Having a week away from Sydney and normal life in early september (2006) was really nice. Although we were based in North Arm Cove on Port Stephens, we spent a lot of time exploring the local country side and in the midst of this came across the Australian National Motorbike Museum at Nabiac, which is just south of Bulladelah on the lower north coast. The place is huge. Probably the equivalent of 2 football fields and every inch is literally packed with interesting bikes from all over the world including all sorts of competition bikes. The walls are covered in bike memorabilia as well. Anyone with even a passing interest in bikes or machinery could spend lots of hours pouring over the bikes and associated bits and pieces. I spent the better part of an hour there and had a very good time. My only regret was needing to juggle a bored two year old. Maybe I can take her back in a few years time when her and her younger brother have longer attention spans and more patience.
Just inside the front entrance (left pic) was this impressive drag bike.
It uses TWO Yamaha 2 stroke 165cc engines and a complex belt drive system to get all the power to the back wheel.
One can only imagine the noise.
Harley Davison lovers, this is my one concession to the most horrible bikes on the planet (imho).
A custom bass guitar made in the shape of what appears to be a pan head Vee Twin.
Sadly it looks as if it needs a few strings to be playable.
This side car is a speedway racer.
You might mistake it for a mini bike, except for the mental big engine.
These two Ducatis were something of a surprise to me.
Having had something of an obsession with Dukes for some years, I didn't know they came in singles.
I had always assumed the V-twins were the standard.
These 69'and 70' 450 Desmos were the true superbikes of the time.
I may have found a new target for Ducati lust.
Sadly at 6'4" and 95kg, I am probably way too big.
Next up I found what I was hoping for.
Several BMW boxers.
These bikes are VW of big bore bikes.
Low revving with stump pulling torque, they never wear out.
The white one was my fave, although I think it really needs a twin port beetle motor.
Apparently this is the standard conversion, however it can make the handling a little techy.
Above we have some more boxers.
The first two pics are of a Kossack.
These bikes were basically Soviet rip offs of BMWs.
They were made right up until the 1980s and exported all over the world.
Reliability was not always there strong point.
I once knew a guy that owned one.
His comment was that, while it didn't always start first time,
it was predictable, easy to fix and nearly unbreakable.
Personally, I think I'd stick with a Bimmer. ;o)
The third pic is of another boxer I spied in the vintage bike section.
I have no idea what it's out of, but it can't be bigger than about 300cc if that much.
Got to love the rocker system.
I guess you oil them before leaving home each time.
This is the single moment when Eleanor stood still in the Museum.
The rest of the time, she ran from bike to bike or squirmed around sitting on my shoulders.
(A feeble attempt to keep her still and stop her inadvertently breaking something)
This minibike was most definitely her favorite bike.
I was informed that it was a "durtle noteedike" (purple motorbike).
She was also very keen to have her picture taken in front of it.
The left pic here is a series of oldschool motorcross bikes all BSAs.
I don't personally get into motorcross bikes.
That's not to say that they aren't great machines but they just don't interest me.
However, there is something very 1960's cool about these particular machines.
You could easily see Steve McQueen doing something heroic riding one of theme.
The right pic is of an interesting sidecar.
I assumed it was used offroad complete with rocker arm suspension on the sidecar.
This bike is very interesting. Sure, the styling is bad, but that should come as no surprise. Afterall, it is an early Japanese Bike. How early, well 1959 to be exact. It's really rather impressive, with 125cc, DOHCs and an electric start. What's more it was quite cheap. The story is that the British Motorcycle industry laughed at it. They said it was too small and complicated. However, when you put it next to similar brit bikes, you can see it is literally years ahead of it's time. It was bikes like this and suzuki 2 strokes that eventually destroyed the British Motorbike industry by supplying superior modern bikes at much cheaper prices. This is the picture of the problem of Brittish versus Japanese automotive engineering during the 60s and 70s. The Japanese took the best technology they could find, copied it and rolled it off the production lines at bargain prices. England continued to make the same engines and cars that had been designed before WW2 thanks to an apalling tax system. It comes as no surprise to see that by the mid eighties, english cars had nearly the worst reputation in the world. Thankfully, things have changed again and now a number of English cars and bikes better there Japanese rivals.
These next two bike were probably my faves.
On the left is a speed trial bike from 1973, the same year I was born.
It's a 2 stroke displacing a massive 47CC.
It set 24 Australian land speed records and better the under 50, 75 and 100cc classes.
I dread to think how high it had to rev.
What a wicked bike.
On the right is a JAP speedway bike.
I have no idea of the specs but this thing looks awesome.
The whole package says, "I mean business."
More than can be said for the current West Coast Chopper trend.
This is a 1915 Indian V-twin.
Your average push lawnmower probably makes more power and would feel better to ride on at 60km/h.
That said, this was made before Model T Fords.
This is true vintage class.
Lastly, then there's this machine.
I don't know whether to love it or hate it but it sure is ugly.
The 1921 Ner-A-Car.
Mmm, not really anything near a car in my opinion.
211cc and 2 stroke, looks like a boat anchor to me.
But then I guess it would've have been more comfy than the Indian.
Things have changed a lot since 1921. I guess it's safe to say we're a lot more fussy with transport than we used to be...or are we. Everyone wants a cheap car that feels like a Rolls Royce. I guess that's what the Ner-a-car was. For my money, bikes need to be more... I think the word is dangerous. I spose that's why I love the speed trial bike and the JAP best. But who knows, maybe I could be just as happy with a VW powered BMW. If you're dissapointed that I missed out some bikes here, can I suggest getting along to the Museum and having a look for yourself. They have hundreds to look at. Something there will tickle your fancy.
