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Gulf News readers come to the aid of Australian rider whose bike went missing

An Australian rider whose world tour came to a halt after his bike allegedly went missing in Ajman has been offered a helping hand from a number of Gulf News readers, one of whom has offered to donate his own bike.

  • By Abbas Al Lawati, Staff Reporter
  • Published: 17:33 February 11, 2008
  • Gulf News

  • Image Credit: Supplied Picture
  • Allan Roberts' motorbike went missing on Friday in Ajman as he was on the UAE leg of a world tour.

Dubai: An Australian rider whose world tour came to a halt after his bike allegedly went missing in Ajman has been offered a helping hand from a number of Gulf News readers, one of whom has offered to donate his own bike.

Allan Roberts' motorbike went missing on Friday in Ajman as he was on the UAE leg of a world tour that had taken him 65,000 kilometres in 37 countries over three continents. His next stop was going to be Iran, following which he was planning to ride all the way to Australia.

Eric Pereira, a Dubai based businessman, said he decided to donate his Honda Africa Twin XRV 650 to Allan Roberts after reading Roberts' story. Roberts owned an XRV 750.

"I bought the bike from a friend last year as he was leaving Dubai. It has only been driven about 5,000 kilometres. My heart when out for him when I heard about his situation so I've decided to donate mine to him," said Pereira, adding that he had another BMW bike that he uses more often.

Another reader, Syrian national Khalid Sarmini, said he wanted to help Roberts because he had planned to take a similar trip next month that would take him across 35 countries. "I can relate to his situation. I know how much time and determination it takes to do something like this. Besides, we need to be good hosts. Especially after his bike was stolen here," he said.

Meanwhile, an official from the Australian consulate in Dubai told Gulf News that the consulate and the embassy in Abu Dhabi had received "a number of calls" from Australians in the UAE who wanted to help the adventurer.

Antonie Robertson, a member of the rider club UAErider.com, said that the Africa Twin 750 was a discontinued bike that had a "massive cult following" as it was easy to fix and reliable for long distances and off road riding. He said that although the XRV 750 was ideal for a trip around the world, an XRV 650 would do the job.

"Our club is also trying to raise approximately Dh20,000 to buy him a new bike," he said.

Antonie Robertson said, however, that even if the Australian rider got a new bike in Dubai, it might prove difficult for him to continue his journey across Asia and into Australia since he could not register it under his name in the UAE as a non-resident. Import laws in various countries in the region also made it difficult to take bikes across borders, he said.

Allan Roberts agreed that it might be difficult to take a new bike out of the UAE. "The laws in Australia are pretty strict too," he said. Roberts said he was impressed with the support he had been offered by UAE residents, especially those that owned motorbikes.

"Almost everyone who owns a bike here knows about my story. People in all rider clubs and forums have been notified," he said.

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