What an awesome weekend in Braidwood, regional NSW! Despite some awful weather with wind and rain the real diehard motorcycle fans still turned out in droves for a very relaxed and enjoyable weekend away. There were some incredible bikes on display with the build comp bringing to life a number of incredible creations both subtle and outrageous! Shannons were there with 'Camp Shannons' and the awesome 'Best Bike Yarn' fireball burning away over the weekend which hosted many great tales both hilarious and touching. Selecting a winner was a challenge and boiled down to two epic stories, but the winner just edging out ahead was Robert Glenton with his custom bright yellow metal flake Norton Commando! As many know the early Norton electric start systems weren't exactly known for their reliability, and a common modification was to toss away the electric start in favour of a kickstarter, which Robert did with this very bike. Not long after, the bike developed an electrical gremlin which led to the bike occasionally backfiring. One afternoon after work one of Rob's colleagues wanted to hear how good the exhaust sounded. Not one to miss an opportunity to show it off Rob kindly obliged, one second he was kicking it over, the next he was flat on his back on the ground, Rob would later find out it backfired and the kickstart clean broke his tibia! With his adrenaline pumping he had a few thoughts, it's peak traffic in Perth, an ambulance will take forever, my wife is a nurse and home is closer than the hospital. With that, Rob had his work mate help him kickstart the bike with his other leg and set about riding home. Now at this point Rob also remembered he was supposed to drop a carbie around to a mates place on his way home, not being one to let down a mate he then detoured to drop it off on his way home despite the excruciating pain! He soon arrived home and his wife called an ambulance, but before they arrived Rob had one last thought which only a dedicated motorcyclist would have in that situation, he asked his wife to get him something to bite down on, because he knew the paramedics would want to cut off his boot, and he was wearing his favourite riding boots that day... He bit down hard and insisted his wife remove his boots... Rob still loves that bike, he brought it over from Perth to put on display at the show and even took out "Best Norton' and 'Best British' on the day, and yes, he fixed the backfiring issue, and yes, he still uses the kickstart! It's this kind of stubborn passion to never be defeated by a bike that fights you all the way that won Rob the 'Best Bike Yarn' for 2019. It was a great story and we look forward to hearing more stories like it next year too. Photo Credit - Alistair Demamiel (Instagram: @alistairwaytoeleven)
