Tag Archives: TU250X

New Year, New Adventures…

8 Replies

So here’s the thing. Christmas Day, I’m sitting at home staring down the barrel of yet another year spent thinking about lots of adventures I desperately want to do but can’t afford. Maybe it’s the rather nice Spanish jerez I’m sculling, but from somewhere very deep within something suddenly clicks: Fuck it, life’s too short. If you keep waiting till you have enough money, you’ll be sitting here till Doomsday! Within the week, I’ve handed in notice on my TV job (much to the chagrin of my employer!), on my rented Bayshore apartment…in short, on four years of life in Melbourne. That’s it – I’m off!

So what’s the plan, I hear you cry?! Well…Let’s just say it’s evolving by the day. No, really. First task is to drastically “downsize”. That means clearing out the contents of my flat, putting personal items into storage, selling the car, the furniture, getting rid of the cat… (oh hang on a minute, scrub that last one – I don’t have a cat!).

Plan #1: Head off across Oz on Volty?

Plan #1: Head off across Australia on Volty?

Then, somewhere swirling in the back of my brain – as yet not fully formed – is “The Plan”. Well, it’s two plans, actually. First is to take off with minimal luggage on my beloved Volty – yes, the Suzuki TU250X that has been my absolute joy and salvation since I purchased it a few months ago. I’ve put nearly 5,000kms on it from new so it’s well and truly run in, and I’ve got this idea of a kind of “last gasp Australia”, in which I’ll head across the country for an indeterminate amount of time and actually experience some of this vast continent I’ve been living in for the last few years.

Plan #2: Head across Europe on a Suzuki Van Van?

Plan #2: Explore Europe and beyond on a Suzuki Van Van              Photo ⓒ Suzuki (promotional)

Then again… After such a long time in Oz, I’ve a real hankering to head east for a while, to Europe. I’m craving history, culture, old buildings, speaking foreign languages, joie de vivre! After a couple of trips to Andalucía last year, I’m thinking of going back to hatch a plan that – surprise, surprise – also involves una moto! I’ve been looking at a particular motorbike there – the Suzuki Van Van – and reading about people crossing the Alps, Mongolia and other far-flung places on just such a bike. It looks like a kind of “off-road” version of Volty, with chunkier wheels and a more rugged set-up, and I’m thinking what an adventure it would be to buy one and ride through Europe, North Africa and beyond…

So there it is. I’d love to tell you the plan is more formed than it actually is, but there’s something rather delicious (if bloody scary!) about making it up as I go. Which plan I’ll plump for (or maybe I’ll do both!), I have no idea just now. All I know is, 26th Feb I have to vacate my apartment and hand back the keys once and for all – so I guess I’d better make my mind up by then, eh?! Maybe you guys can help me decide…

PS For anyone who’s wondering, yes I will still be at the Adventure Travel Film Festival 15-17 Feb! I’ve been working hard on the press and PR for it and wouldn’t miss it for the world! Come join us for a weekend of adventure and cold beer! 🙂

http://www.adventuretravelfilmfestival.com/australian-festival/

Aussie Motorcycle Expo 2012

1 Reply

Volty at the front of the pack! (front, left) at the Australian Motorcycle Expo 2012

Well here I am at the Australian Motorcycle Expo in Melbourne. I’ve just rolled up on Volty to find an array of KTMs, BMWs, Harley Davidsons and other generally very large flash motorbikes parked outside. It’s ok – a couple of Harley blokes give me an appreciative nod as I park up my modest 250cc retro-style Suzuki, throw the side stand down, and try not to notice that the bike next to me (a BMW GS 1200 laden with Touratech luggage) utterly dwarfs my own ride!

Love the Bonnie – but purple paintwork?

Inside, the place is absolutely heaving. I make a beeline for my favourite marques – Triumph, Royal Enfield and Moto Guzzi. There’s a Bonneville T100, gleaming and beautiful –  though I can’t decide if the metallic purple paintwork is stylish or just a bit tacky. There’s a sturdy old Enfield C5, army green, beautiful design – and I have a pang of wishing our UNICEF India trip hadn’t been cancelled earlier this year: how I would love to ride one of those Enfields.

Moto Guzzi V7 – the object of my affection (till I saw the price tag!)

But all bets are off when I hit the Moto Guzzi stand – there’s a gorgeous red and white V7 Special, shiny and new, right there on display. I can’t resist and throw a leg over: aw, the seat’s so incredibly comfortable, the handlebars and footpegs just the right height…

I hop off before an over-eager salesperson swoops to get me talking about putting down a deposit (I wish!). That’s the trouble with these expos – too many temptations!

Volty – my pride and joy

After a couple of hours’ ogling, I’m all motorbiked out. Volty‘s sitting in the sunshine outside, metallic bronze paintwork gleaming, chrome all glinting…reminding me that I already have a perfectly decent ride! A quick burst on the throttle and we’re off – skimming through the city streets of Melbourne, taking some well-practised shortcuts, dodging the traffic, beating the lights, then heading out along the coast road. It’s a beautiful day for a ride: the sun is warm and Volty’s humming.

Who needs a Guzzi when I’ve got my Suzuki?

Love my bike. 🙂

Solo But Never Alone

3 Replies

More fuel? Yes, please!

It’s been a little while since my last post – sorry, guys! After getting my new wheels at the beginning of August, I’ve been out riding every spare moment and revelling in my re-discovered freedom. Volty and I have clocked up over 1,000kms this past month, exploring coastal Victoria from the gorgeous wine valleys and beachside villages of the Mornington Peninsula to my favourite local ride, the scenic and wonderfully twisty Great Ocean Road.

The novelty of owning a brand new bike really hasn’t worn off. I know it sounds silly, but my Suzuki TU250X is the first thing I’ve owned since my beloved 1973 VW Beetle (back in London over 10 years ago!) that I’m really rather proud of. And just as happened when I owned the Vee-Dub, everywhere I go on Volty I seem to make friends.

Neighbours who previously never acknowledged me now give me a friendly nod or wave when they see me donning my helmet and gloves as Volty’s engine warms up in the communal garage. At roadside cafés or petrol stations, total strangers come over to chat, admiring the Suzuki’s classic retro-style look or telling me they wish they were on two wheels on “a lovely day like this”. At traffic lights, car drivers wind down their windows to chat to me as we wait for green – and yes, it turns out there are some bike-friendly motorists! (probably closet motorcycle riders…)

“Arty” shot of Volty’s front wheel in the sunshine

On the road, the “biker’s nod” from other motorcyclists still gives me a little boost every time it happens. By getting back on a motorbike, I’ve re-gained my automatic membership to a very special secret society: It doesn’t matter what you ride, it just matters that you ride. I like that. Today, about 20 balaclava-ed Harley riders on bikes five times the size of mine nodded and tooted and thumbs-upped to me, one after the other – quite a sight, I can tell you! As they roared off down the coast in the opposite direction, I gave Volty a quick burst on the throttle for good measure, buoyed up all over again.

By its very nature, motorcycling is a solitary activity – but it’s just about the most sociable thing I’ve ever done in my life.

This sunny Sunday morning, I stopped off at the Sandown Racecourse to say hi to my old Ridetek riding instructors, Mel and Al. Two years ago, they saw me through my heady days as a wobbly scooter rider right through to passing my test on a 250cc motorbike. As we stood talking in the warm sunshine, admiring Volty’s sparkling chrome and gleaming bronze paintwork, I thanked the guys yet again for putting me on a road that now gives me so much happiness and enjoyment.

Before I became a motorcycle rider, I didn’t know what I was missing – but now, I wouldn’t be without it for the world. 

Oh and to any non-riders reading this, wondering what on earth I’m talking about but thinking it sounds damn good – go get yourself a motorbike licence: it will change your life! 🙂

Back On Two Wheels

3 Replies

Ready to ride again!

Well after months without a motorbike, today I took delivery of a brand new retro-style Suzuki TU250X – kind of a mini Triumph Bonneville (so I’m telling myself, as no way can I afford a Bonnie right now!).

I’ve never owned a brand new bike before and Ive already been told all the things I have to do to “run it in” – which basically boils down to not hammering the crap out of it early on: not that that’s my riding style at all, I’m more of a laid-back, cruisey kinda rider, it has to be said.

It’s always exciting getting a new bike. So much fun getting to grips with a different kind of ride, discovering the bike’s distinctive “personality” and all its little quirks and charms. How I’ve missed my weekend ride-outs, days at a time lost in adventures on the road, here, there and everywhere. Can’t wait to be on the road again!

My new pride and joy. 🙂

“Volty” and I have been getting acquainted and a few laps round the carpark have already highlighted some of the key differences about this bike compared with my cruiser. The most noticeable thing is the gear/back brake pedals being in a completely different postion – under my knees rather than out in front. This is going to take some practice, as I instinctively keep putting my left foot forward to change gear and then wondering why I’m treading air!

The engine also has a very different kind of a sound – more of a “thumper”, this one. Ooh and did I mention it has fuel-injection, which gives it an added kind of hum. Can’t wait to get out on proper roads and see what it sounds like at full speed.

But that’s for tomorrow. For now, I’m feet up with the Suzuki manual, poring over all the bike’s little features – ooh, a tool kit compartment… Early night for me – I’m out riding tomorrow!