Trail Bike Adventure Magazine

Back on the gas

Sunday, 22 February 2009 23:30

Now I've effectively lost a week, so I'll be going like a '93 KTM300 with a stuck throttle to try and catch up for the rest of this week.

I do have some good news at last: Yamaha has parked a long-term WR450F in the TBAM garage.

But wait! There's more!

Dan Ralph will campaign the bike this year. He'll tackle the Expert class at the Aussie Off Road Champs and the Four Day, so there's a very good chance the bike will finish top 10 in those series.

Ralphie's a hard charger and knows how to keep a bike in good nick, so we should have some excellent feedback to pass on to youse. It'll be hard-won knowledge, gouged out of race tracks and pro-level competition across

The Sunburnt Country, and that's the best research facility there is.

Youse'll already know Ralphie. He's the rider on the KTM on the cover of issue #25, and regularly rides for photos and testing in the mag.

In a lucky alignment of the stars, Dan had already committed to ride a YZ250F in the Victorian Off Road Championships for a team set up by Trent Johnston. Trent used to have the Honda dealership here in Coffs, so when

Dan explained the situation, he phoned and said, "While Dan's on your WRF, the YZF is just sitting here. Why don't you ride it at the Aussie ORC rounds? It'll be set up and ready to go."

I wrestled my instantly engorged member back under the desk and tried to sound calm over the phone as I said, "Yeah. Okay. That might work."

The new WRF arrived on Friday and is in Dan's garage (he flew to Victoria on Friday arvo for a weekend setting up the YZF). I have an almost factory ride for ORCs, Trent's going to get some magazine exposure for his team, and you guys are going to get honest-to-Dog, no bullshit appraisals and free tech info on the WR450F. Everyone's a winner!

Except for Trent, I guess, who'll somehow have to put up with the embarrassment of his superb YZF finishing AORC races half-an-hour after everyone else has packed up their pit and gone home.(That doesn't let the XR thief off the hook. If you're reading this, scumbag, I haven't given up. If you're the cockhead who phoned a few days ago, you'll be finding things a little difficult. Suck it up. It's going to get worse for you. And guess what? Even if the bike mysteriously turned up back in my shed, I'd still be looking for you.)

There's a strong possibility Ozzo, Al Roots and myself will make a bolt out to Lake Eyre in a few weeks. Seeing Lake Eyre underwater is an opportunity which only comes along once in a couple of decades on average, and with Coast To Corner postponed, we have a little time blocked out. We need to wait for the water to drain away from Bourke and some of the dirt roads further west, and Ozzo figures it probably needs four weeks.

It'll be a brilliant trip if it comes off!

We're also looking at the possibility of running a guided Longest Day tour.

Boris Everson's Detour will provide all the services - guide, sweep, support vehicle and so forth - and the plan is to take a group along the Longest Day route out to Cameron Corner and back to Bourke. The ride we do in a single day will become a guided, supported tour of five days. The dates under discussion are to leave Sawtell Headland at dawn on November 2, and finish in Bourke on November 6. Cost will be $1499, plus riders will have to pay for fuel and evening meals. If you're interested, send me an e-mail with Longest Day Tour in the subject line and I'll start a mailing list.

I still like the Coast To Corner concept, but of this one goes ahead, it'll be a trip from the coast to Cameron Corner, so maybe this will take its place.

In any event, I'll let youse know if the ride confirms. It looks very likely at this stage.

I have work to do!

TF