1927 Gypsy Tour

The Indian Motorcycle Club of Australia re-enacted the Gypsy Tour rally, starting on the 29th of March 2008.  The details are listed in the itinerary which can be downloaded as a word document in the link at the top of this page.  Because it was originally run twice (Melbourne to Sydney Dec 1927 and Sydney to Melbourne Dec 1928), the anniversary was organised to fall part way between them.  Also late December would have been a difficult time to attract entries and provide accommodation due to Christmas holidays.

The idea eventuated when one of the members received a copy of my 1927 Gypsy Tour Poster and thought it would be great to run the rally again on the 80th anniversary.  When he mentioned this at the next meeting, he found himself nominated to organise it.  I was recruited to join the club but was unable to contiribute much to the organisation of the event (I live three hours from the club's base in Melbourne) apart from some history of the original Gypsy Tour.  A special mention should be made here for one club member - Toni, who put a huge amount of work into putting this together.

The re-enactment is something my mate Les and I had always spoken about together with a couple of others once we had finished our bikes, but with the club taking it on board, we were able to attract a large group of Indian riders and it became quite a spectacle like the original event.  There was also a backup vehicle and a luggage truck following the group.  Les and I had both finished our restorations and concentrated on putting on some miles to iron out some of the teething problems.  Thank God for Loctite.  Two other Bairnsdale district riders also participated. 

The 80th Anniversary Gypsy Tour followed the original route and drew a larger group of Indians than the one held 80 years earlier. 

Most of the photos on this page were provided by Tim Pickering who participated in the tour until his engine seized.  He diligently recorded the events on his notepad and camera.

Leading up to the event - With four days to go, we had 47 definite entrants.  One is the President of the Indian Motocycle Club of Sweden, two others have come from the USA, one from Fiji (Tim Pickering) and one from New Zealand.  Several more registered on the day.  With the official rally ending at Lake Illawarra which is 80 km south of Sydney, many club members considered riding the extra bit to Fox Studios which is on the site of the original Sydney Show Grounds where the 1927 group set up camp.

I was delighted to discover that one of the bikes from the original rally would be participating in the re-enactment and ridden by a relative of the the original owner/rider.  This is great stuff!  More on that later.

Day One - There was a good turn out to the start with quite a few people coming long distances just to see us off.  After a breakfast provided by the local Scout group and an explanation of the day's plans and alternative routes, backup and luggage vehicle procedures, we started our engines and headed off.

This photo must have been taken as I arrived at the start.

My own bike went about 100 metres when the knurled knob on top of the idle screw fell off dropping the needle to the bottom.  Luckily a spare carby on loan from my mate Beddo in Sydney was quickly swapped over and off I went with Dad following with my own car and trailer.

The new carby was also difficult to set the idle speed but once I got moving it was going OK.  I would have to do some work on the old carby that night and get it back on.  After riding down the twisty roads from Healesville, we hit the highway and headed to Traralgon.  The roads were wet and there were periodical rain showers but I was quite dry and comfortable and the bike was buzzing along the dual lane highway nicely at about 80 kph.  I had not long previosly given the hand pump a squirt of oil when disaster struck.  Without any warning, my engine seized and I went into a sideways slide flipping left to right several times; still upright but unable to get my foot on the clutch.  I was beginning to think I could get out of this and skid to a halt but as the bike slowed, the tyres gripped and started bucking the bike around.  I could see bad things were about to happen so I just laid it down on the smooth wet road (and my leg) and slid to a halt. 

I came out of it with a graze, small burn and swelling on the left shin and a very small bruise (almost a love bite) on my right hip.  Didn't really hurt much until a couple of hours later when the sprained muscles in the hip made walking almost impossible and very painful.  A trip to hospital confirmed that there was nothing broken and a tetanus jab was all I needed.  [note added after the tour: I may have picked up something nasty in the casualty ward]

The bike suffered surprisingly little although it wouldn't be going to Sydney.  After later inspection, the true damage was more obvious. The forks were bent and the brake lug on the right fork had a piece broken right out of it. The front wheel may be buckled.  My new handlebars were slightly bent and the front edge of the front guard was dinged and ground down with dents also on either side where the guard made contact with the suspension struts.  The clutch pedal broke off, there were patches needing repainting. The rear stand was quite buckled and a few other nuts and bolts bits were ground back a bit.  My beautiful stainless steel exhaust was pushed against the rear wheel and  had some ugly gouges in the fishtail.

We enjoyed a meal at the Traralgon Convention Centre and listened to several speakers.  I was declared the "Gypsy Joker" of the day.  I gave a brief overview of how the story of the original Gypsy Tour was discovered and some background on my grandfather's agency and his racing days.  I was shouted quite a few pain killers but remained reasonably sober.

I am still going to Sydney and joining in the fun with this fantastic group of people but I will be in a car and careful to clean and dress my wounds each day.  (DW 31/03\2008)

Day Two - Everyone set off from the Convention Centre at 9.30AM but Phil Pilgrim and his daughter Bonnie on their 1944 Chief Outfit only got about 20 metres from the front entrance when the brake lug on the right rear suspension casting broke and jammed his rear brake on.  Luckily he hadn't gained much speed at the time.   His bike was put on a trailer and towed to my Dad's shed in Bairnsdale later that night while someone who had to return to Melbourne for some of their own parts, were detoured to pick up a borrowed replacement suspension/brake bracket assembly for Phil.

We continued to Maffra and inspected "The Maffra Shed" motor museum and were enthralled by a talk by Ian Kennedy about the famous local racing identity Harold Parsons.  We then headed to Sale were we stopped and lined the bikes up outside the Harold Parsons Memorial before continuing on the the Sale Information Centre for lunch and public display.  My bike was on the trailer behind the display, but people were admiring it without noticing any damage.  Phil Pilgrim then followed us to Dad's shed and remove the broken part awaiting arrival of the borrowed replacement. 

Dinner at the Wy Yung Cricket Club was by far the best meal of the week.  My family attended and My Mum (Ivor Dennis's daughter) was thrilled to receive a birthday cake from the Indian Motocycle Club to celebrate her 72nd birthday on that day.  We also set up a table of Ivor Dennis memorabilia and photos.   Phil's part arrived just at the end of the evening and we headed back to the shed to fit it.  It was after midnight when he rode noisily out of the driveway.

Day Three - We re-enacted the Gypsy Tour photo in Howitt Park this morning with professional photographer and classic motorcycle enthusiast, Philip Smith using a megaphone to get the group organised.  The photo looks fantastic although I don't know why we didn't notice that there was a non-Indian at the front of the shot which would have been far better situated down the back somewhere; maybe on the other side of that footbridge.

Copies of this photo can be purchased from the photographer Philip Smith. Click the photo for his details.

The group continued on through Lakes Entrance to Orbost for lunch and then headed for Cann River.  Many chose to stop off at the famous Bellbird Pub for lunch where one member took a shine to an almost life size Kangaroo.  $300 later and it was sitting up in the front of his tradesman's box sidecar.  Skippy was later to aquire many adornments.  Skippy is shown here with a Louis Vuitton hand bag, leather collar, beads, tiara, scarf, sunnies and nipple rings.  On other occasions she was spotted wearing an Indian head dress and a bridal veil.

The Cann River Hotel was the venue for this night's meal and beforehand during a conversation with one of the locals in the beer garden I was invited to try out his four wheeled Indian.  It considered borrowing it for the rest of the journey but it would be a long haul.

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Day Four - We continued on to the pointy end of Victoria where some riders took a side tour to Mallacoota and one bike had a broken frame welded.  Crossing the border into New South Wales, it was just a short ride to the fishing port of Eden where most of the riders enjoyed a lunch of fish and chips. 

From Eden we continued on to Bega and after setting up camp (motel room for some), we headed to the Grand Hotel beer garden for dinner.  At the dinner, President Pete announced that one unfortunate rider won the day's Gypsy Joker award for putting fuel into his oil tank. There is only a small piece of metal separating those two holes "and that's a fact".

Day Five - Morning tea at a local motorcycle dealership and then back on the road again.  I had another radio interview this morning and gave our next two stops a big plug.  When we arrived at the Air Raid Tavern in Moruya, we were greeted by a small crowd.  Members of the Classic and Vintage Motor Club of Eurobodalla were waiting for us with some of their own bikes on display.  Quite a few people who heard the interview had made the effort to come along for a look. 

One in particular had quite a surprise for me.  He showed me a photo of a line of motorcyclists on Indians travelling across a paddock near Bega in 1928.  He also had on Sydney Indian Dealer - Biden and Robers letterhead a copy of the itinerary of the 1928 Gypsy Tour which ran from Sydney to Melbourne.  He promised to send me copies of this to post on this website, but so far I haven't heard from him.

We then departed for a leisurely ride to Batemans Bay for a two night stay. 

Day Six - Most of the campers were in the same caravan park and the day off was great for exploring the area or just doing any necessary maintenance on the bikes.  A few of the bikes ended up parked on a wharf and the local press grabbed a shot for the Bay Post newspaper. 

At the same time an elderly gentleman of around 90 who was looking on from his wheelchair was invited to take a ride in the sidecar of Chris Knoop's Military Chief.  Reluctantly his daughter agreed and he was loaded in, fitted with a helmet and taken for a tour of the shopping district.  The look on his face when they returned was priceless and he is probably still talking about it back at the nursing home.  I commend Chris for making the offer and hope someone does the same for me when I'm an old codger.

That night I met James Lambert who has a Scout which is sometimes fitted with a supercharger!  He had some examples of his work.  He does complete engine re-builds and servicing of Indians.  His brochure says "for high revving, hard ridden Indians".  He is a very interesting person to talk to and I am seriously considering getting him to work on the re-build of my 101 Scout.

Day Seven - This was the final official day of the tour.  Before leaving Batemans Bay, we held a display on the foreshore which the locals enjoyed. 

Daryl Jenkins is pictured here with his very original 1919 Indian Powerplus.  This is the bike I mentioned earlier which participated in the original 1927 tour.  Daryl's father's uncle Mervyn (Mack) Attwater can be seen in the original photo leaning back slightly with his hat and goggles pushed back on his head.  He is situated in the top right corner behind and slightly to the right of the lady who moved and is blurred.

Today's ride did encounter some city type traffic before we left the highway and headed to Sholhaven Heads for lunch at the pub.  One of the customers there was lamenting the fact that his Dad who he had just taken home the previous day, would have loved to see this spectacle.  He phoned him and immediately heard the response "come and get me" but because he was an hour and a half away, he would have to make do with the movie his son then proceeded to make on his phone.

The roads to Lake Illawarra from here were light on traffic and passed through beautiful bushland.  It was hard to tell that we were so close to the city.  On the way we visited the famous Kiama Blow Hole.

Our photographer Philip put on a fantastic slideshow at the welcome dinner that evening and president Pete handed out presentations and expressions of gratitude, particularly for the tireless efforts of our backup crew Bob and Diane and also his wife Toni's huge achievement in organising this great event. My mate Les received the "best bike" award.

Bob and Diane

Peter and Toni Bithisel

Day Eight - It wasn't initially part of the official event but quite a number of riders decided to continue to the city, so with a number of support crew in tow, we headed onwards.  I welcomed an offer from Helen Rawlings to drive my car for one section of the ride while I jumped on the back of Rodney's 44 Chief.  This bike was originally restored by Dad about 40 years ago and it was great to be back on two wheels for another part of the Gypsy Tour.

Ian Morrison is a real gentleman and looked the part with his gladstone bag strapped to the luggage rack of his 1925 Chief.  Ian felt compelled to do the run in its entirety from the original Rhodes Motors site to the Sydney Show Grounds and so he rode from Elizabeth Street having just crossed the West Gate Bridge and rode to the official start at Healesville.  He later participated in the extra ride to the coathanger achieving his goal of riding the famous bridges of both cities.  An impressive effort.

You can view an excellent movie of the final leg of the 2008 Gypsy Tour by clicking on this link to YouTube.  The movie runs for just over eight minutes.

Day 35! - Well it has been ages since the tour and I'm still off work.  The injury to my leg became infected and I was put on an antibiotic drip for three weeks.  Luckily I was put on the Hospital in the Home scheme which means that although I am considered an inpatient, I have been able to stay home while the district nurses make daily visits to hook me up to an intravenous drip and clean, pack and dress the wound.  Don't click here if gruesome photos freak you out.  Luckily our family car has an automatic transmission, so I have not been housebound.

A bone scan earlier this week showed that I have no fractures or bone infections so I am now trying to put my weight back on my still swollen foot.  I am visiting a physiotherapist now and hoping to lose the crutches soon.  The doctor and physio have not ruled out ligament damage.  Luckily the accident was covered by TAC insurance (a levy which is part of motor vehicle registration fees in Australia) so my medical bills are all looked after and they are supplementing my income to the tune of 80% so that my sick leave will last a bit longer.  I am not normally one to take a sickie so I have over 700 hours of sick leave up my sleeve. 

The bike has not been touched since the accident apart from dad lifting the cylinders to discover that there is no damage in the top end.  I have to wait until I get the bike to Melbourne soon so that Jim Parker can do a quote for the insurance company.  Once that happens, I can get the motor out and see what happened.  Luckily we recently purchased a spare motor with magneto and carburettor.  Dad has already had it apart and the bottom end is in excellent condition.  Depending on what has happened in the broken one, we may be able to make use of parts of this, or swap the whole crank cases over but I am still thinking of making use of James Lambert's skills.

Day 44 - I'm back at work today.  Full time but not doing too much standing in the first few weeks.  It is so good to get back to a normal life. 

The Scout engine has been apart to reveal total carnage.  There was about half a cup of oil which Jim Parker assures me is plenty.  The details including an interesting and slightly familiar photo have been added to the bottom of the My 101 Scout page of this website.  The re-building story will also continue on the My 101 Scout page.