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Winter Run –
Sunday shed Wrap
Get out of town
and spend a couple of weeks on the road
June 28, 2026, by Guy
'Guido' Allen
With a bit of luck, the
pic above should resemble what we're looking at
tomorrow morning, as we embark on a run from Melbourne
to Brisbane and back, via the Newell and New England
highways. We're working on nearly two weeks for the
trip.
Via Texas, Queensland.
Why?
The route needed a twist
and I reckon it's about 20 years since I saw the
place, on a Honda
Valkyrie Interstate with daughter Ms A. Back
then, we were all young and silly. Now we're a little
older.
This time the mission is
to head to Brisbane, Queensland, to cover a couple of
feature stories for Unique
Cars magazine.
Last time I tried this
was around September 2025 and it all went pear-shaped,
when the bike broke down near Inglewood. That was a
hugely expensive exercise and you can see
the wash-out here.
This time, I'm more
positivie as it seems we have rebuilt everything that
usually breaks on these bikes. While I know that does
not sound reassuring, the exercise adds up in this
case. The K1200LT now owes me roughly Au$15,000
(US$10,300, GB£7800, €9000) with all the long-term BMW
cock-ups sorted, including rear main seal, clutch
slave cylinder, clutch, rear drive seals and so-on. In
theory, it's now good for another 20 years.
The sharp folk among you
may be wondering why I didn't just buy a used 1800
Goldwing. That would have been a much more peaceful
road.
Here is the catch. The
BMW of that era (1999-on) generally handled far
better, had a power screen, plus heated seats and
grips. Anyway I have come to like it, particularly now
I've fitted the giant after-market USA screen. The
latter has, weirdly, improved its fuel economy to the
point where it will do 5lt/100km (20km/lt) with ease.
I have become a believer
in shortening the riding/driving days to the point
where we have a curfew that opens about 9.00am and
shuts down again at 4.00pm. The main reason is I'm
sick to death of running over/into animals and so it
seems reasonable to avoid what in Australia I call
'roo o'clock. (For those who are mystified, we're
talking of times when kangaroos come out to feed,
drink and play – which is from dusk though to dawn.)
Here is the another
thing: anything more than 500km (310 miles) per day
feels like an endurance test. Okay, I have aged a bit.
Despite that, why on earth do the target-fixated
endurance thing to yourself? I like the idea of
getting a coffee in the morning, stopping to look at
something interesting along the way, and having lunch.
Is that too much to ask?
Meanwhile our Ducati MHR
Mille is back at home and running beautifully
thanks to Peter S. The instant starting is impressive.
The next stage is to change over the screen,
handlebars and indicators with the assistance of old
mate Ian Falloon.
As for the
1953 Vincent Rapide, we're getting to know it
better and probably have a little way to go. We
finally got the handlebars and hand controls where we
want them, which sounds trivial until you play with
it.
Next on the list is
sorting the questionable 6 volt battery set-up,
exchanging the series D tail-lamp for a series C and
then...well, riding it more often would be good!
As for the Winter Run on
the BeeEm, watch
this space...
***
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