Drouin Sunday 4^th August 2002

Honda CBR929 Ben Warden (leader) BMW Funduro 650 Dave Ward

Honda CBR929 Pete Weyermayr (1/3 rear) Honda 919 Liz Oliver

Ducati 750SS Mark Easterbrook (2/3 rear) BMW R1150GS Rob Langer

Kawasaki ZZR1100 Jim (1^st ride)

Below are a few random thoughts about the ride:

The route: First leg Yarra Glen to Drouin, 116 km according to the map. Arrived 10 minutes to midday so called it lunch as the next leg to Mirboo North was a long one at 143 km. Third leg Mirboo North to Trafalgar via Hallyston, 93 km. Then home via Trafalgar to Packenham, 85 km. Add in the kays to get to Yarra Glen and get home from Trafalgar and everyone clocked over 500 km for the day.

The weather: Cold, wet miserable was the forecast for the morning, and so it was for the first leg. After lunch the roads were mainly dry though it was still overcast and cool. We barely encountered any rain all day other than a few drops around Powelltown.

Dave Ward left us at Drouin, the call of the bread ovens not to be denied. Thanks Dave for making the effort. Dave was able to talk Ducatis with new member Mark, not forgetting Dave also rides a 996.

Pete had a new Avon tyre on the rear and took up the rear riding position until Neerim South where he swapped bikes with Liz to compare until Drouin. Mind you, Liz on Pete’s bike looks no different to Pete on Pete’s bike so there was no confusion. Pete still had the knobs on the tyre close to the centre when we arrived at Drouin, an indication of (a) how hard those knobs are or (b) who woosy he was riding. Pete’s theory was that the knobs were hard and that when they wear out the rest of the tyre follows suit in quick time. So the longer the knobs stay on ...

Mark slotted into the rear rider role after lunch, and now is a very regular attendee. Thanks Mark.

The Arawata Road is in need of some resurfacing as it is chopped up in a few places. I managed to have the bars shaken out of my hands as I (lazily) opted to hit a bump and maintain the line rather than riding around the problem area. Apart from getting a little sideways when crossing some “permanent” water flowing out a farmer’s driveway (read green slime), that was my only incident all day. It seems Pete had a big moment at the same slimy patch, the others riding through it without dramas. (And then there was the blue Camry parked under the Stud Road bridge which may be a future problem ..)

After visiting the RACV on Saturday and collecting a complete set of Victorian Road maps, I noticed an old road appeared to have been surfaced. Sure enough, it was. Only Rob noticed that we visited a couple of “new” roads en-route. He also picked up that we went over some roads twice – only about 3 km worth around Mirboo North.

Best roads: The Warragul to Korumburra road has been widened and is now a really excellent motorcycling road. Boolara to Mirboo North was also in great condition. And the roads around Hallyston are truly excellent. I found myself singing the old Cat Stevens’ song “I’m being followed by a moon shadow ...” when I was having fun, which was most of the day.

Being the middle of winter there was barely a bike on the road and very few cars all day. But I did get a surprise rounding a corner on a link road between Dumbalk and nowhere to find an oncoming Harley-copy using plenty of road. Compared to Geelong Road the week before, this lack of traffic made for a very relaxing and stress free ride.

A calf ran between Liz and Jim requiring Liz to deploy “emergency” braking techniques. The calf then proceeded to run at full speed along the side of the road parallel to the following riders Mark and Pete, also generating some anxious moments. And in the middle of nowhere, rounding a left hand bend, a poodle took great delight in chasing the bikes at flat out pace, yapping wildly.

My bike purred along all day, liking the heavy, moist air. Re-oiling and reducing the air gap in the front forks has improved steering and stability markedly. And the “crappy” Dunlop 204 on the front seems to be quite grippy and turns well, especially compared to the flat-in-middle Pilot Sport. I suspect the 204 comes standard fitment to something that is not out and out sport, say a CBR1100XX, yet the compound is still quite soft. The tread pattern even looks like an 010 at first glance. I thought the very worn 010 on the rear of my bike would affect turning and stability, but it wasn’t the case.

It was a top day with no real dramas. Thanks to all who attended. Next Mirboo North ride late December. Be there!

Ben Warden (Honda CBR929)