Roothy

40 years ago, Roothy learnt the value of quality oils while operating and maintaining mining equipment in the Aussie outback, possibly the harshest environment on earth to run machines. A decade later, he was testing motorcycles for 'Two Wheels' magazine and kicked off the lifestyle Harley magazine 'Live to Ride'. Part of that job involved combining his bush mechanic skills and journalistic skills to create regular workshop content, where he always stressed the value of good oil, particularly his personal favourite, Australia's own Penrite. Another part of Roothy’s journey involved riding his 1984 kickstart Harley called 'Ruby' to cover events around Australia. Thirty-two years and 740,000km later, Ruby is still going strong. She uses a Penrite turbo diesel oil. For a 'Two Wheels' project, Roothy used his old 1959 BMW, a bike he bought second hand in 1973. The team fitted a 1980's 1000cc motor and five speed in 1988, allowing the project bike to run 13 second quarter miles. While there was an issue with braking, Roothy still rides the bike most days, proving that regularly changing its Penrite lubricants is the cheapest insurance a machine can have. In the 1990's, Roothy expanded his 'project workshop' magazine business to include 4WD's. So began the legend of Milo, Australia's best known old Toyota. Running a 4-cylinder turbo charged truck motor, Milo has run for over twenty years and 800,000km in front of various cameras, and has always been run on Penrite oils. Other vehicles in Roothy’s magazine stable include a 350 Chev-equipped Toyota ute called 'The Red Truck', a turbo charged 2H Toyota 8 speed wagon called 'Mustard', a WW2 Jeep called 'Hotlips' that Roothy rebuilt for a book on simple mechanics, plus more. These vehicles get used hard and thrive on their Penrite. It's a lifelong addiction for Roothy, not unlike the machines themselves.