nuts. 100,000 views

....in 6 days, thanks to everyone that has supported and reposted, reblogged, and whatever elsed the vid we did....thanks to all my friends that called, messaged, emailed with good wishes...

the last few days...

have been quite special, to say the least. I couldn't say any words the other night...but then you all know i prefer not to talk in those situations, so here are my thoughts for you.

Holy Shitbags...The response to the MACHINE video all around the world has been totally overwhelming for not only me, my wife and the dog, but also for the whole team involved in the making of the thing.

What started as a single idea about some nice riding shots caught on film turned into something way more....and i'm very happy it did.

First thankyou must go to Mat Harrington. A new found mate who I already consider a close friend, whose idea it was to start this ball rolling. You, my dear friend are a jewel in the night sky, ready to shine bright over the world. Thank you for your dedication to this project and for your constant ability to see the funny side in anything that we do. Im sure that we will be working together for some time in the future...or at least i hope we will....I find you totally inspiring to be around and i think we make a formidable team.

Dave Rusanow and Paul Mason, you two men were integral to this thing getting the momentum it needed to fly. Your presence here at the shed over those three days was a delight. Perfect photography, with those special angles that make the difference in the final product.....you guys were all over that. Total professionals. The audience can see that clear as the night sky over the tablelands. Cheers blokes.

Ceinwen Berry, what a dynamo you are. No-one can question that beautiful editing. I know from what Mat has told me that your unwavering ability to crisply and decisively sort the good from the bad, the necessary from the not needed, have shown through in the strength of the final product. I thank you.

Surya Bajracharya, you bro are one of those individuals that people cant help but love. Your soft and gentle reasonable way holds a lesson for us all. Your artistic expression is an inspiration to those around you and for your music included in the film i thank you from the bottom of my heart. Karuna, your the first bloke i met in this town. I thought "this guy doesn't make a bad coffee!"... Not as good as me... but not bad. Thanks for all your help on this one and for supporting your brother while he got this music down.

Damien Drew, you instigated this,,.....one of my oldest friends 20 years in i thank you for putting Matt and I in contact, and for being here even though I know I'm a pain in the arse half the time.

To the rest of the crew, my thanks for your dedication and love of your work which helped us put this video together. Looking back there is not one single thing I would change.

Peace.

last night was this...

it was such a fantastic night,...all the locals and the team that put it all together....keep an eye out for the 3 and a half minute clip directed by my good friend matt harrington from sydney.

thanks to everyone that came to help me get the worst hangover i've had in ten years.

was that chivas regal?....jesus.

For Rob......

MACHINE Yamaha XS650 from matt machine on Vimeo.

these men.....

did an amazing thing for me...they came to machine and spent three days eating, drinking, and filming bikes and machines and i enjoyed every minute...

i hope to see them again this weekend...

stay tuned for a little 3 and a half minutes at machine this weekend....

1974 Ducati Sport....

in the shed.....

i have this aussie mate named steve who knows more about restoring ducatis (and lots of other marques as well) than just about anyone i know. when one of my oldest friends damien asked me to go in on a bike buying deal with him i couldnt say no...id wanted to get another ducati since i sold my last one...a 1981 MHR about 9 years ago.

there was no question who was going to do the resto for me...i have too many bikes on the go and not enough time as it is, so steve took it on and here it is sitting in my shed. what a beautiful bike it is....thanks steve there is no doubt you is the man.

stay tuned for more photos when it stops fucking raining here.

ducati 1974 750 ss race bike....

has been in the shed for the last few months...its always surprising to me how fast these bikes are...and rock solid on the road...this one spins up better than most though and was a very successful race bike in it day....stay tuned as my sport of the same year should be here this week....

ducati 1974 750 ss race bike....

....holy crapola.

Ducati sport tank....

all finished and ready for petrol....steve and i started the sport last week....she's all finished bar some choke cables and a few bits and pieces...

steve is a very old aussie mate who has been restoring ducatis (and other marques) for longer than i've been alive...(well almost).

as our mate mick said to me the other day he's forgotten more shit than we ever knew.

pete young's..... OCCHIO LUNGO

OCCHIO LUNGO is one of my favourite blogs....if you don't already check it out then get to it mate.....informative posts galore.

check this post and video he just loaded.....ace.

thanks pete.....

pipeburn feature on the xs 650....

andrew at pipeburn (if your not following this site get to it mate), did a great little feature on the xs that Rob in Sydney now owns and rides the tyres off.....totally amazing photography and lots of nice words and comments....its nice to be appreciated thats for sure.

the best thing about it..... Rob loves the bike....

as always, thanks blokes.

2012 BIKE EXIF CALENDER...

Im jumping out of my skin today because i just found out that Chris Hunter from BIKE EXIF has included my Mark 1 Le Mans in next years calendar.

To be selected as 1 of 12 by a man that features around 300 motorcycles a year puts a big smile on my face....thanks Chris i'm totally honoured.

pre-order a copy here

finally its aligned....

Joe the owner of the 50 panhead and i decided that we would fit a new inch and a half bprimary drive and ditch the old 2 incher...there seemed to be some dodgy work done on the front pulley on the old one and to be honest i could never get it to run 100% true...always seemed to pull the belt an 1/8 out....

Anyways, we order a new drive set up and when i go to fit it seems the alignment is like half inch out....seems the previous owner had moved the gearbox over in order to accommodate a dodgy front pully that had been cut and rewelded....WHY!!!!!!

New gearbox plate, then pull hub, and sprocket and install a non offset sprocket and now its sweet...what a mess to clean up.

Fitted a more appropriate brake light switch also.

Im not looking forward to having to redo the exhaust to accommodate the new gearbox position...the kicker is surely going to hit....its all fun though.

holy fucken shitbags....

get a load of this....

6 Over - Teaser from Wild Honey Productions on Vimeo.

big balls and itchy eyes...

....i call these two.

got the pan out after a long cold winter this week. changed the oil and the gas....and off she went.

riding home i stopped to say hello to these two fellas. one just looked at me and the other was too busy with his itchy eyes. he looked like that scene with mel gibson and the blue face.

itchy eyeballs from matt machine on Vimeo.

new bars, primary drive, brake light switch.....

and a bunch of other stuff on the 50 pan...will have to send some parts off for rechroming that i have had to alter...im just glad i had an afternoon to myself to do some fun stuff.

i feel theres gonna be some riding this season...

sorry for the crapola phone camera pictures...

ok....so take off the exhaust...

then drain the oil, take off those oil lines remove the tank and all the other bits in the way then call me and ill tell you what to do next mr right hand man.

loved this video i came across tonight......

Free from Andrew Quinones on Vimeo.

watch his other video and keep watching...im sure much more to come....talented man.

i know about the sound of a pan on a long, quiet road in the bush......and it sounds like this.

on the run...