RTE St Helena Sunday 26 April 2020

Williamson

Part of the furniture
... got overtaken by an e-bike on Williamstown Rd in the car and I was doing 70...

It's 20 plus years since my bicycle shop days, when I fitted 25cc Sachs kits to pushies, so stretching the memory again. What I can recall is that to exempt the rider and motorised bike from motorcycle licence and rego requirements, the engine output was to be 200W, or less, and the bike was to be restricted to a max. speed of 25km/h - on the flat.

The specs on the Sach were spec'd to suit.

A little tuning and tweaking for an extra few W or km/h would / could be easily overlooked by the authorities, by 70km/h plus, would attract attention, and spoil it for the rest.

I may have told this story before:

Old Kev purchased a Sachs converted Malvern Star from the previous bike shop owner (Pete), it didn't live-up to Pete's claims of 25km/h and 100km/litre. Kev couldn't be convinced that he (at around 100kg), his tools in one pannier bag, six pack of beers in the other, was expecting too much from 25cc. But Pete said ...

So, I fitted to 1.50 x 26 high pressure MTB road tyres, pumped them to around 80psi, and fitted a Cateye cycle computer. Told Kev to come back every couple of days and I would top-up the 2 litre tank, and we would both keep track of the km travelled and fuel used.

A week or so later, after running through the figures, Kev was satisfied with the fuel consumption (around 100km/litre), but best of all he thought that I was a real champ, as the bike could now do 35km/h.

It was a WIN WIN result, no point in telling him that I fiddled with the computer calibration.
 
Last edited:
Great find! I like that loop idea, too.

Used to do it quite regularly with the kids when they were younger. Now we usually ride it at a more relaxed pace.
If you go clockwise there is a bit of a steep uphill at Flemington where you cross the freeway and another in Fairfield under Heidelberg Road plus you have to go up the staircase in Abbotsford at Gipps St. If you go anticlockwise it is slightly uphill all the way from Southbank to Abbotsford. Plenty of places to stop for food/coffee or beer along the route and despite what has been said it is a very gentle all day ride. The last time I did it by myself on the Brompton it only took a couple of hours without raising a sweat.

Another easy day ride is to start in Burnley and follow the river down to Port Melbourne then the coast down to say Ricketts Point and back. On the way back you can shortcut along the trail beside the tram line from near Station Pier and for some excitement stand on the Montague St bridge and see if it gets hit by a rental truck while you are on it.

I know a very nice 25-30km loop around the Knox / Scoresby area as well but it involves a compulsory stop at a boutique brewery so I doubt anybody here would be interested. :)
 

glitch

Mapping the next ride...
Staff member
I know a very nice 25-30km loop around the Knox / Scoresby area as well but it involves a compulsory stop at a boutique brewery so I doubt anybody here would be interested. :)


Yeah, you could be right...



When?


Last sore bum I got was from home to Jells Park and back along Dandenong Creek with a loop option between Burwood Hwy and Jells Park.
50odd k's all up mainly on bike-paths, bit of gravel etc.

That's on a cheap and ancient clonker with the choice CoVid-accessory of a front wire-basket (well bent out of shape by now after various ahem...shortcuts). Not exactly brag- material, but makes those quick Aldi-runs a breeze...
 
Top Bottom