Australian Wing Riders Association (Qld) Inc
Clint and Charleen Lovell met at a Subaru 4WD Club outing. Both had arrived early at the meeting point. That was late in 1981. The usual courtship conversations took place and it was discovered that one of the many shared interests was motorcycles.
1975 Clint had a Honda 175 ex PMG bike, red with big black guards. That was followed by a Honda CB360T for the years 1976 to 1981. This was a bike that was used for commuting to and from work at all hours of the day for shift work. His first taste of Goldwing was on a GL1000, riding it down from Mt Cootha (Brisbane) when the owner got into trouble. From that moment he knew what he wanted – but it was to be a long wait.
Around the same time Charleen’s father bought a Honda 90 for his suburban running around. It also became Charleen’s ride around the house yard – that being about half an acre of varying terrain.
Around 1980 Charleen obtained her open motorcycle license, but did not have the opportunity to purchase a bike.
Clint and Charleen had always had a fondness for the Goldwing motorcycles and used to daydream about touring on one, reliving that short ride down the mountain.
Twenty years later, after closing their offroad adventure tour business and selling a spare house, a beautiful Candy Apple Red 1995 20th anniversary model Honda Goldwing entered their lives.
The day came to look over the ‘Wing and as Clint hadn’t ridden for twenty years a very good friend went with Clint to test ride and assess the bike. Clint went home with stories of how pretty the bike was and how many lights it had. There were even a few photographs to show Charleen.
The next day Clint was back with a cheque in his pocket. The previous owner was very generous as he handed over the service manual and an assortment of bits and pieces associated with the bike. A very nervous yet excited Clint rode home on Charleen’s 40th birthday. It was getting late and he had to finish the ride in the dark. The bike didn’t need so many lights when Clint rode up the driveway. His smile was on high beam.
A few days passed as Clint became used to the handling of the ‘Wing. Charleen was taken for a fairly short ride around the district. It was a tentative time for both as they had to become accustomed to each other in this new situation. Would Charleen be a good pillion? Would Clint be a good rider? A new level of trust emerged.
That was August 2001 and by October they were riding south. The idea was to see how far they could get and if they could make it to Melbourne. That would be a good opportunity to see family and to purchase some trousers for the coming summer rides.
Clint and Charleen have a habit of naming their vehicles and the big red bike of fun became known as “Lucille” in honour of Lucille Ball – the big redheaded comedian.
While refueling at BP Stapylton one day the owner of Nando’s came out to introduce himself and show Clint his lovely teal coloured ‘Wing. He also told Clint he had recently joined a WingRiders club and gave the details. The rest is well known.
First photo: "It's got LIGHTS"
Recent photo with lots of new bits
