Carved in Stone – The Crusty Demons Make History Once Again, By Jerry Bernardo

Words and pictures by Jerry Bernardo

The Crusty Demons ‘Beyond the Apocalypse’ tour wrapped up this past weekend in Cairns with a shot heard ’round the world. Why? Eighteen-year-old Jackson Strong from Wagga Wagga, NSW, finally landed his elusive Front Flip! After giving it a crack to dirt many months ago and crashing out with a lacerated liver, “Jacko” never quite figured out how to spell quit.

The first three attempts on tour put Jacko on his ass repeatedly. His under-rotation and ensuing front-end slap exploded his hands off the bars and sent him licking the front fender in a wild spiral down the mat. After two more crashes and some suspension tweaking, Strong finally hit the 85-foot ramp in Cairns with all the stars aligned and landed so perfectly it looked like Avatar special effects had been used.

And let us not forget Kain Saul back-flipping a massive 257kg Harley-Davidson four times! The only crash Sauly had was in Bundaberg when he fell off the side of the bike on the landing and ghosted it into the fence in front of a scattering crowd. The Gold Coast rider is a madman and muscled the Gavin Walker-prepped Harley every time. No one in the world but Saul has ever back-flipped a Harley.

The show hit regional spots Gosford, Darwin, Bundy and tropical Cairns. “Best Rider of the Tour” (as voted by his peers) Matt Schubring was spot-on as usual, as were the rest of the boys: Mason, Richmond, Hillier, Bamberg, Balchin, Marshall and a few others. “Fresh Crusty Meat” from Perth, Josh Sheehan, rocked a big 450 Honda like a legend — his ruler flips and combos reeked of a 10-year veteran’s skill.

Here’s a behind-the-scene stories I know you’re all drooling for. Quad rider and Crusty first-timer Caleb Moore from Texas hooked up with a girl on tour. The ex-boyfriend was less than happy and followed Caleb into the bathroom for a sucker punch-type head butt. Bleeding and dazed, Moore managed to knock him out with a left hook. To rub sand into the wound [no pun intended] Caleb then sealed the deal by taking the girl back to the hotel for the “second moto”!

Welcome to Crustyville, population: heaps of talented riders and some girls who might need crutches!