Dry July or The Longest Month

Hi achternaam,

I don't know about you but the thought of the Scomo and Albo Show slinging us a few bucks to spend on our bikes (or riding them) is a ray of sunshine in the blunt end of a gloomy winter. Loading up a few bits of kit and heading to warmer places might sound great but I found a downside recently. (On that tax return, is there any chance that the cynical bastards we have as pollies are having a lend of us by giving us all a virtual dose of 1080?)

My brother-in-law turned 60, so Mrs. Strapz and I thought it a good way to catch up with the extended family at the same time. The idea of a winter escape to the central Queensland coast for a few days seemed a no-brainer. We jumped on the big silver kero heater and winged our way out of a bleak Mudbourne morning to Brizzy.  After picking up (oh the shame) a Kia Rio rental and a quick meeting with our Earmold mates we struck out for Montville and the Blackall Range. Should've hired a bike! The Kia ascended hills like a Step-Through 80... Two up! To rub salt into the sores, we whipped down the Razorback Road and back, all the while trying to squeeze a bit of performance out of the shopping cart. Hey, it's a hire car, they are designed that way!

Where was I?  Arrived at my sister's place and settled onto the verandah to enjoy a beer, a catch-up, and the sunset. All too late I realised that the regular little irritations I felt were actually sandflies biting me. 

The party went off without a hitch but I woke up Sunday morning with the Flu rather than a hangover and spent the next two days in bed sneezing, coughing and scratching f***kn sandfly bites.

The drive and flight home was a miserable experience, I have never been so happy to see my bed. I spent the next few days hacking, coughing and scratching. 

Maybe I'll spend my tax return on paint for Mario Ducati and stay at home next time!

Nuckin', nuckin' Millenial drivel

Geez, if someone tells me they are "reaching out" to me one more time I think I'll... Retch out! As I fall at the lower end of the ability spectrum, going forward, I will need to hypothesize a framework with key stakeholder engagement, championing core value KPIs to incentivize a level playing field in an inclusive, over-arching, ride to the pub.

The Bluff Hillclimb - BMC 2019

Testing Times

Two of the latest items getting a work out on the Strapz test bench are bike-friendly 'puffer jackets'. One From Dri-Rider and the other Mac-in-a-Sac. The Dri-Rider item is a synthetic fill, the Mac down. Quack chooks live in pretty rough conditions, spend much of their life wet and cold so I reckon they're already well ahead on the development scorecard than us dumb humans. I'm yet to find a synthetic that adjusts to climate and activity. Like a lot of baby-boomers, I fell for the brave new world of synthetic fibres, somehow the spin (pun sorry) wrapped around me. I've come full circle now and reckon natural fibres are the best, hands down. In the next few years, I hope we see Hemp starting to make in-roads into our lives. It's still a victim of J. Edgar Hoover, DuPont and vested interests of cotton.

A side yarn. In the early days of the Victorian gold rushes the miners were ill-prepared for the harsh Ballarat winters. The clothing of choice was the Aboriginal Possum skin cloak. The mob around the diggings did a roaring trade as the white fellas froze in their tents. If you've been to that country in mid Winter you'll know it is where cold was developed and exported to the rest of the world.  As with almost everything, other than Andy Strapz labelled gear, they are both made in China. The Dri-Rider jacket is light, well cut and finished. Likewise, the cut on the Mac item is probably a touch better but I found the arms a bit short for my Simian swingers and not as well finished. I found around ten loose, unclipped threads on the test jacket. The Mac is lighter, more compact when packed away, the Dri-Rider folds into its own pocket which the Mac should too. The Mac has a little sac (as the name suggests) which I lose every few days.

                                                                  Down leakage

The Mac is reversible and offered by the wholesaler in navy blue/orange or black/grey. Quality of down-filled gear is often tangled around whether they leak feathers. The Mac does occasionally but as I've only had it a couple of months and washed it once it might be a bit early to make a pronouncement.

The Dri-Rider retails at a recommended $150 and the Mac $195.

I'm not sold on either, I'm giving back the Dri-Rider jacket but had to buy the Mac-in-a-Sac unit. Sometimes it just takes time to be sure that I'm onto the right thing.

Compared to the Helix jacket, these both run a respectable but clear second. At twice the price of the Dri-Rider effort, you'd expect it but the quality is an exercise in diminishing returns. The Mac-in-a-Sac does pack down the smallest of the lot.

I'm confused now, time for a nice cuppa tea and a lie-down. 

Latest Bumblewee Vid

Here's a link to the latest Strapzy's Shed vid if you want to follow the progress of the V Strom project.

LINK HERE

The bike is exceeding my expectations, it's a capable and quick, real-world bike. I've done very little in the way of rough dirt as yet and I'm expecting to find its limitations in that environment due to a bit of 'Duck's Disease". It doesn't have the best ground clearance but I'd be foolish to expect it to be a trail bike.

                                                       There's a spider with a death wish!

Bye Dry July

And good riddance! What I didn't realise is that it's not just a health thing. I was supposed to get sponsorship and all that malarkey. Doh......

Here's a link to something our Bear has up on Adventure Rider.

Click 'ere

Alf's Pitfall Warning

Hi Andy,

I enjoy reading your articles and thought your readers might be interested in my experience and why, they should not buy from overseas retailers, even if they sound reputable.

Some time ago I purchased a Schuberth C4, (before they were available in Australia) from FC-Moto Germany. I’ve always had Schuberth helmets and love the fit and quietness.

Anyway, in May this year, I decided to buy an SC1 communications system for my C4. Against my better judgment, I purchased the unit from FC-Moto. Once the unit arrived, I plugged it into my C4 and I could not get it to switch it on. I checked the battery's charge on the unit using a multi-meter, and it was fully charged. It appears that the problem is with the Helmet. FC-Moto suggested that I return both the helmet & SC1 back to them for repairs, as I am unable to claim the fault with Schuberth Aust. As I’d lost confidence in the SC1, I decided to keep the helmet & return the Comm unit for a refund and later purchase a Cardo from Aust. In their email, they instructed me to send it back via the cheapest method and not to obtain insurance. I thought that’s OK, as they must have some sort of generic worldwide insurance cover. The Item arrived in Germany on the 4 June and to date FC-Moto has not collected it, stating that it has not arrived. The tracking system states that it is in Germany awaiting collection!

After many emails, I advised them, that from what they’re telling me, that the item must be lost. I forwarded all receipts, for the unit and postage of approx A$330. All good I thought! They are now saying that they will not refund my purchase until the unit is returned to them. After numerous emails to them advising, that it was under their instructions that I do not obtain insurance, they have stopped replying to my emails.

I now have little alternative, but to write this off as a bad experience and a lesson learned (an expensive one) to never purchase from an overseas supplier again.

I just thought that I’d pass this on, as I’d hate to see someone else getting caught out like I was. You can use my above experience in any way you like.

Kind regards and keep up your great work.

Alf Assouad 

One and Only

I have one lonely, large (59cm), gloss white Schuberth R1 helmet to clear. It's integrated comms ready with a speaker, mic and all wiring already installed. Yep, I have the comms in stock too.

It's one classy lid.

Here's a link to the Schuberth webpage for info.

Flick me an email quick sticks to snap it up at $650 regular price $800

Brave New Never Never Plan

Layby and buy now, pay later schemes have been part of the retail landscape for as long as shops have had counters.

The latest incarnation of this is Zip Pay and After Pay. After Pay was just too hard to deal with so we went with Zip. It's interest-free on your purchases, we get stung 5%, cough, cough...

Click here for a How it Works page

Playing Favourites

A deal too good to pass up came through my inbox this week. I thought I'd grab a few for you guys before they evaporated.  These Tatonka Barrell bags were a regular stock item a few years ago but got duck shoved by 100% dry bags.  However, I grab mine when I'm heading away for the weekend in the van or on the large white kero heater. It's taken me across Oz on the Adventure Rider Mag's Nation Crossing a few years ago and it's still going strong. There's very limited stock so grab one quick. Normally $99, now $66 CLICK HERE