Old Bike Australasia

Old Bike magazine is a must for those who ride as well as the dedicated enthusiast and rebuilder, covering everything from Vintage to early 1980s bikes - marvel at the restoration of machines that could still sit proudly on the showroom floor. Each issue brings you the latest news and results from recent events, race reports and Rally Roundup, along with new and old bike news and reviews, readers letters, Club Directory, What’s On and much, much more.

EDITOR’S LETTER

Old Bike Australasia • NUMBER 117

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

RARITEE Best Letter

OUT IN THE SHED

The Leon Nowland collection

Automagic

Back to Phillip Island?

Guerrilla warfare

Stacks on The Mill

A lap of the lake

Ivan Turnbull

Graeme Laing

Ron Tanner

Ian Munro – Larrikin racer

MIGHTY MAX • Sometimes it takes years to become an overnight success. Such was the case with Max Robinson, often known as ‘Bluey’ due to his shock of red hair, a rider who had steadily matured until 1972, when everything came together with a rush. Tragically, on Friday August 24, 1973, he was killed in a road accident near Glenrowan, Victoria, aged just 29.

War orphan • From a concept created in war-torn Germany, the BK 350 was the first post-war product of the company that was to become known as MZ, famous for outstanding success on the Grand Prix circuits of the world during the 1960s.

A FRESH SHEET OF PAPER • Light, nimble, and quick, the Suzuki 200 twins had it all.

A HONDA HOLIDAY • When I heard the Honda Collection Hall in Motegi, which opened in March 1998 to commemorate the company’s 50th anniversary, was to close in October 2023 for “a thorough renewal”, the alarm bells sounded. After all, this place was mightily impressive when I visited in 2016, so why mess with success? It clearly required a further look, which came soon after the reopening on March 1st, 2024.

GOING BACK IN TIME • At the foot of Mt. Tsukuba in Japan about 90 minutes north east of Tokyo, lies a one million square metre theme park which the owners refer to as “a town where everyone can have fun and gather around golf courses, art museums…and have a fulfilling time.”

Castlereagh Airstrip • When the NSW Police Commissioner refused to grant permission for the public roads comprising the Mount Panorama circuit to be closed for racing over Easter 1947, it was panic stations in both motorcycle and car racing circles. After months of court cases, the matter was finally settled and the bikes raced at Bathurst in October of that year, but the question remained – what to do over Easter.

AUSTRALIA’S FIRST TT WINNER ROARS AGAIN • The original concept of motorcycle racing was a flat out blast between two towns – a point-to-point so to speak. That concept had several disadvantages, one being that spectators got only one glimpse of the machines as they blasted past and disappeared. And because of the distances involved, these events were virtually impossible to organise with any degree of safety.

THE YAMAHA TRIALS ERA 1974-1996 • In 1973, Japan manufacturers began launching purpose-built Trials bikes into the market to challenge the dominance of mainly Spanish-built machines like Bultaco, Montesa and Ossa. The TL Honda was released in 1973, with the TY Yamaha and RL Suzuki in 1974 and the KT Kawasaki in 1975.

A retro racer for the road • Remember when GP bikes all looked like cigarette packets? There were works teams and privateers sponsored by tobacco giants with brands such as Rothmans, Camel, Lucky Strike, HB, Gauloises, and of course, Marlboro with its distinctive red and white livery. That livery adorned the works Yamaha squad in 500 GPs with Wayne Rainey, Eddie Lawson and other notables, as well as the home-based Yamaha dealer team in Australia where Mick...