Victorian High Country - A Parent's Perspective

I like the challenge of 4WDing. The thrill of trying to do something difficult. The adrenalin rush from overcoming the insurmountable. That wonderful feeling of accomplishment when you do something that other say can't be done. Am I talking about fording a river up to the windscreen? No. Climbing a seemingly never-ending set of rock ledges? No. Driving for hours across desolate and forbidding desert terrain? No.

No, our latest challenge was much bigger than these. It required skills and expertise, daring and resourcefulness. The challenge I'm referring to was fitting two adults and two kids into a Suzuki for a week of camping in the Victorian High Country.

Last time I did this I was in a SWB Sierra. It was just Donna and I and we seemed to have room for everything we needed. This time we were in a Vitara V6 Estate wagon so you'd assume it would be somewhat roomier, but with our two kids, Alex and Kate, we were a little short on space. The leadup to this trip had us a more than a little worried about just how on earth we would fit in everything we needed to take. Despite the fact that the V6 Vit is a much bigger car than the Sierra, once you realise that the kids actually need the whole back seat, there isn't a lot of room left. The luggage area behind the rear seat is pretty small - much smaller than in the Sierra - and we had to carry a much bigger tent, 4 sleeping bags, 4 sleeping mats, enough food for 4, … basically 4 of everything. On top of that, Donna was packing clothes to suit every eventuality of weather, so it was starting to look like being a bit of a squash.

Now I've always been a pretty good car-packer. Most times, my pack is like a jigsaw puzzle and it's always pretty amazing just how much can fit in, but there was no way this was going to work out! To make matters worse, the planning meeting at Det and Hemmi's place highlighted a bunch of other stuff that I had not even thought about taking…

But we did it. We added a cargo barrier behind the kids - partly to keep them safe, but mostly so we could pack the car to the top - and a roof basket with a Rack Sack on the roof racks. Our thanks to Tim Steele for his great suggestions and advice on these things.

Anyway, we somehow managed to make most of the stuff fit in, and after a couple of practise packs we were looking forward to Friday night when we could pack it all for real in anticipation of Saturday morning. It was great… I can't remember the last time I looked forward to something as much as this trip. I was counting the sleeps till Saturday!

When Saturday finally arrived we threw the last few items in the car, squeezed ourselves in and cruised on down to Goulburn to meet the rest of the crew. It's a pretty quick trip to Goulburn these days and we arrived at South Goulburn Maccas in plenty of time to meet Det and Hemmi, Tim Hill and (when they finally arrived) Tim and Leah. :-)

A quick refuel and we were back on the road to Jindabyne, where we stopped again for food and fuel. The fuel issue was also concerning me a bit too, as the V6 can be a bit heavy on petrol and I really hadn't had it offroad for an extended period like this so I had no idea what the offroad consumption would be like. Because our cars are basically twins, Tim and I were constantly comparing things like fuel consumption, gearing, tyres, etc. For some unknown reason Tim and Leah's car was sucking slightly more fuel than ours, so I figured that at least he'd run out first. For some odd reason this made me feel better about the possibility of running out myself. And since Det was driving a mobile petrol station in the Prado, I wasn't too worried.

The run through Thredbo was easy, and we then wound down through some very pretty countryside towards Tom Groggin, where we stopped to air down and let the brakes cool before we crossed the Murray River into Victoria. The crossing was straightforward as the water was quite low, but the sky looked like it could rain and the river can rise quite fast so rather than camp at Tom Groggin as planned, we were eager to get across it. Camp was struck at the edge of the Indi Wilderness where, despite the soft rain, we had a pleasant first night's camp.

Off the next morning, the second challenge struck me. Man! I have to put up the tent and set up the sleeping mats and roll out the sleeping bags and sort out the food boxes and remove the racksack… and then reverse the process the next morning! Hey, this is supposed to be a holiday! I'll be exhausted by the end of the week!

Well, it turned out to not be too bad, and like anything else, once you've done it a few times, you develop a system for it. I think we need to refine a few things, and there are a few changes I'd make to what we take and how we take it, but on the whole it worked out pretty well. We traversed up to Davies Plains, checked out the hut and had a nice morning tea. Moving along McCarthy's Track took us down to where the Murray River rises… and interesting spot, where we stood in Victoria and threw rocks into NSW.

But I won't go on telling you where we went, because you can read that in the other reports. I just read the excellent report by UPP-11T, and combined with Det's summaries, I'm sure you can find out where we went if that's what you want to know. The things I took away from this trip are more mental snapshots. Experiences and moments that are hard to describe on paper, and fall into the "you just had to be there" category.

Like the indoor camp oven cooking session inside King Spur Hut, followed by my kids doing Monty Python renditions. (yes, my kids! Jeez, you know you're kids are growing up when they can recite Monty Python sketches!) Like the climb up Blue Rag Spur track, where we finally got mobile phone and radio reception, listening to Lawsy on the radio and trying to ring him to tell him that Suzukis are much better than Toyotas. ;-) Like the look on Donna's face as we got to the last final ascent to the summit of Blue Rag… bugger me, it was steep too! We've driven steeper, but the sheer drops on the edges of the tracks added a certain something to the adventure.

How can a trip report convey the colours of the mountains down there, where each layer of hills gets fainter and bluer than the one before it? Or describe the intensity of the colours showing on the trunks of the wet snowgums. Or the silence one experiences when you get to the top of a mountain like Hotham, or Bald Top, and then just shut up and listen. To the sound of nothing.

We saw some incredible scenery. It's really difficult to describe the feeling of being on a huge mountain overlooking a stunning cloud filled valley, or in the middle of a forest full of enormous, towering stringybarks, without realised what a tiny speck we are. The feeling of insignificance in the midst of all the natural majesty is quite overwhelming. But it's a good feeling.

I loved the experiences of staying in the mountain huts like King's Spur and Lovick's. It added a marvellous dimension of history and heritage to the trip. Visiting Wonnangatta Valley and checking out the ruins of the homestead and the old cemetery was a really educational experience, and made even moreso by Leah's running historical commentary as we headed out to Zeka spur track.

Part of the joy of seeing and doing and experiencing all this was to see it through your kids' eyes. Indulge me for a sec, but as parents and teachers, Donna and I both know how tedious and irrelevant school can sometimes be, and how it can bore some kids to tears. Quite apart from anything else, I can tell you that the educational value of being able to get out into the bush for a week like this, meeting real people and seeing real places, is beyond measure. It's a great experience for adults, but I just loved seeing the way it affected our kids.

No matter how challenging it might be to fit it all in, I'm so glad we found ways to do it, to fit the four of us into our little zook along with all our gear, and get out there and see this stuff. It was the sort of challenge worth overcoming.

Chris Betcher
April 2002

How Times Change… 1985 to 2002

In 1985, I decided to buy a new car. I was young, I'd just started my first fulltime job, and I actually had some money coming in, so I figured I'd wander down to the local dealer and buy a brand new car. I had a pretty bad accident down on the Perisher Valley Road the previous winter, so I was pretty sure I wanted a 4WD, in fact, a friend had a Subaru Wagon and I'd pretty much decided to get one of those. So off I went, down to the Subaru dealer at Sylvania to check them out.

Right next door to the Subie dealer was Tom Fry Suzuki. Sitting in the front yard was a really cute little red soft-top Sierra and it suddenly occurred to me that if I bought one of those, I'd be able to have 4WD for my winter trips AND take the top off during the summer… cool!
And so a plan was hatched. After doing the negotiating with the bank, I was soon the proud owner of the little red Sierra. I didn't know much about Suzukis, in fact my Sierra was one of the first JX1300s… a big step up from the 1.0 litre models, though I didn't even realise that at the time. All I knew was that it was a heap of fun to drive and I really enjoyed going topless on those warm summer days.

On the urging of a friend, I took my new toy down to Boat Harbour a few times, playing in the sand, climbing sand dunes and driving in puddles. Eventually though, I started to wonder what other things this little car might be able to do.

I remember buying my first copy of a 4X4 Australia. It had a short article in there about Newnes - some track notes and a few photos. I thought it looked great, and Donna and I decided that we would start making the most of being 4WD owners and start to get out and see some these wonderful looking places.

Quite coincidentally, the same issue of 4X4 also had a story about track closures, and talked about how many of the places that 4WDers could visit were under threat from the environmental do-gooders. It urged 4WD owners to get involved in a 4WD club of some sort, mainly because it allowed the 4WD movement to have a political voice and unless you were in a club you really weren't "countable". That sounded like a good idea to me, and besides, being in a 4WD club sounded like it could be fun… who knows, we might even go on a trip with them sometime. The magazine had a listing of 4WD clubs in the back and naturally I found the Suzuki 4WD Club of NSW. That chance decision introduced me to one of the most wonderful groups of people and some of the most incredible experiences of my life.

Our first venture with the club was actually quite a mess. We phoned the number in the magazine and was told we could join in a trip to Limeburners on the weekend. Where on earth was Limeburners? We were told to meet at the Wombeyan Caves turnoff just the other side of Mittagong on Saturday morning. Cool. Our first club trip.

We arrived on time on Saturday and waited for the other Suzukis to arrive. And waited. And waited. Eventually an old Land Rover pulled up. Then another. Then a Landrover 110. Then a Range Rover. What was going on here?

A conversation was struck up with the Landrover drivers and we were informed they were from the Sydney Landrover Owners Club, and were also heading down to Limeburners for the day. It seemed we had either gotten the wrong turnoff as a meeting point, or the Suzuki Club had cancelled the trip and not told us about it. Either way, we weren't going to waste the day, so we joined the Landrovers on their trip. They were a really nice bunch of people and when they realised that we didn't know anything about 4WDing they were very helpful to us. They also had nothing but good things to say about the Suzuki 4WD Club and encouraged us to make sure we got back in contact with the Suzuki Club during the week.

Well, we obviously did contact the club, and we've never ever regretted it. Being members of the club opened many, many opportunities for Donna and I … not just in the places we visited during our years with the club, but also with the people we met, the connections we made, the skills we learned, and the way it actually changed us as people. They say that truly strong bonds are formed through adversity, and I believe that's very true. When you spent numerous weekends with people whom you get to know intimately, when you often place your safety in their hands and rely on their experience, you form bonds of trust and mateship that become incredibly strong. It's hard to define what ties people together who go through the sometimes arduous, difficult experience of "going bush" for a few days, but you certainly form stronger bonds with these people than others who just come into your life on a purely social level.

It wasn't long before I ended up getting very involved in the activities of the club. The concept that this was a club, run for members by members, was a really important realisation for me. I think we get so used to a world run by the ubiquitous "they", that we sometimes lose a sense of personal responsibility. It's so easy to say "they should do this", or "they should do that". But here in this club, it just became so obvious that "they" was in fact "us". We had the responsibility. We had the power to make the club into anything we wanted. It was not a faceless organisation that surreptitiously held events for it's membership. The members were the club. That seems such a stupidly obvious thing to say, but the Suzuki Club was the first organisation I had come into contact with where the decisions, the activities and the possibilities were driven by the members themselves, so it was somewhat of a revelation to me.

I learned so much from so many people when I first got involved. People like Graham Walker, Darryl Sheather, Kevin and Gail Hunter and Mick Lord. Yes, they taught me to drive a 4WD, but I actually learned a lot more from them than they will probably ever realise. I learned about passion and conviction, and speaking up about issues that needed speaking up about. I learned about believing in your own abilities and learning to trust yourself and your judgement. About the paradox of being self-reliant and independent while still being able to work together with others as a team.

When I think back to those early experiences in the club, I thought the clearest memories would be about events and places, but in fact they are about people. People like Geoff Mason, Rod Graham, Grant Vella, Andrew Gordon, and Gavin Shepherd. Grant and Dale Rutledge. Peter and Theresa Warman. Dave and Marie Haggar. I'd better stop as I'm sure to leave someone out, but these people changed my life, they really did. We had experiences and went places, did things, shared stories in ways that you just don't do in normal life. Even though I haven't seen some of them for years now, I believe the experiences we shared through the Suzuki Club will always be remembered as special times.

But enough of that. We did go on some great trips to some great places as well. I remember some of those early trips with the club - Chichester State Forest, Helensburgh Gorge, Mangrove Mountain, Yalwal Creek, Wheelbarrow Creek, Brindabella Ranges, Bendethra. Some are still around, but many are not. When I think back of trips, I remember parts of them, like scenes from a movie… certain ledges, certain river crossings … these play in my mind so clearly. I know the trips were longer and many involved driving for hours, but it's the little short memory grabs that still live in my head. I recall particular experiences … like meeting Mick and Graham for a trip to MacDonald River Ridge at night, and driving down the first set of rock steps with a sheer drop to the right, only we couldn't see it because it was so dark. Like sleeping in the car on the side of the Great Western Highway waiting for Peter W to turn up so we could head to Sunny Corner together. Like my first drive down Hansen's Hill to Yalwal, and doing crossing after crossing after crossing of the creek. Like working as a team to get the groups of cars safely down the last tricky section in Chichester. There are so many memories in my head. I have a friend who says that living a full and rewarding life is really about creating a lot of special memories, and that's certainly what the Suzuki Club gave me.

As time went on, I got even more involved in the club. I got very involved in planning for events like Zukanas and 4WD Jamborees. My first Zukana in '87 was quite an experience, and by the time the '89 and '91 events came around, I was pretty heavily involved in the organisation of them. Geoff and I had this dream of making the Suzuki Club more national, and even international, so we made moves to get interstate clubs involved in Zukana for the first time, something which happened in a big way for the '91 Zukana with clubs members from Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia and Queensland joining us. We ran a couple of week-long trips which acted as escort trips for the interstate visitors, so they could make the most of their trip to NSW and experience some of the best 4WDing we have to offer. That was a fabulous Zukana.

1988 was the Bicentennial year and Geoff had this idea to invite members from the Jimny Club of Japan to Australia on a week long jaunt into the outback. With a lot of hard work and effort we pulled it off, and in April 1988 we took a group of some 12 or so cars, with 7 members of the JCJ on a trip out through Dubbo, Wilcannia, White Cliffs, and then out to Cameron Corner, along the Strzelecki Track to Innaminka, and finally back towards the coast. We went over to Fraser Island for a couple of days and then down to Brisbane for Expo '88. It was a great trip, and was made all the more special by having the JCJ guys along. I still recall the traditional Japanese tea ceremony we had along the banks of the river in Wilcannia, and sitting around a campfire just outside Tibooburra discussing 4WDing with our Japanese friends, they with little English and we with little Japanese. It really didn't matter. The bond was much bigger than the language barrier.

1988 was a big year for me personally too. When I first met Mick Lord he had competed in the inaugural Wynn's Safari rally and I was completely smitten with the idea of doing it myself. It seemed like a real adventure, and was being portrayed in the press as an extremely challenging event, designed to test the skill of the driver and navigator, and the toughness of the vehicle. By '88, I had the rallying bug real bad, and one day just drove up to Brookvale to Automotion's office and laid down a $1000 non-refundable deposit to compete. I had no idea where the rest of the money would come from, or the car, or anything else, but I'd learned that anything is possible if you want it badly enough. Anyway, long story short, we came up with the funding, set up a car and managed to do the race. It started in Alice Springs, went out across the Tanami Desert, up to Darwin, across the Gulf, down through the Channel Country and back towards Sydney. I can honestly say that it was the skills, experience and knowledge that I learned from my involvement with the Suzuki Club that not only allowed us to compete in and finish the gruelling event, but if it weren't for the things I learned and the inspiration I got from being in the club, there's no way I would have even started that event.

Donna and I bought a 1974 LJ50 just for fun and absolutely loved it. Those early Suzukis were just so cool! We took it on lots of trips, and really loved the way it performed offroad. The gearing was just so low - about 56:1 - and being small and light you could take it just about anywhere. The rust eventually killed it, and despite my best intentions to fix it up, it never really happened. But there were some great little LJs in the club back in those days, like Peter Lawrie's little duckegg-blue '50 or Mick Lord's black '50 that he sold to Darryl. Rod Caton had a great '50 as well and used to take it on all the clubs trips, no matter where they were. Rod Graham's LJ80 was a class act. Known as the Mongrel, it was fitted with a 1.0 litre engine, a ton of other modifications, and was one capable little '80.

Over time, we found ourselves doing the same trips over and over so Gavin Shepherd and I decided our mission in life was to find new tracks. We spent many weekends driving up and down the coast, along the Putty road, down the Southern Highlands… 1:25,000 scale maps spread out all over the car's dashboard as we drove… looking for anything that seemed remotely like it could go somewhere. We found plenty of interesting places to go and actually did create some new trips, like Putty to Rylstone across the Wollemi Range.

There's a saying that you can always tell when the neighbours are going to move, because they finally finish all the renovations on their house. By about 1993, I started to feel like I'd done just about everything there was to do in the club. I'd held virtually every committee position, rewritten the driver training course and redesigned the way it was taught, computerised the Club Magazine, and driven pretty much every track there was to drive. (Except for Newnes, funnily enough) Our first baby was on the way, we were in the process of buying a new house, there were a few other distractions in our lives, and we just sort of drifted out of the 4WD club scene. It wasn't a conscious thing, it just sort of happened. We went to club meetings every now and then, but trying to do a weekend camping with a new baby in a short wheelbase soft top Sierra just seemed too hard. Our membership lapsed, but inside we always felt like we still somehow belonged in the club, and I think Donna and I knew it would only be a matter of time till we got back into it.

So one afternoon in 2001, Donna came home from work annoyed and frustrated with the Magna she was driving (which badly needed some work) and I just said "OK, lets go buy another Suzuki." It was that simple. By Saturday afternoon we had put a deposit on a '96 model V6 Vitara Estate.

So here we are. Back in the club in 2002 after an almost 10 year hiatus. Ultimately, it was the thought of trying to go 4WDing with kids, especially when they were really little, that caused us to keep putting it in the too-hard-basket. By the time the first was "old enough" to take camping, the second came along, and by the time she was "old enough", we had just lost touch with the camping and 4WDing scene, so it just never happened. Which is kind of funny really, because before we had kids we were always talking about how we would take them 4WDing with us and raise them as campers, and share all those wonderful experiences with them. Ah well, better late than never I guess.

Has the club changed over the last 10 years? Of course it has. New people come and go, tracks close and vehicles change. The places to go are different. Many of the "classic" trips no longer seem to be on the trip calendar at all… Heartbreak Hill, Wirraba Ridge, Oxford Falls … casualties of a mix of 90s political greenism, and an increasing tendency of 4WD makers to soften their products. As the years have gone on, 4WDs have gotten more luxurious, gear ratios have gotten taller, suspensions have gotten stiffer and more car-like, all of which combine to fundamentally change the basic ability of today's 4WDs. But then, these same arguments were being thrown around back in '85 when I joined the club, only back then they were predicting the demise of offroading when comparing the Sierra to the LJ series. In the early 90s, they said the same thing about the Vitaras. Throughout it all, the club's 4WDing activity hasn't really changed all that much. I guess the more things change, the more they really stay the same.

I clearly remember Mick Lord resigning his membership when the club incorporated. He was disgusted that we had to go to such lengths to protect ourselves from ourselves. He very clearly articulated his view that if people get involved in activities that have an element of risk, they needed to be fully aware of the risks involved and be prepared to take responsibility for their own decisions. When you think about it, it is quite sad that the Club had to legally protect itself from people who were careless and would blame the Club for their own stupidity. But that's the way the world's moving. There has been a growing tendency for all organisations, not just 4WD clubs, to protect themselves from potential lawsuits, and in doing so, refuse to take any form of risk. The result is a blandness, a watering down of the life experience, and I'm so glad the Club has not gone down that path, and still offers an authentic outdoor experience.

Other aspects have changed. The monthly meetings are in a newer bigger venue. The Club website is about as slick and professional as you are likely to find, and a real credit to the people who put it together. There are tons of new faces that I don't know these days, and I'm looking forward to getting to know them as we go on trips together. But you know, apart from a few surface changes, the club is still essentially the same. It still thrives on the passion of its members - people who come together initially to share a common interest in Suzuki 4WDs, but who stay because of the bonds of friendship they form with other people.

At the moment, we're planning for our "first trip" to the Victorian High Country. Should be wonderful, but taking the kids along is presenting a whole new set of challenges in terms of space, packing and equipment. We've needed new tents, new sleeping bags, new everything basically. We're making a few adjustments to the car to try to find ways of carrying all the gear we'll be needing and to make space for the four of us. It's a bit of a challenge, but it'll be worth it, I'm sure. We could always get a bigger car I suppose, but if I can't drive a Zook I'd rather not go at all. I can't imagine ever wanting to drive any 4WD other than a Suzuki.

And so my whole outlook on what I want from going offroad has changed somewhat. Back in the Sierra days, I was into the real hardcore 4WDing, entering competitions and finding the toughest terrain we could find… driving over stuff just to prove it could be driven over. Nowadays, I just want to go places and see things, and experience the joy of getting to places far from the madding crowds. We're looking forward to doing some touring trips, maybe getting out into the desert areas, or up the coast, or into the mountains. We're planning to do the Cape York trip next year, and going back to Fraser Island would be nice too. We still have plans to get down to Tasmania and spend a few weeks touring around there, both onroad and off. The list goes on…

Whatever happens, it's nice to be back.

Chris Betcher,
March 2002

Rego time and freedom ... just a few thoughts.

Registration time. That dreaded time of year when you get to fork out $500 bucks or so to keep your precious Suzy street legal for another twelve months. When you decide to fix all those niggly little problems that you've been putting off for so long. And you start to look around for an authorised inspection station that is a little ... er, shall we say, understanding, of older cars.

Not that I mind paying my fair share. Hey, I use the road too and I'm happy to pay my contribution towards its upkeep. Now if only the money got spent on roads.... And of course the same old discussion every year with the person from whom you buy your green slip.

"What sort of car is it?", she asks.

"A Suzuki Sierra", I say.

"Automatic or manual?"

"Well, like I said, it's a Suzuki Sierra. They only come in a manual."

The woman glares at me like I've just called her an idiot. She looks back down at the form to the next category she has to tick. "Body shape?"

"Well, they call it a ute, but it's not really one."

"What do you mean it's not really one?"

"Well, they classify it as a ute, but it's not really one. At least it's not what most people think of when you call something a ute. I actually think it should be called a Cabrio, but that's not really an ideal description either. We had a big argument with the RTA a few years back about the body classification of the Suzuki but they didn't seem to...."

The woman is looking at me in blank disbelief over the top of her bifocals.

"Umm, why don't we just put it down as a ute, hey?", I suggest.

"Good idea." she replies. Every year it's become a bit of a ritual.

The other ritual of getting through rego every year is finding an inspection station whose standards are just a little bit slacker than last years mob. Last year we were living in a different area, so I took it to the local station and they were really tough! For 5 years I'd had this small crack in the windscreen... well, it was kind of small...; Ok, Ok, it was huge, but it wasn't obscuring my vision in any way. Anyway the guy made me get a whole new windscreen, replace a side mirror, he even wanted me to change a headlight because the old one had a small crack in it. (Well, smallish).

So I was a bit worried about getting through rego this year. Suzy is getting on a bit. She's got just on 300,000 kms on the clock, which is a fair innings for a Zook. Naturally she's a bit worn out in places, but all the important bits are still there. You know, the brakes work, the steering's still Ok, motor doesn't blow any smoke ( I think that's an achievement! ) and it's pretty darn roadworthy. Best of all, like every Zook, it's still great fun to drive. I contemplated getting rid of it a few times, based on the fact that I really don't use it for four wheel driving much these days, but it's so much fun to own, it costs nothing to run, it owes me no money, I can fix virtually anything that could go wrong with it, and I've got boxes of spare parts for it .... it just wouldn't make sense to get rid of the old girl. (Sorry about the sexist language ladies, but Suzy and I have been having a love affair for 10 years now, so she knows what I mean.)

Anyway, to cut a long story short, (and some would say it's too late for that!), Suzy passed rego again this year. I took it up to the local garage where they fix taxis, cause if you knew what they do to keep cabs on the road you'd KNOW it would be a dodgy bunch of mechanics! First inspection, they told me the front wheels were loose. They weren't sure if it was a steering connection or what, though any Suzuki Club member worth his salt could have told you it was just the lock nuts on the front bearings backing off a bit, causing the wheels to have a small amount of movement.

I thought "This is no good, they're actually checking it!".

"Better fix the front wheels," they said, "and then bring it back up and we'll pass it."

So that night I stayed up late fixing the front wheel bearings. Not a hard job, but if you're like me, you always decide to get the pink slip the day before the rego runs out, and there is always some last minute work that needs doing. I also went to the wreckers and bought a new rear tail light assembly, because one of the brake lights had decided not to work. It pays to shop around for spares, even from wreckers. One mob wanted $75 for a second hand tail light, and I eventually bought it for $45 from someone else.

Sure enough, I took it back up and they passed it without even looking at it. As Arnold Schwarzenegger would say, "I'll be back."

Anyhow, in the course of all this nonsense, I happened to bump into a couple of old members of the Suzuki Club. We were chatting about life in general, and four wheel driving in particular, and I was surprised to hear just how many tracks had been closed, or access denied. I guess 'surprised' is not the right word. We've all seen it coming for years, but it made me start thinking about the current state of the 4WD scene.

It's pretty ridiculous that we, that's you and I, allow ourselves to be controlled by a bunch of beaurocratic fools who wouldn't know what 4WDing was all about if they watched a 2 hour special about it on Burke's Backyard (which is the only place they would be likely to find out, cause they certainly don't understand it from first hand experience).

Maybe I'm a bit out of touch 'cause I don't do much 4-wheeling these days, but you guys who are really into it must be sick to death of being told where you can and can't go! The whole reason that most of us bought 4WDs in the first place was to have a bit of freedom to see this great country. I believe the real commodity you buy when you purchase a 4WD is not the car, but that perceived freedom. But when you hear stories about National Park rangers sitting in trees waiting for cars to cross a river just so they can slap a fine on the driver, well, let's just say that it's pretty pathetic tactics. I have always been convinced that the majority of 4WDers, and certainly the majority of 4WD Club members, take better care of the natural environment than most other bush users, including bushwalkers. Most Club members have more "bush sense" than the people who run the parks. I know that's a pretty broad generalisation, but it was certainly true for the 7 or 8 years that I was actively 4WDing with the Suzy Club.

I had to fly to Brisbane not so long ago, and when you see this great country from the air you realise just how tiny man's impact is. Huge open-cut mine operations which seem so vast from ground level are not even a scratch on the surface once you view them from the air. As for the impact of a 4WD trail through bushland, it would not make 1% of 1% of 1% difference. The whole 'environmental rape and pillage' access issue is a huge crock, as far as I'm concerned. The only reason they want to restrict access is not for environmental reasons, but just 'cause it's easier to manage. Rather than teach people to look after their natural heritage, it's easier to just lock it up and say "Stay Out". -

I can see a day in the not too distant future when the start of a four wheel drive trip will involve a stop to lock hubs, let down tyres, and remove your number plates.

There's a old saying that says "when fun is outlawed, only outlaws will have fun". Let's see how long it takes till 4WDers have had a gutful of these stupid rules and do something about it.

In the meantime, you got a great club. Have fun. See ya in the bush.

Chris Betcher
August 1994

Glenbrook Recovery Day

The recent Recovery Day at Glenbrook was well supported by club members. 8 cars gethered in the car park at Macca's to join Doctor Rod, Donna and I for a day of useful information on recovering your vehicle.

We were fortunate to have access to some of Sydney's worst 4WDers for examples on the day. On arrival at the start of the track, we came across a lady in a Rocky, stuck in a mud puddle, by herself, with no recovery gear. I couldn't have organised it any better if I tried! After helping her get mobile, we saw a bunch of Toyotas, a pair of Subarus and a Datsun driver all come through, as if on cue, to demonstrate exactly what NOT to do!

The new chums got to see some real recovery in action, including a great display of how NOT to use a power winch. We then got Rod's car stuck (hypothetically of course!) on a rock ledge and tried a couple of different winching setups to see how all the equipment works.

A demonstration was also done of some other pieces of recovery gear including jacks, airbags, chains, straps and shackles.

The main point I kept coming back to all day was that the best form of recovery is a sensible attitude, backed up with good 4WDing technique. Good drivers need recovery less often. It's as simple as that! This seeemingly simplistic viewpoint was proven over and over again during the day. (Driving a Suzuki helps a lot too!)

We went for a drive and put the ideas into practise, especially on the way back when the small creek we crossed had become a major obstacle! Despite a little bit of water in most of the cars, it added a nice element of excitement to the day.

Thanks to all who came along. Most said they got something out of it, so I guess that makes it all worthwhile!

Chris Betcher
March 1992

I've Been To Bali Too

Bali. Island of swaying palm trees, sandy beaches and cheap watches. But did you also know that it probably has more Suzukis per capita than nearly any other place on earth?

"Selamat Datang. Welcome to Bali!"

So said the sign. Donna and I walked across the runway at Ngurah Rae International Airport, (sometimes mistakenly called Denpasar Airport although Denpasar, Bali's capital, is in fact quite a long way from the airport) in 30 degree temperatures. Yes, this was the trip that we won somehow. About ten months ago, we went to a promotion at the new Brighton Beach Resort Hotel and somebody shoved an entry form in our hands and said "fill this out!", so we did. We didn't even read it at the time.

A couple of days later however, we got a phone call telling us that we'd won a trip to Bali for 2 people for 5 days! Wow, you mean that people actually DO win these things? We finally got to take the trip last month, as we were both restricted to school holidays. As the prize was only for 5 days, we extended our return flight by another 5 days and intended doing some sight seeing.

The holiday was great. Bali has never really been on our Top 7 list of places to visit, but it was really fantastic. The scenery was superb, the people are just wonderful, the shopping is full of great bargains and the weather is constantly hot and sunny. We had 5 days in Kuta/Legian, where all the surfie/hippie types hang out, and then we headed off up into the mountains to Ubud, on to the volcanic crater of Mt Batur and the villages of Penelokan and Toyobungkah, then right across the island for a couple of days in the pretty little fishing village of Candi Dasa. We returned to Legian in time to do some last minute shopping before we came home…

BUT…

Seeing as this is the Suzuki Club magazine, I won't go into too much detail about the holiday/sightseeing side of our trip, but rather, tell you about some of the weird and wonderful Zooks that exist on the island. Indonesia's Suzuki distributor, Indomobil, has quite a few models which are not available here in Australia.

Let me tell you firstly that there are heaps of Zooks in Bali. I reckon almost every third car would be one. There is virtually no recognised 4WDing on the island (don't worry, I checked it out), so there is not much call for the lifted suspension and bigger tyres that we are so used to here. In fact, the Indonesians tend to do the opposite … most of the privately owned Zooks (In Kuta, there are lots of hirecar Zooks which remain fairly standard) seem to have smaller, wider wheels with low profile tyres. There is apparently no rule on how far your tyres can extend beyond the guards, or if there is it isn't enforced, because it was quite common to see these little fat slicks sticking out from the guards by anything up to 6 inches! Another interesting fact is that all Suzukis in Bali have fully colour coded bumper bars.

There was the occasional LJ80, Katanas, Corsicas, a strange hybrid LWB, and an even stranger hybrid LWB semi 4 door hardtop. There was also something very similar to a 1 litre, badged only as an SJ410, but I never got to find out if they were 2WD or 4WD. Generally speaking, 4WD versions were the exception rather than the rule, but I did see a couple running around with front diffs. If you hired a car, it was virtually guaranteed to be a Suzuki of some sort, probably a Katana with the new "soft suspension", or so the wheel cover said.

Living in a Katana Republic

The Katana is a 2WD version of the Sierra. They use the panoramic roof wagon, or high roof, model as the basic shell but it is only fitted with a 1000cc motor. Because of the smaller motor the bonnet is the low-line type as used on the 1 litre model here, ie, without the 1300's so-called "power bulge". Did you ever wonder what became of the square headlighted Drover grilles when GMH dropped the Drover? They are all on the front of the Katanas! Yep, they have Drover front panels but of course wearing Suzuki badges. Although they are powered by the 1 litre engine, I was surprised to see that they still have a 5 speed transmission. That should get some of you 1 litre owners wondering … can you import these boxes into Australia?

Inside, the Katana uses the dash from our 1300 widetrack model, as well as similar seats. In the back however, the rear seat is gone; in its place are two rear seats placed sideways, a la Troopcarrier. With this arrangement the car becomes a 6 seater, although I wouldn't like to travel like that for any long distances! It becomes the Suzuki cram you're having when you're not having a Suzuki cram. Given the small size of both the island and its people however, it is quite a practical arrangement. I don't think it would work in Australia due to our very strict seatbelt laws ... laws which don't appear to be in place in Indonesia.

The front diff of the Katana has been replaced by a solid tubular axle. I only had a quick peek underneath one but there appeared to still be a transfer box of some sort, although there was no lever inside the car of course.

Par for the Corsica

The Corsica was not all that common. The first one we saw, we were in a bemo (taxi) travelling on our way to Nusa Dua, and Donna said "Doesn't that Suzuki look a bit strange to you?" (What a well trained wife I have!) We both tried to work out just what it was that made it look odd, when again my observant wife said "It looks like it's too long". Sure enough, the Corsica is built on a SWB chassis, but has a body which overhangs the rear wheel by another 3 or 4 inches, giving it a sort of mid wheelbase look. What a great idea… it's not longer by very much, but just enough leave the back seat in (this one had a normal forward-facing back seat) and still have some usable space behind it. Again I think they were mostly 2WD. Something else worth noting was the roof. They came in both hard and soft top versions. The hard top uses the standard hi roof body, but the soft top is also a high roof design as well. The part of the roof over the drivers head is metal, like a solid hi roof bikini top, and the soft top goes over the top of it. For serious 4WDing, this body shape would probably only get in the way. But for use as a runabout with some moderate 4WDing thrown in, I reckon this body shape would be a big hit in Australia.

A Long (Wheelbase) way from home

There were two contenders in the strangeness category here.

The first was similar to what we have here in Australia, but the rear overhang has been shortened to somewhere between a SWB and a LWB. (In fact it looked about the same as the Corsica rear overhang) Apart from that, it seemed fairly normal apart from the soft top. Whereas our Australian LWB soft tops are all stepped high roofs, these came in two versions. One was a flat roofed soft top which had a semi-fastback arrangement at the back and roll up half windows on the sides (see the photo)

The other type had a raised high roof soft top complete with a high roof windscreen frame, sort of an un-stepped hi roof soft top. Confused? So was I.

The other type of LWB, far more unusual to Australian audiences, was a factory hard top. On the drivers side it had just one door, but on the passenger side it had two. It looked like a 4 door wagon from one side and a 2 door wagon from the other. The guards were also completely different… they were squared off and looked more integrated. The sills were lower, and the rear end was like nothing I'd ever seen before. Different lights, bumpers, etc. Some of them came with skylight panels in a raised high roof design, a bit like a Daihatsu rocky. At first glance from a distance they almost looked like a Rocky, or even a mini Datsun Patrol. I had a quick glance inside one and they seemed to be quite a luxury model with different seats, carpets, more interior trimpanels, etc.

LJs for the Boys

There were a couple of LJ80s running around, mostly restored to immaculate condition. Even the LJ80s had high roof bodies on them, something which I've never seen in Australia. On talking with the locals, they had never heard of a 2 stroke model. The 80s I saw looked very schmick with their little fat slicks sticking out from under the guards… can you imagine it? The Suzuki Circuit Racing Club of Indonesia!

The price of buying a Katana? Around Rp17,000,000. That's 17 million Rupiah. Expensive? Not really. Once you convert the Indonesian Monopoly money into AUD$ it works out to be about $12,000.

If you go to Bali, you might like to hire a car to drive around the island. Expect to pay around Rp30,000 a day … around $20. Don't expect to get a soft top though … the Balinese officials passed a law a few years back forbidding the hire of soft tops to tourists. It seems there were all these Aussies getting pissed and falling out of the back of them! As well as the normal car rental places, it is pretty easy to get one of the locals to hire you his own personal car for even less. (these guys will do anything to make a quid!) Beware though, the road rules are pretty savage in Bali if you do happen to have an accident. If you hit a local, they take your passport and make you stay in the country till the person is well again. You are also liable for all medical expenses for that person. If the unthinkable happens and you actually kill a local, then you go straight to jail, do not pass go, do not collect $200, for a period of three years. No questions asked. You can take out insurance but apparently it is not worth the paper it's written on. If you hit a local, whether you are in the right or in the wrong, you are in the wrong.

We were intending to hire a car for our last 5 days, but after considering all this, decided to catch bemos (little public mini buses) instead. You could charter one for a whole day for the cost of hiring a car anyway. Driving in Bali is a unique experience. There seem to be no rules (unless you hit someone of course), people just overtake when they want to, pull out in front of you when they want to, and the person that blows their horn the most has right of way.

On the whole, we had a great holiday. People gave me some strange looks as I took photos of Zooks all the time, but I guess that what being a fanatic is all about eh?

Selamat Tingall!

Chris Betcher
August 1991

My Ultimate Suzuki

I was looking at the Cockroach the other day, and thinking about how much effort, money and work has gone into it over the last six years, when I began to think to myself "If I had the chance (and the dollars) to build it up all over again, how would I do it?"

Interesting question, huh? How would YOU do it? The ultimate Suzuki. (To coin a phrase.) There are some pretty heavily modified Zooks in this club, as well as out of it. Ex-member Andrew Inglis has a LWB 1300 with a Holden 3 speed gearbox fitted between the original box and the transfer case giving a lo-lo(-Io) gear of 104:1. Combined with a set of big wheels, and plenty of lift in the springs and body they tell me you just point it where you want to go! Remember Grant Rutledge's old 1 litre? It ended up being VERY tall, with a Corolla 1300 fitted running through a 5 speed close ratio gearbox, to a low-range 1 litre transfer, to Stockman limited slip diff centres.

Even though it is invariably more important to be a good driver than to have a super-modified car, you only have to watch Peter Emery's all-locked-up and lower ratioed Sierra, or Rod's more-wheel-travel-than-you-can-handle Stockman to realize that the right modifications can make a world of difference to the ease with which your car gets from point A to point B. Peter Lawrie's and Darryl’s 2-strokes are further examples, and if you take a stroll through the car park at any Suzuki Club meeting I'm sure you could find plenty of other examples.

Which brings me back to my original question ... How would I do it, if I could start again? I think before you can answer that question you need to think about what you expect the thing to do. How much on-road speed do you expect to trade off in return for off-road ability? How "unstoppable" does it have to be? Is it an only car (multi-purpose), or can you afford to be uncompromising (Bastard 4X4)? For the point of the exercise we can assume money to not be an object, but of course, it always is. So how would you do it?

I think it would make a really interesting collection of articles for Track Chat.... "My Ultimate Suzuki". Why not sit down and write one, send it in and let us all see what you would do.

As for mine......

I would start with a Sierra (Shock, Horror! What? Not an LJ??!!) Simply because it makes it simpler to have the fifth gear. I do too much highway driving to live without a fifth gear. But instead of the 1300 engine, I would transplant a new fuel-injected 1600 from the Vitara LWB. Exhausting via a set of interference length extractors into a mildly open sports exhaust, preferably exiting on the passenger side, just in front of the rear wheel. I would probably opt for the narrow track 1985-87 model Sierra, mainly because I'm too used to it to bother changing to the wide track.

The body of the car would receive a few modifications while it was off the chassis. (Easier to make the chassis mods when it's separated.) First I would chop the sills at a 45 degree angle bringing then up and in, a-la Japanese trials machine. While I was chopping, I'd get rid of the rear bumper, and trim the lower rear panels up at an angle and fit a new set of tail-lights to the curved rear 4 panels, similar to the old style VW Kombi lights. This would get them up out of harms way. The new raised profile of the rear of the car would necessitate a redesign of the fuel tank, but by utilising the extra space from the body lift, as well as bringing it forward and upwards at the front, I'm sure you could still squeeze 75 or 80 litres out of it.

While the body was off, all the spring mounting points would be continuous MIG welded for strength. Webbing and reinforcing the stress points would be an option if the car was going to do a lot of fast outback travel, or Safaris, but the extra weight doesn't warrant it for less stressful regular use. The front shock mount brackets would be cut and replaced with a thicker material and about 3 inches taller, in order to have a better selection of shocks.

If I was feeling particularly adventurous at this stage, I would weld the rear bracket in place for the Vitara control arm. (mounts just behind the transfer case; You need it to fit the coil springs.) The front one is a bit of a problem as there just isn't any room. Maybe that's why the Vitara has the front end set-up it has... I'm sure Suzuki would've copied Range Rover if they could've! You could probably get around the problem by using a panhard rod, although it's not the ideal solution. (What the hell! We've come this far ... just imagine it fits!)

Before we drop the body back In place, it's time to bolt up the axles on their coils. Locating arms would be fabricated to fit the original non-swinging spring mounts, and leading back to specially fabricated and reinforced fixtures on the axle housings. The axles would come pre-prepared with 4.666 diff ratios, with a Detroit locker in the rear only. (Too hard to steer with the front locked up.) But again, if we're dreaming, let's assume that ARB AirLockers are available for Suzukis. (Shit, now we really are dreaming!!) in which case, I'd fit them front and rear. Springs would involve a bit of guesswork to find the right rates, but a multi-rate progressive spring of some sort would have to be found. With the new coils and the increased choice of shock size, I'd pay a visit to Bob Heasmann at Sydenham to look at his catalogues to find some Bilsteins with just the right amount of compression and rebound.

OK, time to drop the body back on, but don’t forget the spacres for an extra 2 inches of body lift. Combined with the three inches of lift in the new suspension, it's starting to look pretty good! Bolt the body down. (It's a soft top of course!) Complete with 3 different tops ... squareback, fastback and bikini top. WITH tinted soft windows!!!) The option for soft doors would also be available.

With the extra lift and clearance between the body and chassis, there would be plenty of room to fit an APIO transfer case lift kit; this gets the handbrake drum well up inside the chassis rails and prevents that horrid scraping noise. Incidentally the transfer case is a series II 1 litre case with a New Zealand low range gearset fitted. Combined with the diffs we should be somewhere around 55:1. When this is combined with the 1611 three piece alloy Enkei wheels and BFGoodrich 1611 Mud Terrains, it should give back a little bit of the on-road speed. (Although admittedly, not much!)

Under the bonnet would contain all the usual goodies ... dual batteries, clutch cooling fan, large capacity alternator, and Finer Filter, this time fed through an integrally designed snorkel.

Inside, the seats would have to be Recaro, and an Alpine 6 CD changer unit and controller would take care of the sound on those long boring straight roads. The amplifier would be mounted up high on the firewall, to keep it as dry as possible. Water entry, by the way, would be minimised by sealing all holes in the body, after injecting fish oil compound to keep the internal rust down. If the water proofing could be gotten to an acceptable level then I would seriously consider carpets in an effort to silence the whine from all of those gears turning over. The rear of the car would be fitted with a false floor designed to house all the camping gear, and to provide a solid base to mount the Engel fridge on. AM/SSB and UHF communication would be fitted.

So, there you have it. I reckon it'd go pretty good. Now all you've got to do is figure how much my tongue is in my cheek!

DINNGG-A-LINGGG-A-LINNNGGG!!! Oops, the alarm clock; I think I'm waking up!!

Volume 16, No 4
April 1991
Chris Betcher

Where the hell is Braidwood?

"Where the hell is Braidwood?" was the question I was asked,
"It's easy; get to Goulburn, then continue straight on past!"
And so our travelers got there bright and early Saturday,
grabbed some fuel and some provisions just to eat along the way.
Some had experience, and some were fairly new,
with Sierra's wide and narrow, and a Tojo 50 too .

Thus, we left to start the trip by heading toward the South.
Though a last minute decision was made, because of word of mouth,
that the river was a deep one and we might not make it through,
and the day would be a long one; as it turned out, this was true.
So we ventured towards Pike's Saddle, in reverse we did the track,
and instead of starting out hard, we would do it coming back.

We all stopped up at Pikes to lock our hubs and do our tyres,
and remarked how in the winter there's no worry with bushfires.
As we wound into the valley we encountered a big mud hole
which stopped Trudy and her cousin when her wheels refused to roll.
A quick tug with a snatchum strap soon had her on her way
and through some more big bog holes, we continued with our day.

Lunch was had at Dampier Trig, after climbing a big hill,
and a Drover in the group behind took fan blades off, the dill!
Seems he plunged into a puddle that the rest of us drove through
and the fan blades parted company with the bit that holds them true.
We spent the rest of that day driving up and down the scenery,
till we finished in the valley by the river and the greenery.

A wide and peaceful valley, where the morning mist was hanging,
which was perfect just for camping, cooking, eating, boomeranging.
A truly pretty spot where we escaped from all the crowds,
to take in the mighty mountains, bright blue sky and fluffy clouds.
A place with an abundance of campfire cooking logs,
and as John was fond of saying, "not to many bloody wogs".

We had some guys from Canberra who had joined us for the journey,
with new Wide Track Sierra's, there was Stuart, Matt & Barney.
Their cars were well set up, and were rarely seen to flounder,
just to make sure, Mathew's winch was a big 8,000 pounder.
Apart from good 4 wheeling this weekend, there also was a bonus,
that the others all around them were all keen Suzuki owners.

Nearly all were 1300's, but for Allen's Red 1 litre
which pulled up well on all hills and never once did peter.
Most cars were sporting Mud Terrains, two had standards, two had Diggers.
Most were wearing 215's, though Stuart's tyres were bigger.
Dexter's Diggers let him down on several slippery ledges,
while his friend Joanne & Adam, must have shares in Benson & Hedges.

On Sunday we explored the place and found a disused track,
which looked like fun until we found it blocked, and headed back.
We drove around, and crossed the creek in several different places,
and found a muddy rutted hill which put cars through their paces.
Then lunch was had to fill us up, then on with boots and hats
as we walked off on the track towards the cave with all the bats.

Those coming back from up the track all warned us of its length.
So some of us decided that they didn't have the strength
and turned around to join the other people back at the camp,
while those who had the energy continued with the tramp.
We walked and walked and walked and walked and walked and walked and walked,
except for John who walked and talked and talked and talked and talked.

The caves were fascinating, through the crevices we hunched,
though not a lot of bats were there (they must have been at lunch).
It was dark and dank and muddy, and the chambers where quite cavernous.
I was looking forward to dinner as the walk had made me ravenous.
By the time we came out of the cave, the sky was getting black
and our torches lit the walkway as we bravely headed back.

Dinner was lovely, Donna had baked some veggies and a roast
cooked to perfection, Camp oven cooking is what I like the most.
We followed it up with Chocolate Cake and passed around a sample
Not much came back, but that's OK, our tummies had had ample.
We sat and talked and took in the heat which flared up from the embers
while Trudy cooked marshmallows and passed them amongst the members.

Monday morning was foggy as we packed our tents as last
we had a big brekkie and headed off, for the day would go by fast.
With a long way to go, and a river to cross, we intended to stay on the move,
and we would have done too, except for one hill which required us to prove,
that the Suzys could get up it, - although grip was sometimes missin',
though we sure rubbed it in, when we snatched up the hill a great big diesel Nissan.

It was getting on dark at the end of the day when we finally got to the river,
it was muddy and steep, and to get to the water it required us to slither
right down to the edge, and take a deep breath, and across to the other side.
Though most were concerned at the depth of the water, all come across with pride.
Then 200 metres and up a big hill and along the dirt road we started,
then 60 odd kays took us back to the place where on Saturday morn we departed.

Thus came the end of a good fun weekend which was over and done too soon,
with a great bunch of people, a wonderful place in the light of the silvery moon,
it's a marvelous valley down there by the Deua, and somewhere to come back again,
and those that suggest that we lock it all up; quite simply, they must be insane,
'cause the bush is a place that's for seeing and touching, not locking away with a gate.
So get out and see it, as much as you can, 'cause one day it may be too late.

Volume 15, No 7
July 1990
Chris Betcher

I want to know… who's responsible!?

I don't how many of you read Bushdriver magazine, but the latest issue contained a couple of observations by Ray Barker that are worth noting, and relate to a little thing called responsibility.

The first relates to the watchdog story from America a few months ago about Samurais being easy to roll. When we first heard about it here, I'm sure we all had a bit of chuckle and dismissed it as being a bit of a bad American joke. Having heard more since then and hearing the Samurai sales statistics brought back by Geoff from Japan, it has turned into a fairly serious problem for Suzuki.

The general idea being presented by the Yanks is that the light weight and ultrashort wheelbase of the Suzukis make them dangerous and likely to tip over. Consequently sales have dropped dramatically. No doubt the Vitara, or GeoTracker as the septics call it, offers a far more acceptable handling proposition, but it's at the expense of off-road ability. Extrapolate that, and in another 10 years time you may as well not own a 4WD. Even now, the 4WD concept is being applied to passenger cars in the form of "full time 4WD" or "All wheel drive" traction. i.e. it's become just another sales gimmick to sell "ordinary" cars, and the ideas of long wheel travel, high clearance and steep underbody angles is quickly going out the window.

But, back to the Suzuki's problems. Fancy losing about 80% of its market, just because of a few lunatics who can't, or won't, drive properly!

The manual for the Sierra clearly states that the vehicle is shorter, narrower and taller than a 2WD. It points out why. It goes to the extent of saying "Please drive this vehicle within its design parameters. Do not make sudden turns or abrupt maneuvers." And yet, people go out there; thinking that it's a sportscar simply cause the roof comes off, and drive accordingly. What happens? They fall over.

As Mr Barker points out; you can't go and buy a new Porsche, take it down to your favourite fire trail, and then, once you've torn the underneath out of it and dented every panel, take it back to Porsche and expect warranty. They'll tell you, quite rightly, to go to buggery. Why? Because you are doing things with the car that it was never designed to do. Isn't it the same if you drive a Sierra faster than it was meant to be driven? How people can then turn around and try to sue the manufacturer, because of their own lack of common sense is quite ridiculous and pathetic.

To quote veteran rally driver Doug Stewart, "People say the car ran off the road, but I was driving, so I guess it was me who ran off the road, and the car just followed." Well put Doug.

The second point Mr Barker raises also relates to responsibility, or rather the lack of it, or more precisely, peoples unwillingness to face up to it. It concerns the new Nissan Patrol ads on TV - the one that shows a GQ pulling a punt across the river. No vehicle preparation. No checking the depth, nothing. It just plunges in.

The thing is, if somebody buys a brand new Patrol, and tries the same stunt, how well do you think the Nissan dealer would take it? "Certainly Sir, we don't mind changing the bearings in your diffs and wheels, replacing the radiator from where the fan went through it and rebuilding the motor from where it took in water; No problem at all". I just don't think so.

The ad has no disclaimer or warning, and it would be interesting to know legally where a GQ owner stood if he were to bring his car back under warranty, having it broken it by doing the very thing that the TV ads show you can do with it. From what I hear, the GQs already have some pretty serious camber angle problems which causes the cars to want to run off the road, and Nissan don't even want to about that. That's a manufacturer facing up to their responsibilities. That's Nissan know how. Oh what a feeling!

Volume 14, No 6
June 1989
Chris Betcher

Breathless

When I was a little boy, I used to suffer from mild attacks of asthma. Terrible thing asthma. It becomes a shortness of breath, a feeling that you can't quite breathe deeply enough, and the harder you try, the less air you seem to be able to take in. It wasn't till I was older that the causes of asthma were explained to me. The bronchial tubes, those things we breathe through, tend to close down and restrict the flow of air to the lungs, a bit like trying to drink through a squashed straw. Not much fun.

What's all this got to do with your car?

Cars are a lot like people. They all have personalities, they throw tantrums, the have their little breakdowns and they also need to breathe air. Taking the analogy further, the carburetor is the equivalent of the lungs, and the air cleaner system is the bronchial tubes. Unless the air that passes through the system is free to flow without obstruction, then your poor little Suzi is suffering from automotive asthma. You drive along, see a big hill and put your foot down; the carby says to itself "Oh, more power required… I'll deliver some more fuel, [gasp], if only I could breathe more air!"

The thing that obstructs a flow of air is the air filter element. You see, when Suzuki built your car it built it to a price. Certain corners were cut to save a little bit of money at the engineering end so that you could buy it for a reasonable price at the showroom end. If you would like to see a classic example of a cut corner, open the plastic box that houses your air filter element and there you have one... the paper filter.

Paper filters are an example of a single depth filter. In simple terms, a screen. If you get a microscope and have a close inspection, you will see that the paper has lots of little tiny holes in it .... the concept is very simple, if a piece of junk is too big for the holes it gets caught, but if it's smaller it passes through. Hence the term 'single depth' filter; there is only one layer doing all the work. When all the little holes get full of all this junk, they stop passing air through and your Suzi begins to suffer from asthma.

New members of this club often ask the question "What accessories should I get?" Lists of things like wide wheels, fat tyres, hi suspension, sunroofs, etc, etc. get thrown around in conversation. But let's make the point clear... unless your car has a good flow of 100% clean air, everything else is a waste of time and money!!

There is a product available which will not only deliver pure, dust free air to your carby, but it is highly resistant to clogging, quick and simple to clean, and costs about the same price as the horrible paper thing that you are using now. What I'm talking about of course, are Finer Filters.

Finer Filters are a replacement air filter element which fits directly into the standard air box. Instead of being made of paper, it is made of aerated foam. The idea is simple. There are 2 layers of foam, an inner and an outer band. Both are impregnated with a special tacky oil. This filter is referred to as a "full depth filter" because to get through the filter, a piece of airborne junk must pass through a complicated maze of tiny irregular "shafts", which is the void that makes up the foam. Because there are so many of these shafts, and there is so much void, the filter can trap many times the junk that a paper filter can, and so will not tend to clog up and become asthmatic. The tacky oil further traps the dirt and dust It sounds too good to be true, but not only does it stop ALL airborne rubbish from entering the carby, it performs the task with almost zero obstruction to the air flow.

Impressed? You should be. Now consider this. The owners manual for the 1.3 litre Sierra advises that the air cleaner element (for want of a better term) should be cleaned every 10,000 km. This is on paved road conditions with, I assume, nobody kicking up dust in front of you. For dusty conditions, it recommends cleaning every 2,500 km or as required, and replacement every 40,000 km. It also says that more frequent replacement should be necessary under dusty conditions. Now think about what you do with your car. If you go on club trips, you will spend a considerable amount of time driving in very dusty conditions, usually with a full load on board, and still expecting top performance from the little beast. Seasoned club members could tell you some real horror stories about dust, I'm sure. So let's say you replace a paper element every 20,000 kms which is more likely. My car has 140,000 kms on it ... that means I'd be on my seventh paper element. At around $45 a throw, I would have spent roughly $315.00 in paper filters since I've had the car, and they wouldn't even have been doing a very good job anyway. My engine would still be suffering from wear due to the tiny particles that easily slip through a paper filter.

But no, I put a Finer Filter in almost from the word go. I think it cost me about $45. A bottle of Finer Filter Fluid cost about $10. Not only has it cost a fraction of the price, but it has been doing the job properly, which explains which such a high km engine is still plodding along so nicely. When a Finer Filter gets dirty, you don't replace t. You simply peel off the outer layer, clean it, re-oil it and put it back. It takes about 5 minutes, costs bugger all for the fluid, and can be done anywhere, even on the side of the track, in the middle of nowhere.

On top of being 100% efficient, Finer Filters are also 100% Australian made, which has got to be a big plus. If you want to know who uses them you could look at nearly every vehicle in dusty events like the Wynns Safari, winning off-road racing teams, leading 4WD accessory houses, Turbo manufacturers, not to mention the Suzuki Club!

There are types available for 50's, 80's, 1.0 and 1.3 Sierras and they've just released one for Vitaras as well. When you weigh it all up..... the cost, the efficiency, the convenience, and the protection, there really aren't any good reasons for NOT having one.

Now if only we could find a cure for asthma as easily!

Volume 14, No 6
June 1989
Chris Betcher

The Art of the Reccie

One of the most frustrating things about being the trip organiser for the Suzuki Club, is knowing what type of trips to put on and how often one should put them on. Another of the most frustrating things, (because there are several), is the task of trying to make it all really interesting and varied for you lot, and not repeat trips too often.

On becoming Trip organizer, or Trip Convenor or whatever the correct term is, (I kind of like "Road Director" myself, but to be honest, it is all a bit academic, and quite outside the realm of this preamble anyway.) Where was I? Ah yes, the trip calendar. Basically, we don't have enough trips. Our membership has doubled over the last few years, while our access to certain areas has diminished. Changing emphasis by the manufacturers of 4WD vehicles has also led to a rethinking of the types of tracks we have to use. Put simply, they don't make ‘em like they used to, and what with the theories of entropy working on an environmental scale, tracks can only become more difficult with the passage of time, (Bulldozers excluded, of course.)

"What's he on about now?" I hear you ask. Reccies, my friends, Reccies. The long lost Art of the Reconnoiter is due to become more fashionable again. And not before time either.

Reccies are fun. They involve lost skills like map reading, recovery and ingenuity, whilst rekindling childhood feeling of adventure and anticipation. Expect the unexpected. And remember, even the oldest joke in the world is still new to somebody. So it is with Reccies.

Let me set up a timeframe for you, so that you might begin to see a point to this ramble. May 13, 1989. Colo River crossing on the Putty Road. 4 diminutive vehicles all gather to experience the Art of the Reccie. Tackleberry, Andrew and Uncle Len, Greg and Leone, Donna and myself. Some lines are on some maps. We sit down to an open hamburger, pore over the maps and a plan of attack is formulated. One map in particular, the 1:25000 topographic of Colo Heights, has some intriguing dotted lines, leading to what could be spectacular views over the Colo Gorge. After reasonable contemplation, we set off, looking for the break in the bush, for the tell-tale signs that 4WD lifeforms do, perhaps, have a future on this planet.

Without any further ado, we locked our hubs, deflated our tyres and sallied forth. The terrain followed a ridge heading west, and upon closer inspection it was found that there were a set of wheeltracks in front of us, and the width and tyreprint looked suspiciously like a vehicle of our own persuasion .... a Zuki. We eventually came across the aforementioned piece of machinery, parked in a clearing with no sign of an owner. Thinking perhaps he or she had gone for a wander into the bush, we made some noise, consumed our lunch, and waited to see if anyone should turn up. No Suzuki owner was forthcoming so we continued on our way. The track began to get quite interesting, both in terms in the grade and the ruttiness of the terrain.

Coming to a clearing of sorts, we paused briefly to consider the alternatives. The narrower of the two seemed to go downhill, towards the river reasoned Mr Hamilton. As things turned out, he was quite correct. It did go towards the river, and would later prove the pseudo-mathematical equation; Find the limit of the Cockroach as the track approaches the river. More on this in a moment.

We chose instead to pursue the other trail. It was narrow, very overgrown, and began to descend via a very rutted and twisty route. Parts of the track were so thickly overgrown, that some of us resorted to using our headlights in order to see .... it was still mid afternoon. Despite our desire to continue, the track came to a rather abrupt halt with only a difficult walking track winding off up the hill.

We retraced our steps, back through the darkest jungle, and around the ridge to the difficult looking climb - Perhaps this would be an appropriate opportunity for me to compliment the driving skills of my companions. All drove extremely impressively, and it was a pleasure to witness Suzukis being handled in such a professional way. At no stage did anyone have trouble, take an awkward line.... I don't think anyone even spun a wheel.

We returned to the clearing, which was really just a bend in the track, a bit wider than the rest, and the prospect of investigating the track towards the river became obvious. Being the duly elected trip leader for this sojourn, I offered the Cockroach as a guinea-pig, (which would be a good trick, no?) Off we went, down the hill, down a steep section, down, down, further down... till without warning the track suddenly ended.

"Terrific", I thought.

Not having a CB radio to communicate with the group at the top, Donna offered to ascend and inform. Soon my companions joined me. Turning around on the side of the hill presented no great problems... It was the slipperiness of the clay, and the steepness that afforded only minimal traction, which caused the problem with not even the MudTerrains gaining any purchase on the ground. The decision was made to winch the car up. This was a good idea. The rear of the car was opened to gain access to the winch, but because of the steepness of the incline, the entire contents of the rear of the car spewed out and down the hill. This was not a good idea. It seems that the tightness of the pack did not offset the angle of the car.

The next three quarters of an hour was spent handwinching the car up the difficult sections, driving it as far as possible, and resetting the winch further up the hill. Eventually it reached the top.

Camp that evening was a pleasant affair, with tents set up on the track itself, such was the apparent remoteness of the location. An excellent fire was started, courtesy of our very own, Bushman Len. Bushman Len kept us all very well informed with his observations and insights into the Great Australian outdoors. "This spot here", he would say, "was a spot where someone once had a fire. You can tell by this ring of rocks and the ash!" Needless to say, we were all spellbound by these incredible observations.

The sensible boundaries of camp oven cooking were explored, with Greg H giving us all a spectacular display of his own particular brand of campfire pyrotechnics by setting fire to the oil in his oven .... Ole!. Andrew, as usual, amazed us all with his bag of spices and herbs, concocting some truly gastronomic delights. Tackleberry had his usual high cuisine from a can. Ah, but those roast chickens were delicious, except they were broiled. Perhaps not so much water next time.

Next morning we awoke to the sound of bellbirds and lyrebirds, had a hearty breakfast and broke camp. Today we would attempt to find the infamous Fred’s Hill. Instead we found Fred himself! Yes dear reader, Fred is an old man that lives in a caravan up near Wallaby Swamp. He was pleasant enough to talk to, although his directions to his own hill seemed to be a little wide of the mark. We spent an hour or so searching for the trail, but didn't quite find it. We found some other interesting options though, including a steep rocky descent to a prime campsite, which had not seen campers for many years. Now a home for deer, its potential was noted for further visits to this area.

Volume 14, No 6
June 1989
Chris Betcher