Angus Brown is one of the younger members of the Parkes-based Central West Car Club but that hasn't stopped him from slowly building up a collection of unique cars and motorbikes, so it was no surprise to see him with this funky looking Suzuki.
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It's a 1973 Suzuki RV90 commonly known as a 'Van Van' and it's certainly a unique motorbike to see on the roads, and according to Angus, a different set of two wheels to ride too.
"I was looking around for a Honda Z50 Monkey bike when this one caught my eye with the big tyres," said Angus who lives in Grenfell and works in Parkes.
"It was unusual and I really like my early Japanese bikes so I couldn't resist."
You certainly can't miss the Van Van with its big balloon-like tyres so it's no wonder that it takes some getting used to for riding.
"Surprisingly it feels big to ride," Angus laughed.
"The tyres make it seem tall and the handlebars are quite wide - I guess to control the thing on and off the road."
The RV90 came out in 1972 running through to 1981 and was marketed as a fun, go-anywhere bike with an obvious appeal for riding on the beach.
The Van Van nickname apparently means "more and more" and "keep going on" in its home of production, Japan.
With this in mind, it was no surprise for Angus to discover the original owner of his bike was a farmer in the Snowy Mountains who used it for herding sheep in the snow.
It's a street legal 88 cc single cylinder two stroke engine with a four speed gearbox, and weighing in at 84kg dry, its 8hp engine gives it a top speed of 85km/h.
"I love getting it out for a bit of fun," Angus said, who admits he's happy to top it out at 80km/h.
"It gets plenty of looks at the pub on a Friday night and it costs less than a schooner of beer to fill the tank," he laughed.
For anybody interested in the Central West Car Club, the club meets regularly on the first Wednesday of the month at the Parkes Leagues Club.
More information can be found on their Facebook page or at centralwestcarclub.com.
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