Australian FJ Anniversary Rally; March 8, 2014

[The General]

Dena & I heading South for Jindayne by the mighty East Coast of Australia, today!  ...ummm well at least after I pack the sidecar, some minor mechanical checks, deliver pervert to his holiday kennel +++

You`d think I would`ve done all that yesterday. Wifey cleared the fridge, cleaned the house, packed her gear and waited for me to come home from a little lunchtime FJ socialising!

I got home just in time to take her to our daughter`s place for Dinner!

Not my fault those blokes at tha Yacht Club talked a lot! 

ummm... Note to self...more band aids required in first aid kit.

[Tony Mac]

   G'day everyone, hope all is going well with your travel arrangements.
We are planning a ride to Charlotte Pass on Friday afternoon. Planning to leave the Banjo Patterson at around 3.30pm and return around 5.00pm. The ride up will take around half an hour to the top of Australia. The road is fantastic, with lots of sweeping, fast flowing corners that get a bit tighter towards the top.
Quite a bit of the road was re-surfaced last month just before we did the recon ride and is in great condition. Once at the top we can have a short break to take some photo's and revive for the trip back down. Last month there was still some visible patches of snow, so for all you north and west people that have never seen snow before, here's your chance.
   I know a lot of you will have ridden a long way to get to Jindabyne but this road is worth the extra effort and you won't be disappointed. I'm sure there will still be beer left when we get back to the pub.     Regards, Pete.

P.S There is a Kosciuszko National Park fee of $6.00, payable at a toll booth on the way up the mountain but it will be $6.00 well spent.

Good morning all.
I'm hoping to arrive mid afternoon Friday so I should be OK to do the ride to Charlottes Pass. The only problem is that I will be riding through at least 1 active fire ground on my way to Cann River. Bottom line is I need to beat Arnie so I get the pick of the bunks. Oh! and I hope your not expecting to see my bike as pristine as Megsy's. I might give her a wash before I leave next week but it won't be a show stopper.
See you all there.
Be Good.
Tony.

[X-Ray]

Not my fault those blokes at tha Yacht Club talked a lot! 

Ahh you loved it General!  But who can blame us, THE CanDman WAS IN DA HOUSE!!!!!!  It was a great day, (where did the time go?) I actually slept all the way home, didn't pull in the driveway till 8.30pm, phew, was buggered, lol. But it was well worth it. We met our brother from "Snowland", Canada, and he proved to be every bit as genuine and an all round nice guy as I learned from his postings and the odd couple of phone calls. 

Luv Ya Mate, bring on Jindy! 

[Klavdy]

Blah blah blah, blah blah blah,


I read this several times but I'm afraid I 'aint seein' it.

Maybe I'm just a shallow thinker.

Noel

Oh, there you are,
Someone said you'd been posting , I generally never bother reading any of your pontifications, life is too short to waste time reading about how boringly "Right" some blowhard old dude is about everything.

[CanDman]

Helloooooo folks......from Down under. ..what a journey so far ...Holy Cow.....I luv this place....luv these people !!!!!....3 days to get here.....my choice to beat the jetlag !!! skipped over the 27th into the 28th and stretched a 24 hr day into a 36 hr day....seems to have worked fine !!! San Fran day was rainy...no real chance to be a tourist...but boarded the flight over and landed in Sydney without issue....spent the day downtown and had a blast....made like the Canadian version of crocodile Dundee... I couldn't resist....I was meeting and greeting everybody....."eh how's it going....eh.....CanDman from up over  eh !!!   Some got it....and got it good.....lol  
Had some fun with customs....sorry Arn ...just couldn't resist......of course when the chap got the to asking about my criminal record.......so I paused....looked at him at with a very convincing concerned look on my face.....I came out and said !!! " I thought you didn't one to get in here anymore.... .... ..well he just looked at me in disbelief and busted right up....everyone looked over....it was a moment.....then it was off to the luggage security check.....I brought the clubs and forgot to check off the box (sports gear) so...she pointed that out....and then she asked me if I had shoes in there and I said yea....I do....ok then I going to ask you to open up your flight case and look at them....so away she went with my dirty golf shoes.......she comes back 5 minutes later with them in a bag...... and she is looking at me.......she puts the shoes on the table and  I look down with a guilty demeanour ... and then said....."......let me guess.....you found some grass...? "
  ......well she fired the biggest smile at me and began to chuckle.......it was nice.....unbelievable...... and I was straight with her....I told her I brought 6 cans of beer for a friend.....she just shhhshhhh'd me and said ....ya no worries......it was perfect  !!!! The yacht lunch was amazing !!!! Thx Doug and thank you everyone who could make it yesterday it was so nice to meet you guys....I can't stop smiling.....those pops were nice. eh fellas....as was the service ...wink wink....lol..... Luv you guys......and you are all as warm and kind as I knew you would be....Rich and his wife have been so wonderful and we are fast becoming good friends.....about to take the 2 steers for a rip.....out for a rip are ya bud? Just out for a rip.....
...looking forward to meeting you all at the rally......tomorrow we're off to Byron bay.....it's going to be goooood.....
Kev

[Pat Conlon]

......Peter starts on the pole for tomorrow's double points final race and this fresh bullet should easily carry him to the victory as he was also able to remove the intake restrictions that were installed after the first two wins this weekend.

Ok, I know that you are on vacation, but how about a up date on Sunday's race..... Details, details please.

(Check's in the mail)   Pat

[The General]

It`s tuesday here. (Clipsal races finished on last Sunday). Interestingly just received an email from the Banjo Patterson Motor Inn that the confirmed bookings come to a total of 43 Persons! .... an Anniversary to remember, me thinks!

[roverfj1200]

The CanDman and me are in Glen Innes. 

[megsy]

The Fairy is on the trailer, trying to do away with tie downs, so hopefully the crimp bolts on the bottom of the forks are strong, or I may be
spending a lot of time at the bar   

I hate having the suspension pulled down to the bump stops for hours using tie downs 

[Pat Conlon]

Ooooh Megsy, that's a big heavy bike to be secured at such a low point.
The lower the point the higher the loading.
Not so much worried about back and forth rocking, you are secure in the front wheel chock, but side to side rocking, that's where the damage will happen.
I dunno about this.....I have a bad feeling.

[red]

The Fairy is on the trailer, trying to do away with tie downs, so hopefully the crimp bolts on the bottom of the forks are strong, or I may be
spending a lot of time at the bar  
I hate having the suspension pulled down to the bump stops for hours using tie downs  
http://i58.tinypic.com/2luqrsy.jpg
http://i59.tinypic.com/jttra0.jpg

Megsy

Even if the small bolts at the swing arm and fork bottoms are strong enough, those turnbuckles are not great.  I would expect the bent ends to open out, or maybe just strip out the center barrels.  Breaking those thin bolts on the bike would make the bike unsafe to ride, if they failed.  There will be a lot of force applied to the end of the swing-arm.  I would hope that the trailer suspension was really soft, to minimize any shock-loads from the roadway to the bike.

I really see no harm in "crushing" the suspension down once on a trailer, since that happens a lot when riding, and much harder.  At a minimum, I would like to see the results of a short "test run" on your turnbuckle system, just driving locally, to see how well the hardware hangs together.  

Best wishes,
Red

[movenon]

Good luck my friend.. You don't have to pull down that tight on the front suspension, just enough to keep it from falling over.  Looks like your set up would put a fair amount of stress on the fork casting's / vases.

I like your self locking chock. It is better than the ones I have.

Here are the ones I use.  
http://www.harborfreight.com/self-locking-motorcycle-wheel-chock-60392.html#.UxYWoIVUPps

The bike will stay vertical on it's own while you tie it down to limit its left and right movement.  Don't ratchet the front suspension down tight. I made that mistake. It will jam the front tire in the wedge pretty hard.  Just snug it and prevent it from tipping over.  That's my limited experience with it.

Enjoy the rally and post pictures.  "If there is not any pictures then it didn't happen"  
Cheers and drinks George  :

[megsy]

Well could be 2 days in the pub 


The turn buckles are 200kg rated, I have been told on good info that others doing historic racing do the same when travelling,

the wheel clamp does restrict side movement as well, some one has be the guinea pig & try it, & as long as it falls in & not out of the trailer

and it is a Yamaha that are quality built, my mates do the same with Kawasaki's & it works 

I have used straps on the rear to help support it, I just in case.

Well off to pack the bag & hitch the trailer then off to Newcastle for the night, before picking up Irish in the morning, then off to Jindy 

[oldktmdude]

  Megsy, invest in a set of these.  http://www.inter-bike.co.uk/reviews-motorcycling/motorcycle-product-reviews/2649-tyre-down-review.html] [url]http://www.inter-bike.co.uk/reviews-motorcycling/motorcycle-product-reviews/2649-tyre-down-review.html[/url]   Great product bit pricey though. I fabricated my own set using a pair of rachet tie-downs and some scrap stainless steel that I had lying around.  See you at Jindy.  Regards, Pete.   

[The General]

Megsy. When I did it I added a safety rope to the highest point of rear wheel. (allowing for suspension movement). She`ll be right!