OK, so I'm a lazy beggar! Anyway.. herewith the summary of the July meeting. Learner Courses for Women ------------------------- The RTA are definitely running Women Only courses for women who ask for them. Apparenntly a number of women were having trouble in classes where the majority of learners were blokes with previous experience and nervous women found it hard to learn with the blokes chomping at the bit, and the instructors found the experience gap difficult. (No similar problems mentioned by inexperienced men.) These courses will be run as needed, so specifying one might mean a bit of a wait. Noisy Exhaust Progress ---------------------- The fallout over the Police/EPA blitz continues. Apparently there are differences in the marking requirements between ADRs, old RTa regs, and new EPA regs, and no one knows much about what is needed to make a bike legal. Especially the rego inspection dudes who were told some years ago by the RTA not to bother. The MCC is pursuing political methods to deal with this, as well as legal ones. IT will all take time... Questions are being asked in parliament, but answers will take a while to be provided. We are saying that the legislation is unworkable and the ballsups made first by the RTa then by the EPA in sorting and communicating requirements means it is unconscionable to enforce them. (Especially as no one is 100% certain what they are...) It is not clear the tests were legal, in that the devices may not have been calibrated, the police actions may not have been legal, but don't hold your breath. Going to court is going to be a loser, the political action is the only hope in this one. There's also an interesting byplay - the EPA at one point claimed fitting a (legal level) Staintune pipe was "an offence", and there is political mileage in protecting local industry. Note - if you go to the EPA for a required test ad fail it, you may be up for as much as 8 grand. So if you do get done, refit the standard pipe if you have any doubts at all. The MCC policy (which we are pushing with pollies and regulators) is that under 100dB is viable in practice and may have safety benefits, over 100dB should be dealt with. We are also pondering doing a testing day, and producing legal labels for unlabelled aftermarket pipes. Once we find out what the legal requrements are! Ride To Work Day - Road Closure to provide parking! --------------------------------------------------- While discussing RTW day with the RTA, apparently they themselves suggested that some backroads might be closed to provide bike parking in the city on the day! And not just in the CBD but other central areas like Liverpool and Parramatta. So we want riders who work in the city, Parra, Liverpool, and other major centres, to think about suitable roads to close off. Small enough for the expected number of bikes, central enough to be useful to workers, and that can be closed without traffic disaster. Also, they might allow footpath parking that day, so eye off suitable chunks of pavement too. After all, if footpath parking on Ride TO Work Day doesn't bring about the end of the world, but does increase bikes into the area, it might inspire them to make it more than one day a year. As part of Motorcycle Awareness Week, we want bods on the bridge. Pyrmont Bridge will have a motorcycle display, and we want all types of bikes and riders willing to spend a day on the bridge showing off your bike, and chatting to people about how much fun riding is. The more people who see bikes and riders as fellow humans, not targets (or worse, not see them...) the more chance we have on the roads, so see it as an investment in your safety! Help at Bathurst desperately needed! ----------------------------------- The MCC is almost entirely funded by the proceeds of our work at the Bathurst Car Races. We lay out the campgrounds, and direct people to them. But this doesn't happen withour volunteer labour doing 8 hour shifts. Biggest need is people for the Wednesday and Thursday before the races, but we need people for the week before as well. You get free entry, $50 a day, camp in the police compound, and get to see some of the racing. There's seldom trouble, the car bods are plenty nice enough. So if you have a few days holiday available, consider helping the MCC help you. Bearing Discounts ----------------- CBC Bearings are having a promotion where they will give discounts to bikers who mention that CBC are having a promo giving discounts to bikers. They say "members of clubs", but also that they just want to increase their exposure amongst riders. So wander in, say you are a member of aus.motorcycles, and understand they have a promo on. (I was going to scan the blurb but I am scanning -challenged at the moment.) CBC apparently figure if it's a bearing, they have or can get it, as well as seals, fuel hose, and Loctite. Blitz on offroaders -------------------- There's a blitz on unregistered bikes and unlicenced riders in national parks on the central coast. So far they've issued 321 infringements at an average of $400 per offence. Usually a rider would get 4 tickets at once.... Big fines for being off gazetted roads too. And hard to escape, they just wait at the bike trailer and do the riders as they came back - no rego, noise, off gazetted road, unroadworthy, and maybe no licence. It's not the rangers doing it, it's the police, invited in by the rangers. It is suspected that the parks and wildlife lot want to be able to ignore biker submissions on national park use. Demonising them by showing what evil lawbreaking bastards they are is one way to do this. More in part 2.
Note that this is in National Parks State Forests are completey different altho strictly speaking you could also get done for unregistered etc. State Forests actually want you to use their areas and produce some good maps and camping areas. Rumours in 4WD circles that NPWS may be split in half. Nobody is sure whether this would make access better or worse. Note; the Menai area (southern Sydney) is private land and is being intermittently policed. Controlled access is available if you are a member of a 4WD club or dirt bike club.
