| | | | |  | | Hi achternaam, As ya do with modern technology, things cock up... regularly. This newsletter got finished and sent a few weeks ago, that was the plan at least! A malfuction with the new website saw it disappear into the eBlackhole. Like my old grandad used to say "If at first ya don't suceed. Suck egg!" So, here we go again. If you did get a copy of this that slipped through I apologise.
*************************************** Pillions are such touchy things. I can't understand why mine gets squirrel-grippy on me when I misjudge fuel range and end up in Bombala in mid Winter! Geez the temperature was close to double figures, I'm sure. The plan was to sneak up the Cann Valley, down the Imlay Rd and catch up with Tontine and Jilly at 'Coota. The old Strom we loaned for the weekend sucked down more bang water than I thought it would. No... It wasn't my right hand doing the damage. The old jigger was playing up a bit and breaking down under load, I was trying to ride smoothly and sensibly for my passenger. The "Zen" of total concentration required for wet roads, to miss bumps to look after Pillion-in-a-Million's dodgy back, an unfamiliar bike that wasn't quite on song and a new rear tyre was awesome. Total involvement and focus. Who needs to sit cross legged in front of a candle and chant! An how ungrateful! By the time we'd made it back "down the hill" into Merimbula she was a bit err... touchy. More expletive blasts than the Whalers of old could have dreamt up, left me in no doubt she'd much rather be on her own bike. So much for quality time! |  | Moto GP Shop We've had confirmation that the usual "pop up" shop next to the Library in the main drag of Cowes is ours for this years GP week. We'll be opening on Wednesday and closing around Midday on the Monday. The all singing, all dancing Andy Strapz show will career out of control until late on Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings. Please note that the showroom will be "Old Mother Hubbard" for the week as pretty well all the gear will be with us on Phillip Island. |
| | | 30 Times Terrorfied This August marks the 30th TTT Rally. Held on the last weekend of the month it is renown for huge fires and noisy hijinks. Thrasher and Sonia always host an enjoyable but cold few days nestled into the southern most edge of the Blue Mountains. Initially a "run what yer brung" basic rally, riders were expected to bring ordinary road bikes. This was before the terms Dual Sport or Adventure bikes arrived on the scene. I've so many stories that I could fill newsletters for the rest of the year. Watching a very frustrated and pissed off XJ900 owner's flamboyant abandon ship after his fourth attempt at a mud pond stays with me. As does watching the trusty MZ stand sink and ever so slowly fall off the edge of the track and tumble into the gully as I walked back to it after helping old mate out. And... Klaus the Kraut riding into the rally site after dark on a ex-police K series BM and going off his nut. He flew into a rant on arrival after he received the customary after dark cheers. He thought he'd have a nice little ride through the Aussie bush to a gathering of like minded souls, he hadn't been in Oz long. Ha, he encountered mud and snow, falling a few times in the process. Klaus was absoloutely gob smacked by the fire. "In Germany we cannot have ze camp fire...Here you burn a whole fkn forest!"  | Kog jettisoned a slab for a laugh on the way in! |
These days the TTTs has evolved into one of the premier Adventure gatherings. I think it's a perfect synergy; 30 years of TTT and 20 of Andy Strapz. I reckon that's a flash excuse for a beer and a yakeye. I'm trying to organise my life to get there but there are a few hurdles to get over first. Fingers crossed. More info here, let's make it a ripper! | | | Testing, Testing 1,2. 1,2. One of the latest items on the test bench, errr knees are the TP199 Knee Guards. --------------------------------------- | The TP prefix comes from a collaboration between EVS and Travis Pastrana to create a set of trick protector for the shins and bikkies'n'cheese. A double layered jigger capped by a smart armour outer with tough "Rhino" fabric cover. Shin protection nealty ensures there isn't a gap between the guards and top of my boots. A nice touch are medial and lateral grip/protection pads fitted on the inner sleeve. Dr Zed and I took them out for a preliminary trial in the Labour Day weekend and i found that, as all good gear should be, They proved easy to get on and off too. While it's another thing to add to the process of getting ready to ride I'm a big fan of knee guards. EVS call them knee braces and are taking a bit of license, I think they will provide me with a comfortable compromise. It's now 3 months since I face-planted (this edition of Adventure Rider has the whole story) off a sand dune, I reckon this is a scar for life. I reckon they aren't expensive for what they offer at $147. My only question is will they be too hot in summer? Having said that, I can't see them being worse than the plastic set I'm currently using. Bugger, I'll have to go for a ride to keep up the testing. |  |
 | If you're interested in a pair let me know, I'll order in a bunch;- email here |
ps--- | Secret Women's Business What's the difference between Camelbaks for men and women? The ladies packs have two humps of course. I have a couple of Ladies' cut packs here that need to go to a good home. I got them in a special buy but they have been sitting with no one to love them for a while now. Over $200 rrp they are going out at $125. I only have a couple, no rain checks. Webpage here |  |
| Helmet Liner Hijinks For some years now we've offered a neat little superfine Merino "skull cap" helmet liner. It's one of my go-to items when I kit up for a ride. | Keeping supply of the little buggers has been more drama than a house renovating cooking contest. Initially the Smartwool distributor dropped it as I was the only one buying them, so, I moved over to an Icebreaker version. Icebreaker also dropped theirs for the same reason a year or so later. At the same time I was told that the former Smartwool importer was bringing them back in...Happy Days! Then I was sent the order code I quieried it as it was hinting at it being a Balaclava. "No, No, it's all good" I was told. Yep, you guessed it they were not Helmet liners but....Balaclavas! AAArrrk! Never one to take piss off for a definative directive I chased up Smartwool US directly. They also told me (diplomatically) to.... "Piss Off", go back and "reach out" to the Aussie Importer (geez, reach out and grab them by the scruff of the #@*^#+# neck!). Chuck me farley if out of the blue, the 24 I was waiting on for months, just turned up. But... getting more was going to be a problem. Stuff this.... We just started making them ourselves and realized we should've done it ages ago. They even have flash orange stitching. I think we've imprioved the design a touch too. I'll update the photos as soon as I can but. Problem solved! Click here for webpage |   |
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A Peek in the Shed I suppose I'd better be nice to the afore-mentioned pillion. She might not let me fettle her bike for her anymore. Guzeppa, her '76 T3 is getting a bit of a face lift. While it's an honest bike with a good motor and other running gear, it would take some "over-capitalisation" to take it back to concours orginal. We'll settle for a functional and presentable standard.  | Our theory is; there are gonna be heaps of butchered "Hipster Racer" T series bikes around in a few years. Bikes with brackets cut off, seats trashed and tanks cut about. There may not be many that are basically stock. Our idea is to keep it pretty true to the way it came from the factory but not get obsessed and anal. The most obvious place to tackle was the tank and side covers. What looked like a "rattle can quickie" was suffering from less than ideal prep and cracking bog. Before dropping it off for sandblasting I grabbed a flap disc to get a bit of an idea just where we at. The week it was done there must have been a special on body filler at the local auto shop! I think it got a coating of bog and then reshaped like a friggin' surfboard. | | Unfortunately or fortunately depending on which part of the glass we look at, the sandblasting took away the last of the rust that was keeping the "bang water" on the inside. These tanks have silly divots behind the plates that hold the tank badges on. It's a bloody rust trap and had to go. Sandblasting only made things worse, even with an experienced and gentle hand on the task. Not to be phased Scrawn welded holes, heated and pulled dents, generally tidied things up. A dose of tank sealer and a slight skim of bog and I reckon it's coming up a treat. While a few other bits have gone off to the shop to get repaired and powder-coated, paint was chosen. The way we approached choosing a colour was very interesting. I lobbied "She who needs to be adored" for a traditional approach and reflection of Guzzi paint schemes of the era. She wanted a colour she liked. "How about red? With a rakish black stripe across it" says I. "Nup had a red one, my V50" came the reply. "White, a nice pearl?" I responded. "Nup, had a pearl white one, that BM languishing in Groffy's shed remember". After a few rounds of similar intercourse (settle down), she chose her favourite colour. Life goes in those complex interlaced circles don't it. A golden green with a lime under tone won. In the end it will turn out giving a wink and a nod to the V750 Sport of the era. Being a Graphic Designer and a MGO Vic Life member she has decided to come up with her own decal set. This is gonna get really exciting as a bit of colour gets splashed about. | 
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| Correction - sort of In the last missive I cocked up and said that the new Schuberth E1 brain buckets would be priced in three figures. Woops...I did actually mean to say four figures. I've just had a yarn to the Aussie importer over the "telling bone". The price will be set at $999. So I guess I was wrong and right in the same breath. The aim is to make it so that we can offer a helmet with the appropriate 5 year warranty for as close to a Euro bought helmet off the interweb. I have a bunch of riders who are waiting for more info and ordering details as it comes to hand. If you'd like to tag along flick us an email here. With luck I'll have my tester by the end of the month. |  |
| | | Diesel Stripes Have I missed something or has diesel become free lately? The number of shiny stripes on corners seems to have shot up in the last few weeks. I know many are probably water but a bloody lot of 'em aren't! That multi-colour sheen gives it away.
Maybe we need to get stickers made? We could distribute them to riders to slap on fuel pumps, asking the the drivers not to try and kill us. How's about something witty like; "Oi dickhead, make sure you put the cap on yer fuel tank properly!"
------------------------------------------  Ah, here's an idea! Maybe the pricks that rip taxes and charges out of us could do it for us? A small spend might save a lot in health and insurance costs in the longer term. Dreaming again Strapz! Be careful out there. | Triumph Cap, Just Add Feather I'd love to get an insight into the machinations of the wheeling and dealing that saw the other Euro Brand snaggle the Moto2 engine supply rights. As lapsed Tiger owner, I'm a bit excted about the prospect of a swarm of angry triples banging fairings in 2019. It's a huge leap of confidence for a seriously nice motor with a stong reliability record. As they say; "Racing improves the breed". Woohoo! Surely that must mean a new Tiger is in the pipeline. Lets' hope they can get the weight and seat a bit closer to the ground for us short-arses. |  |
| Yes Coach I had an interesting conversation with a Cpt'n Dave who drives boats, buses and motorcycles. He was expressing his dread of clipping a rider with the bus as his vision is seriously limited when they come alongside (see what I did there!). It struck me that it was a good time to remind myself of that sticker we often see on trucks - "If you can't see my mirrors... I can't see you!" It's not a fool proof adage but a heads up that there are big areas of buses and trucks that are BM-ahas Triangles (sorry, couldn't resist) that we just vanish into. AArrrrgh Jim Lad; riding in blind spots, is as dumb as me parrot and to be avoided more than speeding tickets in my opinion. Just get the truck outta there! My ass is worth a speeping ticket if need be. | | | No Butt of a Joke I'm sure you've carried that little niggly fear that one day some careless turd will flick a durry end out the window and it will blow back, straight into your helmet or down the front of yer jacket. Marlene from Colac sent back her beloved Pannierz to have a burn hole repaired the other day. It certainly looks like a cigarette butt has lodged in the top fold of the bag and smoldered away until she found it. Sheesh! |  |
| | I guess that's all from me.
I have a couple of prize packs worth 10 drinking vouchers ($100) for an entertaining yarn and photos. If you can dob in a mate (naturally it wouldn't be you!) with the dumbest way to wreck an Andy Strapz product send it in. If we use it you get goodies. Copyalater Andy | | Read More | | |
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