22 amcn.com.au
NOWEVENMORE
PLACES TO READ AMCNYour sayofmyfavourite-sounding
engines. I’ve just turned my
headinside out tryingto
imagine the sound this bike
wouldmake.
How about putting a video
withsoundofitdoinga
ride-past onyour YouTube
channel please?
Thanks,
Rob Mitchell
Dubbo, NSW
G’day Rob, no problem
at all. Let me know when
you’ve booked the plane
ticket and I’ll happily nick
over and record it for you.
I’ll even get you on the other
end of the phone so you can
hear it in person!
Never too old
JustacommentonSam
Maclachlan’sarticle(Vol 67
No13)ongettingtoooldto
ride:Irealiseitwasmostly
about TB21’s comeback, but
Iwould like to comeatit
from anotherperspective –
ridingontheroad.
When Ilivedin
Queensland, I was in the
Ulysses club up there. Just
ajunior member in those
days, but I’m 69 now and
stillriding.
Iwanttotellyoualittle
story. In ourbranchofthe
club was a rider we called
MrMutt,whowasabout
85 years of age and from
memoryherodeanold
CX500 Honda. TheUlysses
club holds its AGM in a
differentlocation every
year and one year it was
heldin Melbourne.
MrMuttwould goto
every AGM, and you would
thinkhewould just ride
straightdown thecoastto
Melbourne wouldn’tyou,
but no, Mr Muttdecided
togothelongwayround–
across thetopofOz,down
thewestcoastofWA a nd
across theNullaborPlain
to claimlongestdistance,
oldest bikeandoldestrider
toboot–soitjustgoes to
show you, age is nobarrier.
Luckily at my age I still
havegreat reflexes andI
guess it will come down
to realisingwhen I am
startingtolose those
ref lexes,andthenitwillbe
time togiveitup.
By the way, despite my
age, IjustboughtaYamaha
MT- 0 9 Tr a c e r a ndam
loving every minute of it.
Brian ‘Hump’
Humphreys
Wyong,NSWG’day Brian, I hope you
never get over the ‘Hump’.
This subject has created
an enormous amount of
discussion, as you will see.
Personally, I reckon I’ll keep
riding as long as I still have
the passion (so forever) and
I’m still safe (maybe not
forever...). ChrisNever too old 2
Iwas drawntoreflect on
myown motorcyclingpast
andpresent after reading
Sam’s In Yer Face column
in Vol67 No 13.
I’m turning 69 this year
andIfirst attainedmy
rider’slicence in 1970.
Like most of my friends at
that time, I considereda250abigbike!Toconsider
purchasingaHondaCB750
or KawasakiZ1wasnot
ontheradarforus and
certainlynot our parents’
minds.AHondaCB100was
my firstbiketolearn the
skillsI’ve usedto stay one
step ahead of the tin-top
drivers ever since.
Having a break from
bike ownership in mid-
lifedue tofamily/work
commitments with only the
occasionalrideoffriends’
machines, I returned to
thefoldin 2 006 witha
Ya mahaFZ6,followedby
aSuzuki1250Banditand
mypresent ride, a Yamaha
MT- 0 9 Tr a c e r. A n d h a v i ng
coveredover 120, 000 kmin
that time, I stillcan’tget
the smile off my face!
Great to see TB21getting
backinthesaddleforthe
upcomingASBK series. He
will be very competitive
andtheyounggunsbestbe
on their A-game tokeep up,let alone stay ahead.
I witnessedhim atlast
year’sFestivalofSpeedat
SydneyMotorsport Park,
his Ducati on one wheelthe
entire length of the straight
withMaria Costelloas
pillion!
Soyes, Sam, there are
many years aheadfor you
toenjoytheride!
AllanCoates
LaneCove, NSWG’day Allan, that Maria
Costello is certainly one
brave motorcycle racer!
And there are certainly a lotof fans out there who, like
you, are looking forward to
seeing Troy Bayliss shake
things up in ASBK. It makes
the coming season one to
savour, that’s for sure. ChrisNever too old 3
Having turned 36 before I
startedriding,Iwasoneof
Warwick’sfirst customers
ontheoldoiltrackat
Amaroo in theearly ’80s.
You’re100percentright
whenyousaysurvivalis
knowingwhen toback
off.In factit’sbestto
treat everyunknown
incrementally.
Iwas55whenIrodemy
first Oz Safari–inthepairs
division, which we won (as
no one else entered).
Irodesoloin2003and
won the M2.2 Sportsmen
class. Again I was theonly
one in the class (you getting
the picture?). Caldecott
won outrightbuthis
satisfactioncouldhavebeen no greater than my
own.
I’m72thisyear andhave
obtained permission to
ridealapofArnhem Land,
starting from home here in
Tweed,Queensland.After
that, then it’s12daysinthe
Canadian Rockies.
Mate,thechances are,if
you’rekeen,you’llridejust
asmanyklicksinthenext
30 years asyou’ve ridden in
the past 30 years.
Peter Whitaker
ViaemailG’day Peter, don’t I knowMr Mutt decided to go
the long way round –
across the topofOz, down
the west coast of WA