A not uneventful trip..... [long and dull]

OK; readers of Betty's blog already know some of the story but this years GP
trip wasn't exactly smooth-sailing for gNatalie and I.
Naturally the Trump shit itself just before the GP (AGAIN!) so the covers
came off Leon's old XJ750 and a lazy $1000 was spent getting it roadworthy
and registered, new tyres and brakes (and a shiny Gearsack rack; thanks
Fulliautomatix).

Tuesday morning 5:30am and I learnt long ago to not wait for my multi-trip
travelling-partner Leon. He came close to a personal record this year;
after allowing 5 days to pack and prepare he was a mere 3 hours late leaving
Gold Coast (4.5 hours after we left Brisneyland) and arrived red-eyed and
exhausted about 10pm at Pisshead's.
Day 1 had been fine until Ebor (450km) but then the wind was so strong we
very nearly came a-cropper a few times.

Pisshead sadly had to pull out after discovering structural damage in the
back end of the Road-Toad when he went to replace the belt so just we and
Leon set out the next morning.
Well.... we set out...... and an indeterminate time late Leon finally set
out! He was up, showered and breakfasted before we even roused but he STILL
left after us.
OK to Wisemans' but then we got honked and the luggage at the back was
looking very loose and low. Stopped at Kurrajong and discover that the rear
subframe has broken just behind the shockies. Old damage judging by the
rust in the cracks.
I sit and think and think and scratch my chin and think some more but I'm
buggered; I just can't imagine how I can proceed so I decide to head for the
airport with gNatalie holding the luggage.
I was gonna' fly gNat down but on the way I passed Windsor Mitre10 and I
figured that if I can't rig up a temporary fix with all of Mitre10's
resources I should hand in my man-licence now!
Two hours, 4 massive garden-sleeper nail-thingies, 6 hose-clamps and a
couple of tiedowns and we're off again!
http://www.xoopit.com/s/20xrh1z59q6lu5wiz97h (note the wide crack through
the subframe. Two more hoseclamps were added after the photo)

The rain hit before Oberon and with it the XJ started cutting out. It would
always start again after 5 or 10 minutes but it was giving us the shits and
we were frozen, soaked and very behind schedule by sundown at Goulburn.
Betty was frantic not having heard from us and we actually arrived at
Canberra an hour behind Leon but after a gorgeous plate of chilli-and-mash
and a good sleep we were OK for the third day.... reluctant but OK.
Betty led us some fantastic roads but with the XJ getting increasingly worse
(and Leon again disappeared) it wasn't much fun. We bought some very
attractive wet pants at Tumbarumba (we wanted to make sure we were totally
soaked first) and drained the carbs at Wodonga but it was getting a bit
desperate.
After 3 minutes of running the starter the XJ finally lumbered into life at
Wangaratta so we charged off while we could, unaware that Betty's gear-lever
had fallen off as she kicked into gear to follow us.
Fortunately the virtually-unseen Leon had materialised moments earlier and
he was able to engineer a temporary fix and they caught us at the Euroa
turn-off. Alexandra, Buxton and then it drizzled and I bizarrely decided
that the Reefton-Spur was a handy shortcut and led Betty through the hellish
post-bushfire pass east of Marysville.
A short wait while a car-driver and I moved a fallen-tree from across the
road and we finally rolled into Warburton after dark and didn't move from
the fireplace for the following hour!
Day 4 and we finally solved the cutting-out problem with a new set of
spark-plugs at Pakenham.
Made the Island and our grandstand seats and the world got a fair-bit
brighter from then on. (For me at least!)

 

The Hose-clamp Wizard does it again! I'm so impressed with the magic
that Clem performs with hose-clamps...

That was quite an adventure, Clem (but the Reefton Spur in freezing
rain was a bit 'intense'...)

gNat is such a trooper!

betty

 

Bloke with some welding skills would have been a better option I'd
have thought. Yeah..XJ's and rear subframes...my 600 developed a lardy
arse look about it at one stage.

 

....at which point you could have visited BT and borrowed his now-
perfectly-functional-and-registered GPZ900. ;-)


BTH

 

2 words to stop all mechanical bike issues, newish and Jap.

Fraser

 

BZZZZT! Wrong! My bike is an 18 month old Japper, and the bloody gear lever
STILL fell off - TWICE!!! - on the PI trip.

betty

 

too much short shifting

 

Clem old mate... surely that is only half the story, having watched
you pull out
from the house with poor Nat wedged in between your backpack and all
that luggage strapped on behind her, there must be just a bit of a
tale about
your return trip?
Having seen the set up, my lot can't imagine how anyone could put up
with just
looking at the broad of your back and not much else for 3 long days.

 

Maybe it was all the dirt riding you do.

 

Clem old mate... surely that is only half the story, having watched
you pull out
from the house with poor Nat wedged in between your backpack and all
that luggage strapped on behind her, there must be just a bit of a
tale about
your return trip?
Having seen the set up, my lot can't imagine how anyone could put up
with just
looking at the broad of your back and not much else for 3 long days.

LOL - yep, gNat's a trooper all right!

betty

 

too much short shifting

I don't know what that means. My mechanic here was a bit baffled as to why
it would've happened, too. Anyway, all fixed now. Time to plot my next
adventure...

I looked for you on the Island, Rockit.... this year was so weird - hardly
saw anybody I know.... :-(

betty

 

ROFLMAO - yep, that must be it!

betty

 

Clem old mate... surely that is only half the story, having watched you pull
out from the house with poor Nat wedged in between your backpack and all
that luggage strapped on behind her, there must be just a bit of a tale
about your return trip?
Having seen the set up, my lot can't imagine how anyone could put up with
just looking at the broad of your back and not much else for 3 long days.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You're such a gentleman Rockit; anyone else would've written "just looking
at your fat arse....".
Only two days home. Day one we left Leo's about 7:30 and headed for Euroa
and then up the Hume to Thurgoona to have a morning tea with Katho. (Hammo
was working).
Morning tea was thwarted as one of the Hamlets had knocked the phone off the
hook so we left a voicemail and set off again.
The XJ was running OK but still wouldn't use that last litre in the tank and
once stopped; wouldn't start again without a 10min wait or a full tank. It
caught us out 100m short of a servo at Junee and even using my emergency
tankbag litre of petrol we still had to push... (Weeeelll....[cough] when I
say "push" I just sort-of sat and steered.... )
Stopped at 7:30 at Gilgandra and checked the on-site restaurant closes at 9
we settled in to shower and change (and wait for Leon) and then strolled
over at 8:30 to find it closed!
Whinged to the manager and the manageress opened up for us so I ordered a
plate of lamb-shanks and a second one for Leon (which I figured I'd take
back to the room) but she was happy to stay open and wait. Then I got an
SMS from Leon saying he was having Hungry Jacks at Dubbo so I abused him
roundly and he eventually made it; his usual tired, red-eyed and
(thankfully) still-hungry.
Full and mellow we retired and the next morning we again separated and gNat
and I headed up through Toowoomba to home. Nothin' much happened on day two
and we eventually made Brisneyland about 6pm (AEST).
Michelle had Prawn & Scallop fettuccine ready for us and a dozen cold Fourex
tins in the fridge so it was a pretty happy homecoming!

 

On Oct 22, 11:10 pm, "Knobdoodle" posted

if pushing XJs is character building, Gnat must just about have a
whole cast assembled by now, and enough storylines for a miniseries.

Nev..

 

Ha, one could really have fun with this, but no, it doesn't refer to
your
stature and that you are forever moving about on your bike. It's
racing
parlance, at the Island - particularly applicable coming out of MG
corner... google it

 

Is this a replacement one from when you dropped it?

Fraser

 

if pushing XJs is character building, Gnat must just about have a
whole cast assembled by now, and enough storylines for a miniseries.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Heh heh; she's actually new to pushing XJs. She's an old old hand at
Trumpy-trundling though......

 

I didn't think I'd be able to achieve a proper rebuild in the time I had
available Marts.
Had I snapped into it at the first sign of trouble I might've managed it
(and yes; it would've been cheaper in the long run) but I dithered and the
chance was lost.
I figure now I'll take a few months and do a proper job.