POSTED 28th OCTOBER (after my first meeting with my freshly uncrated motorbike)

Hi all. It is hard to get on line at the moment with the sudden emergency of having to travel to Brisbane. However, one very positive side-effect is that I have been able to start and run my bike a couple of months earlier than I expected to. On Thursday 27th October I had some time to kill before visiting Wendy in hospital, so I got 4 litres of petrol in a tin, emptied it into the tank of my CJ, which I was seeing for the first time since it was completed, turned the petrol tap to reserve, tickled the carbies, turned on the ignition, and she started first kick. Because it is as yet unregistered, I could only ride it around my yard here in McDowall, but it was certainly fun just doing that. I found the gears a real bugger to change because of my gammy left leg, but I have arranged for a hand gear shifter to be fitted in December. The reverse gear is great for effortlessly backing a heavy outfit up into my garage. total weight as imported with the sidecar jam-packed with spare parts is 810kg! When I unload the sidecar so she only weighs 350kg she should be a bit snappier (if a 1938-designed outfit can possibly be described as "snappy"). During its long sea voyage the bell cover at the rear of the shaft
drive had worked loose, so before I can register it I shall have to find the correct tool amongst my sidecar full of spares and adjust it. Before I can register it I shall also have to fit rear-vision mirrors and other modern safety features that were not thought of in 1938. I would like to turn up at the registry without mirrors and tell them, "No worries mate, if anything comes up behind me I shall see it out in front of me soon enough!" but somehow, I don't think they'd be amused. Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed my ride around the yard yesterday, and can hardly wait until I return to Brisbane in December to register it and get it out on the road. I shall try to take some pictures this weekend, if my wife's recovery continues okay.

POSTED 14th NOVEMBER (After unexpectedly prolonging my stay in Australia)

I registered the bike today so I shall be riding it for several of my remaining five days in Brisbane. It turned heads wherever it went, and I think the whole staff of the Queensland Transport office suddenly felt the need to walk out to the inspection bay for a look. The jaws all nearly fell off the faces when I started her up and reversed out of the parking bay. I only did a handful of km but it has already attracted a great deal of attention. Bikers and cagers alike all give the thumbs up and I have had several police cars matching my speed in the adjacent lane so they could gawk at it ... and none of them even pulled me up for no number plate! One of them must have seen it at QT and put out the word that it was registered and where I was riding, because I have never seen so many police cars in a 4km drive in my life and they all gave me big smiles and cheery waves. I was wearing my illegal helmet too but I don't think any of them were interested in it. I had a lot of fun!

POSTED 18th NOVEMBER (After my bike conked out about a kilometre from home)

Today the CJ gave up the ghost out on the road and I had to get her towed home. It appears to be an electrical problem as everything electrical on the bike has failed and yet the battery is still fully-charged. Unfortunately, 12-volt CJ bikes are notorious for having electrical problems. I have spares for all electrical parts so I shall start investigating as soon as I can make time to do so. As I am now preparing for my flight to Hong Kong I shall probably have to leave the motorbike trouble-shooting until I come back at Christmas time.

My guess is that either the main fuse has blown or there is a fault in the Voltage Regulator as the battery has a full charge, but there is no voltage detected anywhere on the bike forward of the regulator.

I shall arrive in Brisbane for Christmas on Tuesday, so can start to check out the CJ as soon as my kids will let me.

Blessings,

Phil <><