This years BBB (my first) was full of celebrities and great bikes. The theme was The Castrol 6 Hour production bike race that was held between 1970 and 1987. There is No racing at the BBB. It is an opportunity to get all the pre 1990 bikes out of the shed and onto the track for all to see.

With over 1000 riders enjoying themselves on the various tracks (including a large vintage enduro turnout for a ride through the nearby Tallarook State Forest), swap meet, numerous club, trade and individual displays, the 2014 Penrite Bonanza had something for everyone.

Legendary Ducati race bike tuner Bob Brown with Kevin Magee - 500cc Grand Prix racer.



I asked Bob what sort of frame this was - while pointing to the loop above the cams. He said it is the "later" type Verlicchi frame which is stronger.

Owner Ross Hunter with his restored "pre-production" Montjuich racer - which has an interesting history! This is possibly the first Montjuich ever made! First shown at the Sydney Motorcycle show in 1985 and then campaigned by Bill MacDonald - see the image of the race bike below. Curiously, owing to this bike being a pre-production unit, it does not have an Mxxx chassis number it has an R number like a standard F1, though it features all the specifications of a Montjuich which was not released until 1986.

Below: Ross and his remarkable bike. Compare the tank and calipers on Ross' bike with those on the 1985 show bike and you will see they are the same bike, 1985 style F1 aluminium tank with the groove for the throttle cable and the calipers feature a raised and finished "Brembo" logo. Neither of which (along with the gold 3 spoke Marvic wheels) appeared on the production Montjuich. (later 17" wheels are currently fitted to Ross' bike)

Racing number plate incorporated into the seat. Note also the cool exhaust hanger and modified frame below the carburettor.


Groove in the '85 style aluminium fuel tank for the throttle cable - not a feature on the production Montjuich.

How it looked in 1985 at the Sydney Motorcycle Show

Montjuich Badge # 001 (but without a Montjuich chassis number - E.g. M001)

How it looked at Bathurst in 1986 in full race trim


Nice bike Ross

A very faithful replica!

Some lucky bastard's Montjuich! parked alongside another lucky bastard's DB1 in the Surf Side garage at the BBB

Engineering excellence! These Irving Vincents are built from the ground up in Melbourne Australia. Loaded with the latest V8 Supercar race technology they produce over 150hp from their 1.3 litre 2 valve or 186 hp for the 1.6 litre 4 valve. Both are air-cooled engines!

The basic engine and bike design was taken from the original 1946 Phil Irving design then thoroughly reworked to retrofit into an existing Vincent chassis – all done in-house. Link

and building these bikes is "just" a hobby for Ken and Barry whose primary business is Austart Air Starters

I traveled the 900Kms from Sydney to Broadford with Trev who generously shared his pit garage.

Below is the 1980 race winning Wayne Gardner CB1100R with Trev (SurfSide) who got the bike track ready and Shannon Johnson (son of Wayne's winning co-pilot Andrew).

Speaking of Andrew "Ajay" Johnson who passed recently, I recall him speaking at a Honda Dealer meeting in the late 1980s where he recalled his experiences racing down Bathurst's notorious "Conrod Straight" so named on account it is so long, downhill and incredibly fast that cars shot their conrods out this side of their engines! It has also claimed the lives of 6 race car drivers some of whom became airborne - Mark Webber/Mercedes Benz style.

Ajay recalled that as he crested the rise two thirds down the straight at full speed - 190mph on his works RS500;

"You really appreciate aerodynamics when your front wheel is 18" off the ground and the rear is 9 inches off the ground!"

WOW It stuck with me that did!

The Bob Brown/ Kevin Magee Pantah. That was the bike. What happened to the alloy framed rod tingate bike? Boucher.

Great photos of wonderful bikes. Thanks for sharing. MikeV

VIDEO - 1983 - Australian Grand Prix - Bathurst NSW Australia

What a rider, what a race track