Old Bike Australasia

There was a high degree of distress on the other end of the phone. I recognised the voice but not the phone number. This was Wednesday 5th April – the day the 2023 Easter Bathurst Tour visited Chifley Dam (about 30km from Bathurst) for Hot Cross Buns. This day I took the car (and the dog) while Mrs Editor (Sue) rode out to the dam with the other rallyists. It was a beautiful, clear day; perfect riding weather. Following morning tea, I headed off back at our digs in Bathurst. I had been there for some time and had been expecting Sue to arrive when I received the call. Normally meticulously organised, Sue had taken off on the ride back to Bathurst without zipping up the Ventura bag on the…

The Corso Cowboys I thought I would submit this photograph (above) of three “Corso Cowboys” taken 60 years ago on the corner of Steinton and Whistler Streets in Manly NSW. From left is Ronnie, a mate on an ex-Police Tiger 110, then the writer on his 1958 Golden Flash BSA, then Dale on his Bitza Triumph. Dale was the ‘comic relief’ of the crew, always bits falling off his bike or himself falling off. The machine on the right was a brand new 1962 Bonneville owned by the bloke who took the pic, Gordon Plows, another of the “Corso Cowboys”; so named because we used to hang about the milk bars of Manly Corso, a road that links Manly Cove to the Tasman Sea. A few things in the photo…

The Parachuting Welbike Recently at the Llanelli Motorcycle Swap Meet, I had the opportunity of photographing a Welbike belonging to Leigh Goodall. This machine is fitted with a 98cc Villiers Junior two-stroke engine. He had purchased this about 8 years ago. I had previously heard about these machines but have never seen one, so I thought there must be a story here well worth telling. During World War II there was a need to develop arms and equipment that would go towards assisting in the end of the conflict. One such item was a Welbike, the prototype being developed by Harry Lester a motorcycle enthusiast. This was for the Inter Services Research Bureau based at Welwyn for use by Special Operations Executive (SOE). Between 1942 and 1943, 3,641 units were…

New home for NZ Classic Festival Following the demise of the Pukekohe circuit in Auckland, the annual Classic Festival run by the Historic Racing Resister is set to move to the Manfield Chris Amon Circuit for 2024. Dates for the meeting are provisionally set at Saturday February 3rd and Sunday 4th. The Manfield circuit offers a choice of several lap configurations, from 3.03km to 4.5km. It is located in Feilding, in the Manawatu district of the North Island near Palmerstone North, which is about 140km north of the capital, Wellington. Feilding has won the annual New Zealand’s Most Beautiful Town award 15 times. More details will be announced on the Register’s web site at www.nzcmrr.com. We will have more details on the 2024 CMRR Festival in OBA 109.…

If your bike is 35 years and older, there will be a special display area reserved for bikes ridden to the event and an undercover display area for clubs and individuals who are displaying their bikes for the whole weekend. This doesn’t mean you can’t bring your British, Japanese or American bike, we are simply making Italian the focus this year. We are most fortunate to have double world champion and works Ducati rider Troy Corser giving a talk about his Ducati exploits and also legendary Ducati mechanic and lifelong Italian bike aficionado Ian Gowanloch will also be a guest speaker. There will of course be our usual events, swap meet, bike auction, parts auction, tech talks, and concourse judging. There will also be live music and we are catering…

The specification of the very popular model has not changed since 2021 when it received the new 889cc longer stroke engine giving much enhanced midrange horsepower and torque. In this excellent package there was also semi-active KYB suspension and an all-new chassis. In our test back in issue 95, we said about the only thing we weren’t mad about was the matte finish paintwork which tended to make such an exciting bike look a bit drab. For 2023, that has been rectified with the release of a white décor, which, combined with gold wheels and gold forks, makes quite a stunning package. The 2023 Tracer 9 GT is now in stock at dealers, priced at $24,999.00 ride away.…