HILLS ULYSSES

BUGLE

THE HUB

February 2014

ULYSSES CLUB PURPOSE

To provide ways in which older Motorcyclists can get together for companionship and mutual support.

To show by example that motorcycling can be an enjoyable and practical activity for riders of all ages.

To draw the attention of public and private institutions to the needs and views of older riders.

HILLS ULYSSES The Hills Group was formed in January 2002 and our monthly

meetings are held at The Castle Hill RSL 77 Castle Road, Castle Hill, every third Wednesday at 7.30 pm.

Members also meet every Saturday morning at 9.00am - 10.00am for coffee and eats at the Deli and Kebab Shops, 538-540 Old Northern Road, Round Corner Dural.

Your Committee PRESIDENT: Chris Bell RIDE CO-ORDINATORS:

Ph) 02 9629 7953 John Kerr

Mobile) 0414 414 002 Mobile) 0421 459 577

SECRETARY: Les Mustafa Shannon Kinsella

Mobile) 0425 416 944 Mobile) 0402 032 310

TREASURER: Slav Ukrainec GENERAL MEMBER: Rory Gibson

Mobile) 0401 988 511 Mobile) 0413 564 308 Ph) 02 9683 6724

QUARTERMASTER: James Schofield Communications Officer: Brian Donovan

Mobile) 0407 664 004 Mobile) 0409 090 872

Articles for The HUB to be sent to brucewwalker@hotmail.com but always phone first.

Contents PRESIDENT WRITES February 2014 ............................................................................................................. 4

Mystery of the Traub Motorcycle ....................................................................................................................... 7

Scene Around Bart’s .......................................................................................................................................... 10

John ‘Sassy’ Sinclair’s Adventures in New Zealand ........................................................................................... 13

Motorcycling - Memoirs of Judy’s Old Bikie, by Bob Baldwin ........................................................................... 23

Motorcycling - Memoirs of an Old Bikie Moll, .................................................................................................. 25

The Wrecking Crew ........................................................................................................................................... 27

TORQUE ............................................................................................................................................................. 29

BIANCHI ............................................................................................................................................................. 31

The Ulysses Story ............................................................................................................................................... 33

2013 Hills Ulysses Christmas Party .................................................................................................................... 34

Branch Sponsors ................................................................................................................................................ 37

PRESIDENT WRITES February 2014

Welcome to the February 2014 edition of the Hills Ulysses Bugle and my last contribution as President of the Hills Branch. Having spent 5 years on Committee (3 years as Secretary and 2 years as President), work and family commitments are now conflicting with my ability to dedicate the necessary time and effort to the role as President, and so it is time to hand over the reins to someone with a little more time and enthusiasm. I have greatly enjoyed

being the President of our Hills Branch. It has been a wonderful and rewarding experience and I would very much like to thank Patrice for her support over the past 5 years, because the President & Secretary Roles are indeed a team effort.

My personal thanks go to each and every committee member who has served with me on Committee over the past 5 years, because they have all done an outstanding job in keeping our Hills Branch an active, social and growing Branch. My thanks also go to former Presidents John (JP) Hickey and Mike Ham for their support and advice over the years and a special mention to one of our Founding members, and our longest serving Committee Member, George Findley, who has been an outstanding supporter, sounding board and advisor during my time as President.

Patrice and I have formed many enduring friendships during our 12 years with the Hills Branch and during the past 5 years whilst serving on Committee and we have so many wonderful memories of social rides & events and the journeys to attend Ulysses AGM

events across Australia.

We have had the honour of attending the Penrith, Albany, Newcastle, Mildura and Maryborough AGM Events as either Secretary or President of the Hills Branch and your representative at the Annual Extended NATCOM Meeting.

Our Hills Branch Team of Scrutineers has done an outstanding job at the National AGM Elections over the past 5 years, checking in the more than 500 Members in attendance, providing security for the AGM Event, distributing the Election Papers,

collecting the Election Papers at various intervals during the Meeting and of course counting votes in record time.

This week our Hills Branch has been asked to host a “Special General Meeting” of the Ulysses Club on Monday the 3rd of March to hear appeals by members recently expelled from the Ulysses Club. Whilst the circumstances are unfortunate, I am sure our team of Hills Branch Scrutineers are more than up to the task and I would encourage as many of our Members as possible to attend this meeting and support our Ulysses Club and our National Committee (NATCOM).

Our Hills Branch participates in a significant number of charity and fund raising events and this serves as an enduring source of pride for myself, and I would hope for the majority of

our membership. The Black Dog Ride, Pink Ribbon Ride and UCARF have all benefitted from the efforts of a few dedicated individuals and from the enthusiastic support and participation by of our Branch.

With the 2014 AGM Event at Alice Springs only just around the corner, Patrice and I have all but finalised our route and travel plans. This year’s AGM will put our team of Hills

Branch Scrutineers to the test as I believe there are a significant number of NATCOM Executive Positions being contested, including 4 nominations for President. The numerous potential Executive Committee combinations that may result from the Ulysses Club’s electoral cascade system will certainly put our Counting Team to the test, as will the expected volume of Postal Votes. Whilst the remoteness of Alice Springs will affect the number of our Members able to attend the AGM Event, I am confident that our Scrutineering Team are up to the task and will continue to be a source of pride for our Branch.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank our outgoing 2013 Committee for their efforts over the past year and to wish the incoming 2014 Committee a successful and rewarding year ahead. I

would also like to take this opportunity to wish Jon Uidam, the incoming President, all the very best during his tenure as President of our Hills Branch.

That’s it from me - Thanks again to Bruce for his efforts in producing this latest edition of the Hills Ulysses Bugle (HUB). Thanks also to those Members who contributed articles and photos for publication and to our Sponsors for their continued support of our Hills Branch (Sponsor details can be found on back page). I hope to see you at our Saturday Social / Church (Joe’s Deli).

Mystery of the Traub Motorcycle

By Matt Williams (This article from the Internet was contributed by Peter Nagiel)

In 1967, a plumber doing renovations of an apartment building outside Chicago tore down a brick

wall and found what would prove to be a baffling mystery to vintage motorcycle enthusiasts – a

one-of-a-kind motorcycle bearing 1917 plates and the name “TRAUB”. The building’s elderly owner

admitted that his son had stolen the bike before going off to WW1, never to return. But where the

bike came from and who made it remains unknown to this day.

Currently residing in the

Wheels Through Time

Museum in Maggie Valley,

North Carolina, the Traub

is considered to not only

be the rarest motorcycle

in their collection, but in

the world.

The Traub was sold to

Torillo Tacchi, a bicycle

shop owner in Chicago

after its discovery who later sold it to Bud Ekins. (famous as Steve McQueen’s stuntman and the

one in the famous jump in ‘The Great Escape’. Ekins and McQueen were both Triumph riding

members of the USA International Six Days Trial Team circa 1965.) Ekins was on the set of ‘The

Blues Brothers’ filmed in Chicago in the late 1970s. The Traub was later sold to collector and

restorer, Richard Morris, who then sold it to Wheels Through Time Museum curator, Dale Walksler,

in 1990. It has been on permanent display in the museum collection ever since.

Don’t think this unique motorcycle is merely a museum piece though. Walksler rides the Traub

fairly regularly. When asked about the engine components, he enthusiastically replied, “Everything

inside the engine is just magnificent. The pistons are handmade, and have gapless iron rings, the

engineering and machining being simply years ahead of their time.”

“When comparing other top motorcycle makes and models of the era, the Traub has no equal.

Comprised of a sand-cast, hand-built, 80 cubic inch side valve engine, the machine has the ability to

reach speeds in excess of 85 mph with ease,” says Walksler.

“For a

machine to have such advanced features, unparalleled by other motorcycles of the same era, is

truly outstanding,” said Walksler. “It’s my opinion that the Traub was an attempt at a new breed of

motorcycle. But how on earth could a machine have been produced in such great form, with

capabilities that far exceed that of any comparable machine, without the knowledge of the rest of

the motorcycle industry during that time?”

The

hunt

for

the

Traub’s elusive origin hasn’t stopped. “While we may never know why the machine was placed

behind the wall, we do hope to one day find out more about its history and the genius that created

it,” said Walksler.

From the Editor: Fact, Fraud or

just Hyperbole? Motorcycles made

in the USA in 1917 were probably

the most advanced, engineering-

wise in the world. Close

examination of a 1917 model K 3

speed Harley Davidson reveals a

motorcycle not all that different

from the Traub. In fact the Harley

has more advanced leading link

forks and a better shaped fuel tank!

Scene Around Bart’s Photography by John Gawthorne

Future Contributions to The HUB

This is the last issue of a solely electronic version of The HUB.

Contributions are still welcome and will be appearing in an annual version

which we hope to have printed, as well as electronic copies available.

What I wrote about contributions on Page 34 of the August Edition 2013

Edition of The HUB is still applicable.

Bruce Walker

Editor

John ‘Sassy’ Sinclair’s Adventures in New Zealand

Sassy arrived in New Zealand on the 21st January 1959.

I arrived here safe and sound on Tuesday morning about 8 am after a very nice quite trip over. The ship rolled quite a bit and I am still a bit rocky myself even today, if I turn my head fast. The first day I slept nearly all day up on deck in the sun and went to the pictures at night, they started at 8.15pm and ended about I0 o’clock, they were held up on deck in the open I could see O.K. but couldn’t hear a damn thing. Saturday I slept most of the time when I wasn’t playing deck quoits or deck tennis. Sunday there was pictures on with a dance from 10 pm till 11 pm so I went to both. The ship was

rolling a bit that night, it looked as though everybody on the dance floor was drunk, the way they were getting around. Monday was the same only they had a “Mad Hatters Ball” on at night time. I went to it but everything closes down at 11:30 pm and you don’t get any late nights. The two chaps in the other bunks were not too bad. One was about 28, a cane cutter from Queensland coming over here on a working holiday. The other was a Pommy - he didn’t say half a dozen words the whole trip across. In general there were quite a lot of young people on board. Mr and Mrs Olsen were at the ship to meet me when I got off. I did not have any trouble getting through customs. He just asked me if I had any gifts or anything to declare - answered “No”, & walked out. In the afternoon we went for a drive all around Wellington & suburbs, took two photos of the city itself. This is all so far. By gosh it’s rugged country just around the city the mountains rise straight out of the harbour. The shops and main stores are very dirty and untidy especially the butchers shop which are filthy. I slept with a sheet all night and did not wake up until 9:30 am as I was so tired. I went for a bit of a walk to-day by myself over a mountain range to the main road & thumbed a ride into the city. Went to the Dept. of Labour & Industry and found out about the fruit picking - you get 5/4 per hour and paid over time at over time rates. They mainly supply - beds - hut- cooking utensils. I went to the Lands & Survey and got some maps of both Islands, then went out to Lower Hutt about 6 miles out looking for a motor bike. They wanted 35 pounds for an old A.J.S. 500 cc single. I would have had to spend about another 25 pounds to get it in any reasonable condition so did not get it. Thumbed a ride back home. It has been quite hot to-day about 85degrees F. I would say and not a breath of wind. (Just a note about pre-decimal currency for those readers who were born after 1960 or thereabouts. Pounds, shillings and pence sometimes referred to as LSD as the symbol for pounds was like a written capital “L”, “s” was the symbol for shillings and “d” the symbol for pence. There were 12 pennies to the shilling and twenty shillings to the pound. Fifteen shillings and ninepence was written 15/9. Since my computer does not have the symbol for pounds readily available I will use the word ‘pounds’. With decimal conversion 10/- became $1, 1/- became 10 cents and 6d became 5 cents. The Editor.) On the Thursday I got up about 8:30 am had breakfast & cleaned up. Then Mrs Olsen & I went for a run out through Lower Hutt. I took a photo of the Hutt Valley and Lower Hutt township. We then went around to Days Bay & Eastbourn

that is all one beach on the other side of the harbour to Wellington. They treat that like our Manly but the beach is all rocks and dirty black sand. Quite nice gardens and a lot of bush on the other side of the road to the beach as the mountains start right at the edge of the beach - just enough room for the road & a little garden. I went for a walk up the hill a little to see the bush - very nice too. We went back into Wellington where I bought a pair of rubber soled bush walking boots. Everybody that does walking over here wears them. They don’t call it walking or hiking, it’s tramping. Went down to the Union Steam Ship Co. to get my ticket to the South Island the boat only goes to Picton (cost 23/6). Not too bad

for a 4 hrs. trip. I then went up to the Police Station and transferred my N.S.W. licence to a N.Z. one which cost 5/- for 12 months but all licences fall due on the 1st June. Friday I hitched hiked out to Upper Hutt and delivered that parcel to Mrs. Allen’s daughter Maureen. I was very wild with Mrs. Allen as she promised me there was nothing in the parcel that would get me into trouble; as it was I was taking gifts into the country without declaring them. She went and put a plant in the parcel which could have got me into strife with the Plant Quarantine (a very dirty trick I thought). The shops are open on Friday nights until 9:30 pm. On Saturday we set off at 7:30 am in the little Austin A30 out past Upper Hutt, Featherston – Marston - Woodville through the Manawatu Gorge (Man-a-wa-two) down to Palmerston North and back to Wellington about 250 miles all told. It was a perfect day, not a breath of wind and very hot. I caught the inter-island ship to Picton at 3:15 pm arriving at 6pm. I pitched the tent in the camping area and went out and had tea. On Tuesday I was up at 7am and caught the 10 o’clock bus to Blenheim from there the 1pm bus to Nelson, arriving at 4pm. A very nice trip. Saw the Government Employment Office in the afternoon about a job at fruit picking or tobacco picking and had to go back the next day at l pm to find out about it. Went out to the camping area and pitched my tent. I had to pay 7/6 per night to camp there. It is 3 miles out, right by the sea shore, very nice but too dear. I could not do anything else as I would have been too far away for everything. I got on to a 1943 Indian 3.1/2 hp job for 25 pounds. The tyres & everything look quite good on it but didn’t hear it run so had to go out on Saturday afternoon. It is about 40 miles away. I got a job out at Tasman 14 m from Motueka & 24 m from Nelson. I caught the 4 pm bus out there. The owner of the orchard met me at the bus stop & took me out to the orchard. They grow apples, pears & plumbs out here mostly apples which they are picking at the present. Got settled in to my new home which is a little hut down in the bottom end of the orchard in the scrub, about 10 ft. x 12 ft. with a bed and mattress but no sheets or blankets, a sink & tap from a tank outside, a small electric stove, one window, a cupboard & safe. It was very dirty when I arrived here but alright now. There was a terrible smell outside. I thought there must be about 6 dead cats but they told me it was some stuff to get rid of the bees. It’s nearly gone now though. The first 3 days I had to eat with the owner as there wasn’t any stove down here, got it yesterday. Thursday I started work at 8 am with knock off at 5 pm. I went up to the shed got my picking bag and started picking apples. It started raining about 9 am so they all went home. “They”, is two Māori girls & one white which also live here. Two brothers & a sister which just come up to pick & two halfcasts who do the packing. I put up a wire cable for the electric hoist that lifts the boxes off the trailer to go into the grader and labelled some boxes. The orchard is about 25 acres which is quite big for around this area. On Friday night I went to the pictures at Motueka. It is the only night the bus runs and I have to walk 3 miles to catch it so you can see why I want a bike. On Sunday after breakfast I went over to Mapua to look at a bike. It was about 7 miles each way and the bike wasn’t any good. I would have had to buy a new tyre, plus a few other things. The walk filled in most of the afternoon. No chance of hitch hiking around here as there are no cars and it is a dead end road and we are the last property. It’s been a couple of weeks which have gone quickly and now that I have my bike (the Indian), which is going real well, I can get around a bit, so after work I cleaned up & went into Nelson for tea & to the pictures. A new girl aged about 20-21 started. She comes from Christchurch and seems quite nice. Ray which is the chap that started the other day moved into the batch next door. He seems quite a decent fellow, about 25. He was a fitter & turner but for the past 4 yrs has been out in the hills shooting deer for the Government. He is going back

again soon, he’s just having a holiday. As it was very hot we all went down for a swim, I, on my bike & the other 3 girls in Ray’s car (Morris Minor 1953 model). We came back, had tea and sat down and talked till 10.30 pm. He has a wireless so it makes the place a little brighter with someone to talk to. He is cooking & eating with me so we find it will be cheaper. I went on to see the chap where I bought the bike but he was not home. He’d said he might have a luggage carrier for the bike somewhere. I lost the battery off the bike on the way in but was very lucky it did not break so I have it tied in with fencing wire now. On Saturday 14th. I left the batch at 7:30am went to Motueka over Tarkaka Hill to the township of Tarkaka. Then I rode out to the Pu Pu Springs which are reputed to be the largest springs in the World - 400,000,000 gals. per day. I took a few photos of them. I am keeping a diary from day to day also a list of the snaps I have taken & where. From the Pu Pu to Collinwood to Pakawau Puponga and took a photo of a Phutakawa tree. This is one of the native trees of N.Z. It is very similar to our Flowering Gum. I then went out the Fairwell Spit and got within 3 miles of the end but ended up in a bog & quicksand, so came back again. Went to Parapara Inlet over to the Aorere Valley to Bairham. It’s very nice bushy country around this area with great mountain ranges all around you. I came back to the Rockville Caves & went through them. They’re open to the public. Some farmer owns them & supplies you with a petrol pressure lamp & shows you through for 5/-. There are some very good formations in them, very white in colour with glow worms on the ceilings. Back to Moutere via the East Coast road separation Point, Awaiti, Takaka Upper, then to Motueka & home. Did about 236 miles averaging 59.5 m.p.g. which is not bad, as the roads are very rough & a lot of second gear work is needed. On Sunday 15th I got away at 6.30 am and went to Upper Moutere Brightwater Wakefield through a very big pine forest called the Golden Downs, to Belgrove and did a round trip through to Wairo Gorge which had up “Road Close” signs all over the place. Iit was well worth the trip. Some of the bridges were washed away & I had to do a little detouring over creeks & so on back to Spring Grove then down to Motupiko to Murchison. I had a spot of trouble with the primary chain so came home the same way and fixed it up back at the batch. The bike is going very well except for the chain trouble, I have done about 779 m up to date with only the one trouble which was nothing much really. All rego’s fall due on the same date so I have about 5 months to go. I will have to buy a leather coat as it is very cold when moving or at night. I have kept 5 pounds as reserve which I am not going to spend, but get paid on Friday so will be in the money again. I’ve been a bit broke this week owing to buying so much. I think I might be here about another 3 weeks from Friday but I’m

not sure yet. The boss does not want me to leave as it is very hard to get men. He asked me last Friday if I would like to take a week off and do a little tripping around, but told him no thanks. Little did he know I was broke. I do my own cooking in the hut here I have an electric stove now about the size of Ma’s & the shop is about 4 miles away down at Ruby Bay. The baker comes every Mon., Wed & Fridays & you can order anything off him and he will bring it out the next time. The green-grocer comes Thursday and also the butcher, but only once a week. The milkman comes every day but we have to take it down to the corner about three quarters of a mile I think. The Maori girls got the sack for fooling around too much & three Aussie girls started. I had a little trouble with the bike so bought 2 new spark plugs for 5/6 each compared to our 8/- but that did still not fix the miss (wrong miss). I had to order a new battery as the shaking up the other one got when it fell off the bike did not help it any. The new battery cost 3 pounds eleven shillings and sixpence. I put it in the bike & it runs well again now. It’s really tied in this time. Ray the fellow in the batch with me has a Morris Minor ’53 same motor as mine was, so I tuned it for him as it wasn’t running well It goes all right now. He lent the car to me to go down to get my battery.

I went into Nelson after work bought a Leather Coat & Gloves also a pair of plastic water proof pants. Leather Jacket seven pounds and eighteen shillings, gloves 32/6 and pants two pounds eight shillings. Broke again. Glad I did buy them as it rained coming home and I did not get wet. First time I have been warm on the bike of a night since I’ve had it. On Saturday afternoon Ray & I went out to Sandy Bay on a big shooting trip he had a .303 and I a .220 rifle. I wore my new boots but they were very stiff & I got blisters on both feet after 3 miles so we camped down for the night. On Sunday we walked up to the top of the hill & onto a ridge where we saw deer & shot them. We skinned the deer as its worth about 15/ - on 3 rounds of ammo. We brought home about 50lbs of meat just about staggering at the knees, it took me all my time to stand up with it. It was an extra good week end except for my boots. On Monday 23rd I worked in the shed as usual but could not get the bike to go. A very feeble spark I worked it out to either a bad coil or condenser. We had roasted venison for tea. After lunch on Tuesday I went down to the garage in Ray’s car. He does not mind at all lending it to me and said I could have it any time to take out a girl if I wanted to. Anyway I got the garage chap to test the coil & condenser & found that the condenser had a loose centre wire so bought a I new one for 7/6. I hope nothing else goes wrong with it although I have done 1,000 miles on it in two weeks which is not bad. The old bike started first kick & went like a rocket. I have decided to leave here. I only decided today after lunch which I got to thinking about how long it’s going to take me at the rate I am going, anyway I have covered this top section of the South Island fairly well I think & am starting to double over my tracks again. I don’t know what sort of a job I’ll get in Christchurch but one with more money I hope. I worked in the shed all day again I took one of the Aussie girls for a ride down to the shop after work on the back of the motor bike. On Thursday, seeing it was my birthday I went into Nelson for tea-had a nice piece of fish & chips went to the flicks after & got home about 12 o’clock. Gee, the leather jacket is good-oh. The beer is lousy tasting stuff. I think they must put Vinegar in. It tastes & smells like it. To-day I set out about 8 o’clock went into Nelson out through Hira Pelorus Bridge to Havelock. That stretch is very hilly & going through bush & pine forest most of the way. Turned off the main tar road at Havelock & cut across to Picton. This was a very windy dirt road but some nice scenery all through. It was very hot when not travelling but freezing when you were. On the way again, next stop Blenheim, Renwickton then right along the Wairau Rd. to Lake Rotoiti. It was a lousy road through the Valley but very nice scenery looking up to the Mountain tops. Some had snow on them. It was getting fairly cold by the time I got to the Lake. It is very nice there fishing, shooting, boating and anything else you would like to do. ‘Rotoiti’ means the Small or Little Lake but it about 5 miles long and 250 ft. deep with steep mountains rising up from the water’s edge. I came on to the main tar seal at Kawatiri and turned off at Glenhope and came home on a track through Kaka Tui and Woodstock. There’s nothing at these places, only a shed or maybe a house. Back home I’d covered 273 miles in the day & you know you have done every one of them. This makes the grand total of 1,200 miles exactly. Lost count of the petrol & oil but I know it’s doing about 55-60 m.p.g. Murray lent us the truck again for the day so I took the girls down to the beach at Kaiteriteri. It was quite a hot day & nice in the water. Two other Maori boys came with us which made 9 altogether. We had a beaut day. I bought a pile of old steel to build myself a carrier for the back. I measured it all up & started to hack saw it. I only have the one hack saw blade & I can’t get any more around these parts so had to be very careful. I took my carrier down to get welded. It cost 33/- for welding. With a 2 gal can for petrol & the steel I am up to 5 pounds 11 shillings and sixpence for the bike.

On Saturday I got my things packed & left about 10 o’clock doing the same trip as the other day to Murchison then to Westport via Bullia Gorge down to Greymouth. Stopped at a pub as it looked like rain. I slept between sheets for the first time in 6 weeks which was terrific. I did about 210 m in the day. It rained all day on Sunday & was very overcast never-the-less I went for a ride down the coast to Hokitika that used to have 83 pubs & a population of 10-11 thousand in the gold rush days. Now it has about 3 thousand. I rode out to Lake Kaniere and walked to Dorothy Falls - very nice - it is a Scenic Reserve with real tropical bush land. Then it was back to Greymouth, up to Rapahoe and back to Stillwater. I called in at the Arnold Hydro Station, Lady Lade, Lake Brunner, Mitchells, Kumara & then the pub at Greymouth. lt was a very rough road all the way just about shook the bike & me to bits. On Monday I pushed off about l0 am and came over to Christchurch via Lewis Pass. It was overcast & drizzly rain nearly all day. I will have to do it again on a fine day. I arrived in Christchurch about 5:30pm & found a boarding house for 4 pounds l0 shillings per week with very good food & you get bed & breakfast, no lunch & tea and lunch on Sunday. There are 5 other boys stopping here, all young and about my age. Today I had breakfast, did my well overdue washing then went looking for a job. They are not plentyful but there are a few around. I am starting 3 on Monday: No.l is Plastic Mould work in a Toolroom at 8/- per hr. but you would have to work for it I think; No.2 is as a night shift turner at 7/6 per hr. from 4:30 pm till midnight; and No.3 is a Truck driver for a coal & coke merchant but the money is not good & it’s hell of a dirty. Don’t think I’ll have that on. I have one more place to look at to-morrow then I’ll make my mind up, even so I will be getting better money than fruit picking as I had to buy my own food & cook it which was costing nearly 4 pounds per week. I like Christchurch. It is a nice little city something like Brisbane only on level ground. I have been crook in the guts for the past 2 weeks but am okay now. Must be the change of food as every little cut or scratch I got use to fester up but everything is good now. On Wednesday morning I worked on the bike doing a few odd jobs tightening a few nuts & bolts as it was getting a few rattles. I got the paper in town and had a look at some more jobs but there were not too many and no Toolmakers or Maintenance Fitters wanted. The odd truck drivers job is there but the money is not the best. I got talking to a Taxi driver & asked him where a few engineering places were. He gave me a list of about 5 or 6 so I went out to them and asked if they wanted any Toolmakers. There were quite a few shift work jobs going but I said I would let them know. I got onto this place where they make plastic mould for all electric fittings. They pay 8/- per hour which is not bad and the best I have had offered yet. Told him I would start Monday. Went for a ride around to Lyttleton after lunch saw “the sign of the Takke”. It is an old stone place built like a fort which has been turned in to tea rooms for tourists and is very nice inside. It rained all day Thursday. I did a few more jobs to the bike but it is still missing. I started to go for a ride up North but had to give it away owing to the rain. I have only seen the sun once for about an hour I since I got here. I went & had a look through the Museum. There’s nothing much else to do here as it’s been raining all the time so far & I don’t like getting the wet as I only have my suit pants. The heavy grey pair of pants I left with the others at the Olson’s. It was very cold on Friday and still drizzly rain. With the bike not going so good I thought it a good chance to pull the motor out & check it over as I have the use of a garage where I am staying. I found everything OK. It’s bloody cold. I don’t know what it’s going to be like when winter comes. By Sunday I still had not seen the sun yet and I am beginning to think that Christchurch is like Melbourne. The bike still has a slight miss at low speeds. I think I will put it in for the carburetor to be tuned as it should not cost much. I am only fumbling in the dark with this type of carburettor. I started work on Monday. The place is a real old mens’ rest home and we have no boss directly over us. You have to do everything yourself. He gave me a job for the little rubber ferule on the end of an iron where the cord comes out of to do. You are Tool Designer-Machinist & Toolmaker all in one all so have to do your own hardening & ordering of steel so no one knows what you are doing. They have the wireless going most of the day which makes you feel you are not working just playing around in a shed. There is one hour per night overtime and 4 on Saturday morning so I should be able to save quite a bit. After work I took the bike up & asked him to fix it as cheap as possible. He said it would cost about 30/- to put a new return spring for the kick starter, new points & tune the carby. After work I picked the bike up & it cost one

pound 11 shillings and sixpence which was quite reasonable I thought, as the spring would have been a real cow to put in. I have not grown a beard or moustache as it makes me look too much like a no hoper. It’s bad enough now with the dirty old clothes I have to wear on the bike. Anyway the dust would collect in it.

The old bike is going properly now. I found out what the trouble was. The 2nd earth on the condenser was not making proper contact - the only electrical connection I did not clear. It’s taken me 2 weeks to locate it. I had just about done everything I could think of. I stripped the nut on the end of the generator sprocket so got it brazed on (5/-). Then I set to do the Banks Peninsula and covered it fairly well as far as Akaroa. It’s very nice country, very hilly & the road steep & windy. There are no trees on the hill at all which looks peculiar. There are small farms with coarse bush

fences & very green grass just like lawns. The old Red Indian went extra good for a change from the past fortnights trot. Did 173 miles all told and found I cannot do much over 200 miles in one day and see everything properly as I don’t like to push the old bike too fast as it wouldn’t see the distance if I did. Sunday was a perfect day so I set out on the old bike & the chain broke in the first 100 yds. Got that fixed then went down to Slwyn on the main south road over to Windwistle out to the Power house at Lake Coleridge and back to Mt.Somers. There was snow on the top of these mountains so it will give you some idea how cold it is. It was then over to Methven, Rakaia & then straight home. The bike went perfectly all the way. I had a singlet, T-shirt, football jumper--blue polo neck jumper my khaki vest jacket & then my leather jacket, two pairs of pants & a water proof pair, 3 pairs of socks & my big boots. With all that on I was just comfortable all day. I got a bit cold around 7 o’clock on the way back & that’s no kidding so I don’t know what I’m going to do in winter time. I did 222 miles today & the old bum was starting to feel it. Total mileage to date is 2,294 m. I went to work today & at 11o’clock and they came up & told me I finished up at dinner time. Anyway it maybe happened for the best. I received 2 days holiday pay and 18 pounds 14 shillings and sixpence all up so I went home packed up my things & set off for Dunedin. I arrived at Timaru about 6 pm so I went to the Y.H.A. I am the only one in the house. There is a wireless, electric light, stove - just a fully furnished house - it’s terrific. After starting off for Dunedin I changed my mind as it was such a lovely day. I went to Mt. Cook while the weather was so good and arrived out at the Hermitage about 6 o’clock & went in to the Y.H.A. There is only one other chap in the hut. It is beautiful. I think I will stay here a few days as it only costs 2/6 per night the same as Timaru. On Wednesday I set out about 8:30 and climbed up to Mt.Endeavour 11,787 ft. I could not tackle Cook from this angle as there was l00’s of tons of ice hanging above you with an avalance due any time. Later on in the day I tried to get off over a cliff face but had to give it away as it was too risky. Ended up coming down a land slide. I talked to the Manager of the Hermitage later that night & he said it was idiotic of me to try & climb it at this time of the year. I went for a walk up the Tasman Glacier on Thursday to where I tried to get down over some cliff face to see what it looked like from the bottom. I came back to the hut & fixed the petrol pipe as it broke on the way up. Got up the next day around 7:30 am & went up to Ball Hut on the other side of Cook at its base. I can see now why they will not guide anyone up there at this time of the year with hundreds of tons of ice just hanging on & falling off all the time. I got back & had lunch & climbed Sebastapol (5,000 ft.) and came down via a landslide. There was a great crowd of young people in the hut by this time. I decided that I would leave & go down to Dunedin in the afternoon as I had seen nearly everything around. I set out & 6 miles on the Dunedin side of Oamaru I blew my lead lights out so slept out the night. After a little trouble getting the bike to go, as it rained all night, I got to Dunedin very cold & soaked about 4 o’clock. Looked around for the Y.H.A. but

could not get in touch with them so found a flat in the paper went to bed about 12 o’clock. The flat is not too bad, she does cooking, washing, ironing for you but so far the food has not been the best. It’s 4 pounds per week. As it was raining all day, I took the back wheel off the bike as I have a blowout & will have to buy a new tyre & find a job. Tuesday 31st was a lovely day with not a cloud in the sky. I started looking for a job but most of the factories were shut owing to it being Anniversary Day. I went to two places: the Railway wanted my Indenture Papers & the other was a job cracking up lead ball with a sledge hammer for a fertilizing co. It looked too much like hard work for me. I have found the only way to get a job is go into anything that looks like a factory & see what they have to offer. Any way I got myself a job at H.E. Shacklocks. It is a big foundry & engineering place which make stoves, electric, gas and wood. I start the next day as a maintenance fitter. It is the best job I have had yet, even at home. The manager came up & had a yam to me & wanted to know all about my trip. I did not know who he was at the time. I did half an hour overtime and bought a pair of overalls. The foreman saw my new overalls & said if I reminded him on Monday he would see if he could get the money back for me. After lunch on Saturday I went for a ride out to Mosgiel-Outran-Lake Minerangi over to the Waipori Falls to Lake Waihola, Clarendon & back to Dunedin. Did about 95 miles all told. I get paid on Thursday. I could not go too far as I have no money to buy any more petrol with about 6/- to last the rest of the week. I think I might work here a few weeks and then take the a long holiday & see the rest of the South Island. I might have to hurry up as the weather is getting colder and the Milford Sound Track closes in winter. The food at the boarding house is a little better now as I told her she was not giving me enough. The Milford Sound Track was 18 pounds which I was a bit dubious about paying but I went into the Auto Association the other day & found that the track closes straight after Easter owing to landslides. So I will not be able to do that walk (and am 18 pounds to the better any way). The job is good. I have made a few modifications to my luggage carrier and made some shin guards to stop the mud & keep the cold out & am in the process of making a wind shield. I had to buy some leatherette & mica today which cost 10/- but I think it will be worth it. The landlady’s washing m/c broke down a week ago & I said I would fix it if she made the wind shield. So I made a few parts for that at work & will put it together as everybody is out. It’s still fairly cold over here with drizzly rain all the week. I should get a good wage this Thursday of over 20 pounds which I reckon is not bad for over here. Have to buy that new tyre yet & then it will be straight saving for about 2-3 weeks, then off. I might as well stop at this job & get a few pounds seeing I like it so much. I bought a new back tyre for the bike which at 6 pounds 10 shilling and ninepence was very dear considering that I worked for 73 and 1/2 hrs. and got 17 pounds ten. On Saturday it was still raining quite heavily, I did not get up till late, but put the new tyre on, fitted the wind shield & went to the flicks after tea. On Sunday it cleared up a bit so I went for a trip Dunedin, Clarkeville, Alexandra & back via Palmerston. It was quite nice scenery but very cold, I just about froze. Got back at 6:15 pm. It has been very cold all the week & raining just about every day. I will be glad when I start to move north again. At the rate I am earning money & saving it, it will take a few weeks before I move again. Out at Middlemarch I became stuck with the generator chain broken & a flat battery. This happened at 11:30 am & I had to wait till about 4 o’clock for it to get recharged then pushed off back to Dunedin. The winter has just seemed to come overnight. I suppose it is owing to me moving south all the time & catching up on it. Friday, I worked all day & built a new type of springing for the seat on the bike which makes a big difference. I went to the pictures after tea. After lunch on Saturday I went out to Larnichs Castle & had a look around. It is very nice, it cost quarter of a million to build and has 32 rooms in it. All the wood work inside was hand carved by one man & took him 16 yrs to do. It’s now May and this week has been very quiet again. Monday was bitterly cold and had about 3” - 4” snow on the hill & main street here with a very cold wind blowing all day. On Friday night I went up town to do some shopping and bought a pair of pyjamas & a scarf to keep out a little of the cold as it is still freezing. After tea on Saturday I went out to a dance for a change. To-day I went to work & gave my notice in. He asked me if I could possibly stay on a little longer, but I told him I was sorry. They are fairly short of tradesmen down here as they have had an advertisement in the paper for 3-4 weeks for one now. I push off next Tuesday morning & will be able to see the rest of the South Island on what I have saved here which will be about sixty pounds. On Wednesday after tea I went and saw the “The Ten Commandments”. It was a terrific film and I really enjoyed it.

Another week at work and on Saturday I went to a dance with Mavis & Eddy who are the landlady & her husband. They are only about 25 years old & are good fun. In the afternoon I saw a football match. I hope to get away early on Tuesday for Invercargill & Stewart Island. I’m also hoping the rain keeps off for a week or so. It will be very cold so I might buy a pair of long underpants, and see how things go to start with. The bike is not going too bad now and it looks a lot different to when I came here & is a lot warmer to ride with the windshield & shin guards. Monday was my last day at work and with holiday pay and overtime I have 65 pounds for my trip. I got away at 8:30 am and had a real good run down to Belclutha. I turned off the main road about 3 miles out on to the coast road. It was very rough & muddy and I nearly came off once owing to it being so slippery. We followed the coast down to Invercargill through bush land similar to that down at Garie, NSW. It was raining by this time & had been overcast all day. I went out to “The Bluff” & found out that the boat didn’t leave until Friday for Stewart Island, so I would have had to stop over there a week. The plane was 7 pounds 18 shillings return for one so I gave the idea away & returned to Invercargill. It was still raining and I slept a very cold night in one of the horse stables out at the race course. After a freezing night I got up at 7:15 am & got under way for Queenstown at 11:30 am. I had to buy a new back chain for the bike as the other was completely gone at this stage. It was 3 pounds 15 shillings. I made my way up to Queenstown via Lumsden - the coldest day I have had on the bike yet and came through my first snowstorm. The bike looked real rugged all over snow. I fell off the bike once in some loose gravel but only took a bit of skin off my shin. I wasn’t going fast enough to do any damage. About 25 miles from Queenstown there was a bloody awful bit of road for 2 miles. I got in a gutter a big bus had made and had to stay in it all the way. It was about 18” deep with mud & slush. At Queenstown I got into a camping ground with a little cabin for l0/- per day. It has boiling hot showers, bed mattress & pillow with a fuel stove - very nice, & clean. I had tea down the street after which, while walking home, I saw some big trout in a little stream. I came home & made myself a barbed hook out of a piece of fencing wire & went down when it was dark looking for them with a torch. They watch the torch light & can’t see you. I got a beauty about two and a half to three lbs weight and came back & cleaned it ready for breakfast. I found out later that it is illegal to fish by that method also it is spawning time-anyway. It is the first fish of any size I have ever I caught. I got up at 8.15 am and cooked the trout. It was nice but had a lot of bones. I missed the turn to Skippers and ended up in Arrowtown. I came back & up to Skippers. I got about 4 miles up & it got too slippery in the snow for the back wheel to grip so I walked over to the ski tow instead which is l mile long. I came back to Queenstown & out around the Lake for 3 - 4 miles. The next day I took a boat cruise up Lake Wakatipu for the day. The boat left at 8:45 am and although a little cloudy in the morning it cleared up when we reached the head of the lake. I took a bus trip from there for 16 m for l0/- up to Lockburn. It was well worth the money. The boat trip cost 17/6 for the day. It is the only way of getting there and the road is only 16 m long. It was the coldest day I have ever experienced. The bike broke down and I became stuck at Kaikoura Pub. On Sunday I’d ridden up to the Coronet Peak skiing ground and set out for Haast Pass on Monday after

learning that Skippers was closed due to snow. I had a good run up to Wanaka then around the lakes to Makarora. At the junction of the rivers it was too deep to cross. I came off the bike 3 times during the day. Twice while crossing a creek and once when a deer ran in front of me knocking my front wheel. I was doing around 40 mph and hurt my back. I ended up sleeping the night on the ground at the neck between two lakes. I got going at 7:30 am. as it was too cold to stop in bed. I rode over the Lindis Pass which was very cold all covered with ice & snow. There was at least l ft. of ice on the road at the top. I got to Omarama at 12 noon & had lunch at the pub. Carried on from there to Omaru, Timaru then to Christchurch. I booked in to a pub as it was raining. This was the biggest jump yet of 309 miles which is my record for one day. The bike went extra good all the way recording 63m.p.g. I left Christchurch at 12 noon and went up over Porters Pass which was too steep for the bike as it was losing compression in No. 2 cylinder due to a blown head gasket. Some chap in a Consul gave me a tow to the top. Came over Arthurs Pass which is a very rough & dangerous road. For the second pull 2 chaps gave me a push to the top & the third time it was dark so I unloaded everything, lugged it to the top & came back & brought the bike up. This took me the best part of two hrs. & I was buggered. I lost count of the number of times I came off today but the last time I got my leg caught under the bike & was trapped. I had to get 2 fellows to lift it off me. It cut my leg a bit but nothing bad. I slept the night in the rain 10 miles west of Hokitiki. On Thursday I got away early owing to not a very comfortable sleep. I went down and saw the both glaciers. I was not very impressed by them as maybe I was expecting too much but they were in a very nice scenic bush reserve. I had started to come back to Hokitiki when the bike packed up all together so I slept beside it. It started to pour rain at 9 o’clock & continued all night. Spending the night in 3” of water did not help my back any which is still bad. Everything was soaking wet by morning including me and it was still blowing a gale & raining cats & dogs. I started off by coasting down the hill to a little shed & pulled the heads off the bike where I found No. 2 head gasket wrecked so I hiked into Hari Hari and waited for a chap to bring an old one he had in from 12 miles out. I stayed the night at the Hotel for a change. I was forced to anyway as my things were still wet. Saturday was a lovely morning although very cold with a heavy frost on the ground and all the puddles from the rain frozen over. I can stand on them as they are quite solid. I went down to the garage & waited around till 12:10 pm for the gasket. I hiked back to the bike & got it going at 3:30 pm. & away from Hari Hari at 4:30 p.m. I went straight up to Greymouth booked into a pub & went to the flicks. It was hailing when I left Greymouth but soon turned into quite heavy rain which continued all the way till I got up to the snow line at the Lewis Pass then I was driving in a light snow storm - very cold at this stage. I went to have a leak but it froze up so I had to break it of & start again, it was that cold!!!. I ran out of the snow hail & rain about 3:30 p.m. and was very glad as it was making my eyes very sore. I rode down to Culverden and Waipara then on my way to to Kaikoura. Thirteen miles out of Kaikoura I blew the same head gasket in the weak spot. I thought I might have got to Wellington on it. I had had a gut full of it at this stage so I grabbed my toilet bag & hiked into Kaikoura. My sleeping bag & tent were both still soaked. Picton was 98 miles away and I hoped to catch the boat on Tuesday morning if I could find a new gasket. I will have done 5,056 m in the South Island which is not bad going but it is taking me longer than expected. I shouldn’t be as long in the North as there is not as much to see, I don’t think. After blowing the head gasket I waited around Kikoura till l2:0 pm. when the Blenheim bus arrived with my new head gasket on board. I hitch hiked back to the bike & fixed it then rode straight through to Blenheim as I wanted to catch the

inter-island ship the next morning I am still forced to sleep in hotels owing to my sleeping bag & tent still soaking. It was a perfect day to-day with hardly a cloud in the sky. It was cold & overcast when I arrived in Picton at 11o’clock & booked myself & the bike on the ship which sails at 2:15 pm The fare was 3 pounds 15 shillings and sixpence for both bike & myself. It was blowing a fair gale out in the straight but luckily I did not get sick and slept nearly all the way across as it was raining quite heavy. I arrived at Wellington at 6:15 pm by the time I got the bike unloaded it was 7 o’clock so had to stay the night in a pub again I don’t like doing it as it runs away with my money too fast at one pound ten for bed & breakfast. I got going after breakfast & had a real good run up to Levin and the Olsen’s place. I spent most of the morning pottering around on the bike as there were a few little jobs I had to do on it. After lunch I went for a ride around the district with nothing much to see as it is all dairy farming country. It was a very wild night, very windy & rained most of the night. On Friday I wanted to get on my way went up to Palmerston North then over to Hasting & Napier. Twenty three miles out of Wiaroa I had a puncture so took the wheel off with it & my pack. I hitch-hiked into Wiurau and slept the night in the church yard there as I got my sleeping bag dried at the Olson’s. I picked up the wheel on Saturday morning at 7:30 am & hitch-hiked back to the bike to put the wheel back. I followed the coast around to Hicks Bay where I stopped the night in the Y.H.A. 2/ 6 for the bed & 2/6 for breakfast was well worth it as it teamed rain all night. Off again on Sunday morning still following the coast I came right around to Taranaga. It was a beautiful trip right on the coast line all the way. I slept the night in a bus shed as there was a very heavy dew falling & that meant a keen frost in the morning. The weather has been very nice during the day but cold at nights. There was a very heavy frost on Monday morning & I was freezing on the bike up until 10 o’clock when I ran out of the thick fog. I did not see much of the country side owing to it. I arrived at Auckland at 11 am just in time to see the procession for the opening of the new harbour bridge. It is a very attractive city much bigger than any others in N.Z. and from what I have seen so far, clean & well laid out. I got board in a private house - single room with everything done for 3 pounds 15 shillings. All I have to do now is find a job. The climate is much warmer up here more like home. It was a perfect day when I went out looking for a job first thing in the morning and was fairly fortunate as the first one I looked gave me a start the next morning. It is very similar to T.E.I. doing toolmaking for 7/3 per hr. there is 1 hr. overtime per day & may be 3 on Saturday mornings. In the afternoon I went for a drive around the city & up to the Museum. I went to work at my new job. It is a very clean shop and they supply dust coats, towels & soap. All you do is walk in & work. They even wash your coats. The one big snap is it’s about 7 miles away costing 2/6 per day return in the bus and taking about 25 minutes. I don’t ride the bike as it doesn’t or I can’t handle it too well in traffic. They make pistons of all sizes for all makes of cars from start to finish and also rings & liners. They are amalgamated with Repco. My back is still bad so I might go to the Dr. if it doesn’t get better in the next week. I don’t think I will be over here much longer & I will be glad to get back home & have a rest for a while as you get sick of living out of a suit case. I had a nice trip last week end set out at 8 o’clock for the weekend but it took me just on three and a half hours to get the old thing going which I did at long last. I headed North, up to Waiwera following the main road all the way up to Awanii over to Kiataia (Kitia). The land is all farming & gets a little boring after a while. The road was tar sealed until Kaeo (Kao) then gravel. The bike went really well after the trouble getting it started. I got an early start on after sleeping the night in a bus shed 10 miles from Kiataia. It rained very heavily most of the night but I kept quite dry. I must have been first through the Mangomoka Gorge as I frightened quite a few Pheasants. I came down to Kaihohe started to go back via Daryville but got a flat. By the time I had it fixed it was too late to carry on that way as it was gravel road all the way & this would slow me down a lot. I had threepence halfpenny left by the time I got back. I ran out of petrol 23 miles out & had to get a gallon on as well as pay the bridge toll of l/3. I have just written a letter to both of them with the money in it. I have to be real tight with myself, no luxuries at all. I’m not used to it. Be glad to get home & settle down. I sharn’t be over here that more many weeks now as I only have Rotarua & Egmont & surrounding area to do. 6,499 is the total mileage to date. I don’t think it will take me long as it is very much the same country all the time. I’ll see how much I can save & get for the bike when I am ready. The plane ticket back is 35 quid tourist. (John Sinclair’s letters end here.)

John arrived back in Australia in December 1959

The following article is reprinted from the Christmas 2004 issue of The HUB with permission of the authors (of course!)

Motorcycling - Memoirs of Judy’s Old Bikie, by Bob Baldwin My affair with motorbikes started in 1966 when a schooImate’s brother gave him his 250cc BMW R26. That was a great bike, I thought that it was fantastic and I have loved BMWs ever since. So, I started looking for a bike of my own. I couIdn’t afford a BM on pocket money, so I started to jig school with my now brother-in-law and catch the train out to

Moorebank Army Depot for the army surplus auctions, inspecting the rows of worn-out khaki 750cc side valve WLA Harleys. I can’t remember how much they went for, but I think you could get one of the poorer examples for around $25 (possibly it was £25/-/--). Anyway, I decided WLAs weren’t for me and used my pocket money to purchase an unregistered Francis Barnett Cruiser, with a unit construction 2 stroke 225cc Villiers engine. It was a really reliable bike, it never broke down, unlike the others on their BSA C11s. You could also rely on it for hopeless handling, brakes, lights and performance. However, it got me wherever I wanted to go. I

used it as my primary transport for many years, mainly for commuting and getting to the Sunday opening pubs (remember the bona-fide traveler rule, you had to have at least 20 miles to drive home before you could get a drink, this ensured you were sober by the time you got to church) as well as a few trips, plus the Putty Road a couple of times. The Villiers motor was still going strong when the frame cracked. A trip to a bike shop got me a BSA Bantam frame, with wheels, guards and a tank. A bit of welding got the motor in and I was back on the road. The rigid frame Bantam handled better than the Franny B, but over all it was a pretty terrible bike. I think the only reason I survived was that it didn’t go very fast. Luckily I didn’t need to keep that for too long, as that brother-in-law-to-be had swapped some motorbike bits for a partly disassembled 1959 R60 BMW and he needed some cash. $250 was handed over and I was busy reassembling it. All

Parts were wrecking one of the same model, so I was able to get the missing bits without paying Tom’s prices. That bike was originally ex-police (one of two for evaluation) but it had had a very hard life since and was in poor shape. A few repairs, adjustments, some bog and paint had it reasonable. It was a reliable bike, it wasn’t fast but it sure could cover some miles in comfort. I used it mainly for commuting, but now I could also reach Sunday openers that were further away. Plus places like Bathurst for the Easter bike races and the Snowy for some trout fishing and camping. I did tens of thousands of miles on that bike before a car didn’t see me and wiped it and me out. I had it straightened, but it was never the same.

I was still using the repaired R60 when another mate, told me he had a mate who needed cash. Now he had a bike I had always loved, a 25Occ Bultaco Metralla. What a bike, it was powerful, fast, handled unbelievably and the brakes were fantastic! I could do wheelies and stoppies, before there was a name for stoppies. It had a very narrow power band and the wheelies were always unexpected, the stoppies even more so. Both were scary, I think that was the reason the seat had a brown suede leather stripe down the middle - at least l think the brown stripe was suede leather. The Bultaco was great, it didn’t come with the optional easy starting, rider comfort or

lights that lit the way, but it sure was fun. Even with the crappy 2 stroke exhaust note. It also didn’t have the optional ignition key, just a kill switch. Someone else must have known this, as one afternoon I parked it outside home and it was never seen again. Not to worry another mate was buying a Ducati and he had a 250cc Yamaha YDS2 to get rid of. That bike went ok, stopped ok, handled ok, and apart from the spark plugs dying every 1000 miles, which meant finding a Sunday opening mechanic with a sand blaster after going to the Sunday opening pub and blowing smoke for the first 20 miles of a trip, it was okay. I was never happy with that bike, it had no character. lt was a bike for riding to work and not bothering to take out on Sunday.

So one day in 1977 l walked into Tom Byrnes and asked Sid what he had in the way of late model second-hand BMs. He showed me a couple of hard doers, (I think one had been in the Castrol 6 hour), but a couple of days later he rang me with an offer l couldn’t refuse. A 1976 BMW R75/6 with only 9600 k on the clock, just imported from Britain. He would sell it to me for cost plus, $2850, (I only recently found out the new price in 1976 was $2850 - bugger Tom got me again with that “plus” businessl). But it came with a screen, Krauser bars, panniers, tank cover and some other extras. Anyway you know all this, 27 years later it’s still the bike that gets Jude and me to

Pirates on Saturday morning, we’re old mates now! It has even forgiven me for the time it spend unregistered in the garage when the babies and the company car arrived in the mid 80’s.

Motorcycling - Memoirs of an Old Bikie Moll,

By Judy Baldwin A passion for motorcycling runs in my family. My father had a motorcycle shop in Victoria when he was a young fella – selling mostly Matchless and Ariel. My brother inherited his love of motorcycles and bought an ex army khaki Harley 1942 WLA, when he was still at school. He then collected some vintage bikes and a BMW which introduced me to the majesty of the mighty Beamers! My brother sometimes pillioned me on his BMW R90S, which was new and as neat as a pin. He gave me my 1st. riding lesson about 28 years ago. This was when I did my first (and hopefully last) ‘mono’. I had no idea how I had accomplished this amazing feat. My brother and Bob were schoolmates and bike mates, so that’s how we met. After we started going out together, we went everywhere on the R75/6 (the BMW that we still have). At

the time, the R75 was the envy of all those who cast their eyes upon her (still is, for that matter!!! Eat your hearts out, peasantsl). Around 1978 I bought a canary yellow Honda CJ250T (with a kick-starter). It was a nice little machine. Mum, however, hated bikes, so for a long time, I didn’t tell her that I had it. I sold my bike when we had children. While our 3 children were growing up, my travelling as a pillion passenger was curtailed. My brother used to rope Bob & I into odd jobs at the Annandale-Leichhardt Motorcycle Club Race Days, such as being flag marshals at a club 5-ways 4 days after we were married. Naturally, we were I given the worst corner on the track at Oran Park and, of course, several riders came off there. Bummer of a job! Also, I did some lap scoring on other occasions (also a crappy job). I love vintage bikes, my favourites being Velocettes and Vincents. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, we used to go to the classic bike races, which were held at Amaroo Park, on the Australia Day weekend. They were great fun and it was great to watch those beautiful old machines racing. Usually, there was a good display of vintage bikes and a swap meet. We have been to some of the classic races at Eastern Creek recently, however, the number and variety of vintage bikes have decreased markedly. We have also been interested in the motorcycle races for many years and we watched the Swann Series and the GPs regularly (back in the days when SBS used to broadcast the GP, before Wayne Gardner was racing in the GP). My brother was involved with the ACU (Auto Cycle Union) for many years and worked in various capacities at GPs (from scrutineering to deputy clerk of the course). I met Wayne Gardner in 1994 at the GP at Eastern Creek, when he joined my brother and I for coffee while we were having lunch in the suites above the Pits. Wayne was an absolute gentleman. After Bob joined the Hills Ulysses Branch in 2001, we joined up with a small group who went to Pirate Pete’s on Saturday mornings. It’s just amazing how this has grown into a mega gathering.

This has become an addiction for me -I love the great company, checking out the bikes and indulging in the yummy Saturday breakfasts. We go on rides with the club whenever we can. Although we had a lot of fun in our younger years on the bike, I really enjoy the club rides because of the great company of you mad buggers. The most memorable ride for me was in March 2003, when the rear tyre picked up a nail on Wiseman’s Ferry Rd, which punctured the inner

tube in 5 places. Consequently, we ended up kissing the road. Bob scored a sprained wrist and I broke my ankle and fibula, so was in a cast and on crutches for 6 weeks. For this wonderful feat, we were presented with the ‘Flat as a Tack’ award at the Christmas Party. The other folks on that ride were fabulous. They scraped us up off the road, got us and the bike home - I will always be grateful for their kindness and help.

Our 21 year old daughter, Heather, rides a Honda CB250 and wanted to go to the GP this year, so she and I jumped on a plane, hired a car and went to Phillip Island. We had a ‘fuIIy sik’, chicks-only, long weekend. The races were very exciting and we had a great view from the aptly named Siberia Grandstand. Enough of the ranting of an old bikie mol!! See you at the Pirate’s, on a ride or at the meeting! Take care- there are a lot of loonies out there!!!

The Wrecking Crew Peter Hedges and I rode down to Five Dock one Saturday afternoon to look at the re-incarnated Indian

Motorcycles. The traffic between Round Corner and Five Dock was horrendous and we covered many

kilometres in back streets trying to avoid sitting in bumper to bumper queues with fast overheating air

cooled motorcycles. Air-cooled engines don’t like static situations on hot days and I worried that my motor

might just stop and strand me. Eventually we arrived and the US born salesman was introduced to me by

Peter. He was interested in my Carberry and went over for a look.

As he walked back I noticed on his T Shirt ‘Wrecking Crew –

INDIAN Motorcycles’. Instantly intrigued I asked, “Surely, the

Wrecking Crew are famous for riding Harley Davidson

motorcycles?”

He immediately replied, “No, they rode Indian motorcycles.”

Faced with such an assured answer I withdrew although still

feeling certain that I was correct. One of my personal strengths is

a good memory for trivia no matter how useless or

inconsequential it may be. In fact, the more useless it is, the more

likely I am to store it away.

Google later provided me with answers. We were both right. The

original Wrecking Crew were a group of Harley Davidson riders

(although at various times some of them rode Indians) who were

so dominant post World War I and through the 1920s that they

‘wrecked’ the racing aspirations of all the others.

Incidently, the mascot of the Wrecking Crew was a small

pig and it is said that the nickname for Harley Davidson

motorcycles “hog” came from that. Now, rather cleverly

the term HOG refers to the Harley Owners Group.

In the late 1940s and early 1950s a group of Indian riders

led by and riding motorcycles tuned by Bill Tuman so

dominated racing in the USA that they became known as

the Indian Wrecking Crew. This was the swansong of the

Indian Motorcycle company which was dying fast. The

company folded in 1953. So, being pedantic, ‘The Wrecking

Crew’ was a group of Harley riders who dominated racing

in the 1920s and the more correctly named ‘Indian

Wrecking Crew’ comprised Bill Tuman, Ernie Beckman and

Bobby Hill.

Bill Tuman (Left) was the owner, mechanic, tuner, sponsor

and rider of the 44.72 cubic inch (750 ccs) of the Indian

Sport Scout. Tuman was the last winner of the AMA One Day National Championships in September 1953

and somewhat spoiled the celebrations at Juneau Avenue Harley Davidson Headquarters boardroom where

executives over coffee and cigars were enjoying the news of the demise or bankrupt collapse of their main

rival over the last 50 years - the Indian Motorcycle Company (Hendree Manufacturing). This was despite the

introduction in 1952 of the Harley Davidson K Model racing machine.

Tuman who could fix just about anything took a job as a Indian motorcycle mechanic after his war time job

finished in late 1945. He built a race bike for his boss Hap Jones which won a 100 mile race thus beginning

Tuman’s career in motorcycles. He returned to his home in Illinois and bought a war surplus Indian and over

the winter built it into a race bike for himself. He was so successful in racing that he went from amateur

status to the top expert classification in his first year. This attracted dealer sponsorship and other support.

He started a business modifying Indian engines

for others and his engines were in great

demand. A major modification he made was to

improve the engine’s balance allowing it to rev

more freely. Most US engine makers, car and

motorcycle, seem to have paid little attention to

static and dynamic balancing. In his second year

of racing, 1947, out of 46 starts, Bill had 41

firsts, 2 seconds and 3 thirds - a phenomenal

result. Bill preferred to race close to home in

Illinois rather than in the nationals and in 1948

and 1949 racked up 192 victories, 72 seconds

and 21 thirds. He entered the Nationals in 1950

and was voted AMA Most Popular Rider, a

much coveted award.

At that time Bill on his Indian was racing against

Harley Davidson as well as British BSAs,

Triumphs, Nortons, Velocettes and Matchless

bikes. Success in the Springfield Mile which

involved a series of eliminations heats eluded

Bill until 1953 when he finally pulled it off. Bill

also raced BSAs, Triumphs and Nortons. He

retired in 1955 and became a BSA Factory rep

and later opened his own dealership selling

Hondas.

There are two other things called ‘The

Wrecking Crew’. One is a movie starring Dean

Martin as Matt Helm, Private Investigator, and

the other is a pop band who provided backing for a lot of US vocalists and musicians as well as making some

albums. They are quite famous in the USA.

Bruce Walker.

TORQUE Bruce Walker

Those of you who listen to the conversations going on around the forecourt of Barts on Saturday mornings

may have heard some discussions about motorcycle engine torque. “That bike is really torquey!” “No it’s

not, if you have to rev it out to 8000rpm it isn’t torquey.”

Torque, moment or moment of force, is the tendency of a force to rotate an object about an axis, fulcrum, or

pivot. Just as a force is a push or a pull, a torque can be thought of as a twist to an object. Mathematically,

torque is defined as the cross product of the lever-arm distance and force, which tends to produce rotation.

Loosely speaking, torque is a measure of the turning force on an object such as a bolt or a flywheel. For

example, pushing or pulling the handle of a wrench connected to a nut or bolt produces a torque (turning

force) that loosens or tightens the nut or bolt.

The symbol for torque is typically τ, the Greek letter tau.

The torque of an engine can be graphed over a range of engine speeds and it can be seen at what

revolutions maximum torque is developed.

The arguments around Bart’s are really about at what revolutions maximum torque is developed. Most

engines develop their maximum torque between 1000 and 10,000 rpm. Diesel engines tend to develop

theirs at the lower end of the range and modern motorcycle engines at the higher end of the range. Long

stroke engines develop their torque at lower engine revs than short stroke engines. Lower engines speeds

also means less fuel being used.

Steam engines and compound electric

motors have maximum torque from

almost zero revolutions so it is no

surprise that these are the engines are

commonly found in trains where

getting hundreds of tons moving is

critical. The steam traction engine

(left) is an example of a motorised

vehicle with massive torque. The high

torque of diesel engines makes them

useful in trucks where their capacity to

pull a heavy load makes them highly

suitable. Generally motorcycles don’t

propel heavy loads so they can have light flywheels, short strokes and reduction gearing to give them the

torque to do the job. Because of the light flywheels, and shorter strokes the engines can spin a lot faster and

consequently the motorcycle can be propelled to what are now outrageous speeds. So these days there are

few motorcycles which have relatively high torque at low engine speeds. Prior to 1940 motorcycles often

had sidecars to pull and needed high torque. The big Panther made until around 1967 was typical of this type

and was extremely frugal with fuel consumption considering its 650ccs and one and a quarter inch

carburettor. These days only Harley Davidson, possibly the new Indians, and of course Royal Enfield, make

motorcycles which have their maximum torque developed below 4000 rpm. Typically H-D don’t advertise

the horsepower of their engines because it doesn’t tell the whole story. “Why would I buy one of those

when my Suzuki XYZ develops twice the horsepower!!” The H-D rumbles along at 160 kph with its engine

turning over at 3900 rpm and despite being one and a half times the engine size of the Suzuki is most likely

using less fuel than the the Suzuki running at a frantic seven or eight thousand rpm.

Some sad people are drawn to H-D because of the image and the sales pitch and there are a lot of them, but

I’d like to believe that the true H-D cognoscenti love the feeling of riding a motorcycle with bundles of low

revolution torque. Less stress on the engine and less stress on the rider.

To get an idea of how torquey your motorcycle is*, set off, change up through the gears to say 4th

or 5th

gear

then allow the revolutions on the tachometer to drop to 1500. What sounds is your engine making? What

happens when you open the throttle? Try taking off from lights in 3rd

gear. Do that a few times and you may

get to understand what motorcycle engine torque is all about.

*You probably already know. If it’s a European or Japanese sports bike you will be aware that maximum

torque will be at about 8000 rpm. You’ll also know that being in the wrong gear will cause you to stall at

importune times.

For the technically minded:

Power (in Watts) = Torque (in Newton Metres) X rotational speed (rpm) X 2Pi (approx. 6.294)

Power (in horsepower) = Torque (in foot pounds) X rotational speed (rpm) divided by 5252

If torque is in newton metres and rotational speed in revolutions per second, the above equation gives power in newton

metres per second or watts. One horsepower is by definition 746 watts. If Imperial units are used, and if torque is in

pounds-force feet and rotational speed in revolutions per minute, the above equation gives power in foot pounds-force

per minute. The horsepower form of the equation is then derived by applying the conversion factor 33,000 ft·lbf/min per

horsepower as simplified in the second formula above.

BIANCHI Bianchi Edoardo Bianchi built his first motorised bicycle in 1897 and his first car in 1900. He was one of the great

pioneers of Italian motorcycles. Italy is still one of the most influential motorcycle building countries with

innovative engineering and technical brilliance shining through despite small budgets as compared with the

Japanese tidal wave since 1960. Bianchi made its last motorcycle on its 70th

birthday in 1967.

1937 348cc

By 1903 Bianchi had motorcycle engines in what

has become the conventional place, centralised

between the wheels and in 1905 was using

leading link forks. The 498cc single of 1910 was

very successful. A V twin of 650ccs came in 1916,

enlarged to 741ccs in 1920 and a smaller 598cc

version in 1921. An all chain drive 498cc single

came the same year. Other bikes followed, but

lasting fame came from the racing bikes as it did

for AJS, Norton, Velocette, Sunbeam and others in the UK. In 1925 a 348cc OHV model was introduced

accompanied by a double overhead camshaft factory racing version, ridden by Nuvolari and other famous

riders of that era. Until 1931 these 348cc bikes were the most successful in Italy and possibly the fastest in

the world. It’s a pity they never competed against the all-conquering 350cc Velocettes in 1928/9. In the

1930s Bianchi built very successful 498cc single

overhead camshaft racers ridden by Alberto

Ascari and others. A 498cc double OHC four

cylinder supercharged racer was built in the late

1930s but never developed. That was left to

Gilera’s Rondine engine and the later MV Agusta

which dominated 500 cc racing in the 1950s,

’60s and ‘70s in the hands of Duke, Hailwood

and Agostini. (It’s interesting that both Nuvolari

and Ascari became world champion racing car

drivers after giving up their motorcycle racing

careers.)

Postwar Bianchi built 123cc and 248cc single OHC racers and towards the end of the 1950s, 248cc and 348cc

twin cylinder double OHC bikes. Production bikes were 49cc, 75cc, 122cc and 173cc two strokes singles and a

125cc four stroke and a 173cc four stroke with a SOHC chain driven camshaft. It was indeed a sad day when

the factory stopped making motorcycles. The company still exists today making bicycles.

These photos provided by Patrice

Bell

The Ulysses Story

By Stephen Dearnley Being a huge fan of the Ulysses movement and all that entails, I decided I’d better read Dearnley’s account of the formation of our Club. The book is fairly concise and moves along more or less chronologically up to 2003. The late Stephen Dearnley revised and updated his work originally written in 2000, and a final chapter by John Miller, former Editor of Riding On, brings the history in the current edition up to 2011. I wouldn’t describe the book as a real page turner in the sense of a Clive Cussler or Tom Clancy novel but it is mercifully short and quite readable and interesting to those interested in the subject. A Club as important as the Ulysses Club needs to have a recorded history. I probably enjoyed the last chapter about his epic ride around Australia on a Silver Wing Honda on the eve of his 80th birthday as the most

entertaining part of the book. Dearnley is almost relentlessly positive about everything and everyone he encountered making me think he has a little of the Pollyanna about him, but the success of the organisation that he and others founded, I think, never ceased to amaze and please him leaving him with a permanent grin. When you think about it, old people faced with the reduced future ahead of them could be bitter and resentful that they have little time left but instead are given the opportunity to get out there and live every minute of the future. This is the essence of the Ulysses movement and the idea that you need to take a positive approach and get out there living life and, if you feel like it, growing old disgracefully. The choice of name for the Club is more than interesting. Ulysses or Odysseus in Greek was the fabled Homeric hero, King of Ithaca, father of Telemachus (another name used in our Club) defeater of Troy, great warrior, and contemporary of Ajax and Achilles. His characteristics were intelligence, experience and endurance. Odysseus apparently means giver of pain and later writers were fairly evenly divided between describing Ulysses as cruel, insensitive, deceptive and of low cunning versus heroic in his endeavours. The poet Tennyson chose to romanticize Ulysses and it is from Tennyson’s epic poem that Stephen Dearnley quotes “How dull it is to pause, To make an end, To rust unburnished, not to shine in use,....Death closes all, but something ere the end, Some work of noble note, may yet be done,”. It is about a time when life is settled, the children grown and age starts to weary folk and like Ulysses and his warriors, they had the urge to go adventuring again, once more before it was too late. Dearnley attributes the naming suggestion and motto to Rob Hall of Albion Park made in a letter to Peter Thoeming who was responsible for the Old Man logo which our Members wear so proudly. Proceeds from the sale of this book go to the Ulysses Club Arthritis Research Fund. Review by Bruce Walker

2013 Hills Ulysses Christmas Party

Photography by John Gawthorne

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