Street Triple - I want one too!!

I'm still smiling every time I remember little of bits of what it was like riding the Street Triple today!
Martin gave me a call and it was on for a quick burn this morning.
We met at Little River and took a burn up through Serendip and on to Anakie and the Brisbane Ranges.
The bike is awesome & just amazing to ride. Lots of grunt and sounds fantastic - nothing like I'd expected.
Going from the Sprint it felt lots smaller and lighter - just a fun bike with heaps of character.
Martin couldn't wait to get it into those twisties through the Brisbane Ranges and it was all he expected and more - now we both want one!
If you get a chance take one for a burn - I'm sure you'll have a ball - like we did - check out the video!

Rawson week-end - 8th & 9th December 07

I can't believe a week has passed since the trip to Rawson! This time last week we were riding in a head wind back to Geelong and trying to catch an Indian bloke at a servo that had just rammed a couple's car in the carpark and taken off... there's always a tale or two to tell after these trips!
Well, it was great to see everyone turn out for the weekend trip. For me there were no new faces except for Warren from Peter Stevens on a Bonnie with partner Sonya. One face was missed by us all - Murray, get well soon!
The first stage of the trip was to meet Mal & Cheryl & Bacchus Marsh and then it was on to Kilmore for a brief stop and a stretch. Next was the fun part - Onward towards Yea via Flowerdale!
It was awesome and everyone loosened up & made the most of that fantastic road that goes from Broadford via Strath Creek and Flowerdale to Yea. There were smiles all around when we got to Yea and it was a quick stop and refuel before heading on towards Marysville.
The plan was to stop again for lunch but the enthusiasm took over and we didn't quite seem to find that lunch spot! At Marysville I was thinking about how good it would be to park up and stay the night as I knew there was a long way to go and on the Reefton Spur!
Feeling knackered we hit the spur and some people came to life - I still reckon that anyone enjoying the Reefton Spur going downhill is a psycho!
We all made it in one piece so time to regroup at the Reefton Pub for refreshments. We were all fairly knackered as we trying to get motivated in the heat & flies to get going. Along the way a lyrebird almost became a dead bird when Martin came across it on one of those forest roads - I don't know what Paul had to drink - he thought it was a kangaroo!
We were all glad to reach Rawson and it was into a few refreshing beers and dinner was served - with Cheryl eagerly at the front of the queue.
It was a great night catching up and Paul's luck wasn't in!
Next morning it was an early start after breakfast - the local store owner wasn't happy when we all pulled up for fuel at the same time! The ride back was almost the same way as we'd been the day before but this time via Healesville where we stoped for lunch. Earlier, Janine had a close encounter with a dog in the main street of Powelltown on the way back to Yarra Junction - all was well & the dog will remember never to attack a bonnie again!
After lunch we decided that the next stop would be Diamond Creek - but, with me at the front anything can happen and it did! I ended up going around Diamond Creek instead of taking the turning to Wattle Glen and going through it - so the guys at the back were waiting for us while we were already on the Princes Freeway!
Then an Indian bloke in an old tattered Ford Falcon nearly reversed over Vicki and then bashed into a Holden Commodore as he was reversing - then he put the car into drive and rammed the Holden with Warren chasing after him - the guy was crazy & the police were told but didn't show up - hope they got him in the end.
Anyway, great week-end but a long trip & it took me a week to recover - but maybe that's old age!

Bikes by the Bay & Rawson

BIKES BY THE BAY - Sunday 25th November
It was a good day in Williamstown a couple of Sundays ago for the Bikes by the Bay rally.
The event is organised by the Williamstown Motorcycle Club and attracts everything from the latest & flashiest to the oldest and grubbiest!
There were a few bikes there that drew the attentions of the crowd, such as the Triumph chopper that had been built from the ground up and looked awesome - we weren't sure how it would get over a bump but it looked good and was a credit to its owner.
Then there was the Triumph Daytona with the nickel plated frame, wheels, swinging arm & the list goes on...
The Hells Angels even had a marquee selling t-shirts with "Support your local bandit" splashed across the front!

They had a few sand dragsters there that looked mean with huge car engines balanced in the frame and nitro bottles hanging of the sides.
For those of us that started bike riding in the late 70s there was plenty of nostalgia with Z650, Z900, GS1000, GT750 (water bucket), Z500 (triple), 400 Four, 750 Four and the list goes on!
Then we came across these two Ducati 1098S with the custom tri-colour paint job - they looked even better in the flesh than in the magazines. Best part was they belonged to a a couple - husband & wife - one each!! Now that's living...
It was a good day out and all 6 of us had lunch together in a little cafe before calling it a day and heading home.

RAWSON - SUNDAY 8th DECEMBER
Remember - the trip to Rawson is on this week-end. I didn't get to the Wharfshed last Thursday night but spoke to Pete tonight on the phone and its an 8am sharp departure from the Wharfshed on Saturday morning - see you there.