Very unlucky to be 5th. Victim of circumstance. At the time we owned a Trojan it had to be ridden between farms a reasonable distance apart. Low gearing made it slow on the road. Plus it didn’t last, maybe because i was in my early teens and gave it a flogging after school most nights.
4. Honda Ct110:
Old Faithful. Had one for 20+ years, sits in shed for 6 months then starts first kick over every time. Not sure it’s ever had an oil change. Great to learn on, although i had my first crash on a postie when 6 years old and a bit overconfident. Quietness made it good for going around lambing ewes.
3. Honda CT200
Very good all rounder, low geared for stock work. Surprisingly not the most reliable bike we’ve had, which isn’t something you’d expect with a Honda product. Slow on longer trips, not the greatest suspension in rugged terrain.
2.
Yamaha AG200
Great bike. In his late 60s the old man loves the comfy seat and low height. Terrific reliability, good for stock work. Very similar to the Honda 200 but we hade a lot less mechanical problems. Its downfall is a lack of speed and not great suspension. Our neighbour seems to crash his weekly and it just keeps going.
1.
Kawasaki Stockman
Seems a slightly controversial pick, but hear me out. Best on the road between farms, cruises on 95kph. Fastest and most nimble when chasing sheep and cattle. Front and rear disc brakes. Handles rough terrain the best. Ive seen reliability raised as a concern, but our Stockman never missed a beat, and it got hammered. Particularly impressive was the time dad dropped it while trying to cross part of the local creek that was much deeper than expected. Sat under water for 24 hours. Got it going the next day and it lasted another 2 years for 8 in total.
]]>
During a previous drought, not sure exactly what year but in the 90s, my father Barry and I had to do some fencing. There was a dam that was shared with a neighbouring property and it’d dropped so low cattle could sneak under the fence that crossed it. Dad was sick of complaints from next door so we decided to electrify the bottom wire. He plonked me on one side of the dam with a portable electric fence unit and old car battery. Baz, as he’s known locally then took off to fix a couple of issues with the fence on the other side of the dam. His final instructions were ‘when I yell out, hook up the electric fence unit to the battery’. Very simple.
A few minutes passed, I began daydreaming a bit, but finally heard the old man yell out, so I followed his last instruction. Electric fence hooked up. But then he yelled out again, this time a lot louder and with a violent tone. He then appeared on the opposite bank limping, waving his fist and screaming swear words at me I’d not heard as a kid.
Turns out the initial yell wasn’t the instruction to connect the electric fence but a yelp he’d let out after dropping the sledge hammer on his toe. Only to then grab a wire with a pair of old metal pliers and get a zap. He later claimed to be so wild that he’d contemplated swimming across the muddy dam waters so he could administer me a hiding quicker. Luckily the long walk around gave him time to cool down.
Funny memories now.
I’m sure others have even better stories we’d love to hear, if you send to sales@hughcharles.com.au we will share the best.