Welcome to Aussie Spring
The roads are trimmed with wildflowers, the ducks are amorous, the bloody grass is growing again and it's time to break out the anti-histamines.
After a year of very little riding, I'm starting to catch up on lost white lines. I've been lucky enough to make it up the ranks of AMCN reserve testers and ridden some very interesting new bikes in some gorgeous places. Grab a copy of the upcoming Adventure Issue, out now, if you want the whole story.
On the topic of AMCN, there's a few changes of personnel coming with the editor and assistant editor getting the chop this month. Both my mate Kel Buckley and Dean Mellor got fired and I fear for the future of another magazine. Kellie has been the driving force behind the title for near on 20 years, I don't think it would have survived this long without her dedication. I hope I'm wrong! |
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This month I took a few days off and headed for Newcastle for an adoptive nephew's wedding. Packing a BMW S1000XR Sport and heading off in a circuitous, figure of eight route there and back was a delight.
The Monday after the wedding saw a 12 hour, 1000km day to get home, down the 'Diesel' (Hume Highway). It's been a very long time since I've knocked over a thousand kay day but surprisingly, it wasn't so tough.
I needed a cuppa tea and a lie-down when I got home though. |
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The search for Andy Version 2.0 is progressing well. There are a number of people showing interest, hopefully by Christmas we'll have a clearer picture of what you can expect into the future.
In the meantime, it's business as usual... Unless, that is, I can find an excuse to go for a ride. It's all work, honest! |
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We see the word Denier (D) used in reference to clothing and bag fabrics...500 Denier, 1000 Denier. The bigger the better, yeah...well, mostly. Fiber quality, yarn size, and finishing, all play important roles in the final quality of a fabric.
Essentially Denier refers to the weight of 9 km of a thread (or a 9mt x 9 mt piece). It's based on silk as a reference point as 9 klicks of silk weighs about one gram... so it's 1 denier. A human hair is around 20 denier, below 1 denier we call it microfibre. We can see that if 9 kays of a nylon thread weighs 500 grams, it's tagged as 500 Denier.
As the weave of the fabric is tighter on 500D fabric, it uses up more of it so... 1000D is not twice the weight. The 500D fabric is about 70% of the 1000D.
We use Cordura brand fabric as the yarn is a higher tensile and therefore more abrasion resistant than 'no name' brands. We've found that Cordura® 500D lasts better than Gungho 1000D. The other big difference is the quality of the polyurethane inner coating that makes the fabric waterproof. |
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By adding a cross hatch of a higher denier thread to a fabric we get ripstop, helping keep weight down yet adding strength.
Canvas and poly ' truckside tarp' use different measures just to keep things mysterious. |
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Look out, Andy's been let loose on a sewing machine again. |
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Made of our heavy pannier canvas material with a foil backed, synthetic 'wool' sandwiched between the layers. We've made it adjustable so it fits both stubbies and cans. I like to pack cans in this sort of thing to prevent them rubbing together and spraying beer all over the place.
Only two drinking vouchers each ($20). Grab one (or a whole six packs worth) for summer riding. |
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Ear Ear
Have you arrived at a destination and felt knackered, with ringing in your ears? Earplugs get damaging road noise under control, it's amazing how tiring that constant roar can be. We have solutions that allow you take calls (if that's your desire) or listen to music (my personal favourite). As your ear is the mold, once trimmed correctly they fit perfectly and are comfortable for hours on end.
I won't ride the twenty minutes to work without them.
Earmold has providers across the country, I'd recommend getting plugs made outside the hustle and rush of the racetrack trade display arena. Get a provider that can take their time to do your set.
Instamold Earplugs are usually ready within an hour and a half, we need you for about 20 minutes. You can head off to other appointments after the initial molding and come back to pick up or just hang out with us while we finish your earplugs off. Or we can post them to you if you are in a hurry on the day.
Lately I've been in and out of the office at short notice, as we both need to be in the same place at the same time, booking for an Instamold fitting is strongly advised. We open 9-5 Mon-Thurs, 3.30pm Friday and the first Saturday of the month 10-1pm. If you find a empty slot in your diary and want to pop in please call ahead to make sure I’m available.
Instamold plugs start at $110, we can add speakers (starting at $240 complete), corded or Bluetooth to your new or existing plugs. Labflex plugs require impressions sent to Perth where earplugs are made from them. Total cost starts at $200, to be frank, I find Instamold plugs more comfortable.
No matter what plugs you choose, our ears change shape over a period of four to five years so new plugs are a bit like new tyres...You really only notice when you get new ones.
Adding speakers to existing Earmolds
If they are in good nick, no worries. If they are more than 4 years old its best to get new plugs and keep the others as spares because as we've seen, ears change over time. We can plug into helmet comms or Bluetooth to phones.Upgrading plain earplugs to electronics doesn't require you to come in, posting them works fine.
The thing we can't do is bluetooth to bluetooth as Earmold can't get access to the helmet comms company's protocols.
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Cable Lube Trick Getting lubricant down a control cable can be a pain. The little clamp on jiggers don't usually help a great deal in my experience.
A conical wrap of Gaffa tape attached to the outer sleeve works as a tiny funnel. Fill it and leave overnight. |
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We Stuffed Up - Here's Yer Chance |
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For a lucky 5 people there are a set of Avduro Pannierz sitting here wanting a new home. Unfortunately, one of the crew had a brain-fart and marked these bags back to front prior to making them up.
The result are five sets of bags that close away from the user rather than toward them.
I've had a few debates about which way the average, garden-variety Avduros should close and some think this is how they should be. There is no other flaw, issue with the bags, they just close RRs-about-face.
Be quick, email to claim a set, we'll send out a bank deposit invoice. There are only 5 sets at $450 a set (add $50 for Liners, which are usually $35 each).
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Have you ever followed that plonker who does 70 in an 80 zone, turns a corner and continues at 70 in a 60 zone? Yeah, I bet you have...
In the world of data collection, I'm sure the Grovelment could develop a graduated license system that penalises the plonkery and allows 'them as can', a little more leeway.
Ol' mate above or the dipstick who jags from a filter lane across multiple lanes of traffic to the right lane, squeezing into a gap that is only big enough for a unicycle. The ignorant barstool that races forward and pushes in when they should be merging like a zipper (on ya Kiwis, love that road sign). |
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As the entitled 20-something jams their Astra across that traffic, the harried tradie squeezes their twin cab ute through a minuscule gap to access Maccas or the Toorak taxi mum parks exactly where she wants, they get negative points.
Every time the good folks like us, are courteous, let someone into a spot, pass under a radar bedecked underpass...and don't knuckin' brake, when they go somewhere close to the roadworks speed limits, or work out that 80kph is 20 less than 100. They get points.
Now...when we do find that we get a little enthusiastic on a stupidly restricted (don't get me started, I just rode from Crookwell to Bathurst) set of twisties, we can off-set the penalty by using the GDP (Good Driving Points). Those who have been Rsoles and should have got a warning....don't!
It's a carrot and stick approach. My guess is we'll get told to stick the carrot, but hey... |
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It seems to be the season for change, this month we've had the announcement that our mates at Motorrad Garage are also hanging up their box cutters and tape guns for motorcycle keys and the open road.
For the foreseeable future we'll still be an access point for SW Motech gear but there will inevitably be a few delays as A1 Imports take over the distribution of SW's gear. International freight being what it is, long lead-times in delivery of containers and the settling process might interrupt supply in the short term. My intel is that A1 are ahead of the curve at this moment so, let's hope hiccoughs are few and far between. |
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This is the time of year I designed the Allrounder for, those days where the temperature and conditions can change in a couple of hours...And not just in Victoria!
Our superfine, non-itch Merino has to be the most comfortable and versatile fabric to make clothes of. Yeah, I was dubious, thinking that all the guff about adjusting to conditions, non-stink, easy care, was marketing hype... Wrong again, but it doesn't hurt to be a bit skeptical. I gotta say, I'm an evangelical convert. Merino is my base layer of choice no matter what the weather.
I always get the shirt that we missed a fabric imperfection when laying up and cutting. It gets pulled out at QC and packing and I'm never upset that another one comes my way! I'm a bugger for doin' dumb sh*t in the shed, thinking "I'll be right, I'll just do this little job" and ending up ripping it or burning a hole in it.
And, it's rated as SPF 30.
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Life's short, live large!
That's about all this month.
Copyalater
Andy |
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