Moe Sunday 29^th April, 2007

Ian Payne (leader)	Honda CBR1000	Cameron Stevens	Suzuki GSXR1000
Ben warden (rear rider)	Honda CBR954	Dave Ward	Suzuki GSXR600

Berwick at 10 am saw only the four starters as the weather had turned cold and wet. Not an unwelcome sight for the farmers but decidedly uncomfortable for bike riders. It had rained heavily up until Stud Road on the freeway and then miraculously dried up as if it had never rained. I queried Dave as to where his new pride and joy was, the Ducati 1098. He quipped that he had heard it was raining in South Australia and hence wouldn’t be riding it.

Ian rolled in at the death, expecting no-one. He said it was bucketing out his way and the rain was on its way. Sure enough it was starting to spit, so we beat a hasty retreat and set forth. I took up riding at the rear, feeling decidedly seedy, a late night of cards and the remnants of the lingering lurgy taking their toll.

As per the usual Ian lead from this starting point, we headed north through Berwick (mind that slippery white line at the lights, eh Dave) and up through Harkaway and all the good twisty roads making our way to Upper Beaconsfield, around Cardinia Reservoir towards Emerald and then back through Cockatoo, down to the big roundabout and up to Gembrook. Not many cars on the road but Dave and particularly Cameron seemed unusually careful in the traffic, Ian regularly disappearing off into the distance. Maybe he knew the roads better than everyone else (without doubt), or his bike was running perfectly after the recent full service, or none of his regular aches and pains were intruding yet. He was gone.

We continued heading north through Gembrook picking up the Launching Place road. The surface under the trees was mainly dry, sometimes wet in the corners. At the sharp Yarra Junction turn Ian headed off for fuel in Launching Place, having forgotten to fill at the start point. We cleaned our visors and chatted animatedly until Ian returned. Then on to Yarra Junction and Powelltown for morning tea. No stray dogs today. Noting there was no fuel in Powelltown we pressed on through the tight twisties, luckily not meeting the large contingent of Ulysses riders heading the other way. Instead we pursued another group of Japanese sportsbike riders but didn’t catch them.

At Nayook we ventured up the steep hill and continued on to Neerim and the turnoff to Neerim East. It was quite dry now and very pleasant. At Neerim South after 130 km I expected to be able to get fuel but the servo was unexpectedly closed. Dave suggested I head for Jindivick, 8 km away, as he was pretty certain they were open on Sunday’s. I did so, agreeing to catch up with the others in Moe. Sure enough the Jindivick General Store was open and 16.33 litres later I was back in pursuit of the main group. The Crossover twisties were tasty and the initial section of the Old Sale Road was excellent offering great views from the peaks across the Latrobe Valley. It is not often that we travel in this direction.

I caught the guys outside the Chinese Bakery which seems to have changed hands, decidedly for the worse. The other bakery on the other side of the road further down the street has closed down completely, despite the large overhead signage to the contrary. That answered Dave’s question as to why we parked here – because we always do!

At the long leisurely break I learned that Ian had stumbled at the service station back at Launching Place, tripping himself up in his one piece water proofs, which incidentally, we were all now trying to divest ourselves of as the weather was at least at the maximum of 20 degrees and very sticky. Ian was flexing his left wrist which somehow he had managed to strain in the process of falling over, his motorcycle body armour preventing any serious damage to other body parts. He was chiding himself for managing to hurt himself in the most innocuous fall.

The decision was made to remove all our wet weather clothing, despite the suggested forecast of showers in the afternoon. Cameron kindly gave me his one piece suit as it is uncomfortable small and he has other options. I suggested he keep it until the end of the ride, just in case. A wise call as it turned out.

We set off running parallel with the Freeway until Trafalgar where Ian asked that I lead due to the worsening condition of his sprained wrist. While waiting and missing the lights at the railway crossing I quickly interrogated Ian as to which route he had in mind. He mentioned Lardner, Poowong and Drouin. Via Mirboo North? I queried, given that we were at the start of that road, to which I thought I received an affirmative response. It later transpired that Ian intended that we go to Yarragon, Lardner, down the Korumburra Road to Ranceby and Poowong, and then back to Drouin.

Now leading, I headed straight up the hill leaving Trafalgar heading for Thorpdale and Mirboo North. Cameron had a big moment in the Thorpdale series of esses, losing the rear end and then it snapping back, throwing him out of the seat. Somehow the bike remained shiny side up and he pressed on. Yes, there was a damp, slippery patch mid-corner looking decidedly green which he hadn’t noticed.

We could see the horizon obliterated by heavy rain as we looked down from the ridge, heading for Mardan. It didn’t take long before we dropped down and were it the thick of it. It was heavy rain with sheets of water across the road, not ideal riding conditions with worn tyres. The concept of being booked for speeding was not even a consideration, let alone a possibility.

We stopped near the T-intersection to don our wet weather suits, the other three wiggling themselves into their one piece suits. It was absolutely pouring, gloves already soaked. Dave rung his out before putting them on again. It was agreed that we would not do the Arawata dirt, the most direct route, which then meant we had to go right into Leongatha.

So, on to Leongatha and down the highway to Korumburra, watching out for shiny patches. At Korumburra I turned right and headed for Warragul. Climbing up the first series of esses I was greeted by an oncoming silver Commodore station wagon coming too fast into a left hander with the tail end coming around, tyres squealing in the wet, threatening to swat me off the road. Cameron was sitting off to my right and was in an even worse situation. I slowed to almost a stop and looked in my mirror expecting the worst, with the possibility that Dave, next bike along after Cameron, would cop the full brunt of the sideways, out of control car. He said he was ready to take to the other side of the road but at that point the driver managed to gather up the pieces and was just fighting a fishtail. Ian didn’t notice anything.

Everyone okay, I continued on without stopping, saving the shared experience for the last stop. Left at Ranceby along the sweepers, still raining. Then right at Poowong taking the gentle route all the way to the Drouin – Lang Lang Road. Right turn at the T junction saw us parked under the trees on the median strip in Drouin, drinking café lattes. It was well over 100 km since Moe, and a hard 325 km ride in the conditions.

After another leisurely break, the time of the next Superbike races noted, we set off for our respective homes down the wet freeway. After another 110 km and more fuel, another Club ride was complete. Thanks Ian for leading, and Dave and Cameron for turning up despite the dire weather forecast.

The bike clocked over 75,000 km on the ride, receiving its first full service since the 24,000 km mark a week earlier. Two inlet valve shims were replaced, the Exup valve cables checked, and the header exhaust gaskets replaced, one of the cylinders chuffing slightly. Also one loose seat mounting rivetty thing was tightened. Plugs and air filter changed. It is ready for another 50,000 km now, apart from the regular fluid changes I perform (oil, forks, shock, brakes).

Interestingly I received a call from the new owner of my old yellow 929 looking for plastics after planting it into the back of a car. I sold it with just over 99,000 km on the odometer (actual 194,000 km) and I wondered if the speedo had frozen at 99,999 like the first one did. It had. But he had done another 26 tanks (!) since then at an average of 260 km per tank, he estimated, bringing the bike to well over 200,000 km and still running fine, not consuming any oil.

Will the 954 speedo also freeze at 99,999? Sometime in February next year I should have an answer to.

Ben Warden