I also have a couple spares if all else fails, Gaz has already organized back up bikes just incase.

The dreaded Kpox means that I'm only one of many to have a spare machine available. From the earlier suggested plan, one of Rossko's will be the most convenient, but should that fall through, all will certainly not be lost. 

Looking forward to the gathering, BAE.

Bill

Fantastic response guys. With all these spare bikes, perhaps I should be packing a couple of the Irish Eccentrics in my bags!

I've had a PM from Gaz with some more bike details, potentially use of his K1100 or one of Rosskkos seleKtion. More than happy with a RT with full summer fairing (aka nekkid) if that makes life easier for everyone.

Kounting down the days now - So looking forward to my visit and meeting y'all.

Born Again Eccentric wrote:With all these spare bikes, perhaps I should be packing a couple of the Irish Eccentrics in my bags!

What do they charge for 115KG excess baggage? 

88 wrote:What do they charge for 115KG excess baggage? 

Sorry Will, just checked the airline. The charges are a bit steep - its £65/kg excess baggage and 3-5 years for people smuggling. Besides, max bag weight is 32kg - you'd have to go as cargo!

Try stealing a handkerchief, worked for my great great grandfather. Free trip.

Ok, this is a happier place to be.

Wanted. 1 front brake lever. Condition unimportant (won't be me riding it).
Happy to pay.
Just let me know the price in koins (just thought that up)

Born Again Eccentric

rosskko

Rosskko - I have a spare I can bring out with me...

K100 or K1100 I have a K100 but not a K1100

Do you need a hand RossKKo , maybe a "shop " day to get something together for Paul ? 
I can pass the drinks out if needed.

I have a spare everything here , happy to bring down for you .

RT wrote:Try stealing a handkerchief, worked for my great great grandfather. Free trip.

Oh yeah...was he called Ned Kelly?

I should have been so lucky. Must ve been on the same boat though. In fact it was a sheet of music from Limerick. Something like, diddly diddly diddly, diddly. Can't remember how the rest goes.
There was an old man from OZ, who no longer could fit in his Coz,
his buttocks were bare,
his stomach with hair,'
was covered right up to his schnoz.

I inherited the talent.

And the Red Setter......Irish to the core.....

Beginning to think the links between Krew and Eccentrics are even stronger.

RT wrote:I should have been so lucky. Must ve been on the same boat though. In fact it was a sheet of music from Limerick. Something like, diddly diddly diddly, diddly. Can't remember how the rest goes.
There was an old man from OZ, who no longer could fit in his Coz,
his buttocks were bare,
his stomach with hair,'
was covered right up to his schnoz.

I inherited the talent.

Hope you didn't pass it on to your children.    

GroverK wrote:Do you need a hand RossKKo , maybe a "shop " day to get something together for Paul ? 
I can pass the drinks out if needed.

I have a spare everything here , happy to bring down for you .

Should be good Ed, just need the lever atm. K100 front lever.
Just fixed the fan. Thanks Basic2. Managed to make a good one from the old broken one so the radiator is going back on.
Have a spare starter button going on.
Got a relay kit to go on (sold the other with the /2)

How tall/short are you BAE? I have a standard bench, k1200 comfort seat and a low seat.
Also a choice of C bars or RT bars.
This is all assuming you want to ride/ I can get it going, my old summer styled RT.

rosskko

92KK 84WW Olaf wrote:

RT wrote:Try stealing a handkerchief, worked for my great great grandfather. Free trip.

Oh yeah...was he called Ned Kelly?

Ned was born in Australia "Edward (Ned) Kelly (1855-1880), bushranger, was born in June 1855 at Beveridge, Victoria, the eldest son of John (Red) Kelly and his wife Ellen" So there he wasn't even Irish

rosskko I have a good brake lever, I can post on Tuesday.

good o , sounds like you're on a roll there .

rosskko wrote:
How tall/short are you BAE? I have a standard bench, k1200 comfort seat and a low seat.
Also a choice of C bars or RT bars.
This is all assuming you want to ride/ I can get it going, my old summer styled RT.

rosskko

5 ft 9in (175 cm). 

This sounds like you're going to a whole lot of trouble Rosskko- choice of seats, choice of bars, optional front brake, rebuilding radiator etc. Thinking about it, if t's not too much trouble....could I have it in white? I've always fancied riding a white bike.  

Comfort seat would be preferred, but beggars can't be choosers, and RT bars on an RT sound good to me - I'm a bit of a traditionalist like that.

If we get Charlie involved it will be all silver..including the seat.

optional extras , wait for the final bill.

We will be in the Newcastle/Central Coast area on that Saturday. Looking forward to seeing people when you stop for your lunch break, meeting new and old tragics.

Some progress to report on our BAE weekend.

Obviously timing during the weekend will be very fluid due to all the potential variables (Murphy's Law), however Rosskko thinks the travelling group will try to get away from Castle Hill by around 10:00am and are likely to be at Pie In The Sky by about 10:45am if any Krew members wish to meet up there.

Following inquiry from ainsjac regarding our Saturday lunch venue, which we hadn't decided upon at the time, I did some exploring over the last weekend and discussed with Tom and Rosskko about nominating
the Catho Pub as our lunch stop on the Saturday. It is roughly just over an hours travel from the Pie In The Sky so that should get us there around 12:30 - 1:00pm if anyone wants to meet up there. Luckily for us the entertainment involving Lingerie Ladies does not happen on a Saturday.

If we're not there when you arrive just order a drink and wait as we'll eventually turn up.

On Sunday we should be at the Grey Gums for a Loffee break by about 10:00am if we can get away around 8:00am and then on to Richmond for lunch by maybe about 12:30 - 1:00pm. It would be great if we could have some suggestions for a lunch venue from those on the Krew who are quite familiar with the Richmond area (what about the Officer's Mess at the Air Force Base??  .... anyone??)

DaleRT's suggestion in post 26 on this thread is better than my original thoughts as it reverses the mountain loop and gets us to some of the well known sites earlier thus allowing for the ride to be shortened if necessary for any reason. Dale are you thinking you will be free to guide us around this section?

Finally are there any members who would like to have a bit of a get together on Sunday evening (if Paul is still standing by that time)?

Don't forget there is space at our place for camping and/or airbeds/swags under cover in my workshop area on Saturday night if people don't want to put a tent up.

So if people could start to indicate whether they might be participating in some or all of these proposed activities it will help us work out some more details.

Thanks

I will catch up with any/all/some people at the pub for lunch. Will I have to have a rose in my mouth so that you can recognize me?

Gaz a well thought out plan

I'm up for Saturday's activities and will either meet up at either Castlehill or PITS ......

I'll be along, joining at Rosskko's place ready to continue - that is, if I can find out where Rosskko's place is.   

Bill

Gaz, I'll join up for lunch on Saturday at Catho Pub and crash on your garage floor Sat nite. I guess the plan will be a BYO BBQ for Saturday evening??
Not sure if I'll make it for the Sunday ride, I'll see how my commitments pan out closer to the date.
Looking forward to catching up with new and old faces.
Cheers

ainsjac wrote:I will catch up with any/all/some people at the pub for lunch. Will I have to have a rose in my mouth so that you can recognize me?

It will have to be an orange rose Ainsjac

Sounds like a great plan Gaz.....I'm in for the full package.
Would be kind of embarrassing if I wasn't after all this effort to gather the krew.

Besides - I want to escape this lovely UK spring weather (Spring has sprung a leak) - a short clip from my soggy commute home yesterday (4 deg C, rain and hail and traffic)

For a time approaching 7 years we had a drought in Goulburn with severe water restrictions. No water use at all outside, and 150 litres per person per day inside. 

I vowed to myself not to complain about rain since then, but if I lived in England I might have to reconsider!

I sincerely hope we can do better than that for your visit, BAE. 

Bill

indian036 wrote:For a time approaching 7 years we had a drought in Goulburn with severe water restrictions. No water use at all outside, and 150 litres per person per day inside. 

I vowed to myself not to complain about rain since then, but if I lived in England I might have to reconsider!

I sincerely hope we can do better than that for your visit, BAE. 

Bill

No point complaining about it Bill - just dress to keep it out! 

Despite all the rain we do usually get, it doesn't take much to send our water people into a flap and cry "drought" and implement hose pipe bans. Nothing compared with your water restrictions though.

It was a miserable ride home though - very heavy traffic through Bristol and compounded by a 2 car smash on the main road in a village just to the south. I was lucky, whilst my journey was slower than usual, I was able to skirt past the long tail back and got past the accident before the police shut the road completely to allow recovery operations. 
Wouldn't have been much fun being stuck in the jam with the rain tipping down. 

Looking forward to some nicer weather in a couple of weeks time.

Born Again Eccentric wrote:

Looking forward to some nicer weather in a couple of weeks time.

Depends on whether RossKo rides his red bike or not. 

I shall be staying in the city on Friday night and heading out to the airport Saturday morning to catch up with BAE.  Are any others of the Krew planning to meet at the airport?  Or does it mean that a northerner has to fill in for the locals?

TacKler wrote:
I shall be staying in the city on Friday night and heading out to the airport Saturday morning to catch up with BAE.  Are any others of the Krew planning to meet at the airport?  Or does it mean that a northerner has to fill in for the locals?

Tackler, I've sent you a PM suggesting that it might be better to meet in town rather than at the airport. Your hotel is about 1km from mine and saves you hauling all the way out to the airport and back again just to meet me in a busy arrivals hall. I am expecting to get the train or taxi into town with my work colleagues. 

I still need to work out the getting to Rosskko's piece in time for the 10am departure.

Tackler are you riding down to the big smoke or are you there on business? Will be good to catch up if you're riding on that weekend.

I have been wondering if the PM I saw referred to lately was number 6??

Cheers

[quote="Born Again Eccentric"]

TacKler wrote:

I still need to work out the getting to Rosskko's piece in time for the 10am departure.

Let me know your arrival details and the motel and I will meet you there in the am. In the car. Lots of room for all your crap gear and 45 minuters for a snooze if needed.

Tea or loffee?

Has anyone thought of the problem our visitor may cause us? What if he cannot speak proper Australian like we do? Can we get a translator or will we use posting as a means of communication?

G,Day All, but do we not speak the Queen's English here in Oz?????

One must consider your question carefully.

This might be about the best we can edumicate them.

Gaz80 wrote:Hi All, I've had a few chats with fellow knuts here in and around Sydney regarding ways that we may tire (pun not intended) out BAE on the weekend of his arrival in the Great South Land.

Rosskko has space to store an extra bike for a few days leading up to the weekend of 16/17 April so we can make his premises or somewhere nearby at Rosskko's discretion the starting point for a Saturday ride and Rosskko is happy to be the pickup man for collecting BAE from his hotel.
Our thoughts are that the Saturday touring party will head off from Castle Hill and up the M1 for a short distance to the off ramp at Berowra then along the Pacific Highway to the "Pie in the Sky" where I am thinking of meeting them. Tom is thinking the same and that may be a convenient location for others to meet up if they don't join in from the start at Castle Hill.

From there along the old Pacific Highway until you get to the area of the Australian Reptile Park then onto the M1 until the East Lake Macquarie turnoff that goes through Doyalson and onward to Newcastle where there's a tour guide named Tom who will guide us to a few scenic spots for photo ops and generally taking in the vista of our Pacific coast and the city.

After the Newcastle bit we can cruise up the valley to Chez Gaz for our overnight stop and socialising (maybe a coldie or two). Lunch and breaks can be decided on the day mainly being dependent on how BAE is feeling following the one stop trip on the tube from London to Sydney.

I hope the overnight stop in the Hunter may give any Krew members to the north (and obviously the south if they wish to come this way) an opportunity to meet up if they haven't got the time for the whole weekend.

The Sunday plan is to exit the Hunter Valley via the Pokolbin vineyard district and down the Putty Road to the Grey Gum Cafe for a Loffee stop and on to Richmond for lunch. Suggestions please from those knowledgeable about this area. After lunch we can pick up on DaleRT's suggestion of going up the Blue Mountains via Hawkesbury Lookout and onto the Three Sisters via Cliff Drive etc. (guides needed – Dale, Al or others familiar with this area). Depending on how BAE is coping with us we can continue around through Mt Victoria etc to the Bell Line of Road or abort at any time in the afternoon to return down into Sydney.

Warren C has already made a suggestion regarding a watering hole and any other suggestions are welcome. From my point of view it would be convenient if we could gather somewhere that has reasonable accommodation where I could safely park the bike and stay overnight; others might find that interesting as well. If BAE is up to a Sunday evening gathering it might offer a chance for anyone who is not free to ride around to able to catch up with the Krew.

The link below is a map of the suggested route which should open in Google Maps. Saturday is about 4 hours of riding and 220 kms. Sunday (if we were to do the whole loop) would be around 400 kms and 6-7 hours riding.
Suggested route map

Hi Gaz, what time would the PITS stop be? I could meet you there.
Ok re-read earlier posts and its 10:45 approx.

ainsjac wrote:Has anyone thought of the problem our visitor may cause us? What if he cannot speak proper Australian like we do? Can we get a translator or will we use posting as a means of communication?

I have a good friend who grew up in Fordingbridge, not too far from BAE. He is an excellent mimic, and can also at will revert to his native West Country accent. (Been in Oz since the 60s) If he is any indication, we might have a little trouble. 
Alternatively, if the reputed British way of being understood to foreigners (repeating the statement, but louder) is applied, we might just have to leave our earplugs in.  

Looking forward to finding out.

Bill

indian036 wrote:

ainsjac wrote:Has anyone thought of the problem our visitor may cause us? What if he cannot speak proper Australian like we do? Can we get a translator or will we use posting as a means of communication?

I have a good friend who grew up in Fordingbridge, not too far from BAE. He is an excellent mimic, and can also at will revert to his native West Country accent. (Been in Oz since the 60s) If he is any indication, we might have a little trouble. 
Alternatively, if the reputed British way of being understood to foreigners (repeating the statement, but louder) is applied, we might just have to leave our earplugs in.  

Looking forward to finding out.

Bill

After a few beers I can speak any language.

When I was in the USA for a few years, a common question from people I met was "Are you Australian?". This bemused me at first, but I think it was my involuntary efforts to dumb down my English accent and overlay it with American mannerisms made it sound different (note carefully - I didn't say "wrong"). I expect that if I said "Yeah Mate - do you know Australia?" they would have said "Not really - is it near London?" or "No, but I've got a friend called John who lives there - do you know him?" Instead I politely replied to the "Are you Australian?" question with "No - are you Canadian?" They just never got my humour and the bemused look that said "Why the F would I be Canadian - I'm in America you dumbass English-ish speaking fool from I don't really care from where, but say Hi to my mate John if you do see him".

I'm sure that language will not be a problem, but if you want to resort to post-it notes, that's fair dinkum.

As for Tom's question...
"G,Day All, but do we not speak the Queen's English here in Oz?????"
I'm sure you do, the question is do we? I sometimes wonder when I visit Londonistan these days or listen to the people of Zummerzet or Brizzol.....

rosskko wrote:

Born Again Eccentric wrote:

TacKler wrote:

I still need to work out the getting to Rosskko's piece in time for the 10am departure.

Let me know your arrival details and the motel and I will meet you there in the am. In the car. Lots of room for all your crap gear and 45 minuters for a snooze if needed.

Tea or loffee?

Rosskko - In my efforts at wit and repartee, I then went and forgot to reply to the most serious post! Doh!!

If we are looking at a 10am departure on bikes and a 45 min snooze out to yours, then I figure a hotel pick up by 08:45 would work? That gives 30 minutes to saddle up and quaff a tea/loffee (I do both, I think) before the off. What do you reckon?

I'm staying at the Sofitel Wentworth at 61-101, Phillip Street, 2000 Sydney


I'm figuring on getting there by about 06:30 (if AUS immigration are kind to me and the flight is on time etc.) and will be hopefully meeting up with Tackler possibly about 07:00 for breakfast/coffee.

I won't have much gear crap with me on the ride, that'll all mostly stay behind in the hotel. 
I'll PM you my mobile number just in case of delay etc.

Hello All this is not an April Fools Day prank I am back on line after a miserable time with a job that was 24 hrs a day 7 days a week and have been in touch with Grover and RossKKo so if its ok with you all I would love to join you for the weekend.
Prior to then am happy to help with the bike prep and whatever is needed as I dive headlong into what is the best group of bike Knuts on the planet.

Waz let me know if you still need the front wheel....and RossKKo also if any parts needed I have some that may help No #3 to be reborn for BAE use.

I can now even access this forum from work so I am back.

Gaz does your floor have room for another K body?..if pushed I have others in the area please let me know.

Thanks gents great to be back.
Oh just thought if I can help with the bike drop off let me know..just 20 mins from RossKKo.

Klompy the Who?

Just kidding , I remember words of wisdom from that source earlier in my membership of the forum. Looking forward to meeting.

Bill

Thanks Bill....I am that unwanted red haired step child...

G'day Klompy, yes mate plenty of room in the garage or verandah or acre of yard. Will be great to finally catch up and pleased your circumstances now allow your participation again.

Now ......... about the need for a lunch venue in Richmond on the Sunday. Local knowledge of that area sadly missing on this end. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

Cheers

I would suggest Windsor which is https://www.google.com.au/maps/search/Macquarie+Arms+Hotel+Windsor+NSW/data=!4m2!2m1!4b1?sa=X

Where we have a very Bike friendly Hotel Macquarie Arms which is purportedly the oldest pub in Australia...nice feed, often live bands and first stop over the river inbound from the Putty.

Windsor is 5km's from my place 10 kms from Richmond.

Wow! Talk about rapid response Klompy, you're onto it. Yep, know that pub.

OK all, let's not muck around - The Macquarie Arms Hotel in Windsor will be the declared lunch stop on our Sunday ride.

Cheers

Excellent...there are even a few Cafe's across the road and coffee shops should some prefer other than pub grub and a park for a picnic.

Looking forward to it.

Oh Bugger and I cant make it. Gonna go and eat some worms.