Contents for this month include :

More on AVON AZAROS
Hayabusa finish
Warning about travelling fast in the NT
Disaster - Computer struck by lightening
New computer !

Update 27/02/2000 :  Not much happened this week.  I'ts been raining for most of it.  When I did venture out, the roads where quite wet, hence not much fun, even worse the roads have deteriorated noticeable.   There are now huge pot holes and gravel thrown up every where.   The bike is now filthy, no point cleaning it as I've got to use it again next week.   The Northern Territory, Darwin in particular is in the middle of a monsoon trough so it's rain and more rain.

The AVONs seem to work very well in the wet.   The rear feels very tied down.  Again I am definitely leaning much further even in the wet than I can remember with the other tyres.  They seem to be wearing quite well.  Hopefully next week I'll have more news and the re-design of the main pages completed.  This year I'll be including heaps more stuff on other motorcycles.   Feel free to Email with suggestions on what bike I need to research on.    See the Specifications and performance page for more Hayabusa details.  Even more over the next few weeks.

Update 20/02/2000 :  News this week : The Hayabusa has definitely freed up noticeable over the last few rides.   Definitely more willing to rev than previously.  Anyway, a few new links that are genuinely interesting.  The Hayabusa being compared with a vintage bike and modified Hayabusa being compared.  Hayabusa vs. Vincent HRD Black Shadow and Comparison between racing Hayabusas.

The AZAROs are performing really well.  They are definitely gripper and more stable then the BT56S.  Steep leaning angles come naturally.  I now feel that the center stand is in danger of scraping.  These tyre are definitely the best ones I've fitted ever.  I don't think these tyres will square off any time soon !  I can definitely recommend these tyres, although I don't know how they would handle heavy handed riding ??  Stay tuned.

The finish on the Hayabusa is standing up to the relatively harsh climate pretty well.  No signs of rust or paint flaking on any part of the bike.  Fairing is still shiny and all rubber bits still black !

Update 13/02/2000 :  News this week which no other site I have visited has posted, confirmation of what the symbol means : what does the symbol mean ?   Well, its either pronounced hayabusa or Hayato.  It means strong and fast regardless of the way its pronounced !

The most interesting update I have this week is in regards to the AVON AZAROs.  These tyres are honestly really good.  It feels really sticky and provides heaps of feedback.  Its also a very stable tyre, reducing the wobble which my bike is afflicted with.  The service guys at  Suzuki Territory reckon that its probably slightly tight head bearings.  I will hopefully have it fixed shortly. 

In regards to luggage, I am trying to order a proper mounting rack for a top box to house my Hayabusa multimedia package ! (HUMP)  More on how its going to work out over the coming months.  Why ? because I like having a bit of music as I ride.  The NT is a big place and the roads are very long and straight.

Speaking of which, if you ever visit I must warn you not to over do your speed.  The wild life is exceptionally dangerous.  My trip through the center last year by car I saw a dingo playing chicken with a road train.   Over a dozen eagles swooping down in front of the car to catch lizards or snakes.   I even ran through a whole colony of little birds at 140km.  Then there's live stock that just hang around the edges of the road waiting to test your braking skills.   Then there are the Red-Kangaroos.  Not little wallabys.  These things are at least 2 meters tall.  and I wouldn't like to run into one at speed.  The road clearing teams can be seen clearing up their remains in the morning, after being run over by road trains etc...  Although my travels where through the day I'd hate to imagine what it'll be like at night.  There aren't any street lights in the center of Australia.

Update 06/02/2000 :  Wow ! My new machine has IE Explorer 5 on it and it seems to work really well.  Its an HP P3 500Mhz with a 17in monitor.  Unfortunately it isn't equiped with my old DVD and CD-Writer and personally I don't think the AGP Riva TNT card is as good as th old ATi Pro rage - though I'm sure others will disagree.  Hopefully when the old one is fixed I'll feel better.  It may only be 500Mhz but it zooms along much faster that the old 400Mhz.

Anyway back to the Hayabusa.  The new AVONs appear to be a very good tyre.  It is definitely more stable than the BT56S and definitely more feel than the BT56J.  In fact I lean into corners much more steeply as there's a ton more feel.  I'm actually using it up to the edges more than the BT56S and certainly more than the BT56J.  However I would hesitate to guess what the AVONs life span is.  Anyway, I'll keep you up to date.

Based on visual judgement, the AVONs do appear wider than the BT56Js and a size bigger than the 190 BT56S.  I know that shouldn't really be a comparison, but I'm sure like most people you'd wan the biek to look good too !

Update 02/02/2000 :  Yes, I'm back again... What a hugely eventful week. Unfortunately nothing to do with the Hayabusa.  My prior machine was destroyed by a lightening strike and hence I've be busy restoring files etc.. to their rightful place.  Never underestimate the need to BACK-UP although the back-ups in my case did not work very well.  So please bear with me a little while whilst I get everything up and running again.