Issue 103

Old Bike Australasia

For motorcycle enthusiasts, young and old.

Old Bike Australasia1 min read
Old Bike Australasia
Jim Scaysbrook OAM Email: scaysbrook34@bigpond.com Tel: (02) 9672 6899 (bh) Mbl: 0411 443 444 PO Box 95, Kellyville NSW 2155 Alan Cathcart, Gaven Dall’Osto, Roger Harvey, Peter Laverty, Benedetta Marazzi, Russ Murray, Rennie Scaysbrook, Peter Smith,
Old Bike Australasia9 min read
Letters To The Editor
Congratulations on Old Bike Australasia’s 100th milestone. In November 2020 our very good mate and fellow motorcyclist, Keith Blizzard, passed the chequered flag. For more than forty years Keith had been an officer and lifetime member of the Otford R
Old Bike Australasia13 min read
FOM Powers Ahead
Savic Motorcycles will display their high-performance electric sports bike at the “Classics at Hart – 120 Years of Motorcycle Manufacture” exhibit at Harts Mill, Port Adelaide, on the 8th and 9th of October, the last two days of this year’s Festival
Old Bike Australasia2 min read
Editor’s Letter
Back in issue 13, I reviewed an excellent book by the late prolific author Mick Walker, entitled British Motorcycle Racing Circuits Since 1907. Like all of Mick’s 130-odd titles, this one was meticulously researched and very well written. But what am
Old Bike Australasia6 min read
A Golden career
In the annals of Western Australia’s rich motor sport history, few names loom larger than Aubrey George ‘Aub’ Melrose, who was born on 12th November 1900. In fact, long before he became synonymous with the motor trade and motor sport, young Aubrey wa
Old Bike Australasia8 min read
Racing In Its Blood
In the late ‘forties and ‘fifties the Italian manufacturers were competing for a share of the motorcycle market with some, including Ducati, basing sales on the success of winning races such as the Motogiro D’Italia and Milano-Taranto race. The Motog
Old Bike Australasia6 min read
Right Idea right Time
In the late ‘sixties, Honda had plenty to be happy about. Within their range of small capacity twins, the CB160, CB72 and CB77 were all volume sellers, much to the delight of Honda dealers everywhere, particularly in the US. The CB450, less so, given
Old Bike Australasia3 min read
Out In The Shed
Melbourne motorcycle trader Phil Pilgrim of Union Jack Motorcycles is a Triumph and Vincent guru who has been in the motorcycle trade ever since leaving school. As an apprentice motor mechanic he got the urge to have a Vincent for day to day transpor
Old Bike Australasia2 min read
Great Gift Idea… Subscribe To Old BIKE AUSTRALSIA
FOR 2 YEARS AND RECEIVE A FREE HAT VALUED AT $29.99! Each issue of Old Bike Australasia contains feature articles on a wide range of stories including famous bikes, forgotten circuits, personality profiles, road tests, rally roundups and current race
Old Bike Australasia11 min read
Moving The Goalposts
The year is 1998. Yamaha launches the first edition of the YZF-R1. The world’s press is gob smacked, and the company can’t keep up with demand. Waiting lists blow out to six months for salivating customers – and Yamaha’s rivals have been caught with
Old Bike Australasia5 min read
A Club With A Purpose. And A Track.
Victoria’s Dandenong Motorcycle Club (DMCC) of the 1970s was largely dedicated to the off-road sector, and populated with colourful personalities. Historically, the Club’s decision to lease and build Wonthaggi track in 1974 was unique at the time, be
Old Bike Australasia7 min read
Situation Normale
The model had been officially announced in the pre-Christmas 1920 issue of Motocicismo magazine and had attracted considerable interest. Moto Guzzi officially kicked off on 15th March, 1921. From the outset, the company’s product was designed to be r
Old Bike Australasia9 min read
A Sertum Love Affair
The day I decided to look into that dark corner of the garage I had no idea what would happen. I knew there was an old motorbike there, forgotten for decades by the whole family and buried under a pile of junk. I knew that my father had used it in th
Old Bike Australasia4 min read
Hoffman A Six-year Story
Originally a bicycle manufacturer in Soligen, Germany, the motorcycle story began when Jakob Oswald Hoffman moved the business to Lintorf, near Dusseldorf in 1949. He started building a range of lightweight motorcycles with two-stroke Sachs and Ilo e
Old Bike Australasia3 min read
Kawasaki Z900 50th Anniversary A Milestone Worth Celebrating
It’s a great looking motorcycle, as is the little sibling, the 50th Anniversary Z650. The colourway is carried through to the red wheels with silver pin striping, and the seat has a texture that also differs from the standard Z900. A nice little ‘gif
Old Bike Australasia4 min read
Miss Honda 1971
SENT TO US RECENTLY is this wonderful photo of ‘Miss Honda’ – Pam Taylor, taken in 1971. Pam was employed at Bennett Honda in Gardeners Road Mascot, where many of the trade’s notables also worked, including Ric Andrews, Col Evans, Ian McLeod, and the
Old Bike Australasia2 min read
Shannons Brisbane Auto Caffeine
The regular Shannons gathering pre-auction draws a crowd of motoring enthusiasts of all genres, the latest being on 30th July 2022. Representing the motorcycles, I took my 1954 MV Augusta 175 CSS and was joined by some members of the Ducati Owners Cl
Old Bike Australasia2 min read
Bantams Rule The Roost
This marque turns 75 years old in 2023 and was one of BSA’s most successful motorcycles with a total production run of about 200,000 units sold around the world from its introduction in 1948 until production ceased in 1971. Later models were modernis
Old Bike Australasia3 min read
Remembering Fritz Scheidegger
From around the mid-1950s, in the “golden years of motorsport”, the season began here at Easter and ended in autumn. In April there was the “Race of the Year” for sidecar teams. On the way back from the “Tourist Trophy” on the Isle of Man in June (Wo
Old Bike Australasia2 min read
Ups & Downs At Collie
After a pleasant start to the practice day on Saturday the weather turned dramatically in the afternoon with heavy rain curtailing practice for a considerable time, however race day was perfect if just a little on the cool side. The Modern and Histor
Old Bike Australasia2 min read
A Weekend To Remember For Jayden
After a week of less than perfect weather in WA we had two good days for the HCMC Rd 3. There were several standout performances throughout the day but none more so than that of 14-year-old Jayden Martin, who surprised not only himself but the entire
Old Bike Australasia2 min read
Brilliant Bulli
After the agonies of the Covid period which caused two cancellations, the Bulli Antique Weekend – A Celebration of All Motorcycles 35 Years and Older – returned with a bang, and despite the iffy weather, a bumper crowd turned up. From the moments gat
Old Bike Australasia3 min read
A Wintery Weekend
While wet weather threatened to disrupt racing at this year’s Big Chill meeting at Stanthorpe, it was not enough to dampen the enthusiasm of competitors who came from as far as North Queensland and Victoria. Hosted by QEMSC, the annual Big Chill is a
Old Bike Australasia1 min read
After The Floods
A few weeks before the rally, which had not been held since 2019, many of the roads in the Hawkesbury district in Sydney’s north west were under water. The legacy of this was a severely reduced choice for the route, with the ferries crossing the Hawk
Old Bike Australasia1 min read
MISSING AN ISSUE from your Old Bike Australasia collection?
BINDERS back in stock… Protect your prized issues of OBA with these rugged binders, now back in stock. Priced at $35.00. If you’ve missed an issue, spotted an article on our website or social media posts that you would like to read, or you just want
Old Bike Australasia2 min read
A Run For The Chairmen
It’s amazing the difference a day makes. Saturday was wet and miserable but Sunday saw the Don Nicol Memorial Sidecar Circus held in magnificent weather. While I do believe there would have been more entrants if it wasn’t for Saturday’s rain, 18 outf
Old Bike Australasia2 min read
A Highlands happening
The Saturday temperature at the start was a cool 4 degrees but fortunately not raining. The 10 corner marshals left the Moss Vale Caravan park about 9.15 am with the participants motoring out at 9.30 except for one machine that refused to start, givi
Old Bike Australasia2 min read
Warming Up For The Giro
After a bit of a COVID break it was again time to dust off the little Italian bikes and join the 2022 Pre-Giro ride. The 2022 tour was split into Brisbane and Sunny Coast groups which came together at Rocksberg Park Heritage Reserve in the upper reac
Old Bike Australasia2 min read
Motorfest Gets Better
The RNA Showground venue this year included the main arena and various surrounding buildings to exhibit all varieties of automobiles. The motorcycle and scooter section was again relatively small. The Vespa Club had a very professional display with n
Old Bike Australasia2 min read
Meandering Along The Murray
Riders from as far away as Broken Hill (NSW), Goolwa and Adelaide (SA), Maryborough and Portland (VIC) made it up to Mildura for the SHMC’s annual running of their Meander Rally, over 180kms of mostly Victorian roads on the Saturday, and 120kms of mo
Old Bike Australasia3 min read
New Products For All Bikers
Yamaha’s exciting new entry into the middleweight sports class, the YZF-R7, has been a big hit around the world, but like all sports bikes, it’s a bit short on luggage space. That’s where Ventura steps in with the light, stable and versatile Aerodyna
Old Bike Australasia3 min read
What’s On
CLUB SECRETARIES: Because of our lead time for printing, please ensure your listing is received at least four months prior to the event. Email your event details to… scaysbrook34@bigpond.com 24-25 September, 2022 – Nabiac NSW We intend to conduct thi
Old Bike Australasia2 min read
Sabotage in Shah Alam
Within that market, Malaysia was identified as the most promising of the lot, and with alacrity, the Spagforth Design & Development department leapt into action to produce a prototype scooter to take on the might of the established players, particula

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