No red scarf?
Blackey, it's time to have a checkup at your psy.

WE ARE MEN! If you are cold, stuff a newspaper down your jacket!

I am sure I have recently read about someone doing this in a bike mag.

Been there done that myself. It works.

yep ....nothing like a cheep newspaper to keep that awfull cold stuff off the chest ....but i have a fairing now ...yipee

but i do remember newspaper, denim jacket .....and wait for it ....garbage bag on the outer to keep the wet out ......

shhhhh ....keep it to a dull roar please ........

Rats now I have to find new riding gear. I suppose washup gloves over my gloves is not permitted either.
RT

Ummm, been there done that too!

gooday cobbers! Love to join in with you guys for a tinnie or two but its a bit far from blighty!! enjoy the meet up - maybe next a world wide meet up of members!??? Sorry if cobbers is a bad stereotype. HAve fun

Ian

Transfer to Aussie looking more promising....beter start getting organised

Any issue to import a UK bike down under??

Thanks!

not sure rene i think twb would be the best to know ....although here in queensland might have to get a compliance plate (engineering ) inspection done ...should pass though if nothing modified too much

Thanks mate, I should be OK then as the bike is original.

As far as I know Rene if you have owned it for more than 12 months it is a fairly straight forward process.

In 2007 I shipped a BMW Airhead home to Queensland. It cost about $650 from Long Beach California, palletised in a freighter, and about that same amount to get it into Australia, value tax and fees - it was spotless but 'Customs' deemed it necessary to steam clean it for an additional $400! It has to be fully cleaned, no dirt in the tyres and no mud under the mudguards. Upon attempting to register it I had to get a State of Queensland L01 certificate for an additional $90. This is an inspection to see if she meets Australian Design Rules. They check for things like DOT, TUV or EU tags on braided brake lines and lenses, etc. It was pretty thorough and I was able to watch and answer questions the inspector had about this and that. The closer to 'stock' config it is the better.

In 2008 I shipped a complete bike home completely disassembled and in a cardboard box on a timber pallet. It cost me $1400 all up and also required an L01 certificate. The vehicle has to be owned by the person importing it and according to Australian rules must have been owned for at least one full year. It's pretty easy, though I admit to a few headaches and long delays getting answers from Customs and then the shipping forwarder in Long Beach held onto the first bike for an extra four months saying they'd 'missed the first boat'. I dropped it off personally in Long Beach in April and received it at the other end in Brissy in October.

It was very hard to hand over the keys, the certificate of title, and the complete bike which I'd owned since new in 1977 to a stranger at the docks in California. It could have ended up anywhere in the world, or in pieces. In the end I was satisfied. Permission must be given by the federales in Canberra before shipping the bike over. It's easy and can be done via email. If you follow their rules it's really no big drama.

IPJ100 wrote:gooday cobbers! Love to join in with you guys for a tinnie or two but its a bit far from blighty!! enjoy the meet up - maybe next a world wide meet up of members!??? Sorry if cobbers is a bad stereotype. HAve fun

Ian

No worries, mate. It's mostly oldies and Tasmanians who still use the word 'cobber', but you can still crack open a tinnie with anyone. I don't hear cobber used much on the big island anymore.

well just a week to go "me harties ".

just home from work and looking at the list that i would like to complete before travelling ..crikey i hate weekend call outs.

not much i need to do ...but a couple of things ,,,like change the outer seal on my bevel box (slight leak) ...and add the relays to the headlight and install the driving lights again ....oh ...and reseal the paniers couple of cracks in the bottom outers ...

hope your as excited as i am ....

cheers guys

Thanks guys, really appreciate the info. I'll stay out of your topic until such time I can participate!!

Like club_c, I have an oil leak at the front of my engine...a couple of drops after a 100 k ride.

I'll check it out tomorrow, but I'm not going to worry about it too much.

I'll fix it after the get together.

Hey Charlie, don't get too excited, we might all be a bunch of boring old farts!
My normal bedtime is 8:00pm after a cup of warm milk. Saturday night is usually when I trim my nose and ear hairs. I'll bring along my collection of nose hairs that look like famous people!

Hey Rene, these topics aren't exclusive to anyone...we welcome your thoughts and comments!

There once was a sweet girl named Robin in my life. She was eccentric in manner and devilish in desire. In the morning she enjoyed gathering belly button lint. I thought it a bit odd, but she seemed to enjoy it. Blue, black, red, yellow, in whatever the colour of shirt I'd worn the day before. Then one day she showed the little pill box at her bedside table. It was full of, no prizes for guessing, the motley collection of belly button lint from yours truly. The relationship didn't last. We fell apart. I can't explain, all these years later, the sharp needle-like pain I get in my stomach every so often. Oh, yeah, I forgot to say that she had a fondness for the dark arts.

looks like famous people .....rofl.... too funny blakey mate

belly fluff ....omg twb !!!!

are we starting a collectors corner here ?

guys ...guys ...this is the oportunity to talk about all those great (and not so great ) previous rides that we have had....to share our experiences with that mongral machine parked outside ....how the corner from hell that nearly wiped me out (with the bump in the middle of "the line")
to blaspheme (quietly) about the merits of this brand or that brand of rubber on the wheels

to throw beer at those southerners (well maybe an empty tinnie )and reminise where we used to live down there

whilst sharing a beer a meal and maybe a scotch before bed

and lastly the male bonding of riding as a group on the way .....



all these things bring a smile to my face

Long-term forecast for the Urunga area is for mostly fine and sunny weather next weekend but maybe a bit of 'unsettled' heading south from the Gold Coast. Of course, we all know they don't have a clue.

woohoo !!!

Two Wheels Better wrote:Long-term forecast for the Urunga area is for mostly fine and sunny weather......

Lucky you!

There is a big sign in front of the church in my neighborhood: "Time to book your reservation in the ark"
The minister has a good sense of humor!
Over the last 7 weeks, we had only 3 days without any precipitation forecasted. This is the only 3 times when I rode the bike.

awww sad to hear bert .......cheer up mate there will be better days to come ...im sure .

forecast not looking too bad......some showers expected
temp predictions along the coast 24c and 12-14 overnight

better than torential rain

funny though, showers and overcast here today ...lets hope that bleeds the water out of the sky for saturday

I am not going to be able to make it! Sadly something has happend which needs my full attention. I am eager to meet with you all, but it will have to be at a later date. Mabey a ride day??

So you all have a fun weekend and Ride Safe!

Such is life Alby.

We will catch up.

yes indeed ...!!!!
there will be more oportunities alby mate ....for this i'm sure ...

You guys and gals have fun. I am Peeved I will not be there to tell tails of awe (lies). Hopefully next time I will have the 'Mother Ship' completed and on the road. Stay wheel side down.

Bummer, Dave (and Alby), as it looks to be a good ride and a great destination. Perhaps a Springtime ride revolving round the Phillip Island MotoGP in October?

I've a new back tyre and a clean bike (soon to be rendered filthy by predicted rainfall), but no matter as this doesn't stop a rider from enjoying the freedom of the road and camaraderie of other riders over a coldie or two. Let it pour!

Sees ya's round the proverbial campfire Saturday night.

I spent many hours cleaning mine yesterday and only to got really wet when in Toowoomba today then some roadworks on the way home put the icing on the cake so I will have to give it a clean again tomorrow.

Oh well such is life on the open road. See ya Saturday but where Dorrigo or Urunga?

good question ...k freak

im easy ....

I'll be at the BP Yatala around 7:30 Saturday morning as previously mentioned.

Who else will be there now?

Me. Us. We can ring K F on the road...I'm inclined, crap weather-dependent, on meeting up in Dorrigo after travelling via Waterfall Way from Grafton, then riding down the twisty bits to Urunga for a celebratory cocktail or two at the Ocean View Hotel. Let's see how it goes. See you at Yatala at 7.30am Saturday, as Charlie says, 'sharpish'.

I can give Charlie a ring just before 7.30 so we can be more definate. I plan to leave Stanthorpe about 7.30 - 7.45 Fuel in GI and then onto Dorrigo.

ill be at the bp 7.30

well what a fantastic meet up ......i can honestly say i havent laughed so much in ages .......

please forgive me ...but im just chilling with a beer and a Debreif after riding through torential rain with our mate blakey ....left twb and his better half chilling also at brunswick heads pub, a meer 160ks south of here .

pics to come friends

we definately have to do this again .......

Good on you!

Sounds like you all had a great time. Looking forward to the pictures and maybe a next meet up.

Good to see there was lots of laughter!!! I am not going to miss next one.
Lets see those pics!

Well, that was one of the best weekends I've had in quite a while.

No egos, just guys (and TWB's partner) getting together, having a chin wag, a couple of beers and a really good time.

You know when you see rain clouds and you think "if I put the wet weather gear on, it won't rain...and if I don't put them on, it'll rain"

Yep, no wet weather gear and it rains!

An excellent weekend. Thanks guys.

We've just rolled in the driveway and unpacked. It's 9PM Sunday night. It was a fine weekend riding some great roads, with good company and decent accommodation in a nice, old hotel. We met up (Charlie, Blakey, me and Liz) at the BP servo in Yatala then rolled south on the M1 and Pacific Highway to Bangalow where we headed inland through Lismore toward Casino, Summerland Way and then Waterfall Way south of Grafton to Dorrigo (home of the 'World's Smallest Motorbike Museum' and its most humorous host, Juan from Argentina). The other boys (RT, Ulrich and K Freak) had already left our predetermined meeting place there in Dorrigo. We'd had such a good time riding on the twisty bits that we took our time and got there two hours late. So we met them all at the Ocean View Hotel just in time for coldies all round, and many were consumed, I can tell you. After dinner we retired to the upstairs veranda to escape the pub rock being played loudly below. It was after midnight when the last glasses were emptied and with tired but happy eyes and more than a few slurred words we said our good nights and staggered off to our respective rooms with plans to meet for brekkie round about 7.30 Sunday mornin'.

Sunday dawned a bit cloudy and foretold the imminent rain. After hanging about out in the park we made plans for another gathering. With that the two southern gents waved and were off and the four of us northerners headed out onto the Pacific Highway. The rain fell hard at times but we got to Grafton where K Freak peeled off and went west while the remaining three of us continued north into the teeth of the falling rain. At Brunswick Heads we refueled and had a nibble - I contemplated a bit of the hair of the dog but with lingering remnants of last night's alcohol still in my system I chickened out. Lemon-Lime and Bitters for me! After Charlie and Blakey said their goodbyes and headed north from the Brunswick Heads Hotel the skies looked grey and heavy with rain, and they were! We waited it out for another hour or so listening to the local band thump out a steady supply of CCR, Bob Seger, Bob Dylan and a bit of Crowded House too, we then made haste in the gathering darkness.

Here are a coupla pictures of the 1st Annual (?) Gathering of the Australian K Bike Brethren. A good time was had. It's good to know there are such great new mates out there. There's talk of another gathering, next time further south in Araluen.


The early morning meet up in Yatala.


The group atop St Helena near Byron Bay.


The merry mob gather in the park at Urunga, New South Wales.


Ulrich, RT, K Freak, Blakey and Charlie, TWB and Liz about to say goodbye and hit the road with plans to do it again sometime, somewhere, and hopefully those who missed it this time can give it a go next time. Cheers, mates!

Thanks for sharing the story and pictures. You make us really envious.
This is one of the highlight of the forum: Members meeting for a week end ride

UK people are trying to plan the same type of event and your experience should be an incentive for them.

The invitation for a North American meeting in August is still open.

CF

Great job guys and thanks for sharing!

OG

It was a really good ride down on Saturday. We met up pretty early just as the rising sun was beginning to dry out the roads from the night's rainfall. It was Blakey who'd arrived at the BP servo first followed by me and Liz, then Charlie rolled in. A gaggle of other bikes of various makes and models were waiting for their stragglers to arrive so it looked like a major gathering at the local servo. We donned our gear and headed out, three bikes and four people following the M1 to the state border, over the Tweed River and down the Pacific Highway as far as Bangalow, NSW, where we turned inland along a sweet, winding, two-lane country highway heading for Lismore and made our way to Summerland Way at Casino, a 275 kilometre ride from home (the bike returned 5.34 litres per 100 kms covered, with luggage and pillion! That's 44 miles per US gallon...not bad, not bad. It must be those NGK DP8REA projected tip cooler sparkies I use!?

After a quick splash of petrol we jetted off with Charlie setting a good pace on the smooth, fast roads heading south through the dry bush. The sun was brightening, the air clear and clean by now as we ambled along through the state forests to Grafton on the Clarence River. It was there after coffee (a pilgrimage to Macca's!?) that we got off the main road and dropped down onto Waterfall Way where the riding became really interesting. It's a series of sweeping corners, creeks, rocky hillsides, grassy farmland, cattle grazing, dry bushlands, the occasional old farmhouse with rusting corrugated shed roofs, and open range leading into the dense, damp rainforest and moss-covered, tight corners. This led to some added brown-eye, seat clamping! It was Blakey who enjoyed this the most! Liz and Blakey spotted a large, sluggish python resting in the warm sunshine at the roadside, a mad rainbow lorikeet nearly clipped his wings against my fairing and a large, brown pheasant dashed across the road in front of me, obviously with a death wish! I didn't spot any errant 'roos or wallabies this time. That portion of the ride from Grafton to Dorrigo was about 125 kilometres long and almost heaven on a motorbike!

At Dorrigo, where we'd planned to meet up with K Freak, RT and Ulrich, we discovered the cafe that houses the 'World's Smallest Motorbike Museum'. Juan, the diminutive, funny and eccentric owner of the place is from Argentina and has some interesting machines inside and motorbike memorabilia. He appears to enjoy flirting with the women, and was persistent with one in particular around our table. Maybe it's that Latin lover stereotype going on. I'm gunna call him Rico Suave! He was reluctant to give up the cup of coffee Charlie had ordered and Blakey urgently required. Really though, he's seems a harmless and funny bloke. One of the bikes is the amazing Big Ned with its V-twin 3000cc driveline. It was built by the same local bloke who'd home-built the drag bike in the museum thirty years earlier and had a Ned Kelly tin armour theme to it. It is truly incredible and worth a squiz at. Someone who said he'd heard it running said it rumbles the earth as it idles. Dunno if it's actually ridable but I'd give it a go.

Big Ned. Says it all.


A poster highlighting Big Ned and the owner/builder, a local from Dorrigo.

The all home-built V-twin, fuel injected drag bike.

Check out those massive aluminium cylinders and exposed chains with what looked to be rotary valve operation!

The clutch coupling to the twin chain drives to the massive back tyre. It was a rare and finely detailed machine.


The easterly view from the Dorrigo National Park treetop walk.

With a quick bit of tucker and coffee in our bellies we rode down the smooth, twisting road, past several waterfalls, after a quick stop at Dorrigo NP and the treetop walk, then on to Bellingen, Urunga and the Ocean View Hotel. Settled into our rooms we met up with the rest of the mob and got right into it with many beers all round and large plates of (ok) pub food. These guys are great people who can tell a joke and take the piss out of sacred things we all take too seriously! My face muscles hurt at the end of the night.

The ubiquitous Aussie pub food of Chicken Parma and a passable plate of Fettucine.

The publican allows the bikes to be placed right out the back safe and just below our rooms on pavers. What a great combo of colour!

At the end of the day I'd added up that we rode a total of 575 easy kilometres from home north of Brisbane to Urunga. The bikes all ran as expected and no police issued any unwanted prizes for above the limit velocities achieved! But man did it bucket down with rain on the way home. We stuck to the Pacific Highway, stopped at Brunswick Heads for a dry out and a nibble, then made our way in the darkness towards home. I personally recommend the rest of you forum members get a move on and do your own informal gathering. Perhaps in time we can make it an international event. I'm game.

Great write up guys. Sorry I missed the chance to meet new friends. Hopefully at the next one.

Ha Ha I didn't get wet even tempted fate by removing my wet weather gear at Casino and not a drop to home.
Got a really good run through the 34km winding road from Drake to Tenterfield with only one car and the driver just pulled over to let me through so I gave a great wave of thanks and disapeared very quickly.
What a great weekend with new friends.

Looks like I was the last one home. I left Ulrich at Maitland because I though I would have plenty of time to dodge Sydney's nightmare traffic. WRONG. Car crash at Brooklyn bridge, miles of traffic, and after a faultless 1500 ks, the old girl boiled on me. I let her cool down
(always carry water) and filled up the tank, motored slowly on the old Pacific highway to Hornsby. Then I found a garage, parked up the bike for 3 hours, bought some more coolant, and eventually at 7pm
hit the freeway home. That was 220 ks of waiting for my leathers to get soaked in boiling fluid. But even running at 110 klm, with a rather dim headlight, we made it home at 10 pm. I can't explain it, but will do a complete flush and fan check now. Just added to the mystique of the trip. I had 3 different people approach me at the garage to offer help, all riders, that was heart warming.
Thanks everyone, and Ulrich for suggesting this trip, and to him and his lovely wife for letting me stay on the way up.
Pictures coming
RT

Thanks, Bob. When I got home and listened to the news, I immediately thought about your impending grief.

Had a great weekend, thanks everyone who came. Its all good!!

Man, I luv that aerial shot! Gotta print that off for a garage poster.
Thanks again for sharing mates!

OG

Here's another, OG, but it didn't include Charlie's bike under the staircase!

A GREAT BIG THANK YOU to Ulrich for making the suggestion about the gathering in the first place. It was his inspiration and I for one owe him a debt of gratitude. Cheers!

Those bikes look SWEEEET!!!! I just gunna have to get my fnger out and work some OT so I can get me a complete RS fairing.