Salt flats racing bike helps a Koroit man on the road to mental health

"This is the first thing I have finished in my life that I set out to do," Mr Davies said.

The Koroit man's idea was to create a low-slung motorbike with the goal of racing it on the salt flats of Lake Gairdner in South Australia.

In three months he was able to complete the bike with the help of Kirkstall frame builder John Cooley, and race it on the salt in March this year.

"We made two runs, reaching a top speed of 100 miles per hour (160 kilometers per hour)," Mr Davies said.

There are now plans to work on the bike and try to break the world record speed of 128 miles per hour in 2020.

The former truck driver developed post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression after a car veered into the path of his B-double near Portland, killing the driver, in 2016.

"I've always been working and providing for my family, until the accident when my whole world crumbled," he said.

"After the accident, I was very ill and hospitalised for years, I could see no way out. I virtually sat on the couch for two years wasting away from PTSD. It was a pretty horrific time."

Mr Davies ended up in the Austin Repatriation trauma centre with former army and police members trying to deal with the effects of PTSD.

"That opened my eyes up to what was going on. I am still coming out of that, it's a daily thing," he said

"But this project, the people I met, the relationships I have built are so important to me. I feel like I can accomplish something, that I can give back."

The logistics of building the bike and getting it ready to race provided Mr Davies with the ability to move out of a place where he was comfortable "wallowing".

Mr Davies said the build became secondary to the relationships he formed with Mr Cooley, the other members of the racing team, and the wider racing community who provided assistance and knowledge as the project progressed.

"In that process, I began to get well," Mr Davies said.

"I had to ring people to build the gear box, I had to reach out to people I didn't know which I couldn't do before.

"Our team is called Pastimes Towards Sunny Days, which is PTSD, Salt Flats Racing Team. We want to acknowledge men's mental health, that is what we are now about."

Racing brought a new set of challenges for Mr Davies, but he was touched by the support he received from the other racers and spectators who participated in the event. 

"We went out there a ragged bunch with no idea what we were doing," he said.

"The sport is about coming up with an idea and just taking it out there. People were that excited to see the bike run.

"Next year we will try and run for a world record on this bike."

"I ran the bike in the altered fuel class. The engine is out of a speedway bike, that's where I got the whole vision from. It all came from that motor."

Mr Cooley said he was honoured to help.

"He (Mr Davies) just walked in and said 'will you build me a motor bike'," Mr Cooley said.

"He had two wheels, a motor and a gear box. So it went from there. Because the motor is a lay down Jawa it's a totally different configuration of engine. We laid the motor on the floor and started building around it."

Mr Cooley said the best part was Mr Davies' reaction to seeing the bike up on the stand.

"Bryan had seen it laid out on the floors, and then didn't come in for two weeks. When he came in, (the bike) was sitting on the stand. He had tears in his eyes," he said.

Mr Davies now plans to work with local mental health services and use the bike to help other people who are dealing with PTSD.

"There is so much hope out there for people who have no hope," he said. "It's just a matter of getting off the couch."

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