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

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

OUT IN THE SHED

Bridgestone backs Festival

VJMC Rally heads to South Australia • Registrations have now opened for the 2024 VJMC National Rally, to be held at Nuriootpa, in the South Australian Barossa Valley, from 15-17 March. The VJMC web site www.vjmc.org.au has been updated showing the rally schedule and information on accommodation.

Kiwi classic’s new home • The annual Festival conducted by the NZ Classic Motorcycle Racing Register will move to Manfeild, near Feilding following the closure of the Pukekohe circuit.

Bert Munro 2024 gets set • Race entries are open and tickets are now on sale for the 2024 Burt Munro Challenge from 7-11 February 2024.

Longford Motorama 2024 • The road blocks keep coming for the much-troubled Longford Motorama with the latest calendar showing that a major promoter has been allocated Baskerville for a big car meeting on the March Long Weekend in 2024

Back to the future • Yamaha has announced a brand new model with a foot deeply in the past that will join the range for 2024.

Herb Jefferson • WILLIAM TREVOR (HERB) JEFFERSON, born in New Lambton on 27th June, 1942, passed away after a stroke at home in Byron Bay in early September.

Fraser McMillan • FRASER MCMILLAN recently passed away after a battle with cancer.

Mal Byrne • Born in Orange, NSW in 1944, MALCOLM BYRNE grew up at Greenwich in Sydney and completed an apprenticeship as a Signwriter

Tim Gibbes • As we closed for printing this issue, news came through of the passing of Australian motocross and enduro legend TIM GIBBES in New Zealand. We will have a full obituary to this remarkable man in issue 112 of Old Bike Australasia.

Frank Rogers • FRANK ROGERS, well known as a Manx Norton devotee, passed away in September after succumbing to the effects of long-term COVID-19.

Phil Aynsley • One of Australia’s most prolific and respected motorcycle photographers, PHIL AYNSLEY, passed away in Sydney on 22nd September after a short illness, aged 68.

Mike Trimby • Without MIKE TRIMBY, who passed away at Misano, Italy on 8th September, MotoGP as we know it today probably would not exist.

THE BIRTH OF THE BLADE • When the original 893cc CBR900RR hit the market in 1992, the motorcycling world drew a collective breath; at least metaphorically. For here was one of the machines that are created only very rarely and can truly be called ground-breaking.

A pair of Blades

Rugged & Reliable Racer • Being a bit of a Czech fanatic, I was chatting to a mate in SA when he mentioned a guy selling an early JAWA scrambler. My ears pricked up and while the 1960s are before my prime, I do have a couple of the ISDT JAWA production bikes from the 1970s, as well as two CZs. This gentleman was well known in JAWA/historic circles for salt lake runs on super-tuned JAWAs. Owning a genuine first competition model JAWA Scrambler appealed no end, so the train was set in motion.

The Aussie scene

PLAIN SAILING • To most of us, Excelsior was best known for its highly successful Manxman racing models. But there was a whole range of competitively-priced consumer models too. Here is one of them.

MOTOBI or not to be • ‘To be or not to be’ is a soliloquy of Shakespeare’s Hamlet and is...