Vic election, November

[amtravic1]

Hi all,
attached is a very good letter from Milton Oliver, President of City West 4wd club. Well worth reading for all, especially those of us in Victoria.

Ian

[CraigE]

I agree with most of that letter and it is about time the governments pandering to minority green groups for preference votes were put on notice. I do however have reservations about trail bike riders being the problem. Trail bike riding is also a legitimate recreational activity and tracts of land need to be put aside and maintained for this purpose as well. It is no use just sticking your head in the sand and closing trail riding areas because someone does not like a bit of noise. All this does is force people into riding illegally. These same people that usually complain would not have an issue using their chain saws to feed their wood heaters. There is room for all and surely a compromise could be met.

[amtravic1]

I dont agree with the bit about trail bikes either, as I am a life member of a trailbike club however like all activities there is a percentage of people who do the wrong thing. Unfortunately a lot of people tend to class noisy unregistered moto-cross bikes as trailbikes because they are used (illegally) on bush tracks.

Ian

[CraigE]

I dont agree with the bit about trail bikes either, as I am a life member of a trailbike club however like all activities there is a percentage of people who do the wrong thing. Unfortunately a lot of people tend to class noisy unregistered moto-cross bikes as trailbikes because they are used (illegally) on bush tracks.

Ian
Yeah, there is a small percentage that do the wrong thing. I do not agree with the moto cross bike slant. There should be areas for unlicenced riding. How are our kids going to learn? Not all of us can afford to have 3 or 4 sets of rego on vehicles, especially if a dirt bike only really gets used 6 or so times a year. And no I do not own a $12k bike so should be able to afford rego. There is a place for all forms of motorsport, we just need to designate some areas within reasonable access. A 2-3 hour travel time to access is not reasonable. I have been lucky growing up in the WA Goldfields where this is not really an issue and is tolerated by most. The major drama is the idiot's that want to race their unregistered bikes around on public roads. I have no problems in the real world of kids etc riding their bikes in and out of down as long as it is direct and slow/quiet. It is the few that insist on tearing up and down the roads and alley ways that ruin it for all. Fortuanately where I live it is about 2 minutes ride max to the bush from any point in town. I love my dirt bike riding and currently have a YZ426F and the kids a 90 Quad. Neither of these can be registered but it does not make my hobby any less legtimate. If I had a big lotto win I reckon I would buy a couple of thousand acres in the SW and open it up for dirt bike riding and possiblly some 4x4 tracks, which is what our government should be doing. Most people when you actually get them out of their little city comfort zones enjoy riding or learning to ride and realise they have been mistaken. I also do believe that we need to avoid unduly disturbing residents as well.

[amtravic1]

Yeah, there is a small percentage that do the wrong thing. I do not agree with the moto cross bike slant. There should be areas for unlicenced riding. How are our kids going to learn?
I also do believe that we need to avoid unduly disturbing residents as well.

Craig, you are totally correct. In Victoria at least 4wd tracks are classed as roads, therefore you need to be registered and licensed to use them. In Vic we have a class of registration called Recreation Registration which gives TAC cover (3rd party insurance) that lets riders use many tracks. You are restricted from using certain classes of roads and only to daylight hours. The cost is very reasonable.
We have been fighting for "Open Access Areas" for around 30 years to give unlicensed and unregistered riders somewhere to go however it is always put into the too hard basket by governments, probably because of insurance liabilities.
Another problem is that people, especially from Melbourne forget that the city has increased in size dramatically over the last 30 years and areas where you once could spend a day riding are now almost in the suburbs. Driving an extra hour away from the city would solve alot of problems.
Even though I am a life member of a trailbike club and have nominated for President again this year I spend most of my time in a 4wd as I dont bounce so well anymore and being self employed I really cant afford to spend time off work with injuries from the weekend!
www.amtra.com.au (http://www.amtra.com.au)