Peking to Paris ABC Doco

Episode 1 of 4 aired tonight. 'Twas interesting to see Mick Matheson (AMCN
Editor) in his 3-wheeler. I guess we'll have to wait to see if he did all of
the 14,000 km's in it. It was a pretty ballsy effort if he did.

 

He did, I've had the book for a few months, thanks to Postman Pat (got it
signed by Mick Matheson and Chris Doyle, the co-pilot as well). That was a
good show tonight. The book is a good read too.

Al

 

Jeeze his dad's a grump!

 

Lang Kidby, the P2P expedition leader, has volunteered his time to work
as a mechanic on all of the Postie Bike Challenges.

Nev..
'04 CBR1100XX

 

Is there any detail on Matho's cycle-car?
I'm wondering how authentic it is. (Whether it has a CB250 donk or
somesuch)

 

whatever info is available if you don't have the book is probably on
http://www.abc.net.au/tv/pekingtoparis/

Nev..
'04 CBR1100XX

 

Good one Nev!
Give that a bit of a read and let us know the details, eh?
Thanks ..... Clem
~
(Do I LOOK like the kind of feller that gets up off his arse and looks
things up?!!? Sheesh!)

 

Geez, Al...you could have put *spoiler* in the subject. ;-)

regards,
CrazyCam

 

Well if you read the magazine you'd already know...

JL
(but I won't spoil the surprise)

 

It's a reproduction but pretty close to original specs, the frame etc
are all a close facsimile, they used an F650 motor though.

JL

 

They said something like "had to build a vehicle that doesn't even exist
anymore...." about the Contal.
I'm disappointed that it uses a fuel-injected 650cc donk. If they had to
use a modern engine I would've been happier if it was a ct110 or H100 or
something with similar horsepower to the original.
Hell; one of the cars only had a 20hp engine so 50-ish for the cycle-car
seems a bit naughty!

 

Do you know where we can get a hold of the DVD, Clem?

 

Clem, you're right, it was naughty, but it worked out real well. We had
to use a water-cooled engine because there's no airflow past the
engine. And we figured we were only building a replica in the spirit of
the original, so a new and hi-tech engine wasn't the wrong thing to do.
But I must admit, I did sometimes feel like a (disppointed) cheat but
what can you do when there's no choice? I guess you can't have your
cake and eat it too, so it had to be one or the other, and as we
couldn't find a proper one we took the other option. And there's no way
I'd have been so pedantic as to stay home for the sake of originality!

For the record, the one we were offered would also have been a replica
powered by a modern engine, but at far greater expense than doing it
ourselves. Since the project began, we've discovered one late-model
Contal in basket-case condition and apparently there's one in a museum
in Europe but I know nothing else about it.

Anyway, hope you all enjoy the doco. I haven't seen any of it before,
so I'm reliving some great memories. It only skims the surface of an
incredible experience, but it seems to be a good skim. For those
who're asking, I'm told the DVD will be available soon after the fourth
and final episode.

Cheers,
Mick

 

Could you ask the Magshop to stop spamming me please or I'll never buy
another subscription again!?

 

Mate please don't take my quibble as anything but a tiny-whiney technical
pick;
I am in awe of what you've attempted and absolutely amazed by what you've
achieved!
On top of that you (and your fellows) have put together what looks like a
very entertaining TV show (and DVD?) to share it all with we non-achievers.
[assumes prostrate position]
I am not worthy! (And you look real dapper in the pith-helmet sitting on
the front of the Contal too!)

 

Try the ABC Shop.

Boxer

 

F650 Clem. They built it to scale from as many photos as they could find of
the original and used period parts where it was appropriate to keep the
standard correct, like an Austin 7 front axle i think. Muuuuch more power
than the original thing.

Al

 

They wanted to use an original and just couldnt find one, so they built the
replica. Then an original Contal came to light too late.

Al

 

Doherty, stop crawling to the AMCN editor, this one doesnt have an RC30 for
you to ride.

Al

 

Damn!