Phillip Island  Honda Riders’ Club Ride Day Sunday 23^rd September

Ian Payne	Honda CBR1000	Darryn Webster	Triumph 675
Paul Southwell	Honda CBR1000	Dave Moore	Kawasaki ZX 636
Clint Vertigan	Suzuki GSXR750	Bron Manifold	Honda CBR600
Dave Ward	Ducati 1098		7 bikes, 7 members

Weather: fine but little windy towards the end of the day.

A ride day at the Island. How can anyone resist that! A few weeks in the making with a nice group of seven to enjoy the day. There were to be more people but, as usual, there were some dropouts.

Paul and Ian stayed the night before with the rest of us arriving early in the morning. Bron and I had had a fortieth birthday party the night before and were fairly tired as we got to bed around 1 am and then got up again at 6 am to head off down to the Island in the ute. Dave Moore headed down on his own and Clint drove Darryn in his brand new Vito van with all the trick gear.

We agreed to get in the last riding group so we could all be together. Funnily enough, Ian and Paul arrived late, even though they stayed in town (They must have had a big night). We endured all the usual processes including sign in followed by the pre-talk about the rules for the day.

The first session started out with following the leader for two laps to check out the track and then we are off like cut cats! After the 15 minutes warm up everyone was keen to get out again.

We had all brought down food and drinks to share which is great. And we all pretty much had new tyres for the day and so were checking them out after every session. After two sessions I knew that my tyres were looking a little second hand! I decided to run Dunlop 209 GPs and was very happy with their grip.

With the latest race rubber, it is known that they should really have tyre warmers to help cut the wear down. My tyres were cold tearing on both sides, the grunt from the Duke not helping. It was the first time I had ridden it at the Island and was very happy with the performance. I lined up Clint down the straight in top gear and passed him like he was standing still.

Dave Moore was having the time of his life (he doesn’t get out much!). Paul looked a little off the pace after a couple of bad runs. Clint was going great as usual but did mention that maybe too much dirt biking was affecting his adjustment to the speed. Bron, after having a huge week at work, then the party the night before, went to sleep in the back of the ute after the first outing. She stayed there for two more sessions and I have the photos to prove it.

Ian was going well, riding with a few Club members, rounding them up. Darryn was too busy checking out the lap timer on his bike to worry about fast laps.

After a couple of sessions I went out on the Honda. What a hoot! Dave Moore and I were having a great run with a few moments to scare ourselves stupid. 

Around 12.30 pm we had lunch with everybody pitching in with bread, cold chickens and salad. Plenty to go around which would only serve to slow us down later with the extra weight.

Second last session of the day resulted in Ian crashing at Turn 11. He was okay but not sure really what had happened. The bike sustained a lot of cosmetic damage. He was, however, in good spirits. We decided to call it a day and loaded up and headed home. Ian's bike, as we speak, is being repaired back to its former glory and should be on the road in time for the Melbourne Cup Weekend.

Apart from Ian's off it was a great day with everybody committing to another day on the 15^th of December. (Are there any other takers?) Honda Ride Days are very well run with the emphasis on enjoying your bike in a controlled environment. There are no graded groups and, after doing many ride days, I like the concept. If you would like to join us on this ride day, give one of us a call.

Note: bikes are not insured at the racetrack unless it is a school day.

Dave 1098 Italian pasta maker