What a weekend!
My riding buddy, Tomaselli and I headed for the SR500 Rally at Bethanga near Wodonga. The onboard thermometer peaked at a humid 35 on the way up on Friday and dipped to 16 at its lowest on the way home.
As we left Myrtleford, the heavy black sky sneered at us, and clouds descended to the road surface. Dipstick me had decided not to fit the Pinlock into the new Airoh Commander 2 helmet I was trialling to see how it responded. By Mansfield, it had all but drowned us! Like Zafod's Joo Janta 200 Super-Chromatic Peril Sensitive Sunglasses, I wasn't afraid, but I couldn't see.
It's the first time I was glad the speed limit had been dropped to 80kph in that area. |
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Let me tell you about a recent visitor to Strapz HQ, we'll call him Dan.
Dan turns up with an ancient and very grubby pair of panniers for repair. They are burnt, holed on most surfaces, scuffed, and faded – looking very sad. I informed him it was a big job. The bags had to be cleaned before we could put them near the machines, come apart and have quite a few patches and replaced bits. Now Dan loved his bags and wanted them ones fixed, they'd traveled with him for a lot of years.
So we washed them (plain water and a soft brush only BTW) and unpicked some of the seams. They almost fell apart as we went, the extent of the wear and tear grew. The clips were all brittle, webbing worn and fabric friable.
I rang Dan. 'Maaaate, sorry we've just done an autopsy on your bags" said I. "If they were in my Emergency Department we'd bring in the family, do the 'sorry there's nothing we can do' thing, and turn off the ventilator" I added.
I'd best pop down the newsagency and grab a sympathy card for him... |
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Testing,1,2. Testing 1,2. |
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As you know, it's our procedure to be the crash test guinea pigs for all the gear we offer. To that end, I recently started on the path of looking for a backup to the SW Motech gear now that the distribution arrangements are changing. Yer can't be too prepared, I reckon.
Not all of our customers want soft luggage so we source hard case sets from time to time for those that want it. The advantages I saw in the Shad system were mainly around the lightness of the cases.
The best way to start was to order a topbox, fit it to the Kato and give it a whirl.
Unfortunately, I couldn't use the existing rack as there were no adapter kits available. So it was off with the SW unit and on with the Shad system. Consisting of two parts, a heavy steel base plate and an alloy top plate it sat too high for my liking so I fk'd about with spacers from our frame set stock and got it down 10mm. In my humble... ten mill is likely to be significant, as the leverage of the combined weight of the box and contents would add to the perceived weight of the load.
Come time to fit the case itself I quickly found out it needs a key to open it each time it's accessed, I was assured this wasn't the case (sorry). I only want to lock a topbox once or twice a day. I find it a PIA to have to use a key each time.
As I latched the case to the plate, I noticed light gleaming up through a seam in the inside corners... WTF sayeth I(!) |
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| No problem, these things happen, back it went. To cut a long-winded story short, the second and third cases were the same. To add insult to frustration, the latch securing pin on the third case fell out as I turned it on its side to poke the card through the gaps. |
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STRIIIIIKE THREE!
Yer outta here! |
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Waterproof V's Accessible |
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| Can you have your cake and eat it too? |
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I think it was Ortlieb who developed the waterproof roll-top bag idea, employing it for their bicycle panniers many moons ago. It's proved to be a successful way to close a bag, and keep the water out for decades since.
The problem is that it's fiddly, with three rolls and multiple clips to close and tension. This is all well and good for a 'set and forget' bag, one that contains your tuxedo or camping gear. They are great for all the stuff you don't want to touch during the day's ride. |
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It is, however, a horses-for-courses situation. Getting in and out of a dry bag over and over again, day in and day out, rapidly grows knobs! I like to think along the lines of – "We are in and out of our bags ten times a day... but only ride in the rain ten times a year".
Many moons ago we experimented with outer covers, quickly realizing that they are a half-RRs solution. They blew off and needed polishing off my muffler, are wet and need to be secured (in a gale) while still accessing the bags at stops, they flap and rub off the PU coating on the inside.
Far easier to deal with are inner liner bags. If the wheels fall off the weather we just need to ensure the liner bags are closed appropriately and Bob's Yer Mother's Brother! A properly secured inner will work even when yer having a lie down in a creek.
That way we can focus on maintaining the functionality and ease of use of the bag. |
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But wait, there's more.
If you find yourself settling back after the checkout process and realise that you've forgotten something, Don't spit the dummy or pay a second lot of postage...
Simply choose 'Pick Up in Store' and add a note in the comments to 'Add To Existing Order'.
Occasionally, we'll have to contact you to sting you for a bit more freight but that's rare. |
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Here's a tip from Neil who spent most of his working life beyond the black stump.
Having a bottle of rum along ensures you have the required currency to get help when it might not be so forthcoming. |
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A decade ago we made a couple of runs of our Folding Helmet Pack but for reasons I can't remember, it fell down the back of the couch.
While having a bit of a cull and tidy-up at Chez Strapz I came across mine and was reminded of how much I've used it and how proud I was of the design. While I'm not a frequent flyer, I use mine when I travel by air with the idea of riding when I get there. My hands are free to check in, and negotiate lifts and trolleys.
I use it at bike races and other trips where I can't leave my brain bucket locked to my bike. |
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Have I missed something?
It was 1582 when Pope Greg XIII (unlucky for some), sent out the memo establishing what we know as the Gregorian Calendar. His big job was to sort out the pesky Leap Year issue, it had one day of the week called Friday.
While different mobs might use their own name for it, it remains.... one day in each week.
How the ferk did we end up with Black Friday Sales that last a month? Some marketing smart-RRs decided to get on board with the day that Yanks tended to pull a sickie the Friday after Thanksgiving. That's about as close as it should seep into our Aussie culture! The act of 'pullin' a sickie' is almost a sacred rite.
Big multi-national driven (and owned) retail chains have found a very efficient way to bend over smaller shops, straining their ability to provide the service and quality we'd like. Sure, the idea of sales is not new, unloading slow-moving gear or left over sizes is as old as the hills. Now it seems we get mustered and yarded from retail event to retail event. Big multinationals will have a sale to compensate for a public holiday sales drop.
Oft-times, I see prices that are lower than I can buy the stuff at wholesale. That aggressive, telling-phone attachment mob are buggers for it.
Come the revolution – they'll get a shock when they have to do an honest days trading!
Don't get me started on Cyber Friggin' Monday. |
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Sniggers from Timewaster.Com |
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| | | Postie bikes do wreak havoc! |
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| Lucas, the Prince of Darkness, exacting revenge. |
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The Adventure bike world has been bemoaning the fate of the venerable DRZ 400. Since the introduction of seemingly insurmountable emission restrictions and technology requirements in developed countries, we've been worried that Suzuki might just toss it into the 'too hard basket'.
This month at EICMA we've been proven wrong! Suzuki unveiled its new generation DRZ (DR Zee irks me) using the moniker DRZ4. Offered in Trailbike (S) and Supermoto (SM) spec, the engine is still a 398 cc single with an unchanged bore and stroke. Output is a little down on the outgoing model and max power is made at slightly higher revs.
That's about where the engine similarities end. Naturally, the bike needed to be fuel injected, valves, crank and head have all had a makeover. 2025 sees a slipper clutch but for some unfathomable reason, it retains the 5-speed gearbox. Hopefully, Suzuki has massaged the gear ratios to make that unnecessary.
The chassis is all-new, bodywork has been to the plastic surgeon for a facelift and a new, round LED headlight tops off a more modern look.
A modern electronics package was to get the bike over the EURO 5+ line. Here we delve into the world of moto-acronyms. SIRS – Suzuki Intelligent Ride System shoehorns, 'Ride by Wire' so that ride modes, switchable ABS and thank the heavens... an easy start system. Unless I drain the carbys on Dr Z it will not start if I leave if more than three weeks!
Added to the electronics are three ride modes to select from. Suspension, supplied by KYB, gets more adjustability front and rear.
There will still be a fair bit of farkling to get it up to Adventure bike duties. I wonder how much of the aftermarket gear will fit? |
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BTW, if you want to make it a bit more personal, it's easy as fillin' yer nappy. Snaggle something online and get us to send it directly to the recipient.
If you pop a note in the comments section, we'll even gift wrap it for you and add a note! |
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Just a heads up for locals, one of our kids is getting married on the first Saturday of (7th) December so we've put back our open day to Saturday the 14th.
Christmas hours are;
Closed - 23rd to 26th Dec and 1st Jan.
Open - 27th, 30th and 31st Dec - 10am - 3pm
Back to normal hours 2nd Jan.
Copyalater
Andy
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