was offered in the carpark The carpark was reassuringly full – perhaps The ‘Rona wasn’t doing as much damage as we’d thought. We still had a big day ahead of us, so almost ran down to the viewing platform for the mandatory photos, then back to the bikes to plough on to Port Campbell for an excellent toasted sano lunch. Distracted and nodding at the random words coming from behind the counter, somehow we allowed tomato in with the ham and cheese; few realising that the thermonuclear hot tomato slices in toasted sandwiches generate up to 63% of Sydney’s base-load power. Nursing mouth burns, we pushed on to Warrnambool. This town is a constant refrain in the life of a Bennett so certain locations must be visited. Firstly “Goldicott”, with the greatgreat-grandfather’s property (which has a twin
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“Goldicott” in Brisbane built by the great-greatUncle) wandered through, photographed, and blatantly trespassed in before realising we weren’t actually at Goldicott. Going two doors further down we discretely took a single photo of the real “Goldicott” from the footpath before heading on once more. Garmin was then given free rein to get us to Halls Gap in the Grampians, which is a bit like giving the cat free rein to prepare dinner; sometimes miracles occur. Having grown up in Stawell, expectations were that no possible view of the Grampians hadn’t already been viewed, so I was embarrassed by the GPS who chose a route via Caramut and Glenthompson to show the entire magnificent length of the range from the east. The GPS then put the boot in by taking us into the ranges proper via the Yarram Gap Road, which I strongly stated hadn’t existed in my day as the Yarram Gap rocks hadn’t been weathered down enough to get a road through. Pulling into Halls Gap after a huge 450km day with much distraction, we were relieved by the total lack of pubs and therefore pub accommodation, it had to be a motel. Re-choosing the Country Plaza as it was the only place we’d ever stayed in Halls Gap, we gained a room down the back which may have been the same room as the previous stay during the Compass Reunion 2016 – there were $8 halflitre glasses of wine that night so the medium term memory wasn’t that precise. We wandered up the street for a craft beer, I seemed to remember as children in the 1970’s that we had do the Pinnacles Lookout climb before we were allowed a craft beer, but no-one was stationed at the door pointing at the mountains so we strolled right in. Somehow dinner ended up in the mix, closing out the day.
When in craft beer doubt, go all out
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Day 14 was a very late start due to a breakfast engagement with friends Bill and Deb of 2019 Cape Town to Cairo fame. They had suffered the worst road conditions in 20 years in Namibia so it was carnage, but they didn’t die and had horrible stories and therefore totally met the only two important aims of adventure motorcycling. We rode into Stawell for the usual heritage tour – graves and houses - before heading in the wrong direction to Great Western, home of Best’s Winery. A few small bottles purchased for good luck, and we completed a loop through Ararat, Lake Bolac, and Mortlake to arrive back in Warrnambool. Insane navigation perhaps, but more relatives graves had been discovered via the web in a cemetery in Warrnambool and you never know when you’ll get back there again. Appropriately photographed, the graves were left in peace while we continued west. Portland had been the plan, but as usual on this flexible trip the plan changed to Port Fairy for reasons now lost in Sena communicator history. No regrets though, a wander into Coffin Sally’s for an excellent pizza and a few craft beers had the humours realigned and set for bed back in the Secombe Motel – right in the middle of town.
How deep? Very. Day 15 was momentous. We would finally ride into the only state or territory that hadn’t been caressed by our motorcycle tyres – South Australia. But first we needed breakfast and so cruised into the last big western Victorian town of Portland, also a first. A jolly nice breakfast, a look over the aluminium smelter and port, and
IN HAHNDORF’s WAY we coasted the final 70km of Victorian soil into a foreign land. First stop was at the notorious Piccaninni Ponds, a karst wetland famous for its crystal-clear water dropping down 110m into the limestone formation, and a lot of cave diver deaths. Snorkelling and diving is by permit only, with a chatty Tasmanian couple chewing up a good part of their 30 minute snorkelling time allotment keeping us amused with their stories before we insisted they get in and they insisted we must visit Mt Gambier. The pond has to be seen to be believed, not since our snorkelling in the gap between the tectonic plates in Iceland in 2016 had we seen water so clear it is impossible to understand how deep it is. A brewed-up cuppa completed in the coffee van-less Ponds car park, we hit Mt Gambier. As towns go, Mt Gambier is jolly attractive and has some great sites. We decided to focus on sinkholes based on our Tasmanian snorkelling friends’ advice rather than get distracted by normal Australian town stuff. Unfortunately, the first settlers in Mt Gambier seemed to be escaping persecution in their respective old countries for having overly complicated names, and even more unfortunately they named the sinkholes after themselves. We started at the Englebrecht cave to see the hanging gardens, quickly realising we’d got the name mixed up with some other unpronounceable sinkhole because there were no hanging gardens. So a major backtrack to the Umpherston (watch out for spell check you modern Umpherstons!) sinkhole and we were into the hanging gardens.
Shame that Terry and Joyce Babylon weren’t amongst early Mt Gambier settlers The gardens are very impressive, with a huge effort obviously put into regularly getting a mower down the stairs to do the lawns. The lowering water table in the area is notable; when the gardens were first developed about a third of
IN HAHNDORF’s WAY the bottom was under water and Mr Umpherston had a boat in there to row visitors around.
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The chosen destination for the day was Robe, and to make it interesting we decided to take the somewhat disturbingly named Bog Lane dirt road around between the coast and the lakes. The name of the lane was quickly forgotten once we passed the Sunland Holiday Nudist Village – our first active social distancing experience, although nothing to do with The ‘Rona. Pulling into Robe dusty and trying not to imagine what we didn’t actually see out at the Village, the routine of locating the cheap high quality motel and dis-Robing (the only time it is allowed to be capitalised) and heading out for a walk and dinner with drinks in the near-deserted town was completed without incident.
We assumed the quotation marks meant “bees” was code for something worse Pressing on after a toasted sinkhole sandwich, we passed the Millicent Kimberley-Clark toilet paper mill where we expected to see zombie apocalypse scenes of clenching people with stifflegged gaits attacking the fences. But nothing exciting disturbed the peace and the mill doesn’t have a gift shop, so we were forced to continue on toward Beachport. We stopped briefly at the memorial to the first Australians killed by enemy action on home soil in WW2 – two sailors trying to destroy an adrift German mine which had been towed to the beach were near it when it got picked up by a wave and thrown onto a detonator prong.
No real risk in Robe with Cindy “Bear Repellent” Bennett in attendance, but we stopped anyway
Don’t have claws, can’t eat Triumphs Day 16 plan, once re-Robed, was the Adelaide Hills. But first some more travelling up the coast past some spectacular sites including the giant Rock Lobster - officially named The Big Lobster – in Kingston. Then onto the peculiar Coorong which is an unbroken series of lagoons behind the coastal sand dunes creating the Younghusband Peninsular, although Cindy may have quietly mentioned over the communicator that she would be happy just seeing a Youngerhusband Peninsular – the reception wasn’t that good though.
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A navigational snafu meant we missed the Old Coorong Road southern turnoff, so had to back-track from the other end. A problem with the Coorong is that it is made up of the aforementioned coastal sand dunes, not an ideal surface for heavily laden adventure motorcycles, and it is really hard to figure out how far it is to the actual coast by looking at the back of the sand dunes. Climbing to the top of one didn’t help because there was always another one in front. Deciding against unloading and attempting to ride to the beach due to sensing how horribly wrong that can become, we got back on the main road and went north.
Coorongs don’t make it right A second navigational snafu meant that we didn’t take the scenic route via Wellington and Strathalbyn but ended up in rising heat going through Tailem Bend to join the main highway. We completed our navigational snafu trifecta by accidentally turning off the highway to end up in Murray Bridge. We re-grouped for lunch at an anonymous family restaurant chain with a Caledonian name, before the final cruise up into the hills to the pre-booked Hahndorf motel. Seven runs up and back down the quiet main street of Hahndorf later, we discovered the poorly signposted motel to be on the opposite side of the road to where Garmin thought it was, and we checked in with sweat coursing down everything. Excess heat was soon whisked away by a German Brauhaus, and an extensive buffet dinner - who knew you could put mussels and pavlova on the same plate? - at a mainly empty restaurant saw out our day.
IN HAHNDORF’s WAY
We went with the Unleaded, and not just because it was cheaper While riding (spoiler alert if you still haven’t read Part 1 – don’t finish reading this sentence and go back to May’s Journal!) down through NSW on the way to Jindabyne, Cindy had been called by the editor of the BMW Owner’s Club of South Australia who had read in our BMWMCQ journal that we fellow editors would be riding in his domain. So Day 17 (spoiler alert No.2 - go back and read April’s Journal!) was a fantastic ride around the scenic Adelaide Hills and a lunch in Meadows with a fun group of BMW club members, who were tragically unaware that we were both riding Triumphs until we turned up but were incredibly friendly and polite regardless.
BMWOCSA John’s magnificent R100S Some serious motorcycle maintenance was undertaken during the latter part of Day 17, with a trip into a nearly deserted Adelaide city taken to try to get a replacement connection for the air pump - not much use being able to repair a flat tyre and not being able to pump the tyre up. Cindy unsuccessfully spent time trying to find a laundry to resolve aroma issues, but had a
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massage instead, before we needed to re-sample everything up at the German Brauhaus, just to be sure. At Adelaide and in Hahndorf The ‘Rona impact had suddenly became obvious; a village normally seething with Chinese and other tourists starkly empty, quality restaurants closed except Friday and Saturday nights, supermarket shelves bare of things utterly unrelated to the sanitary product shortages caused by the pandemic, and
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the term “social distancing” entering the lexicon. But on motorcycles we’d been socially distant for weeks, so no need to change things just yet.
Hopefully Hahndorf Chiropractic staff remember which to giveth, and which to taketh away
End of Part 2, don’t miss Part 3 in the July Journal
BMWOCSA’s Stephen and Brian during a quiet pie
Cruisin’ the Coorong
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Back in February, a handful of members attended a Motorbike Safety Forum at QUT Gardens Point. Speakers were from TMR; Qld Police and a QUT lecturer who has done his PhD in bike safety! Several good resources were provided and below is some information from the handy TMR Motorcycle Safety page. An interesting point to note is that you are permitted to lift your feet from the pegs or raise yourself from the seat as long as you stay in control of the motorcycle at all times.
BIKE SAFETY
BLACKBUTT PIE RUN By Richard de Groot, Member #769 Sunday 17/5/2020.
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rap up of the ‘Sunny Coast BMW Riders’ - Blackbutt Pie Run.
Late yesterday and early this morning the communication network was in full swing as various members discussed the changing weather situation; however by 0800 hours today it was decided that it was a ‘Go’ for the group’s Covid-19 compliant ‘Blackbutt Pie Run; with the exception of Marion Nye who not having any wet weather gear wisely decided home was the best option. Unfortunately or fortunately (I am not sure which applies) whilst on the ride; not one drop of rain fell. As planned, all the group made their own way to Moore where everybody arrived by the arranged time of 1100 hours. Wendy and I left home at Moffat Beach at 0900 hours and checked out the Linville Hotel upgrade before arriving at Moore. Linville Hotel will be a group lunch location when future Covid-19 restrictions permit. Nice location. I recall a BMWMCQ club ride lunch at the hotel many years ago.
It was evident that many motorcyclists and others were enjoying the opportunity to travel into country areas as a result of the slight
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relaxation of Covid-19 restrictions. Why not? Many parks were full; with social distancing being applied.
Whilst at Moore a couple of other BMW riders approached, checked out our group bikes, and told us of some of their motorcycling exploits; including one who wrote off a K1600 GTL when having a confrontation with an emu on the Nullabor Plain.
At Moore our very social group included Steve Maney, Mandy Maney, Iain Nye, Huw Samuel, Liezel Samuel, Cameron Crawford, Wendy and me. Eight group members on 5 Beemers. Fantastic! After many social distancing greetings and general catch up, as many weeks had passed since we last caught up, it was on the Beemers and on the short ride together up the Blackbutt Range to a slightly cooler Blackbutt. The Beemers were all parked opposite the park and various members walked around the corner to the Blackbutt Woodfired Bakery, where the line-up of other like-minded citizens, keen to buy their delicious supplies, extended out of the bakery and a considerable distance along the footpath. Not a problem; as the service was efficient.
The group inc Ross Gascoine (far right)
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Again the park had many groups who were clearly socially distancing from other groups and many with their own tables, chairs, rugs etc. All were clearly enjoying the very pleasant day; as were all of our group. Another club member, Ross Gascoine from Sunnybank Hills, who I have meet previously and who is not on Facebook, came to our group and socialised for quite a while before heading off to enjoy the rest of his day with family. Our members then made themselves comfortable with fold up chairs, rugs and using a garden sleeper wall as a stool, and enjoyed the day socialising, eating and generally enjoying the beautiful day together in Blackbutt.
Eventually we all packed up and made our way home.
Wendy and I covered 284 km for the day, all within 150 km of home. We arrived back at Moffat Beach at about 1515 hours. Other members would have all covered about the same distance for the day.
Sunny Coast Riders basking in the sun!
BLACKBUTT PIE RUN
Thank you Huw Samuel, Liezel Samuel, Mandy Maney, Steve Maney, Iain Nye and Cameron Crawford for joining Wendy and me for the day.
Another very enjoyable group social and ride event. More good times to come for our fabulous group.
THUNDER RALLY
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MORE PHOTO COMP ENTRIES Margreth van Aartsen - This snap was taken of Nic on the Altiplano near the Bolivia/Chile Border on our 2014 South American trip.
Gary Stirling - Taken earlier this year after the rains greened every thing up. On Spring Creek Road towards Queen Mary Falls. I think that is Mt Mitchell in the background.
EVEN MORE PHOTO COMP ENTRIES
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Michael Ahlberg - On our GSA, from London to North Africa (Casablanca) on to Athens and East Europe, this photo from 3 July 2017 is from the North Cape monument, marking the extreme north point of the European mainland. It’s 800 km North of the Arctic Circle in Norway. It’s a highly recommended tour. Setting Goals and reaching them in touring on any roads is our obsession. Let’s hope Europe will open up again for another trip, but until then, we’ve got a great country to keep riding in right here.
Rob Wynne - Taken between the Olgas and the WA Border on the Great Central Road on our way to the start of the Canning Stock Route... Carrying a fresh set of motocross tires to put on at Carnegie Homestead before heading onto the Stock Route. 2x 20ltr Jerry Cans each side for fuel as we estimated about 80ltrs of fuel to get to the fuel dump, then fill up again to get to the top.
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A QUICK GLANCE
“Established in 1978” Prior to 1994, a sketch of a cane toad with a small comment relating to the Cane Toad Rally was used as a gap filler in the journals. With the re-birth of the CTR and the certainty of it becoming one of the premier events in the BMWMCQ calendar and a big fundraiser for the RFDS, we will get the Toad “Hole Filler” tradition back up and running.
10 Years ago........from the June 2010 Journal archives:
CHRISTMAS IN JULY - revised date
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Date has been revised to take into account latest de-restrictions! So celebrate with some festive cheer on Saturday night 18th July at “Midnight at the Oasis”, at Motel Oasis Kingaroy. There is motel style accommodation ($105 per dbl) or camping and cabins within walking distance. There will be led rides (road and dirt) to the venue – details to follow. IF YOU HAD PREVIOUSLY BOOKED ACCOMMODATION FOR 4TH JULY, KINDLY RE-CONFIRM WITH THE OASIS FOR THE REVISED DATE OF 18TH JULY. Complimentary Nibbles by the pool from 4:30pm, followed by Buffet dinner Turkey and cranberry sauce Roast Beef and red wine Jus Australian Prawns Pork Belly and Apple sauce Selection of Vegetables and Salads Dessert Buffet Selection of 6 mini desserts Tea and Coffee $30PP A hot breakfast will be available on Sunday morning for $18PP Motel Oasis Peppertree Cabins Kingaroy Holiday Park 50 Walter Rd (07) 4162 8008 (07) 4162 1808 Kingaroy Qld 4610 P: 07 41622399 E:stays@moteloasis.com.au
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MAINTENANCE CORNER – SPARK PLUGS By Tony Gray, Member #3905
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was repairing a fine old Italian steed (truth be told it was a Vespa and not mine) when it occurred to me that there are some simple and basic maintenance tips that might be of benefit to the broader club membership. We are a diverse group ranging from professional specialist bike repairers like Mark Morrissey, through enthusiastic home mechanics, those wanting to save a few dollars on service costs and learn a bit about their bike and those who might be new to motorcycling and would appreciate even very basic information on wielding a spanner. There are years of knowledge and hard won experience out there to be shared. Bill Luyten’s regular Service Days are meant for all of these people to share their knowledge or to watch, listen and learn. Currently we are unable to undertake these activities so here is an on-line alternative. We would welcome any tips you might have that would benefit our community. Perhaps you have adopted a smart idea in the workshop or want to pass on something you have learned through long term ownership of a particular model. Just put pen to paper and send it into our esteemed editors.
Here is a start with the humble spark plug. This little 200cc 2 stroke Vespa belongs to a very non-mechanical friend and the little beast had not been serviced for nearly 10 years. It’s mileage in that time was very low as it is used as a ‘Café Stallion’ carrying its owner to the finer coffee establishments around West End. The spark plug
MAINTENANCE CORNER
fitted was one heat range ‘hotter’ than specified for the model, an NGK B6ES rather than a B7ES. What does that mean? Here is a simple explanation: Typically the heat range for NGK spark plugs varies from 2-11. This number indicates the thermal characteristics of a spark plug, or how ‘hot’ or ‘cold’ a spark plug is. The term hot/cold is commonly used to describe whether a spark plug heats up easily (hot) or whether it provides resistance to heating up (cold). Generally, low power engines such as lawn mowers don’t produce a large amount of heat, hence use a low heat range (or hot) spark plug such as a 4 heat range. This means the spark plug will heat up easily and reach its optimal operating temperature. High performance engines on the other hand produce a large amount of heat, hence a high heat range (or cold) spark plug such as a 10 heat range plug needs to be used to resist the heat developed by the engine. Several factors influence the heat range of a spark plug, although typically the insulator nose design provides an indication of the heat range of a spark plug. When a spark plug absorbs heat produced from combustion, the heat is transferred through the centre electrode and insulator nose to the metal shell, which then transfers the heat into the engine casing and circulating coolant. In the Vespa’s case a previous mechanic fitted a ‘hotter’ plug on the assumption that the bike was just being used on short local trips and not getting up into its optimum heat range so therefore more likely to foul from carbon deposits. Unless you are operating your bike abnormally then stick to the specified spark plug, observe the replacement interval and check and clean the plug at intervening service points. Manufacturers recommend replacement before the spark plug would (under normal use) be expected to break down. I carry an old set on tour as an emergency back up, they still work and will get me out of trouble. Here are a few tips on removing/servicing spark plugs: • If the spark plug is ‘frozen’ and cannot be unscrewed smoothly then don’t force it – remember it has a steel threaded body screwed into an alloy head (unless you have a very old cast iron head
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motor). I have found this several times with the underside secondary plug on R1200 motors. Not sure why but they just seem more prone to the problem. A solution that has always worked for me is to run the motor for a short while to warm and expand the alloy. Use gloves when removing as the plug gets very hot very quickly.
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If your bike will not start and you want to check if you have spark then here is a simple tool that anyone can make that will let you perform the check without removing your spark plug from the bike. Thanks to Les Fitzpatrick who showed me this one some years ago. Take an old working plug (heat range is irrelevant) and attach a length of heavy copper insulated wire to the plug with a screw hose clamp (multi strand domestic earth wire is ideal). Attach a spring clamp to the other end of the wire.
• Clean carbon deposits around the electrode and check the gap between the centre electrode and outer ground electrode. The gap can be checked with a humble feeler gauge, a cheap sliding disc scale that you can get from Repco or Super Cheap Auto for about $2 or a wire gauge. I prefer to use the wire gauge. To check if you are getting power to the plug then remove the high tension lead plug cap from the bike and slip the cap onto your plug tool. You ‘Earth’ the plug by attaching the spring clamp to a metal part of the engine or frame bolt and then turn over the motor. Your plug ‘tool’ will spark if it is getting charge from the coil.
• Wipe a fine smear of copper grease on the threads when installing the spark plug. This will prevent the plug thread from seizing in the alloy head.
Hope that helps you to better understand and service the simple but essential sparking device that makes you engine run.
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By Meredith Herpich, Member #4295
M
y passion for motorbike riding started when I got my licence. My first bike purchased was a Honda CB125 – Red. Bear with me and you will learn where the Blue comes from. Purchased from Alec Campbell Motorcycles in Mount Gambier SA, Alec was kind enough to deliver it home for me. Once he unloaded the big beast off the back of his Ute he asked “do you know how to ride it?”. Well actually, no I don’t I replied. So he proceeded to show me and that was it, off he went. It didn’t take long and I was riding my little Red Machine to work every day. Shortly after this my brother was painting his HR Holden a beautiful shade of Blue. And he had some paint left so I conned him into painting my bike Blue……..and that’s where it began. Unfortunately I don’t have a photo. Next I found a shiny brand new Suzuki TS185 and that was it, time to upgrade! It was Blue of course. Please note my very expensive “Safety Gear”. What absolute fun I had on this machine, riding to work and exploring the dirt tracks on the weekend, there was even that time I rode to Nelson Vic, just over the border, and rode home again, weaving in and out of the White Lines. My courage greatly enhanced with Pink Star wine – those were the days! Life got in the way and I gave up riding but that yearning was always there. Every time I renewed my driver’s
THE GIRL ON THE BLUE BIKE licence I made certain the motorbike licence remained.
Fast forward to 2002 and the Ulysses Club held their Annual AGM in Mount Gambier and I was hooked again. All those magnificent motorbikes roaring around town. So out I went and bought a Suzuki VL800 from Laurie Fox Honda, delivered again but at least I knew how to ride this time – or so I thought. It was Blue too!
I have to confess here, my first ride was a very scary experience, up around the Blue Lake I went full of bravado, out onto the road to Port MacDonnell, cruising along at a breathtaking 80kms in the 100 zone I looked in the rear vision mirror to see a long line up of cars behind me, and it’s getting dark.
THE GIRL ON THE BLUE BIKE Time to turn around and head for home. Except turning around was not as easy as I thought, so I walked it around very carefully. I think I miscalculated the jump from a 185 to an 800cc, and the 27 year hiatus from riding. Finally at home, shaking like a leaf and exhilarated. Couldn’t wait to get back on. After 4 weeks of riding on weekends I felt fully confident and off I went. 10 months later I rode to Mudgee NSW for the Ulysses AGM, what a fabulous experience that was. Riding up the main street with thousands of people waving was the best experience. I was hooked!
Well of course the story does not end there. I got bored with the Cruiser and started to think I might like a bigger bike so I went to Adelaide and had a look around. No real idea what I wanted but bigger would be good. Here I have to confess I am not into the mechanical side of the bike, just the riding and the experiences I get from it. As the day progressed I visited every bike shop I could find untiI I finally went into the BMW shop. And there it was – a magnificent BLUE R1150RT. I was in love, Biaritz Blue which was very similar to the colour my little CB125 was painted. It was mine but I have to confess, the first ride home was a bit (no actually a lot) nerve racking. It is a big bike, but very comfortable. What a fabulous big girl she turned out to be! By this time I had met Steve, who is now
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my husband, and we started planning riding trips together. Our first big trip was to Tassie for the Ulysses AGM. I have to confess I was terrified of the thought of riding Big Betty onto the ferry, I had heard some real horror stories.
Turned out to be very straight-forward. Riding in Tassie is truly amazing, so much to see and do, great roads, great cafes, friendly people. Our riding adventures were now a permanent fixture in our lives. Every weekend and every holiday we are riding somewhere. We even rode from Mount Gambier SA to Cairns QLD and back. On our honeymoon. Would not recommend the Bruce Highway but it was a brilliant trip, coming home we diverted inland on the Developmental Road through Emerald, Roma, St George. Wide open spaces and the RT just ate up the kilometers. In 2009 we went to Melbourne for a regular Service trip and to visit our daughter
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THE GIRL ON THE BLUE BIKE
who was at university there. And it happened again, there in the showroom was a magnificent R1200RT, latest model. And it was BLUE. Before you can blink an eye I was signing on the dotted line, but this turned out to be rather expensive. Steve wanted one as well - two signatures and we are the proud owners of new RT’s. Off we rode into the sunset. Now it was time to retire to Port Macquarie NSW. And also time for more riding.
England, through France, Corsica, Sardinia, Sicily, Italy, Austria, Germany, and Switzerland. Next was a trip in 2014 we called Half Way Round which started in Port Macquarie, down to Tasmania, and back on the mainland we went straight up the centre to Darwin. The trip ended there but that’s definitely another story. People often say it’s a boring ride up the centre of Australia but I loved it! In 2015 we shipped the same bikes and rode Europe again. Incredible experience.
We started planning a trip to Europe for 2013 and wanting to ride for 3 months it was cheaper to ship our own bikes compared to hiring over there. The RT’s were too big for this purpose and also it would mean being without a bike for quite a long time. Now that was not going to happen, so we bought two F700GS bikes. But there was a problem, no Blue available so I had to have Red.
BUT: By this time BMW had reintroduced the R1200RS and they were doing it in Blue, and I found one while overseas. One test ride when I got home and that was it. Enter another Blue Bike into my life. My Princess.
The 700GS was a great bike for this purpose and we had a fabulous time riding from
2016 we toured New Zealand again on hired bikes. Suzuki’s this time as we discovered BMW are very expensive to hire over there. Beautiful country great for riding. And of course I was lucky enough to get a Blue bike.
THE GIRL ON THE BLUE BIKE
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It turned out to be a bucket of bolts and I was very glad to give it back.
In 2017 we decided Spain would be a good idea. Only intending to ride for 4 weeks we decided to hire bikes. I got a Blue R1200R. Just luck I got the Blue one and it was a fabulous bike.
This year we had a trip to Italy planned, of course that has been cancelled. We are hoping it will happen next year. For any of the Ladies out there thinking about learning to ride, sick of being a Pillion but not quite confident enough to ride. Have a go – it’s worth it. Editors note #2:
Totally addicted to riding overseas we decided in 2019 we would ride in Canada. Grey bike this time, R1200RS – very disappointed but they didn’t have a Blue one. Our trip included Yellowstone National Park in the US and then lots of wide open spaces in Canada, and lots of bear sightings. Editor’s note #1: Really Meredith? We hadn’t recovered from the 16 (that’s not a mistake dear readers sixteen) bear sightings in the May Journal story, and you are already at it again!
While on the Blue theme and in total support of Meredith’s non-bear stalking activities, Cindy’s Blue Betty F700GS in Africa competing with the blues of Lake Malawi and the sky. PS: According to their website, the Canadian Mounted Police have issued a BRO (bear restraining order) to Meredith and Steve Herpich, of Port Macquarie, Australia. The BRO restricts any mention of bear sightings or showing of bear photos. About bloody time.
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FRIGID DIGIT
FOR THE AIRHEADS - and they are many
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MMM BOXERWORKS AIRHEADS GROUP PAGE If you follow Facebook Forums on bike restoration or customizing you would no doubt have encountered terms like vapor blasting, sand blasting, soda blasting or variations thereof. What does that all mean and can you believe the recommendations of unknown authors? Who better than our own Mark Morrissey to cut to the chase and expose the mysteries, warts and all. Watch & Learn. https://www.facebook.com/Boxerworks/videos/454660561931598/
A custom offering by Ellaspede - sourced from their website of drool-worthy machines!
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FREE BMW Motorcycle Safety Inspection Report But perhaps more importantly, be prepared before you head off! Book in for your FREE safety inspection report. This simple check can mean the difference between a hassle-free ride versus getting stuck on the side of the road with no phone coverage a long way from the nearest town. “NEW WEBSITE” SHOP ONLINE FOR ALL YOUR MOTORCYCLE TYRES & ACCESSORIES WITH THE ADDED BENEFIT OF AFTERPAY “BUY NOW, PAY LATER” HTTPS://NSMCTYRES.COM 1/14 Paisley Drive Lawnton Qld 4503, Phone 07 3205 6505 Email info@nsmctyres.com
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Very Useful Services & Cool Stuff
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www.munichmotorcycles.com.au TrAde enqUiries WelCoMe (open till 7pm est.)
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Phone: 08 9317 3317 Fax: 08 9317 3359 email: munich@iinet.net.au
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From business card to full page, all sizes are available.
The BMWMCQ electronic journal is distributed to members and interested parties throughout Queensland and basically anywhere that has the internet. In addition, the journal is issued to other BMW affiliated Clubs. Get your message out to people who own, ride and restore BMW motorcycles.
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The distractions of YouTube... Cindy Bennett, Member #4170 If you are like me and the show Top Gear tickled your funny bone - I discovered an amusing YouTube Clip from former Top Gear presenter Richard Hammond where he does a tongue in cheek tribute to Charley Boorman and Ewan McGregor in a “Working from Home Long Way Round” ride, on his very nice looking 1929 BMW R52. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=TjqnILLJ8IU For the GS brigade who want to improve on their dirt riding, Duncan has discovered a series of YouTube videos by “Mototrek”. There are very practical, well explained topics for riding heavy and loaded adventure bikes on gravel roads - and worse - including: How to Ride in Deep Sand (link below) How to U Turn on Adventure Bikes Learn How to Ride Fast Around Corners on Dirt. As well as useful consumer info such as Hard or Soft Panniers - which is best?
ONLINE INSPIRATION There are a plethora of addictive motorcycling YouTube channels - and a selection below is from a list of “60 YouTube Channels for Motorcycle Enthusiasts”: Motorcycle.com | Motorcycle Review Channel Motorcyclist Magazine Moto Madness | Motorcycle Crashes & Fails MCN - Motorcyclenews.com Rosie Gabrielle | Solo Female Adventure Traveller. Of course there are brand specific channels such as BMW Motorrad, and the below is the link to a very interesting (50 min) video of The World’s Biggest Motorbike Factory - the BMW Motorcycle Factory in Berlin, by Welt Documentaries. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yROGg3_ vHBc
https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=Fo75lHpLBOM
David Whale - Duncan’s “pretty un-fly for a white guy” mask Western QLD 2019.
MORE PHOTO COMP ENTRIES
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Paul Malcolm - Just parked. A short break on the way to the Cape.
Geoff Hodge - ‘09 road trip around Queensland, R1200 on way to Blue Heeler Pub.
BMWMCQ BOOK EXCHANGE NEW BOOKS AVAILABLE!
Race to Dakar Charley Boorman Extreme Frontiers Charley Boorman (Racing Across Canada) What If I Had Never Tried It Valentino Rossi (The Autobiography) The Road to Mali Craig Carey-Clinch No Room for Watermelons Ron & Lynne Fellowes Great Motorcycle Tours of Europe Colette Coleman A Motorcycle Courier in the Great War Captain W.H.L. Watson Australia Motorcycle Atlas With 200 Top Rides (6th Ed) Hema Maps Overland Magazines - issue #’s 11; 19; 21; 22; 25; 26; 27; 28 and 29. Adventure Bike Rider - issue #’s 44; 46; 51 and 53 The Touring Motorcycle Jeff Ware & Kris Hodgson
BMW Twins Mick Walker BMW Boxer Twins Ian Falloon BMW Motorcycles Bruce Preston A Century of BMW Manfred Grunet & Florian Triebel 2 x On Tour with Compass Expeditions DVDs
The initive is being overseen by Jane Gray and you can communicate with Jane via email at: library@bmwmcq.org.au Arrangement can be made with the librarian to pick up & drop off at the monthly Members meeting.....Editor