Old Bike Australasia

It’s hard to believe this is the one hundredth issue of Old Bike Australasia. OBA took its first unsteady steps in 2006, but the gestation period had been lengthy, dating back at least four years prior to that. To me, the idea of a locally-focussed classic motorcycle magazine had much merit; after all we had a heritage the envy of the motorcycling world, a wealth of personalities, more than a century of vigorous trading, including, for a time, a thriving industry of locally-made (or at least locally-assembled) machines. But getting such a magazine off the ground proved harder than I had envisaged, and more than once the project was shelved; only to be revived when another glimmer of hope appeared. There have been some challenges, especially in the COVID period, but…

The first Greeves Studying the photo of John Burrows (OBA 98 Letters from Michael Anderson), I am nearly sure this is a 59-250. On 4th August 1959, my brother Len travelled from Bairnsdale to Melbourne to pick up a crate from the docks, containing two Greeves – the first 250s to arrive in Australia. One was to be dropped off to John Burrows at Jimmy Guilfoyle’s shop in Deepdene where John was employed. After opening the crate I chose the bike with a frame number ending in 36 (#593236), as 1936 was the year I was born. If the bike shown in the photo is still around it should be easy to identify it as the frame number should be 1 or 2 higher. I found and restored my bike in…

I greatly enjoyed your article on the 1954 BSA Golden Flash in OBA 99; a much under-rated machine in many ways. The frame was arguably every bit as good as the Featherbed, and miles better than the built-to-a-price Triumph frames all the way up to the late ‘60s. What an absolute piece of good luck to come across one in such condition – we can only dream of that. The bike brought to mind a superb swingarm A10 like this one, owned by a very well-known motorcyclist who lived in Springwood, Blue Mountains, in the late 1960s. Peter Mac (Intyre) was a cheerful fellow and a very good, fearless rider, also a very competent mechanic/engineer. He also papered his bedroom walls with ‘blueys’, but that’s another tale… His A10 engine was fully…

Although I had been on the motorcycle scene since about 1963 with a few years racing under my belt when I joined the NSW Police force in 1969, I had no desire to ride motorcycles or undertake traffic duties. I did however, have a brief stint on a Triumph 650 when stationed at Glebe in the second part of 1970 but that was to undertake Clearways duties on Parramatta Road. My main concern with police using motorcycles, except for civil escorts, is that their use in high-speed pursuits has too many unforeseen situations causing serious injury or death. Incidents such as cars coming out from side-streets or other vehicles coming to a sudden stop cause an unpreventable collision with serious or fatal injuries. Having said that I acknowledge that the…

Since issue number 1, OBA has provided a free directory for clubs with contact details. In the subsequent 16 years, many of these details have changed, while some clubs have either ceased or amalgamated. We need all club secretaries to update their club’s listing, and those not updated will be deleted from issue 102. Part of the directory is a section for upcoming events, so don’t forget that service is always available to you, but you need to notify us of the event details at least two months prior to your event. To update your club listing, please email the editor at scaysbrook34@bigpond.com with UPDATED CLUB LISTING in the subject line.…

Our esteemed Art Director Mat Clancy recently re-joined the ranks of road motorcyclists. His choice was the very latest Royal Enfield Interceptor which was supplied by our long-time advertisers Motociclo at St Peters in southern Sydney. Motociclo fitted out the Interceptor with the bonus equipment that includes saddles bags, crash bars and windscreen, and Mat took advantage of a rare dry and sunny Sydney day to collect his new mount and take to the streets.…