My latest affair with a motorcycle
started a few months ago after I was dreaming up ways I could score myself one
– enduro, motocross, adventure, trail – hell I wasn’t being fussy, I just
needed some wheels to scratch the itch I was feeling from being too long out of
the saddle. Maybe I should have been more specific with my dreaming though as
15-minutes after snapping back to the reality of my MacBook screen and photos
found surfing moto sites I get this out-of-the-blue phone call, “Hey Goba, its
Steve Crombie, remember at the ADB ride day you mentioned your looking for an
old adventure bike to get you going until you can afford one you really want”,
Ah yeah, I replied. “Well I’ve got a deal for you”, he said, in a way I felt
this could be really good, or maybe not so good, but hey I was bike-less and
was prepared to give anything a go.
Pondering the many adventures to come
Two weeks later I’m down in Sydney
driving out to some place near Campbelltown with my fiancee in our VW van
searching for Stevo’s cousin who had been storing for him, and trying to get
going, his Honda NX650 Dominator he’d ridden to all corners of the globe and
back again. “All you have to do Goba is pick up two bikes, one I’ve set up for
adventure riding the other I bought for spares, and swap a few parts, sell the
spare one, and ride off into the sunset, well for a few years you can anyways.”
You see, Stevo had moved on up in
the world since being sponsored by Yamaha. Brand spanking new bikes plus all
the trick aftermarket accessories you could throw at them. He didn’t have time
for his old Dominator anymore, but he was tied to the machine he fondly refers
to as ‘WOLVERINE’, and for sentimental reasons he just couldn’t let her go,
which is why I came into the picture. He wanted someone to take care of her for
a few years until he’d made enough money from being a motorcycle adventure star
and could buy himself a big enough house with a big enough lounge room to
display old Wolverine in.
Whatever, as long as I’ve got a
motorcycle that can take me to all corners of Australia I’m happy as a … umm,
just happy will do!
But these types of deals never
unfold as easy as they first sound. My first few hours going over Wolverine
told me my mate Stevo is big on adventure but not so big on maintenance! The
list of things wrong with the old girl ran the length of my arm and down the
other side – flogged chain and sprockets, worn out brake discs and pads, seized
brake callipers, cracked rims, broken ignition switch, missing nuts and bolts,
and I haven’t even got to the engine yet. You see I had limited time before
having to head back north so I left that side of things with a trusted friend,
who’s mechanical expertise far out-weighs mine when it comes to pulling apart
four-stroke engines. His name is Big Al Mitchell from Mitchell’s Motorcycles at
Kirrawee, and here’s what he reported after having some alone time with
Wolverine.
Big Al is the man!
Big Al: “Goba rolled the beast into the shop with a bit of a
noise in the engine so I pulled it apart to find the cause of it and found that
the top-end was pretty much worn out from high kays, and by the looks it had a
few dodgy rebuilds in its lifetime as you could see a lot of stripped nuts and
bolts, rounded nuts, and things that have been taken off with chisels …
(laughs!) With a spare engine sitting by we decided it wasn’t economical to
replace the parts so I went about replacing the engine, which was a drama in
itself as three of the engine bolts at the bottom were seized, probably from a
lot of creek crossings or God knows what. Five hours later – yes, they were a
bastard to get out – I finally removed the engine. Then with the spare engine
in I came up against a few electrical problems, mainly the CDI was buggered, so
I salvaged one off the spare bike and got it to fire. Then I had to pull the
carbie off as it was leaking fuel everywhere. After stripping it I could see it
was totally worn out from being dusted and from blow-by etc, plus fuel had gone
off in the float bowl and the needle was stuck open, which explained the leaking
fuel. I ended up making one good carbie out of two. With that sorted she
basically ran pretty well, and then I just gave it the once over to get it
going on the road, but it’s clear the old beast will need some more loving
before hitting some serious off-road kays.”
Big Al hard at work on Wolverine at his workshop in Kirrawee
Three weeks later I returned to
Sydney and rode Wolverine out of Big Al’s workshop and rode 10 hours north to
my hometown in Northern NSW and it didn’t miss a beat. Heavy rain and high
winds she powered through smiling all the way. Most likely feeling happy she
was out of a dusty garage and being ridden once again. As soon as the weather
cools and I finish setting the old girl up just how I like her you’ll be able
to find us camping out under the stars somewhere outback after a solid day spent
riding the exhilarating terrain Australia has to offer. Thanks Stevo for
entrusting Wolverine into my hands, we’re going to have a lot of GOOD TIMES!
Watch this space for more news as it happens. Goba/Wolverine. P.S. Thanks Big
Al Mitchell for your help in getting Wolverine on the road, not only are you a
top bloke but a bloody ace mechanic! Give him a call if you need a bike
repaired 02 8544 0872
Steve Crombie has ridden Wolverine to far corners of
the globe. Here's a few photos from his travels. You can see why the old girl
was in much need of some maintenance. For more info on Steve and his latest
adventures log on to his rad website www.loston.com
