Honda VFR 800 Bruce Saville
Yamaha 250 Majesty Peter Philferan Car Danny
Kosinski and Julie Johnston
The Bandit has
been on the road for three weeks now since the rebuild. I had to
set the tappets, lock tight the bolt holding starter clutch to the crank, fix
oil leaks and put the rest of the fairing and front guard on. After a couple of
rides and I am quite happy with the way the Bandit is going though I am still a
little nervous, as I haven’t ridden the Bandit for quite some time. In summary,
the bike has been off the road for 11 of the last 12 months.
I
rang Cliff earlier in the week and he told me that Danny Hawker and himself would be riding their bikes to
I
packed a few bags and some tools just in case I might need them on the ride.
Earlier in the week I was running around like a chook with my head cut off
because I couldn’t find my Dri-Rider jacket. You know
how it is, blame someone else, rah-rah-rah, much to Julie’s disgust. When I had
spoken to Cliff earlier, he said he had noticed a jacket hanging on a chair in
the kitchen at Tyrendarra, but he didn’t realise it belonged me. Apparently I had left it there when
Julie and I visited a few weeks earlier. Silly me.
Cliff and Danny arrived safely. I make room in the garage for their bikes. They
said it was a rather cool ride to
Up early because Julie had to follow me in the car to
Danny Kosinki’s place. We agreed on leaving at
Julie waited in the car while I went inside looking for
Danny. He was out the back and upstairs. He apologised for the mess. Danny and
Monica had shifted house a couple of weeks earlier but he was unable to do much
because his hand was bandaged in a splint after a fall off a push bike on tram
tracks about 6 weeks ago. (Who said motor bikes are dangerous?) I carried his
gear down to the car and then we made our way to the official pickup point,
arriving about
As I was leaving the servo some old bloke in a Commodore station wagon come careering around the service road and nearly ran into me. I just saw him out of the corner of my eye, and had to swerve out of his way. Stupid old fart must have thought he was the only one on the road, oblivious to other traffic around him.
We cruised to Little River and then hit the back roads to
Corio and Moorabool. At the
Lorne was the first stop, cars and people everywhere, with sights for sore eyes from both sexes. You could spend all day checking out the sights without needing to leave town. A dogs eye (meat pie ..Ed.) and a can of V (Red Bull equivalent …Ed.) to wash it all down was welcome and gave my hands time to warm up.
Soon it was time to saddle up and move out. There was a
lot of traffic and, unlike last year, no competition. So it was a fairly casual
sort of ride in and out of the cars with the odd fast section. We stopped just
the other side of
About 15 kms into the
Lavers Hill was a welcome stop with more hot food and drink and time to warm my hands up again. From Lavers Hill to Port Campbell is a good ride. Before we got to Port Campbell Cliff slowed down and waited for Jason to catch up. A couple of us were waiting at the roundabout at Port Campbell when a bloke in a 4WD pulled up in front of us and said that a guy on a green bike some kilometres back was walking around on the side of the road. ALARM BELLS rang. After a quick discussion we decide to wait and see who turned up. Cliff arrived with Jason in tow. Questions were asked. Jason said he had leg cramp and he had to walk around. Nothing serious.
As we rode through Port Campbell we saw a bush fire burning on the other side of the river on the high side of the road. Last year when we came through here, there was a bush fire on the left side of the road.
The rest of the trip to Warrnambool was fairly tedious. At the last fuel stop before the farm we waited for 15 minutes. The traffic was heavy. I was last to leave following Bruce. The others had disappeared but we caught them on the other side of Warrnambool. The tempo picked up a bit as we passed Tower Hill. Danny took the lead around Killarney.
There is an antique and bric-a-brac shed opposite the
pub. I haven’t been in there to have a look, but they had a 1932 Ford V8 one
and a half ton truck for sale in the paddock which looked in pretty good
condition. We carried on and took the turn off to Port Fairy to break the
monotony of the main road. A quick fang down the back road
before crossing bridge over the
Jason disappeared. Cliff took off after him and that was the last we saw of them till we got to the farm. Danny, Bruce and myself just stuck to speed limit, being on the main road, plus we knew there would be a few cops sniffing around, being Good Friday. We passed through Yambuk (there is a nice old blue stone pub there) and Codrington where the wind turbines are on the coastline.
Just out of Codrington we passed a motorcyclist who was talking to a cop in a blue XR 8. We carried on. I was keeping watch in my mirror and the copper eventually started to follow, slow at first with lights flashing and then gradually catching up with us. We ended up slowing to 85 km/h because we didn’t know whether he wanted to pass or pull us over. Eventually we stopped.
He was about six foot, solid build and about a pick axe handle and a half across the shoulders. Scary. He wanted to know if we had lost any riders? Danny did the talking and said we hadn’t. The cop said there was a couple of guys on green bikes and one was wearing green leathers, and did we know them? Danny didn’t know anyone. The cop suggested he was not very convincing and if we were to see them, he wanted to talk to them. Then he got back in his car and drove off. Apparently he had been up and down the road three times looking for the offenders. We headed for the farm, now only a few kilometers away.
We arrived at the farm noting everybody was there except
Cliff. Jason said he hadn’t seen Cliff
since Port Fairy, so rang Cliff’s mobile phone and
reached him at a farmer’s house in
We decided to have tea in town because it was getting late. Bruce, Danny K, Julie and I headed off to the Gordon Hotel where we were booked in while Danny H went home to Condah. Peter Philferan was there, having come down the day before. Macs Hotel was closed, being Good Friday, so we went back to the Gordon Hotel for tea. The meal was very enjoyable. After tea we went upstairs to the lounge and made a tea or coffee and watched a bit of TV. Julie had to go back to the farm and Peter P, Bruce, Danny K and myself stayed at the Hotel. That night I was glad to hit the sack. It had been a long day.
The weather was overcast but mild. Cliff, Jason and Danny
H arrived at the Hotel. Peter P was going to go to the Ulysses social sip at
one of the coffee shops just along from the Hotel. Danny K went with him.
Meanwhile Danny H was phoning a friend to see if he would like to come over to
At Gorae West we turned left
onto the
Jason and Peter didn’t have any wet weather gear with them. I said I had a couple of spare sets of leggings if they wanted, but they declined. So it was mount up and get going to Port MacDonnell. Just after the turn off it started to rain and we stopped at the next intersection. A brief discussion was held about the weather. We decided to carry on regardless. The road from here to Port MacDonnell is good and the rain was more a nuisance, visor wise, than anything else.
Port MacDonnell has a lot of fishing boats, and there are
a lot of new houses being built including some very nice buildings, worth a
dollar or two. The rain was intermittent until we got to the Mount where it
pissed down. As we approached the Mount we stopped at the turn off to
My neighbour Stuart, from across the road in Kilsyth, was racing his GSX1100 in the Forgotten Era class. We watched a couple of races including one which had a lot of Ducatis and an Aprilia, the same model as Ken Wright’s, plus a chook chaser 650 Suzuki. At the start of the race the chooky got left behind but by the second lap he was in third place where he remained till the finish. Also there were a couple of MV Augustas racing. In the second race the guy on the chooky held on for second spot. The racing wasn’t bad considering it was wet, and certainly fun to watch.
At lunchtime we headed over to the pits and chatted to Stuart. He said his next race was after lunch so we decided to stay, but in the meantime we lunch. The race was late starting but exciting to watch, Stuart winning the race with ease.
Back at the bikes, there were a lot people looking at Danny's ZX10 and asking lots of questions to which he was happy to answer. After the races it was time to go back into town to meet up with the others. It had started to rain again. We found them hiding in the main street under the shelter of the shop canopies. I had to get fuel before we went too far so we headed to our usual servo. Danny gave the ZX10 R a twist of the wrist: you should have seen it light up the rear wheel, piss easy. What a weapon it will be when it’s run in properly and he gets used to riding it. He said it was 50 kilos lighter than his ZX9.
At the servo, after cleaning our visors, we hit the
Danny H and Peter were heading back to
Peter P and Danny K were at the farm already. Julie had
been into
I rang Cliff and Jason answered. Cliff was in bed crook
and wasn’t going anywhere. Julie was happy with the decision because it meant
that we could spend time together, instead of me out riding while she had to
entertain herself. Julie and I went to Gavin’s farm (Carol’s fiance) at Bessiebelle. Carol had
him build a new wood shed. When we arrived at the farm Carol was busy filling
the shed up and Gavin was sitting on a box splitting wood for kindling. We
spent a few hours there and then came back to the farm for tea. Pam and Andrew
(Julie’s older sister and hubby, their daughter, Katie and her daughter
Maddison were there also). It was good
to see them because they live in
Julie and I then visited Barbara in the hospital. She had
caught pneumonia on her arrival back from
Bruce had rung earlier in the day and said he was going
to Port Fairy by himself. Danny K and Peter P. were doing their own thing in
town. I rang Bruce about
When I arrived at Macs Hotel half an hour later, I found Danny K, Bruce and Peter P but Mick was in another bar talking to a friend. Peter P was asleep in his chair. Danny and Bruce had been filling him up on sherry, naughty boys. I got Peter’s attention and then we went looking for Mick in the other bar. It was pretty swish, with a beach theme including a sailing boat suspended above the bar, and a beach scene with changing sheds painted on the wall. Mick was talking to his mate who he hadn’t seen for years. Danny and I amused ourselves playing a game of soccer on a table, winning about 3 games each. In last game it was Jason and Danny versus Bruce and I. Fun, fun, fun!
Peter P had had enough and went back to the Gordon, while Mick, Bruce, Danny K and myself went down to the ship in Jason’s car. Mick told Jason where to park on the wharf so his car wouldn’t get run over by the crane. We walked the gang plank (ahoy me hearties) and so the tour began, about 3 hrs in all.
Step inside said the spider to the fly! In we went, up countless flights of steps, to the bridge. I reckon we went up 4 floors. The ship was big. A 20 inch monitor shows you what is happening, and an alarm goes off if there is something within 40 miles of the ship. There is a radio station in one corner, and next to it weather station, and a kitchen down the other end. There was so much equipment I can’t remember what it all was. I remember a plum bob suspended above the bench pointing to a cross on a drawing on the table which showed you how the ship was being loaded, whether it was port or starboard, fore or aft, and where they had to shift the ballast around to compensate. The ship is 180 metres long, 28 metres wide, weighs in at 39,964 tonnes, with 14 metres draught when fully laden and 11 metres when empty.
Back downstairs we went through a maze of passages. We saw two laundries and a toilet block. One of the blokes on the boat told us that Alumina is the second hardest stone to diamonds and will cut glass. You mix bauxite with baking soda to get alumina. There were 5 fridges, all walk-in, for different things, including beer. The galley is where all the meals are cooked. Mick said it was bit old but okay. We saw his self contained room. Then he took us to the workers bar where he shouted us all a drink, thanks Mick. We stayed there for a while before we visited the video room, library, TV room, etc etc.
Then down to the engine room. He opened a door to the generator room. What a bloody noise! There are three generators but only one keeps everything going.
The Hyundai / M-A-N 5 cyl 2-stroke diesel engine covers 3 floors with an HP Turbo. The bore is 600 mm and stroke 1944 mm with a maximum continuous output of 9600 bhp @ 111rpm, or continuous service output of 7860 bhp@ 103rpm. The engine uses 20 tonnes of fuel a day, and more in rough seas. There is a row of control panels with lots of gauges. It takes 1.5 – 2.0 hrs to start the engine. I forget how long it took to prime the engine with oil before starting. There was too much information to take on board.
Further down, we went into a room with the hydraulically operated steering gear that can be operated manually if the system fails. Next we went into the filter room where the fuel gets separated. There are three filters and one had been pulled down for a rebuild. They are a centrifugal type where the fuel comes through with the clean fuel going straight through and the shit stuff spinning to the outside. Mick said that was the worst job on the whole boat.
Back upstairs to the gym and a swimming pool without water. The guys are fairly well catered for, but at the same time you would certainly earn your keep. I would like to specially thank Mick for showing us around the ship. Those who didn’t come certainly missed out on something special.
Back to the Gordon Hotel and up to the lounge room to
make ourselves a drink. Bruce decided to flick through the TV channels to see
what was on and came across a sexy Australian film. Finished
about
What a glorious day, sun streaming in my window, no wind
or clouds in the sky. Why couldn’t it have been like that the last few days?
Got up at
Bruce and Danny appeared a little after 9 and had their brekky. Our bags were packed and loaded into the car. We
wished Peter a safe trip back to
We stopped at Warrnambool for fuel. Bruce suggested we get some lunch, so we stopped at Hungry Jacks. Bruce said he couldn’t handle all the kids in side so we sat in the gutter outside. We had no sooner finished lunch when Julie and Danny arrived. They had had lunch at KFC, a couple of doors down from the servo where we got fuel.
Back on the road again, Bruce and I hit the GOR, while
Julie and Danny went the back way from Allansford and
Cobden to Stoneyford. You can do a bit of low flying
through that way, no cops. Cliff says it takes 15 mins off the trip. Bruce and
I had a boring ride back, stopping at Lavers Hill. I swapped summer gloves for
winter ones because it was getting cold. We stopped at
Leaving Deans Marsh on a down hill run, Bruce slowed down
dramatically. It was, a Bracks Tax Camera, disguised
as a Rodeo ute. Later Bruce
nearly missed the turn off for the
The weekend was excellent, the weather okay apart some rain on Saturday. There were no incidents except when Cliff dropped his bike on some gravel. Thanks to everyone who came, and especially Mick Hanlon for the boat tour.
Ron Johnston
(Suzuki Bandit 1200)