70 MOTORCYCLETRADER
Spanner
n’ Stroothyouwereonwasprettyquiet, but I guess that’s
how it has to be these days with noise pollution
being part of the ADRs.
S PA N N E R :Yeah, it’s a pretty muted burble.
Those peashooters you had on the LT were
sending pulses I could feel from 50 yards
away. You had a ride on my bike, too. What
did you think?
ROOT H Y: Bloody rocketship. Awesome
suspension, brilliant brakes, incredible gearbox,
just wham bam whooshka and plop over the
horizon. Noisiest thing on it was the radio. I
don’t have the bottle to ride something like
that the way it deserves anymore though, and I
don’t understand it, which isn’t good for an old
bush mechanic. Funny though, there were six
different bikes on that trip ranging in age from
mine to yours and we all arrived places much
the same time.
S PA N N E R : It’s a lesson, isn’t it, in pride and
money. You can’t buy dignity. Lovell’s Indian
got some road dirt on it so we saw the Mr Sheen
early in the trip. Kog’s Triumph Thunderbird
with the high ’bars didn’t miss a beat. Rod’s
BMW something, an R 1100 S, I think, did what
BMWs are supposed to do and the only bike to
disgrace itself was Bill’s Moto Guzzi, which got
a puncture at the NSW/Victoria border beforewe galloped down to Cann River to celebrate
the re-opening of the pub after four months of
arguing about licenses.
I set a land speed record from the border to
Cann River because I thought Bill would be on
my tail and felt pretty chuffed that I was the
first one there. That feeling dissipated when
he didn’t show up and I had to ride all the way
back to the border to try to find him. Anyone
who isn’t in their state motoring organisations’
‘Total Care’ system needs to review their
decision. A flat-bed truck picked Bill’s bike up
and delivered it to a shop in Bairnsdale that
had a new tyre. I dinked Bill the 180km there
the next day and the Guzzi was ready to go. He
whinged a bit about the accommodation on the
back of the R 1250 RT, but we’re now both built
like Shetland ponies and the fairing on the bike
kept him dry. I rode like a safety instructor so
as not to frighten him, but I think he now feels
that’s as fast as I can ride. Sometimes I don’t
know why I bother.
What it’s done, though, is to enthuse me to
fix the few little issues on my R 100 RS so I can
join your bike club on our next ride.
ROOT H Y:Beauty Grant, always great having
someone else flying the old-bike flag. It added
a whole new dimension to our Tassie laps with
Bill on his R75/6, you on your old R60 and me
on the Norton. I think we re-fought the Battle
of Britain a few times, didn’t we? Maybe that’s
why I like shotgun exhausts...ABOVE Spanner
and Strooth
didn’t notice the
disappearance of
the barman at the
Sofala Royal Hotel
until the police
arrived.