cleveland bike show today

[ken65]

gday, just wondering if anyones going to the laverda concourse bike show thats on today? im taking my camera so will post some pics if i get a decent one

ken

[The General]

gday, just wondering if anyones going to the laverda concourse bike show thats on today? im taking my camera so will post some pics if i get a decent one

ken

The mate, take some pics...I`ll have ta give it a miss this year...Hoping there`ll be an FJ in tha show & shine one day.
I still don`t like the new (ish) venue...but a great piece of bike porn usually.

[ken65]

beautifull day, heaps of bikes, took heaps of pics, not 1 fj, im having a beer now , but tomorrow i will put a few shots up,
ken

[Bones]

Didn't even know it was on Ken, went last year and would've gone again this year if I'd known. Went up to Leyburn for the sprints, good day out.       Tony.

[X-Ray]

Ahhh shit, I was at Leyburn today as well Tony!

Top day, some great cars getting around the track. I'm going back next year but this time we'll probably camp overnight, the 400km round trip is a bit of a killer, lol. Did the Gatton/Clifton run again, can't wait to do it on the bike, should be unreal.

[X-Ray]

Forgot to mention the pea soup fog most of the way there was bloody annoying, talk about trying to dodge the roos!

[Bones]

G'day Ray, I actually went the Gatton - Clifton Rd to Nobby first, to check how long it takes from the museum. Late start, missed all the fog, didn't get to Leyburn till just before 1.00pm. First time I've ever been, surprised at the amount of people there. Very popular.

[stua1959]

I went to Leyburn on Sat with a couple of guys from work on hayabusas. The fj wasn't disgraced. Also went through clifton. Road was rough in some parts but also some good corners thrown in. Returned over the gap . 500 km round trip

[ken65]

ok, a few photos, , alot of european stuff, british, harleys etc, there was a fair share of jap stuff, but not a lot of yamaha's

[ribbert]

Thanks Ken, nice selection of bikes you chose to photograph.
A lot of memories for me and others I'm sure.

Noel

[ken65]

glad you like them, there were that many bikes there it was almost overload,

[Bones]

Just thinking about it, I've never seen many... if at all, any FJ's at any bike show I've been to in the last few years... How come???

Surely their worth their place in history as any of  the other bikes of their era!!!. After all, they set the standards of performance in their day, which other manufacturers had to match, or at least better. 

There has to be a few out there worthy of putting on show, to remind people that these bikes do exist.
I've thought about putting my bike in a show, but backed out because I didn't think it wasn't good enough.

Maybe that's what other people think too???

                                                                      Tony.

[ribbert]

Just thinking about it, I've never seen many... if at all, any FJ's at any bike show I've been to in the last few years... How come???

Surely their worth their place in history as any of  the other bikes of their era!!!. After all, they set the standards of performance in their day, which other manufacturers had to match, or at least better. 

There has to be a few out there worthy of putting on show, to remind people that these bikes do exist.
I've thought about putting my bike in a show, but backed out because I didn't think it wasn't good enough.

Maybe that's what other people think too???

                                                                      Tony.

I think one of the reasons is that unlike many of those bikes from the 70's and 80's, the FJ remains eminently rideable, even by today's standards.  Most of us own FJ's to ride them, I mean really ride them. Not take them around the block once a month, and then only if it's dry or tootle to and from show & shines and rallies.

We use them like they were modern bikes because they do it so well. If you can get around the nostalgia and the memories, most of those bikes, by today's standards, are shit boxes to ride, the FJ is not.
Those bikes are no longer useable as regular riders, the FJ is. Unless your name is Pat or Leon, who seem to manage both, the primary reason we own them is to ride which doesn't make them a good candidate for showing.

I've had a lot of the bikes pictured there. They were great at the time, would no doubt be fun to throw you leg over for a short ride now, but you wouldn't seriously head off for a 700 km day or a multi thousand mile trip or expect to hold you own with modern bikes on one anymore. Or, in the case of the Ducati, ever.

It would be a crime to have a good, well sorted FJ and be scared to use it in case something broke or wore out, or risk getting it wet or running out bitumen somewhere, or wanting to keep the miles low or not want to get it wet etc.

As Tony said, "surely the are worth their place in history"..... They will be one day, but 30 years on, unlike many of those other bikes, they have not been consigned to history yet. With the widespread adoption of upgraded suspension, brakes and tyres, it's a long way off yet.

FJ's are for riding!

Has anyone ever noticed that when guys gets to a stage where they can afford a restoration project, they often choose the car they wanted as a young bloke but couldn't afford and the bike they did have as a young bloke because it was all they could afford.

Noel

[ken65]

well said you 2, very interesting, thanks, ive often wondered the same thing,

[The General]

Just thinking about it, I've never seen many... if at all, any FJ's at any bike show I've been to in the last few years... How come???

Surely their worth their place in history as any of  the other bikes of their era!!!. After all, they set the standards of performance in their day, which other manufacturers had to match, or at least better. 

There has to be a few out there worthy of putting on show, to remind people that these bikes do exist.
I've thought about putting my bike in a show, but backed out because I didn't think it wasn't good enough.

Maybe that's what other people think too???

                                                                      Tony.

I think one of the reasons is that unlike many of those bikes from the 70's and 80's, the FJ remains eminently rideable, even by today's standards.  Most of us own FJ's to ride them, I mean really ride them. Not take them around the block once a month, and then only if it's dry or tootle to and from show & shines and rallies.

We use them like they were modern bikes because they do it so well. If you can get around the nostalgia and the memories, most of those bikes, by today's standards, are shit boxes to ride, the FJ is not.
Those bikes are no longer useable as regular riders, the FJ is. Unless your name is Pat or Leon, who seem to manage both, the primary reason we own them is to ride which doesn't make them a good candidate for showing.

I've had a lot of the bikes pictured there. They were great at the time, would no doubt be fun to throw you leg over for a short ride now, but you wouldn't seriously head off for a 700 km day or a multi thousand mile trip or expect to hold you own with modern bikes on one anymore. Or, in the case of the Ducati, ever.

It would be a crime to have a good, well sorted FJ and be scared to use it in case something broke or wore out, or risk getting it wet or running out bitumen somewhere, or wanting to keep the miles low or not want to get it wet etc.

As Tony said, "surely the are worth their place in history"..... They will be one day, but 30 years on, unlike many of those other bikes, they have not been consigned to history yet. With the widespread adoption of upgraded suspension, brakes and tyres, it's a long way off yet.

FJ's are for riding!
Has anyone ever noticed that when guys gets to a stage where they can afford a restoration project, they often choose the car they wanted as a young bloke but couldn't afford and the bike they did have as a young bloke because it was all they could afford.
Noel

    Well done!...I`ve been asked ta do a write up on the FJ (and the Aussie Rally) by an Australian Bike magazine. (Well I was actually asked some months ago but got blindsided with other commitments! - but they still want it.)

Thought I might hav`ta brush up on me spelling a bit, then bingo! Tony & Noel have written down most of what I wanted ta say!...Now I only gotta add some coffee, pic of someone being served and a little poetry by Banjo Patterson!....thanks guys. (Hope I don`t get dun in for pagerism!)   
....ummm, might have ta get Baldy ta do a re run with his pink garter  ( but on an fj this time) ... anyone gotta pink stripper I can borrow?...a gender issue possiblee, but I`m hope`n for a canvas  that represents The Good, The Bad and The Ugly in tha FJ spectrum.... Klav? Arnie?... ...all three tagether would be really cool.