So I’ve spent a couple of days at Camp Rooneycycle, sleeping out in the camper on board the imposing 6×6 Landrover, eating sandwiches and talking bikes.

It’s all action as the Australasian Safari looms only weeks away. Both race bikes are now ready to go. Rod Colling and Neil Grime have had them out fine tuning the machines in technical trails dissecting the NSW hinterlands.

When Rod got back on Sunday I managed to extract the new race machine from his grip while he was distracted by a passing BMW z3. I was only able to zip the machine along an adjoining cane farm haul road, and even though I’m no safari racer I can tell you it is no slouch and certainly no rubber cow. ‘Nimble’ is not a word often associated with big boxer gs’s…but it rolls easily off your tongue (hanging out of your broad gaping grin) after a ride on this bike.

As soon as I bought it back Rod pulled the seat off in an effort to stop me sneaking off on it again. I didn’t bother to say I hadn’t sat down on it anyway…I just snapped off the following images of the machine lazing in the sun by the mighty Richmond River.

Back in the workshop I was sneaking around, lifting up the scattered sheets and towels that cover various bits of Specials in progress and generally distracting Paul with conversation when Peter showed up on his R80g/s special and bounced some banter around the brimming workshop also.

Just then tucked away on a bench in the ‘engine room’ a furtive glance under a pillowcase uncovered my own 1070cc engine in pre-production.  Actually almost an entire bike of mine is tucked away in the workshop. You just need to know what boxes to look in. Comfortingly it seems that Paul does.

I also stumbled across a recently completed Rooney Collector. The combined collector muffler system sounds incredible but not obnoxious on the race bike … so I’ve requested such a specimen for my own machine. It now sports a stamp too…check it out…

Robin is running one on his Special now as is Rod Colling on the Special he rides when he is not riding a ..err ..Special.  Both of these guys were recently out on the Tony Kirby Memorial Ride enjoying their machines and the camaraderie of the trail. Fantastic pictures are courtesy of Danny Wilkinson photography.

Anyhow, after a couple days it finally dawned on me that Neil was out servicing the Landrover, Paul was bustling around putting together spares and tweaking race machines, Rod was organizing some transport, Peter had sensibly moved along and I was … well, I was looking a bit like a third wheel.   I quickly stuffed some fuel cell foam in the tank of Rods race bike so at least I felt like I had participated in the safari and then I high tailed it to the airport before anyone asked me to grease a mousse. No I don’t mean…ah whatever.