willedoo

Regarding the bridge, the local mill stopped running locos some time before the mill shut down and relied on road transport during that interim period. As a consequence, it fell into disrepair and was eventually dismantled due to public risk with people using it for fishing and jumping off it into the water. Eventually the company who owned the mill (Bundaberg Sugar I think it was at the time) came to the decision that their assets had more real estate value than they could make from crushing sugar so the sold it all up so developers could grow houses instead. Sad really to see one of the district's biggest industries vanish after being part of the place since the 1800's. The area had a lot of character when the cane industry was still solid. I live up on a hill and the old tram track used to go past the bottom of my property. Lots of good memories sitting on the verandah at night, listening to the locos rattling past and watching the cane fires out on the floodplain. Burning was not a very sustainable practice but it was very visual. For five to six months of the year it was like having cracker night every night. Over the years they ended up breeding varieties that produced less dead leaf trash and most burning went out of practice. What trash produced was left in the paddock to act as mulch in a way. Obvious benefits like more moisture holding ability, less weeds etc., but they had to develop machinery to be able to work it. There's not much cane grown here these days as it needs to be a high price to break even on trucking it some hours north of here to the nearest working mill. The only time they burn now is if they are harvesting what they call standover cane which is cane that has been left over to the next season or even longer. The more years it grows, the thicker the stalks get and the more trash and leaf growth there is, so it has to be burnt so the harvester can handle it. The sugar content drops as well with old cane. I miss the cane; these days instead of looking down over nice green cane fields, all I see is thousands of acres of weeds. It puts a lot of people out of work when a whole industry collapses. Farmers aside, a lot of the mill workers were multi-generational in their history there. I used to work occasional cane seasons harvesting cane and a lot of mates are local cane farmers or ex mill workers so I have a personal connection to it. I was born and bred in cattle, sheep and grain country so the cane was a big novelty to me when I first moved down here to the coast. Also here there's plenty of salt air to create rusty bits for making rat bikes (just to stay on topic).

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

I don't remember the ruling in Joh's day, but the authority to order three or more people to move on came in with the Police Powers and Responsibilities Act in the year 1997 under the Borbage National-Liberal Coalition government if my memory is correct. The act had a follow up version in the year 2000 under Peter Beattie, so it might have been in that later version, I'd have to check. Original post edited.

Thanks Litespeed, that's good info. Luckily the advantage of rat bike builds in the context of guards and panels is that the more imperfect it is, the better it is. Rust, oxidisation and generally worn patina is the order of the day. The main thing I don't have is a proper fair dinkum, original old anvil. It's hard to get a good second hand one under $1,500 to $2,000 these days, crazy prices. I've just got the usual stand-ins for smaller anvil work, eg: railway track and a piece of UB for flat work. One thing I do have is a lot of old aeroplane parts, so I might be able to find a few handy bits and pieces there. For the sidecar seat, there's the option of an old cast steel plow seat like the bike will have, or a Martin Baker, or an Antonov 2 seat. The issue with the aircraft seats is that they might be too wide for the copper boiler ; I'll have to measure them up.

I've put some thought into sourcing an old BMW engine to use as they would be ideal. As far as the other aspects, it's good advice and I appreciate it but it's outside the original intentions. The idea is to build a bike, not modify an existing one, and by being a non registered bike not for the road, it gives me the freedom to do whatever I want without having to worry about legalities and compliance and basically bending to the rules of others. If the bike got a bit lonely at home I could always load it on the trailer and cart it off to one of the local custom bike and rod days. Road riding is not so much fun around here these days with all the traffic; it's now mainly just an exercise in staying alive.

Back in the early 70's I had a 741 Indian. I also had a Dusting sidecar I intended to put on it but sold them both before that happened. Sold the Indian for $50 and the sidecar for $30. Not one of my wiser decisions.

It would be good to have an English wheel, but I've never used one. A bit of skill involved with them I think.

Combined with those high narrow handlebars it would be very interesting.

The fun part is hunting around the place for the components. This afternoon I did a trip down to the bottom shed in the hope that I might have kept a full set of 16" lugged skinny tyres that were originally part of the Suzuki LJ 80 gear that I once had. Fortunately I'd kept them and one of them would make a good front tyre on a spoked rim. The second attached photo is a pic from the net showing one on a front wheel. It gives it a chunky, military look. These two photos are of an old copper hot water system tank that I was hoping to use as the main body section of the sidecar. At this stage I'm not so sure about it. If it was 20% bigger in dimension it would be perfect. It's a bit small, around 600mm at it's widest point and at the point where the opening would be cut, it would have an opening of around 500mm.

I wish I still had some of the five truckloads of stuff I sent off to to the scrap metal yard in 2021 when I had plans to sell up and move. Those plans changed due to some health issues, and now I'm here for the long run minus a lot of really good junk. The things I really miss are the various gears, axles, diffs, gearboxes and transfer cases. I had a variety of Nissan, Toyota and Suzuki LJ 80 stuff. The Suzuki LJ 80 drive train gear is particularly handy due to it's small size and the thing about them I really like is that they have a stand alone transfer case independant of the main gearbox.

With actual building and design, the first place to start is with a motor then design the rest around it. A big decision to make there. A motorcycle motor gives less design headaches compared to the physical dimensions of car motors. With bike motors, Harley motors are good but too expensive. Virago engines and the Honda V4 are solid and cheap, but I'd rather not have a Japanese motor. Another possibility is to try and fit this V6 3800 Buick into it. Width is no issue, the big issue is height if you want to incorporate a traditional motorcycle type fuel tank on top which I prefer. At least this older model has a fairly low profile intake plenium. The later models have a much bigger plenium which gives them more torque and grunt but increases the height quite a bit.

First a disclaimer: at this stage this thread is very speculative, but from time to time I can post on any (if any) progress. The thinking is to convert some of my junk into a rideable non road registered rat bike. What brought this on is that I've recently been doing a complete workshop renovation, and when that's up and functional, a build project like this would be a bit of fun for the rainy days. The plan at this stage is: 1. Finish the workshop renovation. The 6x6 metre space has been mainly cleaned out, so at least I'm able to walk around in there and do some work in the shed at the present time. There's still a lot of structural changes to do - relocating diagonal braces, walling in one whole side, building more benches and shelving etc. and finally get the lathe, mill, presses and other gear set up. 2. Start mustering up parts and bits and pieces. As a basic starting point for the design, number one priority is to build it as a sidecar outfit as I no longer have the physical ability to ride a heavy weight solo bike. Secondly, I prefer the more moderate style rat bikes rather than the extreme steampunk types where the builder has added every contraption known to mankind including the kitchen sink. Those types are a bit amusing, but not my cup of tea. As an explanation, the first of the attached photos I would describe as a fairly moderate Mad Max style, the second is way too bizzarre for my liking.

It's funny how the memory plays tricks on you. I've had a rusty old V8 block hanging about the place for a few decades and hadn't laid eyes on it for years. From memory it was a flathead Ford block, but when I finally found it yesterday, that couldn't be further from the truth as it was an ohv block. After a lot of googling and youtubing I finally identified it as a 273 Chrysler block. Most likely out of a Valiant.

Marty, I used to be able to pull wheelstands on that Suzuki 50 stepthrough before I put the sidecar on it. It didn't have it's own power to do it, so you had to stand up on the pegs and start bouncing the weight over the bars a couple of times and on the right bounce, heave back on the handlebars while you gave it a handful. Once up on the back wheel, it was all balance.

Very adaptable people. It's quite a sight in Indonesia and Malaysia to see the Muslim female pillion passengers riding sidesaddle on the back of a bike. Amazing sense of balance when you see them swaying back and forth as hubby weaves in and out of the traffic. They've been doing it since they were kids so I guess it comes natural after a while. I've seen a family of five on a bike; hubby riding with a toddler on the tank, wife behind holding a baby and a little kid hanging on behind her, but I've heard stories of bigger numbers on bikes over there.

I have some experience; I once built a sidecar using an upside down tin bathtub for the body and connected it to a Suzuki 50 stepthrough. It was slightly underpowered.

Who knows; the start of a rat bike maybe. I've got plenty of rusty steel and heaps of weird and wonderful bits and pieces. I just don't have the starting point of a motor.

One thing of note in the video, things like bullet belts will only be banned from being imported into the country. Sporting and professional shooters will still be able to legally possess and use them under state law if those state laws don't change.

On the firearms bill, the federal government can only restrict what is within their jurisdiction, eg: restricting imports via customs regulations. They can restrict the importation of items, but those items can still be legal to possess and use in the various states. As this SSAA bloke says, one worrying aspect of the bill is the broadness of new laws regarding using the internet to access firearm videos on youtube. The aim is to make it illegal to use a carriage to access any information on 3D printing of firearms or information on modifying firearms. The possibility is that by watching a gunsmithing video on youtube you will now be committing a serious offence unless the laws are refined to a more specific and workable state.

The only older Norton I've ever ridden was a 650 SS. With the featherbed frame, it was noticeably better handling than the Commando but at around 60mph had a very uncomfortable vibration that you felt in the seat of the pants. Once you went faster it would go away but the problem was the vibration was right at the speed limit you wanted to cruise at. To avoid it you had to ride slower or go faster and risk a speeding ticket.