BMWMCCWA

The York Hill Climb is on this coming Saturday April 13 as a part of the York Motorcycle Festival.
I am planning on entering, should be a laugh so why not enter and support this event, all the info and entry details are available at yorkhillclimb@gmail.com
This event is not a race, it is a time trial so any size bike can do well.
Pre 1980 bikes only.
What about it Guy??!!

Well, what an awesome weekend! All motorcycling

Friday evening at AutoClassic BMW and Saturday, participating in the 2nd annual Mt Brown Hill Climb at York, a component of the York Motorcycle Festival.

Friday Arvo

AutoClassic BMW released the new BMW S 1000 HP4 Race.

Words are seriously lacking... 215 HP powering only 167 kg wet!

And with the ShiftCam Technology, it even has torque below a million rpm! That's what the dyno curve says anyhow... A beautifully crafted weapon for race-track adventures. No pix?

The street version ONLY pumps 207 HP. What a slug...

Stunt rider Lukey Luke failed to punt his stunt F800 around due to a rare bingle he encountered earlier. The bruises were quite real, not trendily tattoo'ed on...



Billy Ward (AKA Billy Biketruck, Charley Boorman’s manager) from the Long Way Round group entertained us with numerous hilarious tales from the road. If you get a chance to hear his story-telling, listen and laugh out loud... He also promoted his Morroco tours with Charlie Boorman in May. Billy and Lukey Luke were putting in an appearance at the York Motorcycle Festival too.



NOTE: HP4 Race in the background behind the F800...

http://www.yorkmotorcyclefestival.com.au/?page_id=255

Saturday

Up before sunrise and on the road to the Mt Brown Hill Climb. I discovered that trying to get fuel at around 6 am requires waiting 6 minutes for the pump prices to re-calibrate... Decided to risk running out of fuel and hoping to make it to Midvale for a complete tank fill. Pumped in 32.5 litres. Pretty close to the capacity of 33 litres...

I made the York - Great Eastern Highway turn-off just as the sun was peeking over the hills. And what a glorious sight it was... The grassy hillsides were glistening silver... A magnificant time of the day to be out and alive on a motorcycle! As I was cutting the time pretty close, I failed you in not stopping for a photo of the scenery... apologies...

Anyway, I made it into York with enough time to call JW and make my way to the start of the Mt Brown Hill Climb, a part of the annual York Motorcycle Festival.

What's a Hill Climb, you ask... The important thing to note is that it's not a race... This is how it all started.

On the previous Monday evening, 'Wightman' and 'theape' were having a lend about moi riding an 'airhead' and challenged me to ride JW's pretty little BMW R60/2 in the Mt Brown Hill Climb at York. After much piss taking and persuasion, I eventually gave in...

So I'm finally there. I know nothing about a BMW R60/2.



Pretty little red thing isn't she! That's my ol' faithful R1200 GSA under the tree



Only four gears? No electric start! Only a silly kick start that works the wrong way. And the speedo and rev counter are taped over so you can't see them. It's all seat of the pants stuff. The side stand and centre stand both require situation awareness to operate, both moving onto the stands and off... I'd never be allowed to forget ever, if I dropped this lovely on the ground Brakes... much caution advised, especially parked and trying not to roll backwards

After several attempts by the 'AirHead Maestro' JW to teach me the intricacies of his delightful red beauty, mostly prodding her into life with that silly 'kick start lever' thing which you must jump on with your boot. So twice, I've managed to stir her soul into existence... and she's purring away. None of that 'brap, brap, brap' tedium that most of the other highly-strung machines required to keep 'em alive. Just purring away in a gentle fashion. Amazing what large heavy flywheels will do for an engine.

So again, what's this 'Hill Climb' thing?

Not many rules: The bikes must be pre-1980, safe, and pass scrutineering. Speedo and rev counter are taped over. No clocks or timers. Road registration is not necessary as it is a 'closed' event. And to the tee, almost any motorcycle type was in attendance. Motorcycle brands in attendance: Velocette, Vespa, Lambretta, AJS, BSA, Norton, Triumph, Suzuki, Harley Davidson, Ducati, Honda, BMW, rat bikes, beautiful restored pristine bikes, motocross sidecar, road race sidecar, anything really... even early 80's trail bikes... and shod with tyres ranging from knobbies, slicks, to normal road patterns. A crazy collection

What a motley lot


The Pit Area

From memory 37 bikes in total.
We ride down to the start line in groups of ten. We are then paired and start the run,which is timed. Calm yourself, it's not a race. You've already passed the first two tests. Firstly, starting the bikes, secondly, parking them on loose gravel ground on your machine park number mat (17 in my case). Especially humorous watching riders attempting to maneuver the largess of monster HDs (eg. 1954 Panhead) around and up-hill backwards. Tough enough with my little red beauty.



The plan: Six runs in total up the hill. Around three corners. Over the start line (where 'AirHead Maestro/Time Keeper is watching). Stop and line-up in the parking area at the top of Mt Brown Lookout. Note: Apply all available braking power to prevent from launching into space and landing somewhere around York.

Run 0: Get to know the track. In my case, learn how a 1964 R60/2 works. Missed second gear.

Practice Run 1: Get to know the track and bike. Establish a time. Missed second gear - 31.09 secs

Practice Run 2: Understand the best lines through the corners and develop a strategy. Establish a time. Mastered three gears - 28.15 secs

And so, onto the real thing...

From your times on Practice 1 and 2, riders must nominate a time that they reckon they can consistently ride the next three runs.

My strategy: Button off a little and run a slightly slower time, namely 28.30 seconds.

I understand the bike, understand my lines through the corners, and JW is sitting at the top watching
And I've worked out that it's important to be paired with a slower or conversely faster bike, not one that has a similar time to yours. This ensures safe full use of the track and corners without having to avoid the other rider.

Let the hill climb begin...

At number 17, I'm off in the second group of ten. Luckily paired with a new'ish Triumph. Much quicker than the R60/2. Therefore I had a clean run up the hill.

Run 3 (Official Time): 29.03

I didn't realise that one could refer to the time-keeper to check one's time. So I just carried on regardless. By the 3rd timed run, it started to become obvious that some of the starters either had clocks or were checking said times with the officials, notably by throttling back at 2/3 climb.

BMWMCCWA member Bowe was also in the hill climb on his delightful BMW R69S. He gets pretty serious about this sort of thing...



And lucky for me, he was always on hand to push start the R60/2. After the first two kick-starting successes, the R60/2 just didn't leap into life as it did earlier in the day. So in order to conserve energy, I decided that the roll start approach was to become de rigueur, apologies JW... It was down-hill and a very low compression engine. Very easy and no sweat. Thanks Bowe!

So there was plenty of motorcycle porn to ogle, hear, smell and feel.

Suzuki TS 185 trail bike?



Ducati 450 R/T

Stationary



And on the Hill



Bowe on the BMW R69S on a mission

For the next run, I was paired with a Honda in full race trim. It sounded like a twin, but importantly it was much faster and left me with a clear track.

Run 4 (Official Time): 29.12

Prior to the last run (5th) up the hill, a lunch break was called.
It was deserved after all. I was feeling quite exhausted riding for at least 6 minutes in total by about this time... and it was hot... and parking these oldies on slippery gravel... and roll starting them...

About this time, our official time-keeper, the Hon 'AirHead Maestro' JW arrived in his coach, looking very royal.



Much ado was made, but no plausible action resulted from said 'much ado'. No food van to speak of... The ice cream vendor must have made a fortune. Funny too, to watch all these gnarly tough ol' motorcyclists wandering around licking ice creams and drinking coffee. Food arrived very late.

So it was onto the last run.

Paired again with the race spec Honda, I made my final stab in the dark. Figuring I was getting quicker, so I buttoned off a fraction on the last turn.

Run 5 (Official Time): 29.19

After seeing the official times later on, I should have simply kept doing the same thing... which would really have closed up my times.

A couple of favourites of mine

Suzuki 500 GT with chambers (I had one of these ) and the innovative and technically advanced Velocette LE 'Noddy' bike (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Velocette_LE)

On the last run, the Velocette LE 'Noddy' simply ran out of steam at the steep end of the hill climb. It required a re-start and a bit of rowing to get it moving again. Lovely to watch





More climbers



Returning



Bowe, happier now it's collecting the trophy time

Parked 1954 HD PanHead plus BMW shot for JD



Parked BMW R60/2 shot for JW



The Suzuki 500 GT on the trailer

I just want to thank Alex and JW for twisting my arm and coercing me into participating in the Mt Brown Hill Climb. And no, I did not accept JW's bribe of paying half of the entry fee. Nor sadly was Alex there on Sunday to run my trusty GSA on the dyno

And lastly, a huge 'Thank You' to JW for trusting me with his awesome BMW R60/2. They certainly did build 'em differently back then. I genuinely enjoyed the ride.

And... Bowe for applying a beer in the camp grounds to celebrate an awesome day.

It's great to hear that the York local council are on board and whole-heartedly support the Mt Brown Hill Climb's second year. The Mayor of York was there to express the council's support and present the prizes.

No trophy for moi, but a hugely entertaining day.

The results: If someone has a pic of the other time sheet, I will post it here.



Gotta say that I'm pretty pleased with my times. A spread of 0.16 seconds over 3 runs

I managed to get home in Perth safely around 5 pm. The traffic on the way to York for the Saturday night festivities at the York Motorcycle Festival was mind-blowing. Like peak hour on the freeway

The winner: Suzuki TS 185 trail bike



Just goes to show, it's not about the speed

YouTube video of the 2019 Mt Brown Hill Climb, York.




YouTube video of the 2018 Mt Brown Hill Climb, York.