tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32721241767367672572024-03-14T02:33:39.056+10:00Dave's PlaceBig Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719248956906875139noreply@blogger.comBlogger432125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3272124176736767257.post-1141489300030026592023-11-01T21:56:00.002+10:002023-11-02T08:52:15.691+10:00Harley Fat Bob FunSome thoughts recorded while riding the latest Harley Softail Fat Bob.
Big Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719248956906875139noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3272124176736767257.post-8087782770817771112023-07-24T17:13:00.005+10:002023-07-24T17:15:48.113+10:00Recorded with ForciteA casual Sunday Morning ride with sample footage from the Forcite MK1S Smart Helmet: Big Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719248956906875139noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3272124176736767257.post-7381560163233608452023-07-24T15:36:00.013+10:002023-07-24T17:29:12.785+10:00Forcite MK1S Helmet ReviewHere's a quick video run-down on the Forcite MK1S Helmet after 9 months of use.
And here's a more considered and detailed analysis: I’ve been contributing to the motorcycle press for over 20 years and producing motorcycle and motorcycle test and product videos since 2004.Over that time, I’ve had a number of top-of the range helmets supplied for my magazine work, and that’sBig Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719248956906875139noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3272124176736767257.post-63863999950974701252023-01-24T18:17:00.004+10:002023-01-25T10:45:33.693+10:00The Facility
Images from 2003 and our hangout under a downtown Auckland Office block.I christened it 'The Facility'. The Thunderbird and the Trophy 1200 are mine.The Ducks and the Japanese belong to Brian - the rest of the Triumphs belong to Chris.I was in charge of the music and other sundry duties. A lot of the time I spent there, it was just me and Brian talking bikes and bull. Other nights Big Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719248956906875139noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3272124176736767257.post-69933602331924598662023-01-03T12:38:00.006+10:002023-01-03T19:05:53.379+10:00Tiernan’s His and Hers Low Riders
Carl and Julie Tiernan have a pair of Low Riders built to handle. When Carl posted a pic of his FXLR Low Rider on the HEAVY DUTY Facebook page I thought it looked fast - and interesting, so we set up a meeting at Sunshine Coast H-D so I could find out more about the bike. When he unexpectedly arrived with his wife Julie on her modded 2020 Softail Low Rider S, we sat down on the Big Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719248956906875139noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3272124176736767257.post-11479990126122965642023-01-03T12:30:00.006+10:002023-01-03T12:57:58.293+10:00Southall's His and Hers Viclas
Daniel and Lyndal are a Chicano pair“Daniel rang me when he was working in Rockhampton to tell me he’d found some buckles for my blanket wrap.” Lyndal laughs. That’s the kind of relationship this couple have. There’s lots of motorcycle content.I had sought them out after Daniel posted photos of their bikes on the HEAVY DUTY Facebook page and subsequently sat down with them in their garage Big Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719248956906875139noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3272124176736767257.post-15516513366392915572023-01-01T15:39:00.009+10:002023-01-02T10:42:51.051+10:00'22 Sport Glide Ride
A day in the Happy Saddle.It was a very timely coincidence when ‘Rowey’ told me that he had back-traded his trike for a 2020 Sport Glide just as I picked up the HEAVY DUTY test bike.“So where are we going for a ride?” he asked.I suggested a Sunday morning meet up near Burleigh Heads and we head down Nimbin way for lunch. But then a few of the other lads chimed in on our messenger Big Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719248956906875139noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3272124176736767257.post-61456045031331933572022-12-31T21:20:00.007+10:002022-12-31T21:27:04.717+10:00Supercharged Fat Boy Lo
Booster BeautyTaverner’s 180 HP Blown Fat Boy Lo When Brisbane Custom shop Taverner Motorsports dropped us a line to say they had a few builds we might be interested in, I jumped at the chance to find out more about the Supercharged Fat Boy Lo they had sitting on their showroom floor.After writing up numerous turbocharged builds for HEAVY DUTY, the idea of getting ‘the learn’ on a Big Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719248956906875139noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3272124176736767257.post-20841451812673338202022-12-31T20:51:00.008+10:002022-12-31T21:21:43.060+10:00Road King Special - Part 5: Adios!
Like Joni Mitchell sang – “Don't it always seem to goThat you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone.”After almost three glorious months I bade farewell to the bike we christened Project Packhorse on a Friday morning early in September. It was picked up from my place by Prestige Motorcycle Transport to be shipped on to its next HEAVY DUTY stint with Mick in Sydney. I’ll miss it. Big Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719248956906875139noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3272124176736767257.post-401276757328107042022-12-31T19:13:00.001+10:002022-12-31T19:13:07.583+10:002022 H-D Low Rider S Test
Steady Progress.One of the many great quotes attributed to storied American Basketball Coach John Wooden was, “We can have no progress without change.”The changes Harley-Davidson have incorporated into the latest Softail Low Rider S are not major, but they do represent significant progress. Not long after I collected the 2022 Softail Low Rider S I started trawling back through my library Big Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719248956906875139noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3272124176736767257.post-61525564167716073802022-10-11T11:42:00.005+10:002023-01-03T12:48:55.220+10:00Triumph Rocket 3 GT Test
An Evolution of Awesome“Insane, incredible! It has a car engine, it will suck the wind from your lungs,” and other incredulous exclamations of shock and awe abounded when German manufacturer Münch launched the Mammut or ‘TT’ in 1966.The headline grabbing, NSU car engine powered, ‘behemoth’ had an unbelievable 1000cc capacity and was touted as the fastest, most powerful and expensive motorcycle Big Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719248956906875139noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3272124176736767257.post-9418888374707494542022-10-11T11:03:00.002+10:002022-10-11T11:03:19.661+10:00 Bahnstorming BMW K 1600 B.
BMW has entered the game. In motorcycle parlance, ‘Bagger’ is a term used to describe a large touring motorcycle that is equipped with panniers or hard luggage, perhaps even a top box.Typically, Baggers also have concessions to style and aesthetics, such as a ‘slammed’ rear end or enhanced bodywork and paint – it’s a significant market share and now BMW is getting in on the action with theBig Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719248956906875139noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3272124176736767257.post-37689207096718953402022-09-05T11:17:00.005+10:002022-09-05T11:21:32.215+10:00BMW K 1600 B Testing begins.An assortment of slack-jawed yokels and cap-askew ‘yoofs’ gawped in bewilderment as the BMW K 1600 B purred past them along the waterfront. On-board, I smiled inwardly, knowing that even the baggy jean and skateboard brigade acknowledged the sheer presence of this machine, and I imagined what their expression would be like if I really made it growl.Like most of the motorcycles with Big Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719248956906875139noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3272124176736767257.post-85069685425158564242022-08-30T22:27:00.007+10:002022-08-30T22:35:35.642+10:00Video: Gas Alley's Race Ya Mates Day Here's some sights and sounds from Gasoline Alley H-D's "Race Ya Mates“ Track Experience at Willowbank Raceway west of Brisbane. Big Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719248956906875139noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3272124176736767257.post-13734930601750318602022-07-01T23:38:00.006+10:002023-01-01T23:44:02.194+10:00Living with a Pan America 2 - 4000km update
Still taking the long way.Like most modern Harleys tourers, the Pan America has a variety of trip data and diagnostic readouts available.Amongst the long list of things I have come to really like about this bike is its 173cm (6.8”) touchscreen display and the clarity with which it can display a raft of data.The odometer and trip numbers are centred on the screen, with ‘A’ and ‘B’ trip meter Big Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719248956906875139noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3272124176736767257.post-1839474792250120412022-06-18T22:49:00.004+10:002022-12-31T20:29:46.358+10:00Road King Special - Part 4: Almost EpicStill not epic … but heading that way.I like riding with my pals. It’s good to be able to stop and socialise and go to the pub for Sunday lunch - and do all those things that make motorcycling the social activity it is.I also really like riding on my own and being a bit selfish, setting, or changing the agenda, plan, destination or route, stopping for photos or to mess around with cameras on a Big Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719248956906875139noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3272124176736767257.post-25782418244010940752022-06-16T19:58:00.005+10:002022-12-31T20:29:59.375+10:00Road King Special - Part 3: Not Quite Epic, But Not Mundane. I’m a simple man. It doesn’t take a lot to make me happy. Somebody else’s near-forty-thousand-dollar Harley-Davidson and an excuse to ride it and I’m all good. Tuesday in Brisbane was mostly sunny, so I got my work backlog (almost) sorted by lunchtime and invented a reason to go for skids on the Road King Special Press Bike. “I have to shoot some video, an introduction to the bike Big Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719248956906875139noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3272124176736767257.post-36082117352685567622022-06-14T00:29:00.002+10:002022-12-31T20:30:10.561+10:00Road King Special - Part 2: Making Mundane MemorableI got a ride in on the Road King Special today – doing errands. Having a bike like this makes even the most mundane of chores a pleasure. I went to the sound shop to pick up a microphone doohickie and collected some groceries on the way home. The interesting take-away however was how surprisingly nimble the bike is around town. On one roundabout enroute, over the crest of a hill, IBig Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719248956906875139noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3272124176736767257.post-25647926679075514382022-06-12T22:27:00.011+10:002022-12-31T20:30:23.884+10:00Road King Special - Part 1: A Long Term Test Our HEAVY DUTY Magazine 2022 Road King Special long-term test bike is now in our (my) possession and currently having its first outings in Brisbane. PART 1. First up, a no-way epic run, but a ton of fun. Sunday dawned a bit chilly with a light overcast and high cloud, so I waited until mid-morning before setting off on my first ‘real’ ride on the Road King Special test bike.I Big Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719248956906875139noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3272124176736767257.post-92200718873434727612022-06-08T22:02:00.006+10:002022-06-08T23:22:32.616+10:00Product Review: The Last CoatI saw an ad for ‘The Last Coat’ online and thought I’d give it a try. The marketing claims that the product gives a high gloss, smooth and protective coating “in half the time”.It’s applied by spraying a small quantity onto a microfibre cloth, wiping on and then buffing off with a dry microfibre. Time will tell how long it lasts, but after giving my VW and Tigger a treatment, it’s a Big Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719248956906875139noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3272124176736767257.post-52964532813448493372022-06-07T22:16:00.007+10:002023-01-03T12:50:51.427+10:00R3sistance is Futile As Oscar Wilde said, “I can resist anything but temptation.”or so much for that plan. Well … not so much a plan, but a flight of fancy … a daydream.Since testing the Triumph Rocket 3 GT Press Bike last month, and producing a very positive review for HEAVY DUTY Magazine (On sale July 4th), I had been pondering which body parts (or current vehicles) I would need to sell in order to Big Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719248956906875139noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3272124176736767257.post-89081494385455368412022-06-03T13:18:00.008+10:002022-06-05T21:46:14.075+10:00A day in the Saddle - BMW R18 Classic
(What a) Day in the SaddleBMW R18 Classic to the Darling Downs.When I saw online that Rowey and my riding buddies from the Gold Coast were headed to the Maryvale Pub for Sunday lunch I thanked my lucky stars that we’re not currently locked down up here in Queensland and resolved to tag along … well, actually, to meet them there. I figured it would be a perfect test run for the new BMW Big Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719248956906875139noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3272124176736767257.post-11170352961201997952022-06-03T11:42:00.002+10:002022-06-05T21:40:06.571+10:00Road Kings Compared
Kings of the Road, now and then.A quick spin on the venerable Kings 19 years apart.How well do you remember 2003? If you are like us, those 19 years have flown by and it seems the time was fleeting. Cast your mind back. Remember Sadam and Michael Jackson in court, Lord of the Rings Part 3, Terminator 3 and Elton John topping the charts? Locally, Guy Sebastian and Delta Goodrem Big Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719248956906875139noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3272124176736767257.post-42277897479820131262022-06-03T11:32:00.005+10:002022-06-05T21:40:18.749+10:00Bike of the DeadDead-set Bitza.Hughesie’s big-cube Evo is a mish-mash of ghoulish fun. We’d just finished the photo shoot for Craig’s unique machine around the coastal cane fields that lie between Brisbane and the Gold Coast. It was one of those hot and humid southeast Queensland Tuesdays so after the ride-bys we made our way to the ‘Gem Hotel’ for a refreshing beverage and the low down on the build.&Big Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719248956906875139noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3272124176736767257.post-8191972188988941742022-04-08T01:14:00.010+10:002022-04-08T01:23:39.046+10:00'22 Low Rider S On-boardHere's some on-board footage from a Sunday afternoon cruise around Brisbane on the latest Harley Softail Low Rider S.
On a production note, I'm happy with the performance of the Go Pro 10, in light of the muck-up on the Sportster S attempt.
There are a two grabs here where I tried using the rear facing microphone on the Media Mod instead of the the lavalier mic - and that didn't work Big Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719248956906875139noreply@blogger.com0