To all Aussies

Possibly

Imagine rounding turn one at Phillip Island and finding that on the track in front of you ? Any crash there is too big. A couple of years ago, one of the spectators climbed over the fence there and got hit by one of the top guys who was at full speed - he just touched him. Fortunately the big crash did not happen. I have ridden around there are found guys rolling down the bitumen. It is very dangerous. I know turn one worried some of our international visitors and I don't blame them for being worried. If you don't back off going round there, you are a better man than I am.

Its all part of road racing in Australia, the hazards we incounter from our wildlife as well as other things, look at out famous race the Bathurst 1000 up the top of the mountian kangaroos, rock slides just to name a few, a lot of major accidents caused by these few things over the years and one year the race finished early because of all the carnage caused by these things.
But its part of the aussie way just driving or riding around we incounter wildlife getting in the way and you don't even have to be out of the city to encounter these things, just a week or so a Wallaby caught crossing the Sydney Harbour bridge, big red Kangaroos fighting in a suburban street, to us aussies its all part of everyday life, we don't need to travel far to be in the bush where things are even more dangerous, fences don't stop our widelife, kangaroos just leap over them in a single leap.
I have been hit by a big red when drag racing another mate on his Norton it was standing on its hine legs 7' tall in the middle of the road my mate was just in front of me when he went past it the roo leaped straight into my side on but was gone in 2 giant leaps one over me the other over the fence on the side of the road, it happened so quick and we were doing the ton at the time, but I servived without losing it but I was in a big death wobble from it but didn't panic and was able to save from coming off but I was hurt badly from taking the inpack of the roo.

Ashley

Quite a few years ago I was riding my Suzuki 850 shaftie from Gladstone to Moranbah, about 480km.
Taking a shortcut across from the coast highway to Nebo and rounding a left-hander a reasonable size roo hoppied into the LH rear, just behind my leg (so - luckier than you Ashley)
It stood the bike up forcing me to leave the road on the RH side. Through sheer arse managed to bleed speed off while dodging trees until I fell over at quite low speed - so no real damage.
An Italian or Greek swaggie who was wandering along that road came over, pissed himself laughing at me (he'd seen the whole drama)
He had a length of rope and helped me haul the bike to the road
I offered him a beer - so he hopped on the back (helmetless) and we rode 40km to the Nebo pub to sink a couple of coldies and settle my nerves
Funny thing is - he couldn't speak a word of English. We managed to communicate quite well though

Thanks for prompting the memory Ashley
Cheers
Rob

In over 45 years of riding I have seen some funny things between motorcycles, motorcyle riders and wildlife, I could write a book about, but I have also seen some very tragic accidents caused by our wildlife, I have seen cars sitting on their roof from hitting kangaroos, we have invented the bull bar for our trucks and 4x4s, its not only kangaroos we got to worry about, wild camels, cattle, horse, pigs and thats only a few, they all can kill, a friend of mine was working outside of Dawin at a small pub she was riding her bike home late at night when she came around a bend to see a big croc walking across the road she had nowhere to go and hit it right in the middle at speed, the croc was 6m long, she was on her old BMW boxer and she said it was like riding a motorcross bike and flying over a big jump, she lived to tell the tale but with a few battle scares.

Ashley

I once met a guy who rode right around Australia when most of the roads were not bitumen in about 13 days. At one stage he hit a kangaroo and ended up dragging his bike up a dirt road into a cattle-station to fix it.

I take your point about being able to ride your bike whenever you like. However I work on the basis that quality is worth more than quantity. What is the good of having a high-performance motorcycle, if you cannot fang it without worrying about cops and sleepy car drivers ?