Tasmania in the West at Indian-Harley Club’s annual two day rally

Indian Harley Club 2-Day Rally 

By Dan Talbot 

Pics by Des Lewis, Dan Talbot & Michael Rock

WEAVING through Wellington Forest in Western Australia’s south-west, I am momentarily transported to Tasmania.  The forest has a distinct Australian flavour, but with an alpine twist.  The ride is made all the more perfect by the first cool day to visit us, seemingly in weeks.   

It’s day two of the Indian Harley Club’s annual 2-Day Rally and I’m loving it.  The bike is running perfectly, burbling on over-run as I thread the needle down a valley, clumped together with five other classic machines, all of us relying on the other to be navigating us deftly towards jam and cream scones that were waiting for us at Ferguson Hall.

This is the 2-Day Rally by the Indian Harley Club of Bunbury.  The Indian Harley Club (IHC) has been around since 1971.  Started by a few intrepid Indian, HD enthusiasts, the club quickly gained momentum and, in around 1979, the doors were flung open to all machines, this has resulted in a rich, eclectic collection of motorcycles sufficient to slake any appetite (and that’s even before we get started on the scones).   

In 1974, the 2-Day Rally was introduced.  The 2-Day has now become the premier classic motorcycle event in Western Australia.  The 52nd running of the event was no exception.  Over the years, the event has evolved to the slick affair we all enjoy today.  A relatively new feature is the electronic timing – and I am not talking about ditching your points ignition.  Just like a triathlete, or marathon runner, our bikes wear a timing chip for the duration of the event, allowing base to keep score in real time.   

Participating motorcycles have to be over 25 years of age but it doesn’t take an oxford scholar to realise that can now include machines with upwards of 100 horsepower.  At the other end of the scale are the pre-1918 veteran machines with as little as 3.5 horsepower.  The result is classic Gixxers, Ducati Super-Sports and Moto Guzzis sharing the pits with rare Excelsiors, Brough Superiors, Vincents, Velocettes, Nortons, Indians, and Harleys.   

The 2-Day rally typically offers both a ‘long course’ (approx. 400–500km) and a ‘short course’ (approx. 150km) to accommodate older veteran bikes that may lack clutches or brakes.  That’s right, no clutch and barely-perceptible don’t-stop-me brakes.   

The rally starts at the Bunbury Motorcycle Club  facility at Shrubland Park on the outskirts of Bunbury, which provides an easy and safe access along corridors that lead us away from the city.  I’m on my ’48 HRD.  It has legs long enough to give many of the afore-mentioned sports bikes a bit of a scare so I’m on the long course.    

This year we went up the Scarp to enjoy some old favourites like the Upper Capel Road from Donnybrook to Kirup then the Kirup Cundinup Road that links the South West Highway to Vasse Highway, into Nannup, where the Nannup Lions served up lunch.   

Out of Nannup we headed off for more old favourites, but not before we suffered a shocker.  The Nannup-Ballingup road is no longer classic bike friendly.  A modern touring or adventure bike could be okay but our old jiggers bumped and bounced all over the place.  One participant said he was half an inch shorter after the 40 kilometres pounding his spine copped.  Things changed after Balingup with some fabulous roads through Grimwade, Brookhampton and Ferguson Valley.  All in all, a ripper day.   

The downside of winding, undulating roads is reduced fuel economy which forced me off course to top up.  Interestingly, even with the off-course excursion, I still managed 2nd place for Day-1.  That quickly evaporated on Day-2 when the lead right-hand forced me into a points deficit and I was bumped to 15th place.   

Day two typically follows a shorter route that is shared by all riders, with half going in one direction and half in the other.  All riders meet up at the morning tea point, in this case, Ferguson Hall.  With the timing chips handed in at the hall, riders have free reign back to Shrubland Park, albeit with a prescribed route. With Henty Road, Pile Road and Wellington Forest all in the mix, I was tempted to return along the same route, but this would not be in the spirit of the event so we trundled back along the flat-lands.  Again, a perfect day.   

A special thanks to Bert Sykes and the 2-Day Rally team.  Bert is standing down after a decade at the helm of the best classic motorcycle event that Western Australia has on offer.  On this occasion, Bert and his crew wrangled 237 entrants, with 165 riders finishing both days.   

Results 

Overall winner: Kevin Craig, riding a 1954 BSA C11. 

First female: Rhona Finnigan, riding a 1973 Triumph Trident.  

A full list of results can be found here.