OzVMX Forum
Clubroom => General Discussion => Topic started by: Davey Crocket on July 27, 2010, 08:58:30 pm
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OK, all you smart arses, see how long it takes you to get this one....What is the Goondawindi gate and who invented it and what year?...if your a real smartarse and know the answer straight away then string it out abit. Cheers DC.
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I reckon i know but i'll wait DC...
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Good boy ;D
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is it not the gate that keeps the goondawindi grey (race horse) in its padock.
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is it not the gate that keeps the goondawindi grey (race horse) in its padock.
I guess it would if he was only a foot tall. :)
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Gunsynd, I think. From Scone.
As far as a gate goes, I have no idea.
Hang on, something to do with a thunderbox?
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is it not the gate that keeps the goondawindi grey (race horse) in its padock.
I guess it would if he was only a foot tall. :)
I would guess it's a starting gate for MX of one kind or another.
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I recall the Goondawindi gates to be what we see a lot of around now ayt MX starting lines, or me anyway especially at Conondale. It is the gate that has a separate little section for each rider, and if they jump the start they generally have the gate on the front wheel holding them back while everyone else is on their merry way. They have to pull the bike back wards to allow the gate to drop and off they go. I recall the gates at Conondale in the early 80s and guess they were designed from someone from Goondawindi in the late 70s.
Retro
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You got it Retro, another great Aussie invention they still use now. A self penalising gate to stop those who jump the start. Those country people are smart cookies It cost the Goondiwindi club $200 in materials to build. They also had the ballot system for start positions where you picked a number out of a bucket for your grid position which lined up against the number on the start gate. We still use that one as well. Should get to test the gate at Conondale this weekend.
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See. Not as smart as you think I am?
Retro.
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you are right steve but the song called the horse The Goondiwindi Grey (The Gunsynd Song) by Tex Morton
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I recall the gates at Conondale in the early 80s and guess they were designed from someone from Goondawindi in the late 70s.
The Conondale gates were desgined and built by Kelvin at http://www.metalink.net.au/ (http://www.metalink.net.au/) and have worked great. They are mounted to a concrete slab.
I seem to recall the Goondawindi gates were portable and used at most of the SXs.
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Belated trivia birthday for yesterday
quote;In 1976 The First Backward Falling Starting Gate Was Used. ;D
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OLD THREAD REVIVAL!!!
I'm currently Vice President of the Goondiwindi MMC and thought I'd add a bit.
The gates where designed and built with the help of a local farmer, Jeff Nixon (still in the area and still has a lot to do with running the North Star Trail ride).
They where portable and he did have a contract to supply them to both MX and SX.
I believe the original gates are now used at Dalby. We still use a set today that are based on the original ones.
You may catch a glimpse of them in photos on our Facebook page.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Goondiwindi-Motorcycle-Club-Inc/146839215371045?sk=timeline&ref=page_internal
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We, the Toowoomba Motorcycle Club, still have our set of Goondawindi Gates which served us well at Echo Valley for many, many years. We even transported them to use at the ISDE Final Moto Cross at Cessnock in 1992. Great gates.
Lawrie
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That's 8) Lawrie.
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The design of the start gates at Conondale are not based on the Goondiwindi gates.
They are taken from a set of start gates I made for the Redcliffe Motorcycle Club (now Moreton District Motocross) that were first used by our club at the Duffield road track in about 1990. I made them by adopting a design that was at the Ipswich/Laidley MX track. James Clark's father (Clive) made them. There were several different sets made using the same design for Bundaberg, Hervey Bay, Mundubbera, Conondale and possibly other tracks.
The main difference is you can lift one side (15 or 20 gates) in one go.
There is also another design that was made by an employee of Scott Pengelly that are used at Echo Valley and the portable gates that the MQ MX sub-committee have.
The basics of the original gates I made are still in use at Tivioli. They have been modified to use electro magnates now.
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The "Goondiwindi Gate" was the first self penalizing MX starting system in Australia,my brother and I took up the challenge to make a gate similar to the ones used in the USA Supercross.I can remember spending all day working out how to make a reliable release trigger,we decided to make a cable operated system so that the gate could be set up on uneven ground,and could be packed into the back of a ute(the Goondiwindi Track was prone to flooding and on a public reserve)
We made the Gate in early 1979,and at our round of the Darling Downs 4WK MX Series,Geoff Udy bought his mate Geoff Eldridge along,he did an article on the Gate,one day licences,and the Expression Session on the Skyrocket Jump.Blair Shepherd(supercross fame)phoned us and asked us if we could make another set and take to Sydney (35000 spectators)Supercross,of course we said yes,and for the next few years we paid for our bikes(I wish I still had them all)by supplying Blair and a lot of Clubs with Gates.The set we took to Sydney,was used at Toowoomba for 21 years ,then went to Roma.The articles appeared in the 1979 Oct Nov issue of ADB,I still have a copy somewhere.