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