KIWI RIDER 08 2018 VOL.1 | Page 29

Sloan in Australia at the end of last season Photo: Nick Edards/Half Light Sloan: Well, I might be able to stay on the thing. happen for you. Do you have a name for your bike? Boris: Yeah, they aren’t all that quick. But they’re all retro. You could grow a beard and put pomade in it. Smash some avocado. Maybe exhaust wrap is the way forward? Sloan: I had a name for the bike I just sent back to NZ. Some of my competitors even started shouting my bike’s name at me in Tailem Bend when it was blowing clouds of blue smoke. I have a brand spanker for Darwin, I think I’ll call it Sue. Sloan: I’m not sure I even know where this is going… Boris: When you win an ASBK title you’ll be able to pick who interviews you. Until that happens, it’s me. Shut-up and answer the questions. When you come through customs do they strip-search you with gloves and lube? Is that really why you keep coming back? Because it sure isn’t winning races that’s doing it. Sloan: I certainly get some crazy looks and pissed-off baggage handlers, but I can confidently confirm you can get 90 per cent of a superbike into three Ogio bags, and two rear and three front tyres just makes the 23kg luggage limit. I am eagerly awaiting the cavity search they promise on all the signage. Boris: I will make some calls. Make that Boris: Sue is a great name for a bike. But just so I’m up to speed, what’s gone wrong for you so far in this year’s ASBK campaign and are you looking forward to more of the same? Sloan: It’s just been hurdle after hurdle and I just can’t catch a break. Customs didn’t release my bike for Round One. Round Two clashed with NZSBK. My bike got held up in Customs again before the Adelaide test and when it finally arrived I thought I had to set the lap record on Lap Two and destroyed the bike. So we worked all night and arrived back for the round and in the first practice an oil line that was damaged in the previous crash blew, pumped out all the oil (completely contained by the way) and blew up the engine. > KIWI RIDER 29