So next Tuesday night at the monthly meeting the details will be out for the International Gypsy Tour 2016 around Tassie in March 7-12 there will only be room for 20 going and 10 places are spoken for already, naturally Indian Riders are the first choice & favoured of any era. Deposit of $1000 will be asked for as Ferry dates will need to be booked & locked in, also you must accompany your machine over and back, participants must be either NSW Motorcycle Alliance or RACV Roadside cover members & all accommodation will be booked for you with your deposit though meals are your responsibility please average around $100-$150 a day for meals fuel and lodging. Your deposit secures the ferry and accommodation the difference will be paid by you and there is a rally fund expense for fuel for the breakdown vehicle which will be following we will only be using it for emergencies, no dead or spare bikes will be carried, so no you can’t have a spare bike carried for you but your broken down bike will be transported till you repair it or it will be used as spares to fix other dead or dying machines. All baggage will be down to a carry on aircraft bag anything else you carry as the picture above shows (Thanks Life magazine). As I said the itinerary is out next week ask Chris Horner 0418374624 for details

Well it’s here at last as the demand has forced it into production the 1938-45 leaf spring type 8″ twin leading shoe front brake assembly. As you know with over 30 of the 1946-53 type (pictured on right) sold almost immediately it was natural the early version (on left) was requested, the brake plate is CNC machined out of heat-treated billet and the 8″ drum/shoe area is three times the width of the original Indian 7″ single leader version  & with the Twin Leading Shoe action makes this brake safe in todays traffic, the anchor arm will be riveted on the backing plate on production versions and cut from steel. Some people have asked why not hide the arms inside well the reason is I have used one of these versions for 2 years on my 1944 outfit and it is lacking! The secret is synchronizing the shoes which is impossible when the arms are hidden inside and narrower shoes to boot! If you are interested in staying alive ring Phil 03 94996428 (B.H)

Winter has hit with a vengeance and your bike is sitting in the shed with a cover over it because it could fall over on a wet road, well how about a sidecar on your Indian plenty of models pictured fitted onto both new and old versions. Sidecar riders these days are treated with suspicion because you can’t have the same fun on one as I was once told, that was before I took this misinformed individual for a ride after screaming to let him out after a few minutes I realized I was having more fun than him, still I have ridden them for 45 years and raced them as well for some years I gave him the ride of his life! I own two outfits at the moment and would like another the only problem is they take up the room of a small car and two solos fit better than an outfit in a garage, riding solos is a lot of fun but only half as much as a well set up chair you can potentially on a late-model outfit blitz any car on the road and they handle better than a sports car to boot I never could see the attraction of MG’s I could outhandle, outbrake, and outperform any of them on a rigid frame Triumph Thunderbird and it could carry the same amount of passengers and you got wet in bad weather in the MG as the T-Bird, so think about it you will never use your stand again have plenty of room for gear and even for an extra passenger. This weekend the Rain in the Face Winter Rally is on a nice time for a outfit you can put a thermos of hot soup in, spare gloves a umbrella and all your gear will be dry with spare room for the dog even

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The new W.Aust Indian News is in if you wish to read it click on the image it takes about 10 secs to download the other 40 are on the Section News area

Recently someone in our association asked me about break-down cover, we offer NSW Motorcycle Alliance cover but personally I go with RACV Roadside assist. Now a number of years ago I swore I would have nothing to do with them (RACV) after having my father-in-law suffer a heart attack in Queensland and unfortunately died I rang the RACV to ask them to bring his car and trailer home, him being a member for 50 years accounted for nothing as they said and I quote ” He’s dead so we no longer cover him and you will have to find means of returning the vehicle yourself, if he was in hospital alive we can offer this service as part of his package” after driving a CM Valiant & trailer 1800 klms back to Melbourne over 2 days I was”nt overly impressed. Recently after a mate (Chris Horner) broke down in Bright I had second thoughts he rang  and within half an hour they picked up the bike and delivered him back to Melbourne, and if he was on holiday he was offered another vehicle, and or accommodation if his bike was being repaired, not only that they covered if he was driven or driving someone elses bike/car that broke down he was covered and this vehicle was picked up as well, top this off with your wife’s/ partners vehicle was on the same coverage and any car or motorcycle that you own! Well all that for $220 a year I’ve got 14 vehicles covered, my missus had her car on a factory emergency assist thing at $160 a year and it only covered her vehicle needless to say I joined cancelled her factory cover and I am happy. So I suppose there is always a sheep nearby in a paddock to tow your Indian but you know $220 is bugger all when the sheep gets tired.