CAPTION: Less than an hour out of Midland, York has become a favourite day trip for Perth riders — even when it’s not hosting a bike festival.ADVERTISEMENT: Midvale Yamaha; click the advert to visit the website.
A GAMBLE by organisers to stretch the York Motorcycle Festival out to a two-day format for 2018 appears to have paid off, with event-starved motorcycle enthusiasts turning out on both days this weekend to enjoy a visual feast of static and performance-based moto-entertainment.
While many headed up to Mount Brown for Saturday’s inaugural hill climb (see separate story here), others were content to ogle the show-and-shine in the York Town Hall and soak up the bike-lined Avon Terrace vibe.
With 2017 having delivered no Albany Classic weekend, no Retro on the Roof, no Perth Motorcycle and Scooter Show and not a single bike race at Barbagallo Raceway, Perth motorcyclists were all too willing to make the hour-and-a-bit blast out Great Eastern or Brookton highway for the Avon Valley to get a healthy dose of visual biking pleasure.
Some rode or drove in Saturday and stayed overnight, either camped on the town oval or booking into more salubrious digs in and around York, while others treated the town as a distant city suburb and a long commute.
We loaded up a BMW K1300R with our camera kit, strapped our tripod across the seat, and blasted up Great Eastern and Great Southern highways. As always, we made a bee-line for the show and shine.
CAPTION: Doug Vickery’s stunning custom Hayabusa pulled a crowd, as it always does, even before the hall was filled with bikes. We spoke to Doug about his bike late last year. Read the story here.CAPTION: Beautifully executed Harley-based chopper threatened Doug’s ‘Busa in the fat back tyre department.
CAPTION: Dan Talbot was simultaneously showing off his recently completed Triumph Thunderbird rebuild in the town hall while blasting his Triton up Mount Brown. Neighbouring customised Buell Lightning provided a marvellous comparison for then-versus-now (well, now-ish) twin-cylinder style.
CAPTION: Scuttlebut on the town hall floor was that this 1978 Yamaha YZ125E was not a restoration, but still brand spanking new. Neighbouring MV Agusta lacked the YZ’s historic flavour but made up with lashings of contemporary Italian beauty.
CAPTION: Big Zed was obviously a labour of love. Nicely done.CAPTION: Another Buell, this one looking like it wanted to go out and get dirty. (We happen to have a Buell for sale on our Bikes For Sale page this week. See it here.)
CAPTION: Two ANZAC-themed airbrushed Harley-Davidsons took out the most prestigious awards in the show and shine, winning booty from Clean Ride and Motorcycle Panel and Paint. People’s Choice winner was Brett Barrass’ 2008 H-D Fatboy pictured here, and Best Overall was Des Milne’s H-D CVO Breakout. Great work.
CAPTION: Another superbly presented chopper, this one channelling an Easy Rider vibe. Cool paint job, too.
CAPTION: There was a time when the world was awash with BSA Bantams. Not so much nowadays. This example looked pristine.
CAPTION: Suzuki’s RG500 remains one of motorcycle-kind’s most brutal road bikes. We interviewed a big-two-stroke aficionado last year. See the story here.
