When the elements come to play - Journey to the Sydney Bike Build Off
"Early last year I loaded up my van and headed north for the Deus BBO 2015, the event was a screaming success apart from the relentless rain that dampened the spirits of owners and onlookers to the creative masterpieces that were being judged at the Bondi Pavilion on the day. I vowed I would be back, this time in a different capacity, a judge!
After a few emails, calls and loosely laid plans the road to Deus BBO 2016 gathered pace. Somehow Dean Walters and I ended up with two brand new BMW motorcycles with a map set for the most scenic countryside we could imagine.
I strapped on my helmet, packed my backpack and threw a leg over one brand new BMW Scrambler, yes thats right, the very first BMW Scrambler in all of Australia!
When a motorcycle has the title ‘Scrambler” you start to imagine what its intended for, I had a plan to test out its capabilities and the put the bike through its paces.
From Geelong Victoria we climbed to the higher altitude of Bright Victoria, a small town set in the Alpine region where the seasons change the landscape and spring was in the air.
Flash flood warnings were in place and we awoke to torrential rain, the map was set and I wasn’t going to be changing course because of it.
The tarmac broke into gravel, the gravel broke into mud, the mud turned into puddles and those puddles turned into rivers, the scrambler was in the midst of a true test!
Just a few hundred kms old the bike looked like it had been to war, surprisingly capable and ready to take on whatever lay ahead of us, with the heated grips set to HOT we climbed higher and higher, passing the signs that kept telling us to fit snow chains, with just three days left in the snow season we decided to motor on and reach the summit.
Rain, gravel, mud and snow, in just a few days we had this scrambler truly tested.
The weather report wouldn’t clear until we reached the Sydney city limits, with the Bondi pavilion in sight and job that needed to be done I started to set my mind on the job at hand, Judging the Bike Build Off!
I reluctantly took on this role, but what sold it for me was the simple pleasure of being involved, I wouldn’t call this a competition, its more a celebration of passion and persistence, every single builder is different, every single bike will have a different story and its that story that I want to hear and witness.
Before I even set on eyes on the bikes I already have my winner picked….. Its every single one of the 51 entrants, because just filling out the form is the easy bit, its the entire journey of turning that vision into reality, standing next to that bike and believing in yourself that wins on the day!
That's the true spirit of the Deus BBO, see you there! "
Words by Nigel Petrie from Engineered to Slide.
Find out more about the new BMW R NineT Scrambler HERE.
