Off for a year touring Australia - just gave work notice and booked a ticket!

[Steam]

I am off to Australia for a year of pottering around on a motorcycle.
I go in October, I have given work notice already, booked a one-way flight, and I have ordered a copy of the Australia Motorcycle Atlas.
Jantar has said I can buy his Honda CT in Cairns at the end of his Postie Bike Challenge for a very cheap price, so it's all on.

I have got lots of books from the library with pretty pictures of amazing places I want to go to.
Do you know of interesting places that may not be in any guidebook?

I intend to take a tent and cooker so I can sleep out most nights, take it real easy and slow. Stay off the main roads. Read a lot of books, work at odd-jobs when I run out of money, and stop in at every Buddhist centre and monastery I can find. Dharma bum, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance indeed.

I start in Cairns then ride south to escape the rainy season.
Down the East Coast to Melbourne to stay with my brother and recharge the wallet, then on to Alice and Perth then Darwin, then across the top to that pointy-up-bit on the right.

Looking forward to it!

[Drum]

You lucky b'stard.

Stop in at Fraser Island on the way down the coast (access from Hervey Bay). Watch out for the mossies and dingos (and sharks).

Also a 'must visit' on the east coast is Byron Bay.

And if you like weed then make sure you head to Nimbin for the Mardi-Grass.

[Steam]

Nimbin it is then! :doobey:

[janno]

The latest cover of Aus Motorcycle Atlas features my bestest friend Sam! :yes:
Taken by the photographer I use for an article I wrote on her, and he onsold the photo to the atlas.

Black leathers on a silver SV650. Unfortunately you can't really see that she is female, just looks like a motorcyclist.

Check inside the cover, photo credit is Mt Mee, Rod Vella.

If so, that's her! Go the chicks!

Have fun on your trip - are you sure it'll be for a year? You might get the bug and go on forever . . . :innocent:

[Jantar]

Good on you Steam.

I'm thrilled that the wee Honda will continue to be used after the expedition through the outback. :scooter: :scooter:

[NinjaNanna]

Steam,

AUSTRALIA is a MASSIVE country (trust me I'm an Aussie and used to live in Townsville, 3 hrs south of Cairns) much bigger than a map might suggest

It may seem romantic to do this on a Postie Bike (taking you literally here) but I suspect in reality this will be boring and at times dangerous!!!

You have said that you intend to stay off the main roads, unfortunately in Australia in the majority of places you intend to ride, there are ONLY main roads.

Personal on this bike I would be concerned by the road trains, distances, perhaps reliability and also the bikes fuel range (particularly in central Queensland, NT, WA, and outback SA).

I honestly think you need to re-think your choice of bike otherwise it could be disasterous and break down could be potentially fatal (and I'm not trying to be dramatic).

I had 2 mates that took a simlar trip to you, one rode a DR650 and the other was on an XR, both fitted with road tyres, they road from Townsville, MT Isa, Alice Springs, Darwin, then to Adelaide, Melbourne, Brisbane, Townsville in 6 weeks and loved it.

By the way in case this gets read the wrong way, I am not trying to put you off, I think this will be an experience of a life time, one that I will do someday as well, though I hope it will be when I'm about 50 and on a nice comfortable Gold Wing with my wife on the back.

All that I hope is that you put serious consideration into your choice of bike for this trip and don't let it be a purely financial decision.

Cheers

Shane

[Babelfish]

Go hard Steam, you are doing something that is definately on my to-do list.

[skelstar]

Good shit dude. That'll be a life changing/affirming trip. Enjoy!

[Steam]

AUSTRALIA is a MASSIVE country ...
All that I hope is that you put serious consideration into your choice of bike for this trip ...

Thanks Shane, good points.
I've talked to some Aussies and they initially thought it was nuts but then said "She'll be right cobber", so I'll just take it easy and see. Well, some of them said "she'll be right". The rest still think I'm nuts.

As for suffering a critical breakdown on a remote track somewhere, that's what Epirbs are for. My cousins in Oz have a wee cheap class A one for bushwalking, they said I can borrow it for a while. Locates to within 20km within 24 hours when triggered, so good enough.

Yeah it may be a bit eccentric, but hey, I don't have anything to lose 'cept my life, so it's all good.:ride:

[janno]

Actually, that's a good point. Most of how you get from A to B is main drags - once you've left the eastern coast of Aus there aren't the millions of different ways like in NZ. I'd hate to see ya get squashed by a B double!!

But then people cycle around Aus, so obviously it can be done with a bit of care.

Plus you can't kill those postie bikes with a brick, or so I've been told . . .

Hope we're going to get regular updates?

[slowpoke]

Thanks Shane, good points.
I've talked to some Aussies and they initially thought it was nuts but then said "She'll be right cobber", so I'll just take it easy and see. Well, some of them said "she'll be right". The rest still think I'm nuts.

As for suffering a critical breakdown on a remote track somewhere, that's what Epirbs are for. My cousins in Oz have a wee cheap class A one for bushwalking, they said I can borrow it for a while. Locates to within 20km within 24 hours when triggered, so good enough.

Yeah it may be a bit eccentric, but hey, I don't have anything to lose 'cept my life, so it's all good.:ride:

Good luck fella and good on ya for doing what thousands just dream about!

BUT, it's one thing to do the Postie Bike Challenge with lotsa company, support crew etc and it's quite another to be getting in the way of Road trains belting along at 110kph (or more) and having virtually no spares on hand with 100's of km's to the nearest service station.

Maaaaaate, Proper Prior Preparation Prevents Piss Poor Performance, so do your research and get your head around some of the requirements. If you don't: at best you'll look stoopid....at worst you'll be a dessicated corpse no-one will ever find.

Having said, don't forget to write and tell us how you're doing.

[janno]

http://postiebikes1.tripod.com/index.htm



The Postie Bike Club of Australia - they do lots of touring on unmodified bikes, so it can be done!

[Drum]

Meh. I did it in a Cortina, so your postie bike should be ok.

Actually, the Aussie is right. You're going to need to put some good planning into this thing to avoid risking your life.

[Taz]

Bye :finger:

[Rosie]

Have a look on http://www.advrider.com I remember a trip report a while back of some guys travelling around Aussie on CT110s.

[Jantar]

Have a look on http://www.advrider.com I remember a trip report a while back of some guys travelling around Aussie on CT110s.

Yes, it has been done. The main thing is to understand the bike that you are riding. That is don't push it too fast, just take it slow and easy, and pay close attention to the oil level.. I'll pass on the bike notes to Steam when he collects it in Cairns in 16 weeks.

I'm just not sure that I'll be able to take my own advice, so I'm trying to borrow a CT110 for a week or two to practice on before I go over. :scooter:

[Al]

Kewl

When you arrive in darwin, give me a call or email, will PM you with details!

Al

[Steam]

Just clarifying to those concerned about me (how touching!) that I'm definitely NOT planning on tackling isolated outback tracks that don't see any traffic for a week.

[NordieBoy]

Just clarifying to those concerned about me (how touching!) that I'm definitely NOT planning on tackling isolated outback tracks that don't see any traffic for a week.

Wimp.


:Punk: :scooter:

[bell]

Sounds like a great plan you have Steam.

Can't recall where I saw it, but someone pushed a postie bike off a 5 or maybe 10 storey building in an attempt to kill it. It started after a few coughs despite being a little, er, bent. Amazing piece of machinery.

I gave someone else a few ideas for an ex-Cairns trip here: http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showthread.php?t=50024

Fire away with questions or a PM Steam. I've done my share of driving on a lot of Qld roads and would be happy to give you some more tips mate.

[Chisanga]

Sounds awesome Steam. Have a great trip and make sure you don't get overtaken by too many 'roos :)

[janno]

Can't recall where I saw it, but someone pushed a postie bike off a 5 or maybe 10 storey building in an attempt to kill it. It started after a few coughs despite being a little, er, bent. Amazing piece of machinery.



was on the pay tv programme of top 10 bikes of all time, including one of Jay Leno's bikes, Y2K I think it was called, which was powered by a jet engine and melted a cars bumper he was in front of at the lights . . . :innocent:

[NordieBoy]

Helicopter turbine running on diesel, gets about 50 gpm :D

[Hitcher]

Good on you, Steam. Circumnavigating Australia is about 23,000km, so you should be able to easily do this on a CT110 in about two months!

[NordieBoy]

Good on you, Steam. Circumnavigating Australia is about 23,000km, so you should be able to easily do this on a CT110 in about two months!

That's about 3 tank fulls on the CT isn't it?
:scooter:

[janno]

Helicopter turbine running on diesel, gets about 50 gpm :D

Weren't it cool though!!!

[MyGSXF]

WICKED stuff Steam!!!! :2thumbsup sounds like one hell of an adventure!!!!!!!!! :banana:

Take good care.. :yes: but just watch that the power of said machine doesn't throw ya... :shutup:

Jen :rockon:

[Steam]

I arrive in Cairns on the 25th of October.
Look at these photos... I don't know if they were of the Postie Bike Challenge that Jantar is doing, or some other nutty trip, but boy, what a place.

[janno]

I arrive in Cairns on the 25th of October.
Look at these photos... I don't know if they were of the Postie Bike Challenge that Jantar is doing, or some other nutty trip, but boy, what a place.

Those photos could be WA, Queensland, NT, NSW, Vic . . . (that last one is Wave Rock, WA.)

That's the thing that really got me - you can ride for hours and hours and hours or be on the other side of the continent and it still looks the same. Makes you feel very small and humble . . .

[Zukin]

Good on you

I am jealous!! :yes:
Perhaps not of the bike but certainly the trip

Cheers

[sarahtvet]

Meh. I did it in a Cortina, so your postie bike should be ok.

Actually, the Aussie is right. You're going to need to put some good planning into this thing to avoid risking your life.

Ditto

Have a fab trip, on the to do list but NZ for me first :yes:
not a local yet!!!

I have travelled lots on my own,not on a bike I have to sadly admit, and it can be hard and dangerous at times but you can minimise those by the 7P's!!!

It is also makes for lifelong memories.

Can't wait to hear all about it, good on ya mate:rockon:

[Hawkeye]

Good on ya Steam. Enjoy the trip and bring back all of the memories to share with the envious!

[oldrider]

Good on ya Steam, doesn't mean you are leaving us, just going to be reporting in from somewhere else, about different things.

The Internet and KB is just the link.

Have a great time. :yes: Cheers John.

[Marknz]

Good onya. Round Aussie is the trip I want to do too, but I want to do it over a couple of years.

Look forward to reading the regular reports

[pritch]

An Aussie guy (Peter Theoming?) rode a CT90 Interstate around the world some years back so anything is possible.

Australia though has problems that we don't have, and you do need to be aware of them. A guy I know rode across the Nullabor last year, he and his mate were told not to ride near dusk because of kangaroos. They didn't take much notice until they had a very scary near miss, thereafter they heeded the advice.

At that time I asked my brother in WA about advice for bikers new to Oz and he said,
"Don't run over snakes."
"Don't hit wombats, they are like a beer barrel full of bricks".

I assume there's more of this local information, better to get it before you start than find out the hard way.

[Nasty]

That is so awesome to be able to take the opportunity to do this .... can't wait to see your regular updates :)

[gijoe1313]

Woohoo! Good on ya - have a ball and I know you'll do the right things to get the right result. Will be very cool to see your travel log and piccies along the trip! :niceone:

[janno]

The skippies are about at dawn and dusk and night. You can get away with riding if you keep your eyes peeled and drop your speed - which won't be such a problem on a postie bike perhaps.

I've been told the main thing with skippies is that if you avoid one successfully, it is highly likely you will hit one of its friends coming along next.

I've only seen road kill ones, no live ones and done a bit of night and dawn riding about a 3 hour radius of Brisbane - probably just luck though. Plus not as many here as WA where I was before.

[NZsarge]

Good on you Steam..Best of luck to ya.

[Lance]

Actually you could pick up mine I lost it on the road just sth oh Rockhampton the other day. Will be a bit wet but you welcome. May sea you in adaliad. Look for a FORBOB on a marone V strom 1000. Thats if I make it across the Simpson

Lance

[shafty]

Awesome Steam - way to go Mate - enjoy (as if you wouldn't!) - and keep us posted!!