Kawasaki Ninja 1000

More video and some road testers'comments - sorry but I can't get the sizing quite right!

Cabin fever

Having some decent weather at last gave me the opportunity to take a quick run down to Colac to visit Steve and then head home via Beech Forest and Turton's track. I didn't take too many pics, but here's a few.

This is a close up of the display behind my Honda in the avatar picture for this blog.

Views from the deck of the Ridge Cafe at Beech Forest

Today's run was a spur of the moment thing, but I'm really  looking forward to tomorrow's New Years Eve run to the 12 Apostles with the West Coast Procrastinators. The forecast temp is 38C for Friday. Some summer at last!

Another Sunday ride two-up

Mrs Tarsnakes and I took a short run to Forrest (Vic) for coffee. We stopped in at 'Martians' cafe at Deans Marsh and took a few shots of some historic motorcycles parked there.

What particularly caught my eye was an old twin cylinder Norton, as my mate Steve is rebuilding a 500cc twin Dominator at present. There was also a well used Honda CBX1000 present, which is right at the top of the list of post classic motorcycles that I'd like to have.

Nice pipes, alloy rims,  rearsets, ?? featherbed frame & belt primary - nicely done!

Modified primary drive. The chain drives always seem to leak oil, this is the clean belt alternative.

Don't know much about beezas- I'm guessing it's a 650

Rifles tank badge

An older Ducati

How I'd love one of these!

Moto Guzzi S3

Montesa road bikes must be pretty rare. This is a 350cc twin.

 We only stopped at Martians  briefly as it was pretty hot and very humid - not good in full leathers!

Mrs T in her new Vespa T.

 From Forrest we headed down to Colac and dropped in to see how Steve's Domi resto is progressing. Well actually we dropped in to pay a pre-Christmas visit, but Steve and I often seek the company of Nortons and Jimi Hendrix in the shed!

All up, another grand afternoon out.

Kawasaki Z1000SX or Ninja 1000 in Oz.

This is worth a look. It's aimed at those who don't want a pure sports bike. The claimed weight is 231 kg wet. Seat height 821 mm (hope they have a lowering option). Fuel tank 19 litres. Engine: 1043cc transverse four. The price Downunder has not been announced yet, but the motorcycle is due for release anytime now.

See http://www.kawasaki.com.au/

Spring Down Under

For the first time in ages we've had two consecutive days of magnificent Spring weather on the weekend - just ideal conditions for motorcycling. I've been able to get out for a decent ride both days!

Yesterday Marty and I rode and today (Sunday) it was just Mrs Tarsnakes & I. We pulled in to a new micro brewery & cafe in Forrest (Vic); TheForrest Brewing Company. There were some great Clubman cars parked out front and a lovely old Morris Minor converted to a ute.

Clubmans at Forrest Vic

These things go around corners like nothing else. They weigh less than 800 kilograms, typically have 1.6 - 2 litre motors

Mrs Tarsnakes awaiting coffee.

Nicely done!

We then headed along Turton's track (very slowly) to Beech Forest.

The grim one himself.

A grand weekend of riding twisty roads, approx 550 kilometers all up.

The Norton Project - thanks to Geoff James for the 'heads up' on this video

Snowy Mountains & Vic Alps Melbourne Cup weekend

Bill R invited Marty & I join him on a run with his mates up to the High Country for the Melbourne Cup long weekend. Despite a grim weather forecast all eight showed up Saturday morning. Day one route was from Melbourne to Bright via East Gippsland and Mt Hotham. Day two was Bright to Corryong with an extended loop in the Snowy Mountains of New South Wales. Day three was Corryong to Omeo via Mt Beauty & Fall's Creek. Day four was from Omeo back to Melbourne (& Geelong in our case). I covered 2035 kilometers in some spectacular Alpine Country with some of the best motorcycling roads you could wish for.

This was a great bunch of guys who made Marty and I very welcome to their riding group. Thanks fella's! We had a great time and a big thanks to Bill R for inviting us along. 

Here's a few pics.

The guys

L to R: Marty, John, Fred, Bill, Phil, Willem & Nev.

These guys are skillful riders, they ride fast in the right conditions and do it very well!

Marty's group pic

The motorcycles

Sunday in Tumut

Morning tea at Tumut NSW. L to R: Fred, Willem, John & Marty

Downtown Tumut on a sunny Spring day

L to R: Nev, Phil & Bill

Monday we came across a vintage rally in beautiful downtown Yackandandah. Here are some examples

Kinda contrasts with what we were riding.

Winner of the sprint to Falls Creek (Vic)

L to R: Fred, John, Willem & Phil

Marty & I headed back to Geelong from Omeo via Mt Hotham, the rest headed for Melbourne via Bairnsdale. There were still some remnants of winter snow at Mt Hotham.

 When we all rode the Great Alpine Road through Mt Hotham on Saturday the fog and mist was so bad that it was challenging to see three motorcycle lengths ahead! We had much better conditions this morning fortunately, but still a bit icy at the top.

The VFR in the High Country

Our last night we stayed at the Golden Age Hotel in Omeo, which is nicely renovated and I'd recommend it as a great place to stay - a cooked breakfast is included.