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It was. It's gone now for quite a few years.

Genuine question - why is that? I have ridden both faired and naked bikes and I can't discern the difference in awareness. I started late with motorbikes - first learned in Vic when I was 27.. It was fun, but didn't grab me. Next time I took to a bike, learned all over again at 40 - yes 40. It wasn't a mid life crisis thing. I had returned from 2.5 years in Aus. I was working only two doors from the company I left in the UK to return to Aus. That was in Watford and I was in Richmond and there was no easy and safe public transport between them. The car journey was an hour each way (with the odd delay), but after I moved to Aus, the EU expanded to include a lot of Eastern European nations. They preferred to live in the Acton, Ealing, Wembley and surroindign areas right in the middle of my route. The congestion charge came in roughly at the same time causing tradies and the like to take circuitous routes, and my one hour drive became a 2 hour drive each way. It was more of a necessity than a desire at the time. But since, I wish I had taken it up earlier.. maybe not at 18 a I may not be here to tell the tale. I won't bother with wheelies, burnouts, and the like (such as this young woman), but I feel approaching biking at a more mature but fit enough age brough survival instincts further to the front of my mind, anyway: (sorry for the thread drift)

What is that? A cane railway drawbridge?

Congratulations. Whether it makes the Best Seller lists or not, you must be pround of your achievement. At least you have created something that will last into the future. You nver know. Maybe at some time in the future your work will be included in the bibliography of a doctorial paper on the history of mineral exploitation in Australia.

And you can get anything you want At Alice's Restuarant, Exceptin' Alice.

I have read a lot of early diaries of prospectors. That idea that all quartz contained gold was fairly common ame caused a lot of disappointment.

Years ago myself and a mate used to ride our bikes (Norton Commando and Velocette Clubman) across this drawbridge; one of those tasks where you had to hold your mouth right and not look down. What made it extra tricky was that both bikes had clipons. The gap between the two planks would grap the front tyre a bit just to make it more interesting.

Oh, my jolly goodness!! Built by my cousins in Madras!! Finest product of the sub-continent! Fits a family of four!! 😄

That looks like a modern prison

It's a new subdivision in Alkimos, W.A. Developer greed at its finest. No thanks.

Having your OWN Place is good You can fiddle with it a bit to get More comfortable depending on how Over Bearing the Local Council is. Owing money is like Having Cancer. On your Mind all the time. Nev

Silly Planning isn't it? Europe does it better. Common walls can be sound Proof and secure. CARS must be off the street. Nev

CAST iron is a good scrap Price. Not as good as copper. but... Nev

Here's one for @onetrack. Here is a new housing estate on the left coast. Heaven help then if someone has an electric scooter that goes up in smoke. Apparently the walls are so thin you can hear the woman next door change her mind.

Slowly but inevitably it seems, resorting to lethal methods. WHAT is Carried WILL be USED.

That's the salt air down here. On the other side of the great divide they just go brown. I think it's past practical rebuilding. A few years ago I was planning to make a wine rack out of it, but considering I've just recently clocked up 7 years on the wagon, that idea is obsolete. A good boat anchor maybe.

IF you are Going to rebuild Motors get rust free blocks to start with. You can't make Silk Purses from sow's Ears. Check the Head Bolt threads also, for stripping and star cracking. Nev

IF you get rid of one Idiot and Inconsiderate person there are Plenty more out there to replace Him. You will get all worked up and achieve Nowt. Keep your efforts directed to something more Likely to have some more beneficial effect in some other area.. and a feeling of Calmness . Nev

Speaking of cafe racers, I was at the local bike shop today and spotted this 2019 Continental GT. I think it's there on a commission sale. The tank colour reminds me of the 750 Fastback I used to have.

MY Mum used to say "a Fool and His Money are soon Parted." Nev

They all tended to give you a Goofy idea of love. Nev

https://youtu.be/WDAl7lGGtSo?si=J86fmURcsurzDnvo

I don't care if nobody gets the connection. Just listen to the words. Arlo Guthrie is surely missed in these achangin times I might have just consumed a little of Wolfie but I like this.....

It's not hard to lose money on gold mining pursuits - especially if hard rock and underground mining is involved. I've never been deeply involved in underground mining, but I've certainly seen a lot of mining companies come and go, and seen vast sums of money lost. I think I've seen figures that reported only around 30% of mines are profitable. When we were at Higginsville, the old Slav prospector who remained there - Mick Urlich - living in his old prospectors humpy, was a constant source of stories about the exploits of would-be miners in the area. Mick told me he came across a couple of blokes digging a big hole in pure white quartz, on the track between Higginsville and Eundynie, sometime in the 1930's. These blokes had a nice stockpile of broken quartz, which Mick looked at in puzzlement, as it contained no visible gold - nor any signs of the quartz even showing indications of being gold-bearing. It was just pure white, clean quartz. He went over to them and asked if they were onto anything of value. The two prospectors, very obviously greenhorns, stated that they were onto some good gold, as shown by the quartz! Mick went on - "But have you crushed or panned any of the quartz to see if there's actually any gold in it?" The prospectors looked a bit blank. "But it's quartz, it must have gold in it!", one stated. Mick replied, "No, just because it's quartz, doesn't mean it actually has gold in it! Quartz is a good indicator of gold-bearing lodes, but it usually has to have banded iron in it, or even visible gold, which is called specimen stone!" "You can have quartz that is totally barren of any gold, you have to crush a small sample and pan it off, to see if there's any gold in it! This stuff you're digging out here is just barren, pure white quartz!" At that, the pair of greenhorn prospectors developed downcast expressions. "But we got told, all we had to do, was find quartz, and we've found gold!" one replied, now looking in despair at their stockpile of barren quartz. Mick said it rapidly become obvious the pair had exactly zero knowledge of gold prospecting, and had not even studied up on the basics - but they were fully equipped, and full of enthusiasm, and possessed a gung-ho approach to gold prospecting, thinking that gold was everywhere, and you just had to dig a hole to be rewarded. He remarked how often, other prospectors were misled by "old-timers diggings" - with many modern prospectors stating with confidence, "the old timers dug holes and shafts and drives here, there must be gold here!" Mick said that if more of the modern prospectors had any idea of how little, a lot of the "old timers" knew about gold and prospecting, and had just dug holes in enthusiasm, with little gold prospecting knowledge, then those modern prospectors would be sorely disappointed with their confidence that the "old timers" actually knew what they were looking for!

I've heard and used the term cafe racer all my adult life and had never given thought to the origin of the term until recently when I saw it explained on a youtube video on British bikes.