Kongwak (almost)                        Sunday 24th October, 2010

Willem Vandeveld

Honda ST1300

Philip Hotschilt

Suzuki GSXR1300

Misho Zrakic

Honda CBR1000

Rob Jones

Suzuki GSXR1000

Tim Emons (leader)

Honda CBR1000

Darryn Hutchinson

Suzuki GSXR1000

Paul Simonson

Honda CBR1000

Chris Pointon

Suzuki GSXR1000

Chris Tran

Honda CBR1000

Cindy Lee

Suzuki GSXR750

Damir Djikic

Honda CBR1000

Geoff Shugg

Suzuki DL650

Craig Morley

Honda VTR SP1

Paul Sorenson

Suzuki SV650

John Willis

Honda XL1000

Cliff Peters

Kawasaki ZX12R

Ben Warden

Honda CBR954

Pierre Ong

Ducati 1098 S

Noel Brown (1st ride)

Honda VFR750

Rod Merrett

BMW HP2

Ha Du

Honda CBR600

Raj Malhotra (2nd ride)

Yamaha FZ1

Pina Garasi

Honda CBR600

Damian Jones

Yamaha R1

Henry Wright

Triumph 675

Ed Simonis (rear rider)

Guzzi 1200 Sport

 

 

 

26 bikes, 26 people

 

Yarra Glen and bikes galore. Tim was passing a list around to get the ICE numbers and I was just writing down names, anticipating the article duties. Noel was there. He’s a former member from maybe 15 years ago, just getting back into bikes. He had tracked down the Club via Martin Hastie, who is now riding with the Ulysses Club. After a long Saturday night conversation with Noel I suggested that maybe a shorter ride would be more appropriate as this ride was 400 plus kilometres, and coming from Melton, add another 100 km to the day. His VFR750 looked mint.

Late starters kept arriving further delaying the departure time. Tim struggled to be heard above the general hubbub but the key elements were conveyed: Ed Simonis on his mighty Guzzi (pronounced “gootsi” Ed reminded us) would handle the rear rider responsibilities, first stop Neerim Junction after 120 km. This was revised to Noojee as the small milkbar in Neerim Junction would likely be overwhelmed by the descending MSR locusts.

At 10.20am we set off, heading for Healesville via the Old Healesville Road and the new huge roundabout at the Melba Highway bypass. The weather was spectacularly good, particularly compared to yesterday’s ride where it rained solidly for the first few hours and was overcast well into the afternoon. Today, streaming sunshine and dry roads, forecast 20 degrees, the temperature only held down by the cold westerly wind.

Left at Healesville outskirts and up the Chum Creek Road towards Toolangi. The bike was feeling very taut after replacing the wheel bearings on Saturday ($5 each! from Bearing Services in West Melbourne). Doug, the Honda Spare Parts guy at Peter Stevens, was exceedingly helpful in supplying contact details and part numbers for alternative suppliers when PS did not have them in stock. I recommend him. He has been in the trade a long time; I remember him from when he was at Vic Wreckers in Burnley St Richmond.

Replacing the front wheel bearings solved the strange clicking noise I had each morning when I righted the bike to push it out of the garage. Not surprisingly, in hindsight, replacing the steering head bearings didn’t solve the clicking problem! (But it solved the locked straight ahead problem.) One bearing looked like water had got in and rusted up the axle – something to do with the wettest winter in a decade – and riding every Sunday, rain and hail and shine.

Damian Jones, on his black R1, was back after getting married and travelling overseas, not having ridden for 6 months, according to Pina. Plenty of body english in the corners but the road was too good to enjoy that view.

Back down Myers Creek Road to Healesville where I corner marked at the new double set of slow traffic lights at the corner of Don Road and Main Street. Plenty of time to apply sunscreen and clean the visor, the first of many times during the day, bug season well and truly upon us.

I was happy to see Tim pick up my Reefton ride Healesville bypass up past the Sanctuary, avoiding the Healesville shopping strip and attendant risks. We rejoined the highway on the Woori Yallock Road, heading the normal route to Launching Place. Just over the rickety wooden bridge we turned right on to the Warburton Highway for a smidge and then left, working our way back to Yarra Junction and on to Powelltown. The roads were dry, the sun was out and the bike was going well with near new tyres, wheels not wobbling, and the twisties beckoning.

Climbing up the tight twisties, gravel on the inside of every left corner where the logging truck wheels cut the corner, eyes wide open, brain focused, catching the silver bike a few corners ahead. Over the top and start the steep descent and a grey flash off the road and left down an embankment. Hard on the brakes and back to the crash site. Noel was picking himself up.

Cliffy and Geoff Shugg pulled up. Together the four of us were able to drive the bike back up the two metres of embankment, Cliff clearing a path for the front wheel. Bike survived with only minor cosmetic scratches to the full faring and a bent rear brake lever. All other controls, mirrors, blinkers and handlebars were unscathed, the soft soil cushioning the fall remarkably well. Even Noel was walking around well enough, though somewhat baffled or disbelieving. I turned his bike around, and rode back 20 metres to a safe spot, checking all the controls were functioning well – brakes, steering, gears, suspension action. It is amazing what you can check in such a short distance. 

All the other bikes had gone through and it was time for us to leave too. We bade Noel farewell as we pointed him back towards Melbourne and home to Melton.

Back on the bike a few corners later I saw Paul Simonson and Pierre Ong parked off to the left in the clearing just before the road opens out to the high speed sweepers. In the old days I would have said they were stopped for a cigarette but neither of them smoke! Catching up with them later it turned out they were tightening up another bolt on the Ducati. The previous day they had Locktited every bolt except one, which duly vibrated out!

A lonely trip, eyes on stalks, to the T-junction, Noojee to the left and Warragul to the right. I asked Misho if the rear rider had come through? “No,” was his reply. Given the 15 minutes or so we had spent with Noel, that seemed like an inordinate amount of time so I headed back to look for Ed, pondering the possibility of another “incident”.  Something white flashed by me mid off-camber sweeper – you know the one, just past the Nayook turnoff. It was naked but white? And made the right noise, but with closing speeds of something like the end of Phillip Island main straight, my peripheral vision was not that effective. I rode all the way back to the crash site – no one there – and nearly back to Powelltown before convincing myself that that flash must have indeed been Ed. Back to Noojee. It was a great day for riding, no matter what the excuse.

Morning tea early lunch was in full swing, MSR patronising both upper and lower shops. Marie (lower shop) was pleased to see me and made her usual monster beef and salad roll – lunch, ready or not. I discussed the spelling and pronunciation of her name, the same as my Mother’s, but pronounced Maree (as distinct from Marie as in stary, stary night).

It appeared as if we had lost Raj as he was nowhere to be found. He turned up at Mirboo North two hours later when we got there. A fine effort. As far as we can deduce, he turned right at the corner Misho was marking, the T junction at the end of the Powelltown Road. There were two other bikes there. It would be handy if they gave directions to the oncoming bikes, and should one bike inadvertently take the wrong route, one rider pursue and recover the errant rider. The MSR Corner Marking System!

I caught up with Ed and he noted that he was delayed back at Powelltown when Rob Jones pulled over with Darryn Hutchinson. Rob’s TPS light had come on (Throttle Position Sensor) and he was going to head home. The bike shop had replaced the standard exhaust system with an after market system and it is unclear what they did with the EXUP valve servo motor control cables as it didn’t seem to match Darryn’s GSXR1000, the identical make and model.

A few riders were heading back to Melbourne including Pierre Ong, Paul Simonson, Chris Pointon, Cindy Lee and Willem. Add in Raj, Rob Jones, Darryn Hutchinson and Noel and we were down from the initial 26 to 17 riders. But the day was yet young!

The plan was to get fuel at Neerim South and Craig (SP1, 17 litre tank, thirsty when ridden economically) planned to ride directly to there. That’s the last time we saw him for the next 2 hours.

Leaving near last and expecting a long wait at the single pump, I diverted around through Nayook to check on a group that were sitting on the intersection, possibly Raj. They had gone, of course, so I continued on and rejoined the tail of the ride at Neerim East. The country is in magnificent condition, the grass thick and lush. The views were breathtaking running along the ridge and it was good to be alive.

The petrol station in Neerim South was closed which was now a problem. With all my extra activity the fuel light had come on some 10 km earlier indicating another 40 km or so until she no go. Tim was clearly pressing on towards Trafalgar and I reckoned it was about within 40 km or so. So all through the Crossover sweepers and Old Sale Road I sat behind Ha, dawdling along at 100 km/h, saving herself for the big weekend coming up – Towong. Only 6 more sleeps.

Trafalgar servo hove into sight with 275 km on the odometer and 17.5 litres on the pump. Petrol seems to be cheaper in the country than in the city the last few months – 117 c/l versus 125 c/l. And high octane was only 2 c/l dearer – if only I had noticed sooner. We were now down to 16 bikes, Craig missing. But still early days!

Next stop Mirboo North. Back on the highway heading towards Melbourne the faithful crew followed Tim. Two kilometres down the road we turned left heading for Childers and a smidge of dirt. The road climbs steeply for 7 or 8 km. Around a right hand sweeper the bitumen kinks off to the left and the flow of the road continues to the right but as dirt. I stuck with the bitumen but 8 others, remembering dirt was mentioned in the morning pre-ride route description, continued on blissfully unaware. Geoff Shugg figured something was amiss and he and John Willis rejoined the main group. But the Fab Five:  Misho, Pina, Damir, Rod and Chris Tran headed off on their own leaderless tour.

All of a sudden I started corner marking way more frequently. We finished our 2.6 km of dirt in to Childers and started heading for Thorpdale before picking up Chute Road heading south and then the Track rejoining the main drag to Mirboo North including the fabulous set of high speed esses. I counted bikes and there were 10! I figured the tricky Y junction had done them in but that was 20 km back! So on to Mirboo North for lunch at the Bakery.

The phone had been running hot! I called Pina and they were lost somewhere which I deduced was on the Korumburra Warragul Road. “Head Korumburra, follow the signs to Leongatha, follow the signs to Mirboo North”, I suggested. All highway. 60 km. Good luck. In the interim we would sip lattes and talk about them.

By this stage I worked out Craig was missing and gave him a call, not expecting him to pick up. He did! He was in Drouin. Don’t ask me how. Same instructions – Warragul, Korumburra, Leongatha, Mirboo North. 80 km, all highway. Thankfully, the blitz was in the Yarra Ranges according to Tim who coincidentally was booked on the way to the ride in an 80, 60, 80 zone on a freeway exit ramp. Nasty.)

So Raj was waiting for us, the Fab Five turned up with stories of either 20 or 50 km of dirt. It looks like about 18 km on the map, but who knows what route they took, GPS or not. And I’m sure it felt like 50 km as the roads are tight, twisty and corrugated. Judging by place names of Hallston and Allambe South mentioned by Pina, they could have done a lot more than 20 km of dirt. We’ll never know!

And then Craig arrived, needing fuel of course!

Tim was itching to complete the ride, another two legs, the good stuff around Mirboo North, but clearly you can’t do everything. I think he learnt a valuable lesson – do the good stuff first; don’t waste time. If you want to do Gippsland, start in Berwick.

It was already closing on 3.30 pm and another 130 km to finish and another 100 km to get home was looking like a 6 pm home time. Definitely no time for an extra loop.

After a group photo in front of the bakery, the now 17 rider strong MSR set forth. Down through Hallston – nasty bumps mid-corner had the bike sliding across the road, super sticky Dunlop Qualifier GP or not. Hate to think if it was something less grippy. But then again I might not have been pushing as hard.

Three km of dirt (a mere trifle for the Fab Five) up through Arawata and on to the exciting Korumburra Warragul Road  to Lardner. The group was making good time now, focused on the job at hand, in familiar territory. Braking very hard for the turnoff to Darnum had the front squirming in the gravel, brakes released just in time. Tim was through Darnum (90 km mark) before he remembered he was going to regroup, but no matter, only another 40 km to Longwarry North via Old Sale Road, Crossover sweepers (at the correct, non fuel conserving mode this time), Neerim South and Jindivick. Still 17 bikes!

Twenty five minutes of relaxing and psyching oneself up for the monotonous and high stress 100 km of highway back to Melbourne. As usual, I was the bunny out front with Pina, Ha and Cliff behind me as we snaked our way through the traffic.

Misho had decided to tag along with the boys heading up through Tonimbuk to Gembrook and home in the eastern suburbs. He arrived home an hour after Pina at Meadow Heights.

The odometer showed 510 km from Yarra Glen to home – but I did an extra 35 or so km. Take off 104 of freeway at the end and the nominal ride distance was around 375 km. Though quite a few people did extra mileage!

It was an excellent day with lots of excitement. The road selection was great, though not exactly what Tim had planned! See you in a couple of weeks!

 

Ben Warden