Return of My Old VTX....

Well, well, well - my old VTX has turned up in a mates garage. Turns out that Dodge and Eddie picked it up from the auctions with plans to repair it and sell it - they ended up picking it up for a fairly good price. I haven't seen it as yet but after 4 months of sitting out in the weather at the auction yard, they have told me it has deteriorated a bit.

I will keep you up to date on how they progress with the rebuild.

GSX1400.org Brisbane Ride

Got together with a few other Brisbane guys from the GSX1400 forum on Sunday for a blat heading north. We took the old tried & trusted route of Samford, Dayboro, Mt Mee, Woodford, Maleny, Kenilworth and then continued up through Obi Obi to have lunch at Mapleton. The only rider not on a GSX, Disco on his Beemer, led the ride out and he set a fair pace for most of the day, especially through the slower twisty sections.

We met and started the ride at Mt Gravatt Maccas and rode up the freeway, through town and on out to Samford. As I had never ridden with most of these guys before, I used this stretch to get a feel for their style of riding - something I like to do so I know where to position myself in the group. They all seemed to handle their bikes well. We pulled into the servo at Samford (the other meeting point) and hung around for about 15 mins waiting for any other riders - no one showed so we set off. I decided to position myself behind Disco up the front.

For those of you that don't know the road from Samford out to the highway at D'Aguilar, it is one of the most popular rides around Brisbane. There are some long sweeping sections as well as a fair bit of slower twisty uphill and downhill bits - it really is a fantastic road, although not the widest in some parts, and we utilised every inch of it! We were very lucky in that there were not a lot of cars on the road, so we managed to stay pretty well together.

We rolled into Woodford and stopped for coffee while trying to warm up a bit. Once we finished comparing notes and having a look over the bikes, we continued on to Maleny - another great stretch of riding although more straights which gave us all a chance to stretch the legs of the GSX's. The turn off up through the forest provided us with a great stint of corners before opening up for the last section of road into Maleny. We bypassed the main part of town and turned left towards Kenilworth. Not too far on, we pulled up on the side of the road for some pix. It was here, after the pix that Freak had to leave us, so the 6 remaining GSX's and the Beemer took off for Kenilworth.

We reached our destination but rode through, deciding to head up to Mapleton via Obi Obi. Part of this road is sensational - it incorporates a 15% incline, is narrow and twisty and splits into two seperate single lanes for a good part of the climb - didn't the GSX's (and us riders) love that!! We pulled into the pub just on midday and got us some tucker. Whilst eating we all decided to follow the same route back which was fine by me.

The ride home was as good as the ride there - we left Budge up near the turn off to the coast as he was staying up this way overnight. ODC on the cafe racer style bike took the lead from here and man, he was a hard one to try and catch. He had a little more grunt than Disco's Beemer and that made it a little more fun for me. We actually broke away from the others and eneded up waited for them a couple of times whenever we changed direction.

The last stint down into Dayboro was the highlight of the day for me - I tried to keep with ODC as he powered through the tight stuff. This was the first time I was able to test both the bike and myself but I was still a little cautious and so he was able to get away. We pulled up in Dayboro and the others followed not too far behind, got a drink, said our goodbyes and then headed back to Brisbane.

I was knackered when I finally got back home, but I had one hell of a grin on my face - what a day!!

Our coffee stop at Woodford

The bikes at a stop we had just outside of Maleny

All 7 of us and our bikes

The odd one out - Disco's Beemer

Mine

ODC's black one with a set of really cool looking cafe racer style bars

Lot's of bling-bling on Freak's thing!

Stopped on the side of the road coming down from Maleny

Uhlans Gold Coast Poker Run

Kat & I met up with Grizz and Panda and did the Black Uhlans Poker Run down the Gold Coast on Saturday. We arrived at the Burleigh Tavern at about 10am on an overcast and cold Saturday morning to find about 200 bikes already there. On our way in to buying our hand we bumped into Wolf - was a little surprised to learn that he is now a nom for the Uhlans, and he was running around like a blue ass fly. A group of about 20 Finks pulled in just after us - this was the first time I had ever seen them on a run, and of course there was a cop car sitting across the road with a video camera recording what was happening - really don't understand why they do this, as it does nothing to help relations between them and the clubs.

Anyway, the ride got underway about 10:30 and we headed onto the motorway and south to the border - the traffic passing through Tugun was heavy and all used whatever space they could to filter through to the front of the traffic. Once over Sexton Hill, the pace picked up and it was a pretty smooth run on to the Tumbulgum Tavern. We spent about half an hour here, picking up our card and then finding a place to keep warm. And surprise, surprise - another cop car cruised pass the pub a few times and then parked a little way down the road, keeping an eye on the proceedings for a while before dissappearing.

The call went out and we were back on the road heading out to the highway and then north across the border to the Treetops Tavern at Burleigh Waters. This is where lunch was provided and after picking up our card, finishing our meal and downing a couple of drinks we made our way out to the car park. The sun had finally appeared and we decided to soak it up while checking out some of the other bikes. After about an hour the call went out to prepare - we made our way down to the bikes and were on our way.

Back on the road and heading to Nerang, where we left the highway and made our way to a "pub" (industrial unit) along Lawrence Drive. Didn't even know this place existed! It was too small for the number of people in tow so our stay here was only long enough for a quick drink and a bit of time to get the next card.

South along the highway again and back down to Burleigh where we exited for the final time and headed for the Uhlans clubhouse. This is where the fun started - a request went out for cars/bikes interested in participating in the burnout comp and after a bit of persuasion a few entries were found. A young guy driving a white ute provided a great warmup - he managed to slowly move towards, alongside and then past the crowd on the footpath, all the while smokin his back tyres - I reckon he spent a lot more in rubber than the $100 prize money he ended up with. Then the bikes rolled out - one of the Finks took off down the road on his back wheel, turning and then doing the same on his way back. He was a big fella and the bike didn't look all that grunty but man he put on a show, although he was a bit of a let down in the burnout comp.

Once this finished it was inside for the awards - freaked me out when my rego was called for Best Jap, mind you there wasn't too much competition from other sports/tourers on the day. I actually had to go out and check my rego before returning inside and claiming the award.

The day ended on a pretty good note - the ride itself I felt was a let down. I thought we would have kept away from the highway and covered some of the better but less travelled roads, however it was not to be. Thankfully the action at the clubhouse went part of the way to making up for the ride.

The car park at the tavern.

Gettin' ready to roll

Heading off....

Main street in Tumbulgum, our first stop

Nice paint

A few of the Uhlans and Finks enjoying a warming ale

Another shot of the pub, which is right on the Tweed River

More bikes...

They don't seem to be able to leave the patch clubs alone

Nice helmet

This bike looked better in the flesh - the blue and white colour mix was great

Midnight Warrior - I really, really like these!

One of a few choppers on the ride

Out front of the Treetops Tavern where we stopped for lunch

...another shot out front of Treetops

Ghost like shadows in the smoke

This bloke took off on his back wheel

....and away up the street he goes!

Whoa there man, pull her in, pull her in!

Some of the rubber left on the road

Look what the GSX won but didn't even realise till later on - I keep forgetting the rego!

Brand Bashing....

I love looking at a nice bike - any bike, no matter what the badge on the tank says. Having said that, I read a very interesting article this morning that was posted over on BikerSwag.com. In his article, Swag describes how some Harley owners display their arrogance, talking down non-Harley's and their riders. Whilst I don't like this and generally try to avoid these types of people, I do believe that it is a by-product of a brilliant marketing strategy that Harley Davidson has developed over many years. They have been able to make a lot of people think that owning a Harley sets them apart from other bikers. And it's worked well - very well!

Have a read of Swag's post....

I'M NOT ANTI-HARLEY, I'M ANTI-HARLEY-ARROGANCE
If you are from the Middle Tennessee area you don't need me to tell you that the 2007 Tennessee State HOG Rally is in town this week. The event is taking place at the beautiful Gaylord Opryland Resort and Harley-Davidson owners from all over the Mid-South have descended on The Music City to enjoy the festivities.

For those of you who aren't familiar with Harley-Davidson terminology, HOG is an acronym for Harley Owners Group which is Harley's national members only club with chapters operating out of local dealership literally around the world. It's a good way for fellow H-D owners to get to know each other and participate in group rides together but it also serves as the primary means for H-D to continue preaching the Harley message to its existing customers.

You have to hand it to Harley-Davidson. They are the masters at building brand recognition, customer loyalty and an overall sense of family. (Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki and the likes could learn a lot in this area.) Still, although I am a HOG member by default, I am definitely not in to the whole H-D HOG vibe. In fact, some of my friends are aghast because I often flippantly say that I am "anti-Harley".

I guess I need to choose my words more carefully because the truth is I'm not "anti-Harley" but rather "anti-Harley-arrogance". The fact is I love many of their bikes but the Harleyer-Than-Thou attitude that a lot of H-D riders take annoys the crap out of me. Maybe it's because my chosen field is marketing related but it seems ridiculous to me that people actually buy into the message that dropping $20,000 on a particular brand of motorcycle suddenly transforms you from pastel wearing Polo Shirt weenie into certified MOFO in leather who has the right to bad mouth anyone who rides another brand.

Don't get me wrong… I think it's totally cool if someone is legitimately a one brand person (lord knows most of my family has a hard time straying from Chevrolet) but the fabricated personas and the arrogant attitude that seem to frequently come with a lot of H-D owners really chaps me. And it's usually the big-mouthed ones that are the biggest posers. One guy I know takes every opportunity he can to let everyone know he rides a Harley (especially in large settings) but I know for a fact it hasn't seen sunshine more than two times in the last six months. Another guy I know has only been riding his Dyna for about a year-and-a-half… complete with all the H-D branded clothing money can buy. Despite his low saddle time, I hear him smack-talking guys with metric bikes continuously, telling them how their "rice burners" suck. I guess his vast year and a half of riding experience has already made him an expert on brand selection. Amazing! Yet another guy I know, who barely ever rides his H-D was recently bashing a another guys BMW behind his back. Is he serious? Bagging on BMW engineering when he rides a bike that hasn't changed significantly in decades?

In the end, my view point is... who gives a rat's ass what brand of motorcycle someone else likes and rides? If I could afford it, I'd have one from every manufacturer. I say ride what you want, ride safe and stop bashing those who happen to like a different brand than you do. News flash... riding a Harley doesn't make you better than the rest.

And BTW, those of you reading this that are just itching to play the Made in the USA card... all I can say is that if you believe H-D is all about American made products, take a walk through the clothing department at your local shop (a significant portion of their profit) and see if you can find more than just a few items that aren't imported... you won't. Preaching the USA only message is valliant but none the less hypocritical when those doing the preaching are wearing Made in Hong Kong Harley shirts, Made in China Harley hats and Made in Mexico Old Navy jeans.

Holy cow… this turned into a major rant... can you tell it's really late as I write this? hahahaha I didn't intend to write a stinkin' book but I think I'll go ahead and post it so I can get a good laugh from the onslaught of emails I'll get from the rabid H-D fans out there who think I'm bashing the Motor Company. Remember morons, I have an H-D in the garage right now. I just don't buy into the all the hype that many blindly subscribe to.

I gotta go now... have to get up early and go for a ride on the Harley... but just so you know, it's with one of my friends that rides a USA built Honda!

It is so true, even down here in Australia. It seems to be just a few weekend warrior, fairweather riding loud mouth types that make it harder for the genuine bike enthusiast.

Footnote: Due to the fact that there was no direct link to this article, I took the liberty of copying and posting it. To view the original article, along with other interesting stories, go to BikerSwag.com.

A sign of things to come??

Have a look at this - it is called a Monotracer, is produced in Switzerland by a company called Peraves and is available for sale. I personally don't like it, although I would love to take one for a spin to see what they handle like. However, I find it hard to understand why you would want to be closed in on two wheels - may as well jump in your car.

The power comes from a BMW built 1170cc liquid cooled in line four using shaft drive, so it certainly would have a bit of grunt. Although the website doesn't disclose too much on the side wheels, I believe that they operate via a speed sensor and drop to support the hybrid (similar to what has been developed for the GoldWing) as it comes to a stop. These wheels also protect the cabin if dropped or leaning too far. It offers most of what you can get in a car, except it is controlled by handlebars. It does have a second seat for a pillion, but it looks very claustrophobic.

Trendsetter maybe, but not very appealing to the biking community in my opinion.