This is a question I ask everyday

 

This was on Facebook recently and as I have often said manufacturers have gone mad!

That’s a blown up BMW 1300 GS ( latest model in the GS family).

In my 20+ years of riding, I have witnessed adventure-seeking individuals being deceived by marketing tactics and purchasing large, expensive dual sport bikes. They come with accessories and electronics, just like the 1250 GS, 1200 Adventure, Super Tenere, and others. They look fantastic in the showroom or on paved roads.

While there are some owners who are adventurous enough to do some serious off-roading on these fat bikes, it’s unlikely that more than 10% of most owners are doing so. To be honest, the remaining 90% of overweight dual sport bike owners only purchased them after viewing an advertisement featuring a paid professional biker such as Dave Darcy from MadTV riding through sand dunes or the Colorado River.

And again, the manufacturers continue to make dual sport bikes bigger and more expensive. The ADV market has witnessed the rise of big bikes with big engines that are packed with as much nanny technology as a modern car. Air bags will soon be installed on fat dual sport bikes, like the one in the Goldwing.

All these excessive features lead to bloated and overweight bikes. Taking the bikes off road, and I mean really off-road, will be great until you lose control and they fall down or get stuck in mud. Hopefully you don’t break any expensive parts of your bike or worse yet break your leg because you dropped it, a 500-pound machine.

Regrettably, you are not Pol Tarres. You’re not going to be throwing your bike around like it’s a trial bike, and you’re not going to be picking up your ADV all day long on your off-road adventure.

Ever wondered why Itchy Boots chose a light weight Honda CRF 300 to transverse the world ?

They don’t make them like that anymore

In 1913 the brothers [Abernathy] Louis [Bud] age 13, and Temple age 9, rode from Oklahoma to New York City on the Indian Motorcycle seen in the photo. This was not the Abernathy boys firs adventure.
In 1909 the two brothers, Louis “Bud” aged nine and Temple five, encountered a host of Old West obstacles, including wolves and wild rivers, when they rode more than 1,000 miles from Oklahoma to Santa Fe and back – ALONE!.
The following year (1910) the brothers set their sights on New York City, which they reached after a month of hard riding.
In the summer of 1911, they did the impossible. They rode nearly 4,000 miles, from New York to San Francisco, in only sixty-two days. Once again, the Abernathy Boys had made a historic ride without any adult assistance and accomplished an equestrian feat which has never been equaled

Crazy Horse Rally Map

Winter Smoke Signals

SmokeSignals July2024

Its getting closer

This Tuesday night the AGM is on and Nomination forms have been out for 3 months already we have all position declaced vacant on the night and you can nominate up to just before the meeting starts at 8.00pm sharp. I’m nominating for Vice President unless someone else is desperate to do it as Andrew Ellis is stepping down, meanwhile we desperately need a Treasurer we havnt had one for a couple of years now so please put you name down if you feel you can add and subtract. Meanwhile winter is dragging on and I have a shoulder cup replacement operation coming up next week so no driving for 4 weeks or riding for 6 weeks, happy days

Pub & Grub 2024 date change

Please note the date changes for this event 2 weeks earlier than the date originally posted now 25-28 October, the accomodation to be announced later this month and the riders route also. Remember also the last Tuesday of this month for the AGM at Grandview Motel Alphington and also a free meal provided up to $25 for fully paid up members! If you hav’nt renewed your subs do it now not on the night as you will not get the meal seems like a good prompt to get in early.

It’s that time of year

Yes winter and its cold, also school holidays, EOFY, and a recession, beside that and Zarkie’s heated motorcycle clothing doing a roaring trade there is the AGM coming up 30/07/24 this month. By the way those nomination forms are rolling in (just joking) for people wanting to stand for committee positions especially Treasurer please give this some consideration. Your Association will be paying for your meal only at the GrandView Hotel up to $25.00 for full financial members only so please attend and pay your subs if you have’nt already

Nomination Form 2024

Responsibilities-of-Committee-Roles2

Road Rage, its a mental condition

 

Recently I received a email from a USA firm about alerting all to the the mental condition causing road rage, I have never thought about it being described as such and as it is the same problem here in Australia it is well worth reading.  https://www.siebenpolklaw.com/road-rage/

Your new editor



Guess what surprisingly we have a willing member wishing to take over the reigns as editor he’s listed in the Contacts page for you to email all those articles you’ve been saving up Ray is just waiting for the calls so please start putting pen to paper. Everyone wants our Smoke Signals e-mag but without your input it will be quite boring it can be a article on you alternative hobby or how you got into bikes anything will do and if it seems boring it generally isn’t to others.
The nomination forms were handed out at out last Tuesday nights meeting so end of July will be the AGM we are desperate for a treasurer and it’s a necessary position to have on our committee, if your good with figures we need you!
Your President Mark has nearly finished his Vindian pictured above so now two in our club, I’m looking forward to seeing it out on the road

Yet another Vindian


So now there are four in Victoria and the latest one is your presidents Mark Barthelmie, weirdly the first one I provided all the then known details to Pete Arundel and eventually it was fabricated by our ex Chairman Lindsay Urquart. The second one again fabricated by Lindsay for Pete Birthistle, I not only found the engine in S.Aust but then overhauled it, eventually sorting out the finalities like cables and magneto so it settled down to be a good reliable bike. The third one was and is the one I mostly ride that I completely ignored the two previous attempts and built it stronger than the factory based prototypes that Lindsay made. It’s done heaps of miles and is doggedly reliable, and now we have Mark’s I found the new motor for this in a JMR Norvin and Mark got the 1948 rolling chassis, I recommended Greg Brillus (Vincent guru) to fit it in with the help of my 30 page book I had written on this subject, plenty of phone calls from QLD and the engine was in! Mark has all the fiddly work to go, painting, wiring, exhaust etc but it’s nearly there so that’s another one done and I’m looking forward to seeing it on the road. There are 3 others in the world, Mike Thomas of Kiwi Indian it has a Terry Prince 1200 engine and 2 front heads with the Vincent dynamo drive system and huge carb’s and cams, I prefer the opposite for tractability each his own, the other one is a abortion again in America this one is dangerously made where the Indian frame rails are completely cut out and the engine is hung as in a standard Vincent frame, if it was in Australia it would be banned! Lastly the factory frame that was delivered back to Indian Sales at Springfield in 1949 sans the engine, they were agents for Vincent and fitted a Series D engine and a Vincent front wheel, it still exists apparently in the DuPont museum.