The GTR is a great bike already but by making it fit me a bit better turned the ride into a pleasure with no aftermath of soreness and stiffness. I fitted bar risers, an Airhawk seat and the bike already had an electronic cruise control (Bike Cruise). The best day was Alice to Port Augusta, leaving in the daylight and arriving before dark. That’s 1250km with rest food and fuel stops (and some piccies). A bonus was that it started to rain around Elliot in the NT and subsequently I saw only one roo the whole trip; plenty of cattle, eagles and emus, though. I enjoyed it immensely and I recommend the run to anyone as there is lots to stop and gawk at if you are not in a hurry. Keep up the good work with the mag ’cos I am getting a subscription soon. I hope you will soon have a comparo with the new GTR and the other pretenders. I will never sell this one but I want a new one for sure. Murray “Muzza” Richardson
May/June 2008 - Riding a long way away
Dear Bear, For years I used to read your OS travel stories and dream, but then recently Santa must have got together with the Tooth Fairy and maybe somebody else and got me a job where I travel to Europe frequently — three or four times a year. I also have an understanding boss, and can add a day or two to the work time if it’s the weekend. That means I can follow your leads and go riding. I’ve only managed to do it once so far but I have lots of plans. I also have a question and a request. Do you have any recommendations for rides out of Barcelona? Would you please list rental agencies for the places you start from? One reason why I’ve only been on one ride is that internet claims from rental agencies are not always true. I was very disappointed in Rome when a place where I had booked a bike suddenly tried to fob me off with a scooter. I have a workmate who’s also a reader of ARR but doesn’t have this problem — he has in-laws in Frankfurt and leaves a bike there! Barry McLennan Brisbane, Qld Congratulations on the job, Baz. Sorry I can’t help with Barcelona (yet) but I can definitely promise that I’ll keep listing rental opportunities whenever I can. — The Bear
May/June 2008 - Not so wrong...
Dear Bear, In the Jan/Feb 2008 issue, you acknowledged an error regarding a statement re ethanol, to wit, “It will be compulsory for fuel sold in NSW after July 2011 to contain 10 per cent ethanol.” The correction was to the effect that the total volume of ethanol must rise to 10% of petrol sold and thus, because it relates to the total volume of petrol sold, motorists will still have a choice. Simple nonsense. While it may be true in a literal sense, the reality will be different. For some motorists to be using less than 10%, others will have to be using more. The responsibility rests with the retailers to sell, not the motorists to buy. What do the bureaucrats expect to happen? Will the petroleum producers monitor sales and vary the percentage of ethanol in the fuel such that ethanol users will compensate for the non-ethanol users? Will they make one litre of 20% ethanol for every one litre of 0%? The only practical way for the producers or retailers to comply with the legislation is to make all petrol 10% ethanol. So that is what will happen. If someone can envisage an alternative practical solution, I would be interested to hear. Wayne Talbot Kelso NSW So even when I admit I’m wrong, I’m wrong, eh, Wayne? Pity I couldn’t have been right about something more cheerful. It’s likely that nobody will (at least initially) be using more than 10% ethanol. — The Bear
March/April 2008 -Where's yer manners?
Hi Peter, I like the newer format of the magazine and even with the changes it is still excellent reading. I have a young bloke who is an apprentice mechanic and a very perceptive one at that who also loves his work passionately. He occasionally tells me he overhears customers being really rude and aggressive. I know the problem is not the business, as we have work done there and it is done very professionally and completely to our satisfaction. I have seen similar things in other businesses as well. I was also in a bike shop next door recently talking to one of the sales people when a chap walked in off the street, briefly looked at some bikes as he progressed through the shop towards the front counter, then out of the blue bellowed out, “Well, is anybody going to serve me, or what?” I may add that the business owner was already approaching him before the outburst. When you walk in the door of this business, you can sense a really good, amiable atmosphere, so I was somewhat taken aback to say the least. I did remark to the salesman I was talking to that the customer was just being bloody rude. He replied that they do get a few of them unfortunately. Now I notice that some of the letters in your mail section are starting to show the same signs of aggression. Maybe I have mellowed with age, or being a farmer, am insulated from the real world. Well if that’s what the real world is coming to, then god help the lot of us. What is wrong with trying to keep the trap shut for a few seconds longer, reverse the role you are in, then see if you still want to offer the same advice in the same manner. As for bike road users, I thought we all stuck together no matter what. So how about live and let live, eh. Peter, Boyup Brook, WA Thank you for that timely reminder of what life’s really all about, Peter. We’ll certainly be keeping it in mind. — The Bear
March/April 2008 - Suffer the children
Greetings big bear, may the motorcycle gods shine on you. I recently purchased a new bike, an R1200R, as my wife accidentally killed my beloved K75C with the tractor. The first thing I did was get a sheep skin seat cover. I had replaced my K series vinyl seat four times in 20 years. Then I bought a little windscreen that takes the buffeting out of any highway rides. I have panniers but would like to source, buy, make, beg, borrow or steal some engine crash bars for the R1200R. The old K had some rubber mounted engine bars as well as the hard panniers. No amount of dropping ever really caused damage. I used to always put the K on the centre stand as the side stand would result in an embarrassing amount of smoke on start-up. The centre stand is not as stable as one would suppose. Is anyone out there able to assist? The word on the street is you are better off letting the weight of the R series smack onto the cast cam cover than mount a crash bar that may transfer the impact to other areas of the bike. Bikes should be made to be dropped occasionally. My daughter is seven years old and loves riding pillion up and down our dirt track. At what age would you consider it prudent to wrap her in new safety gear and take to the road? What precautions should I take? How do you placate an anxious wife? I don’t really expect an answer for the last question. Jonathan Brett, Coorparoo, Qld Can anyone help Jonathan with advice on crash bars for the R? As for kids on bikes, the law in NSW in essence says that they must be able to securely reach the footpegs — with their feet, surprisingly enough. I don’t know about Queensland. I would add the requirement that they be sensible kids. — The Bear
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