Touring Sporty
 

Attachment 4977This will be a journey both "Up to the Territory", and "Down Memory Lane"!

In the late 1970s, I rode a BMW R60/5 from Sydney to Alice Springs and a new job, which changed the direction of my life.

Now retired, I will travel from Little Mountain, Qld, to Darwin, NT on my long-term Harley Davidson 1200 Sportster, via Birdsville. I would have gone via Birdsville the first time, if I had realised that Birdsville is a travel icon!

Most of the time I would travel in company with wife, Jill, on her XVS650 Yamaha, but this time Jill will fly, and meet me in Darwin.

Rob Hall

Have a great time!
Your wife doesnot feel like driving ?

Enjoy your trip!!:funmeteryes:

She does usually like riding, but this road will have a great deal of kilometers on dirt. And that she does not like.

Rob

Sounds Great. I look forward to hearing about it.:thumbup1:

Touring Sporty
 

Thanks. A Sportster is not a touring bike of course - HD have a series of bigger bikes for that job.
But I like the agility of the Sportster, and have found that it will not even notice the 50kg of touring gear that I normally carry, and, having reached the destination, it all comes off in 6 minutes. Then the packmule becomes a quarter-horse again!

I have travelled this route many times, but never by bike.
My Sportster is of course a genteel, city-guy, cruisish lollard by edict from the MoCo, but somewhere deep in it's gene pool it must have a racial memory of the Furious Fifties, when it ran the Jack Pine Rally, and the Santa Catalina Grand Prix.
So why not eat a little dirt now? So the gravel roads it was for us, and that meant Darwin via Windorah and Birdsville.
So the leaving of Queensland's long narrow and bumpy sealed roads was to end at Windorah, before facing the even worse gravel roads.
And in Windorah, there was a number of things to be done.
First, post home about 15 hundredweight of clothing that I should have never brought in the first place.
Second; buy some fuel from a blind man. As you do.
Yes, the gentleman was definitely blind, he finally admitted as much, but not until we had gone through a to-and-

Sorry about the last entry. I think that this small slow e-machine computer does not like fast impatient typists.

Anyway: the blind console operator: I think that he never gets cheated.
Because his customers are either locals, who would watch each other like hawks; or tourers like me. And we would not cheat him either. Just because.

Rob

27.7.11.
Wild camped beside the road for the first time in years, and sure eniough, a rat came by and ate a hole through the bottom of my plastic cup. Ignoring, on the way, two Uncle Toby's Muselie Bars, and a cask of half - decent Yalumba Reisling.
Not sure what this tells us about rodent discrimination...

Arrival in Birdsville early on the 28th, hoping to find hotel or motel accomodation. No chance, this is High Season in the outback, and the little town was jam-packed with Grey Nomads, who had arrived in 4 by 4s, or by air, as apprpriate to factors like affluence and relative decrepitude.

Not that I scorn other people's modes of travel, as I am/have been both bushdriver and aviator. But the population crush put me back under canvas again for the coming night. Ah well. I have slept worse.

But after the mandatory photoshoot outside the pub, I went in to find food and beer and was immediately fined for using a cell-phone in the bar! (All in fun. The proceeds go to the Royal Flying Doctor Service)

And while in there, I met with a group of dusty Kiwi adventure riders on Suzuki DR, BMW and KTMs, who were competing in a rally run by an Australian property development company. Apparently, the ride details are on ADV rider, but I have not checked.

The company had organised for contestants to start from numerous points around the country and navigate via GPS co ordinates, with position reporting via SPOT satellite tracking.

Hard men to be sure. And as I pointed out to them, a group who would have to return on another occasion and ride the same tracks again, next time looking at the country, instead of constant high speed blasting.

"Oh? you arrived in Birdsville from the South? That would have been on the Birdsville Track fom Marree, right?"

"Ah, yeah, I suppose so"

"Did you see Tom Kruse's Outback Mailrun Truck? The Lake Eyre Sailing Club? Australia's oldest, oudoor mosque,as used by the Afghan cameleers in the 1800s?"

"Er no"

Ah well I'm only jealous that I can longer ride so hard and fast....

Rob

Nice report.:clap:

Waiting for more pics!:thumbup1:

Turning North
 

29.7.11 After seeing the Kiwi Adventure rider/rallyists off, I turned North again towards Boulia.

Riders will know that Australia in general and Queensland had huge rains earlier this year.
So much for Global Warming and "we may never see flooding rains again"!
So it was no real surprise to me to find lakes where there never lakes before in living memory. And: oh yeas, they just crossed the road.

I have to say, it's the first time that I have heard Harley exhausts underwater. Happy too, to avoid hearing the air intake underwater...

All in a day's ride, and the delight of the desert after rain came back to me.
And the birdlife! Just check some of the pix.

Boulia is the home of the "Min Min light", by popular aclaim. It seems that at certain times on a cold night, it is possible to see a mysterious light moving slowly along the horizon. Mystery indeed!

But the answer my be less mysterious than Roswell New Mexico. It seems that a cold layer of air can refract light from a far- away road train over the (very flat) hoizon. And there is your silent moving light.

In the pub that night, I had another incredulous query about a "Harley in the Outback". I do not know why people are surprised at this. Certainly, there are a host of made-for-the-job adventure bikes on offer, but there is no reason that any well-maintained bike should not do the job.
And a Harley was the first motorbike ever to be ridden around Australia. In 1929, two-up and burdened with a sidecar, sometimes through places where roads did not exist.

So how did I prepare my bike for the trip. Er actually, I didn't.
I did take a spare drive belt, since belts do not like gravel very much, I'm told. My belt had 2 stone-holes when I left and the same number at the end of the trip.
Peter and Kay Forwood who have ridden their Harley in every country in the world, have never bothered to convert over to chain drive, as have so many other HD adventurers.

The only modifications that I have installed on this bike were to fit Intiminator valve-kits in the front forks, and I fitted "Progressive" rear shocks at the rear. I'll say more about this later.

Rob

Actually; this my problem. I do not have a URL, and can only attach pics from my own computer. And there used to be a way to do this. But no more!!!
Can you suggest?

Rob

And at last I came to Dajarra.
All those years ago, I had concluded that I had found the axxxole of the world. How little I knew. Since that time I have travelled extensively in Australia and have found a smorgabord of contenders for that title.....

This time I found a quiet little town centred around a roadhouse, selling petrol, groceries, beer....

And was this last commodity that dragged down impressions last time. Dozens of roaring, brawling drunks - and the damn BW would not start! I found a loose battery terminal and seemed to unpack tools to fix it.

But I was rescued by a smiling elderly Indigenious fellow, who proffered me a beer can ring-pull. (remember them?) What a guy!

This time Dajarra was quiet and peaceful, and I was happy to pass through, have a toasted sandwich, and ride on.

And enjoy the wildlife and sights.

Rob

Below: A suitable campsite? Gibber plain.

A few pics along the way.

• Down came a jumbuck to drink at the billabong.
• Dingo fence.
• Dire warning.

Last pic was on the underside of a bridge. And:
Whoops! Not all birds fly!

Nice report, I am day-dreaming of a similar trip instead of doing work now.. :clap:

Thanks, Gixxer,
The piccy with the tank (actually an APC), was taken at Three-Ways a highway intersection in the NT.

This was not the evidence of a trenchant attitude. A sign on the fuel pumps demanded that the driver leave his drivers licence on the counter before the pumps would be switched on! Too many drive-offs, the message said...

And once inside, the same licence had to be produced before any alchohol could be purchased. Same culprits, it seemed.

The Northern Territory has a speed limit of 130kph, now. Until 2007, the NT had no speed limits. So did the road accident rate fall when the new limit came in? No, it went up!

A statistical anomaly, I am sure. But it did illustrate the point: that while high speed may cut down the available reaction time, and increase the severity of an accident, it is rarely the PRIME CAUSE of that accident.

The true cause is almost always
"Lack of Situational Awareness".

200kph on this road, the Stuart Highway, was rarely dangerous. But on the same, or any road, 50kph may cause an accident if a distracted driver reversed onto the road in front of oncoming traffic. Which driver would have been at fault, at any speed? BOTH!

Heading North again, up the Stuart Highway. This time I will try for Elliot, not stopping at Renner Springs for fuel. Sure enough, I ran out of fuel 10 km short of Elliot, so my 5ltr jerrycan was needed.

I have found that I burn about 5.9 ltr per 100km, if cruising at 120kph, and about 95kph, carrying about 60 kg of camping gear etc, most whch sits behind me so should contribute little to drag. Ah; but the panniers do! And I think that the drag from them causes the extra fuel use.

North, North, ever North, for an overnight stay at Mataranka.

Rob

• Highway doubles as an airstrip, for Royal Flying Doctor Service, for emergency evacuation.

I hear you Rob, I live in Vic so I am being brainwashed daily that speed is the devil and is the cause of all things bad in the world. And thats why there are speed camera's everywhere and Traffic cops hiding in the bushes waiting to save me from doing 63 in a 60 zone. :cursing:

Keep the info coming. Oh I think that APC is a LAV 25. They float.

This is far enough for one day: Mataranka. I'll stay the night here.
I have always been fond of wine casks, and for the first time had to go through the Banned Drinkers screening process. My licence was scanned into a computer to see if I am a banned drunk (I'm not), and then I was permitted to buy. Buy what? Cask wines are banned in Mataranka, so I had to pay $26 for a very overated bottle of Chardonay. Ah well. I'll be in Darwin tomorrow!

Meantime, I was under canvas again, with those cans of baked beans for dinner, washed down by overpriced wine.

And I should complain. In 1929, Jack Bowers and Frank Smith had passed this way in their journey around Australia with a Harley Davidson and hugely overloaded sidecar. Baked beans? Sheer Luxury! Most the time they cooked a flour and water damper, unless they were lucky enough to shoot a bush turkey. And their muddy drinking water might have to have been strained through a bandage.

Rob

And at last we are in Darwin!

But crossing the Adelaide River these days is a possible in a Winnebago, unlike young Jack in 1929, when they recklessly charged at the river crossing, bashed their way through and kept right on going, after seeing a group of angry tribemaen with 3 metre long spears.



My first bad discovery was a "pop" rivet stuck in my back tyre. What are the odds! Could have happened out of Birdsville. Or: my nemesis; Dajarra.

And at last in Darwin, I can get a new tyre fitted, and get on with what the trip was about in the first place: the fly-in at Coomalie Creek airstrip.

Coomalie was a fighter bomber base during the War, hosting Beaufighters and Mosquitos.

And each Dry Season, local fliers fly in, party overnight and fly home in the morning. After going to the chapel, that is. The chapel was rebuilt as original by the farmer, Richard Luxton, as the most amazingly cool and efficient tropical church Iv'e ever seen.

And more from Coomalie Creek

Great write up!

My trip plan takes us from Darwin down to Melbourne. A friend who lives in Melbourne is planning to fly up to meet us when we ariive, buy a bike and ride back with us, so interesting to read about your journey

Trying again! From Coomalie Creek - again...
This is Dave Sykes with a FLYING trike. Dave is a paraplegic pilot, who is flying - alone and unsupported fom the UK to Sydney (he made it).
Yes, he was a biker. A motorist did something dumb in front of him. And there but for the grace of God, my friends go we all.
Dave dismantles his wheel chair and stows ints parts around the aircraft. The wheels can be seen on the side.
Rob

Hey, Trackdayrider excellent plan!
But unless you have an adventure bike, I'd advise you to not to bother with the trip from Camooweal to Gregory Downs. Gravel's OK but that track is hard work.
Rob

hi Rob - Yeah cheers. It will be a great adventure - Although having seen the guy in the microlight - I'm feeling a little insignificant!!!

Planning on a Xt660 Tenere
http://www.chasingdreams.talktalk.ne...es/xt4_big.jpg

Does my bum look big in this?

What a way to load up a Sporty! Turning a pinto into a draught horse?

Your setup looks much neater than mine, Mark. Hope you can keep so pristine all the way.
Hard to see in this photo are my new shocks. My "Progressive" shocks were not really up to the rough roads around Birdsville and one of them blew a seal, spraying oil onto my rear brake linings and disc. I replaced with YSS, which were about twice the price but feel much better.
Rob

I'm at home now, and I have used up most of my "image allowance". So I'll close with one of my most enduring images. Black Kite. Near Bedourie.

Rob

Ok, I lied. Not quite finished.
I suppose that we all need a little time to reflect and see the major and minor elements.

I was often struck by peoples' surprise regarding the presence of a Harley in such rough country. And why not? I would query.

"After all the first motorbike to travel around Australia was an HD over 80 years ago, two-up and with a sidecar, where few (or no) roads existed."

"Yeah, but...?? "

I do understand.
Rough desert and bush roads are hardly within the common image of Harleys and (God forbid!) not at ALL within the scope of Willie G Davidson.
Not too many sales to be made with Adventure Bike crowd.

And besides they are doing just fine in their traditional markets. I understand that nearly half of the big bike sales in this country last year were Harleys.

So then I got the shock/horror reaction to all those gravel roads being travelled on a belt drive bike. When I got a new tyre fitted in Darwin, the mechanic was aghast to find: " Rob! You have two holes in your drive belt! "
"Actually, old boy, There are 3 holes. Been there for tens of thousands of kilometers. The Birdsville roads did not cause any new ones."

Besides, I didn't add, I carry a spare belt. A relative virgin with only 2 holes. And I carry enough tools to change the belt at the side of the road if necessary.

I might have mentioned my only maintenance hastle of the trip: My left rear shock absorber (Progressive, after market fit) spat out it's oil, and while it continued to work well enough, the oil ended up on the rear brake - and totally stuffed it.
And let me tell you this boys and girls: after such an event, DO NOT spend money on cans of Brake Kleen. Because those pads are screwed. Just buy new ones, clean and roughen up the disc and Ride On.


Then I get the query; "How can you spend all that time on long, straight boring, roads without going mad from boredom. And this is the best bit: Three letters: MP3.

Yes you can listen to truckies swearing at each other if you like that.
I dont. Or you can listen to hours of canned music. Yeeaah I do that some.

But what turns the boredom into enlightement for me is the smorgasbord of internet downloads from the broadcasters. ABC, BBC, CNN.....

My cup runneth over! Science, astronomy, religion, history, philosophy...
My vast overload of kilometres has transmogrified into a nexus of rock-solid conviction.

We are created; not just evolved; and Jesus of Nazareth was exactly what He was claimed to be.
The Son of God. And I'll say no more on this matter.

Rob

Map?
 

Rob,
I love your story & photos. Thanks so much for sharing. As an American who fantasizes about circumnavigating Australia one day, I include a map with an overview of your route. Is it accurate?
Thanks again. - Fabini Moto Fabini Tour

Hi John
No that is not quite the route I travelled to Darwin.I travelled from Caloundra Qld via Quilpie, Windorah, Birdsville, Broken Hill, Camooweal, then Three Ways to Darwin.
And then came the return journey, backtracking to Camooweal, thence to Gregory Downs (the worst 100km) to Cloncurry.
I stayed there for a few days, while waiting for my wife and friends, to ride in the Southern Cross Club's Poker Run.
This took us North to Karumba, Normanton, Croydon, Ravenshoe to Cooktown.
Then South, south, south, to home again in Caloundra. 14 000km in all.

Sorry; cannot show you the map, seems I have used my full credit of 2mb. But you can follow all the place names through on Google Maps.
Rob