Category Archives: Noticeboard

Error in July Club Permit renewal paperwork

Attention Club Permit holders

VicRoads has made an error with the expiry year on some July Club Permit renewals, which have been printed and issued with incorrect expiry dates (2023, instead of 2024).

This error impacts renewals with an expiry between 1st and 25th July 2024.

Impacted members are still able to use this notice for payment of their Club Permit, but once paid, VicRoads will issue the correct label for your motorcycle and your logbook.

VicRoads will be writing to impacted customers and will be re-issuing renewal notices with the correct dates.

The issue is limited to Club Permit vehicle renewals only and does not impact driver licences or normal vehicle renewals.

Should you have any further concerns or require further guidance, please contact VicRoads.

Vale Andy Hunt

We are very saddened to advise that long-time Club member, Andy Hunt, has passed away.

Andy passed away peacefully at home in Ballan on Saturday, May 27, after a long illness, surrounded by his family.

Andy joined the SR500 Club way back at its formation in 1998, becoming member #007, and he remained an active, valued and respected member ever since.

Andy served as Club President for seven years, from 2008 to 2015.

He will be remembered fondly for his efforts in helping to organise our annual rallies, gymkhanas, trophies, Club rides, and trips to Tasmania.

In recognition of Andy’s dedication to the Club, he was made a Lifetime member in 2009.

Our sincere condolences to Annette, daughters Alana and Tara, son-in-law, Ben, and all of Andy’s family and friends.

RIP Andy.

Funeral and wake

Andy’s funeral will take place on Thursday, June 1, at 10.30am at Pat Cashin Funerals, 1114 Doveton St N, Ballarat (parking on Armstrong St N), followed by a Celebration of Life at Ballan Bowls Club, 5 Cowie St, Ballan.

Andy’s final wish was to have as many motorbikes, trucks and cars as possible for a convoy back to Ballan. Leading the convoy will be his blue Western Star truck, followed by his Norton and Hilux, with other motorbikes to follow. The dress code is ‘casual’. In lieu of flowers, Andy’s family would appreciate any donations to the Peter MacCallum Cancer Foundation. A donation tin will be available.

Victorian Motorcycle Wreckers closing down sale

Victorian Motorcycle Wreckers is closing down.

Not too much SR400/500 stuff left, but it may be worthwhile visiting and having a look through what is left for something that may be suitable for your SR and/or project bike, e.g.  shock absorbers, kickstart levers, foot pegs, centre stands, etc.

Plus there is an SR400 in the entry area which is largely intact.

Closing down sale
Everything must go!
No reasonable offer refused.
Bring your trailer, truck or ute.
Bikes, projects, motors, frames, wheels, tanks, seats, sub-frames, and more.
Come and get your cheap parts before they get scrapped.

Victorian Motorcycle Wreckers
Address: 52-54 Mologa Rd, Heidelberg West, VIC 3081
Phone: (03) 9457 1733
Email: vicwreck@vicwreck.com.au
Website: www.victorianmotorcyclewreckers.com.au

New postal address

The Club has decided to change its postal address to a location which is more accessible to the current Committee. With immediate effect, our new address is:

PO Box 500, Kew, VIC 3101

A redirection order is in place for the next 12 mths to ensure any mail inadvertently sent to our previous PO Box in Braeside, will still get through to the Club. But please start using our new Kew address from now on.

Our philanthropy

In 2016, the committee (and a quorum of members) made the decision to begin taking a small portion of the funds collected from members’ membership fees to make annual donations to notable charitable causes.

Each year, a charity is suggested and voted upon by members at monthly meetings in the led up to our rally in November.  Subsequently, the colours chosen for each year’s rally badge often reflect the colours of the chosen charity.

Details of the charities we have supported are shown below.

If you have any suggestions of a charity you would like to see supported, please contact the Club at sr500clubau@gmail.com

YearCharity nameDonation amountLink
2016National Breast Cancer Foundation$500
2017Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia$500
2018Kidney Health Australia$500
2019MS Australia$500
2020Bethanga CFA$500
2021Karungkarni Art and Culture Centre$500
2022Pancare Foundation$1,000
2023Asylum Seeker Resource Centre$1,000

Change of venue for monthly meeting (31 Jan 2023)

Happy New Year everyone! 🥳

We hope you can join us for our first monthly meeting of 2023, which will be on Tuesday, 31 January.

This month, we will be meeting at a different venue: The Palace Hotel, 505-507 City Rd, South Melbourne.

Situated on a corner, there is plenty of off-street parking on the wide footpath and grassed area at the front of the pub, AND for your convenience, there is a 7-Eleven petrol station right across the road, in case your motorcycle also requires sustenance!

The Palace offers a great range of food at reasonable prices, in a relaxed and casual setting. To view the current menu, please click here.

Feel free to meet us there from 6.30-7.00pm for a meal. The meeting proper usually commences at around 7.30pm.

 

2022 Rally Report

After a three-year absence, it was so great to have a Rally back in Bethanga this year!

Despite poor weather and road conditions, attendance was good. 103 people signed in, which consisted of members of:

SR500 Club, Monarchs MC, VJMC, SCUM Tourers, Lemmings MC, BMW Touring Club NSW, British Two Stroke Club, Bendigo Historic MC, Ulysses Club, Albury Wodonga Motorcycle Enthusiasts Club, Veteran Vintage and Classic MC ACT, Shoalhaven Vintage MC, Townsville Restored MC, Cancer Research Advocate Bikers, and Redgate Classic MC.

Subsequently, there was a great selection of bikes to peruse!

Show ‘n’ Shine

At Saturday’s Show ‘n’ Shine, there were eight award categories. Congratulations to the following winners!

  • Best stock SR – Mathew Rode (1984 SR500), again!
  • Best modified SR – Geoff Garlick
  • Best XT/TT 500 – Colin Jay
  • Best 4/5 valve (XT/TT/SZR/SRX 600/660) – Andrew Willcox (SRX600)
  • Peoples’ choice – Chris Rowley (Honda 400 Four)
  • Best non-SR – Greg Doubleday
  • Longest distance – Rick Carbis (all the way from Warwick, QLD)
  • Best rat bike – Mick Kirby

Saturday night raffle

A number of companies kindly donated items for Saturday night’s raffle, resulting in many lucky people winning some great prizes!

A big THANK YOU to the following companies who donated prizes:

  • Andy Strapz, Seaford (VIC)
  • Vanem, Lane Cove (NSW)
  • Yamaha Australia

Hospitality and entertainment

The Bethanga community provided delicious meals for us over the weekend – a wonderful assortment of curries on Friday night; a succulent selection of roast meats on Saturday night; decadent desserts; huge, cooked breakfasts, and hot and cold beverages.

Brett Gilbee and band, Back Porch Fridaze, provided Saturday night’s musical entertainment, who performed brilliantly despite inclement weather!

Annual General Meeting

At Sunday’s AGM, nominations for the Committee were heard, and the following elections were made:

  • President: Jeff Gillman
  • Vice President: Paul Newbold
  • Treasurer: Craig Lemon
  • Secretary: Mike Haysom

Congratulations to Jeff, Paul, Craig, and Mike, who retain their positions for another 12 months.

2022 Rally – A Club Member’s Report

Drew Jackson and Rick Carbis rode all the way from Warwick (QLD) to attend the 2022 Rally in Bethanga.

Here’s Drew’s account of the long ride down and back.

The Year of the Floods 2022

La Niña tried its hardest to stop us getting to Bethanga for the rally this year. With the pandemic intervening in previous years, and advancing age, it was worth the risk to head south and hope for the best. There had been heavy rain and storms in Central Queensland leading up to our departure, so we changed plans and rather than ride all the way from Townsville, we decided to take the bikes in the ute as far as Warwick and then ride the 1,510 km to Bethanga. Rick’s SR500E was a recent rebuild and it had only been on the road for a few weeks, and it was using a lot more fuel than normal, so it wasn’t fully sorted. With just days to go before departure, Rick was still building racks so he could mount his BMW’s Krauser panniers to the bike. While re-jetting his carburettor to fix the economy problem, he created a starting problem. He sorted that out after some advice from a friend. My bike had done the trip twice before, so I used the same old throw-overs and gear. The bikes were loaded into the ute with some modifications so that they’d fit with the tailgate partly closed, and a replica number plate attached. It was fully loaded.

The first overnight stop was in Eidsvold. We stayed at the Star Hotel that is currently undergoing extensive renovations. Our club [Townsville Restored Motorcycle Club] uses the Star regularly. The owner is friendly, and the prices are fair. We arrived in Warwick the following afternoon, unloaded the bikes, and set them up. Rick’s SR was very heavily loaded, and the side stand was struggling to cope. Eventually he shifted the tools to the opposite pannier to prevent it toppling over.

We did a side trip to Brisbane in the ute on Tuesday before arriving back in Warwick on Wednesday and getting on the way, south, at midday. We headed off on the New England Highway and stopped in Stanthorpe to check our fuel economy. Rick’s economy problem seemed to be solved. The hot start button was doing its job, almost. It wasn’t shutting off so the idle was staying high. We turned off the New England at Uralla and headed for Walcha down Thunderbolt’s Way. A very enjoyable ride. We stayed in the Commercial Hotel in Walcha where we were able to keep the bikes in a locked shed for the night.

The following morning, we repaired Rick’s cruise control and headed further south, towards Bathurst. This took us to Gloucester, Dungog and Singleton and then onto Denman, where we stopped for lunch and asked about a shortcut to the Bylong Valley Road and whether the road was open. We were told by a council worker that it was open to light vehicles. This is where we further practised the art of pothole dodging. This used to be a great ride, but the state of the road has deteriorated to the stage where it is only a good ride now. The tight, windy bits are still good. 30 kph posted corners are fun on an SR500. We stopped briefly in Sofala before arriving in Bathurst, and naturally we did a couple of laps of the track before finding our accommodation for the night in an Irish Pub that is under new management. We locked our bikes in the beer garden overnight. The Guinness was great and so was the food.

Friday morning, we headed off on the last leg. We turned off the main western highway and headed towards Crookwell via Trunkey Creek. The first time I rode this way there was still a section of dirt. Now it’s all bitumen with lots of corners and very little traffic. The posted advisory signs range from 15 kph to 55 kph. This road is a great way to travel south. We refuelled in Crookwell and headed for Gunning. We needed to get to Bethanga before dark, so we did the unthinkable and took the Hume Highway to Albury. We stopped in Gundagai for lunch. The Hume was boring, but it saved a bit of time. I told Rick that we’d do the more interesting route on the way home – Jingellic, Tumbarumba, Batlow and Tumut.

We arrived at the sports grounds to be met by Marcos who had kindly packed a couple of chairs for us. My odometer showed 1,510 km.

The rally was great, and it was good to catch up with people after all the lockdowns and restrictions. We’ve all aged that bit more.

On Saturday we rode to Dartmouth dam, and that was spectacular. We had lunch at Eskdale before returning to the rally through some light rain. Saturday night was good, with plenty of red grape juice and Rick taking home the Long Distance Award. I’m glad the trophy was easy to pack, as I don’t think his bike had room for much else.
The rain on Saturday night had managed to soak everything in my tent – sleeping bag, clothes, everything. I woke once the grape juice wore off and shivered and shook until morning.

Getting ready to leave meant putting on the least wet clothing we had and putting on our wet weather gear over the top to stop the wind chill. After breakfast we headed off home. It was raining and it was cold, especially around Batlow. Rick had gone numb. Once we came down off the high country to Gundagai, things improved. We headed to Jugiong for coffee, and then Harden and Bathurst and Rylstone. We stayed at the Globe Hotel in Rylstone. Highly recommended. The following morning it was off to Mudgee, Gunnedah, and eventually to Tamworth. Once we were back on the New England, it was an easy ride back to Warwick. I caught up with family over a Chinese takeaway meal after reloading the bikes into the ute for the trip back to Townsville.

The drive back north was uneventful. We stopped overnight in Dingo at the Motel before heading home via Emerald, Belyando Crossing and Charters Towers. The Holden returned 8.8 L/100 km for the 3000+ km trip, which is pretty good considering the load it was carrying.

Next year, Rick is determined to ride all the way – a 6,300 km round trip, depending on how many windy roads he takes.

No meeting, Tuesday 29 November

Please note that there will be no monthly meeting on Tuesday, 29 November.

And as per normal, nor will there be a meeting on Tuesday, 27 December.

Our next meeting will therefore be in the New Year, on Tuesday, 31 January 2023.

We do plan to have a casual catch-up at a centrally-located Melbourne café before Christmas, sometime in December. Watch the website (and our Facebook) for further details.

Newsletter, Nov 2022

A newsletter for November 2022 has been emailed to all members of the Club.

Please find below a link which allows access to the newsletter via this website.

https://92ce51.p3cdn1.secureserver.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/SR500-Nov2022.pdf

Also note, if you are coming to the Rally, due to the potentially damp conditions at the Bethanga Rec Reserve, please remember to bring a ‘foot’ for your motorcycle’s side stand!

 

Kind regards,
Committee
SR500 Club