The Lions TT

[Cormanus]

Looks to me like the red CB750 might have some sort of oil cooler. Did later models have that?

LionsTT—history and rules

EmptySea, I don't think I have explained the rules. Forgive me if it's a bit long winded, but I think there's a story worth telling. As some of it is speculative on my part, you may want to skip it and go straight to [url=http://lionstt.com/the-lions-tt/]the organisers' website. However, I suspect their explanation is artfully constructed with a couple of ends in mind, affecting how they tell the story.

I think I mentioned in my report on the Founders ride back in July that the Lions Road created a path over the Queensland-New South Wales border by joining two existing roads. Construction was paid for and organised by two Lions Clubs—one in NSW; the other in Queensland—when the state governments declined to come up with the money. Hence the name. The road, although a public road, continues to be maintained by donation. There may also be some local government input, but I really have no idea about that. It's scenic, twists and turns, has erratic surfaces and is seen by many bikers as a hell of a lot of fun. Pterodactyl would say, I suspect, that his enjoyment is marred by the lack of a centreline which means you have no idea where on the road cars will be when you steam around a corner.

The organisers of the event proposed to the two councils (local governments) that they agree to the closure of the Lions Road for two days to enable motorcyclists to ride it from north to south free of the danger of meeting oncoming traffic. I suspect their long-term plan has always been to get the thing going, garner some support for it and then convert it into a time trial. However here was none of that this year: it was made abundantly clear to us that we were to adhere to all the road rules and would be individually liable for any breach of them. Notwithstanding that, there was no sign of NSW police on any of the section of the road on which the event eventually ran and I suspect many riders took it at speeds far in excess of any posted speed limit. More on that in a later part of the report.

So, the answers to your specific questions are:
[li]The section of the road on which the event was run was closed to all other traffic between 1000 and 1600 on the two days of the event meaning participants had only to worry about being overtaken or overtaking as the case may be.[/li] [li]Riders had to register and sign disclaimers exempting the organisers from any responsibility, obey marshals' instructions and agreeing to comply with the applicable road rules.[/li] [li]Yes there was a fee. For non founder members it ended up being AU$179 for a weekend package which meant you could have up to two rides a day on the closed off road on each of the two days. It was AU$99 for a single day. The prices were originally AU$220 and AU$150 respectively. It was less for founder members. Any surplus funds are to be donated to the upkeep of the Lions Road.
[/li]
There were riders of varying abilities there and we had to self-select where we would fit in the scheme of things. Pterodactyl kindly chose to 'downskill' for the weekend to keep me company. There were lots of people who at least looked like they knew what they were doing and were really going to give it a shot. I did not want to be in their way!

If you look at the website, you'll see they also tried to organise some timed drags in the street at Kyogle. They couldn't pull of the necessary police permit in time and so ran some untimed runs on the airstrip in a nearby town. Given a better understanding of what they need to do, they may well get the requisite approvals for next year.

On final morning just before heading for home, my breakfast was served to me by the mayor of the Kyogle Council. She told me she was very angry with the Queensland Police for refusing permission to close the road. I didn't say it in the earlier post, but the rejection occurred far too late for there to be any chance of an appeal. She told me the NSW police were happy with the event and the local council was delighted by it. My suspicion is that the event may well always struggle to get approval from the Queensland Police. I also suspect the organisers will struggle to get either State to agree to a full-on time trial, for the simple reason that the event occurs on a public road. It might well have the unintended consequence of limiting participation to people with some sort of racing certificate. But we'll see.

For my part that's not an issue. I'll go again. It's a fun festival and it's great to ride a road, however difficult it's construction and surface, where you can be confident you won't come around a corner and meet a SUV coming towards you on the wrong side of the road.

I hope that answers your questions.