Under the sponsorship of Honda Australia and a number of other
key sponsors and committed volunteers, Julio Languiller departed
from Federation Square in Melbourne earlier this month to attempt
his fourth scooter endurance ride.
This time he set himself the challenge of riding 15,000 kms around
Australia in 15 days to prove not only the mettle of the man, but
also of his chosen machine - HondaâÄôs new
maxi-scooter, the 600cc Silverwing, Julio not only successfully
completed his journey, but he also put the bike through the
ultimate test of reliability and durability.
The 50 year-old adventurer has already made quite a name for
himself amongst the scootering
âÄòsetâÄô with three previous
record attempts.
In 2005, Julio put his faith in a 50cc Honda Today scooter to
take him around MelbourneâÄôs Docklands for 24
hours straight. The tiny bike ran faultlessly, and racked up more
than 800 kilometres using just 25 litres of fuel.
Later the same year, Julio achieved two further 24 hour records
on scooters. It was during one of these long stints on his bike
that the idea of a Round Australia ride was formulated.
After a great deal of planning and assistance from sponsors
including Honda, Motorcycling Australia and many others, his
circumnavigation of the continent on Highway 1 took 338 hours to
complete at an average of 105 km/h.
In addition to the enjoyment Julio experienced in seeing the
âÄúwonderful colours and landscapes of
AustraliaâÄù, he noted that the Silverwing
performed faultlessly.
âÄúThe Honda was amazing throughout the whole
journey. The aerodynamics were fantastic and the wind was not an
issue. I think the fairings have been designed very well to keep
all of natureâÄôs elements at
bay.âÄù
âÄúI prepared myself physically the best way I
could for the trip to make sure I was up to it. We had temperatures
ranging from -2 degrees at 3 am in the morning to 40 degrees in the
middle of the day up north. Fortunately, I had a Joe Rocket jacket
that had three different layers and it did the job very
well.âÄù
Julio and his support Team also kept an eye on fuel economy and
maintenance throughout their long days.
âÄúWe went through only one set of tyres, and
about ¼ a litre of oil and the temperature of the
bike stayed stable regardless of the conditions, so that shows how
well this machine performs.âÄù
âÄúThe fuel economy was about what we expected
for this kind of journey, and of course, you are always going to
get a better mileage from a two-wheeled vehicle than you will ever
get out of most cars.âÄù
Julio is now in the process of putting in his application to the
Guinness Book of World Records to add one more accolade to his
growing collection.
âÄúA lot of people have claimed that they have
ridden around Australia on a bike in the least amount of time, but
I believe this is the first time it has been done observing the
legal speed limits and on a scooter,âÄù Julio
said.
âÄúAustralia is the only country on earth that
such an event would be possible. I will never forget some of the
most wonderful sights that I saw on this journey like the sunset
across the Nullabor.âÄù
Julio said the trip was relatively âÄòincident
freeâÄô, however he did have one close call when
he came into contact with a patch of gravel.
âÄúI ended up going off the road into the dirt
briefly. I have to say the advanced training I undertook at HART
(Honda Australia Rider Training) really helped me to deal with that
situation safely.âÄù
The ride was also successful in raising funds for Victorian
based charity, the Lighthouse Foundation who provide homes for
disadvantaged youth. âÄúWe are still filtering
donations to the Foundation through via our website and various
other means,âÄù Julio said.
The good news for other like minded riders is that Julio intends
to run the trip next year as a more leisurely group ride to take
place over 25 days.
For more information on JulioâÄôs ride, go to
www.ma.org.au and/or www.scooteringaroundaustralia.com.au.
Honda will be retailing the Silverwing to the general public
later this year.
For further information contact:
Lisa Evans
Motorcycle Racing and Public Relations Coordinator
1954-1956 Hume Highway
Campbellfield, Vic 3061
Phone: 03 9270 1183
Fax: 03 9270 1126
Mobile: 0413 542 004
Email: levans@hondampe.com.au