March 31st, 2009
The bushfires in Victoria this February cut a path of horrific devastation through the motorcycling playgrounds to the East and North-East of Melbourne. A recent sombre ride through the towns of Healesville, Narbethong, Buxton, Yea, Flowerdale, Kinglake and Chum Creek highlighted for me the random and ferocious force that came through the area on and around Black Saturday.
Nearly two months after the fires, many of these towns are still graveyards of twisted metal, ashen rubble and charred, burned-out cars. The Australian public, and indeed benefactors around the world have raised impressive sums of money to go towards rebuilding, but as frequent and passionate visitors to the area, a group of local motorcyclists has been putting together a mother of a fundraiser ride for this Sunday.
“Ride For The Hills”
Sunday April 5
$20 per rider, $1 per pillion
All proceeds to the Australian Red Cross Victorian Bushfire Appeal Fund
The ride will be both a fundraising event, and a chance for riders to show solidarity and respect to the locals who have welcomed us into their beautiful towns for so many years.
For more details, start points and feeder ride information, see the Ride For The Hills website.
If you can’t attend, but would like to donate to the cause, you can do so directly though the website.
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March 17th, 2009
Can’t afford a Desmosedici RR? Me neither. I’d bloody love to ride one though, 200 Italian stallions from a GP replica V4 engine… The 990cc, of course, from that time long ago when men were men and MotoGP bikes were actually scary. I can dream, though, of wedging myself into that midget seat, the firm but supple Ohlins suspension, the scrotum-tightening experience of wrenching that terrifying throttle all the way around in fourth, then third, but never first.
Excuse me, just having a moment. Anyway, the point is that there’s a lot of bikes we’d all love to ride, but would never own, either because they’re too niche, or too expensive, too highly strung, too impractical, or too Italian. Which makes Sydney’s Superbike Club such a fascinating idea. A signup fee of AU$1,750, and then AU$7,000 per year thereafter, gives you access to book the Desmosedici RR, as well as a host of other very tasty motorcycles, for a ride whenever you feel like it. (more…)
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March 13th, 2009
I couldn’t resist posting this series of pics. Guy on a Gixxer6 or 750 overcooks a right-hander at Deal’s Gap USA, slams into a van and loses his “safety sneaker” in the impact. Fantastic case of right place, right time for the photographer… Or then again, did this guy overcook the corner trying to get himself posterized? If so, he might not be that keen on blowing these ones up for his bedroom wall… Great photos!
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March 1st, 2009
American Ben Spies didn’t get a great start into race 2, edged out by a barnstorming Max Biaggi into turn one. Steaming into the long, looping left hander at Phillip Island’s turn 2, he must have been thinking about the disaster that happened to him here in the first race, getting pushed out wide and off the track. But if we expected Spies to go easy and find a rhythm before attacking, we were looking at the wrong guy. Nobody goes around the outside at turn 2, especially not around a rider like Max Biaggi - nobody but Spies. He went the long way around the Roman Emperor and made it stick.
Biaggi might have been maintaining an impressive pace to hold second through lap 2, but race 1 winner and last year’s runner-up Noriyuki Haga was on a furious charge to the front. Nori had no luck in qualifying, but loves a race day - and by the end of lap 2 he’d dispatched no less than 10 riders to get behind Biaggi. Haga took less than a single lap to barge past Max Biaggi to set up the race we’ve been dying to watch - a high-speed mano a mano with rookie Spies. (more…)
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