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Watch Tassie custom motorcycle film

Wide of the Mark film custom motorcycles Tasmania

Custom bikes and Tasmania’s scenery feature in a new 60-minute film called Wide of the Mark which the makers hope will be released on one of the streaming channels next year.

Filmmaker Jake Ashe says the film idea was to send six riders around Tasmania with road bikes that they’d custom-built into off-road bikes.

“We spent two weeks traversing around the rugged landscapes of Tasmania and essentially living off the backs of the bike, pushing them to the limit and taking them where they’re not meant to go” Jake says.

Film inspiration

The inspiration came from Jake and two friends creating a 50-minute motorcycle film last year called Handcrafted which they put out on YouTube for free.

“That was a trip down the east coast of Australia, and we dug into some of the garages and best custom bike builders in Australia,” he says.

“We wanted to keep the adventure going and we were really inspired to push the limits.”

This short film shows some of the more adventurous riding on Benders Track.

Jake says the trip was challenging.

“We were posed with all kinds of new and exciting opportunities and things we weren’t expecting,” he says.

“So many things went right, and we had so many amazing destinations. But a lot of things went wrong, too. It was really challenging in so many different ways.

“The name of the film, Wide of the Mark, comes from the idea of aiming for a point but essentially missing it, in a good way.”

Jake was the director of photography, cinematographer and editor. It was directed by his friend Cameron Grant and another friend, Tom Gilroy, was one of the main riders.

Five other riders were also involved.

The film was recorded just before the lockdown and the makers are now negotiating distribution.