CAN-AM SPYDER RT - Cycle Torque

18 - APRIL 2010 www.cycletorque.com.au
GUNTRIP
Northern blights
gET wirEd
WE’VE had the Scala Rider Q2 from Cardo
Systems in trial for a couple of months
now and find it a great way to help you get
around on a bike. mix is volatile: trucks, tourists, late-running
business folk and local racers jockeying for
The set will let you talk from bike to bike
position on a road that struggles for width
(up to 500 metres) over much or of rider its length. to pillion. That’s
There weren’t too many bikes on view:
if you buy the Multiset which has two units.
the inevitable clumps of Harleys running
We’ve had a single south, one set or two on heavily trial which but stylishly allows laden
us to use answer big-bore our BMW phone, tourers use and, around a GPS major
population centres, a few R1s and FireBlades.
system and also listen to some tunes. You can
EASING G yourself lf out t of f Sydney S d via i the th
Paci c Highway requires the patience of
a saint. Despite the state government’s
apparent conviction that everything in the
garden is rosy, I’m still astonished that the
arterial route to Newcastle and Brisbane
can rarely muster no more than two lanes in
either direction. But then again I’m writing
this on a computer running Windows Vista,
i i l til t k t i t l t i
so what the hell do I know?
This much: it gets better north of the Hunter.
The challenge of the Bulahdelah bends has
disappeared for those seeking the quick
coastal route north, but new stretches of
dual carriageway bearing gratifying smooth
tar go some way to make up for the lack of
geometric interest.
And there’s the scenery. Undulating hills
giving way to mountains in embryo that bear
the rst traces of ushed vegetation I associate
with moving closer to the tropics. And then
the daily lot of government-backed irritation
rears its ugly head again. Call it perverse if
you like, but whenever I pass road works it’s
always smoko time. North of Taree is a 30km
strip where the highway is being widened. I
10km/h below the limit.
The work peters out around Port Macquarie,
and we’re back in the dark ages for a while
where the exhortations to keep left put you
in the worst repaired truck damage to the
concrete surface. The road has a hint of
Just as inevitably, an ancient XL250 Honda,
get FM radio two-up stations and festooned and also with plug mismatched in your
luggage, wheezing up a steep hill at out at
MP3.
80.
On one ride in North crap of weather Grafton the and going heavy becomes easier
again, developing a folksy feel as the road
traffic we were winds able its way to find along riverbanks our way on to one a side
destination with and sugar our cane GPS on system the other. The easily. trucks No are
still there but on the plains they don’t seem
more days of quite stopping so big. and getting out a
street directory. A last When stop for a call juice and comes then the in or nal run the
One of the road’s abiding problems is the into Brisbane, along the Gold Coast Highway
number of rugged individualists GPS who lady seem to talks through to you, thickening the music Friday night is instantly
traf c. The
think it reasonable to putter along shut well out. below ight from the city seems every bit as heavy
the speed-limit on a two-lane arterial road. as Sydney’s and driving habits even more
Roadside signs promising “Overtaking Very handy lane gadget, aggressive; and perhaps battery it’s the frustration, life at up among to
5km” really aren’t too much of eight a comfort. hours is the better more recent than migrants, expected. of learning that you
know this to be true because there are plenty
of signs advertising the point. It’s all 80km/hposted,
slow enough for the occasional glance
menace about it now. Tall, dark trees edge up
to the road and reduce the sun to a ickering
presence; the highway weaves left and right,
Then there are the semis, in groups of three don’t leave the traf c behind when you leave
PriCE: Multiset $659, single $369
or four, whistling south as we roll north, but Sydney or Melbourne.
scarcely less intimidating for that. AvAiLABLE It’s an ugly From: And now Strike it’s over; Group we become Australia part of the
sideways and so to concede that there’s
evidence pointing to some form of human
activity going on behind the dividing wall
rolling over blind crests and plunging into
short, abrupt valleys. On the radio there’s
news of a head-on somewhere in front of us,
picture: of an old road struggling to cope with jam ourselves, easing along Coronation Drive
morE iNFo: www.strike.com.au/cardo or
its traf c; of resources stretched too thin. The into the western suburbs of Vegas. Even with
surface truly isn’t bad for most 1300 of its length, 792 044 an overnight break and travelling in midweek
at some time in recent history. It’s just that I at a place called New Italy. It’s a bad one: two and there are three lanes wherever they can be the Paci c is still a demanding ride. The
never see any, and this time we were rolling people killed, two more in hospital.
squeezed in, but that’s the problem: the road middle stretches, remote from the in uence
past at 10am on a Friday. And I had plenty of We roll up behind the inevitable white follows its original route, when the traf c and resources of Sydney and Brisbane, are the
time to look, too, because we were stuck at caravan and take a breather as it bounces and was predominantly local and nobody much toughest and demand respect. Proceed with
the time behind a cheery P-plater who clearly lurches along at a more relaxed 90km/h. The minded whether it detoured around irritating caution.
thought it reasonable to bimble along at mood soon becomes clouded with frustration. local topographical features or not. Today the
– Bob Guntrip
$3990
RRP
Plus on road costs from $500.* On road costs
based on 12 months registration for NSW
calculated at time of publication.
On road costs varies from State
to State.Please contact your
local dealer.
LEARNER
LEGAL
Ride your own way... 250 Metro jacket
gET your FivE
RACERS like to be as comfortable as possible when on
the bike. This allows you to concentrate on getting the job
done, not worrying whether your leathers are too tight etc.
I’ve been wearing my new Five RFX1 MotoGP Tribal
gloves which not only fit me perfectly, they look awesome
as well.
They are designed to protect your hands to a high degree
and when I saw pictures of Andrea Dovizioso’s gloves
after he crashed his Honda GP bike I knew they were for
me. His hands came out unscathed, the gloves took the
crash in their stride and you could keep on wearing them.
A I’ve used my ‘Tribals’ a few times now and I’m super
impressed with them, you hardly know they are on.
Check out the photo, the gloves look very ‘factory’. You’ll
also notice my OGK helmet with no visor. I was in a hurry
to change visors and didn’t clip it in properly. It jumped
ship down the main straight at Phillip Island. – Alex
Pickett
PriCE: $329.95
AvAiLABLE From: Good bike shops Australia wide
morE iNFo: A GET WIRED www.motonational.com.au
WE’VE hhad d the h Scala l Rider d Q2 ffrom Cardo d Systems in trial l ffor a couple l of f months h
now and nd it a great way to help you get around on a bike.
The set will let you talk from bike to bike (up to 500 metres) or rider to pillion.
That’s if you buy the Multiset which has two units. We’ve had a single set on trial
which allows us to use answer our phone, use a GPS system and also listen to
some tunes. You can get FM radio stations and also plug in your MP3.
On one ride in crap weather and heavy traf c we were able to nd our way to a
destination with our GPS system easily. No more days of stopping and getting out
a street directory. When a call comes in or the GPS lady talks to you, the music is
instantly shut out.
Very handy gadget, and battery life at up to eight hours is better than expected.
PRICE: Multiset $659, single $369
AVAILABLE FROM: Strike Group Australia
MORE INFO: www.strike.com.au/cardo or 1300 792 044
www.cycletorque.com.au
54 - APRIL 2010 APRIL 2010 - 55
B
APRIL 2010 - 31
B GET YOUR UR FIVE
RACERS like to be as comfortable as possible when on the bike. This allows you to concentrate
on getting the job done, not worrying whether your leathers are too tight etc.
I’ve been wearing my new Five RFX1 MotoGP Tribal gloves which not only t me perfectly, they
look awesome as well.
They are designed to protect your hands to a high degree and when I saw pictures of Andrea
Dovizioso’s gloves after he crashed his Honda GP bike I knew they were for me. His hands
came out unscathed, the gloves took the crash in their stride and you could keep on wearing
them.
I’ve used my ‘Tribals’ a few times now and I’m super impressed with them, you hardly know
they are on.
Check out the photo, the gloves look very ‘factory’. You’ll also notice my OGK helmet with no
visor. I was in a hurry to change visors and didn’t clip it in properly. It jumped ship down the
main straight at Phillip Island. – Alex Pickett
PRICE: $329.95
AVAILABLE FROM: Good bike shops Australia wide
MORE INFO: www.motonational.com.au