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 - Honda's 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 'set' with three previous record
attempts.
In 2005, Julio put his faith in a 50cc Honda Today scooter to
take him around Melbourne's 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
"wonderful colours and landscapes of Australia", he noted that the
Silverwing performed faultlessly.
"The 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 nature's
elements at bay."
"I 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."
Julio and his support Team also kept an eye on fuel economy and
maintenance throughout their long days.
"We 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."
"The 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."
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.
"A 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," Julio said.
"Australia 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."
Julio said the trip was relatively 'incident free', however he
did have one close call when he came into contact with a patch of
gravel.
"I 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."
The ride was also successful in raising funds for Victorian
based charity, the Lighthouse Foundation who provide homes for
disadvantaged youth. "We are still filtering donations to the
Foundation through via our website and various other means," 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 Julio's 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