melbourne to yea via st andrews and kinglake, then to heathcote via puckapunyal, then home via kilmore. a cold morning—1 to 3 deg C in some places early in the day—but warming to mid-20s by day's end. lightly trafficked and enjoyable riding roads through to heathcote, a bit on the boring side on the return home.
the vfr files
Saturday 13 April 2019
Friday 22 February 2019
Thursday 18 October 2018
Saturday 17 March 2018
Sunday 22 October 2017
gp 2017
a wet morning, but the showers and clouds cleared for most races in the afternoon. joan mir won the rain-shortened moto3 race (the photo shows the field rounding siberia—turn 6—on its sighting lap), but it could have been any one of 6–8 riders in the leading bunch; miguel oliveira won moto2; and marc marquez took the motogp laurels after an exciting battle, initially with seven others then in the final laps with rossi, viñales and zarco.
Friday 22 September 2017
Sunday 30 October 2016
Wednesday 23 December 2015
Sunday 6 December 2015
Tuesday 10 November 2015
Thursday 30 April 2015
Monday 30 March 2015
charged
a clear, mild autumn's morning—perfect for a ride into the hills. the bike starts, but only just—the battery is obviously on its last legs. it's completely dead when I thumb the starter after a fuel stop, so it's a bump start and a return home. the battery is five years old so has given good service. replacement bought and fitted today.
Sunday 22 February 2015
oil change
an oil and filter change after eight months in storage. the shiny collar on the filter is a filtermag.
Sunday 5 October 2014
Sunday 16 March 2014
van dieman's land
10 days. 1,500 kms. 1–10 march.
cradle mountain—a recce for a future longer visit. corinna—for the arcadia trip down the pieman. macquarie heads—for its remote and wild beauty. derwent bridge—for the astonishing wall in the wilderness. bruny island—for the cheese (c2, 1792). hobart—for the extra-ordinary mona and reconnecting with a long-time friend, anthony. evandale—for the glover exhibition. magic.
some photos here.
cradle mountain—a recce for a future longer visit. corinna—for the arcadia trip down the pieman. macquarie heads—for its remote and wild beauty. derwent bridge—for the astonishing wall in the wilderness. bruny island—for the cheese (c2, 1792). hobart—for the extra-ordinary mona and reconnecting with a long-time friend, anthony. evandale—for the glover exhibition. magic.
some photos here.
Sunday 23 February 2014
50va8
woods point dust cleaned off with a kerosene-soaked rag, and chain re-lubed with ipone spray. all good for tasmania.
Wednesday 19 February 2014
Monday 17 February 2014
woods point
2 days. 500 km. 6 bikes.
great company. good food. stunning landscapes.
the riding was pretty good, too, with some challenges on the badly corrugated unsealed roads 40 km either side of the town.
great company. good food. stunning landscapes.
the riding was pretty good, too, with some challenges on the badly corrugated unsealed roads 40 km either side of the town.
Sunday 5 January 2014
the loop
100 km through healesville, toolangi, kinglake (and a stop for a coffee) then back home via hurstbridge in time for lunch. mild, clear skies, northerly breeze — almost perfect riding weather.
Saturday 14 December 2013
mountain ash
an afternoon ride up the flanks of mt donna buang from healesville — 25 km or so, unsealed for the last 7–8 km before the summit road — then down to warburton, a stop in the sun at the bakery for a tea and sausage roll, and the unexpected pleasure of a chance conversation with a k1200r rider, then home along the road by the yarra.
Sunday 8 December 2013
mv sorrento
Tuesday 29 October 2013
kriega
hook-strap web loops fitted to the subframe. final adjustments to be done when the us-30 is packed, and gaffer-tape will go onto the bodywork under the webbing to prevent rubbing.
Sunday 20 October 2013
Friday 4 October 2013
retrospective
finally reading zamm — ‘an american cultural icon in literature’ — almost 40 years after it was first published. that’s not meant to imply i’ve never attempted it. i had a copy in the late 70s (not a first edition), but in the callowness of youth i found it incomprehensible and didn't get past the early chapters. this time around, i'm making headway.
Saturday 31 August 2013
primavera
a still, clear day for a ride to corner inlet. officially, spring starts tomorrow, but the vernal equinox isn't until september 23.
Sunday 26 May 2013
Sunday 28 April 2013
fuel miser
over 16 months, best fuel consumption 4.7 l/100km (60.4 mpg) on long open-road rides; worst 7.2 l/100km (39.0 mpg) on commutes, short urban trips and other city riding; overall average 5.9 l/100km (48.6 mpg).
Saturday 27 April 2013
indian summer
a warm day out on reefton spur and the eildon–jamieson road. corner after marvelous corner of mostly dry and clean blacktop (except for a short newly resurfaced section not far out of eildon — loose gravel on the corners slowed the pace and made for some squirrelly handling).
Monday 1 April 2013
Friday 29 March 2013
Sunday 3 March 2013
san remo
a fine saturday afternoon. and a fine afternoon for a run down to phillip island, then back home along the winding ridge-line road between wonthaggi and loch.
Friday 1 March 2013
Sunday 20 January 2013
39.6 °C | 103.3 °F = AUD 4,756.17
november 29, 2012. highest melbourne spring temperature on record. the centre-stand legs sink into footpath asphalt softened by the afternoon heat and the bike topples over on its right side as one leg sinks more than the other. mostly superficial damage to the bodywork, a small paint scrape on the lower edge of the tank (from where the fairing pressed against it), a scuffed engine cover and rear grab rail, some bent ancilliaries (brake lever, foot peg and brake pedal), a broken rear-view mirror and a bent fairing stay. (some photos here.) and the cost of fixing it all? $4,756.17 — parts $3,304.17, labour $1,452.00. an unpleasant introduction to honda parts prices (thankful, though, for having good swann insurance cover).
Sunday 14 October 2012
marathon sunday
st kilda's roads are closed (the marathon course wends its way through the suburb), so mordialloc pier is the fallback for some time in the sun.
Sunday 22 July 2012
elements
thick fog, wet roads and misted visor make for slow going through the otways from forrest, but wonder is revealed as conditions clear on the southern ocean side of the ranges.
Tuesday 26 June 2012
parking
melbourne's footpaths are fair game (read legal) for motorcycle parking. a small privilege! and sometimes there are special, dedicated spaces reclaimed from roadside reservations.
Sunday 17 June 2012
progress
a power-to-weight comparison between the vfr and my old 70s bikes is instructive, as it is with the performance standard of the early years of that decade — the z1.
Saturday 16 June 2012
duck puttering
1. occupy oneself in a desultory but pleasant manner ...
2. move or go in a casual, unhurried way: "the duck putters on the surface of the pond".
work and weather have got in the way of riding in recent weeks. a break in both and i take the opportunity to while away some pleasurable hours in the anaemic winter sun discovering quiet backroads and dead ends around docklands and along the yarra's edge.
2. move or go in a casual, unhurried way: "the duck putters on the surface of the pond".
work and weather have got in the way of riding in recent weeks. a break in both and i take the opportunity to while away some pleasurable hours in the anaemic winter sun discovering quiet backroads and dead ends around docklands and along the yarra's edge.
Sunday 20 May 2012
Thursday 17 May 2012
commute
grid lock on hoddle street and punt road. no fun. and the low-fuel indicator flashes the entire stop-start trip towards the monash freeway. otherwise, it's good being on the bike in the freshening air of a late-autumn evening.
shell charges $1.70 a litre for 18 litres of 98 octane fuel (i guess there were still around 4 litres in the tank). i've done 3,000 km since buying the bike in late december — average fuel consumption 5.8 L/100 km (49.4 mpg).
Saturday 5 May 2012
sorrento
a cold, wet and grey ride down the mornington peninsula (albeit with a warming stop for coffee — plus toast and vegemite — at a bonbeach cafe).
i learned two things about the vfr: the fairing does a reasonable job of keeping rain off the legs, and it doesn't take much throttle to spin up the back wheel on a wet road.
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