Sydney in June

[Freakshow]

Hey everybody,

I am looking at heading to Sydney and thinking about hiring a bike and crusing up the coast for a day or two.

I have found the following place to get a bike.

I am thinking about trying to go from Sydney north up the coast and try to get to Coffs Harbour???

But I am curious if anyone else has done this sort of thing and is there anything I should be aware of??

Whats the weather generally like at this time of year??

It looks about 400km on the map but is it build up all the way etc??

Any recomended paths I should take to get there and alternatives back??

Thanks in advance!

[Delphinus]

I drove ( ) with a friend over the waterfall way (78) and it was fantastic, every corner i was wishing i was on the bike...
http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&z=12...,0.541077&om=1
Prob best going east to west over it if you are using 2 routes in and out of coffs.

[Freakshow]

does any one know what the weather is like that time of year??

[Trudes]

The trip out to Bathurst through the Blue Mountains is a stunner too!

[Gershon]

Hi,

Have a look at this site for bike hire as well. http://www.ozmoto.com/index.htm

I used them from Brisbane earlier this year - good guys.

Not sure about Sydney heading north, but there is a map of Australian Motorcycle Rides, just like the NZ one - if you could get your hands on a copy of that before you go it would be worthwhile finding out about the trip.

The guys at OZMOTO sent me off with a copy and gave great local advice about where to travel.

[Hitcher]

Rule 1 for touring: Avoid the main roads wherever possible.

[Freakshow]

Avoid the highway mmmm! So far I have organised a direction, North. and a bike a HD soft tail deluxe. Now just need to get a map and work out a plan!
I will keep you updated!

[Freakshow]

Right, the bike is booked and now I am trying to find a map of Sydney so I can plan a route. So far we pick the bike up near the city and I was going to head north over some bridge and head north via the main route hoping this will get us north past newcastle. from there stay close to the coast and around some of the national parks near Forester. So any thoughts suggestions??

[Shadows]

does any one know what the weather is like that time of year??

Not toooooo bad. Kind of like our summer.

[Freakshow]

Just a quick write up about the trip.

Well we headed over to Sydney and were welcomed by a lot of rain. This proved interesting while wandering the streets of Sydney as they have umbrellas and don’t know how to use them. A lot of dodging and weaving was needed to get down George Street. The Ceroc dance comp went well and I guess it was a good thing that’s why we were there as outside was crap.

Monday it had finally cleared and in good time as we picked up the Harley, a ’06 Softail deluxe. Once all the paper work was done and all gear loaded we were off. Well along Parramatta Road and on to the motorway negotiating toll roads etc. At the foot of the Blue Mountains I was getting a bit curious as I had been on the bike for about an hour and travelled about 60km and had one gentle corner on route the rest was straight motorway. But I was pleasantly surprised that it was comfortable to roll through the corners and I soon found what it took for the runners to touch. It was a great trip to Katomba and with some great views all the way. That was when I wasn’t avoiding potholes. We stopped to check out the three sisters and they didn’t seem to have the same bike parking policy there as I am use to and had to find a park like any Joe with a car, what made this worse was having to lug all the luggage. But it was worth the view. Catherine was quick to move on, as she wanted to stay on the bike and who and I to argue.
Further up the road at Mt Vic we headed east to the Bell lines of roads. At this stage I was finally getting use to the ride and more importantly cornering. It was a very different experience to what I am use to. I was surprised when it bottomed out in a bump in the road, which shot straight up the spine. We went past an air force base in Richmond and it was obviously different to going past Ohakea, they had planes!
I have to admit there were a few occasions where we drove by intersections and thought was that it but the nature of the trip meant it did not matter as we made it to the bed and breakfast as the sun was setting. We would have to wait till morning to admire the surroundings. But the meal was great and the bottle of desert wine after dinner was superb.
The B & B was on a hill above a bend in the Hawkesbury River, and a great view of the surrounding bush and orchards. A few phone calls and we found out that the ferries that we need to cross the rivers were all out because of the storm. We had to make a few changes but we got to Wiseman’s ferry and were guttered to see the road we were suppose to be on as it looked like fun. It was to follow the river back to the pacific highway, bordered by a national park. I was let to guess my way through the back roads to Sydney. A few bad calls I found the M2 which was to carry us over the harbour bridge and to the depot. With all the toll booths and e-tag only tunnels this was not simple. I can not believe how confusing a motorway system can be. Melbourne, LA, NY are easy to follow and work out but this was something else. I was glad to see the Harbour Bridge. The Harley was great ride of this trip as we were in no hurry and wanted to be comfy. It sounded great especially rolling down hills. I did have to take it easy as scraping through a corner was fine but any bumps in the corner were a pain. I am not in any rush to get myself one, much to Catherine’s disappointment but she is still trying to wear me down. I think it maybe she felt in place dressed in black with the tassel jacket. I would defiantly recommend the trip and for it to be done on a Harley.
Of course upon our return I did have to go for a ride as soon as I could and also see all the mods my bro had made. Going back to the ZX6R was scary as it reminded me of how different the bikes are.

So if you are interested I highly recommend Mark at www.bikeroundoz.com and Kevin and Jenny at Jerimuda B&B