238 | JANUARY 2018 http://www.adbmag.com.auFACTORYRIDE/READERSRIDE/HERITAGE/ACTION/OAS/BUYERSGUIDE
Was your first bike an
aggie for jobs around
the farm?
No,myparents
weren’t keen on
motorbikes,somy
first one was
actually an old Suzuki
50cc step-thru when I
wasabout14or15.Next
cameaHondaXL100which
endedupwitha150big-bore
kitinit.Inevertoldanybody
aboutthatandallmymates
thoughtIwasarealguntoride
a100ccbikesofast.Itwasa
bigsteptothenextbike,a
YZ400.BeforeIbroughtit
home,Igotthebikeshoptoput
175stickersonthesidesso
MumandDadwouldn’tworry.
You’re best known for riding
HondasintheSafari,howdid
that come about?
IenteredthefirstSafariin
1985asaprivateeranditwas
commonly accepted that the
HondaXR600wasthebest
mountforaneventlikethat.It
wasasolid,reliablemachine
that could handle the big days
andlongdistancesatconstant
highspeedsandXR600stook
thewin10timesfrom1985
until1999.IntheearlySafaris
youhadtocarryeverything
with you. My rack broke and I
1.Riley puts his foot down on Safari
2.Steve still swears by the amazing
reliability of the Honda XR600lostalotofstuffand
ended up sleeping on
thegroundatnight
in my riding gear
andhelmettrying
to keep warm. I
finished though and,
attheend,theHonda
team took pity on me
and invited me to share
theirmotelroom.Iwasoffered
support for the next Safari.Your name is synonymous
withtheSafaributdidyou
ride other events?
Istartedoutwithafewlocal
endurosbutsoonfoundI
preferredlongerevents.Dairy
farmingisaseven-day-a-week
careersothelongereventslet
megetawholeyear’sworthof
ridinginahandfulofevents,
making it easier to arrange
time off.
IrodeintheVictorian1988
A4DE in Queensland. I’ve
contested 12 Safaris for six
second places and one DNF,
plusthreeinacarforthewin
each time.
I’ve also done the Pharoahs
RallyinEgyptinacar,the
Dakar Rallyé twice in a car and
scored second outright in Race
totheSkyinNewZealandin
2002inaSuzukiHyabusa-
powered 4x4 buggy.REAR GUARD
SIX TIMES SECOND IN SAFARI
DAIRY FARMER STEVE RILEY TELLS WARREN JACK HOW HE GOT A YEAR’S WORTH OF RIDING IN ONE GO
Which event stands out the
most for you?
The A4DE in Erica, where I rode
the big-bore class and it was a
top event. Also the 24-Hour
Reliability Trial in South
Australia.Do you have anything on your
bucket list still to do?
I always wanted to do the Dakar
on a bike but the logistics and
the costs were just too much
when I was bike fi t and
competitive.
I think there were plenty of
Aussie guys that could have
done well in the early ’90s but
the dollar was not good and the
logistics were a lot more
diffi cult back then.Do you still ride and
compete?
I still have a Kawasaki 100 ag
bike to run around the
paddocks on and I can always
borrow a bike from my brother
Graeme if the bug bites. My
next plan is to drive the Silk
Way Rally in Russia and I’m
building up a VE 4WD Holden
ute to do it in.IGOTTHEBIKE
SHOPTOPUT 175
STICKERSONTHE
SIDES
FI
VE
MINUTES
WITH
STEVE
RILEYYou can get time away from
the farm easier these days by
the sound of it.
I employ people instead of
doing it all myself and, as well
as a few farms, I own a quarry
business and earthmoving
operation. One of the perks of
being the boss is giving yourself
some time off now and again.I think I may know the answer
but do you have a favourite
bike from your racing years?
Certainly, it’s the Honda
XR600. It was rock-solid
reliable, mechanically simple
and easy to work on. All things
that are needed in a long-
distance, off-road race.
Perhaps even more so back
when I was racing as there is
more back up now.Your toughest event?
That would have to be the fi rst
Safari in 1985. About 100
started and none of us had too
much of an idea just what to
expect other than dust and
long days. I think six or maybe
even eight of us fi nished the
race and we knew a lot more
about what to expect next time.
One day we did 1100km, which
meant hours of night riding at
both the start and fi nish of the
stage. As I said earlier, I lost
most of my gear part way.Who would you regard as your
toughest rivals then?
Both John Hederics and Steve
Chapman are good friends of
mine and both of them were
outstanding competitors.
Chapman has three Safari wins
and was a natural talent and
Hederics won many on bike and
car. He has six on a bike and
four in a car. He was great at
preparation and planning and
fast with it and that’s a winning
combination hard to beat.