Anzac Weekend 2006

Ron Johnston, Bandit 1200 Cliff Peters, GSXR 1000

Saturday: I had been speaking to Cliff early on in the week and he wanted to know if I was interested in going for a ride on the ANZAC long weekend. I thought it was a good idea though ended up changing my mind a few times. The decision should be simple: you are either in or out. I decided I had better fix the oil leak on my bike. The oil feed pipe from the crankcase to the rocker cover has been leaking for months.

To fix it I had to remove the alternator and starter to get to the bolts, plus remove the tank to get to the bolts on the pipes at the rocker cover. The flanges where the O ring goes were slightly bowed. I had to file the surfaces flat, doing all three. It doesn’t leak oil anymore.

Cliff rang on Friday and said he would be coming to Melbourne on Saturday afternoon. Late on Saturday arvo I got a text message from Cliff saying that his bike had an oil leak too and that it would have to be fixed when he got here. He arrived about 6 pm, unloaded his gear and we proceeded to work on the bike. Lift the tank, remove the coil and plug leads, unbolt the rocker cover and that’s it.

It was dry everywhere except the half round in the rocker cover gasket. There are four of these half rounds and it was only leaking from the right front. Cleaned up the gasket and we put it back together. His bike is a shit of a thing to work on because there is no room to get your hands between the cover and the frame. Cliff wiped up all the oil and took it for a ride but it was still leaking. After a few choice words were used, I said lets have tea and come back to it afterwards.

We pulled it to bits again, except this time I put silicone on the half rounds and put it on and took it off again because it wasn’t fitting properly. More silicone and it seemed to fit better, so bolted it up and took it for another run. Fixed. Nothing worse than oil leaks on your bike.

Sunday: Cliff was up at 7.30 am and having breakfast when I got up. I was still deciding whether to go or not. Cliff said he would go on his own; it was no big deal. I decided to go. A few days off would do me good.

9 am departure. It had been raining overnight and light showers were still around. I wore my Dry Rider gear and took my leathers with me in case it warmed up. We went via Yarra Glen to Healesville, the Black Spur wet and raining, so took our time. The traffic lights due to landslide under the Armco on the Narbethong end of the Spur cut traffic down to single lane. On to Marysville and then Buxton. There are some poplar trees on both sides of the road down a long straight and they looked magnificent with their gold leaves shimmering in the sunlight. This time of the year they give off a nice scent.

Just out of Acheron we turned right and took the back road to Alexandra. I remember we went down this road years ago. It is narrow and twisty. The first bridge is concrete and the second one is wooden. Near the Alexandra end there is a Y intersection on a crest with no sign to indicate which way the road goes. It drops away and goes to the left. Cliff reckons if you were low flying you would end up in amongst the gum trees. Through Alexandra and then we headed along the Whanregarwen Road to Molesworth.

Bonnie Doon: not much water under the bridge. I don’t know how people with house boats are doing. Mansfield. We had a cuppa and something warm to eat giving ourselves time to thaw out, especially our hands. Next stop would be Myrtleford for lunch. We struck some mist over Tolmie but otherwise it was alright, the road wet and dry all the way through to Whitfield.

Coming into Whitfield Cliff was faced with someone driving down the road backwards and someone else pulled in front of him, oblivious to anyone else on the road. There must have been something big happening at the pub because there were cars everywhere.

It was an uneventful ride to Myrtleford where we headed for the Heines Bakery in Standish Street, just past the roundabout. The place was flat out, as usual. For those that haven’t been there, they don’t know what they are missing out on.

After lunch we got fuel and hit the road to Ovens where we take in the Happy Valley Road to the Kiewa Valley Hwy. It was good having a fang in the twisty bits through the trees. I’m sure everyone would agree. Gundowring to Red Bluff, Lockharts Gap Road to Omeo Hwy and back to Tallangatta East and onto Bullioh which is the start of the Granya Gap. We passed a lot of old Indian and British bikes from Red Bluff. Cliff did a disappearing act on me through Granya Gap.

On the other side of the Granya Gap we came across some old bikes that had stopped. One was being worked on after it had obviously broken down. There was a trailer with a bike on it, the back up crew. We waved as we went past.

We followed the river to Walwa. I have fond memories of being dinked two up on Dave Ward’s GSXR600 from Mitta Mitta to Towong on Australia Day Weekend after I got a puncture (that’s another story). As we rolled into Walwa, I went onto reserve. I thought Cliff was going to get fuel but he kept going. I passed him and stayed in front. About 10 kms from Tintaldra, Cliff disappeared from view and I had to do a U turn and go back and find him. He asked about fuel and suggested going back to Walwa. I thought there might be some at Tintaldra and that we should keep going. There was nothing at Tintaldra so we pushed on to Corryong, just making it. I was worried about being in the middle of nowhere and running out. We had done 264 kms since Myrtleford. Fuel was $1.43 a litre and I put in just over 17 litres which cost me $25, the most ever.

We cleaned our visors and hit the road. It was 4.45pm and we still had to get to Jindabyne and the sun was going down. It was very pleasant with the sun was behind us, but the temperature was dropping fast.

Back along the main drag to the turn off for the Alpine Way to Khancoban. They are doing road works a couple of kms in, straightening out a few corners. They have done a lot of resurfacing as well, leaving plenty of loose stuff on the road.

Khancoban. We seem to have the road to ourselves so I picked the pace up a bit and stuck close to Cliff. We had to watch for animals. I saw a few roos and a little fox. There was no stopping this time at Tom Groggin as it was starting to get dark. But we did stop a couple corners past where Shane Hindle had his accident earlier this year. It was dark and we changed from summer gloves to winter ones. There was snow all around us, but not on the road. I took a photo with the flash but it didn’t come out that well. The temperature was pretty cold now and I was glad I was wearing my Dry Rider gear. Off again, past Thredbo and onto Jindabyne. This part of the trip seemed to take forever. I had to stick close to Cliff to make use of his headlight. I still haven’t adjusted mine up after dropping the forks.

Around 6.30pm we arrived at the Jindabyne Hotel Motel just wanting to get off our bikes and find something warm. The rooms were $90 standby and would sleep eight people. We had to go to the bottle shop to book in because the office was closed. The room had the heater on which was a bonus. Off with our riding gear and thaw out. Magic. The room was well set up. No complaints other than it didn’t have Foxtel One and we couldn’t watch the bike racing. Cliff was really disappointed. We had to go up see them at the bottle shop a couple times to get them to get the cable working properly. While flicking through the channels I came across a documentary on Jindabyne. Like Tallangatta and Adaminaby, Jindabyne was moved from the valley floor to higher ground so they could flood the valley to become Lake Jindabyne. The place was officially opened in 1964.

The restaurant was upstairs and Sunday night was $8.00 steak and salad night. You cooked your own on a very large BBQ, selecting your piece of sirloin steak when you ordered. Good value. When we booked in, we got a ticket that entitled us to a cooked breakfast which was even better value when you saw the menu. There was apple and orange juice, tea and coffee, an assortment of cereals, white bread, and raisin bread. The toaster looked like a mini pizza oven. Eggs, bacon, sausages, cooked tomatoes, with or without cheese on them, hash browns, potato wedges and a bowl of oranges. 764 kms for the day

Monday: I suggested going to Charlottes Pass since I have missed out the last couple of times. We pay the money at the box and we are on our way by 9 am. The road seems pretty good. A few kms in they are doing road works near the museum on the left.

We stopped at Guthries Bridge and took a couple of photos. Cliff commented that we still had a way to go. I mentioned how quiet and peaceful it was, standing in the sun, with not a sound to be heard. We continued on to end of the road meeting a few cars and people. After parking the bikes we walked to the lookout and took some more photos. Cliff was excited about the snow, only because he doesn’t get to see it that often. I am like, “What’s the big deal?” because where I used to live in NZ, it snowed every winter. Cliff spoke to a lady and she said there was a lot more snow earlier in the week.

We must have been here for half hour or so before we moved on. Cliff stopped down the road, got off his bike and started playing in the snow like a kid. It was fun to watch him. I got a photo of him lying on his back in the snow on the embankment. He looked good, stretched out like a scarecrow. Back to Jindabyne for fuel, then onto Dalgety. On the way to Berridale we came across a mob of sheep.

On the Snowy Mountains Highway now, Adaminaby to Kiandra is familiar but Kiandra to Tumut is all new to me. This road across the top is terrific, with wide open spaces and sweepers. I should have stopped just before the down hill run to thaw my hands out. I went to use the clutch and brake but my poor old fingers were frozen, making riding a bit hard when there is very little feeling. The down hill run is steep and we passed a few vehicles both ways. I know one thing: you wouldn’t want to have brake failure on the way down.

Near the bottom the temperature changed for the better and it was a lot warmer, but you have to expect that with changing altitude. I saw a bit of road kill here. Tumut, boy was I glad to get out of my Dry Rider gear and sit down to some lunch. It was warm and very pleasant. Over lunch we talked about going to Wee Jasper and how good the road was, according to Cliff. We must have been here 45 minutes or so before we hit the road again. Cliff was leading and left Tumut the same way we had arrived. Upon map inspection, a U turn saw us pointed in the right direction and couple of kms out of town we hit the turn off and were on our way. The road is spectacular. It must have been designed by a motorcyclist, the radius of the curves and the cambers are all just right; designed for low flying.

We passed a lot of 4X4s going in both directions. Near the end of the road was a road block where Cliff was stopped waiting for me to catch up. We rode past the barrier to the top of the road which they were getting the road ready for sealing. (Ben…take note…you have to check it out next time to see how far they have sealed the road.) On the way out we had to pass a couple of log trucks.

Tumut: fuel, visor clean and we’re off again. From Tumut we headed for Rosedale going through all these forests. Cliff mentioned that they were logging truck roads. It was all new to me. There were signs saying Rosewood/Wodonga. At Tumbarumba we got fuel and then back on the road again. Elliot Way, cruise along comfortably. About half way in there was a wild, black brumby with a foal on the side of the road. Cliff took a wide berth and did a U turn and came to have a look.

Mother and foal disappeared down a 30 foot embankment. After about 5 minutes we again took to the road, stopping at the Sue City. There was a couple of people in a tinny who must have been fishing. On to Cabramurra where we stopped for a cuppa and to thaw out a little. Leaving at 5pm, I thought we might have our work cut to get to Corryong before dark but it wasn’t too bad, although we had the sun in our eyes which made it difficult. On some corners you couldn’t see a thing. Talk about blinded by the light. We had a good run though it started to get dark near the Khancoban turn off.

We arrived at the Corryong Hotel and checked out the accommodation. They wanted $70 a night. Cliff said “Too dear” to the lady. She said “$60, here’s a key go and have a look” which we did. Before committing, Cliff sprinted down the road to the other motel that wouldn’t go any less than $66, so we took the unit out the back for $60. It was good to get all my riding gear off and have a hot shower. We had a bit of trouble getting the heater/ac unit to blow hot air and the cook ended up coming down and sorting it out. We had tea in the restaurant and an early night. 646 kms for the day.

Tuesday: Woke up to a nice sunny morning, even though it was quite brisk outside. It was very pleasant looking out over the valley. After breakfast Cliff and I got our bikes out of the garage and wheeled them over to our cabin to load up. Cliff got talking to a very interesting old bloke next door who told some funny stories. He lifted the bonnet of his EF Falcon which was on gas (duel fuel) and pointed out the plastic intake from the air cleaner to the throttle body which had blown apart when it had backfired the day before. He said it was the second one in twelve months.

He was also a keen fisherman and told us about different places around the area that he had fished. He asked where we had been, and Cliff told him, which reminded him of another story back in the sixties when he was caravanning. He had bought a new ZA Fairlane and a brand new 31 foot caravan. (1967 era) The van had hydraulic brakes. To get them to work you had to give a quick jab on the car brake pedal to make the coupling slide forward to activate the master cylinder. He and his wife were travelling along the Snowy Mountain Hwy to Tumut. They had just entered the downhill section and he had applied the brakes, but not hard enough to get them to work. Being auto he pulled it from drive into second to give it some engine braking but it was still picking up speed. He was feathering the brakes but not much was happening and then the pedal went to the floor. He told his wife that she would have to bail out.

He could see down the hill and reckoned that he would have to run up against the rock face in order to slow down, but he managed to pull the transmission into low range. His wife didn’t have to bail out. It was the scariest thing he had to do. When they got to Tumut he had the van brakes checked and they were stone cold. He had to get the brake fluid in the car changed because it had boiled which had taken all the goodness out of it. All I can say is, the road would have been in a lot worse condition then than it is now.

Time to go. The servo was closed but, the owner was round the side pumping his tyre up and said the camping ground out the other end of town was open. If not, come back and he would help us out. Good stuff. They were open so we put fuel in the bikes and cruised out of town. I wore my leathers today instead of my Dry Rider gear. It was very brisk and I missed the warmth of the Dry Rider.

Just out of Towong we came across a large herd of cattle which took a few minutes to get through. We headed back via Tintaldra, Walwa and Granya where we stopped for about 10 minutes before riding over the Gap.

We had lunch at Myrtleford at that nice bakery. I suggested to Cliff that we do the Rosewhite Road and continue on the back way into Myrtleford. He agreed. We headed for Mudgegonga. Down this bit of road I certainly gave the wrist the twist, because when we got to other end, Cliff reckoned the bike was running pretty well. I suggested we go back the same way because it would be more fun than doing the round trip. Off we went again and didn’t spare the horses, ye ha.

It’s a bit of a boring trip to Whitfield where we stopped before the assault on the Mansfield section. Mansfield to Molesworth, Whanregarwen Road to Alexandra, Acheron, Buxton to Marysville, stopped here. A group of bikes were parked there and I said to Cliff “A bit of competition.” He laughed. We have a cuppa and something to eat and then Cliff says, you had better finish because they are leaving. We walked outside and watched them ride off but still caught them up at the Hwy.

So we pass a few of the slower ones and catch up with the front runners. We were lucky that the lights had just turned green at Narbethong. The race is on. I was following some bloke on an R1 dressed to up to nines. (Most of the blokes had dress jackets, jeans and runners.) We had to watch because there were a few cars on the road. Cliff managed to pass me and the R1 and disappeared in the distance while I was hot on the heels on the R1. He kept looking back to see how far away I was, but I was right up his exhaust pipe. He wasn’t making any headway. Down the bottom past the reserve Cliff had slowed down. The dude on the R1 and myself flew past, and then Cliff gives chase right until Healesville. It was a damn good run through the Spur and then on to home.

662 kms for the day and 2,072 kms total for the three days. Cliff travelled from the farm to Melbourne and back again so he can add another 800 kms to the total.

Ron Johnston