Vintage Japanese Motorcycle Club Some photos can be seen HERE It seemed like only 5 months ago that Ray Lalic and I were at Healesville, at last years VJMC national rally. We were..... Coming back again so the organisation could get back on track with the traditional dates. After our compulsory stop at Holbrook for giant wagon wheels we were pulling into Healesville about 9.30pm on Thursday night, with Rays' tidy 1992 Fireblade and "The Sheriff" securely tied down on the trailer (home made with more steel and welding rod than the harbour bridge), we made a beeline for the local race course and found the gates locked.....(we assumed there would be some one else around) so we went off to find a campsite, the owner of the first one was not too impressed at all. We were fortunate to find that owners of the Big 4 up the road at Badgers creek were still up at 10.15pm and had a campsite for us in no time. Thanks Stewart and Nola. Pitched our tents in the dark, and we didn't even bother pegging them down...At least they had decent shower amenities... In the morning we went back to the racecourse again to find the chain still across the gate. On closer inspection the chain had a dog clip on the other side. (Wish we knew that last night... )We were soon in setting up our site, a big marquee, table & chairs and our new vvcmcc club banner which I had made before we left. Bikes were put into the adjacent horse stalls, it was about 11am and we were soon off, back across to the other side of Melbourne to pick up my ebay 1973 CB 450, henceforth known as "Barn Fresh". It was a non runner, but it seemed like an easy fix....Back to the campsite around 1pm, In 10 minutes Ray and I had found the faulty ignition switch, and had the old Honda fired up. Only on one cylinder though. Never mind, at least it ran. The coil would have to wait till we got back to Canberra. Throughout the afternoon people, utes & trailers started arriving along with a few riders. By now it was actually getting quite hot, so a trip to the shops, for essential thirst quenching rally supplies and a bit of food.... Soon Ian Stewart arrived with Len Skipper, John Broad and Stan Perry. Unfortunately Stan had a bike fall over in the trailer on the way down, doing some minor damage to his just rebuilt CB400T.... After we all gave Stan a hug, Ian's famous "Isle of Man" poleless tent was produced, and within a matter of hours the 6 of us, using skill, teamwork and applied physics had it strung up inside one of the stables. Then our three most distinguished vvcmcc "gentlemen" departed to their hotel accommodations, shower, dinner then lights out at 6.30.....Whilst Ian, Ray and I started to put a dent in those beers. A bit of social interaction and a laugh up at the official rally bar catching up with a few of the organisers and entrants we'd met last year, and many red wines later it was time for Camparis and soda.......then bed. Arising on Saturday morning with surprisingly little brain cell damage, Ray "Masterchef just like Matt Preston without the poncy voice and cravat" Lalic soon had a couple of delicious ham, cheese and mushroom omelettes ready to enjoy. As Ian had paid for his "meals" he was off to the dining hall for breakfast. Cleaned ourselves and then the bikes and off to the "sparkle & farkle" display. (As organiser Phil would say) Not to mention the massive swap meet eh, Ian.... There weren't as many entrants as last year, (about 100, vs 200 odd) and a lot of bikes were the same ones, my highlights were the two Yamaha Ranchs' which I'd never even heard of and a few 80's Hondas a nice VF 750 and a nicer VFR 1000. Check out the pics on the website - (still to come). They also decided to have the entrants short ride after the display and my interview on www.dotheyarravalley.com.au ........
The ride was only about 40 k's, and had about 40 riders (the other entrants must've pushed their bikes back to their campsites) so that suited the smaller bikes better. Note to organisers. How about making sure everyone sticks together so the riders don't get confused before we've even left the town? Up the Black Spur and down the other side, a nice windy loop, good scenery and we were done by 4.30 ish. I guess the area around Healesville reminds me of places like Kangaroo valley & Robertson etc. Back to the campsite and Ray had soon cooked up some fantastic healthy hamburgers whilst Ian was off for his "Dinner". When Ian returned, Ray was soon busy cooking him one as well.... Trophy presentations were held about 7.30pm and our bikes scored well in the judging with Ray's 'blade best in 1992 and up class and mine for the best modified/special, this was a new category and introduced for all future vjmc rallies too. (not everyone likes bone stock restorations) After a few beers the presentations over , it was time to head into town and celebrate with a few quiet ones....or quite a few ones....We showed Ian "the sly fox" Stewart the local karaoke talent at the main pub (same people, same songs, same as last year) and after our fill of entertainment we headed over to the "Grind and Groove" a real mellow ,cool bar with live music and real singers playing blues rock.(We really liked this place last year too). We all had a great time and a laugh and a hangover the next day. What more could you want after a night out in Healesville......Sunday mornings conversation started with "No omelettes for me, thanks Ray". At 11.30 we'd finally packed it all up and after a coffee and goodbyes we left Ian who was waiting for Len and the others to come back from the big ride, that took in a 160klm loop and morning tea at Molesworth. They were both under way for the return trip back to Canberra about 1pm, loaded up with Stans 500/4, Ian's' tiddler Suzuki and "Barn Fresh" strapped in his new massive 8X6 super trailer. The word is, next years National VJMC Rally will be held in the Newcastle area, possibly Lake Macquarie...see you there then. ....Cheers Simon.
Some photos can be seen HERE |
