My maximum cruising speed is 70 km/h so I had a bit of a laugh coming into towns that had signs to reduce speed to 80 km/h. The first three-day stage from Melbourne to Adelaide - I decided on the longer 1100 km route via the Great Ocean Road and Coorong rather than the quicker ride straight over - was a test ride to see if the bike went okay, and also to see whether I wanted to continue doing another 13,000 km. Well, the day had come to start the journey.
All up, the bike and tweaks cost me around $2300. This included fitting an old XR250 tank to increase the range to 500 km, saddle bags, PVC storage pipes, digital bicycle computer, rear storage box, map holder, and even a 240V invertor to charge my camera and phone, etc.
Over the next few weeks I tweaked the bike for the trip. Did a quick speed test and was shocked it only hit 80 km/h later I found out that’s the norm. I had a ball and the speed humps were great. Gee, it felt funny, especially with me being 6’ 3”. I got a roadworthy then rode out of the shop for my first ride. Picked one up with 22,000 km on the clock for $1200. I went to an auction where they were getting rid of 40 of them. I thought between jobs I might go on a bit of an adventure. Individual design/style changes come in the form of custom paint and decals, the occasional fuel tank add-on and Brooks leather saddle bags, grips and mudflaps to compliment the ‘40s/’50s aesthetic of his builds.AFTER WORKING for the same company for a long time, I finally pulled the pin. Post Modern bikes also regularly feature a mix of custom components from Japanese parts manufacturer Easy Riders, for which Jim is the Australian distributor. Jim says the bike will easily get air over speed humps but recommends standing up on the pegs before landing. The rear end has been made rigid by swapping out the springs for solid struts, lowering it by around an inch and tucking the rear wheel up into the fender. He prefers a more comfortable upright riding position so this bike has a wider set of handlebars, giving it the look and handling characteristics of a BMX. The red bike (“Pinko Bastard”) is Jim’s personal ride, which he refers to as a kind of Street Tracker. The stock seat was replaced with a Nitro Heads unit and the bars swapped for Café Racer style, low hanging Clubmans.
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After the tear down it was treated to a full respray in gloss black. The customer wanted another Blackmail so it’s almost a carbon copy of the original. The black bike is Jim’s most recent build. With modifications like these a Post Modern Motorcycle will haul along at around 90-100 km/h at full tilt. The exhaust is debaffled or completely replaced with a hi-flowing system and the carb gets a new set of jets. He starts by pulling out the stock air box and fitting a K&N filter to the carb. While there’s no huge power improvements to be easily gained from the CT110’s engine, Jim unlocks a smidge more grunt by dropping around 5 to 10 kilos of excess weight and by opening up it’s airways. The barrel is also given a thorough clean before being resprayed in engine black and pieced back together. Jim then replaces the piston, ring, cam chain, seals and gaskets and the heads are blasted clean. The engines are rebuilt by removing the side cases, barrel and head.
Starting with this platform, Jim performs a set of standard upgrades to all of the bikes he builds. Postie Bikes feature a heavy duty gearbox, rock solid heavy duty gauge rims, 3 stands (center, left and right) so they can be quickly parked on any surface and a locking front brake.
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These versions of the CT110 were designed and built especially for Auspost by Honda and feature a series of special modifications to cope with the day-to-day wear and tear of postal delivery. When Jim started showing people the bike the feedback was unanimously positive and Post Modern Motorcycles was born.Īll of the Post Modern builds are ex-Australian Postal Service vehicles. Soon afterwards he purchased his first Postie and it was transformed into the ‘Blackmail’. He stripped away the stock seat, added some fat rubber and was happy with the result. After a friend suggested he try Postie Bikes as a platform Jim started sketching a few ideas. Back in the early nineties Jim was customising Yamaha SRs and British bikes under the influence of the Japanese custom scene.
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