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I've ridden a bike in Indonesia but I certainly wouldn't attempt it now; it's only for the brave or foolish. Some wild unofficial road rules there. Vehicles play a game of chicken pulling out to pass. Whoever flashes their headlights first has right of way, so the one that loses has to try and squeeze back into the lane or go bush to avoid a head-on. I remember once being in VW Country Buggy and we hit this chook at speed which sent the bird flying in the air. When I looked back it was gone; an old girl had snatched it off the road and was legging it with the dead chook while there were still feathers floating down. Pedestrians have to be as nimble as the motorists in that mayhem. The old mate who was driving the VW was well versed in that type of driving. He was a quantity surveyor for oil projects and spent eleven years driving in Nigeria before getting another two years driving experience in Jakarta. Needless to say, he was always the designated driver.

Short video, cruising on a Velocette in Central Java. I currently follow on FB three bike blokes in Indonesia. This bloke in Purwodadi, Central Java, another in Jakarta and one in Pontianak in West Kalimantan. They have a nation wide antique motorcycle club for enthusiasts of old motorcycles with chapters in various regions across the country. Lots of nice old bikes there. When I was there in the 1980's the predominant old bikes were BSA singles, both rigid rear end and plungers. I remember one town in north Sumatra had literally hundreds of them. In the main street I estimated 100 to 150 of them lined up in the street. All with rickshaw type sidecars to transport paying passengers. Looking on Google street view, they're all fairly modern Chinese bikes now. The old ones are just for collectors and enthusiasts these days. https://www.facebook.com/reel/1166488839382204

Very sad. Unfortunately riding skills are not compatible with a chair without training and practice on a field etc. They are neither a bike nor car, neither beast or fowl. Certainly the lower the c of g the better. I used to be a practice monkey for racing sidecars.

That's sad. It certainly pays to get a lot of practice and good advice under the belt before taking off down the road. There's some things about them that are counterintuitive so you need to know what you're doing.

Where I grew up the average annual rainfall was about 25 inches, so it took a bit to get used to the wet seasons here.

A member of our classic club swapped his solo for an outfit on a club run, with no sidecar experience. He and his son were killed.

The problem with severe thunderstorms is that winds can sometimes go above cyclone ratings in short bursts, so unless you live underground the risk is always there no matter how strong you build. I'm luckier than some. Where I live is a corridor that misses quite a few of the storms. They form out west and travel past Dalby and through the Kilcoy area but when they hit the Blackall Range hinterland they seem to split and go either north or south of here. Those just to the south cop it a lot harder during storm season. Mind you, when we do get hit it's usually a cracker. Measured another 62mm in the last three hours which takes it up to 12.5 inches in the last four days. I feel sorry for the neighbours across the road on the floodplain. They were originally from NSW and bought the place sight unseen. It's one of those places that council should never have allowed to be built. They get flooded out at least five or six times every summer. Another problem is that council lets that area flood on purpose via controlling the canal lock gates, so it can flood with as little as three inches of rain. Down on the coast has had massive development and population growth over the years, so they try to hold the water back in the valley beside my place to give the populated area a chance to drain. Theory is it's better to flood out a dozen people rather than thousands. The biggest rain here in my time was 33 inches in 24 hours in the big 1992 flood. Back in the 1890's my local town recorded 90 inches for January. Average annual rainfall here is 60 inches but it can vary from 30 to 100.

Living in Vic I miss real weather.

Looked it up Target: HRH Prince Alfred, the second son of Queen Victoria, who was visiting Sydney as captain of HMS Galatea. Location: A public picnic and sailor's home benefit at the beachfront pleasure grounds in Clontarf(Sydney, New South Wales). Assailant: Henry James O’Farrell, an Irish-born man with a history of mental instability and heavy drinking, shot the Prince in the back with a revolver.

My friend's ancestor shot a Royal in Australia, but only winged him. A prince I think, in about 1870.

This one, yes the convicted killer was a ex Vietmanese migrant. Who was also a competing politician. A weak case to try to paint all migrants as criminals. We don't call all whities criminals just because most crimes are committed by that group. Co-incidence does not equal causation.

Yeah Blame the gov't for Not doing everything for you. The More they do the More People expect. What did God give you a BRAIN for? (as my Uncle Reg would say.). And of course WE donna wanna pay the TAX, either. Choose where you want to Live carefully and you will be better off. Bit like flying. You make your OWN luck. Nev

You should be able to work that one out, Pete.. No Vietnamese to Blame. There are criminals in all races. Triads, Mafia various terrorists. Mercenaries. Hit men. Nev

Riding an Outfit is much different to Riding Solo and Many don't like it and don't do it well. There's also a bit involved in setting up the "chair geometry"properly. Riding with Nothing in the chair is not advised. It also Imposes extra load on the frame Tyres and gearbox etc. and you have to alter the Gearing.The Motor will run hotter as well and it needs more Power to get along and up Hills. Braking and Power are non symmetrical . A downhill off camber turn to the Left requires caution. A bike that has a Low centre of gravity will handle better. Lot's of suspension travel makes the whole thing "rubbery". It LEANS too much . A brake CAN be fitted to the sidecar wheel and you can have all 3 wheels interchangeable. A Parking brake is required and reverse gear helps if the thing is weighty. It could be electric as you don't go far OR fast. You CAN carry a lot more stuff and the Passenger(s) MAY stay dry . They were Popular at times when Cars were very expensive. Nev

Wiki:- Donald Bruce Mackay (13 September 1933 – 15 July 1977) was an Australian businessman and anti-drug campaigner. He disappeared in 1977, but his body has never been found. In 1986, James Bazley was convicted for his murder. Where does Vietmaneses migrants come into this? I call BS on that

Sorry to hear of your bad experiences. Sometimes mother nature is a bitch. But when it comes to most of the resulting damage, blame your state governments.... all flavors if them. Tis a sign of poorly designed infrastructure. Design should allow for unusual but expected natural events.

Yes, Donald McKay, was a local business man with a furniture shop and local politician. Was rumoured to be turned into blood and bone, a nasty end.

I thought they forecast drenching rain in QLD mainly on the coast. They don't DO "Air Mass analysis" as well as they used to. I don't reckon anyone at BOM these days would have been able to Pass the Met exam ATPL pilots had to in the sixties and 70's. Today, It's mostly about complying with the requirements to hold or carry an Alternate..Nev

A few just try to remain there and enjoy the "Spoils of Office" and they give the others a bad name. It's not a job I would seek especially IF I was in Qld where Politics always seem to be different. There's No Libs and NP.. They are combined, but in other states it's a Coalition, which tends to not get along with each other at times. Now they are deserting to PHON in considerable Numbers, and there are FEW Women in their Ranks. Nev

We're up over the twelve inches for the month so far. A good start to BOM's drier than average spring forecast. In this region their long term seasonal forecasts have been totally opposite to reality for the last three years running. If they say drier than average, expect wetter than average and vice versa. Their day to day forecasts are generally fairly accurate.

There was one bloke in Griffith who ended up disappeared too. McKay? Lost of weed grown there, and No Vietnamese..Nev

Probably the best trad sidecar ever- absolutely beautiful. Some make replicas but the reral deal is best, sadly worth a bomb. The Guzzi are very comfy but having a Tonti frame- basically a LeMans frame but taller and slightly longer, means they are by far the best handling and braking cruiser. My twin bro had one and it really could eat corners. I would love the Guzzi Outfit but sadly no space or money.

Would I Lie to you, OME? Being under trees is not a good Place to be either for a Lightning strike. I've been struck a few times in Aeroplanes. You need to be in the equivalent of a Faraday Cage, Where it's easier for the Lightning to go around you rather than through you. Nev.

A 1958 model BMW. I can see where they get the Zeppelin name from.

You don't get the reverse gear or the 2WD of a Ural Gear Up, but a new Gear Up would set you back a minimum of $36,000 on the road. Considering the work done on the Guzzi, you could buy it and be $23,500 better off than buying a new Ural. I've been from just north of Brisbane to Cains and back, and Melbourne to Adelaide and back on a Guzzi and I was impressed with it's comfort and touring qualities. On my old Commando Fastback you'd get a sore arse and back just riding down to the shops.