Get up, Get out, Have fun!!!!

Hi everyone,

It’s been a bit of a quiet time for me for the last couple of weeks……I have been off the road for a bit and looking forward to getting back out there next week!!!

We Googled “great motorbike rides australia” recently and number two search was IronChef’s “Motorcycle Paradise” Checkout his site – it’s awesome!!

One popular bike around the net at the moment is the Ducati Multistrada 1200.  Hell For Leather Magazine featured a story recently about the Ducati that got binned by a journalist who was testing the bike off road….not pretty!!  The Ducati seems to be awesome in Urban, Sport and Touring riding modes, but whether its Enduro mode allows it to be a true competitor for the BMW GS1200 Adventurer or the new Yamaha ZTZ Super Tenere 1200 remains to be seen….

Here’s a shot of it from the recent Gold Coast Motorcycle Expo….Personally I think it’s a sweet looking bike….

This example was shipped out especially from Italy for the expo….well done to Ducati Australia to organise that.

Today its also time to say G’day to a fellow two-wheeler who’s not only a great guy, but he also knows the best beers and where to find them!! …..but most importantly he’s is Anthony’s brother!  So let’s give it up for Gavin and his Suzuki GS500….Gavin moved from a 50cc Daelim scooter to the Suzuki last year.  It’s a sweet looking ride…(and Anthony is absolutely itching to have a go on it!!)  Have an awesome day tomorrow Gav – you are awesome dude!!!

While scouring through the photos on the Mac recently, I came across the following one.  It was taken by Vicki one fine Sunday afternoon when we were out for a ride around the southern end of the Gold Coast.  This shot was taken up on the hill above Kirra point.  The camo-clad guy chilling out in the background under the Rusty Eagle is Anthony, and I’m loving the way that I look in this shot….Vicki, you are so incredible, and your photography, your talent and creativity and your ability to capture images and emotions is truly awesome, inspiring and a work of art…. We love you!!!!

So that’s it from me this week, have a good one and we’ll see you out there soon…..

This weeks winner of Derbi’s Celebrity Pillion Passenger is an American NCAA Basketball player and 2006 American Idol Finalist. She is the daughter of a US Senator, and TV reporter.    She has been an actress, she is the 6th highest basketball scorer in Massachusetts basketball history, (male or female).  She is 21 years old, and has a NICE pair of boots….she is Ayla Brown.

Now he wants a Triumph….

Our ride to work today was really great.  There was a small amount of fog once more, but it made for a cool, and fun ride.

As regular readers of this blog will know, Anthony loves bikes….not just scooters, but all kinds of bikes – whether its scooters, sportsbikes, retro or custom bikes, race bikes…….if it looks good, goes fast and is shiny…he’s into it.  And lately he’s developed a thing for Triumphs, especially the 675cc Street Triple.    (Yes he’s switched from Italian to British…..)

Thankfully for me, his interest is only at the dream stage and there’s no chance of me being sold anytime soon to indulge his new found enthusiasm for this awesome bike.   So what do I think of the Triumph?  I love it, particularly the “R” version.

Anthony had a chance to swing a leg over the triple at the bike show (it’s the black one pictured in Sunday’s blog post)

Here is one of the promo shots of the new 2010 Street Triple R…..

Not bad at all!! 

So I’ll let Anthony keep dreaming…..

One blog that we regularly checkout, (and have mentioned here before), is Motorcycle Paradise, and IC’s post from sunday has some awesome photos and info about an afternoon ride that he did.   Here is the route….

It looks like a great road….have to check that one out one day….(we’ll just add it to the list!!!!)

So for all of you who are riding somewhere today – either home from work, or the shops, or maybe you are one of the lucky ones who is already outdoors carving up some bitumen somewhere……Have an awesome ride, stay safe and we’ll see you soon!!

Cheers

Derbi

A road just begging to be ridden….

Howdy all,

Last week Anthony had to go on a bit of a road trip, unfortunately by car, but along the way he got to experience a road that we (Scooter Boy, Scooter Girl and myself) will HAVE to ride on the first chance we get.

The section of road is part of the Gwyder Highway linking Grafton to Glen Innes, and once you reach the Gibralter Range National Park that’s where the fun is…..

From the air it looks like this…..

While from the ground it looks like this…..

And this….

And this…..

And one of the hairpins….like this…..

The photos don’t really do it justice, its one of those pieces of tarmac that have to be seen up close to truly see how awesome it is.

There are more roads that he went on as well that were pretty cool, the road back down the hill from Glen Innes to Tenterfield has some sections like these….

So if you are in that part of NSW, and also happen to be on two wheels….do yourself a favour and get out there and give it a go…We can’t wait to get a chance to get out there!

This weeks winner of Derbi’s Celebrity Pillion Passenger of the week is from Michigan in the USA.  Her step-father was a billionaire, and owner of the Detroit Pistons.  She is a graduate of the Julliard School, has appeared in a London stage production, but most famously she played the role of “Esme Cullen” in the hit film Twilight, and is currently appearing around the world in the sequel, The Twilight Saga: New Moon.    She was born in 1975, she is Elizabeth Reaser

Get out there and Ride….

Howdy all,  Hope you’ve been having a great week out on the road.  Just a short post this week….conditions have been perfect for riding this week…..The weather is great, the sun is shining, the roads are dry, the 3 dead ‘roos have been scraped off Yamba road…..and all is as it should be.

There have been plenty of other two-wheeled riders on the road also.  On Monday and Tuesday afternoon there were more bikes than cars on the trip home from Grafton.  Last week there were 6 police motorcycles heading out of town just before we arrived at work.  We even got a nod from one of them at the roundabout.

This week’s winner of Derbi’s Celebrity Pillion Passenger of the Week was born in 1973,  She is a Puerto Rican singer, model, and actress.

Her music career took off in  2003 when her first recording was released.

Since 2005 she has been starring in the TV series “Without A Trace” where she plays FBI agent Elana Delgado.

She is Roselyn Sanchez.

Loving the weather….

Riding to work this week has been a tonne of fun.  The weather has been great (with the exception of Monday night) and getting out on the road has been a great.   Anthony has been able to stay in Draggins and summer gloves most of the time and it seems like the bitterness of winter is behind us.

Unfortunately Monday night we got stuck in the tail end of a storm which wasn’t fun, but it was only 20-25 km of the total journey that we had to endure in the wet.

Last night’s trip home was a good one, not much traffic, minimal B-Doubles to get in the way, and great conditions for the afternoon ride.  And today we got to come home while the sun was still out!!

This week’s cool two-wheel discovery would have to be the latest Youtube video of champion stunt rider Chris Pfeiffer on his BMW F800R where he rides through the BMW office in Munich, right up to the roof!!

Enjoy, It’s awesome!

This week’s winner of Derbi’s Celebrity Pillion Passenger of the Week is from Texas, USA…the daughter of south american parents, and the star of films such as the Fast & The Furious series, Blue Crush, S.W.A.T and Resident Evil.   She’s been arrested for assaulting her room mate, and been sent to prison for violating her parole on a drink driving charge…then released 18 days later due to overcrowding….she’s a cross between beauty and brawn…She is Michelle Rodriguez

The Open road beckons…..

Hi All,  it was a wet and rather cold day here today, (luckily we had a short commute today so it wasn’t too bad) but hopefully this wet weather will start to go away…..again!!

So what’s been happening out there this week?   I’m loving the new rear tyre!  It’s just awesome and makes life (and simply things like cornering) so fantastic.

Last week there were problems with the highway on the road to Grafton (the problem was that part of the road had fallen into the river) so there was an alternative route to be taken… part of it looks something like this.

It also involves a trip over the ferry, and then comes into Grafton the back way….

For those of you who live in the city, you may not be familiar with all that green stuff that we have to ride near……The sad part is that a few weeks ago it was all under water, which means that roads aren’t that great, but they are getting better.

We have one early trip next week, it’s going to be cold…actually it’s cold most mornings, but Anthony has enough layers on to deal with that…..its the rain and cold that’s the main problem!

So that’s about it from me, have a great week, keep the rubber side down and have fun.

cheers, Derbi.

PS – If you want to checkout some other great blogs that document two wheeled adventures, go take a look at Motorcycle Paradise - (this one has heaps of stuff about some of the roads that I’ve been on before in Northern NSW/Southern QLD) and also One Wheel Drive which has details of rides from all over the world.

This weeks winner of Derbi’s Celebrity Pillion Passenger of the week has been here I think twice before….and she’s appearing again for two reasons.  One, she’s one of the stars of “Transformers – Revenge of the Fallen” which opens next week, and two…she rides a bike in the movie.  In the first installment we saw her on a Vespa, this time she’s on an Aprillia RS125.  She is the one and only, Megan Fox.

Its soon time to move….

Today’s ride was probably one of the last that we’d get to do before we make the move down south.  Anthony and I will be moving soon to be with Scooter Girl, and will be looking forward to new scootering adventures, as well as new roads to discover with new corners to ride on.

In addition to finding new places to ride, I’ll also be Anthony’s daily commuter-scooter, which will also be good fun.  Getting the chance to get out each day is going to be great.

There are no photos from today’s ride, we just went out and enjoyed the road.  It wasn’t a long ride, but it was great fun.  We did the Cudgen, Tumbulgum, and Terranora run and enjoyed every piece of road like it was the first time we’d ridden on it.

So over the coming weeks we’ll be making to move from Kingscliff.  The blog will continue, but with new stories and new places to discover…so until next time, have fun, scoot safely and we’ll see you out there… cheers, Derbi.

The winner of Derbi’s Celebrity Pillion Passenger of the Week is an American model that recently appeared in the 2008/2009 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.   She is originally from San Jose, California, and began modelling at 13, and now works in New York and Paris.

She’s 5ft 8 inches tall, she follows the Oakland Raiders in the NFL, and she is Melissa Haro.

They’re engaged!!!

First up…..I’d like to announce (on behalf of Scooter Boy And Scooter Girl) that the happy couple are engaged!!  The proposal took place on Valentine’s Day and I’d like to wish them all the best for their upcoming wedding!!

And here they are, yesterday at the Motorcycle & Scooter Expo………on a Yamaha Cruiser.

This afternoon Anthony and I went out for a great ride….we started down the highway from Kingscliff to Murwillumbah, turning off the highway at Condong, out to Tomewin Road, then turned off towards north Tumbulgum, then up over the hill to Terranora, then back to Kingscliff.  A nice leisurely 61.7km, which looks something like this…..

And here are some shots of some of the great corners along the way…..

this first one is where I was going…..

and this one is where i’ve been….

And here’s another shot looking back down the road

It was a great ride, weather was good (until just near the end when the approaching storm meant that the usual scenic trip over Terranora was now going to be a head-down and get home ride….) and both Anthony and I had a lot of fun.

As it was mentioned above, Scooter Boy & Scooter Girl (and the three blue ones and two pink ones) headed up to the Australian Motorcycle Expo and Scooter Festival at the Gold Coast Convention Centre yesterday.  They had a great day out, getting to look at (and sit on) lots of bikes.   Due to the fact that the 7 of them went up, I had to stay home…..apparently transporting a family of 7 on a scooter is only allowed (or accepted) in areas of South East Asia, and is frowned upon here…..

But despite the fact that I couldn’t go, they all had a great time….and here are some shots of the day…..

First is the very cool “FOX” branded Vespa…

Next up is the awesome Gilera Fuocco

Here’s Anthony’s dream machine…..the new Ducati 1198s

And then there’s his other dream machine….the HD Night Rod…

No its not Ewan, or Charley…..It’s Anthony imagining that he is riding on the Road of Bones in far eastern Russia……

Next up we have the $185,000.00 MV Augusta F4CC….(no. 84 of 100)….this is the same bike that Anthony’s son almost knocked over last time…..

Here’s an awesome custom painted Hayabusa….with graphics taken from the Mummy – Tomb of The Dragon Emperor.

And finally… the winner of the “Uglier than a Redneck’s buck-toothed sister” category….. the Victory Vision.   This shocker has a dry weight of 365kg, and both Anthony and his brother struggled to get the bike upright when they both sat on it (much to the laughter of the guys standing around) …here’s Anthony after dragging the thing upright.  I think that George Jetson has a lot to answer for with this one!

This weeks winner of Derbi’s Celebrity Pillion Passenger of the week is an American actress who has starred in horror films such as Final Destination 3, Black Christmas and Death Proof….and also comedy and action films, recently playing John McLean’s daughter in Live Free or Die Hard.   She was born in November 1984, she enjoys cooking, sewing, dancing, and singing….She Is Mary Elizabeth Winstead.

Big week for two wheels

Hi All,

Hope you are all having another great week….Lots of scootering related stuff happening lately.  Over the weekend there was the Le Minz 24 hour race, and then this weekend the Australian Motorcycle Expo and Scooter Festival are on at the Gold Coast Convention Centre.

Anthony is looking forward to checking out the bikes, scooters, gear and all things two-wheel related. Should be a great weekend.

After going through some of the photos that have been taken while out and about, I found some more for this week.

We were out for a ride on the Gold Coast one day and took this shot looking across the water back to Southport and Surfers Paradise.

Here’s another shot of me hanging out by the river at Tumbulgum after heading over the hill from Terranora.

The final shot for this week isn’t of a scooter, instead it’s a photo of a motorbike.  But not just any bike, it’s a 2008 Ducati 1098s in the limited edition Tri-colore paint scheme.  One of the clients from Anthony’s office owns it, and brought it in to show him.  So naturally Anthony had to get a photo.  It’s an amazing piece of machinery, full of WSBK championship technology, plus carbon fibre exhaust etc etc…..it looks awesome, sounds awesome and is FAST!

Hopefully you all enjoy your week, and also enjoy the weekend if you are on the Gold Coast.

This weeks winner of Derbi’s Celebrity Pillion Passenger of the week is a Swedish-Canadian actress.  She was born in Stockholm, then moved to Canada at the age of 2.
Before acting she was a model, and has starred in such films as “The Heartbreak Kid“ and “27 Dresses”, and will soon hit our screens in the movie adaptation of the comic “The Watchmen”, playing the role of Silk Spectre II.   She was born in 1978, she is Malin Akerman.

Off the road for a few days…..

Hi everyone, I’m having a bit of a holiday on the Gold Coast at the moment, spending some time with the Scooter HQ boys while they help me out with a front end problem that I’ve currently got.  I’m waiting for some parts and will be here for a few days.

Anthony brought me up to Southport yesterday, but I’ll be ready to tear up the black stuff again. I’m sure Brendon, D’Arcy and the boys will take good care of me.

So to all of you out there, i hope that your Scootering week is a good one, stay safe and i’ll be back with you all again soon!

And to Scooter Girl…..really looking forward to seeing you again soon and having you along for a ride… Miss you heaps!

This week’s installment of Derbi’s Celebrity Pillion Passenger features an Australian girl, best known as one of Victoria Secret’s Angels. She was born in Sydney, but raised in Gunnedah….she has Serbian, Japanese, Turkish, Filipino and Indian parentage and enjoyed racing motorbikes and horses as a child, with a very grounded upbringing in the Australian countryside.

She is the girlfriend of actor Orlando Bloom, she is 25 years of age, she is Miranda Kerr.