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Tom Foster - Editor
’m not keen on modifying bikes. In my experience, changing things usually means a decrease in reliability.
And the number of bikes I see where the owner’s fitted kilos and kilos of extra junk! Seriously. Some of these people are hauling around so much crud I wonder they can get anything from their bike at all.
“Stock is the go,” I spruik to anyone who’ll listen. “If you need more horsepower or comfort, buy a bigger bike. There’s plenty available.”
And, full of my sensible views, I throw open the shed door to reveal the KLR. This beat-up old workhorse has been a great bike. It’s simple and very effective. Of course I’ve changed a couple of little things here and there, but it’s still basically stock.
Well. The engine is.
I don’t think the FMF pipe counts as an engine mod, does it? It’s offensively loud, and I feel bad I haven’t changed it for something quieter, but it gives the motor a big lift. And the oversize piston isn’t
really a ‘modification’. It was done during a top-end rebuild, so it doesn’t count. The jetting had to be changed of course. That’s only common sense.
The ’bars, like all my off-road bikes, are KTM motocross ’bars, so that’s not a big
“ This beat-up old workhorse has been a great bike. ”
change. It’s more ‘comfort tuning’. So is the extended dash. That’s there to accommodate the GPS. Nothing was modified. It was added on. The stock dash is still there with the stock gauges and stock screen.
Yessir. Stock is best. That’s my motto.
Okay, I admit the Touratech Level Two
suspension front and rear could be considered a mod. I’ll take that one on the chin. And the Touratech pannier racks and panniers? They’re not a ‘modification’ as such. They’re an addition. There’s a difference.
I lifted the rear 25mm with some dogbone links, and that, fair-enough, is a modification. I put my hands up. But the rear was sagging a fair bit before I changed the suspension, so the links only brought it back to where it should’ve been in standard trim (but wasn’t). I don’t think that should count as a mod in the context of this discussion.
A headlight protector and bashplate? Come on. Who runs without those? The big tank? Well excuse me, but for the riding I do, a 500km range is important. The big rack? That’s hardly a modification, for crying out loud. It’s bolted to the standard rack. It just sits on top.
The Denali spotties and LED lighting might be argued to be mods, but let’s be sensible here. Safety first, right? There’s no lighting or cat’s eyes on the roads I cover after dark. You can ping me for a modification there if you insist, but I call it more of a necessity.
The fork brace and braided brake line? Something had to be done about the way the bike stopped and handled. Fair dinkum. It was a problem. And the alloy sidestand-switch protector was only a replacement for the plastic one I smashed, so that’s definitely not a modification.
So there you have it. I ride that bike everywhere all the time, and it hasn’t shown the slightest deficiency despite being ‘just a stocker’.
Trust my years of experience: stock is best.
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As informative as news reports had been, Bob Wozga thought the real impact of the recent bushfires would only be clear if he travelled through and saw it for himself. It’s a thought we could all embrace.
From Razorback south of Sydney, a smoke plume arose in the distance and an easterly wind looked like it was blowing back onto itself. The weather alerts indicated a safe day to travel and the likelihood of a stable week. I packed the DR650 and set out.
Melted road posts lay bent on the road shoulders near Bargo, surrounded by charcoal remains of bottles and cans. Two service stations had miraculously survived, even though there were signs the flames had almost lapped their walls. A greater disaster had
clearly been averted. Passing the Tennessee Orchard, a flare-up sent smoke flowing south, creating an orange hue over the orchard.
A quiet apprehension shrouded the streets of Colo Vale and Hill Top. Cars were parked in front of houses in readiness for evacuation, and no people could be seen through the smoke-filled air. There was no-one in yards or local shops…maybe they were listening to the radio for updates.
Luckily, houses were saved, but surrounding bush was charred. As the wind changed direction toward town, the sky became darker and the thumping blades of a helicopter were heard getting closer. A silhouette of the chopper cruised past, just above the tree canopy, surveying the ground below. A water hose dangled from its undercarriage.
The RFS did a wonderful job and the town was safe – for the moment.
Heading back through Balmoral the devastation was hard to comprehend. The air became acrid and visibility decreased. ‘Thankyou’ signs were draped over gates and fences for the RFS volunteers. In other paddocks, remnants of houses and people’s lives lay in ruins, surrounded by thick smoke. Through the darkness, red-and-blue flashing lights still patrolled the road, just in case of flareups.
Of course we need to support and praise the RFS as much as we can. We need to ensure it has the resources to carry out the vital service to our communities.
But we also need to support the communities, villages and towns that have been affected by fires, long-lasting droughts, floods or any other natural disaster. Very simply put, we need country towns to survive so urban centres can survive. They relieve congestion in city areas, supply produce, and they help everyone’s mental state by offering open, green spaces.
A month after the fires, when they’re not featured on the nightly news, we’re likely to forget what happened during the summer and move on to the next major story. The TV is almost like a barrier that dissociates us from what we’re seeing.
We can help
Thousands of people had volunteered their time to fight the fires or to support firefighters by feeding, watering and sheltering the crews. Houses and sheds had been lost, but many had been saved.
The rural towns and villages will come to terms with their losses and will defiantly rebuild. The residents are a stoic breed.
The best ways of supporting these communities is by visiting them. Often these towns have a whole history you never knew about. Stories of an Aboriginal past you may not have known existed, histories of industries that never prospered or simply yarns of drovers who travelled the area. The towns rely heavily on passing trade to keep them alive. They rely on their outlying areas to
supply fresh produce for their cafes, their weekend markets, and often, they have cottage industries that produce craftworks, jams, honey and art you don’t find in major stores specialising in massproduced goods.
For the foodies, these towns also have fantastic wineries and restaurants that can be better than those in the city.
It’s worth embarking on a ride through the country and explore what’s there. Buy a gift for your wife or a bottle of wine to take home. Buy a beer for a mate. Take a group of friends on a cherry-picking excursion when in season or just ride to a country town to get some fish and chips and see what you can find on the way.
It all helps these communities survive and lets them know that they’re not just stories on the nightly news.
Top right: The devastation was hard to comprehend. Right: Remnants of houses and people’s lives lay in ruins.
Below: ‘Thankyou’ signs draped over gates and fences for the RFS volunteers.
There’s plenty adventure riders can do to help the communities struck by the bushfire disaster. Donations of smallgoods, living necessities and even cash through any of the reputable organisations is always good.
But adventure riders can do something very few other groups can: we can travel to the communities and towns, spend some time and cash there, and show we care.
Think about doing what Bob is suggesting on these pages. A cup of coffee, a lunch, maybe an overnight stay…it may not mean much to a rider with a safe and secure home to go to, but it can change the whole day for someone who’s struggling to make it to sundown, and who may be wondering if the struggle is worth it.
Maybe you could plan your next ride with that thought in mind.
Adventure Rider Magazine
Australian GS rider Andrea Box went the long way round to clinch her spot in the Australian GS Trophy team. Her story is a little bit fun and a lot inspirational.
As I prepare for the BMW GS Trophy in New Zealand
I’m finding it hard to believe I’m actually going.
I’d always doubted my riding a little and reassured myself it didn’t matter about my speed, so long as I got to the end of the track. I’ve been lucky enough to learn to ride chasing some incredible riders through Victoria’s high country and my place at the back of the pack had become a familiar and comfortable spot.
The biggest adventure for me was my first solo trip, a ride up the east coast from Melbourne to Queensland, camping and visiting motorbike friends along the way. It probably doesn’t sound like the most exciting trip but it was a turning point for me. It meant I finally had the confidence to plan a big ride and head off on my own. It was wonderfully liberating and opened up a world of possibilities.
With encouragement from riding friends who assured me I was up for the challenge, I tried to stop second guessing myself as I nervously headed to BMW Australia’s GS Trophy qualifier in 2017. I finished second behind the incredibly talented Julia Maguire and we flew to South Africa for the International female qualifier.
The female adventure-riding community wasn’t big enough for each country to field a competitive ladies team, so we had to fight for a place on a team put together from riders from various countries. Our South African hosts were beyond passionate about the GS Trophy and were renowned – if not a little infamous – for the intense selection process for their own national team.
Showing no leniency to the 23 women from around the world they put us through our paces in rain and shine. They were long days full of riding challenges. From the moment we arrived they had us racing to set up our tents, riding blindfolded and fighting our way through tight, technical courses. The setup of the courses and challenges were great, but we were all relieved when
Main: The setup of the courses and challenges for the GS Trophy women’s qualifier were great.
Above: Author and Australian team rider, Andrea Box.
Right: The qualifier had long days of riding with special stages of navigation, trials riding, fitness and skill tests in a fabulous setting.
inclement weather saved us from having to ride the ‘Wall Of Death’…a hole in the ground lined with what appeared to be near-vertical railway sleepers. The only thing that could hold a GS and its rider to the sheer face was the confidence to maintain momentum.
What surprised me the most during my time in South Africa was the instant camaraderie. With such a talented group of riders, and only a few places in the finals up for grabs, I’d expected there to be some very competitive personalities. While we all wanted to do our best it quickly became obvious that we also
wanted all to achieve their best.
I remember standing at one of the special tests watching Ezelda Van Jaarsveld from South Africa – who was leading the competition – as she explained riding techniques and tricks that would help a fellow competitor with the next test.
That blew me away.
I’ve always found the adventure-riding community to be friendly and welcoming, but never before had I ridden with so many talented women, and we instantly gelled.
The 2017 South African female qualifier challenged me in ways I hadn’t u
expected and gave me new confidence in what I was capable of doing on a bike. Ultimately, riding technical stages with an audience saw my nerves get the better of me and I made silly mistakes. I came in 10th with only the top six going through to the Trophy in Mongolia. I proudly watched Julia finish second and was thrilled we’d have an Aussie on the team, following in the footsteps of fellow Australian Amy Harburg, who made the first international female team in Thailand in 2016.
One of hardest parts of the South African experience was not knowing what to expect. As I headed home I was motivated and inspired. Now I knew what they were looking for and the training for the next qualifier could really begin.
I sat at the welcome dinner in Andalusia in southern Spain with 31 women speaking multiple languages. We’d all known each other less than a day yet the room was so full of conversation and laughter it was hard to hear yourself think. My tablemates shared different versions of the same story: our workmates/ mum/non-riding friends thought we were all a little bit crazy for riding, and riding such big bikes. It dawned on me that it was a whole room full of my kind of crazy.
None of us needed to justify why we do what we do. We all automatically had our favourite passion in common and it was clear no one wanted to waste a moment with their newfound friends.
Riding single track in southern Spain was a surprising culinary experience. Mint, thyme and rosemary grow wild in the mountains and as they brush on a hot exhaust pipe the aroma rises through the air. I momentarily drifted to visions of a Sunday roast as I rode.
Thoughts of food aside, the landscape was breathtaking. Steep, rocky mountains overlook the Mediterranean Sea and sweeping gravel roads often had a fun and full-of-surprises single track that ran alongside for anyone feeling adventurous. This was our setting for the International Women’s Qualifier – long days of riding with special stages of navigation, trials riding, fitness and skill tests in that fabulous setting.
Spain had a different tone to the previous qualifier in South Africa. The Spanish have a naturally relaxed nature and I found their attitude to a change of plans very
much like an Aussie’s ‘she’ll be right’ attitude. But no-one could afford to be lulled into a false sense of comfort by their easy-going nature. They had plenty of challenges in store for us.
A large, disused quarry cut into the hills was the setting for some of our special stages. Boulders, jagged rocks and the towering, echoing walls of the quarry created an awe-inspiring arena. They had us running the length of the quarry in full riding gear over rocky terrain, fitting wheels, riding tight rock courses and steep hills. The south of Spain is known for having 300 days of sunshine a year, so the heat added to the challenges and had us working up a sweat for the three days of competition.
I was in sixth place at the end of day one and had my fingers crossed. They hadn’t confirmed if there would be one team of three going to the GS Trophy or if they would send the top six as they had for the previous GS Trophy in Mongolia.
Day two saw a long trials stage and a team navigation event that tested our teamwork and communication skills. We had to overcome language barriers and differences of opinion, things we would need to do to tackle the Trophy event. The hot day finished with a timed
fitness challenge that had us running up an almost sheer rocky slope carrying five kilograms of water and a tow strap to our ‘stranded’ marshal at the top before racing back to the finish line at the bottom. I sprinted down the hill in what could best be described as a slightly controlled fall and was surprised with the result. I’d managed the fastest time. I was hoping my first-place finish in that stage would make up for my bike drop earlier in the day during the trial stage, but the gain wasn’t enough. I’d dropped to seventh.
With the top six going to New Zealand I knew the next day was going to be tough.
The third and final day was a huge obstacle course in the quarry.
We drew numbers from a hat for the starting order and I was the 26th rider out of 31. It gave me time to watch the other riders, but also unfortunately gave me plenty of time to worry and overthink it all.
My start on the course was delayed further when a rider fell and broke her leg. With my background in trauma nursing I offered what help and assistance I could before the medic arrived. For those of us waiting to ride the incident only confirmed how difficult the challenge would be and added to the pressure to break back into the top six.
Above: The heat added to the challenges and meant working up a sweat for the three days of competition.
Insert: The event tested teamwork and communication skills. Language barriers and differences of opinion had to be overcome. Below: Author Andrea (right) with Aussie teammate, Julia Maguire.
After failing to make the team in South Africa two years earlier, I felt like this was my final shot to qualify. I thought if I didn’t make it this time I’d have to accept I wasn’t up to the level needed and give up on my GS Trophy dream.
I was really pleased when it was my turn to ride. I felt my mind clear as I pulled on my helmet and I focussed on the course ahead. I managed some sections
without penalty where other riders struggled and rode the whole course without dropping my bike. It was a great feeling to finish the event on such a positive, and even if I didn’t make the team I knew I’d given it my best shot. I held my breath as the results were announced later that night and was beyond excited to find I’d jumped two places and into fifth overall.
I was going to New Zealand for the GS Trophy!
It’d been a massive month. I’d married and we’d bought a home in the two weeks prior to Spain and this was the icing on the cake. We’d changed our honeymoon plans from Sri Lanka to Spain so I could compete in the Trophy qualifier, and all I had left to do was meet up with my amazingly patient new husband waiting in Malaga.
If Australia enters a team in the BMW GS Trophy again I strongly encourage anyone to give it a go. We have some incredibly talented GS riders here and it’s great to show the rest of the world how tough they make us down under.
Ladies, please give it a go, and bring a group of friends along. Amy Harburg and Juila Maguire have set the standard for us. There’s been an Aussie woman in the team every year, so let’s proudly keep this tradition going.
At 53, London-based Charley Boorman is a successful actor, TV presenter, author, UNICEF ambassador, a strong advocate for issues of men’s health and, of course, rider. Adventure Rider Magazine settled in to a Jindabyne restaurant during a recent tour for a very pleasant chat with a very pleasant bloke.
Most adventure riders would know Charley Boorman for his part in Long Way Round and the following ‘Long Way’ series. His acting career is well documented, and, despite being dyslexic, he’s an accomplished author. Even the story of his successful confrontation with testicular cancer is often told in his continual striving to encourage men to reach out and help each other through health problems. The cancer trial has led to him being a big supporter of Movember.
What Adventure Rider Magazine didn’t know a great deal about was Charley’s riding history. Was it a taste acquired during the making of Long Way Round?
“I started on a small little bike,” he says in his very faint, but very distinctive, English/ Irish accent. “It was my great mate now, a guy called Jason Connery, who kind of started it. Dad and Jason’s father, Sean, had made a movie together in Ireland, and Sean and Jason were visiting. I think Dad was keeping this little Honda Monkey bike for a friend or something, I can’t remember.
“Anyway, Jason made me push it for hours until we finally got it going and he eventually let me have a go.
“I remember riding up the hill and Dad and Sean were standing on the grass outside the house. As I rode past, Dad grabbed a handful of my hair and pulled me off the bike, just as the bike went piling into a barbed-wire fence. (Laughing) That was my first crash. The first of many.”
“I didn’t really get into bikes until a number of years later,” he recalled.
“I was doing a lot of horse riding. My father was obsessed by horse riding, so we always had horses. But then there was this guy who lived in the village just up the road and he had a Maico 400. A two-stroke!
“I must’ve been about 10 when I first heard it, and I found him out and convinced him to give me a go. I could barely touch the footpegs,” he remembered with a chuckle. “I mean, the Maico was the dog’s bollocks in those days.
“He stuck it in first and pushed me off and I went around this field and then eventually fell off.
“That was it. I was hooked for life.”
Charley quickly discovered there was a lot less fuss and maintenance in bikes compared to horses.
“I realised you could ride a motorbike all day and then just lean it up against a wall and walk away,” he revealed, the excitement
u
glowing from him. “Whereas horses, you had to take them in, feed them, then wash them down, clean them, muck them out, clean the tack…you know, it was endless.
“I think partly I started riding motorbikes because it was easier than looking after horses.”
Once the passion for bikes had been ignited there was no turning back.
“The first bike I ever bought was a Yamaha DT100. I don’t know how many miles I put on it, but it was all off-road. I had a good mate who lived across the river from our property in Ireland, and we used to muck around.
“It kind of went from there. By the time I was 14 or 15 I had a YZ125 and a 250.
“I remember my dad was playing tennis with a mate of his, and I’d just bought the 250. Dad said it was too big. I was wheelying past Dad and looking over at him and I wheelied straight into a fence again,” he laughs, clearly enjoying the memory.
Boorman’s father made movies and his mother was a costume designer, so Charley and his siblings spent a great deal of their younger years travelling the world from one movie location to another. Until his 20th year the family was based in Ireland, and Charley and his three siblings were often called on to fill children’s parts in his father’s movies. With the constant
travel and his own dyslexia Charley didn’t enjoy school and found acting a way of expressing himself.
After success in a film called Emerald Forest in the 1980s, Charley found his acting career began to, in his own words, ‘fizzle out’. Over a decade or so he found himself doing more building and renovation and less acting.
But one thing didn’t change.
“I always had motorbikes,” he said, fairly beaming at the mention of what is clearly a very great passion.
“The first proper road bike I had was a Kawasaki Zephyr 750, which is a retro kind of bike. I’ve always liked that style.
“Then I bought a GSXR750. I had four of those, and they were fast.
“I was nuts on speed, like everybody, I suppose. I used to do Sunday runs all the time. And then I had a big crash, and somebody suggested I go and do a track day.
“I became obsessed with track days. Out of the four GSXR750s, a couple I wrote off, a couple I sold, and then I sold one and I got an XR600R Honda, a big beast of a thing. Another GSXR750. I sold that and got an R1 when they first came out.”
By the time the 1990s were winding down Charley was still periodically making
movies and had discovered a kindred spirit in another actor, Ewan McGregor. The pair became involved in a race team running Superstock in the British Superbike series.
“We came first and second in the British Superstock series,” remembered Boorman, perhaps a little misty-eyed and nostalgic. “We were going on to British Superbikes to run Ducatis, but it all kind of went on the back burner.”
For a number of years Charley, Ewan and a small group of friends would ‘knock around together’ on bikes doing track days, weekend trips or, as Charley puts it, “…anything to do with motorbikes, really.”
Longer rides beckoned, and Ewan and Charley started to think about doing what became Long Way Round. The original idea was for the pair to ride to the south of Spain and meet their wives and children and have a holiday, then ride back.
“And then,” said Boorman, “I think one day Ewan said, ‘Come over and have a look at this idea.’ I went over to his house and he had this world map, and he said, ‘Why don’t we ride to China?’”
“Then we came across this guy called ‘Millennium Ride’. In 2000 he’d ridden The Road Of Bones. Ewan had seen all the photos, and we thought if we were in
China, why not just carry on to Russia and do The Road Of Bones?
“Then we thought we may as well go on to New York, y’know. It seemed like a good idea,” he chuckled.
The success of Long Way Round was legendary and began a run of shows which included more Long Way adventures, a run at Dakar, the By Any Means and Extreme Frontiers series, all of which involved bikes.
But in 2016 ‘an argument with a car’ brought things to a halt.
“I had this huge crash in Portugal and broke both my legs,” recalled Charley, for the first time not glowing with enthusiasm for his story. “My whole rehabilitation was about getting back on a motorbike, getting fit enough and strong enough to ride again.
“It was the first thing I could do, before I could really walk properly, was ride around on my wife’s scooter, a little Vespa, still with this external fixator cage around my leg.”
Aside from the television productions, the other of Charley Boorman’s endeavours which would be known to most riders are his tours. Africa especially, but on this occasion we could chat face-to-face because he, along with Australia’s Compass Expeditions and his good friend Billy Ward, was escorting a group from Melbourne, around Tasmania and on to Sydney.
And if bikes are Charley’s greatest passion, the tours clearly aren’t far behind.
“I suppose doing the motorcycle tours started off in Africa,” he related.
“When Long Way Down came out people kept saying, “I’d love to ride with you through Africa.” People kept asking me and I thought, well…
“And there’s a lot of negativity about Africa. People see Africa as one country, not a giant continent with lots and lots of countries. I thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be nice to take some people through Africa and show them how lovely the place is’.
Above: Longer rides beckoned.
Left: A great deal planned and a great deal still to come.
Below: If bikes are Charley’s passion, the tours aren’t far behind.
It’s not as bad as people make it out to be.’
“So we started doing a bike tour with Billy Ward and then Compass Expeditions. I didn’t want to run the tours myself, and Compass had a great reputation, so we teamed up. We’ve been doing tours of Africa for the last nine years or so.
Charley’s wonderment and awe of Africa shines from him.
“There’s nowhere else left in the world where you can ride alongside elephants and zebra and giraffes and these most exotic animals. Every other continent has killed off all their animals.
“Of course, in Australia you get kangaroos and koalas, but in Africa I’ve had people riding along in Namibia and we’ve had to stop because elephants were crossing the road. You’re just sitting there on your bike, and the matriarch,
she’s there flapping her ears making sure you don’t get any closer. And then two giraffes and a zebra walk by!
“Then you go down a bit further on to one of the beautiful lodges we stay in. There’s one particular one where you have a sundowner, a glass of beer or whatever you want, and look down at a watering hole where there’s baboons, elephants, zebras, rhinos…they’re all free. Wild. They’re not in a game reserve. They go where they want.
“Then I see people’s faces…they sit there and they say, “Christ. I had no idea.”
Australia is another of Boorman’s favourite places.
“I think we’ve been doing the Australian tours for seven years,” he recalled.
“Part of that is slightly selfish. I have a lot of friends in Australia, and I needed an excuse to come here. So a small part of it was we could do an Australian tour and I could spend the week before and a week after the tours seeing friends and get into the outback.
“And I think this year was very extraordinary as well, because we had a few people very concerned about the fires. People asked, ‘Is it going to be okay?’ I said, ‘The best thing you can do is come to the communities and go to the hotels and spend some money in the petrol stations and the shops and restaurants and the cafes.’”
Left: Always making friends and riding bikes. Below left: Australia is another of Boorman’s favourite places.
Below: For someone with so much going on, Charley always seems to have time for people.
After a long, wandering conversation where Boorman frankly and directly spoke about everything from the needs of starving children around the world to the loss of his own testicle and his discovery his dyslexia was, in fact, ‘a gift’, it’s obvious Charley’s far from slowing down. Despite his apparent calm and seeming to be always on the verge of a chuckle, he’s a bloke running at full throttle. He has a great deal planned and a great deal still to come.
“I’ve got a big project coming out in September,” he beamed, clearly very excited. “I’ve done a third one of the Long Way series and it’ll be out on Apple TV. That was fun.
“We’re also opening a Bike Shed in Los Angeles, and that’s exciting. There’s another Compass Africa ride in September this year, and then…I don’t know. I’ve got a list of things. There’s some TV shows I’d like to make…there’s so much going on!”
There was only one single-sentence answer during the entire long, pleasant wandering discussion.
“What will you do when you retire?” we asked.
The answer: “Ride motorbikes.”
Victoria’s Goldrush Triangle’s 9000-plus square kilometres is chock-a-block with intertwined tracks and unsealed interconnecting options, none necessarily less or more rewarding than the other. Graeme Sedgwick reckons it doesn’t matter where you ride there, it’s all precious.
I’ve been drawn to central Victoria’s Goldrush Triangle surprisingly more times than I care to recall. Maybe it’s the sketchy landscape, the Box and Ironbark trees, bygone times or the pubs.
If you’re looking for logic in my thoughts, by the way, you’re definitely in the wrong place.
It matters little where one’s start and end points fall, because the entire area is indeed gold for adventure riding.
Speaking of which, Maldon, one of the Triangle’s best-known and preserved goldrush towns, is a ripper place to visit before or after a day’s adventuring. Its wide streetscape is flanked by 1860s buildings, restored shopfronts and, some say, the best bakery in Victoria. There’s also two pubs: the Kangaroo Hotel and the Maldon Hotel. The Maldon offers accommodation which is far from underwhelming and makes for a relaxed destination, while ‘The ’Roo’ has 150 years of history.
Mt Tarrengower, the volcanic uplift named after pastoralist Lachlan MacKinnon’s grazing run, is on Maldon’s western side and is an excellent, albeit stony, climb to the mount’s highest point. From there 100km views stretch in all directions except north-
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ward to Bendigo. Mount Tarrengower and its re-assembled Poppet Head Tower –bought by a progressive Advance Maldon Association in 1923 from Bendigo’s Comet Mine – are unique. It’s one of four centralVictorian fire-spotting towers within a network of 66 across the state. It’s also interesting to note the tower’s current spotter of 24 years, Peter Skillbeck, is only the fifth to serve. Peter pinpoints the location of a fire by triangulation, which uses the compass bearings from two or three surrounding towers.
But if fire spotting doesn’t float your boat, don’t despair. Mount Tarrengower has doubled as a hill-climb venue since 1928. Today its annual October event attracts heaps of classic cars and vintage ’bikes, reflective of its status as the oldest motorsport event in Australia.
Tracking generally northwest in line with the Loddon River, things are open and uncomplicated between lightly timbered grazing country and the more heavily timbered ridges and gullies further northwest. These areas were once alive with
prospectors. In the 1850s about a quarter of the 30-million ounces of gold and gold quartz found in the area came from this region.
Beyond Waanyarra on the eastern edge of Green Valley Ranges things can change quickly. Good navigation can create some rewarding times, giving a choice between any number of rough jump ups, single trails and gravelly tracks that wander Green Valley Ranges to the east and west of Moliagul.
No more than a locality these days
compared to nearby Dunolly, Moliagul, if for no other reason, is noteworthy as the birthplace of Reverend John Flynn, founder of the Australian Inland Mission and the Royal Flying Doctor Service. It was also the site where the ‘Welcome Stranger’ gold nugget of 2322 ounces was found by Cornish miner John Deason in Bulldog Gully. The Welcome Stranger remains the world’s single largest nugget find.
Another nugget of significance, The Hand Of Faith, weighing in at 876
ounces, was also stumbled upon in the region.
As for the Moliagul pub? It was the second on the original site, but it’s closed. No problem. There’s plenty of scrub entertainment to get your attention between the shallow hillsides and throttle-on gravel options between the Ironbarks of the Bealiba Ranges before the state’s central gold town, Dunolly.
In its heyday Dunolly boasted a population of around 35,000. Today it’s maybe 1000.
The Railway Hotel is the town’s Monday-to-Saturday epicentre if your body’s screaming for something cold to complement the menu. The tucker at the Railway is all that’s available because the palm-tree-fronted Royal Hotel has sadly closed its doors.
From Dunolly, Mount Hoogly across to Wisemans Hill, smack in the heart of Black Range, doesn’t have a lot of options, but does offer the opportunity to dial things up. A great ride skirts Timor to the west, where stand the remains of the Grand Duke Arch mine. The Duke produced 216,054 ounces of gold between 1869 and 1896.
West of Maryborough and then southward, Paddy’s Range serves up a plethora of trails and tracks over Daisy Hill before entering Talbot from a westerly direction.
Originally the settlement was the Back Creek Diggings, but a gold lead to the east created a second settlement named Talbot in 1861. The Court House Hotel in Camp Street is gold when it comes to rewarding a day in the saddle. Furthermore, the Talbot township is quite definitely a time-warped place
beautifully presented. It could even be somewhat wild-westish – minus John Wayne. It was once home to no less than 50 pubs, a gasworks and butter factory.
Talbot is a sentinel to what was. The old Bull & Mouth Hotel is now a restaurant, the two-storey town-hall weathervane is mounted atop a handless clock, there’s an old library, Bank Of Australia and more. Along with a brilliant railway station they present a clever juxtaposition of bygone times and restoration.
From Talbot an uncomplicated, open-country run arches via Mount Beckworth to enter Clunes from a westerly direction. It’s also a magnificent period township with a surprising assortment of public-building architecture. Check out the ‘white’ town hall and street buildings. Clunes is a delightful surprise.
In between there are plenty of cafés to caffeine up, and lots of places to call it a day and simply relax within the confines of Clunes National Hotel, where you’ll definitely be in the wrong place if you’re looking for conversation logic.
That will come soon enough when you return home.
Top: New and old.
Top right: The two-storey town-hall at Talbot has a weathervane mounted atop a handless clock. Middle right: Moliagul is noteworthy as the birthplace of Reverend John Flynn, founder of the Australian Inland Mission and the Royal Flying Doctor Service.
Right: The palm-tree-fronted Royal Hotel at Dunolly has sadly closed its doors.
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Indonesia is made up of more than 17,000 islands. Mark Fosdick and a couple of mates set out to ride around Bali, Lombok, Sumbawa and Flores, with a detour to Komodo to see dragons.
John, Tony and I hired three Honda CRF150s (big, flashy bikes which invariably attracted a crowd) in Denpasar, Bali, for 25 days. The bikes were fitted with luggage racks and phone holders and weren’t particularly comfortable, but they proved to be reliable and suitable for the rough Indonesian roads.
Car ferries run between the islands on a semiregular basis and trips range from two to seven hours. No booking is required. Just turn up at the dock, line up with the locals and ride on to the next ferry. Unlike my two companions, I hadn’t been to Bali
before, and my first and lasting impression was just how busy and densely settled it was. Negotiating the traffic to escape Denpasar was challenging and took hours. In fact, although we rode up the centre of the island to the relatively undeveloped north coast, it was a slow trip and densely populated the whole way. On Bali you have to make a real effort to escape the traffic and take minor roads and tracks wherever possible – which we did.
For those of you who haven’t ridden in Indonesia, like most of Asia, there are no traffic rules and anyone can ride or drive anything on the roads. Lights, blinkers, mufflers, brakes and helmets are all optional extras. Horns, however, are mandatory.
In place of road rules there’s an ‘understanding’ and a heightened sense of anticipation and tolerance. For example, when vehicles approach from a side road, you soon learn they’ll turn straight on to the main road and into the traffic. They don’t even look, let alone slow down or stop.
But we never witnessed an accident. Everyone just moved over. There’s always room for one more.
Trucks do whatever they want.
From Lovina on Bali’s north coast we rode around Gunung Batur, an active volcano that last erupted in 2000, down to Padangbai via Sidemen Road. The only rain we saw on the whole trip was while
There are several areas on Lombok that cater for tourists, but it doesn’t take long to leave that behind and ride on narrow roads through fields of tobacco, rice, sugar, coconuts, salt flats, aquaculture and small villages.
The ferry ride across to Sumbawa introduced us to a very conservative Muslim culture that, apart from a few surfer and dive hangouts on the south coast, hasn’t embraced tourism at all. That’s not to say the people weren’t
Top left: Bali, Lombok, Sumbawa and Flores, with a detour to Komodo.
Above: Anyone can ride or drive anything on the roads.
Left: There is really only one road to speak of on Sumbawa.
Below: Lights, blinkers, mufflers, brakes and helmets are all optional extras. Horns are mandatory.
friendly. In fact, we were soon surrounded by locals at most places we stopped, curious to know where we were from and to get a closer look at our fantastic bikes.
There is really only one road to speak of on Sumbawa, but it was probably the best riding we did on the whole trip. It runs roughly east-west across the island, providing the link for anyone travelling overland from Lombok to Flores. There was much less traffic than we had experienced up to that time, the surface was in reasonable condition, and for much of the way its wide, sweeping curves hugged the coast.
We didn’t see any visitor facilities at all on Sumbawa, and while we never
went hungry and could always find a bed, hotels and cafes don’t cater for international travellers. Finding a beer, for example, is next to impossible. It’s not illegal, it’s just that none of the locals drink it, so they don’t sell it. We did, however, experience one of our most memorable meals in Sumbawa Besar, the largest town. For the total sum of 5000 rupees (about $5.50 Australian) the three of us tried four or five dishes from a street vendor. The menu included martabak, a beautiful sweet pancake, for dessert.
The ferry ride from Sape, Sumbawa, across to Labuanbajo, on the western tip of Flores, took about seven hours. Flores, and particularly Labuanbajo, is
Top: Wide, sweeping curves hugged the coast.
Left: One of three lakes in the crater of Gunung Kelimutu.
Below: The author on the ferry from Flores to Sumbawa.
Top right: Local lads in the traditional village of Bena, Flores.
Far right: The road through the forest to Sembalun had a good surface, lovely sweeping curves and great scenery.
a world away from anywhere on Sumbawa. Both the people and the landscape are very different. It’s more mountainous, with a higher rainfall and better soil than Sumbawa, the crops are better and the people more prosperous and progressive. Most are Catholic, but Animist rituals and customs are also practised in rural areas.
The people of Labuanbajo have discovered there’s money to be made in tourism and the town is full of dive
“In Indonesia, like most of Asia, there are no traffic rules and anyone can ride or drive anything on the roads.”
shops, bars, accommodation and restaurants, all frantically competing for the patronage of hundreds of backpackers. As a consequence, although it’s a little ramshackle, there are some fantastic restaurants and bars and plenty of accommodation options. The diving is world class, with manta rays being the main drawcard, and the port serves as the gateway to the UNESCO-recognised Komodo National Park.
We spent some time and very little money having a ball in Labuanbajo.
After a few days based out of Labuanbajo we headed east across Flores.
The main Trans Flores Highway varied in surface quality but was always interesting. Tight, steep curves go on forever and the scenery changes enormously over very short distances. In any one hour a rider might find themselves hugging the coast, winding up through steep forest, transiting through several villages and wandering across rice fields and tobacco
crops. Rarely did we get over 60kph and our average was probably about 40kph. We stayed a couple of nights in Bajawa, a hill town at an elevation of 1100m, so we could have a good look around. We found a house which we were told was ours for the two nights, and while we occupied the three bedrooms and nobody else slept there, we had lots of visitors. We had keys for the bedrooms but not the front door and various people came and went as they pleased. They sat and watched TV, did their homework and made cups of tea and coffee. Most were relatives of Marcos, the elderly owner, who was a regular. He couldn’t speak a word of English and our Bahasa was still poor, but he just seemed to like our company.
We left Bajawa after a couple of very enjoyable days and continued east to the picturesque mountain village of Moni. Moni is the gateway to one of Indonesia’s most spectacular sights, Gunung Kelimutu, and the Kelimutu National Park which surrounds it. The crater of this spectacular volcano has three lakes, each filled with different coloured water – and the colours change over time, from turquoise, to olive green and rust. At 1640m, the mountain is often covered in cloud and the craters filled with mist.
Kelimutu was the furthest east we travelled and, after descending the volcano we turned and rode west, back towards Labuanbajo, Sumbawa, Lombok and Bali. Part of the trip back to Labuanbajo involved riding the Trans Flores Highway again, but we stopped in different places and enjoyed riding east just as much as riding west.
People walked over for a chat just about every time we stopped. “Where you go?” they often asked, and “Where you u
from?” It started some interesting, often funny, conversations.
We never tried to ride too far on any given day and so always had plenty of time for a chat.
The highlight of our last day on Flores was a detour to visit Liang Bua, the Hobbit Cave.
This large limestone cave was where remains of several individual skeletons of Homo floresiensis, the ‘Flores Hobbit’, were found in 2003. It was a new species of human, the adults of which only grew to about one metre tall, and which lived as recently as 12,000 years ago.
The ferry and ride back across the Trans Sumbawa Road was enjoyable even though we’d ridden the same road a week or so earlier. The local Mullahs, with their call to prayers at 4.30am, made sure we had early starts and we were back on Lombok in a couple of days.
Disembarking the ferry at Labuhan Lombok, we turned north and rode up past Gunung Rinjani. At 3726m it’s the second-highest volcano in Indonesia. The road through the forest to Sembalun had a good surface, lovely sweeping curves and great scenery. By that stage we’d forgotten what we were riding and imagined instead we were on burbling Ducatis.
We then found the best accommodation of the whole trip.
The Rinjani Beach Eco Resort is located on a palm-fringed, black-sand beach on the north coast of Lombok, and John negotiated us a great deal where we each had a bamboo cottage with a lovely outdoor (cold) shower. The restaurant served cold beer and great meals and the pool was pretty good too. We decided to stay two nights and just relax on our day off. It was fantastic.
From Rinjani we headed back to Bali, basing ourselves in Ubud for three nights before heading home. We returned the bikes unscathed. The only falls were on the last ferry trip when the seas got a bit rough and two of the bikes fell over while we were upstairs with cold Bintangs. We didn’t get a single flat tyre, but did take a few wrong turns. We relied on the app ‘maps.me’ on our phones to navigate, although we did have paper maps and a guide book as well. Road signs are virtually non-existent. Most of the time the app was accurate – but just to keep us on our toes it occasionally sent us into some strange places. ‘Maps.me’ uses satellites, so there’s no need for phone coverage.
Overall we had a great trip for not a lot of money. We stayed in a variety of accommodation types, including cheap
hotels, home stays and thatched huts. We didn’t book ahead because we were never sure where we were going to finish the day, but we rarely had to share rooms, and the most we paid was about AUD$35 each (at Rinjani). We usually paid between $5.00 and $8.00 for meals, and beers were about $3.00. Fuel is about 70c per litre and 150cc bikes don’t use much.
Everyone in Indonesia rides bikes, so fuel is readily available, and even though the bikes had very small tanks we never looked like running out. Security was never a problem, either.
Matur nuwun, Indonesia!
Top left: Rice fields near Ruteng, Flores.
Top right: The Rinjani Beach Eco Resort is located on a palm-fringed, black-sand beach on the north coast of Lombok. A great deal meant each rider had a bamboo cottage with a cold outdoor shower. Below: Visiting dragons is a must.
At 43, Rod Faggotter has an impressive race resume. The Longreach Yamaha dealer and bike mechanic is in a sweet spot in his racing career. Since we last spoke to Rod in issue #22 he’s been on the mainjet, including a strong finish in the 2020 Dakar. He also had a big involvement in the worldwide launch of the Ténéré 700.
Main: Probably one of the safest Dakars. Above: Very satisfied and content with his performance in his sixth Dakar.
AdvRider: A quick recap. Are you Longreach born and bred?
RF: Yep. Born and bred. Mum and Dad have a property about 80km west of town. It’s roughly 42,000 acres. That’s small to medium size here. Dad passed away a few years ago, and Mum’s still there with my next-oldest brother. It’s where we grew up. We did School Of The Air, so we never actually went away to school until grade eight. Until we were 11 or 12 or whatever, we’d always be at home, and schooled at home, and we used to ride bikes, ride horses, go shootin’ and work.
AdvRider: You moved into a Yamaha dealership. Did you just look at it and decide it was a good proposition? How did that happen?
RF: It took a while.
I raced motocross for a few years around my early 20s and had a bit of support through one of the Yamaha shops at the time. I used to drive from here and do all the Queensland and Sunny State rounds. I even did some supercross, which I really sucked at.
I sort of moved on and did a bit of mustering for a while, and then the opportunity come up to buy this place (Centretune Yamaha – ed). It was a Kawasaki dealership at the time, and it had guns and ammo and all sorts of weird shit.
We – my wife and I – took on Kawasaki and pretty much cleared the rest of it out.
One thing led to another, and with the contacts I had at Yamaha we picked up a dealership within six months. We’ve been Yamaha and Kawasaki since 2003.
AdvRider: Give us a quick rundown of your racing history.
RF: I didn’t start racing until I was about 19. I raced from about 19 into my mid20s, and when I was 25 or 26 we got the business going here and I didn’t race for a couple of years. Things were too busy.
But then I did some motocross again, in around 2004 or 2005 I suppose, and a couple of my best mates had done Finke and loved it. They talked me into entering.
Finke was first proper desert race I’d done, and that was in 2006. I’ve pretty well raced every Finke since.
AdvRider: How was your success rate in Finke?
RF: Just in the top 20s. The first year I was 22nd, and then for the next few years
I finished around 12th, 13th or 14th, that kind of thing.
In 2008 I decided to try a nav rally and went to Condo.
AdvRider: How did that go?
RF: Condo was good.
It was my first nav race. It was a bit confusing because I’d never done a nav rally before, and I didn’t practice it and had never ridden with a roadbook. But I picked it up pretty quick. I actually won
“ At the end of each day you hand the bike over, tell them what’s broken and you walk away. ”
a stage and I had a handful of top-five finishes. I also had a few where I finished back a bit because I got lost. Condo’s pretty tricky with nav.
AdvRider: Then the Australasian Safari?
RF: The Safari had just kicked off again after a few years and it was in Western Australia in 2007. I thought I’d have a go the following year.
I’d always looked at the Safari back in the Hederics and Cunynghame days. It was in all the old bike magazines and it was pretty fiery, but I had no idea what it was. Even when I was growing up as a kid I had no real idea.
Then I went to WA in 2008. Me and a mate drove from here with a trayback ute and a trailer. It was a fair drive, as you can imagine.
I had a better idea of what to expect with the navigation aspect, and it was good. The two Grabham brothers and the two Smith brothers were there. Shane Diener, Matty Fish…a few blokes who had done a bit of riding.
I had a ripper first Safari and finished second behind Grabbo, and I was hooked from there.
AdvRider: How did the connection with the French Dakar team come about?
RF: It took a while and a lucky chain of events. Initially Dakar definitely seemed unobtainable.
I came across Dave Schwartz (multiple Safari and Dakar competitor - ed) at the Safaris and he said it was an awesome event, and I always felt I’d consider going if I had the logistics sorted for me.
In 2012 Garry Connell was running
Above: A hired bike and an assistance package. Left: On the road with the Ténéré 700 in Australia. u
the Husaberg Rallye Racing team and he took myself and Schwartzy. Garry organised all the bikes, mechanics and everything else, and we had to pay our entries and shipping.
It was in South America, so we started in Argentina and we were probably a bit underdone. The bikes weren’t the greatest and mine just expired. Basically, it couldn’t handle the heat and it blew a headgasket. There were no cars that day, so there was no towing and no spares.
That was the end of that.
I spent the rest day in the bivouac, bored as hell, and introduced myself to the Yamaha team. They weren’t a factory team at that stage. They were basically a French-supported outfit and they had a lot of rental riders.
I’d developed a reasonably good
relationship already with Helder Rodrigues – I can’t remember how that came about – and we got talking. I told him I was a Yamaha dealer and normally raced Yamahas and the dialogue just opened.
The following year, 2013, I went back and went through the Yamaha customer team. I had to buy the bike and pay for the assistance package. Basically, they get the bike to South America and look after it, and the rider takes care of himself. At the end of each day you hand the bike over, tell them what’s broken and you walk away. I was lucky to get a drink of water from them.
That’s the way it was and that was fine. I had a good run. Top 20s or top 25s nearly every day. Most days I was beating two or three of their main Yamaha riders.
They were happy for me, but didn’t give me any more support. I finished 14th that year and beat a couple of their team riders.
I tried to get support off that result over the next couple of years, but it just didn’t happen.
I kept e-mailling them and hounding them but didn’t get anywhere.
Then there was a funny chain of events. I decided to do the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge in 2016. I spoke to the Yamaha team and they said, “We can’t really help you, but come and say g’day.” The team manager was still the same guy.
At this stage it was still Helder Rodrigues there, and they were in the process of forming the factory team that year, early 2016, unbeknown to the rest of us.
When I arrived into UAE, Ray Howard, the Yamaha motorsport manager, rang and said, “You’ve gotta go and have a yarn to them.”
I tried to race but it really sucked. I’d actually been knocked out the weekend before at Condo. I felt fine, but it probably wasn’t the smartest thing to do. I wasn’t feeling the best and through a local rental I had a shit bike that was poorly prepared. Anyway, I DNFed after day one. But the French team people were impressed enough with how I was riding, with what I’d done in Australia and my ties to
Above: A lot of the time the throttle was pinned fully open. Left: Poster boy for the Ténéré 700.
MULTI-LAYERED
Bolts
Hardened
Double
ANTI-THEFT
Yamaha Australia contributed to some of the major expenses.
Yamaha and Yamaha Australia’s backing. They sat down and had a yarn and the whole waterboy thing came about.
Straight up they wanted to know my mechanical ability, and although they already knew, they got a better understanding of what I could do. They asked if I was a mechanic. I said, “Yeah, I’m qualified. I’ve been qualified for 20 years.” They asked if I could do a motor rebuild. I said, “Yeah, yeah. Change sprockets. Diagnosis. EFI. Whatever you want.”
Then it was basically a handshake deal. They said, “Rightio. If you’re keen, we’ll get you over to Morocco for some training, but we’ll have you on as the waterboy.”
AdvRider: Just explain the waterboy concept. Is it that the waterboy trails the main riders and gives up parts if needed? RF: That sums it up.
But it’s not just parts. In the races I did I never actually had to give up any parts.
As waterboy, if one of your riders crashes, you’ve got to help him, especially if he’s injured. Even if he’s partially injured and he’s likley to get going again, you’ve got to be there for him. If they get bogged, you have to help.
In 2017, the first Dakar I did as waterboy, Franco Caimi got bogged twice. I was with him until we got him out of the boghole…or two bogholes, actually.
The waterboy has to do anything to get his riders to the finish line, basically.
But there’s a sort of crossover or breakeven point where, if one of them’s really struggling and he’s got a faulty bike that can’t be fixed or whatever, and he’s putting along in second gear, you leave him behind. You’re doing your own race, and you have to be within shooting distance to help the riders in front.
There were always times where I was told, “Oh. You should’ve stayed with him.” And I was just like, “Well, I was with him for ages and I was going faster than him.”
So I’d get told to stay behind. Then I’d get yelled at from the riders going, “Where are ya?” I’d go, “I’m back here with Franco,” and they’d say, “Well, we need you up here.”
AdvRider: Was that difficult mentally?
I think so. Especially the first year or so. You’re constantly reminded you might get sacrificed any minute, but it was such a buzz being part of the official factory team. Shit, I’d just about hit 40, I think I was 39 the first year, and there I was on a factory ride. Yeah, I was only the waterboy, but I still got flown to Dakar, everything
paid for, everything laid on, a trick-as-hell bike, and the new Yamaha as it is now had only just been released.
That clouded any doubts or negatives.
AdvRider: Did you ever ride Malle Moto?
RF: No.
AdvRider: What was your deal for the 2020 Dakar? Yamaha Motor Australia was involved and you weren’t the waterboy any more, but you weren’t Malle Moto.
RF: We had nothing to do with the factory team, but I still have a good relationship with all of them, and with the guys high up in Yamaha who have anything to do with racing and Dakar.
But it was looking like I just wouldn’t go. It was just too hard and too much money. And probably the biggest thing was that I’d DNFed the previous year and I hadn’t had a decent run at it. That left a shitty feeling. The three years on the factory team I’d had a mechanical DNF, a 16th – but in that 16th I spent time being waterboy, pulling Franco out of the bogholes – and the third year was another mechanical DNF.
So I’d never had a smooth, clean, uninterrupted run.
I had the fire to at least go and do
another one. Yamaha Australia contributed to some of the major expenses and I went back to what I’d done in 2013: I contacted the Yamaha satellite team and hired a bike and took an assistance package.
AdvRider: No camper van?
RF: It wasn’t included in the package, but we organised one.
Everything costs money, so I shared the
“Some days speeds were averaging over 100kph for the day. That gives you an idea of how fast the stages were.”
campervan with Ignacio Casale who won the quad class. He’s a top dude and easy to get along with.
It was nearly as good as a factory gig, but without some of the parts and bits and bobs you have on a factory team. I didn’t have the same level of development and the team behind me.
AdvRider: For the first time in 2020 route sheets were given to all riders 25 minutes before the start of a section. How was that?
RF: I didn’t hear of anyone who didn’t like it, including the factory guys.
It made it even for everybody.
In the past, not only did the factory teams have map men going through and working out hot lines, they would also do simple confirmation stuff. Sometimes the roadbook would run into a valley without a heading. The map men would make sure the rider knew which valley he was in – just extra info to help confirm they were in the right spot.
Factory guys didn’t have that to back them up this year, but for the riders, it meant not having to work on the roadbook for three to five hours at the end of each day. In the morning it was all done. If there’d been a flash flood or a farmer had closed fences or whatever, the roadbook was already amended. They were printing them out in colour with cautions all in red and water crossings in blue and so forth, and that’s what saved the three to five hours.
It was great. I didn’t hear anyone who didn’t like it.
AdvRider: Watching your Dakar from here in Australia it seemed you weren’t having a trouble-free run. You didn’t seem to be capitalising on good finishing positions each day, but there were no reports of problems for you. What was happening?
RF: I had a smooth run every day.
Some days speeds were averaging over 100kph for the day. That gives you an idea of how fast the stages were. A lot of the time the throttle was pinned fully open, and my bike didn’t look like a standard WR, but the engine was fairly standard apart from cams and ignition. I was giving away between 15kph and 20kph to the factory-developed bikes, and on those fast days I just got left behind. It’s as simple as that.
The top five riders are well beyond my ability and talent level. Combine that with a bike that’s not as fast and there’s the result.
AdvRider: You helped the injured fella?
RF: Yep.
He crashed right beside me.
I was pulled up at the bottom of a dune with another guy who’d just crashed. It was a real sharp dune that broke away.
He charged in too fast and nosedived over it. It was pretty bloody high, and he went straight over the ’bars and landed clean on his arse. He broke his back and pelvis.
He was in a bit of pain and discomfort.
He was a good dude. I’d only met him that week, and I felt pretty bad for him. He’s got his own business and wife and kids. But he’s going to be fine. At the end I had a whole day before I went to the airport and I knew he was only 20km away in a hospital, so I paid a visit.
AdvRider: How did you feel at the end of it? Did you feel ‘there’s a job done!’? Are you busting for next year?
RF: Definitely job done. I’m very satisfied and content with it.
It’d be hard to go back because I’d want a faster bike. That’s probably the only thing I was a bit demoralised on, but I took it as it came. I had to ride the thing like it was a 250F, holding it pinned everywhere against the factory 450s, and I was getting passed on the open flats.
But I was motivated. I enjoyed it. It was probably one of the safest Dakars I’ve
Above: The bike didn’t look like a standard WR, but the engine was fairly standard apart from cams and ignition.
done. I loved the country. I loved everything about it.
Of the six I’ve done, the first was just mind-blowing and confusing and I couldn’t believe how big it was, the first finish was amazing, and the others have been an awesome experience. But this one was the most fun.
AdvRider: It’s usually around the mid-40s riders start moving into the adventure world. Are you going to jump on a Ténéré 700 and start signing up for rides soon?
RF: It’s on the horizon. I’ve just got my Ténéré 700 demo for the dealership. I ended up the poster boy for the bike. It was supposed to be Adrian Van Beveren, but he was injured, so it was me, and that was great. But it was also great for Yamaha here in Australia and for Clubby with the Ténéré Tragics. We got the world release. The first pictures of that bike came from here. It was me on the bike, here in Australia, with Yamaha Australia at the Ténéré Tragics…
It was pretty bloody cool.
The Italians are mad Ténéré fans, but none of them got it. We got it.
Jason Old and the Perth Adventure Riders headed for Dwellingup in WA.
Afew weeks back my good mate Joel Arkless hit me up for a ride.
“I’m back in West Aussie for a week and have my new DR650,” he burbled. “Where are we riding?”
I knew I had to plan big. I needed to cram a few months’ worth of adventure into just one ride. Thoughts of east, south and north were tossed around and I settled on the Nine Mile Swamp run to Lancelin. It was perfect. We could crank up some big distance, it was known to be a good ride, and there was a great pub feed in Lancelin for lunch.
Then we had a 40-degree day which reminded me why I much prefer winter over summer and I had second thoughts. A broken-down bike on Nine Mile Swamp Road? Deep, black sand in the searing heat with no shade available?
I decided I’d keep that one mapped for the cooler months.
Searching back through previous Perth Adventure Riders (PAR) rides I came across the Dwellingup run from February, 2018. That ride had everything, especially big kilometres, and the idea of following a river suited nicely. It was ideal. And seeing as the previous owner of Joel’s DR650 had led that ride, Joel would only need to hang on. The DR already knew the route. ‘If you build it, they will come’ said the movie. Dwellingup – ‘Dwelly’ – was the destination, and with around 300km planned for the loop, the Dwellingup 300 was born.
We needed to make an amendment to the route from Byford to Dwelly as there was just a little too much blacktop for the skinny bikes. David Austin was starting
to know that area of real estate like the backs of his hands and had all the clues for big-bike friendly adventures. He tweaked and fiddled with the route and was assigned to lead that section. Saturday was the day before the ride and I had serious thoughts on the weather. A searing 40.4 degrees made it the hottest Perth November day on record. I was continually monitoring the DFES and Shire Of Murray websites for any fire and vehicle-movement bans, but luck was on our side and we were cleared to go.
A keen group of 20 riders assembled at the Byford Caltex meeting place on Sunday morning. Bikes ranged from big to small and rider experience covered a similar spectrum. One very shiny, brandnew Cape York edition DRZ400 shone out from the crowd as it stood ready to be broken in.
After a quick riders’ briefing and a few muddled head counts – “Was it 20 or 21?” – and a big emphasis on having enough water, the ride was under way. Michael Baker threw his hand up to wear the high-vis vest and pilot his KTM 500EXC as sweep for the day.
David Austin’s riding kit needed no high-vis. His head-to-toe fluoro green outfit would’ve been clearly visible through dust, fog or snowstorm.
The route kicked off with a mix of gravel trails and the dust set in early. With 20 bikes bunched close together and taking a while to spread out it was pretty thick. A reasonable pace was needed with two hours set aside to get into Dwellingup, and the first casualty was
experienced rider Daniel Fujitsu and his big V-Strom. In his own words Daniel had ‘a rookie tumble down a slight gravel hill’. Was it too much front brake? Who knows for sure? The only damage was a bruised ego.
The dry and dusty conditions meant the pea gravel was like riding on marbles and caught out a few riders. Dropped bikes, unexpected 180s and heading-bush phenomena were common. One rider, Rhys Evans, did have a nasty hard hit on his DRZ on a small section of the abandoned railway, but he wasn’t down for long after recovering his breath.
The group had spread out by the time the first puncture occurred.
Tony Simmonite found himself cruising along a gravel road, unknowingly having reached warp speed on his 690, when he picked up a stick that punched directly through the middle of the tyre carcass and left a 25mm hole and giant gash through the tube. It defied logic and physics.
Around 30 minutes was lost getting the KTM back up and running and the rest of the group waited in the shade, already feeling the heat at 9.30am.
Kicking off again heading towards Dwellingup, I noticed a great plume of smoke. ‘Great,’ I thought. ‘It’d be just our luck if the park was closed for hazard burning or a bushfire’.
Chris Karanikich was running the biggest bike in the group, a 1250GSA, and his first ride was going just fine until a rut took up all the ground clearance the Beemer had to offer and he needed an extra hand to cope with the situation. Once over that hurdle the GSA’s nemesis
needed conquering: a section of deep sand.
It certainly slowed him down very quickly. The resulting concertina effect caused the skinny bikes to stack up behind him and wallow in the sand as well. Still, he made it through okay, but muscling the bike took a toll and Chris farewelled the group in Dwelly. It was a good effort to get that far and he’ll be a regular on future PAR rides.
The plume of smoke I’d seen grew bigger and closer.
It turned out to be a burn off just on the outskirts of Dwelly, right alongside our route. We were waved through by the firies with the smoke and flames only metres away and a few trees burning precariously towards the track.
At least it wasn’t our intended destination that was burning.
It was a busy morning in Dwelly where the crew stopped to regroup, refuel and
buy a packed lunch. The flat tyre had pushed us only 20 minutes behind schedule.
I’d put my faith in the Rever offline mapping system and it seemed to work well, so I happily took the lead for the southern loop along the Murray River.
The tracks for the next section were a bit further to get to but well worth it, offering flowing, moderate hills and plenty of traction. The dust even seemed to drop off…or maybe that was because, as leader, I had clear air?
They route seemed very busy in the early stages with heaps of people out swimming, hiking and 4WDing. On the first tight trail we came to, an SUV
Above: Jed Gardener and sweep, Michael Baker, on board the 500EXCs, negotiated the rutted downhill. Below: Joel Arkless was nothing but smiles after the ride. Twelve hours later he touched down in Indonesia where he swapped his DR650 for a moped.
coming towards us didn’t stop when I waved it down and I had that sinking feeling of knowing 18 bikes were coming around the corners toward us. Luckily it did stop a few bikes later, the driver telling the guys there was a log was across the trail and we would have to turn around.
The challenge was accepted!
A decent, hip-high, very long log turned out to be not far away and a bit of bush bashing was required to get around. My mate Joel found a deep hole that swallowed the front end of the DR. Everyone successfully navigated around the obstacle except David Austin, who, wanting to demonstrate DRZs with a full complement of panniers could be used for hard enduro, arena events and rounding up the cattle on the farm, lined it up, bounced, throttled, controlled, tested his bashplate mounting system, see-sawed, and, with a slight guiding hand, cleared the log smoothly in the view of 18 impressed riders.
The next 30km ran their course, and with minimal cornermen everyone spread out and rode at a suitable pace. The scenery along the Murray River was spectacular and matched the views along the trail. A few rutted hills and small bogholes were the main obstacles, and dry terrain made things a lot easier than two years previously when there’d been typhoon conditions. Some nice erosion mounds had been formed to give everyone
air time, especially Jed Gardner on his 500EXC. I saw him in my mirrors sailing through the sky more than once. The temperature continued to creep up as we reached the end of the trail and regrouped. Well…mostly regrouped. It was only minutes away from the designated lunch stop, and 12 riders waited and waited.
After a suitable time David was sent on a reconnaissance mission and found Steve Hill – also on is first PAR ride –had picked up a 10cm nail. That raised questions about how the hell a nail had made it to the middle of nowhere and was literally kilometres from the nearest structure that would even resemble something requiring a nail.
While the questions and possible answers were discussed, Michael Baker and the guys effected a repair in around 40 minutes.
At lunch I ducked down to a pool on the river to find a family well set up for a week’s camping. They were more than happy to share the spot, a hidden gem on The Murray.
Daniel had a less-than-rookie off getting to the pool, leaving both him and the V-Strom battered and bruised. The ’Strom can take a hit, but this was a big one. The guards were pushed into the radiator and an indicator pulverised. Bike and rider were both showing plenty of gravel rash and would have been sore the next morning.
Everyone enjoyed lunch and made the most of the shade. Boddington, the closest town, notched up 38.5 degrees, which was plenty hot enough. Contemplating a swim, I did promise we’d stop at the rapids later on in the day. But that didn’t stop Suze Trappit diving in and washing the dust off while the rest of the team enjoyed the leisure time and shade.
The camping family had a small army of shiatzus who eyed off Shaun Leutich’s ankles, but we all survived unscathed.
After another 10km squirt, a cut-out along the gravel back to the highway was offered for those feeling the pinch or pushing time. Seven riders took the option (keep this group in mind).
One of the hardest parts of leading a ride is making split-second decisions that effect the whole group and I try to maintain a democratic approach. I’m always asking the group collectively for its thoughts. Most of the time things work out well, but on this occasion they didn’t.
My thought was to explore back to Dwellingup via the eastern side of the river.
It sounded like a good idea, and all I had to do was link the tracks. There was only one hurdle: crossing the river itself at a notorious spot.
We hadn’t had much rain. ‘How deep could it be?’ I figured.
‘Airbox-height on a DRZ400’ was the answer.
Of the 12 remaining bikes, 11 successfully navigated the tricky crossing.
But remember who went swimming at the lunch spot?
Suze. And, feeling her little WR250R shouldn’t be left out from cooling down and dusting off, decided to dump it in for a swim as well. Tommy and myself were the lifeguards on duty and pulled the fully submerged WR from the river.
Actually, I didn’t mind heading in waist deep. Cooling off was really nice. But it wasn’t for long.
The next two hours were spent trying to dewater the little 250, and Tommy took the mechanical lead. We certainly tried our best, but to no avail.
Here’s a trap for new players: don’t stand in line with the spark-plug hole when cranking a drowned motor with the plug removed. Shaun learned the lesson as the high-pressure stream hit him like a 250cc water cannon.
With the WR refusing to run, no phone reception and time running away, we had to make a call to get Suze back to civilisation ASAP. That meant crossing the river again. I was all nerves watching Garth Bosworth’s brand-new DRZ, but other than a vapour-lock stall, it made it with ease. I had the same feeling as Gary Turner’s near-new 690 made the attempt. Tadge thought he may as well get his swim in while walking the John DeereZ 400 across, making it 90 per cent of the way before an unlucky drop dumped the bike in the drink, airbox down.
Fortunately it was a quick dewatering operation and the mighty Suzuki spluttered back into life.
Tommy and Junior offered to support and tow Suze down to Harvey where
RAC roadside assistance was put to the test. It was great support from the two lads to get bike and rider back to safety and Suze made it home safely.
The rest of the group held a good pace back into Dwelly without incident, but with a lot of dust, and with the light fading, a fast refuel and bite to eat had everyone back on the throttle.
Another group of five split away to get back to Byford, with one challenging hillclimb thrown in for good measure. Tired bodies and bikes all made it up without problems and rolled back into Byford at about 6.00pm, 10 hours and 270km after the start. What a day!
Remember the other group? The first ones to split away?
They had their own misadventure and returned to Perth with Steve copping
two more flats on the DRZ and having run out of tubes, patches and time.
Nigel Dennis got plenty of tyre-changing practice and did a mighty job. Rhys collected the stricken DRZ with a trailer and that group’s day ended close to midnight.
Overall it was a great day out with awesome people. It’s not until you sit back, check out the photos and reminisce that the epic nature of the ride becomes apparent.
Above: The lunch spot was a scenic pool on a very hot day.
Below: Shaun Leutich, Tommy Gill Cowden and author Jason Old enjoyed lunch and the views, and contemplated a swim.
There’s
been a great deal written about the high-tech nature and features of the modern motorcycle tyre. It’s true the good ol’ tyre is a technological marvel these days, but perhaps solid basic knowledge is being lost in the claims of endless fabulousness and specialisation. Here’s a few basics
Ato keep in mind.
dventure Rider Magazine had a chat to some tyre professionals who know their real-world shit about motorcycle tyres. Our thinking is, armed with this basic knowledge, riders might be able to reason their way to better-informed tyre selections. We like that kind of thing.
Remember, this isn’t a comprehensive analysis of tyres. It’s general information which should give some guidance in that very important and expensive purchasing process.
Here we go…
Motorcycle-tyre construction falls into three main categories: bias ply; bias belted; and radial. There are others, but they’re the main ones.
A bias ply is what most people would probably consider an ‘ordinary’ tyre.
The carcass – the body of the tyre – is surrounded by a layer of textile cords called ‘plies’. The more plies, the stiffer the tyre, and two- or four-ply tyres are common. The plies run around the carcass at an angle, commonly 45 degrees from either bead, and cross over each other giving the tyre its strength.
It’s an effective type of construction and original manufacturer equipment on a lot of lowperformance bikes.
A belted tyre has the same arrangement of plies
as the bias ply tyre, but also has belts running around the circumference of the tyre, underneath the tread, if you like. One big advantage of the set up is the tyre doesn’t grow at speed. Bias ply tyres will increase in circumference on a rapidly
spinning wheel due to centrifugal force, and that can cause problems, especially if it starts rubbing on a swingarm. The tyre changing size also means the bike’s handling characteristics change as the tyre distorts. Belts around the
circumference of a tyre help the tyre keep its size and shape at speed.
construction is the favourite of the sports-bike riders because the sidewall flex allows a good contact patch when the bike’s leaned over, and the rigid tread means that contact patch is far more stable and reliable. Radials also tend to be lighter and provide less rolling resistance than bias belted tyres. Naturally, the sidewall flex isn’t as desirable on big adventure bikes where pinch flats and rim damage are strong possibilities.
As always, Adventure Rider Magazine recommends getting professional advice on pretty much anything to do with a bike’s performance and maintenance. Selecting a tyre is no different.
Below:
The payback for the strength of a belted tyre is it’ll give a firmer ride, and it’s harder to fit.
The third basic option is the radial tyre.
In a radial tyre the belting runs across the tread from bead to bead, and the construction allows the sidewalls to flex while the tread is far more rigid. Radial
Rob Turton, based on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast with his partner Anja and Matt Haebich, spent a couple of decades bailling out stricken riders across the country with Overlanders Motorcycle Event Support. There’d be very few Australian adventure riders who haven’t seen Rob, his ponytail and the yellow truck at some stage. BMW Safaris, KTM Rallyes, ADVXes, magazine rides, big trail rides…there weren’t too many big events over the past 20 years or so that didn’t look to Overlanders for support. On top of all that, Rob used to run rides as well. We don’t know any individual who’s been as deeply involved with motorcycle tyres as Rob, and he’s mad-keen adventure rider. Rob still sells and fits a lot of tyres, and
part of assessing a tyre’s suitability. Performance versus what the rider wants to do is a key point to identify.”
doesn’t have a professional obligation to any particular brand.
How does he help a customer choose the right tyre?
“The big thing I find,” explained Rob, “is to get the information about what the rider’s doing. There’s four key points we try and pin down. We identify the bike, identify where they’re going, find out what they expect from a tyre, and then find out what kind of load they’re carrying.”
With that information a competent tyre pro can begin to work out the tyre type/ brand/model likely to best suit the rider and his current need. Rob likes to find out a bit about a rider’s proficiency and advise on tyre pressure and bike set up from his experience.
“If a rider says they’re a bit scared of sand and there’s sand coming up for them, you straight away know you can go to a fatter tyre, a rally-type, that’ll allow them to run a lower pressure.”
Rob’s knowledge of tyres and tyre performance is broad and deep and he’s able to make very precise assessments. But he has good general advice to offer as well.
What about tyre life?
“People will say to us, ‘I really want 10,000km out my rear tyre.’ I’ll tell them they’re never going to get 10,000km out of a 650 rear while they’re adventure riding. On a WR250R a Dunlop 606 may see 10,000km. But longevity is only
So there’s the good oil from a seasoned and well-respected pro. When you’re getting advice on your next tyre, make sure you give the tyre tech honest information about your riding ability, your bike, and what riding it is you’re going to do. From there you should be able to get sensible advice on the tyre which will best suit your individual needs.
A tyre with the tread worn off it is obviously up for replacement, but a tyre’s performance will usually diminish long before that time. And the tread is only a contributor to the tyre’s safety and ability to do its job. The structural integrity of the carcass – its ability to hold its shape –
degrades with age, and heat is particularly tough on rubber compounds. There are some strange phenomena that can be the result of a tyre with considerable wear, even though the tread may look ‘okay’. Headshake, ‘funny’
Top: A popular bloke on a long ride, is Rob. Below left: Make sure your tyre situation is as good as it can be before the ride starts.
Below: Heaps left in it!
Top right: Garry Crilly at Link International, importers of Pirelli, has seen just about all there is to see when it comes to use and abuse of motorcycle tyres.
handling, and of course, punctures are probable results of tyres past their prime.
Garry Crilly at Link International, importers of Pirelli, has seen just about all there is to see when it comes to use and abuse of motorcycle tyres, and he has some rock-solid observations about getting the best out of bike rubber.
“Correct pressure is the most vital factor affecting the performance of any tyre,” said Crilly. “Longevity, steering, handling…they’re all effected by tyre pressure. An underinflated tyre will distort and move around and the bike’ll feel vague. Correct pressure is vital. Riders should be looking to run the manufacturer’s recommended pressure as a minimum at all times.
“As far as looking at a tyre and assessing whether it’s still usable, if it’s on or near the tread-wear indicator of a roadoriented tyre it needs replacing. If it’s scalloping it’s probably being run at too low a pressure or being overloaded. A scalloped tyre won’t make contact with the road in the way the manufacturer intended, so any tyre fitting that description should be replaced as well.
“Cracks or cuts in the tread blocks or the sidewalls should have a rider thinking of replacement, too.”
When it comes to off-road tyres, Gary urges a conservative approach.
“Knobbies will start to chamfer backwards on the front, and once that’s visible it’s probably time for replacement. There’s no tread-depth indicators on knobbies, so on the rear I’d say riders should be considering replacement once about 70 per cent of the knob depth is worn away.”
Crikey. We thought that’s when they were just getting bedded in.
Tubes don’t get a lot of discussion. The general opinion seems to be ‘thicker the better’.
But is that true?
It’s a sticky one, and we’re not going to tackle it here. Talk to your tyre professional – not a ride leader – and go through the same steps we outlined earlier. You should be able to get advice specific to your situation.
Meanwhile, there’s a couple of really basic things a huge number of riders don’t think about with tubes. Rob Turton again:
“People fit a tyre, bang a tube in, say, “She’s right!” and off they go.
“They don’t check for creases and they don’t fit the right-sized tube. Tube’s come in so many sizes. If I had a $10 note for every Michelin super heavy-duty tube I threw away on KTM Rallyes…the Michelin tube is designed to go in the Michelin rally tyres and it makes a great combination. But put that same Michelin tube in a Motoz tyre and you’re going to come away with creases. Front or rear, it’ll crease.”
Rob went on to say it’s important to inflate the tube a little before fitting and to coat it with powder to help stop chafing, but not fitting the correct sized tube is the most common mistake he sees.
There’d be very few Australian adventure riders who haven’t seen Rob, his ponytail and the Overlanders’ truck at some stage.
Most riders would be familiar with at least the concept of a mousse tube. It’s a solid rubber doughnut which replaces a standard inner tube, and conceptually, means the rider will never have to deal with a puncture.
So why aren’t all riders using mousse tubes?
We went to the wheel and tyre experts at John Titman Racing and asked a few direct questions. The direct answers were exactly what adventure riders need to know…
AdvR: What’s a mousse tube?
The tubes are made from butyl rubber, a synthetic copolymer of isobutylene with isoprene. It keeps the tubes at a consistency that approximates 13psi in an inflated tube.
The mousse completely eliminates the risk of a puncture, and also to some degree softens the impact of logs and rocks. That helps prevent fatigue over long, gruelling races.
AdvR: Will mousse tubes suit adventure bikes?
JTR: At the moment, no.
These types of tubes are designed for off-road use only. They’re not homologated in Australia, therefore not legal for road use in Australia, and their maximum recommended speed is 130kph.”
How long does a mousse tube last?
These tubes have a practical standard service life of six to12 months, depending on use
AdvR: Will a mousse melt if it’s used on the bitumen?
JTR: It won’t melt, but performance and life expectancy will be affected due to friction build up associated with the higher speeds.
AdvR: How hard is it to get a tyre on and off if it has a mousse tube? Does it need a machine or jig?
JTR: It’s not the easiest thing in the world to do, but as with everything, practice makes perfect. Obviously fitting with a machine is a lot easier, but tyres and mousses can be fitted with hand tools.
Motoz mousse comes with lube to help make fitting easier.
AdvR: Any tips for potential mousse users?
JTR: Most important tips would be:
v When used with brands of tyre different to the brand of the mousse, ensure a correct match of tyre size and suitability for safe application
v Use plenty of lube when fitting. The more lube, the easier it will be
v Rim locks are recommended for front and rear when using mousse
v When fitting a brand-new mousse, make sure to do a short, gentle ride at lower speeds to ensure tyre and mousse have adapted to each other
v Racing and heavy use will reduce mousse life and the mousse should be checked regularly to ensure sufficient stiffness and shape.”
Top: These types of tubes are designed for off-road use only. They’re not homologated in Australia, therefore not legal for road use in Australia, and their maximum recommended speed is 130kph.
Left: Mousse tubes are made from butyl rubber, a synthetic copolymer of isobutylene with isoprene. They’re effectively an aerated, solid tube which therefore can’t puncture.
In a nutshell, Adventure Rider Magazine’s advice is: ‘find a good tyre professional and get some advice’.
Realistically, that’s not so easy to do. Rob Turton is held in very high regard by the entire motorcycling community for his and his team’s continual and unstinting help given to anyone who needs it. For those lucky enough to be around Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, Overlanders – www.overlandersmc.com.au – is a good place to start. For everyone else it might mean some research to find someone local, but it’s worth doing.
For those crap situations when there’s a tyre problem and no professional within 500km or more, we just have to improvise and overcome. It may not be the tyre ideal, and when things have gone sour, any tube or tyre we can find will do. We’re adventure riders, and that’s the way things are.
The thing is, make sure your tyre situation is as good as it can be before the ride starts. Hopefully that’ll mean a lot less need for risky innovation or possible
Another big consideration for adventure riders is dealing with flat tyres on a ride, often in hostile terrain and often far from the nearest compressor or tyre machine.
We asked Rob T to lay out his on-bike tyre-changing gear and run through it for us.
Here it is….
v Tubes suited to the bike’s wheel and tyre sizes/tubeless repair kit
v Motion Pro Beadbreaker tyre levers plus one small lever
v Lube
v Powder
v Valve key
v Compressor/gas bottles/bottle valve
v Spanners to match valve nut and axle nuts
v Chainbreaker
v Zip ties
v Tie wire
v Cigarette lighter
v Tape
“I’m binned,” said Mac Attack Eggins. The spray of fluorescent-green coolant across the engine of his trusty KLR was a graphic illustration of his predicament. That left about 2700km of stinking-hot, kangaroo-infested western Queensland and northern NSW to negotiate alone. Goody.
Longreach in western Queensland is about 700km in from the Queensland coast. It’s roughly west of Rockhampton, and while it’s not technically on the edge of the civilised world, it’s a long, long way from the nearest toll road or $50-an-hour parking station. There’s not even a Starbucks.
Taken from another perspective, Longreach is a place where anyone can park pretty much wherever they want, where it’s free to go anywhere and everywhere, and where a hot beverage still costs considerably less than a gourmet pizza (and the
barista will put in the sugar if you ask).
There’s a few big tourist drawcards in the town of around 3000 people as well. The Australian Stockman’s Hall Of Fame and the Qantas Founders Outback Museum are the two biggees, but then there’s…well, there’s not much else as far as man-made attractions go. But there’s lots and lots of Australia. Big, wide, untouched swathes of desert landscape and mallee scrub, and that alone makes the ride worthwhile. Plus, I’d promised the Bridgestone folks I’d give a pair of tyres a thrashing, and a run to Longreach and back would be a fair indication of how they performed on a typical adventure ride.
A quick call to The Mac Attack found he was, as always, available and keen to ride. A few sentences agreed the rendezvous, the KLRs were prepped, and on a hot-and-sticky Australia Day long-weekend Monday we punted forth from Grafton in northern
Top: Way out west, and with plenty to see and do.
Left: Navigation covered! The good ol’ list-of-names-in-the-sleevepocket strategy. Pity there were no indicators of direction as well.
Top right: More horsepower than one road could handle.
Right: The Qantas Founders Outback Museum is on the main drag on the eastern edge of town. It’s hard to miss.
NSW, heading northwest and looking for adventure.
With the round trip expected to be something like 3500km, time being short, and both riders being mature, experienced campaigners, a high level of preparedness was to be expected. Mac had sent a Facebook message saying something about how I could navigate this time, and although I knew he was joking, at the last second I scribbled some road and track names on a slip of paper. There aren’t too many ways to get to Longreach from Grafton, so I didn’t think we’d seriously need any navigational help. We’d ridden together as far as Roma about 15 months before, and Mac had gone on from there
out to Stonehenge in Queensland’s west (see issue #32). That went within an ace of the route I expected we’d cover on this trip, so we were right, I figured. Mac knew the way.
We belted off the first hour or so up over the Gibraltar Range and I snickered to myself as we turned onto Bald Nob Road.
‘Bald Nob’ Road! Gold.
We made our unhurried way along through the cool morning to arrive at the New England Highway and crossed onto a small backroad called Severn River Road.
All this was faithfully following the list of road names on my scrap of paper, now tucked into the clear, timecard pocket on
the sleeve of my jacket. Mac seemed to be hanging back a little, and I sensed he was actually serious about the whole concept of navigation being up to me.
‘Whatever,’ I thought. ‘I’ve got this.’
We kept the throttles pinned – in a safe and legal way – until we arrived at the next landmark on my list: Rangers Valley Road.
The thing about the junction of Rangers Valley Road and Severn River Road is it’s a T-junction…one of those T-junctions where a decision had to be made about which direction to turn.
My extremely comprehensive list of scribbled road and place names was a well-prepared document of which, u
showing true respect for Australia Day, Captain Cook himself could’ve been truly proud.
Except, while there were plenty of place and road names, there were no directions…nothing like: ‘TL onto Rangers Valley Road’, or ‘Follow signs to Emmaville’.
Some little time passed at the T-junction, Mac kind of humming to himself and looking around at the scenery as I wondered how long he’d keep up the charade.
Finally, he pointed to a sign indicating Inverell was in the distance.
“I’m pretty sure we don’t want to go to Inverell,” he offered.
I agreed, and, happy and confident, we blasted off in the opposite direction. Not for very long, though. After a kilometre, or maybe two, we were clearly in the middle of nowhere and heading for its outer extremities.
It was time for some quick thinking.
“No way!” I shouted, pointing off into the distance. “A Tengai with some kind big-bore kit!”
I was hoping Mac would be distracted while I quickly asked the phone where the hell we were and where we should be going.
It was toward Inverell we should’ve gone of course, but the road – faithfully
following my list – forked and took us to places called Ashford, Wallangra and Yetman.
With our direction taken care of thanks to Google Maps, we hit a couple of sections
of dirt where the dust flew thick and heavy. As I scooted along through the hot, parched morning I felt the first twinges of discomfort from the heat. The image in the mirrors made me chuckle. At least I wasn’t in the massive dust cloud the Touratech KLR was throwing up and which sat unmoving in the still, heated air.
Oh yes. Navigation was up to me, huh? I didn’t spend a great deal of time wondering how shithouse it must’ve been back there in the dust. Maybe just enough time to raise a smile or two.
From Yetman it was a long highway run through Boggabilla and in to Goondiwindi for lunch. We were looking forward to Goondiwindi because on our last ride together we’d stopped at the bakery and been rapt at the quality of the food and coffee. As we blatted down the deserted main street we were brought face-to-face with the reality of being away from the coast. It was a public holiday and the bloody bakery was closed.
Spewin’, or what!
Top: The Stockman’s Hall Of Fame. Lots of great history and memorabilia. Left: Rod Faggotter. Top bloke!
With the steel and determination which define truly tough adventure riders, we crossed the street to the fish-and-chip shop and made do.
A quick survey of possible accommodation at Mitchell showed our options were limited…limited to swagging it.
No problem for a duo of intrepid KLRers. A slighty wider loop had us in Roma a couple of hundred kilometres later, and snacking down at a well-remembered fast-food place across from the motel we’d stayed at last time through. Cricket was on the TV at the moey, the pool and airconditioning made the heat bearable, and all was good. We were 90km further away from Longreach than we wanted to be, but 90km? To a couple of firm-buttocked adventure riders?
C’mon. That’s nothing.
The weeping radiator which opened the story greeted us the next morning, so while Mac retired to the motel’s airconditioning awaiting his family with a trailer – he had a very tough day according to the texts he sent. The pool water got a little warm, apparently – I fired up Kremit, the Touratech KLR, and headed west, picking up the 90km to Mitchell and running on to Morven. From Morven the track went north through historic towns Augathella, Blackall, and Barcaldine before finally, after a run along the Capricorn Highway, Longreach appeared in all its soaking-wet glory.
Desert, my arse.
It’d been raining like crazy for a few days, and compared to the coast I’d left behind, the place was moist. Twice I had to grab the KLR as the stand sunk into the wet ground.
Arrival was in the early afternoon, and the first two things to lurch into view on the approach to town were the Qantas museum and the Stockman’s Hall Of Fame.
‘Awesome,’ I thought as I propped the KLR and prepared to go full-on rubberneck.
Except, it’s not as overwhelmingly interesting when you’re on your own and you’re not sure if your mate is okay, back there with the warm swimming pool and the cricket finished.
There were a few planes and some interesting stuff at the Qantas place, and lots of whips and leather at the Stockman’s Hall Of Fame – they use them for chasing cows. Who’d’ve thought? – but the time passed quickly. After a very pleasant chat with Rod Faggotter, KLR and rider were snugged down and preparing for the run back well before sundown.
At first light the following morning I pushed the fully loaded KLR out of the motel parking lot so the disgustingly loud FMF pipe wouldn’t shatter any windows, then headed back through the colourful towns and wide, open spaces which I’d covered on the way out. I was able to cut from Mitchell straight down to St George instead of looping around through Roma, and although it was tarmac, it was as rough as guts and the kangaroos on the road were as thick as fleas on a dog. They were everywhere. The poor things looked very scrawny and underfed, but I still didn’t want to hit one. u
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The overnighter on the way back was Goondiwindi, and of course, from there back to the NSW mid-north coast was a familiar, sunshiny pleasure, including a stop to catch up with Vince Strang in Inverell.
So all up, although it wasn’t truly a solo mission and nor was it the ride with a good mate I’d been looking forward to, it was still a solid few days on a great bike with no view of my desk or computer.
I’ll take that any time I can get it.
Left: Thanks to recent rain the Thomson River was in full flow. You’re not allowed to park a bike on the bridge and take photos. We know that because a very polite constable told us so. We thought you should know, too.
Right: The Bridgestone AX41s held up really well. Still plenty of tread and in good shape after about 4000km of mixed riding, but mostly tarmac.
Since meeting and riding our KLRs to the June 2017 KLRRR (KLR Riders Rally) at Tottenham in NSW, Tom and I have been trying to get together for another ride. Work commitments meant Tom turned back from the October 2018 KLRRR at Stonehenge, Queensland, and
Above: Mac Attack Eggins assessed TF’s navigational preparedness before departing. The Adventure First panniers are good’ns.
Right: The telltale flouro spray from a cracked KLR radiator.
the October 2019 KLRRR at Iluka NSW was within 90 minutes ride for both of us. Bushfires ruined recent plans of any longer rides.
Tom hatched a plan to visit Rod Faggotter at Longreach with a departure date of Monday, January 27, from Grafton, NSW. Bikes were serviced. I had to replace steering head-bearings,
chain and sprockets, tyres and perform an overdue valve adjustment. Tom’s Touratech KLR had new Bridgestone tyres of some sort fitted.
I was treating the planned five-day trip as a chance to try out some new Adventure First panniers on my own KLR, as well as a recently acquired Klim Latitude jacket and riding pants and Klim boots. It was my first time riding in ‘adventure’ pants instead of Draggin Jeans and I was very sceptical about how cool they could be on a warm summer’s day.
I nominated Tom as Tour Director, and he obliged by arriving with some scribbled road names on a piece of paper jammed in his backpack. (What the..?)
Departing at 8.30am, we travelled west towards Glen Innes before detouring to Dundee, Emmaville, Ashford, and Yetman then lunching at Goondiwindi.
Stops were frequent to reference the road names Tom had written down, or to consult with Google Maps. The effects of last years’ fires were evident before Glen Innes, and then the drought-affected landscape was evident after Emmaville.
After lunch we headed towards St George, and the 37-degree heat made itself felt as we travelled through the landscape.
Leaving St George, the decision was made to head for Roma via Surat.
In places, heavy rainfall had filled dams and left roadsides with long waterholes surrounded by kangaroos who seemed
reluctant to leave the shade of roadside trees. The roadside was also littered with many rotten kangaroo carcasses, and the stench on a hot day meant a longing to be somewhere else more pleasant.
We arrived in Roma around 5.00pm after 800km of riding. I retired to the motel pool while Tom cooled off in the airconditioning and attended to work matters.
The next morning I was fitting my tankbag when I noticed the green slime on the front of the engine cases. It was the dreaded KLR cracked radiator.
With no used parts at the local wrecker, and not wanting to risk possible further engine damage if a temporary fix failed while riding, I made the call for Tom to continue and complete his work while I phoned my wife and daughter to bring the HiLux and trailer.
It was a hard day, wandering the streets of Roma, lounging around the pool in 36-degree heat, and having a nap in the airconditioning.
I wondered how Tom was handling the heat. I hoped he wouldn’t break down as I’d volunteered to rescue him after he’d declined to take any of the KLR spares I carried.
All he took from me was a map printed off the internet which showed distances between towns.
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Over the years Compass Expeditions has found it’s not the ride across Europe, through the Alps, Turkey or Georgia that’s been the most memorable and favoured by riders. Overwhelmingly
Words:
it’s been the Central Asian Trilogy.
Mongolia, Kyrgyzstan and Siberia are frozen over and inaccessible for the greater part of the year, but for the adventurous traveller they’re spectacular riding destinations from June to August. These regions make up Compass Expeditions’ Central Asian Trilogy and encompass a variety of astounding landscapes. The riding is varied and phenomenal while the local cultures are fascinatingly layered and definitely unique.
Threesome
If you’ve ever thought you’d love to ride these exotic regions but didn’t have the time or resources to spend overlanding and doing the hard yards, months of planning and logistics to get there, read on.
Compass Expeditions is one of a very few motorcycle tour companies that can confidently and consistently run major 80-day-plus motorcycle expeditions. The first of these was the epic, 105-day, Road Of Bones Expedition which runs from London to Magadan in far-eastern Siberia. That tour’s been running every
second year since 2010.
Until recently central Asia was only available to those who had the time, money and hardcore inclination to overland for months, make their own connections in each country and battle through the Soviet-learnt bureaucracy. The comments from Road Of Bones riders made Compass think these amazing destinations should be offered in a format that didn’t require a commitment to 105 days on the road or the costs associated with that kind of epic undertaking.
So, in 2017, the first Kyrgyzstan Explorer, 14-day, stand-alone tour fired up. Compass’ experience in the region meant it already had local contacts, fixers, motorcycle hire, hotels, homestays and ger camps, as well as paperwork guys who had proven themselves and an itinerary which included all the major sites. It was launched and booked out within the week. Most riders who booked had travelled with Compass before and were looking for a new and ‘out there’ destination.
There’s not much further ‘out there’ than Kyrgyzstan.
The tour was an absolute blast, and
the 14-day Mongolian Magic tour was announced with a very similar recipe and the same result. It was also a great success.
August 2020 will see the inaugural Trans-Siberian Explorer tour of Mongolia and Siberian Russia. It’s a ride through several amazing wonderlands, and there are still places available.
Kyrgyzstan isn’t a desert or a war zone. It’s funny people automatically assume any country ending in ‘stan’ must be one or both of those things. It is in fact a beautiful, mostly lush and green, dramatic landscape that keeps changing from day to day. That’s one of the biggest surprises about the country: the variety of landscapes. From rugged mountain passes, across green high-altitude pasture and along alpine and flood-plain valleys, each day is a surprise and a wonder.
Even the roads are a surprise.
The route is 70 per cent sealed, but often the sealed roads haven’t seen much maintenance since the Soviets departed and the unsealed roads are smoother. Having been under Russian rule for 35 years, and sharing a
u
The gravel in general is firmpacked as it winds back and forth across rugged ranges, some dry and scarred by altitude and winter snows.
border and a great deal of culture with China, the gravel switchback roads up and over the high passes of the Bashy Range and the Tien Shan Mountains were engineered and built by these superpowers as transport routes and are amazing to ride. The gravel in general is firm-packed as it winds back and forth across impossibly steep and rugged ranges, some dry and scarred by the altitude and winter snows. Others resemble green velvet with fresh grass and pasture.
No-one needs to be an enduro racer on any Compass Expeditions tour, and the central Asian rides are designed to be comfortably manageable for any regular rider with a few years’ experience. Some off-road, or at least gravel-riding, experience is recommended, but complete dirt-riding novices have taken on and enjoyed these tours with a cando attitude and a little guidance from the crew. Pillion pairs should both have some experience riding two-up off road, and there’s always the support vehicle with comfortable passenger carrying capacity for any unexpected bad roads or bad weather.
The other thing that makes Kyrgyzstan such a wonderful country is the Kyrg people.
Over hundreds of years the country has been ruled by the Mongols, Chinese and
Russians, and it carries the legacy of all of these proudly in its culture. A nomadic Mongol lifestyle still exists, with farmers moving livestock to the high-altitude plateaux and around the great lakes in the summer months to fatten up for the long winter. They live in traditional yurts (also called gers in Mongolia), which are surprisingly comfortable, as riders find out on a couple of nights in the more remote regions where hotels aren’t an option.
The Chinese have also had a strong influence on Kyrgyzstan. Populations have fled persecution from one side of the border to the other and cultural influences followed. It’s most evident in some of the architecture of the region around Karakol on the edge of the
Left: Until recently central Asia was only available to those who had the time, money and hardcore inclination to overland for months, make their own connections in each country and battle through the Soviet-learnt bureaucracy.
Right: The landscape and the riding in Mongolia are totally different to Kyrgyzstan.
Bottom right: Navigation in Mongolia is following power lines from one settlement to the next, avoiding the bogs and deeper river crossings caused by melting snows.
years of Soviet rule, most evident in the crumbling concrete infrastructure and imperialistic monuments scattered throughout the country, but also in a sort of starkness to the lives of many of the working-class people.
But it doesn’t take any time at all for the natural friendliness, warmth and curiosity of the locals to come out. They’re very happy to share their culture with outsiders and are remarkably frank about the country’s history, good and the bad. Lenin is admired greatly, for instance. It was he who brought modern education to Kyrgyzstan and his statue overlooks many parks and plazas. Stalin’s visage has been defaced and removed, in most cases because he was responsible for many thousands of deaths during his rule.
However, both are spoken about, remembered and taught about in schools as important parts of Kyrgyzstan’s history and the base upon which the country’s current prosperity and future democracy has been built.
There is so much more to Kyrgyzstan. You’ll have to see it for yourself.
The culture of Mongolia is not surprisingly more Mongol than other regions of
The influence of Genghis Khan, whose expansive empire was centred there, is evident everywhere, but nowhere more than at the massive monument built in his honour a short ride from the capital, Ulaan Baatar. The giant statue of Genghis atop his horse stands more than nine stories high and the whole thing is made in stainless steel. It’d be an impressive sight anywhere, but mounted on a hill surveying the vast grassland steppes which form a great portion of this remote country, it’s an awe-
inspiring testament to the man.
The ancient nomadic culture of Genghis’ time is still alive in this modernising country. Horses and horsemanship are a way of life for many of the herders who move their livestock onto the steppes to fatten up for the long winter during the warmer months.
On the 2019 tour the riders happened upon a traditional Mongolian country fair, the highlight being a 14km race with over 100 horses galloping along an undefined course and a plethora of vehicles following behind. Some of the horses were riderless as they crossed the finish line, locals had turned out in their best finery and horse trainers wiped the sweat off their horses with wooden paddles. It was truly a local experience that could only be wondered at and enjoyed.
Yurt stays in Mongolia also provide a unique opportunity to experience the time-honoured nomadic way of life of the Mongolian people, although the ride yurts were probably a lot better than those of most nomads. Hot showers, a restaurant and bar are all laid on for the guests, and in the evenings a log fire burns inside the yurt to ensure a toasty-warm and comfortable night.
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The landscape and the riding in Mongolia are totally different to Kyrgyzstan.
Dramatic mountain ranges are replaced by an epic vista of a softer kind, with endless rolling hills disappearing to the horizon and the blue haze of distance.
Navigation in Mongolia, outside of the few cities, is often across wide, open spaces where there’s no ‘road’, but a series of interconnecting tracks across the landscape heading in the general direction of the next township or cluster of yurts. It seems the general principal for riding there is to follow the power lines from one settlement to the next, avoiding the
bogs and deeper river crossings caused by the melting snows of spring.
It’s another experience it would be impossible to find anywhere but the least-populated country in the world.
These two central Asian countries differ greatly and offer a great contrast of landscape, riding and culture. Together they give a great feel for the region as a whole, but crossing the border from Mongolia into Siberian Russia changes the picture even further.
The Trans Siberian Highway is a legendary road for adventure travellers. It’s been
Left: The sealed roads of Kyrgyzstan haven’t seen much maintenance since the Soviets departed. The unsealed roads are smoother. Main: Not many outsiders reach remote regions of Siberia unless they’re on the train.
a destination in itself for generations of overlanders keen to traverse the lonely, harsh, unforgiving-yet-stunning land.
The Trans Siberian Explorer tour in August 2020 will show riders another unexpected side of central Asia. This time the riding will be mostly on sealed roads. The ride will begin and conclude in Mongolia, but the majority of the 14-day trip will be in the Russian province of Siberia.
On crossing the border with Russia the change is quick in coming. Rolling green hills give way to forest at the Trans Siberian Highway and the route heads west towards the UNESCO-listed Lake Baikal, the oldest and deepest freshwater lake on earth.
Visiting the modern and vibrant Siberian city of Irkutsk, full of 19thcentury buildings, adds another layer to the experience before heading into wild, rural Russia.
Not many outsiders reach this remote region unless they’re on the train. The Trans Siberian Highway follows the Trans Siberian Railway for much of its route from Vladivostok to Moscow. But riding a motorcycle in this country is a far more
As of the time of writing (late February, 2020), the Coronavirus was raging in China and had spread worryingly to south-east Asian countries.
However, Kyrgyzstan and Mongolia hadn’t reported any cases of the virus and all of the cases reported in Russia were in major cities. As far as Compass could ascertain, not in Siberia.
Mongolia closed its borders with China almost immediately on the news the outbreak was spreading from its
immersive and exciting way to experience the culture and the landscape of Siberia.
Leaving the Trans Siberian Highway riders will head into the absolutely stunning Altay region of Russia, an area of pine-covered mountains and vast valleys.
The Altay mountains are a landscape of towering, snow-capped peaks, turquoise rivers and glaciers that come right to the roadside and include Chuysky Trakt, named as one of the 10 best road trips on Earth.
Along the Chuysky Trakt, another surprise awaits in another different landscape. This time a savannah-covered
source and all three countries have banned air transport from China and are screening all international arrivals. Compass Expeditions has had some panic cancellations for the Central Asian tours, mostly from North American guests who don’t seem to get as balanced a world view from the media as we do in Australia. Geography, outside of the North American continent, doesn’t seem to be taught so well there either, as there have been cancellation
plateau, bordered by snow-capped peaks in the distance, for the last night in Russia at Kosh Agach.
Crossing back into Mongolia riders have one last night in a yurt camp before concluding the ride in Bayan Olgii and flying to Ulaan Baatar.
It could be you
It will be an epic journey in anyone’s language and one that only takes two weeks of annual leave.
These three 14-day tours – Central Asia, The Kyrgyzstan Explorer, Mongolian Magic and Trans Siberian Explorer – are
enquiries from people booked on African and South American tours also.
Compass Expeditions has been taking guests to ride in incredible and often remote parts of the world for over 11 years and has faced all forms of natural and manmade disasters. Be it political unrest, natural disaster or in this case, a health epidemic, Compass takes the responsibility seriously when making decisions about the all-important safety of riders.
designed to be accessible to all riders with a love of adventure. You don’t need to be an off-road hero or a weathered world traveller to enjoy them and experience a part of the world most people will never see – and many couldn’t even dream of travelling because of the perceived difficulties.
All you need to do is book your international flights and let Compass Expeditions handle the rest.
For more information please visit: www.compassexpeditions.com/ tours-by-location/asia/ or email craig@compassexpeditions.com
R Handbag account topped up
R Shoe account topped up
R House chores done
R Boss working
With all the boxes ticked a gate pass was issued for Hopper to ride to the Victorian High Country.
It started at 7.30am with a departure from Newcastle. I was on my KTM790R and the weather was good.
Although I try to avoid the main roads, sometimes, in an effort to cover ground, you just have to hit the bitumen. I M1ed it to Sydney then slogged down the Hume Highway to Marulan and across to Bungonia. I finally made it on to the dirt at Sandy Creek Road, crossing the Shoalhaven River to power on to the famous Braidwood Bakery for essentials: pie, apple turnover, strong coffee and fuel.
Due to road closures brought about by fires I took the main route towards Araluen before turning onto Majors Creek
Road and Majors Creek Mountain Road, a good twisty climb to the small township.
From Majors Creek I followed Cooma Road – making good time and having fun – until a flat front tyre just before the Badja River bridge brought things to a halt. The four-millimetre, ultra-heavyduty tube had a 50mm split. It was my first flat on the 790 and took a while to change, but thankfully a young bloke on a V-Strom stopped to help.
With my spare tube used so early in proceedings I detoured to Cooma, via Numeralla, for a replacement. The Monaro Highway to Bombala was a great run, and then the pub at Delegate offered a good feed and a chat with
locals before bunking down. It wasn’t a bad start. I’d covered 710km with no real dramas.
The horses
A slow start the next morning meant I left the pub at about 8.15am and headed towards Bonang. A turn towards Tubbut followed the Derrick River until it joined the mighty Snowy River at McKillops Bridge, a great spot for photos and a look around.
A steep track wound up to Snowy River Road where several large wedgetailled eagles soared and added to the
“ A steep track wound up to Snowy River Road where several large wedge-tailled eagles soared and added to the experience.”
experience. Were they checking out the confident-looking rider, or sensing his apprehension with sheer cliffs on one side of the single-lane track and long, sheer drop on the other? There was certainly very little room to move in the event of an oncoming 4WD.
The well-maintained Limestone Road saw the pace increase until I turned
onto Rams Horn Track, just over four kilometres to a car park and a short climb to an awesome lookout. Legendary riders like Adventure Rider Magazine’s publisher wouldn’t have had any issues on the track, but it took me a while to get my mindset right. It was the first bit of ‘interesting’ terrain I’d tackled on the KTM and I wasn’t as confident as I should’ve been.
A herd of Brumbies on the track saw me stopping to admire the views as they ran off, majestically disappearing before I could grab the camera.
Normally the views over Cobberas #1 and in the distance the southern flanks of Kosciuszko were excellent, but on this day all I could see was smoke haze. I headed back to main track and Omeo Bakery for pie, coffee and cake, then a good fun
run on Birregun Road to the Dargo pub, where I’d booked a room for four nights (I’m getting soft and didn’t want to carry the camping gear).
The pub was going off with a prebooked three-course meal plus raffles. The place was full and plenty of fun.
My mission for the next day was the lookout at Mount Blue Rag trig point.
While the more serious riders head up Dargo High Plains Road and take the frontal assault – the Blue Rag Range Track – I was a bit more of a novice and chose the ‘soft’ option. I rumbled onto the very twisty Ritchie Road, across 25 Mile and 30 Mile creek crossings – which join to become the Crooked River – a shorter, but just as winding switchback track up to the junction with Basalt Knob Track, and then northbound to join the Blue Rag Range Track and approached the trig point from the easier southern side. There were several interesting climbs which were all good, and I was met by two groups of youngsters camping who offered a much-appreciated can of Solo. They were the only people I saw all day. I snapped a couple of photos and had a chat, then jumped back in the saddle,
The next challenge was Collingwood
Spur, a monstrous climb to a helipad. It was very steep with some anxious moments, but thankfully the surface was good and grippy. Once again the smoke obscured the usual excellent views.
I cruised onto McMillan Road and the Dargo High Plains Road before returning to base at Dargo.
The day’s loop was only 170km but I was quite exhausted. Both the store and the pub were closed so I settled down with some ales and the spag bol supplied by Helen from the pub.
That set me up for a quiet evening with my new friends and an early night.
The next morning I made the rookie mistake of not fuelling at Dargo. ‘She’ll be right,’ I thought. ‘I’ll fuel up at Briagolong’. After 32km of tar I was on Insolvent
“ I was a bit more of a novice and chose the ‘soft’ option.”
Track and blasted in to Briagolong –where of course the servo was closed. My plan of doing an anticlockwise circuit needed a quick rethink.
I punched backroads to Heyfield for fuel and coffee, then scurried on to Licola, passing some great camping spots at Lake Glenmaggie. It was a tar section but enjoyable, and with the temperature climbing fast and the fuel level dropping just as quickly, I was relieved to splash in the premium unleaded and enjoy numerous cold drinks at Licola.
Tamboritha Road offered a brief stop at Bennison’s Lookout before riding on to Arbuckle Junction and Moroka Road to the East Pinnacle fire tower.
The tower’s a short walk from the car park and usually has awesome views of the whole area, but again the smoke haze spoiled things. I had a good view
of the helipad on Billy Goats Bluff, but I’ll leave that loose, steep climb for the serious adventure riders.
Marathon Road took me back to Briagolong from where I retraced the morning’s route to Dargo, fuelled up at the store, then changed my 1190 prefilters (which work very well on the 790 with no noticeable reduction in power or fuel consumption). Dinner at the pub was shared with six BMW and KTM riders from Melbourne, along with the usual banter and war stories.
All up 391km and another great day’s riding.
I was on the bike at 7.30am the next day and took the Dargo High Plains Road to the Great Alpine Road. The twisty tarmac descended to Harrietville then Bright, where I filled up with fuel, coffee, cake and toast. I was glad I did, as I had a big day in store.
At Porepunkah I turned onto Buckland Valley Road then left the tarmac behind, tackling Goldie Spur Track – which was quite rough and slow going – Rose River Road and Lake Cobbler Road, all of which were good, high-speed riding. Little Cobbler Track was much rougher and slowed things down quite a bit.
Speculation Road to Circuit Road took me to Monument Track, a steep, loose climb
with several switchbacks. It was hard work on the big girl, but it was a great feeling to pop out at the famous Craig’s Hut, made famous in the movie The Man From Snowy River. I took some time for photos and R&R plus a sugar hit.
Back in the saddle I took the easy option to Circuit Road, then retraced the morning’s route to Buckland Valley Road. I wanted to avoid the tarmac, and after a quick look at the map (yes, one of the paper ones) my brilliant analytical skills told me it would be shorter and quicker
“ 15km of rough and very rocky climbing, with softball-sized rocks testing my skill the whole way.”
to go right past Beveridge Station and up to The Twins Jeep Track rather than back into Bright and along the highway.
It all started well.
Buckland Valley Road fed into Selwyn Creek Road which breezed me past Beveridge Station. Mount Murray Logging
Road didn’t go all that well. It was very steep, rutted and loose, and not knowing how much of that terrain there was I opted to turn around. Ruts prevented the textbook method, so a drop/drag/ lift technique was employed with success.
The New Mount Murray Logging Road guided me to The Twins Jeep Track, 15km of rough and very rocky climbing, with softball-sized rocks testing my skill the whole way. There was one particularly close call when a 4WD came around a corner at speed on the singlelane track. I was left very close to the edge to get past him. The Twins Jeep Track came out at the start of Dargo High Plains Road and gave a good run back to base.
I lobbed in at 7.15pm after 460km. It was a big day, and I clearly need to work on my analytical skills and map reading.
A visit to the pub for food and refreshment sent me off for a wellearned sleep.
After packing up and fuelling at Dargo store the next morning it was time to head to The Big Smoke. I swept over Mount Birregum to Omeo and grabbed a splash of fuel and some strong coffee and scones at the bakery. Limestone Creek Road took me to Barry Way where there was hardly any traffic and great views of
the Snowy River. The temperature soared to over 38 degrees as I wheeled through Jindabyne to Cooma for fuel and cool drinks, then I was back on the dirt to Braidwood with a major fire burning to the east.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, heavy rain smashed down and the temperature dropped a good 10 degrees or more. It was enough to make me stop and put on my rain jacket…of course, as soon as I did the rain stopped and the temperature soared.
I soon found myself rolling back through Marulan and on to the Hume Highway heading to Sydney.
After tea with the boss I droned back to Newcastle to finish a 920km day.
It was 3000km for the trip, a great six days, and I can certainly recommend the Victorian High Country as a Mecca for adventure riding.
Prompt to self: check the handbag and shoe accounts.
Main: Most time will be spent in the lower gears and probably much of that in first. Below: It only needs a slip to suck dirt.
Rod Taylor and David Tiller felt some conformity was needed in describing adventure-riding terrain. The Pucker Factor is the result of their research and development.
The hill was grotty. The hill was steep. Her ruts were curvaceous, but her rocks were sharp.
“Come,” she said. “Today you shall suck dirt.”
And indeed, we did, because a moment later there were three untidy piles of bikes and bodies strewn along the slope. Welcome to Pucker Factor Five.
David and I decided there should be a Pucker Factor scale that could classify any road. Being sciencey types, it had to be fairly rigorous so it could be
used anywhere and by anyone. Of course, any road varies along its length, so the rating applies to the worst section, because once you start, you’re committed.
The next question was, for whom, and on what bike, is the scale intended?
A trials rider can go pretty well anywhere, while a Goldwing can go...well, wherever Goldwings go. So, the Pucker Factor is for a relatively skilled rider on a heavily laden adventure bike.
Refining the Pucker Factor model to a rigorous standard took years of painstaking research, which meant developing a repeatable method. The full paper is available in the journal Nature, so this is the short version.
After riding a section of road, we’d set up camp, sink beers and talk shit for the rest of the evening. We sometimes find the detailed minutes of our peer review are legible, and once they even made sense.
Before we go on however, we should consider a little gem called ‘The
Dunning-Kruger Effect’ and that word, ‘skilled’.
Dunning and Kruger ran experiments to discover how good a person thinks they are...compared to how good they actually are. It turns out people who are really crap consistently overrate themselves. In other words, they’re too crap to even know they’re crap. This is the FIGJAM* zone.
At the other end of the spectrum, the best people know what ‘good’ means, and underrate themselves.
The easiest roads are Pucker Factor One. That means any tar, and the only ones having any difficulty will be epileptic monkeys on a drinking binge. You should never come unstuck at Pucker Factor One unless maybe a Jumbo jet falls out of the sky.
Don’t laugh. It could happen.
Next is Pucker Factor Two.
This includes more-technical tar, such as the twisty ride over Mount Hotham or the Putty Road. It also includes simple dirt roads with a good surface. A Goldwing would be okay, given due respect. On an
adventure bike, you probably wouldn’t even slow down…unless, that is, you encounter a car driven by an epileptic monkey with a drinking problem.
Don’t laugh. Studies have shown they do drive cars.
Pucker Factor Three is where things start to get interesting. On this level of terrain there are one or more of the following: rocks, ruts, sand, steep slopes, water or mud. Or epileptic monkeys in four-wheel drives (we’ve all seen them). A reasonably competent rider should be okay as long as they’re careful, but it only needs a slip to suck dirt. We just did Goldie’s Spur Track to the south of Mount Buffalo in Victoria, and would rate that at Pucker Factor Three. Although we rode from west to east, we reckon the other direction would be worse because it would involve coaxing heavy bikes down a steep, snotty hill.
No Goldwings there! u
Top: Pucker Factor Three is where things start to get interesting.
Left: At Pucker Factor Three there are one or more of the following: rocks, ruts, sand, steep slopes, water or mud.
When we hit Pucker Factor Four, it’s time to be thankful for modern protective gear. There’s a good chance you’ll park your bike in the shrubbery because the rear wheel spins while the front points in random directions, usually not the one you wanted. Still, with the grace of Our Lady Of Stylish Riding, Pucker Factor Four is achievable. You’ll spend most of the time in the lower gears and probably much of that in first. Goldwings are definitely never seen in a Factor Four section, and the only epileptic monkeys would be sitting on the edge of the road, lobbing empty stubbies at passers-by.
Don’t laugh, it happened to us.
A Pucker Factor Four road that comes to mind is part of the Cordillo Downs track, south-east from Birdsville. That combines the special joy of ruts and deep piles of smooth, slippery gibbers. Then there’s Walkers Crossing Track which runs off the Birdsville Track and has deep, unrelenting sand.
That brings us back to Pucker Factor Five, which almost certainly means digging a trench with your helmet (while wearing it). You’re going down, the only unknowns are:
* When?’
* Who’s gonna help pick up the bike?’; AND
* How far will it have to be pushed?’
Top: The rider’s going down, the only unknowns are: ‘when?’; ‘who’s gonna help pick up the bike?’; and ‘how far will it have to be pushed?’. Right: Goldwings are definitely never seen in a PF4 section.
There may be a troop of monkeys watching and betting bottles of stout on who’ll be the first to go wheels-up.
After planning this story with David, I sat for a while at the Geehi camping area, reading a New Scientist. There was an article about hypnosis and one line in particular caught my eye. It said hypnosis was a state “...when you have been so absorbed in an activity that you don’t notice anything around you or the passage of time.”
Does that sound familiar?
What do you think about while riding? I suspect, without evidence, that a distinguishing attribute of skilled riders is their ability to focus. I wonder what MotoGP racers think about when they fling their bikes into 300kph corners? Their shopping lists? Superannuation benefits?
Maybe.
More likely they think about the next corner, race tactics and where their opponents are.
Hoofing through the Pucker Factor Two corners at a brisk but comfortable pace, I mulled over Pucker Factors and what it meant to pay attention. Up until Pucker Factor Three, your mind will be wandering about all sorts of random junk. Unless that is, you’re giving it a good hard fang through a stretch of Pucker Factor Two twisties. Or maybe you’re distracted by the monkeys in a 4WD who just passed.
Come Pucker Factor Four, dodging rocks and surfing the front wheel over deep sand, if you’re not paying full attention you’re headed for a near-dirt experience. There’s no time to mull over football, beer or a nice pair of jeans seen earlier.
At Pucker Factor Five, the world collapses
into right here, right now. There is no past and no future beyond the next obstacle. Thoughts of tax returns, tight jeans and beer are expelled while dealing with the next crisis. There’s just you, the bike and the road, and with the grace of Our Lady, you might stay upright, but it’s unlikely…that is, until you’re overtaken by a Dakar racer on the back wheel, with one hand checking his Instagram post of the monkeys he’s just roosted.
* FIGJAM: Fark I’m Good, Just Ask Me
Above: At Pucker Factor Four, surfing the front wheel over deep sand, a rider not paying full attention is headed for a near-dirt experience.
Below: With the grace of Our Lady Of Stylish Riding, Pucker Factor Four is achievable. Thoughts of tax returns, tight jeans and beer are expelled while dealing with the next crisis.
The Adventure Rider Magazine shed wardrobe is fair bulging at the seams – unlike the adventure-riding suits it’s holding. This issue the editor pulled on the new Klim Baja S4 and Enduro S4.
I’ve been a big fan of Klim gear for a long time, so keep that in the back of your mind as you read on. I believe my opinions are impartial, but I confess to a high opinion of the brand based on personal experience. I’ve paid full retail for several Klim suits over the past decade or so and never been disappointed.
I’ve always been a rock-solid fan of the Traverse suit, but importer AdventureMoto set me up with a Carlsbad suit about a year ago, and my preference changed. The Carlsbad with D3O armour was better for the type of riding I do than even the Traverse. I was especially happy with the Carlsbad after I went slithering down a wet mountain road and was able to jump up, explain myself to the policeman right behind me, and ride home.
It’s a tough bit of gear. Now I’ve tried the Baja S4 with its Enduro S4 layer, and I reckon I’m sold again.
This suit is a really nice piece of work.
Disclosure
Before everyone gets all bent out of shape, I know I said the BMW suit was fantastic (it is), and the Touratech Compañero is fricken awesome (it fricken is), but I’m not choosing one over the other. Those two suits and this Klim S4 rig are big money. I get to drop them in rivers, live in them for days at a time, damage them, wash them, and I get to see what works and what doesn’t. In the spirit of sharing, I’m just passing on what I find in the hope it helps others with their thoughts. The tech information comes from the manufacturer of course, but the opinions are personal and based on first-hand experience.
Facts
Here’s the rundown on the S4 clobber…
As we’ve seen in other premium suits the Baja S4 is a mesh outfit.
The Enduro S4 is a Gore-tex layer which can be pulled on over the top for cold and wet conditions. The two suits can be used individually, but they’re made to work together and it’s a great combo. The outer-layer pants and jacket – the Enduro S4 – packs down tight. It can be stowed away with minimal inconvenience and grabbed out when it’s needed, and the jacket has vents under the armpits and across the back. The Enduro S4 can be used as a lightweight layer on its own when conditions are right. The jacket looks smart enough to wear to the bar after a day’s riding, and both it and the pants are waterproof and stretchy.
The ‘main’ suit, the Baja S4, is mostly made from rugged, stretch-woven nylon mesh with a moisture-wicking liner. There’s a pocket in the back of the jacket for a bladder.
Abrasion resistance is strong, and high-risk areas have an additional cover of ‘ceramic-plated
Superfabric’ to cover the incompetence of dopey editors on wet mountain roads, and of course the armour throughout the suit is the D3O gear that’s been a benchmark in intelligent armour for a long time.
Colours are nicely understated and include black, dark grey and green.
At the time I was handed the S4 the suit wasn’t available in Australia and I was surprised how many people noticed it and commented. I had the green variant, and it’s one of those colours that, while very muted and unassuming, catches the eye and just looks good. I really like the cut of the gear, too. I’m not the stringbean I was in my younger years, and I find a lot of apparel these days seems to be cut to suit European models…maybe not even male models, sometimes. Getting a good adventure suit that will accommodate a more mature and… well…‘potato’ shape in comfort is a huge bonus. Body shapes aside, I like to know I can rely on one suit for all my different riding, and that means there being room for layers underneath to cope with cold. Despite the S4 being a sharp-looking rig, there was still room for thermals and a T-shirt underneath. Removing the back protector would open up the jacket for quite a lot of layers, I expect. I haven’t ridden without it yet, but come winter I might look at that option.
Before some of you send all sorts of self-righteous e-mails with your opinions on safety gear and ATGATT, I wear a backpack with a hydration bladder about 95 per cent of the time, and I figure it will do a similar job to a back protector.
That’s my personal choice.
I had the S4 Baja and S4 Enduro for the Ténéré 700 release. It was a hot, humid, five-day ride that covered a wide variety of terrain. In an almost unprecedented occurrence, I didn’t fall once, so I didn’t put the armour to the test. I’ve been using D3O for probably most of a decade though, and I have no reservations about its effectiveness.
Something I do notice on the new suits, and the S4 is another example, is the in-built knee guards being really effective. I’ve never been comfortable trusting in-built knee guards until recently, and it’s so bloody convenient to be able to just pull on the duds, buckle up the boots and ride away.
Maybe it’s just me, but I like that a lot.
In the heat the S4 was the cat’s meow. All that air moving through the mesh and across the skin was magic. It makes a huge difference on a long, hot day, and it’s compounded across five long, hot days as fatigue takes its toll.
The comfort level was very high, and I have to be honest, I thought the suit looked good. It made even me look presentable, and that’s a very big ask.
u
R Schoeller®-Dynatec® high-tenacity nylon mesh main body and arms
R Comfort-mapped mesh chassis (shell and liner)
R Karbonite™ micromesh four-way stretch 1000D Cordura in stretch zones
R Superfabric® on shoulders and elbows
R Designed to fit with Enduro S4 jacket for cool and/or wet weather
R 3M™ Scotchlite™ C790 carbon-black reflective material
R Durable 750D Cordura fabric for cargo pockets, cuffs and hem
R CE AA rating certified to PREN 17092-3
R D3O CE level 1 LP1 vented shoulder and elbow pads
R D3O CE level 1 back pad
R Kidney-belt compatible (sold separately)
R Full-time chassis ventilation through Schoeller-Dynatec mesh panels
R Air permeability through Karbonite micromesh stretch zones
R 10 pockets
R Two-litre Hydrapak® compatible pocket (Hydrapak sold separately)
R Moisture-wicking Polygiene® anti-odour liner
R Adjustable hem, cuffs and forearm
R Rec retail $899.95
R Schoeller waterproof durable fourway stretch
R 3M Scotchlite C790 carbon-black reflective material
R Designed to fit over Baja S4 jacket for cool and/or wet weather
R Fit compatible over body armour
R Three vents
R Two hand pockets
R Roll-away hood packs into collar
R Stretch material for mobility
R Adjustable bottom hem, cuffs and hood
R Works as a camp pillow when packed into the hood
R Rec retail $499.95
R Schoeller-Dynatec high-tenacity nylon mesh main chassis
R Mapped chassis materials for mesh, durability, and stretch in key locations
R Karbonite micromesh four-way stretch 1000D Cordura in stretch zones
R Superfabric on knees
R Designed to fit with Enduro S4 pant for cool and/or wet weather
R Perforated goat leather on inside of knees
R 3M Scotchlite C790 carbon-black reflective material
R Durable 750D Cordura fabric for cargo pockets, cuffs and waist
R CE AA rating certified to PREN 17092-3
R D3O CE level 1 LP1 vented adjustable knee armour
R D3O CE level 1 LP1 vented hip armour
R Full-time chassis ventilation through Schoeller-Dynatec mesh panels
R Air permeability through Karbonite micromesh stretch zones
R Two billowed thigh cargo pockets
R Moisture-wicking antimicrobial Polygiene anti-odour liner
R Adjustable cuffs, waist and calves
R Fits over off-road boots
R Rec retail $799.95
R Schoeller waterproof, durable, four-way stretch
R 3M Scotchlite C790 carbon-black reflective material
R Designed to fit over the Baja S4 pant
R Burn-resistant kevlar inside knees
R Full-length side zips for over offroad boots
R Fit compatible over body armour
R Double-headed side zippers can open as vents
R Adjustable waist and cuffs
R Works as a camp pillow when rolled with integrated storage loops
R Rec retail $479.95
I was fortunate in having the gloves to match the S4, and that made for a
R Hot-weather adventure-riding glove
R Perforated leather palm and fingers
R Karbonite micromesh, 500D, four-way stretch nylon backhand and thumb
R Direct-vent, highly flexible TPU knuckle armour
R Perforated, three-millimetre XRD® thumb and palm base pad under the TPU armour
R Perforated five-millimetre XRD wrist pad
R Reinforced leather palm overlay
R Mult-e-touch screen functionality
R CE level 1 KP rating certified to PREN 13594
R Rec retail $159.95
tidy-looking ensemble. The suit was comfortable, I’ve no doubt it’s tough –like all the Klim gear I’ve ever used – and it looks good.
As with the other premium suits I’ve tried so far, the full Baja S4 and Enduro S4 set-up is heavy. Without weighing it, it’s about the same as the full BMW and Touratech suits, so I expect that’s part of the price of this level of comfort and protection.
Speaking of price, to fit up with the Baja S4 jacket and pants, Enduro S4 jacket and pants, and the S4 gloves you see me wearing here will cost about $2700. That’s in the same sort of price range as other top-line suits, and once again, seems to be the cost of this level of comfort and protection.
I returned the suit after my trial, but I’m really hoping I can get it back. It’s a good’n.
The ultimate adventureriding distress beacon that should be part of every adventure rider’s kit. Provides six independent means of rescue: 406MHZ transmission 121.5 MHZ homing signal
GPS location
Visual strobe
Signal mirror
Whistle on lanyard Manufactured in Australia. 10-year battery life. 10-year warranty.
A wide-ratio gearbox and big-bore kit can transform the DR-Z.
Can Suzuki’s timeless all-rounder be made even more adventure ready? Adventure Rider Magazine’s publisher decided to chase the dream.
An increasing number of riders are turning to smaller-capacity bikes for adventure riding. The main reason is the weight of the big bikes making them difficult to manage in tough terrain, but the lower running costs of smaller bikes can be a big factor, too.
‘Small’ bikes can mean a lot of different things to different riders, but no matter who’s involved in the discussion, DR-Zs will feature at some stage.
The single-cylinder, 398cc, liquid-cooled motor
has proved itself reliable and pretty much faultless since it first appeared in 1999, and the rest of the bike has a well-deserved reputation for reliability and serviceability that’d be hard to match. The stock suspension is okay, but there are plenty of inexpensive upgrades that’ll make both front and rear ready for anything from serious racing to bum-on-seat comfort touring.
Probably the one area that holds the DR-Z back as an adventure mount is its performance over long distances. It’ll do all the distance Australia or anywhere else has to offer, but it’s not as much fun as it could be.
Adventure Rider Magazine’s publisher, Kurt ‘The Boss’ Quambusch – who we will from now on call Kurt QuamBoss – is a very happy DR-Z owner who likes to ride distance.
“The bike didn’t have the legs to do over 100kph comfortably for any length of time,” he explained, flashing the spotties and blinding some unsuspecting magpies (it was noon). “Especially in second, third and fourth. I found I was having to rev the bike quite hard to get it to perform, and I was getting more vibration through the bike than was comfortable.”
Gearing was the probable solution, but simply changing sprockets didn’t get the desired result. First would end up too low or fifth too high.
A wide-ratio gearbox was called for.
“It’s a big one,” said Mal MacConnell of Adventure Bike Australia, importer of an excellent example.
“The DRZ was built as an enduro bike 20 years ago, but with the wider-ratio gearbox it can be one of the best lightweight adventure bikes in the world. Being able to reduce the revs for the speeds needed to cover Australian distances is a huge benefit to these bikes. As an additional plus, running at lower revs give a considerable increase in the motor’s lifespan.”
First remains the same, but the other four gears are taller than stock and the ratios between are wider.
Adventure Bike Australia also has a big-bore kit for the DR-Z which runs the standard motor out to 434cc, and The Boss did the capacity increase while the gearbox was being fitted.
“There’s not a dramatic increase in power output,” said Mal, “but it’s an inexpensive mod when you already have the engine out of the bike to replace the gearbox, and it makes absolutely no difference to the standard motor’s reliability.”
Fitting the wide-ratio gears means removing the engine and splitting the cases. There’s also some small, but exact and precise, mods to be done to Suzuki components, so it’s a job best left to pros.
That said, any competent mechanic with a well-equipped workshop should be able to do the work without specialist knowledge. For a pro it’s a simple disassemble/reassemble job.
The big-bore kit is basically as simple as exchanging the stock top-end components for the new ones.
Easy-peasy.
The Boss is even happier with his DR-Z now.
“I absolutely love it,” he said.
“It’s exceeded my expectation. I wanted longer legs in the gears and a bit less vibration. I can ride the bike more comfortably and not have to be on top of it all the time.”
Both the big-bore kit and wide-ratio gearbox are available from Adventure Bike Australia at $990 plus postage for each. Log on to adventurebikeaustralia.com.au for more info or to place an order.
Tell ’em Kurt QuamBoss sent you.
I wonder how many readers of these pages would remember crusty old Doug Sunderland?
Dougie was for many years the manager of the service department for Wangaratta Toyota, but he was probably better known for his role as Chief Steward and Race Marshall at Phillip Island in the 1970s and ’80s. His main claim to notoriety was he once black-flagged Mal Campbell for a noncompliant motorcycle while Campbell was winning a race.
Doug did many tours with us over the years and he was always rather entertaining. He’d led a fascinating life and could spin many a yarn. He enjoyed holding court and playing the raconteur.
He first appeared on our radar in mid1997 at the tender age of 73. He’d lost his beloved wife of 50 years some 12 months earlier and by his own admission had fallen into something of a dark hole, uninspired and unmotivated, and not interested in anything. It was his doctor who galvanised him into action, telling him to “…get on that bloody bike of yours and go for a ride somewhere!”
Doug had read some articles about our Himalayan Heights safari and was interested in having a look at that part of the world. He gave me a call and we discussed the tour for a while, and he said he’d like to sign up. Being a bit on the cautious side of cynical he didn’t want to just send me a deposit cheque. He wanted to come and see me in person so he could eyeball me face-to-face. I had absolutely no problem with this, except Doug lived in Wangaratta, Victoria, and I was about 600km away in the northern suburbs of Sydney.
“ He told me some stories of his motorcycling experiences, including crossing the Simpson Desert solo 16 times. ”
As I was to learn, small obstacles of that nature were no deterrent to Doug Sunderland. He said, “I’ll see you Sat’dee afternoon.”
Doug caught a train from Wang to Sydney, changed at Central for the Northern Line to Chatswood, then walked 500 metres up the hill to where I lived. When I answered the knock on my door, it was my turn to be on the cynical side of cautious – he was wheezing, red in the face, looked every bit of 73 and certainly not in prime u
Main: Doug went to Peru with World On Wheels and visited Machu Picchu, rode the world’s largest salt pan and enjoyed the other incredible experiences. Left: He first appeared on the World On Wheels radar in mid-1997 at the tender age of 73.
condition to be heading to the highest road in the world. But after a cup of tea and 10 minutes recuperation he told me some stories of his motorcycling experiences, including crossing the Simpson Desert solo 16 times, and I began to realize there was a bit more to this crusty codger than met the eye. And he wasn’t taking no for an answer anyway. He counted out the $500 deposit in $20 bills on the table.
To cut many long stories short, Doug completed our 1997 Himalayan Heights safari in far better form than some of the much-younger participants. But on the second-last day he had a stroke of bad luck – his daypack containing his camera and all the photos from his 20-day tour fell off the back of his bike and was lost. He was understandably pissed off for a while, but two days later, in a philosophical frame of mind as he boarded the plane home, he again counted out some cash into my hand and said, “I’ll just have to come back and do it again next year.”
Doug backed up for the 1998 Himalayan tour and managed to hold on to his photos that time.
There’s a story that remains vivid in my memory.
We’d stopped at a roadside restaurant and, as we waited for our lunch, I’d asked for a plate of salad to be put on the table. Doug was in the middle of relating a long-winded story (as was not uncommon) when he glanced at the plate, upon which remained just a couple of green
beans. “Crikey,” he said. “You gotta be quick around here with you vultures.” He popped both beans into his mouth and chomped into them with enthusiasm.
Of course, they weren’t green beans, they were chillies.
His glasses fogged up, he had tears running down his cheeks and steam coming out of his ears. His hair stood on end. I thought he was going to drop dead on the spot, but we couldn’t help rolling in hysterics. “I’m on fire!” he rasped, and grabbed a glass of water, which of course made no difference whatsoever. I had to get him a bucket of yoghurt to quell the volcano. We gave him the nickname ‘Lord Greenbean’ for that little episode.
Towards the end of that 1998 tour, Doug mentioned to me he was pretty keen
Above: The 1998 Himalayan tour meant a new set of photos.
Left: Doug led a fascinating life and could spin many a yarn.
Top right: Dougie (right) was probably best known for his role as Chief Steward and Race Marshall at Phillip Island in the 1970s and ’80s.
to get home because his mother was becoming a bit of a handful. I looked at him in disbelief, not knowing whether he was pulling my leg or not. Doug himself was by that time nearly 75. How old could his mother possibly be?
“Yeah, she’s getting on a bit now and I think I might have to put her into a home soon,” he explained.
This man’s already fascinating life was on the verge of another bizarre turn. He told me later his mother’s physical and mental deterioration dictated there was no alternative but for him to sign her over into professional care. That necessitated Doug looking through a drawer of her private papers in search of her Medicare insurance and so forth, whereupon, at the tender age of 75, he came across his own adoption papers.
Doug had lived his whole life not knowing his mother was in fact not his birth mother. You can imagine it might have come as something of a shock. He decided he had to confront her with his discovery, gently of course, and at her bedside a couple of days later he said to her, “Mum, there’s something I need to talk to you about. I’ve just found out I’m adopted.”
His mum smiled a distant smile, stroked his arm and said, “Are you darling? Isn’t that nice.”
Another story tinged with tragedy comes to mind, but I’ll change the names to protect all parties concerned.
Doug had suffered from prostate cancer for many years, and his doctor (we’ll call him ‘Dr Richards’) had been constantly at him to get it treated. “It’s gonna kill you Doug, if we don’t cut it out of you.”
“No way,” was Doug’s constant response. “I’ve been under the knife too many times already for one man. I’m not having another operation. I’ll just have to trust in the power of positive thought.”
Dr Richards had rolled his eyes and conceded he wasn’t going to win. It came to a head when Doug wanted to do our Awesome Andes tour in November 2002 and went for a checkup first in October. Dr Richards examined his prostate again and declared, “This is too serious to ignore now, Doug. You mark my words. You won’t see Christmas if you don’t have this operation right away.”
“I don’t have time for an operation,”
Doug replied. “I’m off to Peru to ride across the Andes.”
So Doug went to Peru with us and visited Machu Picchu, rode the world’s largest salt pan and enjoyed the other incredible experiences and locations of that amazing country. He came back and showed everyone the photos, and Christmas of course came and went and he was still very much alive. In March he decided it was time for his regular six-monthly checkup with the good doctor, so he dialed the number.
“Hello Rebecca, it’s Doug Sunderland,” he said. “I need to make an appointment to see Dr Richards please.”
Rebecca was silent for a moment or two before replying in a quiet voice, “I’m terribly sorry, Mr. Sunderland. Doctor Richards passed away just before Christmas.”
All good things must come to an end, and in 2013 it was Dougie’s turn. His family had made the tough decision to put him into professional care, but Doug obviously didn’t think much of that idea and he shuffled quietly off, just a few
years short of his 90th.
My wife Denise and I drove down from Sydney to Wangaratta for the funeral, which was a quiet affair of mostly family and a few close friends. At the request of family, only family members were permitted to speak, which we thought was a bit odd. But perhaps it was just as well. We may have gone a long way past the appointed hour if I’d been permitted to take the microphone.
RIP, Dougie.
Himalayan Heights safari and Awesome Andes are both the tours in the World On Wheels portfolio. Check out the website at: www.WorldOnWheels.tours
’ve just landed home after another incredible BMW International GS Trophy experience, this time in New Zealand. To sum it up, imagine around 22 teams with over 100 riders from close to 40 nationalities, getting together in an adventureriding paradise, riding, competing, socialising and living an adventure rider’s dream!
The GS Trophy has been taking place for over 10 years, with an event every two years, in amazing locations like South Africa, Patagonia, Canada, Thailand, Mongolia and now New Zealand. Countries that choose to compete
sign up with BMW head office and run a local qualifier event where the top three are chosen as national representatives at the international event. My first experience was being a marshal in Mongolia two years ago and it was pretty incredible, so I was keen to get involved for NZ 2020.
About a year ago I was asked to join the first recce with Chris and Christian from Europe, to plot the route for this massive undertaking. It was my first real adventure ride in NZ. I’d only ridden road and enduro there previously, so I was excited. We took about two weeks to plot the route which went north to south on both islands, from Rotorua to Queenstown.
Marshal recce
Luckily the fires near my hometown of Bright in Victoria had settled down by late January so I could head to NZ without too much stress.
First we had a marshal scouting/recce to complete to get the 20 marshals
Left: Miles (left, getting roosted) was one of 20 marshals on the 2020 GS Trophy in New Zealand.
Top: A custom-graphic-kitted F850GS for Miles, too! Below: The GS Trophy ran on both the north and south islands, so there was a ferry trip for the entire field.
Top right: The South Korean team were guns, and absolute characters. They had the entire bivouac in stitches.
familiar with the route. During this trip we also did quite a bit of filming so the marketing team had plenty of ammo to promote the event and showcase to riders what they’d be up for. The plan was to run video teasers each evening.
With filming duties, the eight-day route was extended to a 12-day recce where the marshal team got to catch up and learn the course. Basically, it’s the marshals’ job to lead two teams during each day of the trophy, so there’s a bit of responsibility to keep them safe and not get lost. There were a few new marshals this year and it was great to get to know them and prepare.
We’d covered about 3000km on our identically prepared, accessorised and
custom-graphic-kitted F850GSs as we rolled into Queenstown. The recce went like clockwork without a major incident –only the one flat tyre.
We were off to a great start.
Bikes were loaded straight onto trucks for a quick sprint back to Rotorua while we marshals boarded a flight. There were a few days in Rota to wash gear, regroup and even get in a couple of mountainbike rides, which was great. u
Anticipation is high in the days leading up to the start of a GS Trophy. It’s a massive exercise that takes thousands of hours of planning.
Stats:
v 22 teams of four riders (three partici pants plus a team journalist)
v 25 support vehicles (medical, technical,
media, event management, filming and so forth)
v 50+ support staff
v One event helicopter (with doctor on board)
v 140 identically prepared F850GS bikes. The Coronavirus situation created some challenges leading up to the event, and unfortunately the Chinese team weren’t able to participate, but the riders were automatically given entry to the next GS Trophy. On top of this it wasn’t clear that all competitors would make it to the event. So many airports were closed it was all a bit of a question mark. Luckily everyone made it in time for the start.
The atmosphere was electric as busload after busload of competitors arrived at
the start location. Participants had been dreaming of the moment since they qualified in their home countries in 2019.
The next two days were busy with briefings, bike set up and other bits and pieces.
The clocked ticked down and it was Team Australia and Team Argentina who were first on the road, with 10 groups lined up behind leaving at five-minute intervals.
On the first day I marshalled defending champs South Africa and South Korea. I recalled the 2018 South Korean team were guns, and the 2020 guys could ride well too. They were also absolute characters who put on amazing dances and shenanigans at every opportunity. They had the entire bivouac in stitches regularly. Believe it or not, they were leading at the end of day one. Many were surprised, but not me. They definitely know how to ride over there.
Australia also had Andrea Box in one of the international female teams, along with an Irish and American rider.
Over the next seven days there were many memorable experiences. Great
Top left: New Zealand is an adventure-riding heaven. Above: Didn’t anyone read that sign?
Middle left: The Brazlians put in the hard yards on the first day.
Left: Great riding, scenery, special tests and camp locations.
riding, scenery, special tests, camp locations and the list goes on. Team Australia had a rough start to the event with a bit of a shocker on the first day putting them towards the back of the pack. But in the following days they got some momentum and snuck into the top 10, with eighth their highest ranking.
Korea maintained the lead for a few days with South Africa on their heels. France was consistently in the top three and the Italians kept moving up the scoreboard.
As with my Mongolian GS Trophy Experience, NZ was really an eye opener into the huge global GS community. There are people all over the world who share the same passion for adventure riding and the GS bikes.
This was one of the closest GS Trophys with the top three only points apart.
The last day of competition finished with a large, multi-stage special test which included drift slalom, uphill/ downhill, a wall ride, a full-lock slalom and a drag race to the finish line. Double points counted so there were three or four teams in contention.
At the Coronet Peak ski resort, riders rode individually and relayed with their two teammates, all on the stopwatch, with penalties for dabs, riding outside boundaries and so forth.
I was marshalling ‘The Garage’, a tight, slalom, slow-ride course that became progressively harder. I could feel huge levels of intensity from the riders. It really was a fun event and everyone was a
Left: There are people all over the world who share the same passion for adventure riding and the GS brand.
Above: South Africa picked up its third consecutive win. Below left: Third for the Italians.
Below: Many memorable experiences.
winner just for being there, but…it’s a competition.
The final results were as follows:
1 South Africa
2 France
3 Italy
12 Australia
As you would expect, there was a big dinner and awards presentation that turned into a rather large party where everyone let their hair down and celebrated the amazing week that had been. Many new friendships were made with a heap of participants promising they would come and visit and join in on a GS Safari sometime.
There are lots of videos of the event on youtube @bmwmotorrad and @gstrophy2020. A full documentary will be released shortly.
Ispent December feeling sorry for myself.
A tank full of dramas befell me, seemingly endlessly, one after the other. I felt like I’d been bestowed an honorary doctorate in Murph’s Law!
Reality set in as 2020 dawned. I saw hundreds of poor buggers lose everything they owned (or a loved one) in bushfires. If you’re one of them, I’m 100 per cent sure the adventure-riding community’s heart goes out to you. Dusty love all ’round.
To those of you who swapped enduro boots for firefighting boots, thanks a lot!
The ripples of this event will travel long and wide.
Ironically it was bushfires that re-routed me off a road ride which caused part of my drama. I’ve now come to terms with the end of my foot modelling career and consider myself one lucky bugger to have heart and home intact.
Looking at the map, some of the best riding country in the White-Brown Land has been decimated. Many of my favourite roads and towns have been affected to some degree or other. The beauty of those places has been reduced to stark black sticks. I’ve seen it before and it’s heartbreaking.
I’m looking forward to getting bike
fit again and regathering my waning confidence as I do. I’ve written about how much of a confidence trick adventure riding is. Floating like a butterfly over rough tracks always looks easy when an expert wafts their way up a snotty track. Committing to take a 250kg chooky by the scruff of the neck isn’t for the faint hearted, as we know. Being recently reminded we’re mortal and fragile don’t help at all!
All adversity brings opportunity and it’s time for adventure riders to take their responsibility seriously. Start preparing those from whom we ask permission (or forgiveness) that we are gonna bugger off…for the good of the country.
Motorcyclists are one of the lifebloods of small communities, so we need to do our duty. Head to bushfire-ravaged places this coming autumn and spend up at the servos, motels, cafés and pubs. Buy some sunscreen at a local chemist, a roll of tape at an auto store, a pack of bikkies at the stupidmarket, visit the local GP for a prostate pressure check (or yes, girls, a PAP smear). You know… the sort of stuff that spreads the dollarly love about.
Get a bunch of mates teed up (and offer the spare bike to someone who’s only got a burnt frame left) to fill as many days off as possible with trips away. No right-minded loved one would get the shits with such a patriotic and selfless act, surely?
Struth, as I’m also a ‘victim’ of bushfires. Maybe I can apply for a grovelment payment and invite a few mates to a nice-but-burnt-out place and feed it into the local economy.
Only trying to help!
Words: Karen Ramsay
The sun is shining. There’s minimal dust and you’re riding along, at one with your bike, not a care in the world. Then a hairpin bend appears from nowhere. What do you do?
Stacks of you will plough around the corner without a thought, where I’ll have a micro panic attack, imagine a vehicle coming the other way, myself on the wrong side of the road, or over the edge of a cliff, or the bike and me sliding straight ahead, all before I’ve even entered the corner. This sort of irrational fear has become hardwired in my brain and reactions. Some examples
v The fear when you find a spider on your bike
v The fear of deadlines for this mag
v When the kids start driving, or living overseas, or generally just living their lives as independent young adults.
But the irrational anxiety that grips and causes you to freeze up when you need all your confidence to survive on a ride is pretty frustrating. I know I’ve talked about the various fears I have in different terrains. It’s almost ‘name a terrain and it’ll be one that scares me’. There’s also the apprehension in certain situations that means I go a good deal slower and more carefully than I need to ride safely. That in turn impacts on my riding enjoyment.
Fear can be a very good thing. In evolutionary terms, the early people who thought lions were just cute big cats who would love a nice scratch behind the ear helped contribute to the saying ‘survival of the scaredest’. Meanwhile, the smart ones were sitting at home in the cave doing crosswords and swatting spiders, growing suitably nervous branches on the family tree. So, in evolutionary terms, you could say
I’m pretty advanced. Which is great news if I want to sit in my cave for the rest of my days.
But getting out on the bike sounds like a whole lot more fun. In fact, it sounds a whole lot more like living.
Fear begins when we’re young. Some of you may be familiar with the ‘visual cliff’ experiment. It involves placing a young child on a large glass sheet which is 30cm
or so above the ground. A section on either side has a pattern right underneath the glass while the middle section has that pattern on the floor, creating the illusion of a cliff. Over the years, there’s been variations on the interpretation of the results, but it would appear children, in a certain stage of their development, won’t crawl across the perceived drop-off because they believe they lack the skills to climb down the cliff. They have experience with falls and it triggers that
survival instinct. Younger children can be coerced and older children have the sense to work out it’s an illusion.
The first time I was on a bike, I freaked out about everything. Roundabouts were particularly scary. It seems ridiculous now, but if you think about it in developmental terms it’s pretty natural. It was a matter of rewiring my brain to accept the fear I was feeling was misplaced and these things were safe.
I think I can If you’re still reading, you’re probably sitting there thinking, ‘Well I’m obviously pretty advanced because I never let fear slow me down’. You could be onto something.
Psychologists reckon people who participate in extreme sports are actually very aware of the risks. At some point they have had to face those fears and overcome them. The act of doing that over and over again rewires their brain and enables them to do things that might be labelled as risky or daredevil, but in fact it’s calculated and considered. Another important consideration is visualising success. Rather than remembering how you failed last time, you imagine yourself successfully overcoming that obstacle or mastering the skill. Think about all the steps you need to do to achieve it.
Recently husband Dave and I were out for a nice, romantic, overnight ride. There was one puddle on the track on the way to the campsite. It was a puddle, with
rocks and hollows, I’d ridden before both in the wet and dry, and I approached it with confidence.
Well, some confidence. Dave bumped his way through. Confidence decreasing, I picked a different line. I looked ahead. I put the front wheel in and slowed down. I looked down at the puddle. Back wheel in. Eyes up. Dave had stopped and was waiting for me. I felt some rocks and was going so slow stopping was easy. Foot down and…where’s that confidence? A bit of throttle. The back wheel had a rock in front of it. Think about it. Eyes up, give it throttle and ride on out.
Only I didn’t.
I knew I could do it, but I didn’t. I even said to Dave I knew the worst that could happen was I’d fall in the puddle. What I didn’t say to him was what would be worse would be having the bike fall on me and break my leg against a rock. And by not saying that, it sat there in my head and ultimately stopped me from riding out of that stupid little puddle. It was logical mind versus the survival instinct.
From the perspective of a female rider, who is also an anxious rider, opportunities to ride with people who are encouraging and understanding is priceless. I’ve done a couple of womenonly rides now with
RideADV, and they worked hard to create both a supportive environment and encouraged people to push themselves a bit further than they thought they could. Having people there celebrating your achievements creates that strong link between success and that obstacle. Rides for beginners are priceless as you’re getting to ride with others who understand your nervousness and aren’t going to make you feel inadequate as they make everything look effortless.
Working towards minimising the gap between theory and practical is an ongoing goal. At the end of the day, all we really want is to reach our destination safely so we can ride again the next day.
R Ride with people who encourage and challenge you
R Visualise success
R Sometimes watching others go first can put you off
R The editor is serious about his deadlines
R Riding another day is always the goal
An innovative antibacterial body wash ideal for the adventure rider.
R Freshen up without water
R Formulated to kill odour-causing bacteria and germs
R Free from Parabens and formaldehyde
R Formulated with coconut
R No water or towel needed
RRP: From $9.95 plus postage
Available from: Adventure Bike Australia Web: adventurebikeaustralia.com.au
Small, light, strong and offers a little extra luxury after a long day’s ride.
R High back with pillow
R Rated to 120kg
R 7075 aluminium alloy poles
R Weighs in at 1.7kg
R Synthetic mesh cover
R Supplied with storage bag (43cm x 16cm x 15cm)
R Height (back) 105cm. Width 60cm. Seat 46cm
Adventure Rider Magazine is still using one of these!
R Durable, welded, fuel-grade bladder
R Ballistic nylon sleeve with webbing daisy-chain anchor points and handles
R Available in eight-litre and five-litre sizes
R Supplied with a screw-on EZ Pour spout
R Can be easily attached to a tail rack or mounted on a tail pack or pannier using adjustable ROK Pak Straps
RRP: From $129 – $149
Available from: AdventureMoto Web: adventuremoto.com.au
RRP: $139.95 plus postage and handling
Available from: Rocky Creek Designs and all good motorcycle stores through Pro Accessories Web: rockycreekdesigns.com.au
Andy strApz ténéré
700 luggAge kit
Two kits to choose from: Traveller or Asymmetrical.
R Very narrow and lightweight soft saddlebag systems
R Newly designed frame sets accept both Traveller or Asymmetrical bag systems
R Under four kilograms for frames, bags and liners together
R Narrower than handlebar width
R 17-ounce canvas with rip-stop weave
R Mild-steel frame system
RRP: Start at $675 plus freight
Available from: Andy Strapz
Phone: (03) 9786 3445
Email: info@andystrapz.com
Web: andystrapz.com
Manufactured from leather and advanced synthetics.
R Full leather palm with an Amara overlay
R Fully ventilated back
R Floating knuckle construction
R Oxford heat-stamped wrist closure
R Amara pull tabs
R Suede visor wipe on the left glove
R Low-key reflective elements
R Available in black or charcoal/fluoro
RRP: $69.95
Available from: Any Oxford apparel dealer Web: oxfordproducts.com.au
gAerne sg-12 boots with enduro sole
Made in Italy.
R Dual-stage pivot system for increased protection
R Anti-shock composite sole with superior durability, grip and feel
R Slimline inner grip guard panels
R Memory foam interior for a customized fit
R Adjustable shin plate for more room around the calves if needed
RRP: $729.95
Available from: All good motorcycle retailers Web: cassons.com.au
Designed to keep riders cool.
R Ideal for hot weather
R Quick-drying
R Built-in sun protection of UPF 50+
R Very comfortable against the skin
R 92 per cent polyamide, eight per cent Elastane
R One size fits all
R Elastic binding at top
RRP: $35
Available from: REV’IT! Australia Web: revitaustralia.com.au
Brand new!
R Pouch for three-litre HydraPak (not included)
R Fully adjustable padded harness
R Waterproof outside zipper pouch for small items
R Three-litre volume
R Weighs 0.45kg
RRP: $150 without HydraPak. $209 with HydraPak
Available from: Motorcycle Adventure Products Web: motorcycleadventure.com.au
shinko 705 series duAl sport tyres
Ideal for 80 per cent on-road.
R Versatile tread pattern
R Excellent wet- and dry-weather adhesion
R Smooth running on the highway
R Rubber compound resists tearing during off-road use
R DOT approved
R Four-ply rated
R Available in sizes to fit most adventure bikes
R Six radial-construction fitments in the range
RRP: From $114 to $212.
Available from: All good motorcycle dealers Web: shinkotyres.com.au
Simple and effective.
R An inflatable thermal layer
R Packs down to fit into the smallest gap
R 10-per-cent better insulation than feather down
R Rider inflates vest by blowing into the marine-grade valve. No battery power used
R Puncture-resistant
R Antibacterial and antimicrobial
RRP: $195
Available from: AdventureMoto Web: adventuremoto.com.au
tech voyAger pro trAil coMputer
The next evolution of Trail Tech’s most popular off-road GPS.
R Buddy Tracking supports up to 20 other Voyager
Pro GPS riders
R Push-button emergency beacon to alert other Voyager Pro GPS group riders
R Accepts and records GPX files
R Bluetooth-enabled for phone and Bluetooth headset interconnectivity
R 10cm, glove-friendly, colour touchscreen TFT display
R Compatible with Trail Tech vehicle sensors (sold separately)
R IP67 dustproof/waterproof rated
R Includes mounting hardware kit for 22mm and 28.5mm ’bars
R GPS record rate: one-, two-, five seconds/one metre, five metres, 10 metres
RRP: $899.95
Available from: Any Trail Tech dealer Web: whitesmoto.com.au/pages/trail-tech
AlpinestArs tech 7 enduro drystAr
Excellent weather performance and breathability.
R Waterproof Drystar membrane
R Wide entry aperture
R Hook-and-loop upper closure
R Ergonomic buckle system
R Extended microfibre gaiter
R Exclusive high-grip rubber double density compound outer sole
R Sole and footpeg sections are replaceable
RRP: $549.99
Available from: Leading motorcycle stores Web: monzaimports.com.au
rAd guArd yAMAhA ténéré
700 rAdiAtor guArd
The essential aftermarket part for the hard-core adventure rider.
R Easy to fit
R Lightweight and does not restrict airflow
R Made from 6060 T1-T5 aluminium
R Available in black and polished alloy
R Three-year worldwide warranty
R Australian made
RRP: $195. On special for $159
Available from: Rad Guard
Phone: (02) 6658 0060
Web: radguard.com.au
tourAtech toiletries bAg
An ideal companion on any trip – in the wilderness, camping or in a hotel.
R Two zip pockets
R Mesh pocket with zip
R Large main compartment with three mesh pockets
R Elasticated band with loops
R Removable inner section with hook
R All-round zip
R Removable mirror
R Large hook for hanging
RRP: $61.57
Available from: www.shop.touratech.com.au Web: www.touratech.com.au
Makes it easy to stay in touch while on the road
R For use with Rokform Rugged phone case holder or universal mount (sold separately)
R Keeps phone secure: patented twist-lock system and Roksafe magnetic technology
R CNC-machined 6061 T6 aircraft-grade aluminium
R Dual retention locking system
R Easily transfer to different bikes
R Tilts from -20 degrees to +55 degrees
R Fits any ’bar between 22.2mm and 31.75mm
R Includes lanyard
RRP: $179.95
Available from: Bike shops Web: ctaaustralia.com.au
Combines the protection of motocross boots with waterproofing and comfort.
R Full-grain cowhide leather and nubuck shell with super fabric and PU reinforcement
R Water-repellent coating
R REV’IT! Dynamic Support Frame (DSF) provides maximum support
R Hydratex sphere laminated waterproofing and breathable membrane
RRP: $999
Available from: REV’IT! Australia Web: revitaustralia.com.au
R External TPU shin plate with reinforced heel and toe cups
R Vibram Apex sole with integrated shank
R BOA closure system
R Silver-ion anti-bacterial inner-mesh lining, gusseted tongue and anatomically designed footbed
Washable, easy to clean and available in four different sizes.
R Does not require rack
R Four compression straps per bag
R Two rows of cargo loops to attach additional gear
R Four interfaces to attach Bottle Holsters
R Two interfaces to attach Fender Bags (size M and L only)
R Deluxe shoulder strap separately available
R Easy fastening, quick removal
R No flapping straps
RRP: From $349
Available from: Motorcycle Adventure Products Web: motorcycleadventure.com.au
Can be used with peak and visor,
or with visor and no peak.
R HPC (High Performance Composite)
R From 1430gm (+- 50 g)
R Two shells: XS-S-M and L-XL-XXL
R Chin vent, front vent, top vent
R Extra-wide vision
R Scratch-resistant
R UV-resistant
R Removable and washable
Hypoallergenic inner lining
R DD ring
Ad manager Mitch has these in his kit and reckons you’d be hard put to find a better set of winter gloves at twice the price.
R Nylon stretch fabric and cowhide construction
R HIPORA waterproof and breathable membrane
R Thinsulate insulated thermal liner
R Superfabric protection on palm
R PU knuckle protectors
R Reinforced silicone printed Clarino palm
R Stretch comfort panels
R TPR visor wipe RRP:
rokforM rugged phone cAse
For iPhone or Galaxy smartphones.
R Dual-compound, ultralight shockproof case
R Hard polycarbonate outer shell with soft, impact-resistant core
R Exceeds military drop test standards MIL-STD 801G-516.6
R Mount your phone to a variety of optional accessories for bikes, cars, motorcycles and more
R Specially designed Neodymium magnet allows sticking phone to almost any magnetic surface
R Will not negatively impact GPS, credit cards, Wi-Fi, Apple Pay, Bluetooth, camera or data transfer
RRP: $69.95
Available from: Bike shops Web: ctaaustralia.com.au
A mixture of race wets and touring outer wear.
R 2.5-layer stretch-fabric, breathable outer shell
R Two external pockets, one inner pocket
R Velcro closure at wrists, zips and Velcro at ankles
R Small pack size
R Held Clip-in Technology including bag
R Reflective sections
R Available in black-white or black-fluorescent yellow
R Sizes S to 5XL
An ideal size for adventure and dualsport bikes.
R Lifetime warranty
R 100-per-cent waterproof PVC tarpaulin with electronically welded seams
R Quick-release strap system for easy refuelling
R Protective base material
R Waterproof zipper flaps protect from dust and dirt
R Clear touch-screen-device-friendly top pocket
R 11-litre capacity
R L 30cm x W 20cm x H 18cm
RRP: $249.95
Available from: All leading motorcycle dealerships Web: nelsonrigg.com.au
RRP: Top $160. Base $160
Available from:
Made in Germany Pty Ltd
Phone: (02) 8004 6083
Web: heldaustralia.com.au
schuberth e1 tuAreg helMet
An innovative dualsport helmet in two new colours.
R Fully articulating peak visor
R Closable chin vent with removeable and washable filter
R Accepts Schuberth SRC or SCU10 systems (sold separately)
R New colours: Tuareg yellow and Tuareg red
R Sizes XS to XXXL
R Weight starts at 1695gm
R Removeable and washable inner lining
R Preinstalled anti-fog lens
RRP: $1100
Available from: Made in Germany Pty Ltd
Phone: (02) 8004 6083
Web: heldaustralia.com.au
ktM 790/1090/1190/1290 Adventure blAck plAtinuM riMs/orAnge tAlon hubs wheel set
Phwoar!
R Adventure cush-drive wheel sets
R Talon billet hubs made from 6082-T6 aluminium
R Cush-drive rear hub
R SM Pro Platinum rims made from 7000 series aluminium
R Bulldog heavy-duty stainless-steel spokes
R Alloy nipples
R One-year warranty on hubs
R Sprocket and disc bolts not included
RRP: Dependant on model
Available from: Your local JTR Dealer (jtr.com.au/dealers) Web: jtr.com.au
bArkbusters sAbre Mx/ enduro hAndguArd
Designed and made right here in Australia.
R Slim-profile aluminium handlebar clamps for easy installation
R Low-profile plastic guard provides minimalist design with venting for increased airflow
R Ultimate coverage from roost, trail debris and harsh environments with top and bottom deflectors fitted
R Available in 15 different colour combinations
RRP: Complete handguard set $69.95
Available from: Motorcycle dealers Web: barkbusters.net
Honda’s new Africa Twin is already rockin’ the adventure-riding world. Motorrad Garage, as usual, is well in front of the field and already has a big stack of high-quality gear for the new bike. Go to www.motorradgarage.com.au to find a big catalogue of great gear for all adventure bikes.
Whether you‘re travelling around the world or just around the corner, every rider defines their own adventure. Desire, determination and the best gear will get you there and back - every time.
Equip your bike with proven, quality accessories from SW-MOTECH including, crash protection, racks, hard and soft luggage, navigation mounts, electrical gadgets, handlebar equipment, ergonomic accessories and so much more.
All your SW-MOTECH gear is available from Motorrad Garage.
