More Horses join the Stable

One of my personal mantras is: you never see a Hearse towing a Trailer.

 

So, in the interests of making Robyn more comfortable on the pillion seat (of course), I started looking at more comfortable motorcycle options. I had my eye on the new Indian Chief Vintage but, without Dealer support in Perth, there was no way that bike was getting a look in.

 

An equally attractive option was the new Project Rushmore Harley Davidson Ultra Glide Limited.

 

Robyn and I drove up to Frasers in Dianella and sat on one which she found to be much more comfortable than the back seat of the W800. The 2015 models were on the verge of being released so I looked at the Harley website and, to be perfectly honest, the 2015 colours were just awful. I mentioned this to Robyn so she said I had better get on the phone and find a 2014 model in the colour we wanted.

 

Now who is going to ignore a green light like that?

 

So I rang the Bunbury Dealer in the strong belief that I would prefer to ride a 400kg bike home up the Old Coast Road than down the Freeway via suburban mayhem.

 

On September 5th we drove down to Bunbury and picked up a new

Project Rushmore Harley Davidson Ultra Glide Limited in Charcoal and Silver.

 

 

Here are some nice photos I found on the Net:

 

 

 

 

 

We went on a couple of local rides just to get used to the difference between this and the W and today we went up to Dwellingup. There are a couple of cafés there that attract a lot of bikers, young and old, for coffee and a snack. It's particularly busy on Sundays, especially when it's the first sunny Sunday with blue skies. Spring has sprung and summer is just around the corner.

 

 

Here's our new Harley sitting waiting for us. It's very nice. 

 

I've kept the Kawasaki W800. It's just too nice to ride, and too nice to look at.



Kwolyin Rest Area

Kwolyin (between Quairading and Bruce Rock) was a small rural town in Western Australia's central/eastern wheatbelt but faded into obscurity in the 1960s and 70s. It is now almost entirely returned to the natural bush.

 

The three Shires of Bruce Rock, Kellerberrin and Quairading combined their efforts to create a beautiful, well equipped free Rest Area for travellers through the region. It is part of their efforts to attract visitors to towns in their Shires and provides a good base while exploring the Granite Way.

 

My friend Judy has created a website (http://www.australiasomuchtosee.com/) full of information for travellers and you can download brochures here:

http://www.australiasomuchtosee.com/linked/kwolyin.pdf

 

http://www.australiasomuchtosee.com/linked/granite%20way%20pamphlet.pdf

The grand opening ceremony was to be held on Tuesday 2nd Sept so I thought it best that Robyn and I go there to support this initiative and also just to get away for a few days in a beautiful part of WA.

 

On Sunday 31st August we hitched up the van and drove out through Boddington, Crossman, Pingelly, Brookton, Corrigin and Ardath to Kwolyin. We passed through rolling green paddocks of wheat interspersed with belts of brilliant yellow canola crops.

 

On Monday we explored the campsite and were very impressed with the job the three Shires had done.

 

There were already quite a few vans there, set up in the marked bays near the toilets and other amenities. We have our toilet and shower on board so we just drove a little further around the ring road and found a large flat site which looked perfect.

 

 

 

There are flush toilets and a campers kitchen

 





 A sheltered BBQ area (free) with seats and tables

 

Another sitting area with a huge fire pit made by the Bruce Rock Mens Shed.

 

 

There are rules so travellers, please follow them and treat this place (and the people who provided it) with respect.

 





 Here's the original cricket pitch

 

We were joined on Monday by our friends, Allan and Sharón, from the Sunshine Coast in their new motorhome. It's a beauty.

 

 

 

On an overcast Tuesday  people from all three Shires arrived for the Opening Ceremony. They are all very proud of what they have achieved here.

 



 

One of the local Indigenous artists painted a very detailed dot painting showing the various granite rocks in the area, the bitumen roads and the original walking trails used for hunting and gathering in days gone by.

 



 It's a great free campsite with excellent facilities provided by proud communities in country Western Australia. Come and enjoy it, but treat it with respect. 





Summer on Two Wheels

About 30 years ago, I had a Suzuki 850G, a shaft drive 4 cylinder motorbike. I really enjoyed myself on that but I couldn't share that with my then young family so it got sold off and we started with 4 wheel drives.

 

In the last couple of years some friends here in Mandurah have bought motorbikes and that sowed the seeds of thought.

 

Last year when we were away in the caravan I started some research (along with intense, and very diplomatic lobbying of senior management) and ended up settling on a Kawasaki W800. This ticked all the boxes with the most important one being that it had to have a classy retro look.

 

I scoured the motorbike sales sites on the web and whenever one came up it went very quickly. We got home last October and there was nothing available until early January and then, as if it was meant to be, it was at my local Kawasaki dealer here in Mandurah. It was less than 12 months old, only 488kms, and in spotless condition.

 

I picked it up on my birthday.

 

Kawasaki W800:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kawasaki_W800

It really is a thing of beauty. The engine has an external shaft driving the overhead camshaft through a bevelled gear.

The bevelled gear is behind this chrome cover.



Here is a cutaway photo showing the shaft and bevelled gear turning the drive through 90 degrees to drive the camshaft.

 

Both pistons rise and fall together.



 

My friends and Robyn and I regularly go out for rides on a Wednesday or Sunday morning. Usually to a café somewhere for coffee and cake, or even lunch.

 

On a Sunday morning up in Dwellingup there are dozens of bikes and their owners, mostly our age, all enjoying the ride out.

 

Recently we tried another destination. Point Mersey in Safety Bay has a very nice café and, on Wednesday mornings, the local Ulysses Motorcycle Club goes there as well. We aren't members but it is very pleasant, all the same, talking to the people there and looking at all the bikes.

 

Penguin Island is opposite Point Mersey. I grew up in Safety Bay and quite often during the school holidays, I would drive the passenger barge back and forth and worked in the shop over there. Back then the island had cabins as well as the shop and was a nice holiday destination. Now it is a bird sanctuary and access is strictly controlled.



 

An enjoyable morning was spent talking, drinking coffee, eating toast or cake, and looking at the bikes.

 

One of our friends and his wife ride this Harley.

 

The other rides this Victory.

Some of the bikes belonging to members of the Ulysses Club.





 

I love these Postie bikes.

 

British bikes like this Triumph and the BSA A7 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BSA_A7) were the original inspiration for Kawasaki's "W" back in the sixties.

 This 1942 Harley is owned by a gent who is 96 years old. He kick starts the bike every day and has 10 bikes in his garage at home.

 

Two achievements to aim for: his age and the number of bikes.

 He has ridden this Harley across the Nullarbor. That black tin behind the seat is his long range tank.

 

 

Here's our "W". I put a short piece of foam pool noodle on the rear chrome bar as a backrest for Robyn.

 

Our vehicles tend to be given names, and since the bike is affectionately known as a "W", I thought this was appropriate. I am now a Winona rider.

Here we are.

Two old buggers out for the day.

 

I've put 2500kms on it since January. It's such good fun.

 

 

Popeye goes to Walpole

Monday 10th to Friday 14th March:

We had booked ourselves into a cabin at the Rest Point caravan park in Walpole to do some fishing. Popeye is our 4.85m Trailcraft Profish alloy boat. Some pre-trip preparation included fitting a spare wheel and sorting out some straps to hold the canopy and boat in place.

A piece of timber and some straps kept the outboard from bouncing around on the way down.

Three straps bracing the folded up canopy kept that secure.

We left about 8:30 in the morning on Monday to drive 350kms or so down through Bunbury, Bridgetown and Manjimup to Walpole.

Our cabin was OK, sort of. Rest Point caravan park is in a fabulous location but it could do with a massive injection of funds. Four nights was enough for us.

There is a boat ramp right in front of the cabins so we put Popeye in and secured him with the anchor and a rope to the beach.

Before leaving Mandurah I got some copies of Boating in Walpole from the Dept of Transport http://www.transport.wa.gov.au/mediaFiles/marine/MAC_G_Boating_Walpole.pdf

I also had downloaded it onto my Ipad and my Plotter/Sounder had Walpole (Nornalup Inlet) on it too.

Off to the fishing spot near the entry to the ocean where there is a beautiful, crystal clear and calm section of water just churning with herring.

Look at this pristine water. we could see the fish before they even jumped on our hooks.

Inevitably we had a visitor expecting a handout. Years ago we went to see an Elvis impersonator called Max Pellicano (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Djvp2aUTM-0) so now, every time we see a pelican, we call him Max.

If a fish is not silver with scales, we don't eat it. Max wasn't so fussy.

Robyn has enjoyed fishing since way back when, and still enjoys it.

We used to go beach fishing a lot years ago, but I must admit, sitting in Popeye beats it hands down.

Gary Muir runs Wilderness Tours on Nornalup Inlet and his boat ties up to a jetty near where we were fishing (http://www.wowwilderness.com.au/WOW/Home.html). We've been on these tours twice now. They are very good. A really entertaining mixture of humour and history (both human and natural).

We caught enough herring for a couple of meals and now it was time to clean them. They only produce small fillets but pan fried, they are yummo.

The water was so clear we saw several rays swim by. Each with a lot of little fish.

It was just like the ray in Finding Nemo.

Class was in!

The scenery along the shore line of Nornalup Inlet was very nice. Rocks, bush, a few little beaches.

There seemed to be plenty of tucker around for the ever hungry pelicans.

Back at the caravan park, we positioned Popeye again just offshore ready for another day.

 Here's our faithful little Popeye sitting, waiting for us.

In amongst the other boats.

 We spent two days fishing and exploring Nornalup Inlet and one day exploring Denmark, just 80kms east of Walpole.

On Friday 14th we hitched Popeye up and drove home.

Who says retirement is boring?