I know that you have seen this photo before but I thought that it would be appropriate as I draw my riding days to a close. The heading on my blog says, “Celebrating 40+ years of motorcycling,” but it’s really more than that. I don’t know the exact date this pic was taken but I know that it was late in 1974.
I had always been a car racing nut and motorcycles never even really crossed my mind but a good mate of mine at my church (who was also a car racing fanatic) returned from a two year posting in Mount Isa quite a deal better off than what he had been when he left (that was, after all, the object of the exercise) He was driving a latest model HQ Holden Premier V8, had towed home a 23′ Franklin caravan and was in possession of a motorcycle, yes, my car racing mate had gone two wheels.
After the shock wore off I was left with him regaling me of two wheel exploits out in the outback of Queensland and the process of converting me began. The, one fateful weekend at a Church Picnic at Cordeaux Dam, he threw me the keys and said, “You should try this, Phil, it really is a lot of fun.”
Bob’s bike, a Yamaha TX500, was a vertical twin and was quite tricky to get off the line and, after several attempts to get it moving and the usual instruction in the basics, I found myself doing laps of the car park, my grin getting wider with each completed lap. The photo shows that I was somewhat daunted by the prospect but that soon passed.
The rest, as they say, was history. It didn’t take long before the 4 of us did a trip to Sydney, searching for a bike for me to buy. I confess to being somewhat influenced by Bob, of course, and his previous ownership of a Honda 350/4 (which proved to be too small for him) was definitely a pointer in the right direction. So, when, at a car yard on Parramatta Road, I spied a cherry red 350/4 for the measly sum of $700, it was pretty much decided. I paid a deposit and we went home. On the next Monday, Bob and I returned, paid the balance and he rode it home.
Of course, the photo itself is historical but also instructive on a number of levels. Firstly, note the total lack of any protective gear except for the most basic of open face helmets. Bob continued to wear one after he came back to the coast, a legacy, I guess of the less than careful riding habits in the outback. My shorts and Bermuda socks were typical of the casual wear of the 70s but at least I had the sense to get some more than adequate gear. By Christmas of that year, I had upgraded to a full face helmet (a Shoei S20), semi-proper riding boots (Rossi aircraft flying boots with lambs wool lining, made in South Australia – Rossi is still in business I understand) and a Stagg leather jacket (bought 2nd hand from a military disposals store) and riding gloves, rabbits’ fur lining, the boots and the gloves bought from Omodeis, the motorcycle supplies store opposite Sydney’s Central Station. I figured I was OK for warmth since I still had my ex-army military greatcoat though I soon found out that its use was largely ornamental rather than practical.
As far as the bike itself it is immediately obvious that safety was not a priority in the day. The “pedestrian slicer” front number plate was soon outlawed on safety grounds as was the registration label attached to the handlebar. What isn’t as obvious is the “repels moths” headlamp, which soon proved to be totally inadequate once the sun had gone down. The fact that Bob rode the bike with me on the pillion seat up the Putty Road at night to visit my brother in Denman is just too scary to even remember.
The single front disk was quite adequate for the day and the speeds that we did though it was, as was the case, totally useless in the wet. The Japanese manufacturers who were anxious to keep up appearances, insisted in fitting their bikes with stainless steel disks that looked great and didn’t rust (unlike the Lockheed and Girling offerings on the British bikes which DID rust but DID work in the wet.) Anyone who has ridden a 70’s Japanese bike in the wet will well remember the moment of panic when the brake failed to slow the bike down in the wet until the water had been squeegeed OFF the disk and the brake pad had gripped the disk.
Of course the TX500 was Japan’s attempt to build a better English bike and so it was, but it came with a few inherent faults that doomed it, especially since the 4 cylinder offerings from both Honda and Kawasaki outstripped it in just about every way.
And so, it is actually more than 50 years since I started riding and I can’t really count how many bikes I have owned and ridden. Suffice it to say that it’s a lot. Some good, some great and some (a few) positively awful. But each has been an experience and I wouldn’t have missed any of them for any price.
I am happy with my decision to call a halt and I know that the new chapter in my motoring life will be as rewarding and as fun as the last 50 years have been (though definitely not as painful).
As noted, I intend to maintain my blog because, even though I won’t be riding, my interest in things two wheeled and especially motorcycle sport, remains as keen as ever. Stay tuned as I turn the page.
