handywork

Member
Sep 5, 2005
84
0
This seems like nobody likes to speak here.C`mon there must be more people from outside the American continent.If not "Beam me up Scotty,there seems to be no intelligent life down here,Kirk out"
 

Pokie

Administrator
May 7, 1999
1,698
1
Galena, IL
...some of us our outside the US occasionally; does that qualify us?
 

chops

Member
Feb 22, 2005
7
0
G'day. Good to see another Aussie on board. Slow reply, I know, but I'm from Tassie. Just got out from hospital. Scar from removing the second head is healing well.
 

handywork

Member
Sep 5, 2005
84
0
chops said:
G'day. Good to see another Aussie on board. Slow reply, I know, but I'm from Tassie. Just got out from hospital. Scar from removing the second head is healing well.
Lol,how is Tassie for riding?Always wondered about that,with all the greenies and the government the way it is are you as restricted as other states?
 

handywork

Member
Sep 5, 2005
84
0
KDXJeff94 said:
i want to go to australlia.... hows the riding down there?
Hey Jeff,the riding is great,depending on the state or region it varies from desert to rainforest.We have a few restrictions though that vary from state to state which can be a bummer if you go blindly into areas without asking first.3 things that are constant though are licence(can be international or permit),registration(same as licence) or in certain cases and places a permit from the National Parks and Wildlife/Ranger or local council in some areas will be suffice.Just check with authorities first.As for private land,you only really need the place,bike and the desire to ride.There are a lot of tourist type guys that can help you out with any of these things and supply most of what you need for a reasonable fee but shop around to get the sort of riding you want and cheapest and best package to suit your needs.I am in the Hunter Valley and we have sand dunes,beaches,bush,old mines,rainforest,disused railways (miles of woop de do`s and jumps).The riding is very good to excellent in every state but,just try to do the right thing or be prepared for the law to give you a hard nudge.
 

chops

Member
Feb 22, 2005
7
0
Hey Handywork,
Riding down here is pretty good, but it is getting harder. However it doesn't matter whether you ride bike, horses or drive a 4wd, its all getting tougher, especially if you are riding with your child (as I am) as a lot of places require recreational rego and a licence. Bit hard with a 10 year old co-rider. Best places are on private land.
 

TY250

Member
Nov 30, 2005
47
0
Chops at least you can ride with Rec Rego. We don't have that in NSW. If you are sprung riding on the street, or in the forest, you are gone! :|
 

handywork

Member
Sep 5, 2005
84
0
Hey Chops,
So it is as restricted as we are.......*******s! I know the feeling of trying to accomodate for younglings too,I have twin 9y.o girls and a 7y.o girl that all ride with me and I know if you risk riding in the bush with them you are a sitting duck,no chance of escape and they know it.With the bloody greedy insurance companies the way they are I would damn near have to mortgage my house to enroll my 3 into a registered club.We can use some of local area to some degree but it`s dwindling away and private land as you said is the only real option for bush riding unless you have registered vehicle,or we can get a recreational vehicle permit for Stockton beach and sand dunes around 30km away,but deep soft sand is hard work for me having to stop all the time and recover the kids as it`s hard going for little tykes,but the hard beach sand suits them fine and they can have a swim and I sometimes take a rod and fish in the surf and the recreational area beach goes for miles from Burubi to just short of Stockton,it`s a good day out with a packed lunch and some extra fuel.
 

chops

Member
Feb 22, 2005
7
0
Yeh, its a bugger. My boy is sort of lucky in that he is in a minibike "training" club for up to 16 year olds, and that we go grasstrack racing 5 or 6 times a year. Being a training club cuts down on the cost. $50/rider/year membership, and $10 per meeting. Also the club runs trailrides 5 or so times a year, and they need adults to run them, so I get a few rides there as well.

All of these are on closed courses though. General bush riding is hard.
 

YZ'06

Member
Feb 27, 2006
4
0
hey yer good to see some aussies on the forum..im 15 and live in victoria so im finding it really hard to find somehwere to ride but clubs are the main thing to go for these days u dont have to race u can just practice on the track every so often
 

handywork

Member
Sep 5, 2005
84
0
Gday Cob,
Yer it is good to find some Aussies,somebody that knows the lingo and ya can relate to.You say it`s gettin hard to find places to ride? I`m with ya on that.It`s gettin hard for all of us bud.The pollies have shut most bush riding avenues up tighter than a ducks bum.I try to be very carefull these days going out scrub bashin.I got done a while back by the local coppa`s and I`m still recovering.$1800 fine,loss of licence for 12 months and a 12 month good behaviour bond to make sure I didn`t stuff up again.I try to use the local motorcycle clubs practice tracks and stuff now.It`s not much as they are mostly fella`s who race speedway,circuit and dirt track and vintage motorcross and we don`t have the money of bigger clubs or ammenities for that matter either.Just a bunch of around 40 local bike enthusiasts who had a couple of parcels of land donated,someone owns or we can afford the lease on.We have working bee`s and volunteer rosters and such to keep costs down.We rely on donations,fundraising and weekly dues to keep us going basically.Damn cheap too,$40 one off rego fee per person,not per bike like other money hungry mobs.Then it`s 5 bucks a week,access all areas.Everything is damn near donated or resourced,couple of fellas with bobcats and trucks,old bedford water truck that we got cheap and fixed up,scab the local tyre blokes and servo`s for tyres,look in the trading post for give away landfill,don`t know how many of us are tradesman.You get the idea,if more people bucked up and did this,we all could afford to ride as well as open up more places for us to cut loose.It started at the local pub and took off from there,been going over 15 years now.I suppose our biggest gripe and best motivation was the gradual dissapearance of places to ride.That and the fact the government and authorities were forcing us all into overpriced clubs.It`s not the clubs fault really I suppose it`s the greedy insurance mobs that want a small fortune and they seem to come up with new ideas and angles to sting you harder each passing moment and the governments all for it,they don`t give a rats about the little bloke.They just think if the insurance corps can bleed you dry,well then your spending more money which is good for the countries economy(not yours) and besides they get 10% of that GST to sweeten the deal.I`m pretty lucky as we have Stockton Beach and sand dunes not too far away also,you can pay a small fee for a recreational vehiecle permit and your away.My ol boy owns a fair spread up on the Qld/NSW border too,and I have a lot of mates with properties.But as I said,I`m lucky.I feel for a lot of young blokes/sheilas and battlers out there and understand all too well their plight.Hell when I was a lad,we could still ride at Menia (near Lucas Hts reactor) and most bushland was fair game,other places like Kurnell,St Georges Basin,Mt. Tumblebee,Kitchener,Tilligerry Peninsula,West Wallsend,Agnes Banks,Castlereagh,Llandilo,Londonderry,Gross River and hundreds more.You`d only get done if you were on the black stuff,all gone I`m afraid,all gone.Should start up some organisation like the NRA but for bikes and pressure the pollies,not a bad idea really,before it`s completely gone,the generation after you probably won`t even get to ride a trail bike if somethings not done.I have 4 kids and I simply can`t afford to get them all into one of these regular MX clubs, "Agghhhh come the revolution"
 

Crazymlh

Member
Jan 15, 2005
31
0
Handywork good to see a fellow local rider frustrated at the lack of legal ares we can ride. I live and ride in the Tilligerry Peninsula and it is a constant concern that around the next bend will be a large fine. Although I havent even seen any police out there yet, touch wood, I hear of sightings and lucky escapes from other riders. It's a real shame as alot of the riders are young kids enjoying their hobby and keeping out of real trouble as there seems to be very little out here in the way of youth activities.

I have no real desire to own a registered bike as I have no need to ride it on the road so a rec reg would suit me down to a tee. Pitty NSW doesn't get their but into gear and follow VIC's example.

Where are these local clubs / riding areas you mentioned as I'd be keen to get involved one day? I'm in the process of working hard and saving hard to buy a large property so I can have a place to teach the rest of my family the joys of riding. As you mentioned it is imposible to do it now with the risk of being busted is to great.
 
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