S.T.A.R. NEWSLETTER ISSUE 15
March/April 2007
www.starbikeclub.com
Club Details
Meetings held 1st Monday of each month at the Miners Rest Hotel,
Wonthaggi at 8.00pm.
President: Ph: 56574248
Email: dallasjulie@dcsi.net.au
Postal Address: PO Box 601
Wonthaggi Vic 3995
Presidents Report.
Well it has been a very tough start to 2007 for the club. First of all the extreme nature of the bushfires this
season has made it very difficult to plan weekend rides or even day rides for that matter. The situation does seem
to be easing now with information on track conditions being made available on the Internet. Obviously the
environment we will be riding in will be very different to what we have been used to.
Our February meeting was thrown into turmoil when the Miners Rest Hotel rang Joe just an hour before we
were to meet to inform us that they would no longer be open Monday nights. After meeting at this hotel since the
club began I find the way we were informed of this closure totally unprofessional and showed a complete lack of
respect and consideration for the club and its members. We have since found another venue and are now meeting
at the Caledonian Hotel.
With our normal riding areas still cooling from the fires we decided to organise a weekend ride at the Otways.
Mick Grace kindly offered to plan and lead two day rides. As we hadn’t ridden there before and I wasn’t able to
attend that weekend, there was a few phone calls between Mick and myself. Thanks Mick for organising this
weekend, it’s great to be able to ride in different areas.
Hopefully things will start getting easier from now on. There has been a change of venue for this month’s
weekend ride that will be explained later in this newsletter. We look forward to some great weekend rides in the
coming months.
Catch ya later, Dallas.
BITS AND PIECES
Our weekend ride from Rokeby to Erica on the 28th and 29th has been postponed, probably to the May weekend
ride date as the area around Erica has an endro on that weekend. Instead, we are now going to Bairnsdale for the
two days of riding, with some leaving Friday night around 6 o’clock. We’ll stay at the caravan park both nights and
just drive out to where we’ll start riding. Anyone interested in going give Joe or Barney a ring for more details.
Most people should be aware by now that the monthly meetings have been moved from the Miners Rest to the
Caledonian hotel in Graham St Wonthaggi.
At the last meeting it was brought up that the starting times of the meetings were getting a bit too late and therefore
ending too late as well, so it was decided that the meetings will now start at 8.00pm sharp. That means if you want
to catch up and have a beer or two you will need to be there well before 8.00pm
At our next meeting (May 7th) we are going to have a Bumbag night which basically means we need members to
bring their bumbags in so we can have a bit of a look and compare what’s in them.
A couple of carloads of members went to the recent Aust. Super-cross round at Rosedale and were shocked by the
amount of people there. Apparently there were big traffic jams early on just trying to get to the track which was held
at the speedway circuit. Once inside you could hardly move and the viewing was pretty ordinary but the track and
the racing was quite good. I think the organisers must have severely underestimated the crowd that was going to
turn up, especially when it came to food stalls and toilets. It would have been a nightmare if you had a family there
with young kids, and a lot of people started leaving halfway through, including the likes of Matt & Bev. On the other
hand, Townsy, Mark, Joe and Barney were able to sneak into the pits for the last third of the program and sat on
the fence by themselves and had a fantastic view of the track. Some reports put the crowd at 10,000 – 12,000
where I think the venue would be comfortable with no more than half the numbers that were there.
ARRIVALS AND DEPARTURES
Ryan has sold his KTM 450 and replaced it with a new CR 250 two stroke.
With weather cooling down a bit and rain surely just around the corner, its about time to get the bike all ready for
the up-coming rides the club has. All the bikes, new and old need a regular check over to try and eliminate any
problems that may occure on the trail, especially on the longer two or three day rides that we have planned. These
problems may not only bugger up your weekend but also the groups as well if they have to deal with a broken down
bike that could have been kept running with a bit of a once over before each ride.
On the next page, I’ve put together a list of basic items on the bike that needs to be checked regularly. You may
want to copy this list and put it in the shed, maybe even laminate it so that each time you check over the bike you
can tick off the list as you go.
BASIC MAINTAINENCE CHECK LIST
WHEELS
• Tyres – in good condition?
• Tubes – extra heavy duty a good idea.
• Tyres – is pressure ok?
• Brake pads – more than enough for the next ride, spare pads in Bumbag a good idea.
• Brake fluid – check levels
• Bearings – check wheel, swingarm and steering head.
• Axles and nuts – make sure the axle is easy to remove. They sometimes seize and need a hammer and
xxxxxxpunch to remove, which you won’t have on the trail.
• Chain and sprocket – check the amount of wear on the sprocket and the adjustment of the chain.
MOTOR
• Air cleaner – check or clean
• Engine oil and filter – check or replace
• Gearbox oil – check or replace
• Spark plug – check, clean, or replace
• Coolant – check level
GENERAL
• Clutch and throttle cables – check they’re not frayed and work freely
• Hydraulic clutch - check fluid levels
• Nuts and Bolts – general check over and tighten
• Forks – a regular clean under the dust seals is good insurance against a leaking seal
• Gear Lever – is it tight on the selector shaft?
While there are other things that need to be done in a proper service (valve clearance, battery, change all fluids
etc.) this list provides a basic guide to most of the maintenance jobs that will keep your bike running sweetly.
Report written by: Barney
Day and Date of ride: Sunday March 11 2007
Where to: Willow Grove
Who went: Barney Dallas Bulldog
Km’s: 80
Approx Hrs riding: 4rs
Weather conditions: Nice day bit warm at times.
Riding conditions: Dry but not too dusty.
Problems, breakdowns: Nil
Brief Comments: A good spot to go riding between Erica and Rokeby-Noojee.
Report written by: Paul Bird
Day and Date of ride: 11/3/07
Where to: Stradbroke
Who went: Paul Bird, Paul Escreet, Steve Waldron, Jay and Marty Paterson
Km’s: 100kms
Approx Hrs riding: 4-5 ours
Weather conditions: Sunny, warm, and hot
Riding conditions: Sandy not dusty
Problems, breakdowns: nil
Brief Comments: Great spot for wet weather
Otways weekend ride report
Our two-day ride to the Otways was held on March 31st and 1st April. Kev and Joanne and the kids, Rob, George
and his mate all ventured down on the Friday night and stayed at the Airleys Inlet Caravan Park. They were joined
on Saturday morning by Paul, Joe and Barney who met them at the Big Hill camp ground above Lorne where the
ride started. Also meeting them there were Mick and his mate Enzo who were going to lead the ride. After gearing
up and then a short blast up the bitumen we did about 45km of good dirt tracks before lunch of which some were
pretty slippery and there were a few get offs. There was also some good short hill climbs that proved a bit of a
challenge. We rolled into Barwon Downs where some of the boys refuelled and we all had lunch, Rob had lost the
front brakes on his WR when his brake line had ruptured so after lunch he rode straight back to the cars. For the
rest of us, it was back into the bush for another 40-50km lap. We ended up getting a bit lost for a while but then
found a great little gnarly single lane track that went for about half an hour. It was starting to get on a bit and the
Km’s were clocking up when the first of the bikes started running out of fuel. With some fuel swapping and also a bit
of rider swapping we continued on but it wasn’t long before more bikes ran out. Maybe we should have all fuelled
up at lunch. We all ended up getting back to the cars all right, although Kev’s WR ended up getting towed back.
Mick and Enzo were camping there the night so the rest of us left our bikes there with them and went back to Airleys
Inlet for a warm shower and a good feed at the pub.
The next morning George and Rob decided to head home, as the brakes were unrepairable on Rob’s Yammy. The
rest of us went back up to the camp ground where Mick and Enzo had been joined buy a couple of their mates. It
was decided to ride out the other side of the camp ground towards the Melbourne side. There was a fair amount of
gravel roads to get to where the tracks were but once we were there we had a good ride. The area was a bit like
Rosedale with the tracks pretty sandy at times and also dusty. Where the previous days riding would be a
nightmare in the wet, this side would handle the rain a lot better and would be a better place to ride after a decent
rain. We finished doing the trails that Mick had planned out and headed back along the same roads to the camp
ground. We ended up doing about 75km’s and got back about 1.30pm. We packed up and apart from Kev and his
family who were staying another night, we all headed home after another great weekend.
S.T.A.R.
PROPOSED WEEKEND RIDE
DATES 2007
2007
January: no ride conducted due to weather conditions.
February: no ride conducted due to weather conditions.
March: Otways
April 28th & 29th: Bairnsdale
May 26th and 27th Noojee to Rawson (Shorter and slightly easier ride)
June: 9th, 10th and 11th Queens Birthday weekend at Dargo (depending on conditions due to the summer
fires).
Dec1st and 2nd: Woods Point
Remember day rides are on the weekend following club meetings, alternating Saturday (odd months) and Sunday
(even months).
Example 2007 Rides April 8th Sunday ride
May 5th Saturday ride
June 3rd Sunday ride
July 7th Saturday ride
For more information on these rides contact
Dallas: 56574248 or Russ: 0429 327501
