Tamworth and other Festivals

Driving along the Tweed Valley highway from Murwillumbah towards Mullumbimby one will pass via Mooball. You know you are entering Mooball when you see the cow inspired power poles along the roadside. Here there is a roadhouse-cafe called the Moo Moo Cafe. Out the front is a monster motorbike.

No doubt there is a story to go with this but we have no clue. It is a real 8 foot high machine powered by a car engine with a huge chain drive. It is large enough to carry a Brahman bull so I'm guessing it mighr be a Cow-a-Saki. I expect it was originally built and used for exhibition but that is only a guess. It most likely had a previous life elsewhere.

Having already had a meal we did not visit the Cafe. Apparently the menu is motorbike inspired with delights such as a chicken chopper burger. Now on the future list.

A little research has discovered that the Cafe was originally called the Mooball Cafe. It has been reinvented and includes an attached speed shop. The owner has several vintage vehicles on display.

The 3 times oversize motorbike was meant to rival the other big attractions in the area like the big banana and the big prawn, but the owner very nearly landed a whopping fine. The bike is a replica of the YZR500 ridden by Wayne Rainey in 1993. It was used for promotion of the 1993 Grand Prix. After that it was purchased by a Ducati dealership. Eventually it went to a motorcycle museum where it deteriorated over time and needed extensive restoration.

The owner of the Moo Moo Cafe bought it from the museum and spent hundreds of hours restoring it. He even repainted it and trimmed it as it was originally presented, just like the finish of the original bike. That however was sponsored by Marlboro. The name being on the bike constituted an advertising violation with the penalty being a $20,000 fine.

The owner put his case that he bought it like that and that was its original trim and it was actually a unique piece of promotional history. In the end he had to remove the Marlboro decals and it is now as pictured. To add further insult, all of the photos used in Facebook and other media had to be removed and then replaced without the decals. Ironically, the Cafe does not even sell tobacco products.もっと詳しく