Magazine of the BMW Motorcycle Club of Victoria
Transcription
Magazine of the BMW Motorcycle Club of Victoria
Magazine of the BMW Motorcycle Club of Victoria Print Post #100001111 Member of the BMW Clubs International Council RACE TRACK TESTED www.remus.eu REMUS BMW K 1300 S / BMW K 1300 GT End cap Inlet cap BMW K 1300 S REMUS HexaCone slip on muffler with heat shield BMW K 1300 S REMUS complete system with HexaCone muffler BMW K 1300 GT REMUS HexaCone slip on muffler REMUS Slip on and complete de-cat system • Compact HexaCone muffler available in stainless steel, titanium and carbon sleeve options. Featuring a removable sound baffle. • Slip on system available with or without catalytic convertor. • More power, less weight and unbeatable sound! • Fits in combination with travel cases. • Full 2 year warranty. r at es shipping rs ! d e c u d e e ut r e mb n o w ab o e club m Enquire MCC Melbourn f or BM W REMUS USA, Inc., 1365 63rd St., Emeryville, CA 94608, info@remususa.com, www.remususa.com Made in Austria From the front John Eacott President BMWMCCVIC 1 NOV13 1 BeeEm The President’s message A Magazine of the BMW Motorcycle Club of Victoria Committee President John Eacott Vice President Don Miller Treasurer Steve Roberts T: 0428 383 826 email: president@ bmwmccvic.org.au T: 0418 317 101 email: vicepresident@ bmwmccvic.org.au T: 0414 991 231 email: treasurer@ bmwmccvic.org.au Secretary, Public Officer Lynne Rosenthal Captain David McAuliffe T: 03 9801 6906 email: secretary@ bmwmccvic.org.au T: 0424 121 074 email: captain@bmwmccvic. org.au Vice Captain T: 0429 804 944 Mark Chin email: vicecaptain@ bmwmccvic.org.au Social T: 0418 317 101 Secretary Noela email: socialsecretary@ bmwmccvic.org.au Miller s I mentioned last month, the spring weather is encouraging many more ‘solar powered riders’ out onto the roads and many club members attending club events. Good to see! We have now had our first meeting at the Camberwell Petanque Club and all those who attended agreed that it is an excellent venue with just the facilities we need. The management committee has been approached to accept us for a regular monthly meeting and have indicated that we can plan on using the club for the foreseeable future. We have also booked for our Christmas Party at Camberwell, with a few games of petanque to add to the day so put the 30th November in your diary and we’ll see you there. Your support team is always working away in the background to ensure the club events occur as expected, and we are fortunate to have so many volunteers willing to give of their time for us all. The latest addition to the team is Ross Wright, who is taking over the role of Service Day Coordinator. Our Service Day equipment is now stored at Radum Pty Ltd in Elata Drive, Tullamarine; they have offered to host our future service days after Neil Davey’s efforts on our behalf. Thank you to both Neil and Ross for ensuring that our Service Days can continue. I’ve had some enquiries already about next year’s Icicle Ride, and it is our intention to run it again at the earlier time of 6pm. We have learnt a few things from this year and we can expect some improvements for those who come along. We have recently canvassed the idea of shifting the Annual Awards from a Saturday night function to a Sunday lunch event, and a large majority of club members are in favour of such a move. It will obviously allow a more family oriented club event along with other benefits, so we are now planning for such a Sunday lunch Annual Awards for 2014. As always, ride safe and enjoy the ride. Club mission statement To enhance the enjoyment of BMW motorcycling, provide opportunities to interact socially with fellow members and encourage safe riding practices. postscript General meeting: Normally fourth Monday, 7:30pm at Petanque Club 64A Through Road Camberwell. Check calendar as timing can vary. Visitors welcome. Articles for BeeEm Magazine should be emailed to the editor on or before the Wednesday following the monthly club meeting (editor@ bmwmccvic.org.au). Photography, together with detailed captions, should be supplied as high-resolution JPEG files. Committee meeting: second Thursday, contact John Eacott, President Midweek rides: second Wednesday, contact Karl Haering, Midweek ride coordinator Service days: 3 per year; Location, Radum Pty Ltd, Elata Drive Tullamarine. The opinions published in this magazine and of its correspondents are not necessarily those of the editorial team or of the BMW Motorcycle Club of Victoria Inc. Articles submitted for publication may be edited for content, style, grammar and length, etc. Technical articles and information contained within the magazine are for use at the discretion of the individual after warranty and are not intended to detract from genuine BMW spares or accessories. Our cover: 2013 Icicle Ride. Photo Ian McKenna BMWMCCVic Inc po Box 2298 richmond South Vic 3121 IRN. A00 005 62B Full, family and associate memberships available. www.bmwmccvic.org.au John Eacott, President bmwmccvic 2 NOV13 BeeEm From the front Contents, support and advertisers Support team Contents Bang ’n’ stuff Angela Barber • T: 03 9357 2126 E: distribution@bmwmccvic.org.au Advertisers’ index................................... 2 Calendar............................................... 18 Angela Barber T: 0428 383 826 E:clubdelegate@bmwmccvic.org.au Club photographer Ian McKenna • T: 03 9547 6864 Captain’s Report..................................... 5 Note: Unless otherwise acknowledged, all photographs published in BeeEm were taken by Ian (except BMW News). Christmas Camp Form......................... 15 Classifieds............................................ 36 Commercial Advertising Brian Macdonald T: 03 9435 9196 brian macdonald E: advertising@bmwmccvic.org.au Editors Shirley & Brian Rix • T: 0419 545 127 E: editor@bmwmccvic.org.au Coffee get-togethers............................ 20 Committee.............................................. 1 Club delegate to BMW Clubs Australia John Eacott Layout & Design Trevor Coad • T: 03 5622 3790 / M: 0418 594 389 Ian Mckenna Feature Story........................................ 28 E: design@bmwmccvic.org.au Librarian Neville Borgelt • T: 03 9438 1615 E: librarian@bmwmccvic.org.au Membership Detlef Lamp • T: 03 9367 1271 Meeting reports.................................... 33 E: membership@bmwmccvic.org.au Shirley & brian rix Melbourne ride departure points.......... 18 E: classifieds@bmwmccvic.org.au Merchandise Davida Neill • T: 0403 156 700 Members’ ramblings............................... 6 President’s message.............................. 1 Members’ Classifieds Brian Macdonald T: 03 9435 9196 E: merchandise@bmwmccvic.org.au trevor coad Midweek ride coordinator Karl Haering • T: 03 9357 2126 E: midweekrides@bmwmccvic.org.au Rides, rallies and events...................... 20 Red plate registrar Warrick Tovey • T: 0418 994 647 Support team......................................... 2 Service day coordinator Ross Wright • T: 0422 157 244 VicRoads’ reporting numbers................. 2 E: redplates@bmwmccvic.org.au Detlef Lamp E: servicedaycoordinator@bmwmccvic.org.au Webmanager Neil Davey • T: 0447 582 870 E: webmanager@bmwmccvic.org.au Western ride coordinator TBA Welcome................................................ 4 E: westernrides@bmwmccvic.org.au Neville Borgelt Advertisers Index Andy Strapz������������������������������������������ 16 Europcar������������������������������������������������� 7 d, w it’ s Warrick Tovey a Karl Haering sa Discount Motorcycle Wreckers������������ 14 tj fe t y is Cottier Stenning Lawyers��������������������� 14 t Ross Wright us neil davey or davida Neill no BM Motorcycles������������������������������������� 5 an attitude Good Wool Stores�������������������������������� 14 Shannons��������������������������������������������� 17 VicRoads’ reporting numbers Smart-Tracker Safety Products������������ 16 Road conditions reporting line T: (03) 9854 2899 Traffic signal difficulties or faults T: 13 11 70 K&R Motor Cycle Service��������������������� 16 Southbank Motorcycles������������������������� 3 Southbank motorcycles Sales Service parts & accessories rider equipment finance adventure IS unlImIted at SOutHBanK mOtOrCYCleS. Real adventures know no limits. Like the new F 800 GS Adventure. Anytime, anywhere, any weather – its optimised wind and weather protection is ready. Its water-cooled two-cylinder 63 kW (85 hp) engine and 24-litre fuel tank take you places you’ve never seen, and the trip doesn’t end just because the road does. The tough Enduro suspension with optional ESA and off-road mode and the standard ABS make sure of it. To experience real adventure for yourself - come into Southbank Motorcycles ride the F 800 GS Adventure today. Open 6 days a week, call and book your appointment today. tHe new f 800 GS adventure unStOppaBle adventure. Southbank motorcycles 130 City Road, Southbank VIC 3006 03 9686 1999 southbankmotorcycles.com.au LMCT: 8815 the ultimate riding machine welcome 4 NOV13 BeeEm editors From the Editors Welcome I W n this issue of your BeeEm we have included a special feature on the Goodwood UK Revival meeting from our very own Bob and Lynne Rosenthal. As many know, Bob is just back into racing motorcycles, in particular, classic motorcycle racing. He has been punting around a beautiful Manx Norton on our race tracks but recently got the call to go over to the Old Dart and fly the Australian flag at the 2013 Goodwood Classic. This is now an iconic event that has its roots at the end of the Second World War and has a distinct connection to Australia, as Bob explains. Bob and Jim Scaysbrook co-piloted the Aussie-owned and -prepared Manx and did us all proud. Lynne played her part in the pits and her notes and observations add to the colour that is Goodwood. Not only that, she had to source 1960’s clothing to get into the spirit of the event. Bob got to live his (and many others’) dream and you get the feeling, flavour and excitement from his account and photographs. The Goodwood Revival festival is based around the 1960’s and, as many say, if you can remember the 60’s you weren’t really there. Bob and Lynne bring to life a time when we had hair, firmer bodies and faster bikes; at least we think they were faster. The ride calendar is jam packed with events run by your club here in Victoria but also, this month we’ve included a section outlining other events you may be interested in. Many members take the opportunity to travel far and wide during the warmer months so we’ve included events as far afield as New South Wales, South Australia and even one in Queensland. Details of rides run and reports submitted are naturally included. I have to thank the members who attended the Wall to Wall ride. Although not a club event, I’m personally involved and really appreciate the support from my fellow BMW club members I’ve left it to others to report on this event. The ramblings section is the perfect forum to express a point of view. Brian Macdonald tries to work out what we are – Bikers or Bikies. Detlef Lamp has uncovered some gems from the past where BMW motorcycle engines have been pressed into service. Motorcycling is a fun pastime, smiles go hand in hand with our hobby, so we’ve included some jokes, old and new. If you have something to contribute let me know. This is your magazine, don’t be shy, hit the keyboard and send something in. Brian Rix elcome to the newest members of the BMW Motorcycle Club of Victoria. You have joined a dynamic motorcycle club intent on providing you with the best experiences you can have on a motorcycle. We have many great rides, particularly in the summer months, but also other events you may be interested in. The best way to meet like-minded people is to come along to one of the rides, attend a general meeting or just front up for a coffee at our usual city haunt, the Laurent Boulangerie, 109 Dundas Place, Albert Park, any Saturday morning. You are also encouraged to support the motorcycle stores and businesses that support us by advertising in our BeeEm magazine. Without them, you wouldn’t be reading this. This is your club and your magazine, if you have a story or an idea that you think would be of interest to us all, drop me a line at editor@bmwmccvic.org. au. For instant access to ride, club forums and general web style information the club website is www.bmwmccvic.org. BMWMCC Victoria is fast approaching 1,000 members, making it without doubt the largest single-brand state motorcycle club in Australia. We have members from all sorts of backgrounds and enjoy our diversity. Become involved, I’m sure you’ll have a great time riding with us. New members as at the end of September are:Brett Jackisch Rupert & Jan Johnston Pamela Oakley Colin & Joy Rowe Tristen van Maanen John Crewdson Aksay Rajan Dale Preston Brian Rix K100 R 850R R 65LS R 80RT & R 1200CL R 65 R 75/5 & R1100RT R 75/6 CJ 750 sidecar (1971) captain’s report Captain’s Report I t is a pretty miserable evening weather-wise as I write this. Riding to work today, I was almost blown off my bike and I had to put on my winter gloves and turn up the heated grips to ride home. But despite this, the warmer weather is on its way and it will not be long before daylight saving is with us again. The problem is that the same warm weather which will make our rides more enjoyable will also lure a host of other riders out of their winter hibernation. It is not uncommon for more than one ride to be sharing the same stretch of road and this can sometimes lead to an interesting ride if you follow a wrong bike or follow the indications of the wrong corner marker. slower rider was simply startled by being passed when not expecting it. The person who made the complaint was not able to clearly identify the bike concerned, and it is also entirely possible that the rider concerned may not have been part of our ride. However this does raise a timely point. When we ride as a club, it is the club which is on display. If one rider does the wrong thing, it is the entire club whose reputation is tarnished. Please consider this on club rides and, if you encounter a slower rider (or driver), please exercise both care and courtesy if you pass. Hope to catch up with you on a ride soon David McAuliffe Captain Some of the riders you will encounter will be fair weather riders whose skills, such as they may be, will have gone a little stale over the winter months and getting past such a group, which is riding more slowly than you, can prove challenging. After a recent club ride, the club received a complaint from a member of the public who alleged that she had been passed in an unsafe manner by a club bike and that she had been forced to take evasive action. This may or may not have been the case. Perceptions differ and it may be that the faster rider did nothing wrong and the VICTORIA’S BMW WORKSHOP SPECIALISTS, BM MOTORCYCLES RINGWOOD, HAVE BUILT A BRILLIANT REPUTATION BY GIVING EACH AND EVERY CUSTOMER PERSONAL SERVICE AND OUTSTANDING ATTENTION TO DETAIL. WITH OVER 33 YEARS OF MOTORCYCLE SERVICE EXPERIENCE AND THEIR GENUINE BMW TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT, CHRIS AND JAMES ENSURE YOUR BMW, REGARDLESS OF AGE, IS GIVEN EXTRA CARE AND EXPERT ATTENTION IN SERVICING, TUNING AND REPAIRING. L AT E S T B M W T E S T E Q U I P M E N T • Electronic fuel injection repairs • Disc rotor changeover units • Second hand parts/ wrecking • Electrical faults • Tyres fitted while you wait • Gearbox repairs or changeovers • ABS testing equipment • Engine rebuilds • Spare parts sent Australia wide • Accident repairs including all insurance work Stockists of Castrol oils as recommended by BMW. Lead free cylinder head conversions. We will return your BMW to its best possible condition and ensure it stays there. B M 5 NOV13 BeeEm M O T O R C Y C L E S R I N G W O O D 5 Heatherdale Road (next door to Hungry Jacks) Ringwood. Ph: (03) 9870 3807 Fax: (03) 9870 7368 Email: info@ringwoodmotorcycles.com.au 6 NOV13 BeeEm members’ rambling rambles What’s In a Name? A Search for Identity If you have the time and inclination, our subeditor espouses his views on what/who we are – or aren’t – Ed. Oxford Dictionary online: biker noun informal a motorcyclist, especially one who is a member of a gang bikie noun Australian/NZ informal a member of a gang of motorcyclists. L et’s get a few things straight! When you draw a line in the sand it gets washed away by the first wavelet that breaks over it or the wind airbrushes it out quickly and completely. It is not much use as a boundary, either physical or metaphorical. If you do a back-flip, you finish up facing exactly the same direction as you started. That expression is supposed to indicate a reversal of policy or action. It says the opposite, if you think about it. I reject the term “about face” as an Americanism, so I’d prefer “a U-turn” or “an about turn” as suitable alternatives. There is no such thing as the thin edge of the wedge. An edge is where two planes meet or the outside limit of something (the edge of the world). It has no thickness. A wedge does have two ends, one thick and one thin. Like an axe, it may have a sharp edge at the thin end. If you force the thin end into a crack the crack will open up. The proof is not in the pudding, like a dollar coin wrapped in foil! The proof of the pudding (i.e. that it has risen, or proved, like bread dough) is in the eating; its quality will be ascertained when you attempt to eat it. You stare down the barrel of something nasty, not something good. After all, being confronted by the black hole at the business end of a weapon is a portent of possibly worse to come, not of some beneficial happening. Someone lying prone, a much-loved expression of football commentators, used to describe a football player flat out on his back after some act of mayhem, is on his stomach. Being flat out on your back is to be supine. The same culprits are fond of saying that the assaulted player has been “literally” pole- axed. That would mean he had been hit with a battleaxe. Shades of Braveheart! Of course, they mean it “metaphorically”, to illustrate the result of a ferocious tackle or collision, in which no non-organic weapons were used. That is the very opposite of “literally”, which means “exactly what the words say”. If something is done “on your behalf ” then someone else did it, not you! The footy guys really meant to say that something was a bad mistake “on his part”. Well-meaning people, when you are introduced to them, at a party, for instance, as someone who rides a motorbike, often say “Oh. You’re a bikie”. No! I’m not! Or, am I? To be sure about this, I went on an internet browse-binge through dictionaries, in various languages. I could find the word “bikie” in the Oxford Online dictionary. It was defined as an informal (slang) noun in Australian or New Zealand English as “a member of a gang of motorcyclists”. My 24 year old Australian Macquarie defines the word as slang, “a member of a gang of motorcycle riders” – almost identical. I could find it nowhere else. Webster’s, a noted American dictionary, gives it in only one usage - the Milperra Bikie Massacre, the notorious 1984 New South Wales incident, when seven people were killed in a fight between the members of two rival motorbike gangs. Then I investigated the word “biker”. Maybe that’s what I am. The Macquarie defines it as “someone who rides a motorcycle but is not a member of a motorbike gang”. Presumably this definition is designed to differentiate it from “bikie”, so that otherwise respectable members of society who ride motorbikes do not feel slighted when so identified. The good old Oxford, again, has it in Australian English as an informal noun meaning “a motorcyclist, especially one who is a member of a gang”. In American English it comes up as an informal noun, meaning “a motorcyclist, especially one who is a member of a motorcycle gang or club”. Webster’s, more generously, maintains the word covers almost anyone who rides a motorbike, is a member of a motorcycle club or even a rider of a bicycle. Well, I admit to being a member of a motorcycle club and I do ride a pushbike, but not in the USA and we have our own standard of English here. If you don’t believe me, just check the spelling of “traveller”, “labour” or “organise” in Word. In American English, it will flag these spellings as errors, but not if you set your language as Australian English. I like to think our esteemed club is far from being a “gang”, so I refute that definition as applying to any of our worthy members. In French, the Collins Online translation dictionary gives “motard” as a slang word for “biker”. But it also tends to be used to mean “bike cop”. In Italian the translation given is “motociclista” which is the standard word for “motorcyclist”. It’s exactly the same word in Spanish, not surprisingly, for both languages took the same Romance route from ancient Latin and have many similarities. The German word found was “Motorradfahrer”, the standard word for motorcyclist. In no other of the languages, that I tried to check, could I find a word to correspond with “bikie” or “biker” except for the standard word in that language for ”motorcyclist”. So, is the term “bikie” particular to Australia as a derogatory term for an ordinary motorcyclist or used to mean a member of an outlaw motorbike gang? It would seem both. And, even the word “biker” may have a somewhat on-the-nose whiff to it for non-motorcyclists in our seagirt land. In other western countries where I have travelled, motorcyclists are viewed as ordinary citizens, who just happen to ride a motorbike rather than (or maybe on different occasions from when they) drive a car, ride a pushbike or take the train and are deserving of – and expected to give – the same level of respect and the same treatment as any other member of society. So there is probably no special term for them and neither should there be. Some motorcyclists, in contrast, may signal their rejection of society’s usual standards by the deliberate wearing of specific, identifying clothing, by giving other visual signals and by banding together in groups that can reasonably be described as gangs. This is their right and it distinguishes them easily from motorcyclists who do not follow this path. I do not believe this equitable view of the great majority of motorbike riders is the common view in our country. Yes, our neighbours who know us as decent people, who will lend them a cup of sugar or a pair of hedge-clippers and collect their mail while they are away, even feed their cats, know us Make the most of your journey with Europcar At Europcar we believe in enjoying the journey, not just the destination. So we’re giving BeeEm readers exclusive access to the following car rental deals; Offer 1 - New Zealand Save 20% off the base cost of your rental when you rent for 3 days or more. Simply quote Promotional Code 51878042. Offer 2 - Australia Save 15% off the base cost of your rental when you rent for 3 days or more and receive a reduced Damage Liability Fee every time! We’ve also reduced the price on further optional buy down options: • Collision Damage Waiver $15 per day • Super Collision Damage Waiver $20 per day • Super Peace of Mind $25 per day Simply quote Promotional Code 51879324. MK1973 europcar.com.au 1300 13 13 90 europcar.co.nz 0800 800 115 Terms and Conditions: Offer 1: Valid at all locations across New Zealand until 31 December 2013. Minimum length of rental must be 3 days to receive a discount of 20% on the base cost of rental. Valid on all passenger vehicle classes. Includes unlimited kms. Damage protection is subject to standard liability fee and optional waiver costs. Offer 2: Valid at participating locations across Australia until 31 December 2013. Minimum length of rental must be 3 days to receive a discount of 15% on the base cost of rental. Includes a reduced standard Damage Liability Fee of $1,500 plus GST. Includes discounts to the following optional cover products. Optional buy down products are exclusive of GST. Offer valid on the following passenger vehicle classes; ECMR, CDAR, CDMR, IDAR, ICAR, IDMR, IDMD, SDAR, FDAR, FCAR, FDAH, FWAR, SFAR and IFAR. For standard passenger vehicles in Metropolitan areas, rate includes unlimited kms for up to 14 days, 200km a day applies to Country areas and 100km day applies to Remote areas including rentals in Northern Territory. Terms and conditions General: Offer and vehicles subject to availability and may change without notice. The applicable Promotion Code must be quoted at the time of booking. A reservation restriction of at least four hours prior to vehicle collection applies. Europcar standard age, credit card and driver requirements apply. Cannot be used in conjunction with any other promotion or offer. Discount will be incorporated into your total price at Quote Summary stage Taxes, surcharges, premium location surcharge if applicable, additional driver fee, optional cover products and refueling fees are extra and GST on these charges applies. 8 NOV13 BeeEm members’ rambling rambles as respectable folk, even though we have a hobby that requires us to dress outlandishly. But, to some extent, motorcyclists are looked on, by many in Australia, as a blight on traffic and an unwarranted expense to the community from accidents. This is reinforced by a relentless subjection of motorcyclists to negative, stereotyping publicity such as the recent appalling TAC advert that affronted us all. The “safety” excess on our registration fee is another example of discrimination. Our president was talking, some time ago, about the manipulation and dissemination of some slanted speed - sorry, I mean safety – camera statistics, which purported to show that motorbike riders are responsible for a high percentage of all speed offences, while a proper analysis of the facts suggested quite the opposite. Maybe this was a mistake; maybe it was a deliberate misinterpretation. How often do you hear some official or a car driver of a certain age say that if motorcyclists wore bright clothing “we” would see them more easily? Ever been called “a temporary Australian”? Channel One even has a show produced by motorcycling personnel about our activity with that very title. The list is endless. It seems, to many of us, who sometimes ride a motorbike, that there is a non-declared, bureaucratic campaign, first to make us into a sub-class in the public’s collective mind and then to force us off the roads as something pernicious and unjustifiably costly to the community. You might say that this mind-set creates a siege mentality among motorcyclists and I believe it does. Many motorcyclists will wave or nod at other riders on the road, or speak to one another at coffee and petrol stops, recognising an element of kinship or community. Maybe it is not just paranoia on our part. Maybe “they” are out to get “us”! And, if you are under siege, you must resist or be overcome. So, how do you resist such insidious undermining of the status in society of a whole group of people, who just happen to like to ride a motorbike for transport or leisure when they are not being barristers, accountants, builders’ labourers, businessmen, actors, doctors, nurses or librarians? Good behaviour on the road and obedience to road laws when riding our bikes, irksome and unnecessarily restrictive as some of them may be felt to be, is the most obvious thing, although that seems to create no positive effect. Nor should it be any more than is expected of any road user. Unfortunately, a bit of bad road behaviour usually arouses a negative reaction. Events such as the Toy Runs held around Australia near Christmas are designed as positive community behaviour and are enjoyed by participants. Blood donation challenges are another aspect of positive motorcyclist behaviour. Such community-minded events get TV or radio publicity, if at all, largely as novelty items to fill a few seconds of spare air time. I doubt if they have any effect on the public consciousness. A counter to the positive motorbike events is the way that any ride of bike gangs, rumbling along a road on their (usually) Harleys, in stately procession, carefully observing speed limits, with their patches, bandannas and other accoutrements, is shown as a news item on the TV. Often the news clip also shows the riders being accosted by police and made to open up their belongings for search and to show their licences, whether they have committed an offence or not. Although nothing negative may be said by the newsreader, the implication is there that these are people on the wrong side of society’s street, flaunting their outlaw attitude. There are few important public figures who publicly ride motorbikes, unfortunately. Brendan Nelson, a former leader of the federal Liberal party, is the only one I can think of, off hand and he no longer wields influence. So, we can count on little or no support from influential figures. A judge accepted the argument of a prominent man some time ago that his Rolls Royce and he were both capable of the speed in excess of the posted limit that he was doing in perfect safety in the conditions and did not convict him. I doubt if a judge would extend the same forelock-tugging leniency to the rider of a Honda Gold Wing or BMW K1600GTL. How to change public opinion? More to the point, how to change the minds of the bureaucrats and politicians who seem bent on seeing the roads cleared of motorcycles. The first thing we can do is for each of us to ensure we behave correctly and politely on the road, smile at old ladies and small, gawping children and give way, with a smile, when safe and appropriate, to let other traffic enter or straying pedestrians escape to safety. Refraining from a bout of road rage when you have been callously cut off or otherwise thoughtlessly endangered, hard though it sometimes is to do, is another behaviour that is not only safer for the rider but also avoids negative PR. Effective participation in consultative bodies is an essential part of any campaign. This needs intelligent people, well briefed on the facts of the issues and determined and able enough to hold their own against bureaucrats who are skilled in verbal sparring and in getting their way in the Byzantian maze of political activity. The support of concerned bike riders for this is vital, too, by giving funds, tacit support and, sometimes, a physical presence at events that the authorities pay attention to. Bombarding your federal and state parliamentarian with reasoned and polite argument by email or letter, in opposition to some contemplated new restriction, never does any harm, especially if you make it clear to them that a vote is at stake. The promoting of positive PR to the general public is another avenue, one which also takes skilled practitioners. Many of the non-motorcyclists who have become scooter-commuters in the last few years do not see themselves as motorcyclists. If these scooter-riders became convinced that their scooter use is just as much under attack as those of us who ride conventional motorcycles, then we would gain allies. But it is possible that the simple fact that so many people are becoming scooter riders has the capacity to change the image of motorcyclists for the better, anyway. But, whatever we do and however we do it, the motorcycling community must take action or we will find ourselves penalised or legislated off the road and our freedom machines herded into museums while we cringe within tin boxes. Do we want this to happen? Brian Macdonald Shed-in-a-Box Motorcycle Tent F ollowing the popular axiom that the ideal number of bikes is ‘one more’; I succumbed to the temptation to buy another bike, a BMW K75C. Realising then that four bikes won’t fit my bike shelter I put the R65 “work” bike out to grass in the members’ rambling rambles back yard. After a couple of days I couldn’t stand the “65” whimpering about the cold so I bought it a tent. The tent is a Shelter Logic Shed-in-a-Box 1.8 m square motorcycle tent, which I bought from Bunnings Hardware on special for $50. The kit consists of a steel frame with 300mm long screw-in stakes to tie the frame to and a three piece polyethylene plastic cover with a zip up flap door on one end. An hour’s work got the frame assembled and tied down. With the light fading and a threat of rain, I quickly wheeled the R65 into the frame for protection and a quick photo. The next day the cover took about an hour to put on; it looked simple but most of the frame parts had to be dismantled to fit the various tabs which wrap round the frame and the draw strings that are ratchet-clamped onto the base of the frame. The tent doesn’t have a floor but seems to be weatherproof; the bike just fits if you push the front and back walls slightly or park on a slight angle. Head room and door height are a little bit low but adequate. There is some standing space but not really enough to fit two large bikes. The tent is moveable but it takes some time to unscrew the four corner pegs. If you need a ‘temporary’ but long term shelter this seems to fill the bill. The small tent was 1.8 metres square; regular price $150; two larger sizes are available, these being 1.8m wide x 3.5m long, and a double-car size about 4m wide x 5m long. Ian McKenna K75C A Personal View of the Icicle Ride Karl Haering expresses his view on the Icicle ride 2013 – this may cause debate but unlike ‘other’ clubs, we are proudly a democracy where your voice will be heard. Ed A t the Icicle Ride de-brief, it was reported that the Committee has decided to once more try the 6.00pm to midnight timing for the 2014 event. This is in the belief that it will be an improvement on this year’s and cause fewer problems. Rather than learning from this year’s experiment, metaphorically, this seems akin to hitting your other thumb with a hammer to see if it hurts any less than it did the first time! Two unsubstantiated, vaguely theoretical, possible problems were given as the rationale behind the change from the traditional midnight to breakfast to the earlier timing of the Icicle Ride. However, the earlier timing has increased the real risks faced and other consequences for Icicle Ride participants and organisers. Compared to a midnight start, riders find themselves sharing the roads with a large volume of other traffic following departure. This increase in traffic has serious safety implications and creates organisational difficulties, compounded throughout the event. Large traffic volumes make navigation much more difficult and substantially break up the ride. Particularly on a wet night – as was this year’s - visibility is greatly impeded as the large volumes of oncoming headlights are reflected by the wet road surface. This combines with the road spray generated by those vehicles. Rather than some vague theoretical possibility, this was the reality experienced this year. The only way to avoid large traffic volumes on the roads at 6.00 pm on a Saturday would be to move the Icicle Ride start point even further out from suburban Melbourne. The question then becomes of how much further out do you go? The urban sprawl has reached as far as places such as Bacchus Marsh, Kilmore and Warragul. Having broken up the ride and contributing to substantial numbers of participants becoming lost, the increased traffic volumes led to a delayed arrival at the soup stop for many. By the time the stragglers arrived, the early arrivals had already left or had to endure a long wait. The result was a lack of atmosphere and camaraderie. These same problems were then exacerbated at the fuel stop, and then to an even much greater degree at the finish. By the time the presentations were held, many participants had already departed. Some did not even bother stopping, while others stopped only long enough to refuel before departing for home. Amongst those that stayed, rather than a sense of achievement and camaraderie over breakfast, most were just waiting. Participants who utilised their refreshment voucher were in the minority. After all, midnight is not a usual meal time. Finally, when it is all over, participants are faced with the long journey home in the wee hours of the night. This contradicts one 9 NOV13 BeeEm of the reasons behind the earlier start From both safety and organisational aspects, the only logical and practical decision is that the Icicle Ride must return to its traditional midnight to breakfast timing. Karl Haering K100RS(16v). Grimy’s Grumblings H ello to all my fellow BMW club members. I thought it was about time I put pen to paper (finger to keyboard) and gave you guys something to read. It was a privilege to participate in the 2013 Wall to Wall ride with fellow bikers (police, ex-police and family and friends). On Friday 13th September, we assembled in St Kilda Road on the corner of Linlithgow Avenue, at the Victorian Police Wall Memorial for early morning bacon and egg rolls and coffee. Other members of the club were there including Brian (who was one of the initiators of this nation-wide charity event in 2009) and Shirley Rix, Neil and Sharon Davies, Jim Denyar, Brian and Ann Macdonald and the president, John Eacott, who rode the first leg with us. After a short ceremony and the handing over of the baton to Hannah Meldrum, the legatee who was to carry it to Canberra, we departed under police escort to the outskirts of Melbourne, at Officer, where we were left to our own devices to continue to Sale for a short stop, then on to Lakes Entrance for a bite to eat, put on by the local Lions. Off we went again in a somewhat higgledy-piggledy group to Cann River and at last arrived in Merimbula for the final stop for the day. A pleasant meal was had with pleasant company at the local club, after which we went our separate ways until Saturday morning when, after partaking of breakfast at various venues, we assembled once more for our morning departure. We left again under police escort and, after some way, Brian Rix had a get-off after sliding on oil or other slippery substance. Shirley was quite shaken and bruised but Brian was OK and his GS suffered some cosmetic damage but was rideable. 10 NOV13 BeeEm members’ rambling rambles We rode up the coast to Moruya for another stop and, after re-assembling, headed inland from Bateman’s Bay to Braidwood. Travelling inland solo this time, as I saw Brian Mac and Ann continue past, I thought I would travel some of the way with him. I did not catch him and so I continued solo through some very slow and slippery twisties up the Clyde Mountain in very wet conditions, making my way to Braidwood. When all had finally arrived at Braidwood, we left again for the final leg into Canberra. By this time it was dry again. We assembled at the AFP’s IDG grounds in Canberra and it did not take long for all the other riders from the other states to also assemble. When all were ready, we were led out of the compound in formal procession, with many police bikes with their lights flashing in control, and rode in stately manner to the National Police Memorial. It was an incredible sight to see all the bikes in convoy travelling across the lake and around the western loop and back to the parking area at the Wall. (We are advised that there were between 1200 and 1400 registered participants. Ed ) After a moving service at the Wall we dispersed to go our separate ways only to meet up again with some of our fellow travellers at the function at the National Convention Centre, where we had refreshments and food and a bit of mediocre entertainment from Anthony Ackroyd, a Kevin Rudd impersonator, after which we said our goodnights and departed. Sunday morning I had a fabulous breakfast at the Novotel hotel and prepared to continue my solo trip to Brisbane. At this stage, I was monitoring the weather constantly and, at the last minute, decided that I would travel north along the coastal route with my plan being to stop wherever I felt the need for fuel and food. I had a wonderful run all the way to the outskirts of Sydney and it was only as I went on the Newcastle bypass that the heavens opened up. I think that, then, the motorcycle gods realised I was there and stopped the rain forthwith. So I thankfully continued on my merry way. The cruiser sure is built for cruising and I only had to stop for fuel and food when the odometer dictated. I get about 320kms to a tankful and had to plan my stops anywhere from 240 to 300kms. I still didn’t know where I would stop for the night and it was when I motored into Grafton that I decided that it was only another few hours before I would be in Brisbane. I called my brother and informed him that I would be seeing him soon and so I continued and arrived in Shailer Park at 9:00pm. 1167kms in 13 hours on an R1200C Montauk. Next day I travelled again, but this time only 60kms to my daughter’s place in Whiteside, where I caught up with her and her husband and their new baby (1 month old and 5 years to the day of his brother). It was good to have a break from riding but I was still looking at the weather every chance I could as I wanted to time my trip back home without too much rain. Wednesday morning saw me packed and ready and, after the peak traffic had dissipated, I again set off on my trusty steed. This time I decided to travel south down the Newell and again did not have any idea as to where I would stop for the night. There is an incredible number of roadworks being undertaken on this route. What with roadwork traffic signals, escort vehicles and so many 40kmh signs, it was not funny. As it turned out, I would continue until I felt comfortable, stopping and setting up my swag at a roadside rest area just outside Parkes. In the morning I opened my swag and staggered outside to find myself surrounded by eight B-doubles; they must have snuck in quietly or else I slept so soundly I wasn’t disturbed by them. Anyway, I packed my swag and tootled into Parkes for some breakfast and a coffee and I was off again, this time knowing I would make it to Melbourne easily by early afternoon, still monitoring the weather and now not caring if it did rain on the last leg home. This is the first time I have travelled such long distances on the bike and in hindsight I would recommend that anybody who wants to travel to or from Brisbane use the eastern coastal route as the roads are in much better nick and travel times are still reasonable with the benefit of better scenery. I spent the next day cleaning and polishing all the squashed and cooked-on bugs off the exhaust and headlight. Monty’s all ready for our next little ride. Graeme Workman. BUGS! Frank Cachia examines the intricacies of insects and their interaction with motorcyclists – Ed U pon hearing the word, bugs, the mind immediately conjures up thoughts of creepy-crawly insects, which frighten, scare and even, to some extent, cause phobias. They spread diseases, spoil food and are a downright nuisance at outdoor functions such as at the beach, swimming pools and when trying to lie still so as to get an even suntan. It goes without saying that at barbeques and camping they’re the uninvited guests. Since some bugs can cause painful injuries or even death, it is understandable why to the general public not only are they harmful, they’re even cursed. To a motorcyclist, not only must he contend with erratic car drivers, mad dogs, slippery roads and over zealous police but he also has to put up with bugs. Nature, in its infinite wisdom, has five bugs in mind, five specialised creations that have evolved to seek out the motorcyclist and make his life on the road just that little bit harder. Meeting one of these airborne hazards can be an experience, meeting them all is a nightmare. The first is known as Maximus Splatterus (to give it its official Latin title) and it is the dumbest of the group. Without fail, it always strikes just after you have left a petrol station following a wash and, clean and with, tender loving care, polished your helmet visor. Hardly have you changed into top gear when this bug commits suicide right in front of your vision. With your ears still ringing and your head recovering from the impact, you always attempt to wipe clean the mess. This action will always result in reducing your vision further, which in a way is a blessing since you’re about to wipe out three pedestrians and a phone box. The second is far smarter; he doesn’t commit suicide, although if you catch it, it will be first-degree murder. You see, this one is a killer. It manages to find an opening in the clothing, then attacks. Since a large proportion of riders travel during the summer months with their jackets partially opened at the neck, this makes the ideal entrance. Without touching the skin, this joker members’ rambling rambles zooms in, lands and simply waits. As soon as you start to lean, such as entering a favourite high-speed bend, that is the time for action. Quickly it gets airborne, does a quick lap around your midriff, uses the navel like a trampoline and whilst you’re laughing, twisting or turning about, it does a quick exit. By this time you have left the road, aiming straight for the biggest tree imaginable. All you can now do is say your prayers, close your eyes and prepare to meet your maker. The remaining three models always attack those riders who still prefer the open face helmet. They rarely show any interest in the full-face helmeted personnel. The singer is the first of this group. Like all singers, this bug requires an audience. When you least expect it, the singer crawls along the helmet lining, drops into the ear, sings a few bars, and then waits for a round of applause. However, the only sound that can be heard is that of a hopelessly locked rear wheel as you do your best to stop in the shortest possible time, fling off the helmet, insert a gloved finger in the ear and try to get the culprit to leave the premises. Upset from the lack of applause, it takes off in search of another victim – er – audience. This incident happens more often than you think. Look at all the black skid marks on the highways. The second of this group is a mob consisting of whole families, plus uncles, aunties and cousins. They make their home in the rider’s hair. In olden days, they used to make their home on helmetless riders, but had a tough time hanging on due to dandruff flakes. Worse was their attempt at landing; they used to ricochet off due to the handful of hair gel. It was mass suicide, broken homes everywhere. They also tried the eyes or nose but found floods and 200 kph sneezing blasts not much to their liking. When riders started to wear the pudding basin and later the jet-pilot style helmets their chances were improved and the population increased. Microscopic in size, they attach themselves to the helmet lining and, once landed, onto the hair and set up house. Harmless in all respects, you know they’re around when a rider takes off his helmet, scratches his scalp, followed by a shaking of the head. Nothing to worry about, the rider can very easily live with the problem. The last peril always works in pairs. They have superb teamwork and precision timing that would make any sergeant major proud. The smaller of the two, the fighter, lands and savagely bites the corner of the mouth. (The scab is called a cold sore). Naturally, the rider opens his mouth and gives out a bloodcurdling, agonised scream. The bomber then takes over, dives and lands on a quivering tongue, stomps as hard as possible, walks over and kicks the living daylights out of the Adam’s apple, walks back to the surface and, with his team mate, takes off in search of another unfortunate victim. The pain is excruciating and can turn any rider into a blithering idiot, not, as one thinks, due to the consumption of a massive intake of amber liquids. Well, that covers one of the enemies a motorcyclist has to endure. As for the helmetless rider, nature hasn’t prepared any flying horrors. She figures that since this rider is a lost cause, why bother wasting time in targeting such enemies. Frank Cachia Preaching to the Converted Peter Ness ministers to the converted about older BMW motorcycles - Ed K now someone who is thinking of taking up riding again? Why not buy an old BMW? What a great idea. Oh, but wait, they cost a fortune, and I could get a much cheaper bike if I was going to get back into riding motorcycles. However, there is something about a BMW, and maybe paying a little more, but not necessarily too much more in the second hand market, that makes it worthwhile. I have been checking it out lately, with a view to picking up another BMW. Although that thought’s on hold. I am surprised at how cheaply I could buy a K series RT, RS or the like for somewhere between $3,000 and $5,000. Many of them with reasonably low kilometres and looking like they are in very good shape for their age. One of the added advantages of picking up an older BMW would be that many of them are eligible for club plates or what’s known as the ‘Red Plate’. These bikes are 11 NOV13 BeeEm almost into the 1990’s now, and if you found a particularly good one it might only be a couple of years before you could put it on a red plate. 1990 doesn’t sound all that long ago to some of us. This means that, for the person who only intends to get out on the bike every so often, motorcycling can be a reasonably cheap hobby (anyway, what’s a bag of golf clubs cost these days?). With red plate registration at about $70 a year for 45 days riding, that’s a ride two days a month, a trip or two to the mechanics for a checkup, and 20 days left for that tour around Australia. For the part-time hobby motorcyclist I think this is a bargain, and should be a great opportunity for many to be able to convince the partner (if you have one) what a great idea it would be for you both to get out on a motorcycle. If you know someone who is thinking about dusting off the helmet and polishing the boots again, just remember they don’t have to go for the big dollar items. Settle down and enjoy the ride for what it’s worth on what you can afford. You will meet a great bunch of people on all sorts of BMW bikes, ranging from rat bikes to the million $ sparkling tourers. The common interest in BMW motorcycles and riding them is what makes the club membership worthwhile, apart from needing to belong to a club to get the ‘red plate’. As you will read elsewhere in this magazine, there are lots of different rides happening over any month. Weekends, weekdays, breakfasts, coffee mornings, tours and lots more. If you find that what’s on offer doesn’t match your availability time wise, or the length of ride you’re looking for, talk to the club captain and start your own ride; others will join you. Peter Ness A “B” of a Weekend I f life is Blurring By, and tired of Blood Blisters from the keyboard or Bureaucracy’s Burden? You need a ”B” of a weekend brought to you by “B”orgelt and Grumpy Old “B”astard Griffiths. Take a Breather - take a Business Break and Banish 12 NOV13 BeeEm members’ rambling rambles yourself to the Beauteous Bathing Bodies Bush camp on Big River. A Back- to-Basicstype camping weekend. Bhen – Fri 8 Nov to Sun 10 Nov 2013. Borgelt will be there Thurs PM. Bhere – Chaffe Creek Camp on Big River. Birections – From Eildon turnoff travel 29 kms towards Jamieson. Immediately after crossing the Bridge turn right (south) onto Big River Road and travel 4.5km to a Beaut Bush Bampsite. From Jamieson turnoff travel 30 km towards Eildon. Just before the Bridge turn left (south) onto Big River Road and travel 4.5km to a Beaut Bush Bampsite. The 4.5 kms is hard formed dirt suitable for all road Bikes. No Bastard sand, no Bogholes, nor Bloody mud, no Bush Bashing required. The adventurous type can come in from the south from Cumberland Junction, quite doable. This is ideal for a family weekend so Bikes, cars, camper trailer and RVs are welcome. BYO everything, Bogs on site, Brown trout, and even Bookaburras in the trees. No Bad attitudes. Fires are allowed, Bring Birewood if you can (firewood). Neville 0429 438 161 Lloyd 0409 645 260 “The Opposite Icicle Ride” Midweek Ride – January 8, 2014. T his Midweek Ride will be the complete Opposite when compared to the original Icicle Ride. It will be run in the Opposite direction in the Opposite month of January which is the Opposite season of summer. As such, we anticipate encountering the Opposite climatic conditions. This should mean that rather than a need for heated handgrips and thermal underwear, vented jackets and gloves should be the order of the day. Meet at the Caltex Longwarry (Princes Freeway – outbound) from 5.30 am for a 5.55 ride briefing and a punctual 6.00am departure - the Opposite time of day. The ride will then head in the Opposite direction to the original route, tracking east and then south, missing Drouin and on through Strzelecki. After about 65 kms there will be a stop at Korumburra for breakfast (and a fuel stop for those that require it). The Ride will then continue east through Leongatha and Mirboo North, before continuing north through Thorpdale before looping around Moe and on through Willow Grove. Having completed 142 km, this leg will finish at Neerim South for a snack and a cool drink - the opposite of hot soup. With a final leg of about 98 km, we will continue north and west through Nayook and Powelltown to Yarra Junction then west to Launching Place where we turn south via Gembrook to the finish at Packenham. The Opposite Icicle Ride will have covered a total distance of about 305 kms to finish at about midday. This is the Opposite time of day with the Opposite meal, a relaxed, casual lunch. Karl Haering 0422 882 416 (m) 03 9357 2126 (ph) NON- CLUB EVENTS Motorcycle-related events you may be interested in within Victoria, New South Wales, South Australia and Queensland – Ed. Victoria Fish Holes Motorcycle Rally (Vic); 8-10 November. Enduro Road; follow the rally signs from the Shell servo at Portland. Fully catered. Showers & toilets. Firewood supplied. Gymkhana Saturday afternoon; music Friday night & bands Saturday night. No glass, no BYO, no cars, no walk-ins, registered bikes only. Entry fee prepaid $20 or at gate $ 25. South West Touring Club Inc: 0407 052 117, 0418 528 002. Show ‘n’ Shine (Vic); 16 November. Cranbourne RSL, 1475 South Gippsland Hwy (enter from Cameron Street). Registrations from 10.30 am; show starts at 12 noon. Live music, food stalls, family friendly event. Bikes $10; cars $15; general admission $5. Percentage of proceeds go towards child poverty through PVBS & Partners: Relief & Development. All welcome. Tribe of Judah: 0439 748 690. Gippsland Motorcyclists Toy Run (Vic); 7 December. Gathering from 9.30 am at Latrobe City Offices, Kay Street, Traralgon; departing at around 11 am. Breakfast will be available on the morning. Run ends at Old Gippstown, Moe, for lunch and presentation of all collected items to The Salvos and St Vincent de Paul for their Christmas Appeals. Melbourne Toy Run (Vic); 8 December. Motorcycles, scooters, sidecars and trikes should assemble from 10 am in Alexandra Avenue near the Swan Street Bridge. Depart 11.30 am. The route is about 6 kms and takes around 20 minutes. It gets narrow and slow in places but that’s good for the spectators and camera crews. All welcome. Non-riders can meet us at Father Bob’s in Victoria Avenue, Albert Park. There are plenty of good places to eat and the beach is at the end of the road. Bring the kids to see the bikes. Decorated bikes, fancy dress and club flags and banners welcome. Help the Father Bob Foundation. They need cash and will have volunteers to give receipts. They need packaged food, preferably Australian — a can of CPC beans can be someone’s Christmas dinner— and clothes, blankets and new toys. It’s a heap of fun and it’s good to know the positive publicity helps win us a fair go on the road and with decision makers. MRAV Toy Run (Vic); 8 December. Dress up your bikes, trikes and scooters with Christmas decorations and ride to Calder Park to give toys and food for the kids for Christmas. The Salvation Army trucks will be waiting to receive these generous gifts from the bikers. Fantastic motorcycle Show and Shine. Trade stalls and displays including hot rods and race cars. Live rock & roll band. Stunt riders. Face painting and a jumping castle. The children will also get the chance to see Santa arrive in his famous tuk tuk. This spectacular event and venue will be Melbourne’s premier ride this year. Mark your diary, don’t miss this one! Starting points: visit: www.toyrun.org.au New South Wales Southern Highlands Annual Dice Run (NSW); 9 November. First card 9.45 am. Depart Wilton shops at 11 am, rain, hail or shine. Run ends at The Appin Hotel with live music/food and partying till early hours. $30 per hand includes T-shirt. Cash prizes: first, second, third and lowest. Tonnes of raffles with great prizes as usual. 0422 237 136 or 0403 155 932. Australian Motorcycle Expo (NSW); 15— Continued on page 17 members’ rambling rambles BM MWMC CCVIC C AN NNU UAL L C CHR RIST TMA AS P RTY PAR Satu urday,, NOV VEMBE ER 30 0th. 5::00 p.m. to 10:00 0 p.m. Join u us at Camb berwell Petanque Clu ub W Wakefields s Grove (o off Through h Road) Cambe erwell (M Mel Ref 60 F4) F M Meat and softt drinks are supplied byy the club. Please RSV VP and liaisee with Noela mob. 04177 035 359 reegarding a p plate to brin ng along. P before Monday 18th Nov. N RSVP 13 NOV13 BeeEm 14 members’ rambling rambles NOV13 BeeEm BMWMCCVIC ANNUAL CHRISTMAS CAMP Join the group and chill out in Alexandra between Christmas and New Year. Thurs 26th December 2013 to Wed 1st January 2014 Alexandra Tourist Park 5016 Maroondah Hwy, Alexandra, 3714 Cabins, powered sites and unpowered sites available. See the booking form in this magazine. Contact Noela Miller, 0417 035 359, or Lynne Rosenthal 0415 286 855. T M OT O R W • Smooth out your ride • We’ve got you covered GENUINE AUSTRALIAN CL E DIS C UN CY O MOTORCYCLE WRECKERS Sheepskin SEAT COVERS SALES SPARES & REPAIRS ACCESSORIES TYRES 35 Dawson Street North Coburg Vic, 3058 BMW JAPANESE Car / Bike Accidents Victims of Crime Wills / Estates Family Law Police Matters Free First Interview Discount for BMWMCCVIC Members COD AUST WIDE Ph: 03 9350 4417 Fax: 03 9355 1933 Serving your legal needs including: • • • • • RECKERS BMW SPECIALISTS • • • • Cottier Stenning Lawyers Good Wool Store Pty Ltd 49 Queen St BERRY 2535 Ph: (02) 4464 2081 • Fax: (02) 4464 3344 www.goodwool.com.au Ask about the BMWMCCVic. members’ discount Ph: 03 9579 1812 Mob: 0407 305 407 Email: philipcottier@hotmail.com members’ rambling rambles 15 NOV13 BeeEm BMW Motorcycle Club of Victoria 2013 Annual Christmas Camp at Alexandra Thursday 26 December 2013 to Wednesday 1 January 2014 Registration Form Cabin 3 (1 double bed and a bunk), cost $102/night for 2 adults. Cabin 4 (1 double bed, a bunk and an extra folding bed), cost $102/night for 2 adults. Cabin 5 (1 double bed in bedroom, a bunk in main room) cost $128/night for 2 adults and 2 children or $102/night for 2 people. Cabin 6 (1 double bed and a bunk), cost $102/night for 2 adults. All cabins have ensuite facilities. (Linen can be hired for approx. $20 by contacting the Alexandra Tourist Park direct, 03 5772 1222.) Powered Site, cost $37/night for 2 people, extra person $17/night. Unpowered Site, cost $34/night for 2 people, extra person $16/night. The club will provide a continental breakfast in the club marquee. $ Cabin required for 26th 27th 28th 29th 30th 31st for …… adults ….. children ……….. Powered site for 26th 27th 28th 29th 30th 31st for …… adults ….. children ………. Unpowered site for 26th 27th 28th 29th 30th 31st for …… adults ….. children ……….. Please circle the dates you require Payment by, cheque, credit card or direct deposit. Name: ____________________________________________ Member No. ____________ Email address: ______________________________________________________________ Please post this registration form to BMW MCC VIC, P O Box 2298, Richmond South, 3121, with your cheque payable to BMW MCC VIC or quote your credit card number below. Payment by credit card: Name on card ______________________________________ Card number ______ / ______ /______ / ______ Amount: $ _____ Exp Date: ___/___ Signature: ______________________________ Direct Deposit can be made to BMWMCCVIC BSB 063 000 A/c 0080 4344 Description essential please, Description essential please, your membership number and "Xmas" PLEASE BOOK BY 18 DECEMBER 2013 16 NOV13 BeeEm members’ rambling rambles Choose the ride, leave the gear to us. Andy Strapz, Easy really. Traveller Pannierz Expedition Panniers A smaller sleeker version of the Expedition Pannierz made for bikes with side panels or fenders. Travellers were born from a need for smaller pannierz that don’t need frames. Roll top. Capacity 10‑15 litres per side. 18 Litre AA Bag 30 Litre A Bag now with reflective stitching If it wears the Andy Strapz brand, it’s made to the highest standards here in Australia. Lots more options on our website Now an authorised Earmold representative 011013 BeeEm Traveller Ad.indd 1 1/10/13 9:41 AM VICROADS LICENSED VEHICLE TESTER Phil Marshall, who owns and operates K & R, is a BMW factory trained mechanic with many years experience in BMW motorcycle repairs and service. Phil is an expert in K series, R series and F series motorcycles. No service or repair job on a K, R or F Series BMW is too big or too small for K & R: • Scheduled services and tuning. • Repairs to engines, gearboxes, final drives, electrical systems, fuel systems, instruments, wheels, brakes, suspension and other cycle parts. • Roadworthiness certificates for VicRoads registration and ownership transfers. • Crash repairs and rebuilds. • A reputation for providing value for money and fair dealing with all our customers. • Competitive labour charges. • A fully equipped workshop. • While you wait fitting for Dunlop, Michelin, Metzler, and Pirelli tyres. • BMW spare parts sales. You’re welcome to call in and check us out at 24 Mills Street, CHELTENHAM, VIC. or phone Phil Marshall on (03) 9583 1528. Fax (03)9583 1910 and E-mail kandr@bigpond.net.au members’ rambling rambles 17 NOV13 BeeEm Continued from page 14 17 November. Sydney convention centre Adults: $20.00 Children: $14.00 (5 to 15) Concession: $14.00 Family: $48.00 (2 Adults 2 Kids) Charley Boorman Live Tour $55.00 Rolling Dice Run Charity Ride (NSW); 16 November. BBQ breakfast and registration 8.30 am—9.50 am. Jamison Park, cnr York and Preston Streets, Penrith. Ride Departs10 am. Dice rollers entry fee $20; non rollers $10. Prizes for best and worst score awarded & raffles drawn at after-run party with live band and food available. All welcome. Jesters Social Club: 0416 399 920. Bombala Bike Show (NSW); 16 November. Bombala Showground. Trophies and cash prizes; live music; win a classic Royal Enfield 500 (drawn on the day); trade stalls; free on-site camping. $10 entry; under 16 free. Contact Colin: (02) 6458 3555; email: info@bombalabikeshow.com.au; web: www.bombalabikeshow.com.au Long Flat Pub Run (NSW) 29—30 November. Traveller’s Rest Hotel, Oxley Highway 40 km west of Wauchope. Entertainment, bike show and burnout with plenty of camping on the river. Camping on the roadside and footpaths prohibited and no BYO alcohol. Contact (02) 4933 5998. Christmas Rally (NSW); 30 November—1 December. Approx 4 km south of Nerriga on the Nowra/Braidwood Road. 50 acres of land with plenty of camping and firewood with a bonfire on Saturday night (fire bans permitting). If it gets too hot go for a swim in the creek. Gymkhana Saturday arvo; trophies presented Sunday 8 am. Leave your dogs, glass & bad attitudes at home, bring the family and have a great time with us. Entry fee $20 or $15 prepaid. Cars carrying downed motorcyclists are welcome but will not be permitted into the camping area. Refreshments and food available. United Tourers: 0417 661 372; www.unitedtourers.com South Australia Sports Bike Meet (SA); 8 November. 552 Milne Road, Redwood Park, cnr Hancock & Milne Roads. This is an event for sports bikes, cruisers, or other types. All welcome. Party at the clubroom across the road from the parking lot. Hope to see you there! $10 dollar donation for party only. KAOS MC SA: (08) 8263 7837. email: smokingdiablo@y7mail.com Queensland Qld Bikers Freedom Ride (Qld); 23 November. Meet 10 am for 10.30 am departure from Caboolture BP Northbound on Highway. $10 per head; all donations to MRAQ. Everybody welcome. Rossy: 0425 771 963. “NO ONE KNOWS YOUR P A S S I O N L I K E S H A N N O N S.” Shannons insurance is for motoring enthusiasts just like you, with features like: Choice of repairer Agreed value Multi-Vehicle & Multi-Policy discounts Special low usage rates Riding gear cover Cover for modifications Flexible coverage for bikes that are laid up, being restored, or at club events Home Contents Insurance including $10,000 enthusiast cover for your collectables & tools Pay by the month premiums at no extra cost Call Shannons on 13 46 46 for a quote on your special bike, special car, daily drive, or your home, and speak with a genuine enthusiast. INSURANCE FOR MOTORING ENTHUSIASTS | CALL 13 46 46 FOR A QUOTE | SHANNONS.COM.AU Shannons Pty Limited ABN 91 099 692 636 is an authorised representative of AAI Limited ABN 48 005 297 807, the product issuer. Some benefits only apply to comprehensive vehicle cover. Shannons has not taken account of your objectives, financial situation or needs. Read the Product Disclosure Statement before buying this insurance. Contact us for a copy. 18 NOV13 BeeEm BeeEm Calendar david mcauliffe captain bmwmccvic OCTOBER 2013 Every Saturday morning, coffee Join in for a friendly coffee every Saturday morning from 9.00am at Laurent Boulangerie, 109 Dundas Place Albert Park. (Melway 2K C7). All welcome. Please park safely and leave footpaths clear 21st October - Monday - Western CRL Meet at 9.00 am for coffee at Nook Cafe, Evans Street, Sunbury and ride to lunch. For information contact John Eacott 0428 882 416 21st October - Monday – Bang ‘n’ Stuff Bang ‘n’ Stuff at 7.15 pm prompt at Angela Barber’s home the third Monday every month except December. This small and cheerful working party does an hour’s work preparing 1,000 copies of BeeEm for posting. A modest supper and chat then takes place. All interested members are welcome. Contact Angela 03 9357 2126 or distribution@bmwmccvic.org.au Khancoban in shared house accommodation. Cost is $130 for a bed. Inquiries and bookings and direct deposit details contact Peter Wallace 0427 512474 or email pewee@optusnet.com.au 3rd November – Sunday – Ride to Breakfast Two Beans Farm and Cafe, 10 Hathfelde Boulevard, Mernda, 9717 0978 from 9:00 am. Contact Noela Miller 0418 317101. 4th November - CRL This is a regular monthly event and takes place once a month on the Monday following the Club Meeting, ie one week later. It is a relaxed morning ride in a NE direction with lunch, often at Kinglake or thereabouts.Degani Cafe, Diamond Creek 8th – 10th November – A “B” of a Weekend Join Neville Borgelt camping at Chaffe Creek Camp on the big River. Detailed Directions in the on-line Calendar on the Club website www.bmwmccvic.org .au. For further details contact Neville Borgelt on 0429 438 161 25 to 27 October 2013 (For information only) RACV Motorclassica - Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne. This prestigious event offers car and motorcycle clubs an opportunity to showcase their best cars and motorcycles to Australia’s premium car and motorcycle enthusiasts. 13th November – Wednesday - Goldfields Mid Week Ride Meeting at Lilydale departure point with morning tea at Broadford, lunch at Castlemaine, afternoon tea at Woodend and finishing at Oaklands Junction. For details contact Ride Leader Rob Langer on 0430 222 202 or Karl Haering on (03) 9357 2126.(p) 27th October - Sunday – Euan’s Eildon Expedition Meet at Northern departure point, Epping at 9.00 for a 9.30 am departure. This category one ride of about 390kms on good bitumen roads will head to Yea for morning tea, lunch in Alexandra and afternoon tea at the chocolate factory at Yarra Glen. The route will be Flowerdale, Skyline Road, Eildon, Marysville, Kinglake and St Andrews, finishing at Eltham. Twisties anyone? Contact ride leader Euan Brown for further details on 0414 575023 16th November – Saturday - Central Victorian Coffee Morning Central Victorian coffee morning, 9.00am onwards, Beechworth Bakery, Cnr High and Don St. Bendigo. 27th October - Sunday –Benalla Cruise n’ Shine – Winton Raceway (For information only) Street parade of motorcycles, cars and trucks. Show n’ Shine then vehicle parade on Winton track. Cost is $5 for motorcycles, $10 for all others. Registration and details at www.cruiseandshine.com 27th October – Sunday – For Information – Border Bike Fest – Wodonga Conducted at the Gateway Lakes, Lincoln Causeway Wodonga. Modern, vintage and veteran motorcycle entries, trade stalls and onsite catering – motorcycle entries only. Registrations from 0800 – 1000.Exhibition and swap meet from 1000 to 1400. Contact BMWMCCVIC member Des Malone 0409 219556 for further details. 28th October Monday – Monthly club meeting Join us at 7.30pm at the Camberwell Petanque Club, 64A Through Road Camberwell (entrance driveway is signed as Wakefields Grove). Refer to www. bmwmccvic.org.au for further details. All members and guests welcome. November 2013 Every Saturday morning, coffee Join in for a friendly coffee every Saturday morning from 9.00am at Laurent Boulangerie, 109 Dundas Place Albert Park. (Melway 2K C7). All welcome. Please park safely and leave footpaths clear 2nd – 5th November - Snowy Mountains adventure (non-club ride) Annual ride into the Snowy Mountains from Melbourne. Stay 3 nights in 16th-17th November – Monarchs Motorcycle Club Domino Rally (For Information Only) Angusvale National Park (just south of Dargo) For details – http://www. monarchs.net.au 17th November – Sunday – Alana’s Backseat Rider’s Ride Join Alana (probably our youngest ever ride leader) from the back of her father’s bike on a ride to Trentham for lunch with morning coffee at Lancefield. The ride will commence at the Calder Park departure point meeting at 9:00 am for a 9:30 am departure and will finish at Gisborne. For further details contact Karl Haering 0422 882 416 18th November – Monday – Western CRL Meet at 9.00 am for coffee at Nook Café, Evans Street, Sunbury and ride to lunch. For Information contact John Eacott 0428 383826. 18th November - Monday – Bang ‘n’ Stuff Bang ‘n’ Stuff at 7.15 pm prompt at Angela Barber’s home the third Monday every month except December. This small and cheerful working party does an hour’s work preparing 1,000 copies of BeeEm for posting. A modest supper and chat then takes place. All interested members are welcome. Contact Angela 03 9357 2126 or distribution@bmwmccvic.org.au 25th November – Monday – Monthly General Meeting Join us at 7.30pm at the Camberwell Petanque Club, 64A Through Road Camberwell (entrance driveway is signed as Wakefields Grove). All members and guests welcome. 30th November – Saturday – Annual Christmas Party- 5.00 to 10 pm. Camberwell Petanque Club, 64A Through Road Camberwell (entrance driveway is signed as Wakefields Grove) Please RSVP before Monday 18th November and liaise with Noela Miller on 0417 035359 regarding a plate to bring along Note: Before you go on a ride, please check the latest BeeEm and the web site for late changes to ride details. Changes do happen. Website: www.bmwmccvic.org.au Calendar 19 NOV13 BeeEm December 2013 Every Saturday morning, coffee Join in for a friendly coffee every Saturday morning from 9.00am at Laurent Boulangerie, 109 Dundas Place Albert Park. (Melway 2K C7). All welcome. Please park safely and leave footpaths clear 1st December- Sunday – Ride to breakfast Join us for breakfast from 9:00 am onwards at Sages Cottage, 85 Sages Rd, Baxter For information contact Noela Miller 0418 317 101 2nd December CRL Ride This is a regular monthly event and takes place once a month on the Monday following the Club Meeting, ie one week later. It is a relaxed morning ride in a NE direction with lunch, often at Kinglake or thereabouts. Meet at Degani Cafe, Diamond Creek 7th December – Saturday – Western Coffee Morning Join our western Club members from 9:00 am onwards at their regular Monthly Coffee Morning at the Beechworth Bakery, Grenville St. South Ballarat. 8th December – Sunday – Chasing the Black Dog A number of members were part of the 400 plus participants on the last Victorian Black Dog Ride, led by our very own captain and expressed their enjoyment. This Category 1 ride on sealed roads will be based on the route. Meet at the Rockbank Calder Park departure point at 9.00am for a 9.30 departure. This ride will head over Mt Macedon to Seymour, through Strath Creek and Flowerdale to finish at Whittlesea. For details contact David McAuliffe on 0424 121074. 9th December – Monday Western CRL Meet at 9.00 am for coffee at Nook Café, Evans Street, Sunbury and ride to lunch. For Information contact John Eacott 0428 383826. Melbourne ride departure points 9th December – Monday – Bang and Stuff – Note - a week earlier than usual Bang ‘n’ Stuff at 7.15 pm prompt at Angela Barber’s home the third Monday every month except December. This small and cheerful working party does an hour’s work preparing 1,000 copies of BeeEm for posting. A modest supper and chat then takes place. All interested members are welcome. Contact Angela 03 9357 2126 or distribution@bmwmccvic.org.au 11th December Wednesday – Drunken Sailor’s Midweek Ride Meet at the Lilydale Departure Point at 9:00 am for a 9:30 am departure. Then off to coffee at Gembrook, Lunch at Healesville and a Kinglake finish. Lots of twisties! For details contact Karl Haering (03) 9357 2126 or Ride Leader, Neville Hoare 0430 598 126 16th December – Monday – Monthly Club meeting and Trivia night– Note change of date from our usual Monday for December Join us at 7.30pm at the Camberwell Petanque Club, 64A Through Road Camberwell (entrance driveway is signed as Wakefields Grove). All members and guests welcome. 21st December – Saturday Central Victorian Coffee Morning Central Victorian coffee morning, 9.00am onwards, Beechworth Bakery, Cnr High and Don St. Bendigo. 23rd December - Monday - CRL This is a regular monthly event and takes place once a month on the Monday following the Club Meeting, ie one week later. It is a relaxed morning ride in a NE direction with lunch, often at Kinglake or thereabouts. Meet at Degani Cafe, Diamond Creek 26th December to 1st January – Annual Christmas Camp Alexandra Tourist Park, 5016 Maroondah Highway Alexandra. Cabins, powered and unpowered sites available. Contact Noela Miller on 0417 035359 or Lynne Rosenthal on 0415 286855 CALDER PARK BP Service Centre, Calder Hwy (just past the Thunderdome outbound) dp Somerton Tullamarine dp ROCKBANK. BP Service Centre, BP Service Station, Cnr Dandenong-Hastings Rd and Thompsons Rd. Melway ref map 128 K8 Cald er Fwy LITTLE RIVER dp dp BP Service Station, just before the Avalon Airport hF wy Port Phillip Camberwell Petanque Club, 64A Through Road, Pr i nc Camberwell es H wy BP Service Station, Princes Freeway (Geelong bound) just before the Avalon Airport turnoff. Melway ref key map p11 D12.* Maroondah Hwy i s na Werribee LITTLE RIVER DEP. POINT MCity L Shell service station o –M nk Port Melbourne LILLYDALE dp Eastern Fwy Melbourne Shell Service Station, Maroondah Hwy (1 km east Lilydale), Lilydale. Melway ref map 38 H3 general meeting location Western Ring Rd Radum Pty Ltd, Elata Drive Tullamarine Lilydale dep. point M Cooper St City Link Lyndhurst dep. point Radum Pty Ltd, Elata Drive Tullamarine ride departure point location service day location SOMERTON dp BP service station Rd wy Hume H northern dep. point epping BP Service Centre Cnr Scanlon Dr & Cooper St Epping. Melway ref map 181 D11 dp Craigieburn Bypass ROCKBANK DEP. POINT BP Service Centre, 1789 Western Freeway (south side) between Hopkins Road and Troups Road North. Melway ref map 355* CALDER PARK DEP. POINT D’nong-Hastings Rd Note: Melway references not valid for older Melway editions BP Service Centre, Calder Highway (just past the Thunderdome outbound) . Melway ref map 354 J3.* Thompsons Rd LYNDHURST dp BP service station 20 NOV13 BeeEm rides, rallies and events Coffee get togethers – Vic. and Tas. Melbourne: Morning coffee get together each Saturday, 9.00am to 1.00pm, at Laurent Boulangerie Patisserie, 109 Dundas Place, Albert Park, 9690 4700 Melway ref map 2K C7 All welcome. Park safely & leave footpaths clear Tasmania: First Saturday each month, from 9.30 am at Oliver’s Bakery, 41 Reiby St, Ulverstone Central Victoria: Third Saturday of the month, from 9.00 am at Beechworth Bakery, Cnr High and Don St, Bendigo Western Victoria: First Saturday of each month, from 9.00 am at Beechworth Bakery, Grenville St, Ballarat. Note: Before you go on a ride, please check the latest BeeEm and the web site for late changes to ride details. Changes do happen. www.bmwmccvic.org.au Breakfast in Mill Park - 4 August R olling up at the Stables Shopping Centre in Mill Park, Jahdomes Bakery was visible from the main road and I was joined by Les Papp F650GS. The Bakery had a wall-sized mural inside showing the Eiffel Tower while the view the other way was very ordinary except for the four bikes parked outside. We soon had 13 people in attendance, including Karl Haering and Alana Barber who tried one of the bakery’s several dozen varieties of flavoured hot chocolate, Brendan Webb F800GS from Gippsland and Ann and Brian Macdonald riding their F700GS. Andrea and John Eacott joined us with Andrea sporting a broken leg. We dispersed by about 11.30 after a good breakfast Ian McKenna R80 Above: Noela Miller and Brian MacDonald enjoying breakfast Below: Breakfast in Mill Park with the Club rides, rallies and events Attendance 13 Riders on 4 Bikes Andrea & John Eacott Ann and Brian Macdonald F700GS Noela and Don Miller Lynne and Bob Rosenthal Alana Barber and Karl Haering Ian McKenna R80 Les Papp F650GS Brendan Webb F800GS Post Dad’s Day CRL Ride 2nd September, 2013 or Wot I Dun On Me Day Off. By Chris Howard-Bath M onday the 2nd of September looked like any other day in summer except it was the second day of spring. The forecast said 26 degrees and no rain! How could you not want to go for a ride?! Recent discussions with members indicated there were usually only three, four or five riders that turned up for the CRL. Being a nice day, I was thinking maybe six or seven might make the trip. A fine, warm day with no cloud or chance of rain proved to be a big drawcard and as a result 14 participants joined up as usual at Degani Café in Diamond Creek with David Harrison joining us later to make it a record-setting 15 bikes. Being my first CRL I was pretty impressed with the distances some had travelled. From far and wide, except for me (only 15 mins up the road) but I feel I must make mention of one member who came from Latrobe Valley just for a short day ride to lunch. Rumour has it there will be a Western CRL ride in the works departing from Sunbury in the near future. Our meet-up was from 9am, and, after a nice round of coffee 21 NOV13 BeeEm and chat, we departed the ex-CFA station at 9:50am and headed through Diamond Creek to the big roundabout at Wattle Glen for a mini hill climb to Kangaroo Ground then down to Warrandyte. We had a bit of traffic around initially but being Monday and 10am most of the mums had dropped kids off at school etc. and dispersed. Through Warrandyte onto Jumping Creek Rd for a few gentle twisties then on past Heritage golf course out to Lilydale airport. Did anyone else ( John) notice the light aircraft (PA28 for the aircraft nerds) on final? He should have been 50 feet high over the threshold but I really felt I had to duck as he looked like he was at 20 feet with 1 mile to run. See, motorbikes are dangerous as you can get hit by low flying aircraft! On to Yering, and then out past Coldstream airport. No low flyers here. Next was Gruyere through to Seville. Lovely country, with very little traffic and nice dry road with warm weather. Down Warburton Highway with a left turn at Woori Yallock for the back roads (sweepers and twisties), on to Maroondah Highway and Healesville. From here we proceeded up Myers Creek Rd to Toolangi. I must make comment here that I much prefer up-hill bends (power on, power off, no braking) to down hill bends (power on, power off, brake, brake, brake, power on etc…) and this time the up-hill run was sensational! Dry road, no traffic except for that bloke on the push bike, and sitting in 4th gear ticking over at 2800rpm with an occasional drop to 3rd. Fantastic!!! 22 NOV13 BeeEm rides, rallies and events We then popped out onto Melba Highway for the familiar run down the mountain through Dixons Creek (thank you to the truck driver for pulling over and letting us pass) to Yarra Glen for lunch at Yarra Valley Chocolaterie & Ice Creamery. Trying saying that fast a few times. All up we covered about 115ks in about 1hr 46mins. OK, ok… yes, there is a GPS involved here, but I’m sure some of you will dispute these figures. The best run I’ve had for quite a while (no, I don’t get out much). A huge thank you to Peter for a very enjoyable run!! ……. and I still think John looks like a copper on his K1600GT, well in my rear-view mirrors anyway… Ride Participants: Brendon Webb Peter Ness (Ride Leader) Chris Howard-Bath Lynne Rosenthal Bob Rosenthal John Eacott Karl Haering Euan Brown Richard Mason Simon Lony Ron Matthews William Vaneveld Mark Chin Warrick Tovey David Harrison F800GS R60/6 R100RT F650GS S1000RR K1600GT K100RS F800R DR650 K75S R65LS R1200RT Honda CB400F R75/5 HP2 Breakfast in Trentham - 8 September. We Came, we Ate, we Enjoyed; need I say More? rriving in Trentham on a coldish morning, I searched for the Red Beard Bakery while contemplating that my beard hasn’t been red for a few years now. A pedestrian told me where to go; he A David and Robyn McNabb enjoying breakfast in Trentham saw a flock of bikes drive down a side lane, so parking the R80 in the street, I found them. I was supposed to single-handedly claim a table, but found a group already well settled on my arrival. I was number seven after Alana Barber and Karl Haering K100RS, John Eacott K1600GT, Les Papp F800GS, Trevor Michie F800ST and Gary Powrie R1200GS. Left: Breakfast in the back yard with Trina Thompson and Keith Finley Below: Trevor Michie, Gary Powrie, John Eacott and Karl Haering rides, rallies and events The second shift soon joined us with Trina Thompson R1200R, Keith Finlay R1100RT, David McAuliffe, Helmut Imberger R1200GS, Ann and Brian Macdonald F700GS, Robyn & David McNabb and Steve Boyd R1100RT. We had time for a third horde of riders before most of us started leaving about midday; these included Nicole Butler R1150R, Colin Butler R1150RT, Jonathon R1200GS and the Liistro family; Fiona, Heba, Paul & Samantha. The last to arrive was Bill Middleditch R1200GSA, who brought our total up to 24 riders and 16 bikes making for a good sociable morning Ian McKenna R80 RIDER ATTENDANCE................24 Riders on 16 Bikes. Alana Barber & Karl HaeringK100RS Steve Boyd R1100RT Colin Butler R1150RT Nicole Butler R1150R John Eacott K1600GT Keith Finlay R1100RT Helmut Imberger R1200GS Jonathon R1200G Heba and Paul Liistro R1200RS Fiona and Samantha Liistro Ann and Brian Macdonald F700GS Ian McKenna R80 Robyn and David McNabb Trevor Michie F800ST Bill Middleditch R1200GSA Les Papp F800 Gary Powrie R1200GS Trina Thompson R1200R Icicle Ride Re-run Midweek Ride - 11th September By Helen Law Spring is Sprung The Grass is Riz What a great Bloke Mark Chin is. ednesday’s daytime re-run of the Icicle Ride was great, with many twisty roads through beautifully green countryside. (What else could there be on a Mark Chin ride). Departure from Officer, through the back of the Dandenongs to Yarra Junction. Then down through Powelltown to Gippsland’s rolling hills on both sides of the Princes Highway. Heading towards Korumburra for lunch, we encountered some showers with very strong winds. After a pleasurable lunch, we all W 23 NOV13 BeeEm donned our wet weather gear and were all rained on heavily for the last 70 kays back to Longwarry where we said goodbye. This route would have been fabulous and a little challenging on the damp night that the Icicle Ride suffered. We were disappointed we couldn’t have been there. The 10 riders and two pillions on our trusty BMWs had a beaut day (except N’evil who had lost so much hot air over morning tea and lunch that he had to pump up his rear tyre). Many thanks to leader Karl and TEC Euan and of course Mark Chin for another well-crafted ride – pity he wasn’t able to come. Participants: Karl Haering Nic Watson N’evil Hoare Hans Semler Phillip Butterfield Stuart Jackson Helen & Barry Law Trevor Coad David Yee & Rhonda Hill Euan Brown K1100RS R1100GS K1200GT F800GS F650 Dakar R1200R K1200LT R1200GS K75C F800R The Wall to Wall Ride for Remembrance 2013 A bout five years ago two mates were having a yarn, possibly with the aid of a beer. They were both police officers and motorcyclists. The result was the annual nation-wide Police Wall to Wall Ride For Remembrance. Not a BMWMCCVic club ride, but one of those two police officers was our club member, Brian Rix, a very enthusiastic rider and motorcycle adventurer. That conversation has grown into an annual charity event participated in by serving and past police officers and their families and invited friends from all the six states and two territories of Australia. This year, Brian invited members of our club to participate in it. He has a huge part in its organisation and led the Victorian Ride this year. It’s for a very good cause. It helps to fund the Police Legacy Charity, which supports the families of those Australian police officers who have died in the line of duty. From that first idea, which was prompted by knowledge of a similar event in the USA, a huge event has developed which is approved of at the highest level of all Australian police services. Many senior police officers are motorcyclists and a number, including at least one commissioner, took part in this year’s ride. The Wall to Wall Ride begins with a meeting of participants at the police memorial in each state and territory’s capital city. Each memorial is a wall with plaques upon it, naming and honouring those police officers who have died in the line of duty. The Victorian wall is on St Kilda Road, just below the Shrine of Remembrance. A curved, grey, stone wall with a paved area before it. There is a short ceremony before the start of the ride and, in the case of the Victorian ride, the baton which is carried from each starting point was handed 24 NOV13 BeeEm rides, rallies and events John Eacott and the riders from Victoria to a young woman who is a beneficiary of the Police Legacy charity and who would carry it to Canberra. A police pipe band piper participated (Please don’t disband the police bands, Premier!) as did two of the military guards from the Shrine of Remembrance. The Victorian Commissioner, Ken Lay, was there and made a short speech, as did a chaplain. We concluded with group picture of all participants. There is a national police memorial wall in Canberra, in a pleasant setting in King’s Park on the northern shore of Lake Burley Griffin, with the National Carillon in view on the lake nearby. It consists of a bronze commemorative wall, on which are mounted individual plaques, or “touchstones”, each with the name, rank, date of death and place of death, of all police officers, nation-wide, who have died whilst on active duty or as a result of their duty. There are 1200 touchstones although this is not the number of named stones; these symbolise the ongoing danger for police on duty. Each year, the names of any police officers who died due to their duty are added. In front of the wall there is a paved area, which is not flat in its surface and runs towards the wall. The description of this area states, The ‘terrain’ tilts to direct visitors to the wall, with undulations, that is intended to create “an uncertainty in experience and reflects the uncertain path that police tread in the performance of their duty.” As for the ride, over 160 participants set out from Melbourne, led by motorcycle police with lights flashing, on a mercifully dry but cold morning, for the overnight stop at Merimbula, a seaside holiday town on the NSW south coast. I never enjoy riding surrounded by motorcyclists whose habits I do not know but on this occasion, as you might expect, everyone was patient and careful. A lunch stop at Lakes Entrance was catered by the local Lions Club. The ride was less than exciting and Merimbula was reached uneventfully. Next morning, fortified by a good breakfast, the ride re-assembled and was led off up the coast by an NSW highway patrol car. This day was drizzly and the road was wet but fortunately there was only one minor incident on the first stretch to Bateman’s Bay, with no serious injury to anyone. Although this day’s distance was about half that of the first day, the weather conditions from Bateman’s Bay up the Clyde Mountain to Braidwood were atrocious and it seemed very long. One casualty occurred on the Victorian ride up the Clyde Mountain, with a broken leg, unfortunately. But then, the run into Canberra was in dry conditions that dried out soaked bikes and riders and it even warmed up a fair bit, enough for a bit of shedding of clothes. All the rides gathered at the AFP’s International Deployment Group training establishment on the outskirts of Canberra, just within the ACT border with NSW. It was quite a sight to see such a huge mass of motorbikes and riders with a strong presence of AFP police cars and motorbikes, in full regalia, enough flashing lights for Kings Cross on a Saturday night, on what looked like a huge parade ground. We are told that more than 1,400 people registered and paid up for the ride. Many were two-up but there must have been more than 1,000 bikes, rumbling and purring away, as we queued Victorian participants with Commissioner Lay rides, rallies and events for the start of the parade. It was, to my mind, reminiscent of the huge MRA runs in Melbourne in the 1980s The parade was led by motorcycle police and the procession literally stopped Canberra’s traffic as the very long train of bikes of every make and style passed every intersection with other traffic forced to wait patiently. It took some time for so many machines to pass any single point and to turn 25 NOV13 BeeEm into the park and find enough space to prop. It was an amazing sight from halfway back in the parade to see the long train stretching away in front down Anzac Parade’s ruler-straight length. The procession trundled its way into Canberra, down Fairbairn Avenue, past the National War Memorial, then down Anzac Parade, round one of Canberra’s maze-like circuits, up Kings Avenue and into Kings Park to park up, as best all those bikes could, for the commemorative service. A parking warden’s nightmare – or possibly wet dream! The ceremony consisted of several short addresses by the master of ceremonies, an AFP senior sergeant and by the AFP and Queensland Police chaplains and several other police dignitaries. The significant part of the short ceremony was the placing of the batons on the plinth on the paved area in front of the wall by a representative of each force in turn. These batons had been turned by a police officer. They are hollow and inside each is a scroll of paper with the name of any police officer who has died during the last 12 months in the line of duty. This paper is removed for the name and details to be engraved on a touchstone on the wall and the empty batons are taken back to their home city ready for next year’s ride. A short prayer ended the ceremony. This year there were two names to be added to the wall. That evening, at the National Convention Centre, there was a two-hour function with finger-foods and a couple of drinks and the chance to socialise with new faces and catch up with old friends. I did not win the Yamaha Tenéré generously donated by Yamaha Australia. By this time, if others were anything like us, there would have been a good deal of well-earned tiredness about, so it was back to a hotel after maybe a coffee, a beer or a glass of wine and a bite of food. For it was all over for another year and only the ride home or to your next destination was left for the morrow. This was a very fine event, well organised, with a good cause behind it and accomplished in a good spirit by all who took part. Should Brian Rix decide to invite the club’s members to participate again next year, I urge you to give it consideration as an experience worthy of your participation and your pocket. As a last comment, for an event that had a significant number of current and retired police taking part and with so many experienced motorcyclists, it was amazing to me that so few thought it worthwhile to wear a high-vis vest, despite the example set by the many on-duty bike and car police officers. Brian Macdonald Walhalla Wander One of our younger prospective future BMW riders pens her thoughts on the Walhalla ride. Ed. ’d promised to go on the Walhalla ride so on Sunday the 22nd, I got up at 7 and pulled on my bike gear, happy to be going on a ride. The roads were wet from home to the Lilydale departure point and the rain started coming down as soon as we got there. Theo was there when dad and I arrived and soon more people started turning up. We started the briefing just after 9 and, soon after, we left, heading towards Yellingbo and Woori Yallock. The sky was clear by then and I was happy listening to music; we rode on to Gladysdale and Powelltown where the biggest bug hit my helmet. Not to worry, I wiped my visor across dad’s back! All good. I Brian Rix and escort police motorcycle 26 NOV13 BeeEm rides, rallies and events Alana Barber and Karl Haering on the Trestle Bridge Just when I needed to stretch my legs, dad followed Mark and another few bikes to a trestle bridge outside Noojee. Dad and I hiked to the top. It was a rough hike in my bike gear. When I reached the top I realized how high we had come and took a photo. A horse crossed the bridge whilst we were up there. It was only a narrow bridge so how that happened, I’m not sure. We soon mounted our bikes after dad had given a club magazine to a guy in the parking lot and I had done my Meerkat impression, standing on a rock. It was a short ride up the road to Noojee where we had morning tea. Jim, Rodger and I came up with a master plan to trick everyone by wearing my sister’s name badge. Oh no, I shouldn’t have said that. Now you’ll all know. Morning Coffee in Noojee with Rupert Johnston and his R850R We soon headed off and spread out. I enjoyed the ride through Hill End. When we reached Willow Grove, we regrouped before continuing on to Tanill South on the Moe-Walhalla Road. I was singing to myself by this point as I’d forgotten to turn my music on. From Erica, on to Rawson, it seemed like dad was finding every bump and hole in the road and I was just there bouncing around on the back. We rode through some great twisty roads before reaching the town of Walhalla. Mark told us to meet in front of the Pub at 1.30 so Dad headed off, giving a scenic tour to myself and a few others who followed. We then had lunch at a little café where we sat in the sun talking about a variety of things. I took a look at the fire station museum before we got back on the bike and regrouped outside the pub. We rode out of Walhalla the same way we had come but turning off to Tyers, where we regrouped once more, and for those who needed to purchase fuel. Extremely tired from a hard, hard day of…riding, I lay on the grass waiting. We all soon got going again though Yallourn North. Somewhere near Old Sale Road, Gary Powrie corner marked with a dance routine which later earned him the award “Most creative corner marker”. Dad and I then corner marked. The group was spread out again so I got off the bike and walked up and down, even directing other traffic and other bike riders. When I spotted John Owe Young on his bike, which is still dressed up as a cow, I jumped back on and we headed off. We went via a place called Brandy Creek before going on to Drouin West. I recognized the last few turns of the ride, realizing we were ending at Longwarry North. The café was closed and Neville, the Sea Captain, blamed it on us because it’s where we ended the Icicle Ride. He’s crazy. We all bade farewell to each other and just as we were about to pull out, a police car pulled up on the highway. Well spotted by me. It was a long ride home, most of which I spent asleep, but it was an enjoyable day which turned out lovely and sunny in the end. Alana Barber The Rider List Karl Haering & Alana Barber K100RS Mark Chin F650GS (Ride Leader) Gary Powrie R1200GS Jim Kelly R1200GSA Theo Patsiaouras Honda Rupert Johnston R850R Ian Cook R1150GS Stephen Griffiths Honda John Owe Young R1100RT (TEC) Neville Hoare K1200GT Ian McKenna K75C Peter Wade K100RS Len Little Honda Paul Fagliarone R1150R Pat Hogan R1200GS Trevor Coad R1200GS rides, rallies and events Departing from Walhalla with Steve Griffiths riding his CBF1000 Ride to Walhalla - 22 September 2013 27 NOV13 BeeEm part of the railway that once served this area. Rumour has it that a bike fell over near the start but, as the bike was picked up within seconds, I won’t state whose bike it was. Morning coffee was in Noojee at the general store and the Red Parrot Cafe. While here, Trevor Coad R1200GS joined the ride and a convoy of vintage cars passed through town. Leaving Noojee, Mark Chin flew past riding his new F650GS and I followed more slowly on my new K75C on its first club ride. We rode through Willow Grove, Erica and Rawson to Walhalla, putting in plenty of pleasant corners on dry roads. In Walhalla we spread out throughout town with a dozen of us eating at the Grey Horse Cafe. Walhalla kindly celebrated my 150th birthday, or was it the town’s birthday with banners everywhere. After lunch we took off to Tyers and Yallourn North, and the Old Sale Road to Shady Creek, Buln Buln and Robin Hood to finish up at the big servo in Longwarry. The Service Station Cafe was closed so we soon split up and headed for home after a pleasant day of touring and exploring. Ian McKenna K75C D eparting the Shell Lilydale Service Station we had 16 riders on 15 bikes with Mark Chin on a new F650GS leading and John Owe Young R1100RT as tail rider. The group included some new riders with Paul R1150R, Ian R1150GS & Patrick R1200GS. A small group formed ‘Honda Corner’ with Theo Patsourious VFR750, Steve Griffiths CBF1000 and Len Little CBF1000. Having endured wet roads approaching Lilydale, we hoped for and mostly got fine weather from the start onwards. Mark Chin rocketed off on the Warburton Highway but soon had to wait for the rest of us to catch up. He then led us onto the (little) Wellington Road just before Wandin North, which took us to Beenak Road and Yellingbo before returning to the highway at Woori Yallock. We then by-passed Yarra Junction by using Wickham’s Road and Parkinson’s Road to join the main road to Powelltown and Noojee. A few of us stopped at the Trestle Bridge near Noojee, which was Departing from Walhalla with Jim Kelly R1200GSA leaving town Leaving the Trestle Bridge with Karl Haering & Alana Barber K100Rs and Peter Wade K100RS 28 Feature Story NOV13 BeeEm Goodwood Revival Meeting 2013. Club stalwart Bob (Rosie) Rosenthal has a ball racing a Manx Norton at Goodwood – After scouring Op shops for 60’s gear. Perhaps Lynn and Bob could have raided members’ wardrobes! Ed. A s some of you know, I’ve been fortunate this year to have been asked to ride a Manx Norton replica. The bike is some two years old and replicates a 1962 Manx, the last year that Norton built them. The Manx has probably the greatest history of any motorcycle as far as motorcycle racing goes. They continued being competitive long past their use-by date, in no small part because they were such a beautifully balanced bike. So, back in January this year, Bob Minogue, an ex Formula 5000 car racer, asked me to consider a comeback and race his Manx. I had been thinking for a while that if somebody with the right bike came along with the right offer, I might be interested. Little did I know where this might lead. So, I got together with Bob and we settled on a nice tie-up. He had already asked another top rider to ride at Goodwood so I didn’t give this any thought. Unbeknown to me, the arrangement with the other guy was coming unravelled and I got a phone call one night that basically went something like “Hey Rosie, do you have an international licence?” “Ah, no”. “Better get one then, quickly, you’re going to Goodwood.” Oh, really!! Bob and Lynne turn back time Now, being what you might call, of mature years, there were a few things that needed to be attended to. The Revival is a historic meeting with the cut-off year being 1966. Everything has to be in period, other than safety issues. That meant black leathers. Damn, I just bought white ones. Got two sets now. It also meant a full medical because I’m over fifty. Good thing I have chemical enhancement, eh. It also meant a heart stress test. Hmm! Well, to my surprise, I passed all this and sent it off to the organisers. That meant I was granted a UK National Licence. Whew! We fitted a fresh engine to the bike and crated it and a whole lot of spares and sent all this over to the UK. We have two motors, one a standard bore and stroke and one a big bore, short stroke. Not allowed to use the big bore, hence the swap. It has to be in period and standard. Next was our kit-out other than my race gear. Everybody is expected to be in sixties clothing. They ask for jacket and tie when not in race gear. Hit the op shops etc. Lynne got busy and came up with a different wardrobe for each of the four days. Our combined “in period” clothes took a full suitcase. So, off we went. I have to tell you that nothing you will ever see or do will prepare you for what you see at Goodwood. Something like 70,000 spectators a day for three days, for a start. All three days were a sell-out. The grandstands were full. More Manx Nortons and Matchless G50s in the one place than I have seen since my very early days racing. Three MV Agusta triples. (£180,000 each) There is a company over there making these replicas and the word is that there are now more MVs racing than in the sixties. They make tasty Gilera 500cc fours as well. In the car pits there were at least six GT40 Fords. Ferrari GTO, Maseratis, Jaguar C and D types. The money was staggering. The bike arrived late on the Wednesday and we started getting things ready. New tyres to be fitted, fuel to get etc. etc. That took all of Thursday. Friday was practice and qualifying. Snag number one. We only got thirty minutes and one session. Both riders needed to do a minimum three laps. (The race is a timed race of twenty five minutes and there is a mandatory pit stop to change riders at Feature Story 29 NOV13 BeeEm Bob, Lynne and friends living in the 60’s about half time). Hmm! So, my partner, Jim Scaysbrook, went out for about five laps and came in to hand over to me. Jim has been there several times and knows the circuit. Off I went. Holy cow, is this place fast, or what. I think it’s about 70% full throttle per lap. This place is scary fast. Because there are no run-offs there are consequences to stuffing up a corner. There is short mown grass from bitumen to fences. Said fences are quite close to aforementioned bitumen. All these Brits have been going there for years and know the joint. I felt like a rank novice. I gradually built up to a reasonable speed while trying to remember what followed what. We ended up twenty-second on the grid out of thirty, for a Le Mans start. I’ve scanned a map of the circuit for you, dear reader, so let me describe a lap of Goodwood for you. Coming out of the chicane, in first gear, accelerate as hard as possible through the gears up to fifth, changing up at 7500. Just before Madgwick, at about 100 metres, whack it back to fourth and just caress the brakes. Tip it in gently and again accelerate flat out all the way around this long, long sweeper. Through Fordwater flat. Then there is a tightening righthander that I went back to fifth for, knee just off the ground and gas it up to St. Mary’s, the only real left hander. This tightens on exit, and gas it hard to Lavant Corner, a right-angle right-hander. Slam it in and gas it as hard as possible on exit, leaned right over and revving to 7700 through the gears to get a good run along Lavant Straight. At about 100 metres, and 7500 in top, back four gears for Woodcote, a double right hander, and gas it hard all the way to the chicane. Down to first, tip it hard right left and gas it hard on exit. One down, about fifteen to go. So, we did our first of two races and when I came in to hand over to Jim we were in tenth place. Not too shabby, me thinks. I came down to earth with a thud when I was told we pitted a lap too late due to a pit mix-up and got docked twenty seconds. Say wot?? That’s show biz. Bike ran perfectly and other than a very slight over-gear, great. I changed the gearing before race two. One up on the back, thank you. Oh, I started the first race. I haven’t done a Le Mans start since early days at the Six Hour. Hated them then, hate them now. From where I was in twenty-second, I couldn’t see the starter, so I just belted across the track when I saw the others run. Bob was standing on the right side of the bike revving the motor. I leapt on, grabbed the throttle from him and kicked it into first and took off as fast as I could. So did everyone else, so we all got to Madgwick more or less in our grid positions. I just knew it was gonna be a hard day’s work. There was a 100mph wall of bikes all across the track in front of me. Breathe deep, hang on. Wait a few corners until a line establishes and then start to pick ‘em off, if I can. So, a lesson here. The top British bikes are rocket ships. They were twenty miles per hour faster than ours, and ours is no slouch. I expected this from the MVs, but hell man, not the Manxes. Note to self, find out why, and do it too. Second note to self, you’re too slow on entry to St. Mary’s, fix it. Third note to self, go faster through Woodcote and go out wider between the two apexes. That should fix those pesky Brits. OK, Sunday. Jim started and got a really good go. He circulated about midfield, holding off some quite fast riders and came in 30 Feature Story NOV13 BeeEm BMWs at Goodwood too midway to hand over to me. He jumped off, I jumped on, and cruised down pit straight, not too fast, I don’t want to get pinged again. Off I went to try and get into a rhythm. Coming out of Fordwater, right where it tightens up, there had been a crash and the rider was down on the floor. The ambulance was attending and had the back doors open. There were waved yellow flags all over the place there and I just couldn’t bring myself to go through there as fast as I knew I was yesterday. Getting into trouble and slamming into the ambo wouldn’t be a good look. I just rolled it off there until the ambulance was gone. About five laps or so. I felt that the entry into Woodcote was getting a bit more slippery too. Big grandstand there full of punters. Not going for the flying double yew there either. We ended up seventeenth in race two. That gave us fourteenth overall. We were rapt. Bike ran perfectly, team gelled well and we had a ball. One of the things that really hit home was how many stars were there and how approachable they all were. I got to meet some of my heroes. Paul Smart, Charlie Williams, Mick Grant. The organisers had a huge marquee set up to feed all the competitors. We regularly had breakfast or lunch with these guys, or Chas Mortimer. Don’t drink and ride, Bob Nice 60s helmet Bob Everybody was so welcoming. They went out of their way to help us. One of the absolute highlights of the meeting was the aerial displays. We got an inkling of this on the Thursday at the first riders’ briefing and cricket match. Goodwood came about as a race track when a WW2 Spitfire pilot, Australian Tony Gaze, stationed there, had talks with the then Earl of March, the land owner. It was then a fighter plane airfield. Tony thought the perimeter road would make a great race circuit, and it did. Tony passed away a few weeks before this year’s meeting and his family flew his ashes to Goodwood for interment at the memorial garden at the circuit. First, one last flight in a Supermarine Spitfire. Just before the pep talk by Lord March, the Spittie came over just above tree top and performed the most mesmerising display of aerobatics. At times he was below tree top level and just a stone’s throw from us. After this a Mustang fighter joined him for some more fabulous aerobatic work. This is surely the stuff of boyhood dreams. One of the Spitfires would do a dawn patrol every morning and then both Spitties and both Mustangs would perform regular shows for the crowd. How fantastic! GRAMPIANS “RIDE TO REMEMBER” 2014 SUNDAY, 2nd FEBRUARY Ararat - Grampians Region - Western Victoria Open to all Licensed Riders 200kms “PLUS SHOW N SHINE” Over $1,000 in Prizes ENTRY $30 - Rider/Pillion (Including BBQ Lunch, Commemorative Badge) ENQUIRIES Tel: 5356 2351 Email: dianneradford6@bigpond.com www.remember.org.au 32 Feature Story NOV13 BeeEm Everybody really got into the spirit of the event, even the spectators. Everybody was dressed in sixties period, even the kids. After each race they all waved and cheered us all. Like something you see on MotoGP. What a special feeling. My thanks go to Sally and Gordon Russell, the organisers of the motorcycle side of the meeting. They did a fabulous job and made our lives as easy as they could. A great event and one I hope to be able to get to again in 2015. Also I’d like to thank my bike owner, Bob Minogue. Without his input and enthusiasm we wouldn’t have gone. Bob Rosenthal. Returnee. Le Mans start Goodwood pit crew observations Lynne Rosenthal jots down vivid memories of life in the pits at the Goodwood Festival of Speed 2013. Ed • • • • Team mates enjoying the moment • • • • • • • • • • • • • Laurel & Hardy about to run over our Lynne Those MV Agustas are way too fast for us! Did they go that fast when Ago rode them? Is that legal? Where’s the starter? Hey, we’re opposite the Beemer Bavarian beer and bratwurst garage. Handy! Yeah, you can borrow our gearbox. Yep, you can use our trestle to change the gearbox. Some of those Poms are fast! Love the “peace” earrings, man! Pit crews in white overalls, white shirt and a tie! Wow! Pit girls in ‘60s body-hugging jumpsuits! Neat! So many Manxes in one race! I’m heading to the dummy grid in high heels, a pink suit, a pillbox hat and carrying the bike stand and helmet; that’s weird. Stalling means death. Give it a big handful at the change-over! Still haven’t got that corner right! The Spitfires are taking off for dawn patrol. Beautiful! Don’t throw it into the shrubbery! You’re having fun!!! Are you still smiling? Meeting Reports committee and general meeting Committee Meeting Minutes of Committee meeting held 5 September 2013 at The Harp of Erin Hotel, East Kew at 7.00pm Present: Mark Chin, Neil Davey, John Eacott, David McAuliffe, Steve Roberts, Bob Rosenthal, Lynne Rosenthal. Apologies: Don and Noela Miller (overseas) Icicle Ride 2014 Options for location of ride were discussed. David and Mark will continue planning. Issues raised following 2013 Icicle Ride will be addressed when planning 2014 ride, e.g. date to be Saturday closest to full moon in July. Time of ride will be 6pm start as in 2013. Cost per rider will be reviewed for 2014. 2013 ride resulted in profit of just $39, plus $360 in donations, a total of $399, a very disappointing result for club’s donation to RFDS. John moved, seconded by Mark, that the club round up this donation to $500 to go to RFDS. All in favour. Discussions on 2014 ride to continue next month following 2013 ride debrief meeting on 19/9/13. Steve will prepare an income and expense statement for 2013 Icicle Ride to be made available to members. Ride calendar David experiencing difficulties updating website calendar, sometimes due to late information. Neil hopes new website will have more user-friendly calendar. John asked David to endeavour to send bulk email fortnightly. Ride Leader Reward system Gift voucher of $100 from Southbank Motorcycles is available every 6 months to be won by a ride leader. Ride leaders who have led multiple rides increase their chances of winning as their names are entered in the draw multiple times. Mark maintains record of ride leaders. Peter Ness maintains record of CRL ride leaders. Possible points system for ride leaders, participants, etc. was briefly discussed. Neil keen to see members rewarded and suggested introduction of a ride leader’s pack to be given as an incentive to attract leaders. Lynne to obtain cost of club cap and t-shirt to provide at next meeting. Accounts Steve referred to events such as Icicle Ride, Annual Dinner, Rally at Corryong, etc. True statement of some events cannot be shown in annual financial statement as the events carry over from one financial year to another. Steve spoke about a number of issues including merchandise, spare parts, changing categories for itemising expenses, etc. Steve thanked Bob for standing in during his absence and the committee expressed thanks to Steve for his constant monitoring of accounts while he was overseas. John particularly thanked Steve for resolving a bank error by phoning the club’s bank, from Europe, at his own expense, to investigate and resolve an incidence of unauthorised access to our accounts. Steve will supply cost details of Icicle Ride to David and Mark who will prepare an article for members re this. Monthly Meeting Location Following a trial meeting at the Camberwell Petanque Club in September, we anticipate that this will become the club’s permanent meeting venue should both parties be agreeable with that arrangement. David will reiterate in next bulk email that all members exercise courtesy to neighbours when arriving and leaving the venue. The club will have storage for some kitchen equipment and possibly a little more in the future. Service Day equipment/future Neil, John and Jack will meet at Bundoora, 7/9/13, to collect Service Day equipment. Europcar is providing tray truck at half price. Letter of thanks to be sent to Europcar. Thanks to Neil’s negotiations, equipment will be stored at Radum Pty Ltd at Tullamarine. Club insurance may need to be adjusted to insure equipment at these premises. It will be possible to accommodate a Service Day at these premises. Owner keen to attract members to his business. Future of Service Day discussion postponed until next committee mtg. Correspondence John confirmed correspondence, seen by committee, between a club member and the committee and also between the club and Doncaster BMW. John has liaised with the club member and John will send letter to Doncaster BMW affirming a cordial relationship between the dealer and the club. BeeEm advertising With the benefit of info provided by Brian Macdonald, committee discussed ratio of advertisements to text in BeeEm and also whether advertising should be limited to motorcyclerelated companies only. Decision taken to continue advertising as is. This includes memberrelated advertising currently included in BeeEm. Membership cards update John still liaising with Europcar re the cards, waiting on information. MASS Neil explained technical difficulties experienced by Detlef, membership officer, regarding access to MASS and resultant inability to process membership data. Neil is investigating this and also improving a security issue. Another few 33 NOV13 BeeEm days should see this rectified. Soft Sys., company providing MASS, extremely unhelpful in resolving issues. Club Website Neil continues to work on new website. At a later stage, intention is to move hosting to Australianbased company with 24 hour support. Cost will be higher. New site is likely to provide more storage for more content. Options and costs were discussed. Bulk email is still difficult to use. Neil trying to address this. Mike Bonner has details of updating bulk email. Girls’ lunch/ride Lynne confirmed this is planned for March 2014 since clash of dates occurred in November and December. RFDS donation Following Icicle Ride expense/income outcome, cheque for $500 will be sent to RFDS. Club Mail Will be held during 6-17 September while Secretary away. Christmas Camp Noela has booked Alexandra Tourist Park. Deposit and letter have been sent to confirm booking. Flyer and registration form are included in next BeeEm. Committee and Support Team Dinner Lynne awaiting confirmation from Noela re booking for this. Invitations will be sent after 18 September. Supper Roster Lynne to provide supper roster at Sept. general meeting. Tracy and Steve Brown kindly catering for Sept. mtg. New Member confirmation New procedure adopted for confirmation to new members. New members receive email from Detlef (copy Neil) confirming member number, procedure for website access, and also electronic BeeEm attachment. General business Lynne, IT issues occupy enormous amount of time. Neil offered to arrange separate committee mtg to explain issues. John has offered to re-run midweek ride. David to let John know when he should do this. Next month will be first CRL West ride, run by John. Will be on Monday of Bang ‘n’ Stuff, i.e. Monday before general club meeting. Will leave from The Nook coffee shop in Evans St, Sunbury. David will advertise this in bulk email. Future agenda items Revisit MinuteMan press quote for printing BeeEm. Icicle Ride 2014 Future of Service Day 34 NOV13 BeeEm meeting reports committee and general meeting General Meeting Minutes of general meeting of the BMWMCCVIC held on Monday 23 September 2013 at 7.30pm at the Camberwell Petanque Club, 64A Through Road, Camberwell, 3124. President, John Eacott, welcomed all to the meeting, reminding all to arrive and leave this new venue quietly, being mindful of nearby residents. He also advised that smoking was not permitted in the venue or in the grounds. We must do our utmost to maintain the venue to the high standard in which we find it. Approx. 66 in attendance. Apologies: Brian Rix, David McAuliffe, Davida and Steven Neill, Neil Davey, Dave Harrison. Visitors: Soni from Indonesia, was welcomed. He rides an F 800 GS, and is currently working in Australia. Invited to the meeting by Neville Borgelt. No new members. Minutes of previous meeting. No issues arising. Jack Schmidt moved, seconded by Bruce Hensell, that minutes be accepted. They were accepted. Guest Speaker John invited club member Robbie Langer to speak about his recent trip in Europe. Robbie flew from Australia to England where he took delivery of a Triumph Sprint which he purchased for £2000 to do the trip. Fitting a new chain and sprockets, his trip began in the Isle of Man for the TT, where he viewed the racing from various locations around the track, providing some great photos. From IOM he returned to England then went to Denmark, staying with Dorthe Krogh, who would be known to a number of our members here. On to Bergen, Norway, gateway to spectacular fjords and stunning roads and views. He rode all the way to the Nordkapp, Europe’s most northerly point, experiencing 24 hours daylight and sometimes riding until 10pm before camping overnight. In Finland he had new tyres fitted before continuing on to Estonia, Latvia, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Russia and Netherlands. During the 2 months he rode many mountain passes, never tiring of the scenery and riding. He spoke of local foods, reindeer soup, people he met, friends he stayed with, bike insurance, costs, etc. John thanked Robbie for a very entertaining talk and for sharing his great photos and presented him with a club notebook to members’ applause. Secretary’s report Lynne advised that information was available for various events in October and November. Total memberships currently 760, total members 949. Advice was given about an opportunity for a member to provide an R 1200 GS to a film production company for a day in October, should anyone be interested in this. Details will be provided on the club website. Treasurer’s report Treasurer, Steve Roberts, thanked Bob Rosenthal for handling things while he was away overseas. Steve advised that a misprint had occurred in the figures presented in the 4 page supplement provided with the September BeeEm for the Annual Report, the incomes from Icicle Ride and Christmas in Winter were each given as $10,000 too high; but totals were correct. Icicle Ride income and expenses are now known. Steve will publish these in BeeEm in due course. Other events will be covered in the same way. Any questions, please speak with him. Social Secretary In Noela Miller’s absence, John drew attention to the Christmas Camp, 26 Dec to 1 Jan, and the registration form in BeeEm. Extra magazines are available tonight, should anyone require extra registration forms. Please send registrations to treasurer. Christmas Party, Sat. 30th Nov. 5pm to 10pm at this venue. Club will provide chicken and soft drinks, members are asked to provide a salad or dessert. Please indicate the food you will bring by signing form with Lynne tonight. Ride Report Karl, midweek ride co-ordinator, drew attention to various rides detailed in BeeEm and on club website calendar. Neville will be leading the December midweek ride which will leave from Lilydale. In January the Opposite Icicle Ride will be held. Meet at 5.30am for 6.00am departure! Karl also noted the CRL ride next Monday, leaving from Degani’s café, Diamond Creek. The new Western CRL ride to be held on the Monday prior to the general club meeting at The Nook café, Evans Street, Sunbury at 9am. Rides to breakfast, Oct 6, Jindi café Jindivick, Nov 3rd at Mernda. Details in calendar. Yesterday Mark Chin led a ride to Walhalla. Wet roads most of the morning, lunch at Walhalla then returning through Tyers to finish at Longwarry. Oct 27 Euan’s Eildon Expedition. Neville Borgelt’s “A B of a weekend” on weekend after Cup weekend is a camping weekend not restricted to motorbikes. Vehicles or RVs are welcome. Nov 17, Alana’s Back Seat Rider’s Ride. Steve Brown and Devlin Gardner are organizing a GS ride. Not sure when this will be held. Thanks to Steve Brown for arranging this. Lloyd Griffiths possibly planning a challenging GS ride for early 2014. President’s Communication John attended the beginning of the Wall to Wall ride on 13 September and was pleased to see a good group of club members. Unfortunately Brian Rix and Shirley fell off their bike; however, both were able to continue. This event is a credit to all involved in the organisation and participation. Letter of thanks received from Barry and Joan Wells to thank members, in particular, Pat, Detlef and Brian, BMW 90th Anniversary Book has been donated to the club by Graeme Workman for borrowing by club members and return the following month. Graeme was thanked for this very kind gesture. The Western CRL ride will occur next month. John referred to the VMC meeting he would be attending the following night. Anyone is welcome to attend. John referred to a motorcycle policy document recently released by the RACV as being unsupportive of motorcyclists. He suggested club members who are RACV members contact RACV board members soon seeking election to ask questions of them regarding motorcycle policy issues. John advised that Ross Wright has volunteered to be the Service Day coordinator and thanked him for taking on this role. Neil Davey and Jack Schmidt recently helped John to move all the Service Day equipment to Radum Pty Ltd in Tullamarine for storage. We are grateful to this company for their assistance. It is likely that the company will make their factory available for Service Days. John received an embarrassing email this Meeting Reports committee and general meeting morning from a rider who was frightened by one of our riders overtaking her. She was not part of the club ride. John has been in touch with the person concerned. He commented that other riders don’t appreciate being overtaken hurriedly and asked members to overtake carefully at all times. Happy Birthday to Marcus who turned 72 this month. Membership Cards: John still liaising with Europcar re sponsoring of new club membership cards. One side of the card will be printed with Europcar details of discount available to members, the other with the member’s details including membership expiry date. Ron Matthews asked if any correspondence had been received from Clubs Australia. John confirmed not. BMW ACT club had also not received any reply to their letter to Clubs Australia expressing similar concerns to our own. John referred to his recent bulk email asking for feedback regarding possible change of Annual Awards event from a Saturday night to a Sunday lunch, possibly a couple of months earlier to avoid clash with Christmas in Winter event although noted that Rally usually occurs around April. After discussion, John asked for show of hands for change to lunch event; this indicated a large majority in favour. A venue and meal arrangement was suggested by Detlef where a booking fee would not be required. Some in favour of a winter event. Difficult to meet minimum numbers for a winter evening event. This year’s function ran at a loss. Preferable to avoid end of financial year timing for event. Ron Matthews asked about members’ experience with wet weather gear. Members volunteered suggestions including yachting clothing and a BMW Motorrad one piece suit, both offering successful protection. A member asked John to comment on his recent interview on the radio regarding front number plates and camera detection. John referred to the change in terminology now adopted by the Road Safety Camera Commissioner, Gordon Lewis, referring to frontal identification rather than front number plates. Some discussion ensued re this issue. A member referred to a recent news item which involved a motorcyclist being bashed. Another asked about point-topoint camera locations. Buy Swap and Sell Steve Brown is looking for a tank without dents for an R 1200 GS. The new club house, the Camberwell Petanque Club 35 NOV13 BeeEm James Connors has a set of panniers, minor scratches but in good condition, for an R 1150 RT for sale. David has a brand new small-sized BMW system 4 helmet with dark visor for sale, $350. Raffle 1st prize, Neville Borgelt, who chose the scenic helicopter flight from Point Helicopters. He chose to wash up after supper. 2nd prize, Brian Macdonald, who appreciated winning the ½ price tyre from BM Motors, Ringwood. Brian was volunteered to do the vacuuming after the meeting. John thanked Tracy Brown who singlehandedly prepared and provided supper tonight, greatly appreciated. John reminded all to take care of the venue and to leave quietly. Brian Macdonald reminded members they were entitled to a free advertisement in the magazine classifieds and on the website. The BMW 90th Anniversary book was borrowed by Winfried Hessling who will return it next month. The meeting closed at approximately 9.20pm. Members in attendance at the September General Meeting 36 NOV13 BeeEm Beeem classifieds FOR SALE BMW R1150RT 2004 143,500 kms. White, ex-police. Reg’d to 30 Oct 2013. Always garaged and maintained by BMW-trained mechanics. Brand new tyres and battery. Panniers, heated grips, ABS, electric adjustable screen and 2-position seat. A great bike, very good condition. Sold as is $5,000. Or with RWC by agreement and adjustment. Contact Gerald St John 0407 509 505. Chewton Vic. BMW R65LS, 1985. LAMS approved. Reg’d in Victoria to July 2014. Only 97,500 kms. Currently garaged in Yass NSW. Complete overhaul carried out this year includes: All new - ignition system, timing chain, battery straps and Staintune header and exhaust pipes with original mufflers. Carburettors overhauled. Dyno tuned and in perfect running order. Krauser panniers included. All in all it’s a neat and tidy bike, very reliable, perfect for a beginner. Always garaged. Not the original colour, but has earned the nickname ‘wolley’ (that’s yellow backwards). RWC if sold in Vic. $6,000. Contact Deborah 0404 499 054 kdwood@westnet.com.au BMW R 1150 RT 2001. Blue. Excellent condition. Only 108,869 km. Reg’d May 2014. Serviced at BMW Southbank, always garaged, ridden 3 times in the last 12 months. Tyres only 250 kms, not yet scrubbed in. ABS, electrically adjusted windscreen, BMW panniers and top box, heated grips, fitted sheepskin seat covers, headlight protector, radio/cassette with h/bar controls. Reluctant sale but I don’t ride much anymore and the garage space is needed (who would have thought). More photos and info available. $9,500.00 Contact: Dale Judd 03 9836 1997 0412 340 900 Balwyn Vic familyjudd@icloud.com Gerald’s R 1150 RT Dale’s R 1150 RT As new 7 X 4 trailer, (one trip to and from Newman, WA), completely galvanized steel, with tilt function, removable tail gate, Ford wheels incl. spare, dolly wheel, fully wired with flat Brylite plug, LED lights, high sides and cage superstructure. Bike tie down points are fitted. Reg’d NSW, probably no Vic registration needed. Can be viewed at Nev. Borgelt’s place in Diamond Creek. New price was $1800. Will consider serious offers. Contact Lloyd 03 9584 8257 Mentone Vic grumpyoldbstrd@netspace.net.au Panniers to suit R1100/1150RT 2001/2002 in good condition. Minor use marks only. $450. Contact James Connors Bell Park Vic 03 5278 8957 or 0427 214 180 maureenstevens3@ bigpond.com A pair of Italian Newfren brake shoes for R series airheads 1981-08/1989. Newfren GF1218. A guide to fitment of these shoes can be found on the following link; http://www.newfren.com/Prodotti.html?macro=FR&marca=&modello=&cilindrata= &anno=&pagename=Prodotti&ipp=&pg=&detail=1&codSel=.GF.1218&tipoArticolo Sel=3&ricercaCodice=1# $60 Including postage. Contact Dave Roberts Wodonga Vic 0422 596 669 davidroberts4@yahoo.com.au Lloyd’s Trailer James’ Panniers Wanted Front mudguard to suit 1967 R27. Must be in repairable condition. Contact Norm in Bendigo. 03 5443 3331 or jackeroo@vic.chariot.net.au David’s brake shoes Disclaimer The BMW Motorcycle Club of Victoria is of the view that the purchase of used safety helmets is not advisable and is at the discretion of the buyer. Valley Prestige BMW Sales Service Parts & Accessories Rider Equipment Finance EENY MEENY MINY MO. Don’t just look out your window and imagine how much fun you could have. BMW Motorrad offer a full range of class-leading touring motorcycles, with a host of features to make your ride safer, more comfortable and more fun. Whether it’s the new F 800 GT, with its nimble chassis and torquey parallel twin cylinder engine, the R 1200 RT, BMW’s classic boxer twin tourer or the silky smooth six-cylinder K 1600 series, there is a BMW for you. All BMW motorcycles come standard with industry-leading ABS systems, for peace of mind in all conditions. Other unique features include ASC (traction control), ESA (electronic suspension adjustment), RDC (tyre pressure monitoring), while the K 1600 models offer GPS integration and the first ever adaptive headlight system. To experience the best in motorcycle touring, contact Valley Prestige BMW to arrange a test ride today. UNSTOPPABLE TOUR. SINCE 1923. Valley Prestige BMW Cnr Princes Hwy & Coonoc Rd, Traralgon. Contact: Brad Casey (03) 5173 5888 or 0458 733 894 Email: motorradsales@valleymotorgroup.com.au LMCT 7325 The Ultimate Riding Machine GET BACK ON YOUR BIKE. Now with the weather on the improve, isn’t it about time you got back on your bike? To help you do that, Doncaster BMW Motorrad is showcasing the latest BMW Motorrad range ready for you to test-ride. If that’s not enough to get you out riding, Doncaster BMW Motorrad is giving everyone who purchases a new or demonstrator motorcycle in Spring a BMW Motorrad Rider Wear gift up to the value of $600.* You choose your gift, but it’s for a limited time only. RIDER WEAR GIFT WITH PURCHASE.* DONCASTER BMW MOTORRAD. WE SHARE YOUR OBSESSION. DONCASTER BMW MOTORRAD 814 Doncaster Rd, Doncaster VIC 3108. Ph: (03) 8848 0000. LMCT8560 doncasterbmwmotorrad.com.au *One item of Riderwear per customer. Up to the value of $600 only. Cannot be exchanged for monetary value. Cannot be combined with any other offer. Available until November 30, 2013.