Everyone who ever watched NRL, MotoGP or Australian Formula One will remember the booming - HUGE! - voice of legendary commentator Darrell Eastlake who sadly passed away in 2018. Not everyone knows of Darrell’s love of motorcycles, particularly Harley-Davidson.
Darrell Eastlake was well known as a sports commentator who wasn't afraid to let his enthusiasm show. The man with the booming voice got just as excited when talking about his motorcycle.
"Once you have ridden you can't not ride," he said.
"I've had a motorbike since 1955. Growing up next door to Australia's first World Champion Lionel Van Praag, meant that my environment included great motorcycle racing people."
Darrell's first bike, actually it was a motor scooter, a Vespa, bought where a lot of motorcycles are bought and sold, in Wentworth Street, the 'mecca’ for bike shops in Sydney.
"It was a way to commute and get around and less expensive than a car. I rode the bike home and soon found that riding in the wet and on the tram lines, which were all over Sydney at the time, was dangerous stuff. Once you hit those lines in the wet falling off is inevitable."
The Vespa was replaced by a 'cool' BSA Bantam. They were like bums then, everyone had one."
Many bikes followed. "There were about six beautiful Matchless Twins, heaps of Triumphs including a Tiger, trail and endurance bikes - I've always had a bike."
Darrell rode on the 1980 Celebration Ride to Canberra along with some 10,000-plus riders to raise community awareness about the needs of riders. He believes car owners should ride a motorcycle for two months before having a car licence so that they understand bikes on the road.
He likes the ‘60s classy style and also the 'fat' look of Harleys. Darrell says he will never sell his present Harley. He has modified it: the carburettor, the pipes, the air cleaners, the cam, the exhaust... anything that he can make bigger and louder-he has.
"Now I've got more 'grunt' in the mid-range."
In fact, Darrell's voice seemed to distinctively match the noise of his Harley - the bike he said he would continue to ride and commentate on.
The text above was taken from ‘Life’s a Bike’ Brolga Publishing 1996
