03/02/12
What a lazy day today !! :-) As I was returning the key to the office prior to leaving the van park ran into the manager who had a new Triumph T100. Went from a 1400cc Kwaka to a 800cc Trumpy. Light and manourverable he said !! He went riding with his wife as pillion though she now thought the seat to small !! I told him that I was heading back to the mainland this evening and was considering unhooking the trailer and going for a quick run somewhere, He offered to lock up the trailer in his yard and suggeted a few roads to try. I had to smile to myself, everyone I had spoken to who rode had a few favourite roads they wanted to share!! What a great place !!

There were a few 15kph bends !!

So off I went, headed no where in particular and just enjoying the ride and the perfect  weather on my last day. At about 1630 I arrived back, picked up the trailer and headed for the park by the waterfront. Under the big trees I had the last of my good bread, some brie and made up an expresso to wash it all down. Then pulled out at 1730 for the ferry terminal.


When I arrived there were  about a dozen cars ahead of me and by the time the gates opened the line went out of sight around the corner. I picked up my boarding pass, went through the quarratine and handed over a couple of gas canisters and then sent into row 10. At that time I was the only motorcyclist there. WIthin 45 min there were over 30 bikes lined up behind me. Everyone came up for a chat and to look over, under, inside the trailer. Everyone !! Who made it, what's it like to tow, wasn't the bike a bit small for the trailer, what was fuel consumption like etc etc :-) Even a couple who were travelling on BMW RT  thought the trailer as an answer to a few more luxuries :-)

Once onboard I showered, went to the bar and had a light sherbert, then crashed !!

04/02/12
 I woke up about 0530, minutes before they called 'wakie, wakie' over the PA. They had put all the bikes close to the bows so we were off almost seconds after the gate was opened.  As it was early (0640) and a Saturday morning there was almost no traffic around while I headed to meet up with Jim and his family again. We headed off to Ivanhoe for breaky and to the the conference venue. It was a great day ended up by arriving back to our accomodation at about 2230. After a couple of light Boags it was midnight and time for the sack !!!

05/02/12
Breakfast this morning was a 'breakfast pizza' with eggs, mushrooms, bacon, sausages, advacados and cheese on a thin crusty pizza base. I then headed to the Business Centre for some XS then on the road again !!

Once I cleared the suburbs and moved through the light industrial centre on the outskirts of Melbourne the wind started.  It was initially a side wind and so strong I had difficulty keeping the bike and trailer in my lane.In fact, some of the gusts were so strong I felt that the bike would be blown over. If it wasn't for the trailer, it may have done so !!  At one point I was travelling about 60kph in a 100kph limit area with strong gusts threatening to knock me and the bike off the road !! (Talk about tightening the butt muscles)!!. I pulled into a servo to find out how much more of this to expect and was told  that it may be like that all the way to Woodonga !! I waited for about 45min but there was no sign that it was going to ease, so off I went again. To say that it was stressful would be putting it mildly. I was not sure sometimes  which lane I would end up. Then a large roadtrain passed me and I thought "why not sit on his tail" ?? I did for over 180km before the wind eased up enough for me to pass the rig and give it another go. The wind was still strong but more head on and was not the throwing me and the bike around. It was almost about 50k out of Woodonga before it had eased up to a strong breeze. Phew !!

The road was in great condition but boring !! Once into NSW the highway was concrete most of the way to Yass. Smooth but boring. Even the countryside was unchanging. Rolling hills, farmlands, beef, sheep for Km after Km. About 30k out of Yass the trailer started to weave about quite strongly !! What the hell !! I stopped and checked the tyres on the trailer, all ok !! The back tyre was good, Checked the wheel bearings on the trailer and noticed that the tow bar was moving too much !! I checked it out and foung that one of the bolts had vanished !! Where to get another bolt ?? I found one suitable on the small wheel jack I used to lift the rear wheel. As I was finishing the temporary repairs a motorcyclist went roaring passed, braked heavily and came back to help out. I had finished and was packing everything up while I told him what had happened. He then sat on my tail  to make sure eveything was OK until I turned into Yass then he was off with a wave. Made me feel much better :-)

THEN !!! I couldn't remember Kylie's address and stopped near the bridge in Yass and called her. Went to start the bike, Nothing !! Click click click  !! Flat battery ?? Damm voltage regulator must have died !! Kylie came, then went for jumper leads. Bike started ok. I then rode up to her place with the motor sounding a Royal Enfield (a single cylinder) !!

That was it for a day !! I'd have a look at it tomorrow !!

06/02/12

I went with Kylie to drop off the kids at school and after joining her on a walk around the river we went into Canberra for a new regulator and replacement bolts.  The bloke at the bike shop said that they would have one by tomorrow, I asked the price and he went off to find out. While waiting we went next door to a bolt supply shop for a couple of replacement bolts. When we walked back into the bike shop, lo and behold !! They had one !! $105.00. Then off to Supercheap for a small charger. $50.








I was told at Peter Stevens, Melbourne, when I had problems with the electrics that the regulator had been tampered with and was flakey. When I pulled it off I could see the extra wires that had been connected by NT Motorcycles when it was being repaired, under warranty, for an electrical fault. I will have a few words to say to them about that !! The battery took over 10 hours to recharge..

The modified one is on the right

07/02/12
We took the kids to school then I joined Kylie on her river frontage walk before re-assembling the bike. Battery fully chargwd :-). I rang Classic Industries for a new towbar but they only had unpainted ones and would not sell me one !! Their policy, they said. How long ?? Two weeks !! ^%^*&% !!  I rang the other ompanies advertising motorcycle towbars and they ALL purchased their towbars, as required, from Classic Industries !!! Double $%$*$ !!

Becks and Brett gave me the name of an engineering company in Narracoorte that may able to modify my existing towbar. It's that or leave my trailer at Brett's parents place. I would rather take it back with me !!.

Tested the bike. Ran like a charm with the new regulator. I'm off tomorrow at about midday as I want to watch Liviul at the swimming carnival tomorrow morning. :-)