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.

One off the Bucket List

Old Bike Australasia • NUMBER 113

BLOW YOUR OWN LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

The Yankee

Adelaide comes alive again

Australian Historic titles for Goulburn

Don’t forget Townsville

Donington arrives in Sydney

Vintage Japanese Rally 2024

FOMSA takes shape

Cannonball rolls again

Bimota breaks cover in Sydney

Ducati National Rally heads north

Anthony Gobert

John Dodds

Kal Carrick OAM

Ivan Burkill

Graeme Louis Ruby (Ruben)

The Scarlet Pimpernel • In his signature red leathers Greg Kentwell combined speed and showmanship to succeed across four continents.

V for VINDICATION • While the V4 design is today commonplace for both road and race bikes, it wasn’t always so. But in the early ‘eighties Honda decided that was the way to go, and persevered where others may have given up. The results of their efforts are now rightly considered classics in the truest sense.

UNDERRATED SHAFTIE • It arrived with hardly a murmur of publicity; no lavish press launch, no celebrity endorsements. Seven years later it left the same way. But decades later, a legion of fans know just how well thought out the GT750 really was.

A LE MANS LOVE AFFAIR “A big, thumping twin.” • The Le Mans 1000 was the pinnacle of two decades of development of Moto Guzzi’s V-twin sportsbikes, starting with the 1971 V7 Sport, and strange as it might sound there’s a good chance you might see yourself reflected in its progress.

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Moto Gully Bilpin Scrambles, NSW • Today, few traces remain, but for more than two decades from the late ‘sixties, the sleepy town of Bilpin in the NSW Blue Mountains frequently echoed to the screech of motocross bikes thrashing around, deep in a valley just to the west of the village.

THE EMPEROR’S SHORT REIGN • “Ahead of its time” is a somewhat overused description in motoring terms, but it could well be applied to this very classy German machine, a product of one the country’s most venerated brands.

Gentleman racer • It’s been my privilege to have known Rob Olsen for about 40 years. Furthermore, it is an absolute honour to be afforded the opportunity to record some of Rob’s life story and racing history. Now happily retired in the Queensland country town of Blackbutt, Rob recently sat down with me in his “museum” and graciously allowed me this insight.

The X Factor • The iconic brand has a lot riding on these newcomers. American owner, Chinese manufacture. The new parallel twin Harleys are aimed at capturing a chunk of the local LAMS market, and would appeal to older riders who want less weight and more user-friendliness.

A pie for Jack

Around the clock at Sandown

The celebrity scramble

75 years for the Panhead • Harley Davidson released the Panhead, so named after the shape of the rocker covers looking like a cooking pan, in 1948. In 1958 the model went from a rigid rear end to the more modern rear shock absorbers until 1965 when it was replaced by the Shovelhead. To celebrate 75 years of the Harley-Davidson Panhead a rally was held at Gundagai in NSW.

An SR500 epic • 6,200km return to the rally? Piece of cake.

Gary’s FLASH BACK

Missing an...