TX Downunder Rally 2008 - Northern View

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I got away to a late start from home in Toowoomba due to work - even though I was up at the "sparrow's fart" marking students' assignments, it took a while to get through this before I was underway at about 10.30 Queensland time [11.30 am south of the border] so I was up against the clock from the off. Just to get going was a saga in itself. In fact, the previous weekend, I removed the engine to torque the head after a few miles on a top end rebuild. The intention was to change the cam chain too for a FZR750 item which the friendly Yamaha dealer assured me is a direct replacement for the TX chain - it had to wait as I appreciated at about midnight Saturday, I still had a bit of work to do.

Come Sunday and two mates and I strained and cursed as we delicately positioned the 77kg lump back where it belonged. All the other bits went home remarkable well - too well I thought at the time - there must be something I've overlooked! This became apparent after I'd travelled about 60 miles from home and approached my first downshift on the transmission - the clutch lever had way too much play in it. Hhhmmm I thought - best chance is that I forgot to tighten up the clutch adjuster on the gearbox when I put it back together. A few swift turns on the handlebar adjuster temporarily solved the problem and I decided to press on for another 50 miles or so for lunch in Killarney.

Out with the tools after a short cooling, off with the world's largest m'cycle points cover and I was right - a quick readjustment and no further call upon the spanners for the rest of the weekend.

Starting was pretty good throughout although with saddlebags, I wasn't able to swing her onto the centrestand as easily as usual(!?), so it was electric foot most of the time.

I had decided to retrace the step a couple of mates and I had followed earlier in the year and headed down the 'Summerland Way' to Legume and then off to Urbanville, Old Benalbo and Benalbo. How quickly the memory of a battering seem to fade! Even on my other regular ride ('85 VFR750) it was rugged stuff but it really tested the old TX suspension and slowed progress to an indicated 45 mph (probably about 40mph given the later discovery of a wildly optimistic speedo). After Benalbo, the road smoothed out and it was smoother riding from there, especially the real treat, about 30 miles of some great curving road heading west on the Bruxner Highway towards Tenterfield. It was almost worth the endurance of the flogging we took earlier.

Heading south on the New England there was nothing special except the lowering sky and imminent potential for a downpour. Temps plummeted and it was cold riding in a cool part of the country. The bike was running well but I kept being pushed by traffic and I couldn't work out why - with an indicated 70 mph on the clock, I thought I was making good progress. I was to discover the next day just how erratically the indications were - about 10 mph out at a true 60 mph. By the time I made Glen Innes, I was well and truly looking forward to the last few miles into Glencoe and the Red Lion. Tom and Garry had rolled in about three hours earlier and had made themselves comfortable. By the time I stumbled off the saddle I was really stiff and cramped up. Tom (bless his heart) took a photo just to mark my arrival.

A great night, hearty meal and a few friendly ales, (that's what the sign says!), before our rest and the day was complete. It's great to find such a biker-friendly welcome on the road. After a quick look around Glencoe and a top breakfast of bacon and eggs, we set off for Dorrigo. First we headed for Guyra stopping for Tom's TX to replenish it diminished tankful by the roadside. Soon underway again, he limped into a town with a three feet long Welsh name to fill up and then off on our way. We stopped for a photo shoot enroute while I adjusted the bags on my mount before swapping with Tom. I appreciated the rise on the standard 'bars he's fitted and he immediately noticed the position of the gear shift on my bike (too low - sorry Tom) making it very difficult to change up a gear (now rectified). The lunch stop in Dorrigo drew an appreciative crowd (two onlookers) and the news that the pub we had selected for lodgings that evening was 'chock-a-block' (full). On to Bellingen and the twisty Waterfall Way - great sweeping and tight hairpin curves.

Tom's resourcefulness secured us a place for the night and reinvigorated the next day we set off to the Pacific Highway where we said our farewells before heading north and then Garry and Tom went south after realising the error of their ways.

Homeward bound took me up to Coffs Harbour and then on to Grafton via Coramba. I only had one 'roo to dodge (about 4.5 ft tall) as he bounded up the road towards me playing 'chicken'. Casino and then Kyogle came up in reasonable time then onto the glorious 'Lion's Road' over the border to Rathdowny, onto to Boonah, Kalbar, Warrill View, west to Rosewood, Laidley and Regency Downs to give my old mate Brett (fellow TX owner) an update on the run before heading safely home.

A terrific weekend. The bike was impressive and it was sweet to be riding with the guys on their fine machines too. Garry is a great bloke (what else could you say about a man who owns three TXs, including his first bike!). We swapped some tales and tips on keeping the legend alive, told plenty of lies (Tom) and had a whale of a time. Only question is when we're doing it all over again. There's now talk of a New Zealand trip to keep the dream alive. Whatever happens we'll post the news right here.

Speed safely!

Ray


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The 2008 TX Downunder rally - Southern View

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Even though we only ended up with 3 starters, it was a magnificent weekend and will no doubt set the standard for future events. Garry (purple) and Tom (red) set out from Sydney early last Friday and made our way up the inland New England Highway to Glencoe (580 km). It was a beautiful, clear day, mostly warm - although it got a bit chilly coming over Ben Lomond (as you may have guessed the early white settlers of this region were of Scottish origin) where we only missed the snow by two days.

At Glencoe we settled down with a couple of beers to await Ray's (green) arrival from Toowoomba (320km away by highway, about 500 as Ray navigates).

With the three TXs safely secured undercover we retired to the Red Lion Inn for a few more beers and a good feed. The Red Lion is a fine roadhouse, run by Rhys in a highly bike-friendly way. A taciturn bloke until you get him talking Rhys maintains an easy going ambience that seems to attract locals, city slickers and bikers alike.

An ill-considered, late switch to red wine prompted slightly muddy heads as Saturday dawned. Coffee, bacon and eggs safely stowed in the belly, we set off back up Ben Lomond towards Guyra (the world's highest arsehole). Tom managed to run out of gas and discovered he has some kind of problem with the reserve setting - it just made things worse. So with a generous donation from Ray's tank we made it to Guyra, where we turned coastwards.

Beautiful countryside - isolated road (though a bit too straight for our liking) made for a very pleasant ride. We started the day with big plans for a big loop north to Grafton and back south to Dorrigo, but the day seemed to settle into a less strenuous rhythm and we ended up sidling directly into Dorrigo via a few km of nicely winding road. Despite being on a plateau Dorrigo is a railway town - home to Australia's largest collection of old steam locos. Ray being an old railway man was in hog heaven when the museum custodian invited us into areas normally inaccessible to the public (which is most of it).

The bikes attracted quite a few locals in Dorrigo - all admiring, some with outlandish stories of their supposed value, almost all reporting prior ownership of a 650, and several mentioning a local owner of a fine TX. We did not get the chance to chase this down - one for next time.

From Dorrigo we took the Waterfall Way down the mountain to Bellingen. That was the best riding of the day - a long descent with nicely spaced, irregular curves all the way down to the coastal plain. Bellingen is a bit of a hippy/yuppie town although it has some nice art deco and earlier buildings. Strangely satisfied with the pathetically small amount of riding we'd done that day, we checked into the Diggers Rest motel (behind Diggers Tavern), then headed up the road to the other pub in town, the Federal, to review progress so far. We wisely stuck to beer this time (Coopers Pale Ale) although Ray compensated by eating enough meat to sustain the local cattle industry through the hard times ahead (I can safely confirm that no fruit or vegetables were harmed in the course of the TX Downunder rally). All of this time Garry was telling every TX story he could think of just to make sure Tom and Ray were truly committed TX owners - they survived, just.

Sunday it was time to head for home - so we did the last few kms to the Pacific Highway then went our separate ways (after briefly experimenting with going each others' ways, then reading the sign again). Another beautiful day and a reasonably fast run down the coast for Garry and Tom - although roadwork and traffic slowed us a bit at times and Tom's bike decided it was too hot and would only start after several minutes of pleading and fiddling - but start it always did.

On the last stretch of freeway, we fell in with a fine orange Goldwing and provided a TX escort to the next servo where its pilot, Geoff, turned out to be a major 650 twin collector - he has an original XS1 in "out of the crate" condition - has never been ridden. He was suitably impressed by the concept of 3 TXs in the same place at the same time although not impressed enough to change his mind about TX750s - 650 owners are like that. A bit more freeway traffic hell (the F3 is Australia's oldest and worst freeway), followed by Sunday afternoon Sydney traffic (actually not too bad) and we arrived home refreshed (i.e. sore and tired) and invigorated (i.e. determined to do it again soon).

Tom, Garry and Ray


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