BIKES AND STUFF

Dunno about you, but when I first got a bike, all my friends had one too, and the bike was also my only transport. Then, as the years went by, I got a car, and so did my friends, and I'd think about the bike and wonder why I had it. It felt stupid - like a waste of money.

Joining a club completely changed my attitude to having a motorbike, not only because I now felt as if it had a much more valid purpose, but also because of the new social side to my life.

Which club? There are lots in Tassie. I have most of them listed with their contacts - I'll get the file soon. I know something about only a few of them. To help decide which one you will fit in best I'll give you some of my opinions.

The Ulysses Club - to me they seem to be older people who decided to splash out and buy a good bike. They ride very sedately and seem as if they are inexperienced at riding. They are very friendly, thoughtful and will look after you.

The IMC (Italian MC) - hard riding enthusiasts abound. Liesurely riders appear to me to be a bit of a scarecity. Their sports bikes are for hard riding and they appreciate it. They are witty buggers - always ready to put a funny twist on anything they come accross.

The MRA (Motorcycle Riders Assn) - all sorts of people - a real mixture - from wise old hands to novices and all sorts bikes and riding styles. You will fit in somewhere, but that may not happen at first because some types of riders may not be represented when you turn up and they too don't spend much effort on social skills. One of the very significant things they do is rallying (camping). That's not like car rallies. It's a camping trip - a series of annual events. It's a tough way to do things - load up your bike and head off to a remote place to have a good time without any supports or ties to the outside world. They are memorable. That really creates a bikers lifestyle.

aus.moto - virtually a bike club. "Virtual" in two senses - they get together via the internet, and they aren't a normal club doing their stuff in the normal way. See the aus.motorcycles news group. It's fairly heavily subscribed at a couple of hundred messages a day. Just ask a question and you'll find it's quite an information resource. Very significant.

Patch Clubs: The clubs I have mentioned so far are, in a way clubs for individuals. The members want to be themselves and I reckon they want to get away from rules. I don't know much about patch clubs at all. I've never been in one. I can only give a very vague view from the outside. Some clubs are the Harley owners I think (don't know their proper tiltle), Devil's Henchmen, Vietnam Veterans Association, F-troop, Outlaws and more. I think they are called patch clubs because they usually wear large insignias covering the back of their jackets. I have been invited to a couple of social events of the Devils Henchmen and they really left an impression. Power. A powerful, purposefully close-knit group. I suspect membership costs a lot more but they really "get into it" (into being a club). They are powerfully generous and I sensed a disciplin among them. I was treated like one of the family and won't forget it.

FIXING THINGS:
I hate having to buy an assembly where only one bit needs to be replaced. CARB DIAPHRAGMS are repairable. There's a bloke who has been doing that for 7 years and went public. Call Tony Amor, Western Yamaha, 03 9310 1744.

Mine was torn so badly that it seemed like it couldn't be repaired. So I thought about making one. After all, the job it does is simple enough and doesn't demand any precision - just some flexible air barrier which is petrol resistant.

For some time now the bike has been running well with one diaphragm made from a shopping bag.

CLUTCHES - don't need to be replaced. They seem to be designed without the ability to accommodate a decent amount of wear. This coerces most people to buy a new stack of clutch plates. There are 14 wearing surfaces in a 7 plate clutch. A little bit from each of them will soon be beyond the reach of your springs to accommodate. Just put washers under the springs to make up for the total wear from the plates.

OIL CHANGE TIMING - You can feel when the oil has deteriorated. The gear change becomes stiff and noisy.