Australia's best motorcycle roads. Snowy Mtns via Mt Panorama

To the Snowy Mountains via Mt Panorama.It was difficult to decide if I should post this as a 'best ride' or not try string things together for people wanting to visit Bathurst. Most motorcyclists I have met want to visit and ride the famous Mt Panorama either on the way to or from the GP or Superbikes so here is my take on how to see it and tie together riding Putty, the Bells line of Road and

Australia's best motorcycle roads. Bells line of road.

Bells Line of Road (The Blue Mountains) NSW.After the Putty Road one option is to head west via this road to Lithgow and then make you way to the Snowy Mountians region. My suggestion is try via Bathurst, Cowra, then Lachlan valley h-way, and via Harden on to Tumut - excellent scenery and not unpleasant road. I will post more about this route elsewhere.So leaving the putty you may have bypassed

Pictures of the Week - Kelly (K-man)

Here are my Pictures of the Week as displayed on the Motorcycle Views Web site. These are taken from the Moto Pic Gallery.

See Kelly on his Honda Gold Wing.

If you'd like to see your bike as Picture of the Week, submit a picture of you and your bike along with a description of the bike.

Grow old, ride safe....enjoy the ride

Here is some scans of a superb brochure I picked up from the cafe in Walwa on the Murray River Road, Victoria (post for this road coming up) produced by motorcyclists for motorcyclists. Its not saying the usual speed kills dribble just to ride within your limits and has some excellent advice that will have you nodding your head regardless of your riding skill.This is the sort of thing I would

Australia's best motorcycle roads. Whitfield

Mansfield to Whitfield.Here is another great ride in the north east highlands of Victoria. This road has plenty of variety for a motorcyclist to enjoy, its almost like 4 roads in one. I will describe the road from south to north.Mansfield is a town servicing the snow resorts you are spoilt there for choices when it comes to good food and coffee. Along with Bright it would make an excellent base

Australia's best motorcycle roads. Murray valley highway.

Murray Valley HighwayVictoria really has one thing over the rest of the east coast - roads with great sweepers. This is yet another Vic road with those rare sort of magic sweeping bends enjoyed by all on any sort of motorbike.You will ride this either having just come over the snowy Mtns or heading towards them. Either way it flows just as good and the scenery in this part of the country is right

Australia's best motorcycle roads. Putty Road.

Revised 29.12.2007Putty Road.This is probably the first interstate road that I read was a popular motorcycle ride. Now days we have the top 100 rides atlas and internet forums its all too easy to find where to ride however when I first thought out some roads I wanted to ride I was relying more on things mentioned in motorcycle magazine, sometimes places where a road test had been done.I have

Australia's best motorcycle roads. Bulahdelah.

Bulahdelah - the other "Old Road"It's a magic bit of tar..Here is a road that you would never find if not for local knowledge.The Pacific highway in it's older form was a far more interesting road than it is now. Twisting and turning its way around every mountain and valley road surveyors sure earned their money in those times. I recall as a lad my parents with caravan in tow cursing the

Polar Bear Grand Tour in the Pine Barrens

Another rainy day! This is supposed to be the Polar Bear season. Even though it's now officially winter, it continues to be more like spring with 58 degree temperatures.

This was our first run to the Sweetwater Casino. It's located in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey in the middle of nowhere right next to the Mullica River. The place is big enough to hold the Polar Bears when we show up in force. They even have motorcycle parking up front on concrete -- this works fine except when the Polar Bears show up.

Here are pictures and videos from this rainy run.

Big Dog Motorcycles Recalls Bulldog, Chopper, K-9, Mastiff, and Mutt for Fender Defect

Big Dog Motorcycles has issued a recall of certain 2005 and 2007 Bulldog models, 2005-2007 Chopper models, 2006-2008 K-9 models, 2005-2008 Mastiff models and 2008 Mutt models.

On certain motorcycles, the rear fender strut attaching bolts can fail allowing the rear fender to detach from the motorcycle. This could occur without prior warning and could result in an injury or a crash.

8061 units are affected.

Check out my Motorcycle Recalls feature for more details.

Honda Recalls 2006-2007 CBR1000RR for Fuel Leak

Honda has issued a recall of certain 2006-2007 CBR1000RR motorcycles.

Certain motorcycles have an improper welded vent pipe in the bottom of the fuel tank. Due to vibration the improperly welded tanks may crack and drip fuel. Fuel leakage in the presence of an ignition source can result in a fire.

25422 units are affected.

Check out my Motorcycle Recalls feature for more details.

Top 8 Motorcycle Views Blog Posts for 2007

The top eight Motorcycle Views Blog posts have been selected from a total of 150 posts made in 2007. These eight blog posts were chosen for a variety of reasons.

If you haven't been a regular reader of the Motorcycle Views Blog, you may be missing important information about motorcycling. You might also be missing some of the personal aspects of my life that may give you a chuckle or an insight into my take on motorcycling.

Check out my picks for the Top 8 Motorcycle Views Blog posts for 2007.

Top 10 Motorcycle Pictures of the Year for 2007 from Motorcycle Views

The top ten motorcycle pictures were picked from pictures submitted to Motorcycle Views in 2007. The pictures are not ordered.

They include four pictures of women on motorcycles, four pictures of men on motorcycles, and two pictures of motorcycles only.

The pictures were chosen for a variety of reasons. I looked at each picture, read each description, and picked those pictures that held my interest.

Check out the Top 10 Pictures for 2007.

Australias best motorcycle roads - Kangaroo Valley

Revised & reposted 20.12.2007Kangaroo Valley NSWThis is a really beautiful area. It reminds me a little of the Numinbah valley in QLD I ride often, but only in passing as both are unique places.I have updated this post with some new info and photos.From Nowra NSW there is a superb ride from what is basically sea level straight up the side of the two mountains that lie to the northwest. The first

Triumph Recalls Sprint ST and Tiger for Luggage Rack Problem

Triumph has issued a recall of certain 2004-2008 Tiger and 2005-2008 Sprint ST motorcycles.

On certain motorcycles equipped with an optional accessory luggage rack, undersized washers were used which prevents the sliding carriage from moving as intended. Reduced stability can occur if the motorcycle is ridden with the fitted accessory, exceeded maximum weight, and at speeds far in excess of the 80 mph limit warning, increasing the risk of a crash.

3698 units are affected.

Check out my Motorcycle Recalls feature for more details.

Motorcycle Pictures of the Week - VaRyder

Here are my Pictures of the Week as displayed on the Motorcycle Views Web site. These are taken from the Moto Pic Gallery.

See VaRyder with his Victory Vision Tour.

If you'd like to see your bike as Picture of the Week, submit a picture of you and your bike along with a description of the bike.

Little joy on bus-lanes in Birmingham

The BMF put out a release yesterday stating that the Brimingham City Council is to extend the trial of allowing motorcycles to use bus lanes, saying the previous trial was inconclusive.

How much convincing do they really need?

As the BMF state motorcycles have operated in bus lanes - "over ten years of successful operation in Bristol and over eight years in Reading, not to mention Bath and Northern Ireland where bikes in bus lanes have been the norm for several years"

You can read the BMF's full press release on http://www.inter-bike.co.uk/ by clicking here.

Ride safe!

Jon Booth
Email: webmaster@inter-bike.co.uk
Blog: http://inter-bike.blogspot.com/
Swicki: http://motorcycling-swicki.eurekster.com/

Tweed valley revisit

Ride reportI went back to one of my favourite areas on Sunday for some more exploring and enjoyable motorcycle riding.I had two ideas one was to take a look at a new way to ride from Mudgeeraba to Tallebudgera Valley without using the highway. Via Old coach road is what I do now but there is another way looking at Google maps however I got lost on the day in an lovely area called Bonogin. I did

Motorcycles, Medical Problems and Christmas

I've always worn a full face helmet when riding my motorcycle. Of course, living in New Jersey kinda forces you to have this mindset since it's the law here. The only time it gets to me is when I have medical conditions that don't allow me to put the helmet on in the first place.

The first time that happened was when I had a basal cell carcinoma on my right ear that required mohs surgery to remove it. That was a major deal for me that took months to heal. I had to forego riding all that time.

Now, I found out that I have two more basal cell carcinomas, one on my forehead and one behind my left ear. All this occurring during the prime Polar Bear Grand Tour riding season. I happen to run their Web site and I go to all the runs to take pictures for the site. Needless to say, I will probably go another two months without being able to put the helmet on again. Worse than that is that the healing of the one on my forehead is slow with a big black scab that is quite unsightly in public. And, of course, I have so many functions to go to and I have no way to hide the healing. I'm either embarrassed when people see me or find myself constantly trying to explain the medical problems. I seem to be cursed to have all these maladies so prominent on my head and also unable to hide them with a helmet or even to ride my trike. I guess all those years toiling in the sun while I worked in the corn fields nearly 50 years ago have finally come back to haunt me.

Now I find out that after the surgery on the left ear that the pathologist's final report indicates that they may not have got all of it and I have to undergo radiation -- perhaps as many as 20 visits. Turns out that one of the members of my Gold Wing chapter heads a team at my hospital that does the treatments. At least I have someone in my corner.

All this is going on right now but still the Polar Bear pictures have to be taken and I need to be at the runs. I do have a couple of backups who can take pictures and they have come in handy in the past. But, I like to go to the runs as much as I can. This week the run was to Snydersville, PA to Schoch's Harley-Davidson and I was determined to go.

Turns out that many family events were also going on this weekend. On Saturday, we drove to our son's home for a combined birthday party and tree trimming party. I heard that there would be about 10 little kids there to celebrate the second birthday of my granddaughter. I think it was actually closer to 20 kids. After that we drove farther north to my other son's home where we ended up babysitting for the other five of our grandchildren (all under 10) and then staying overnight. The next day, we had breakfast, said our good-byes to all the kids and grand kids and headed down route 80 to Snydersville, PA for the Polar Bear run.

It was a day that was overcast, cold, and threatening rain or snow. We were in the car so we didn't much care. When we arrived, there was a smattering of bikes in the parking lot. As I walked around the parking lot with my camera, I didn't notice as many bikes coming in. Apparently, the threat of bad weather had reduced the attendance. Maybe we got 100 bikes. Normal would have been 400-500. Anyway, I did get some pictures and three videos. Check out the Polar Bear Grand Tour - Schoch's Harley-Davidson/Buell Run for pictures and captions.

After the run, we drove home and had a couple of hours of free time before we had to attend our Gold Wing Chapter's Holiday party. It was fun as usual but I did have the usual set of medical questions. At least I was with friends. I spoke with the member who heads the radiation team at the hospital and he offered me his personal help. That was very comforting and appreciated.

I also had to part company with my 1994 Chrysler today. It's been sitting in my driveway most of the time for the last two years since I bought my new Honda Accord. It was time to use it as a donation to one of my favorite charities, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. I had arranged with JDRF.org for the auto donation and the big flatbed arrived this afternoon to cart it away. The end of an era. Getting to be too many of those recently. At least I won't have to worry about hitting it every time I back my car out and I also won't have to move it so I can get my motorcycle trikes out of the garage.

I guess I'm a rambling man today but that's what's been happening. The calendar is almost completely filled with events for the next month. My wife is having physical therapy while I'm going to be busy with radiation treatments. Christmas is coming and I haven't been out doing much shopping or even leaf raking. I was told that retirement meant I would be busier than when I was working. I'm getting that in spades.

Australias best motorcycle roads - Nymboida

Grafton's historic rail/car bridgeNymboida/Ebor.Grafton to Armidale, NSWOften refered to just as Nymboida on some bike forums, the whole road to Armidale via Nymboida and Ebor is very good as is the Waterfall way.Heading south you can obtain fuel at Courts Crossing if you wanted to skip Grafton. Depends on the times of travel but Grafton is about a lunch time stop from Brisbane if you leave at a

Australias best motorcycle roads - Thunderbolts way

Updated 08/12/2007 Thunderbolts Way.I am continuing to update my older posts on some of the best motorcycle rides in the country with some new photos and observations from my revisits on my recent Moto-Gp tour. In NSW this was the road I enjoyed most on my recent tour - yes more than the Oxley highway.I rode it in both directions and it does perhaps ride a bit better south to north, simply for

Motorcycle Pictures of the Week - Harleymike56

Here are my Pictures of the Week as displayed on the Motorcycle Views Web site. These are taken from the Moto Pic Gallery.

See Harleymike56 on his Harley-Davidson Sportster 1200. Mike is also a member of my Motorcycle Views Forum.

If you'd like to see your bike as Picture of the Week, submit a picture of you and your bike along with a description of the bike.

Motorcycle Santa - The Game

Recently, I mentioned in this blog that I had written five children's stories about a special character, Motorcycle Santa. I have just finished writing the sixth story in this series. It's based on a true incident in my life. I hope you'll enjoy this story of a little girl who is awakened by the arrival of Motorcycle Santa as he is placing gifts under her tree. Santa agrees to open one present for the girl to get her to go back to bed. The girl startles Santa by devising a game that uses the gift in a new way. I hope you enjoy "Motorcycle Santa - The Game."

Sense on daytime dipped beam headlights at last!

MAG has reported today that the European Commission has finally seen sense and has scrapped the plans to enforce all vehicles to have their dipped beam headlights on during daytime.

Finally some common sense from the European Commission and in no small part due to lobbying by MAG.

Thanks MAG!

So now motorcycles which now run with dipped headlights on, won't be lost in a sea of vehicles all with dipped headlights on!!

Ride safe!

Jon Booth
Email: webmaster@inter-bike.co.uk
Blog: http://inter-bike.blogspot.com
Swicki: http://motorcycling-swicki.eurekster.com/

NEC Bike Show attendance figures!

So the 2007 International Motorcycle and Scooter Show at the Birmingham NEC is over for another year. Attendance was up 3% this year with 149,215 visitors during the ten day show. The show is the the only place in the UK to see all the new bikes from leading names like Benelli, BMW, Buell, CCM, Ducati, Harley-Davidson, Honda, Hyosung, Kawasaki, KTM, PGO Scooters, Suzuki, Triumph, Vectrix, Victory Motorcycles, Watsonian Squire, Wuyang and Yamaha, all together under one roof.

The 2008 International Motorcycle and Scooter Show will take place in Halls 1, 2, 3, 3a & 4 at the Birmingham NEC from 27^th November (Press Day) to the 7^th December.

Ride safe!

Jon Booth
Email: webmaster@inter-bike.co.uk
Blog: http://inter-bike.blogspot.com
Swicki: http://motorcycling-swicki.eurekster.com/

Polar Bear Grand Tour Meets the Winter Head-on

A winter storm was approaching the PA, NJ, NY region this morning. Since I was still unable to put a helmet on owing to my two recent surgeries and I also had two of my grandchildren spending Saturday and Sunday with us, I was not going to the Polar Bear Grand Tour run to Montgomeryville, PA.

I had already made arrangements with my backup, Bill, to take pictures at the run. When I got up today, there was a quarter inch of snow on the ground in NJ and the temperature was about 36 degrees. It felt good not going out and attempting to travel the 60 some miles to Montgomeryville. But, I knew that many Polar Bears would be making the trek so I looked forward to receiving the download from Bill later this evening to see just what it looked like over there.

Bill tells me that eight bikes showed up and two were sidecar rigs. The rest were cars, trucks, and SUVs carrying other Polar Bears. See for yourself by viewing Bill's pictures and reading my captions. Check out the pictures from the Montgomeryville, PA run.

Motorcycle Pictures of the Week - Jeff

Here are my Pictures of the Week as displayed on the Motorcycle Views Web site. These are taken from the Moto Pic Gallery. See Jeff on his Harley-Davidson FXRS.

If you'd like to see your bike as Picture of the Week, submit a picture of you and your bike along with a description of the bike.