90yo biker Bruce Reid’s tips for staying alive on two wheels

Call 90-year-old Bruce Reid whatever you like, just don’t call him a `temporary Australian’ — here’s some riding advice he’s accrued after 72 years in the saddle.

Bruce Reid, 90, poses for a photo with his 1948 BSA YV33 model motorbike, which he bought brand new when he was 19 years old. (AAP Image/David Swift)

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Motorcyclists are sometimes referred to as `temporary Australians’ because of their over-representation in fatality statistics.

But there is nothing temporary about 90-year-old Bruce Reid, of Kincumber, who has been riding motorbikes for a staggering 72 of them.

And after more than seven decades at the throttle he has eight tips he wants to pass on to younger riders in the hope of keeping them around a little while longer.

Bruce Reid with his 1948 BSA YV33 motorbike he bought new. (AAP Image/David Swift)

Mr Reid cannot remember if there were even licences for motorbikes when he started riding as an 18-year-old after moving to Sydney from Gunnedah.

Ironically, his reason for getting a bike is still as valid today on the Central Coast as it was in 1948.

“If there was one (a licence test) I think if you rode down the street and back and didn’t fall off you got it,” he said.

“I was in Sydney as a late teenager and I found the public transport was very inconvenient and when I got my first motorbike it changed my life completely,” he said.

“You feel like a flea when you have to rely on other people for transport.”

He got a two-stroke BSA motorcycle, which “wasn’t that good because it couldn’t handle heavy loads” before buying a brand new four-stroke 500cc BSA YV33-model when he turned 19.

He still has a copy of the manual. (AAP Image/David Swift)

“My brother borrowed it and it was not long after he got his own bike,” he said.

Mr Reid paid the princely sum of ₤217, a lot of money in those days and has kept it ever since.

While he rides a Suzuki Burgman these days, past bikes also included a BMW K100 (1000cc).

Mr Reid said he’s had some “pretty spectacular crashes” in his years on a bike “but none that ever hurt me” and very few run-ins with the law.

“You had Brylcreem on your head for protection, that’s all you had,” he said.

“I was riding no-hands, doing up my overcoat — it was a cold day — and I was apprehended by a policeman who took me down to the court and I was fined ₤1.”

Copy photo of Mr Reid in 1949 with his girlfriend Joan Palmer (centre) and her brother Evan Palmer (rear). (AAP Image/David Swift)

Some things Mr Reid attributes to his longevity as a rider include avoiding rain whenever possible and in traffic keeping as far left in the lane as possible, as opposed to the centre of the lane “because if shit happens, you’re in it” with nowhere to escape.

Mr Reid is critical of the Roads and Maritime Service, which posts billboards for drivers to “keep an eye out for motorcycles” and then lets riders wear all black.

“Which is quite ridiculous because you can’t go on any site without hi-vis,” he said.

“I don’t approve of (lane) filtering either, if a dog farts and someone opens a door.”

Mr Reid’s eight things to remember while riding:

1/. keep an eight-second gap between the vehicle in front, three seconds is not enough because:

2/. your “crumple zone” is your forehead;

3/. your “airbag” is your torso;

4/. there’s no seatbelt to keep you safe;

5/. and if you do “high side” during a fall there’s “no roof” for protection;

6/. two seconds of the eight-second gap is so you don’t get sandwiched from a vehicle travelling behind if you have to pull up quickly;

7/. motorcycles have limited braking on a curve; and lastly,

8/. it’s always possible there’s gravel or some other loose surface you haven’t seen on the road ahead.