There goes the first quarter of 2019

Hi achternaam,

Strutharama, we'll be dodging 'how to vote' cards and snags in blankets before we know it. The farce we know as an election is looming.

It's oft been said that Democracy is a terrible form of Government but the alternatives are worse. Ok, it's hard to argue with that but chuck-me-farley, what a dearth of choice the current crop of self-interested, over lobbied, wanna-be-fat-cats, out-of-touch, beholden turkeys, we have to put our mark against this time.

Can a country have a Prime Minister who pronounces 'with' - "wiv"? Or, some smarmy bugger called 'Scomo', who seems intent on the 'Whatever-it-Takes' approach to holding onto the chance to be the biggest smart arse in Oz. I guess we don't have to deal with the new "Cult of Personality' politicians that is doggin' the 'Good 'Ole' at present. There's precious little of that at the pointy ends of the contesting parties over here.

Yes, the world is becoming an ever more complicated place but the basics are never gonna change. People need security in health, education and justice, a reasonable feed and a way to get around. If we sat around a campfire with a few beers I'm sure we'd get to the bottom of it.

Our chosen way to enjoy the getting around bit will continue to become marginalised and I can't see it changing. We can bang on about getting organised, standing together and all that but the biking lifestyle is predicated on exactly the opposite... Isn't it?

Unless...

Bertrand "the Frog" Cadart's approach is adopted, it might just work.

He advocates that all motorcyclists should move to Tasmania. That increase of around 700,000 punters plus their nearest and dearest would allow us to have a significant say in the way the state is run.

I bags being Emperor!

Oh, that is unless you believe the Liberal Democrats and follow up on the half page ad in the last AMCN and vote for David Leyonhjelm and move to New South Wheals.

Shoei SRL Comms

The new batch of Neotec 2 and GT Air brain buckets are following the Schuberth trend of working with Sena and integrating the Bluetooth comms system into the helmets. On our recent 12-day NZ trip, I fitted one to my trial Neotec 2 and gave it a whirl.

Fitting was a doddle and getting it neat easy, like all Sena stuff the best way to do it is park yerself in front of the frustration box and watch a series of videos, starting with installation. And, like all in-helmet comms, the speakers work fine until we hit the magic 80 klicks when wind noise starts to make itself an unwanted guest. I had great results with a set of plain Earmold plugs in until I didn't use them on a short hop. You have to drop the volume level!

I found the controls a lot easier to use than I expected, turning on and off can be done in one movement. Pairing the system with phone and Mrs Strapz went well but it does involve holding the centre control bar down for the right number of seconds. Patience never was one of my strong points.

There's a couple of dumb things about the unit.

No earphone jack – really Sena, it couldn't have been too hard. This unit is based on the 20S which does have the output – I can't use wired earplugs. Neither Schuberth or Shoei have this function and I reckon it's a big blue.

Why they choose a boom mic I'm unsure. It catches on the chin curtain each time I close the helmet and it ends up on my chin. Again, the 20S comes with both, why not the SRL?

Top Net

Small things make a difference. The recently released Top Net is one of them.

As usual, it's not complicated or very trick but it is a great help on multiple days out on the road with our Pannierz.

Simply by stringing a length of elastic shock cord between the top buckles on a set of the bags we have created a more secure spot for wet weather gear and a neat place to stash gloves when we stop. Add an adjustable buckle to tension the contraption and bingo!

Fits all Avduro Pannierz (yep including Avduro LE and 2).

Grab a set of two here.

Back to NZ

You have to put Motorcycle Mecca on your sub-bucket list with the Burt Munro Challenge. Essentially one of the largest collections of classic bikes was up for sale a few years ago in the town of Nelson.

Rather than let it be split up the whole shebang was snapped up by the owners of the Transport Museum (add that just below the bike museum too) and housed in the museum in downtown Invercargill. Left is a row of Brough Superiors, yep a row of 'em. One of the many stand-outs is the sheer number of examples of marques and models. I've been to only a handful of serious motorcycle museums but never seen the depth and breadth of machines in one place. Below is the last ever brand new Vincent Black Shadow ever made. This 1950, Series C has engine and frame numbers that are consistent with the last off the line despite it being finished in 2007. The last bike rolled off the factory line in 1955 but parts manufacture continued up until 1975. The baton was taken up by VOC Spares, an independent firm with links to the UK owners club, to ensure the longevity of the marque. Initially, a brand new motor was produced and 'cause they could, the boat was pushed out to create a complete, brand spanker.

A Kiwi bike museum wouldn't be complete without a brace of Brittens.

Appalling

I can't leave without mention of the evil, moronic, misguided, bigoted, ugly, go-straight-to-hell events in Christchurch.

Extremists of any stripe have no place in our world.

Both ends of that continuum of incomprehensible, foetid hate represent none but a narrow angry pack who whip each other into blind evil. What is it about this human animal that can be so blindly cruel yet wrap it in some justifying framework. Will the world ever grow up?

One side has adopted and mastered the technology of the West and I'll bet the right wingers find their left hand filled with a Kebab on the way home from a night on the grog just like the rest of us.

How do you think that technology and great tucker got into our lives?

Because of the diversity of our society dickheads!

Holey Wool

This is the time of year many people pull out their fine Merino and find that their balaclava looks more like a sieve than a hat. Yep, I've been caught too. 

Superfine Merino must be like Maccas to moths and Silverfish, the buggers can't get enough. I'm also thinking that a nice marinade of sweat seems to add that extra tang for 'em.

I've worked out that Thermalz and other woolen gear we supply is best washed (in the machine, nothing special) then tucked away in a zip-lock bag when totally dry.

Postie Stuff

The end of an era is approaching as Australia Post start planning to phase out the 'Postie Bike' as we know it and moving to electric three-wheelers.

According the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries, they cover over 60 million klicks a year.

You might like to view the whole document here, it's getting on a bit but makes interesting reading.

Motorcycling in Australia - Directions for the Motorcycle Industry 2014-2016

Many moons ago I was ferried around the Isle of Man in the back of a transit van sitting on the wheel arch next to this.

Here are a few things that need to go.

Email here now to grab one

That's about all I have to write at yer this month, bugger off and get some work done.

Copyalater

Andy