Vol 1, No 10 Editors:

April, 1963 Len Shearer

Ron Landers

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Over the last decade or so in this country there has been a great appeal by chambers of commerce and manufacturers to "buy Australian". The motorist, who always has his hand in his pocket, frequently thinks twice about buying local products, however. We motor scooterists are also asked to buy Australian goods, although all of our scooters are either British or European made. Over the last two years I have heard a lot of comment on the poor quality of locally-made motor scootering products. The three main items which a scooterist (or motor cyclist) uses are cables (clutch, brake and throttle), tyres and batteries. My first clutch cable which came with the machine from Germany lasted 2 _ years. Since then I have broken four in less than eight months, which gives an average of about 1,500 miles per cable. Tyres from Europe generally have a life ranging up to 25,000 miles or more, while local ones are lucky to perform to 6,000. The trouble which I have heard of from other riders regarding batteries of Australian origin also makes on wonder whether our own goods are comparable with foreign makes. Apart from these three items, the majority of replacement parts such as pistons, rings, bearings, etc. are simply not up to the standard of world class. The enthusiastic scooterist can purchase, for example, a new tyre (Australian) for £4/5/-, and this will last for 6,000 miles, or six months. The same tyre of European make will set him back £5/15/- (30/- more than the local one), but will last for 20,000 miles or 18 months. In my opinion, the difference can be seen at a glance by anyone with any common sense. A scooter mechanic recently told me of a repair job he had done on a German scooter. This work included rebore and a new piston of Australian make. To quote his words liberally, he said "…after which it ran for 3,00 miles like an old tin can. The ring pins slipped out of the piston and the rings naturally turned, eventually catching and breaking on the exhaust ports and inlet openings. After completely rebuilding the motor with original parts, the machine was back to first class working order." I have heard this same thing said by other mechanics. As it is the motorist who always has his hand in his pocket, surely the same person will think twice about what he spends and what he buys. If these same goods are being exported to foreign countries and the results are identical to what is happening here, what must those other trading nations’ impressions of our products be? It strikes me that these goods will not do very much to advertise Australia’s prosperity, workmanship and quality in overseas markets. Unless this standard does improve considerably, I for one will be extremely hesitant before purchasing Australian made products, especially if I can buy original equipment and spare parts locally. Although they may cost a few shillings or a pound more, the lasting quality of them overshadows the initial expense.

Len

Upon the resignation of Ian Carron as co-editor, volunteers were called for to help manage the magazine. Ron Landers has filled the position and is now helping with the production. However, if all members or any other persons can contribute any items at all to the Whispers, we would gratefully accept same. If you have any ideas to put forward or any scootering hints or jokes, then why not share them with the other readers of the magazine? Perhaps you may have some old motor cycle magazines which contain items of interest. Cut them out and let us have them. Without such help, the "Whispers" cannot possibly keep going as it is.

Len

Here is a rough list of the sports programme and rules for the sports events to take place during the Easter Rally at Narrabeen. It may be an advantage to study them ahead of time if you intend competing in the events.

THE FIELD: There will be six lanes, 50 yards long and 22 feet wide, with three feet of "no man’s land" between each. In all events except the Slow Race, the rider may use the full 22 feet. Riders in the Slow Race will use only the three-foot strips between the main lanes. See the diagram on pages 6 and 7. Each lane illustrates one of the seven events on the programme. The types of obstacle that will be used, and the distances between them, are clearly shown. All races will finish at the end marked FINISH. All races except the Pillion Relay will start and finish at the end marked FNISH. The Start and Finish lines will be marked with white powder, and the lane boundary lines will be defined by clearly visible rope, which will extend beyond the Start and Finish lines.

In all events, a rider whose scooter touches a lane boundary line will be disqualified. THIS RULE IS MOST IMPORTANT, SO REMEMBER IT.

SCOOTERS: Any windscreens, mirrors, body cowlings, spare wheels, luggage racks, air cleaners, etc., may be removed, provided that this is not deemed unsafe by the officials. Mufflers must be kept on, and must be in normal working order. Rubber tyres only may be used (eg no metal spikes), but any type of tread will be permitted. Seating must be as normally used for the road. Any type of fuel may be used.

RIDERS; Riders must wear safety helmets in all races. Footwear with open toes will not be allowed. These rules apply to both riders and pillion passengers.

Each rider may use only one scooter throughout the programme, except in the following 2 cases:

1. if the scooter becomes unserviceable, official permission must be obtained before another machine can be used;
2. if two riders using the same scooter are drawn in the one race one may use another machine for that race, after obtaining official permission.

The officials will have the power to specify, in the event of a rider having to change scooters, what machines may or may not be used by that rider. They may inspect any scooter reported to be unserviceable.

Up to six riders may be accommodated in each heat. The first three placegetters will qualify for the next round. However, if fewer than three riders finish a race without being disqualified, only those who finish correctly will qualify.

Turns may be made in either direction, unless the rules for a particular event specify the type of turn (eg Curl Curl).

SCORING SYSTEM: Points will be awarded to riders (not pillions) as follows:

In each final, 6 for 1^st; 4 for 2^nd; and 2 for 3^rd.

In other races: 3 for 1^st; 2 for 2^nd; and 1 for 3^rd.

In the event of a dead-heat, the points for the two places will be shared.

TROPHIES: Gold, Silver and Bronze medals will be awarded to the 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd placegetters in the finals of the Ladies’ and Men’s Bending Races, Flag Race, Curl Curl, Delivery Race, Slow Race and Spring (to riders only, not pillions, in the above racers); also to the pillions, not riders, in the Pillion Relay.

In addition, cups will be awarded to the placegetters in the Individual Point Scores (Ladies and Men), to the club winning the Pillion Relay and to the Champion Club.

Details of the club scoring system have yet to be finalised.

BENDING RACE: There will be 7 car tyres at 25 foot intervals. Riders must zigzag between the tyres for five lengths of the field. Feet may touch the ground. Either right or left turns may be used, but will be the same at both ends. At the centre of each tyre will be a small object. If the tyre is moved enough to disturb it, the rider will be disqualified.

FLAG RACE: Each rider must have a pillion, but need not necessarily have the same pillion in each round. The poles and flags will be set up as in the diagram, the poles being about four feet high. The flags are fixed to pieces of dowel which rest loosely in the tops of the poles. The flags have to be taken by the pillion from successive poles, beginning with the nearest, and returning to the starting pole each time. Neither the rider’s nor the pillions feet may touch the ground. Turns may be either right or left.

DELIVERY RACE: Starting from the left of the first pole, the rider must make a complete circle to the right around each of the poles marked A, B, C, D and E; then make a right turn around the last pole (keeping the poles to his right that is); then make a left turn around the starting pole; and finally make a full circle to the left around the poles A to E, and proceed directly to the Finish Line. Feet may not touch the ground.

SLOW RACE: Each rider will use one of the 3-foot strips between the lanes used for the other events. The rider’s feet must be off the ground within 3 seconds of the start, and once lifted, must not touch the ground again; nor may any part of the scooter, other than the wheels, touch the ground.

The heats will be over 25 yards only, and there will be only one round of heats. The slowed 12 riders will contest the final over 50 yards. In the heats, a rider will be eliminated if he does not complete the 25 yard course without a fault (ie putting foot down or touching a lane boundary line). However, in the Final, the winner will be the rider who lasts the longest without faulting or finishing. Therefore, the winner need not necessarily complete the 50 yards. He will simply be the only rider left when all others have finished, or put a foot down, or touched the boundary line.

SPRINT: Facing away from the Finish Line, the rider has to turn about and sprint to the Finish Line. At the Start, the front of the scooter will be on the Starting Line, with the back pointing towards the Finish Line. Feet may touch the ground, and the turn may be in either direction and in any manner.

PILLION RELAY: This is a club event only, and will not count towards the Individual Point Score. It will be a normal relay race, with a pillion taking the place of the baton. Each club may field one team, consisting of four scooters, four riders and one pillion. Both the start and the finish will be at the usual finish end. At the start, two scooters will be parked at each end; the pillion has to complete four lengths of the course, changing from one vehicle to the next at each end. The pillion must touch the ground beyond the line at each end, but may ride in any manner in between. If a club is unable to field four scooters, three will suffice, the first one also running fourth.

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The Melbourne University Choral Society’s presentation of the Gilbert and Sullivan opera "Iolanthe" at the Union Theatre was the venue for our theatre night on Wednesday, March 20. Elsie brought a friend, Margaret, and Cynthia did too, Katherine. Welcome to these two. The show was enjoyed by all of us, especially the men watching the "fairies". Alex and Len had a grand time watching the Charlies parading back and forth all night, after which Alex resolved to take on a job at the University. We adjourned for supper to the Victoria Street "haunt" where we raised the usual row, finally leaving at approximately midnight.

We can warm the piston in various ways, but here is one more which we had not heard of before. Place an electric soldering iron into the pin after the circlips have been removed, and turn the power on for about two minutes. The heat from the iron should loosen the gudgeon sufficiently to enable easy extraction.

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Enquiries may be made to the Secretary, Mr Alex McLean, 524 Brunswick Street, North Fitzroy, Phone JW 7184, or to the President, Mr Fred Carron, 38 Valentine Street, Ivanhoe, Phone JX 2776.

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To remove a wheel can sometimes be awkward when not much ground clearance is present. This can be overcome by "hanging" the wheel in question over the edge of a kerb or gutter, although in the majority of cases it will be necessary to weight the opposite wheel in some way to counter-balance the machine.

Sometimes difficulty can arise in cleaning in between tight corners. A mixture of kerosene and phenyl generally cleans dirt off the motor quite easily, but it is often awkward to get into the smaller parts of the assembly. The mixture can be squirted in with either a polythene or plastic bottle readily available at department stores, or an old spray gun can be used.

Twenty-one members of the M.S.A.V. constituted almost half the number at the Presentation Night at the Y.M.C.A. Scooter Club’s rooms at Essex Street, Footscray, on Friday, March 1. The Vespa Club were presented with the shield again, and following general talk and congratulatory speeches, the YM.M.C.A. Club showed us an half-hour film dating back to Melbourne Sporting Scooter Club days. This was enjoyed by all, and Derek South and Mike Saunders must be congratulated on such a fine effort. Dancing followed soon after supper, and the evening concluded at approximately 11.00pm.

Eight machines gathered at Alexandra Avenue for our Saturday afternoon beach run to Hampton. Nice to see Elaine W. back on "Monstar". Left the city at 1.35pm and made good time to St. Kilda Junction. Then Ken K.’s machine died out. After a long discussion as to what the trouble was, we spent the rest of the afternoon at that spot trying to get it going again. A mad dash by Peter and Len to St. Albans for a spare battery proved to be the successful getting-going operation. They should call those things "May-goes". Club dispersed at approximately 4.45pm after a four-mile excursion from the city.

The time 6am and everyone was ready but where were Ray and Anne? Only 20 minutes late. While waiting, we all had tea and toast and successfully dragged Richard out of bed. At 6.25am we were on the way to Paynesville. The trip was trouble-free with only a few stops for refreshments and one major halt at Rosedale for morning tea thoughtfully supplied by Mrs Anderson. On the way to Traralgon (where I am told looks just like Mount Gambier), Ray was told, "You can’t park here". He was only parked on the footpath between the toilet block and the shop wall. Another stop at Bairnsdale for some mossie repellent (Moon Tiger), to keep them away and not with us. Mrs A. promptly got separated from Peter and a mad search was started to find her. Rescue over we set off on the last leg of the trip. Arrived in Paynesville just in time for the last punt before lunch. The old bloke in charge of the punt asked if we had seen a scooter club on the way. After informing him that we were they, them, in cards, we were over to Raymond Island. Once off the punt a few knees stopped knocking and we drove to the shack where we were staying.

Inside everyone was trying to do everything at once and generally getting in each other’s way. I gave up and sat down and everything seemed to run smoothly from then on. Lunch over and Mrs A. and the girls did the dishes, and Peter made himself useful in every way possible except that Malcolm was already doing it. During the arvo we all split up, some going to town(?) and the others for a walk. Ray tried to line up a shower at the local hotel for Sunday but was met with defeat. Tea finished and time for bed — who left the tent behind? Problem solved. Girls up one end, boys at the other, and Mrs A. in the middle (why?).

Sunday morning I woke up. So did everyone else, owing to the noise made by my stretcher. Anne got up and made breakfast (tea and toast) for all still left in bed, which I regarded as the height of luxury. Peter left for church and everyone got busy cleaning up the mess while Mal dug a hole to bury the rubbish. A trip to Buchan Caves had been arranged and at noon we left to meet Pete and have lunch in Bairnsdale. Almost back at the mainland, when Dennis and Rich arrived, Dennis having left more than an hour after Richard! Exchanged a few words and on the way again. Decided to have lunch at Buchan instead of Bairnsdale and went to see the caves shortly afterwards. We visited the Royal Cave and saw all the sights to be seen. Found a new way to remember which is which: it’s like ants in the pants — the mites go up and the tights come down. (Note: - stalagmites and stalactites are referred to here). Neat huh? At the deepest point we were 310 feet under the ground level, but above the level of the cards, as the hill rose above us and we barely went down at all.

Having seen the caves we headed for home. Stopped in Bairnsdale for tea. Back at Paynesville the question was how to get over to the island. Get a boat you say? Did that — no oars. Set off to find one and next thing I see a white form midstream, which turns out to be Peter, and singing an old sea-shanty. Well, that’s what it sounded like. Peter, Ray and Mal wound the punt over and we loaded the cars aboard and proceeded to wind it back. Who was the girl who insisted on having a go at winding it? Sheila, of course. Mrs A. had everything set up for the night when we arrived. She couldn’t wait to tell us about the 68 fish she had caught. Rich and Dennis helped of course, but I didn’t hear Rae’s side of the story. Quite a different story to the previous night’s catch of one fish, which was eaten for breakfast.

Monday morning, and Dennis started to get breakfast for all. Richard and Peter helped him out on the big task and fish for breakfast was the order of the day. During the morning we all wandered off in different directions, while Richard and Rae went to Eagle Point to see the view, and had to come back by boat as the ferry had shut down for lunch, and so did we. The arvo was spent packing and cleaning up the shack. Left at approximately 3pm for home and bed. Stopped at Gunn’s Gully for tea, where Richard was "took" — _ a banana and a lump of ice cream and it was called a banana split. From there a change of drivers and we pushed on to the Anderson home. Arrived there first; and had a "cuppa" made when Richard arrived (he had turned off to get ride of some fish). Everyone was wondering where Ray and Anne had got to when lo and behold they arrived. We separated all the gear and set out for our respective homes and beds.

On the whole everyone enjoyed themselves completely and we all thank Mrs Anderson for making such an outing possible.

Ron L.

Rain greeted us at the meeting place for our trip to Queenscliff. However, the weather didn’t stop 14 machines from appearing, with quite a few "new" faces. First were Anne Berry (Cezeta) and Janet Jackson (Vespa), to whom we extend a warm welcome. Also back with us were Ted H. and Peter W. (Heinkels), and John W. (N.S.U.). Cynthia once again brought her friend Katherine along, and Danny likewise with sister Barbara. Left at 9.30 and made good time to Queenscliff, apart from Len running "Instant Rattles" in at 35 mph all the way. The Carron household arrived shortly after and lunch was taken. Following this, everyone joined in a game of cricket, in which Ron F. starred, as also did bowlers Danny, Janet and Anne B., and chuckers Ken, Dennis and Peter W. John W. showed some fine batting form too. Left at 3.30, arriving at Geelong before the rain recommenced. From there to Werribee was a quiet stretch, apart from Richard blowing out his ignition wires. Dispersed at various points along the road, most arriving home at 7.00 o’clock or thereabouts.

Owing to lack of space, the table tennis night report and the Red Cross appeal function were omitted from this issue. However, we will publish them in next month’s copy of the "Whispers".