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Photo by Hendi Kaf, in Cambodia

I haven't been everywhere...
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Photo by Hendi Kaf,
in Cambodia



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  • 1 Post By brett.marschke
  • 1 Post By tmotten

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  #1  
Old 28 Feb 2016
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Location: Brisbane, Australia
Posts: 12
Another Hello from Oz
Greetings Everyone, I'm Brett, been a lurker for a few months now but I've recently decided 'one day' will never come so I'm now planning my first big adventure.
I've been riding for about 4yrs now (late bloomer) and have taken a few trips around this great land of ours on my trusty '08 Vstrom but I have now succumbed to the lure of overland travel and (with the wife's blessing) started planning a Brisbane to London trip hopefully leaving May '17.
I must thank everyone on here for posting so much helpful information, I've learnt so much in 2 months!

I've 3 big decisions to make before I start making a million smaller ones.

1. Do I take the Vstrom? I do enjoy getting off the beaten track so do I spend money adventurising this one or replace it with a more dirt oriented ADV bike?

2. Do I start the trip riding away from my home in Brisbane or ship the bike a bit closer like Japan, South Korea or Vladivostok?

3. Most importantly, how long can I be away before the money runs out!

So be prepared HUBBers, a lot of noob questions coming your way in the next 12mths and I thank you in advance.

Cheers,
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  #2  
Old 28 Feb 2016
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Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Aus. Qld. Mackay
Posts: 474
?????
Yep take the Strom as you already own it (cheapest way)
Ride from Brisbane as it is part of the fun.
As for $ work out your budget & stick to it, I have never ridden that way so cant advise on daily budgets. But there will be plenty of people here that will.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7lnlhFyMYg
Thats our first trip.....so film your trip you will not regret it, some thing to relive.

Cheers
Paul
Up the road from you.
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  #3  
Old 28 Feb 2016
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Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Cornwall, in the far southwest of England, UK
Posts: 597
G'day Brett - I have good mates (a married couple) who live in the Waterford area of Brisbane.

They rode their 650 wee-strom, 2-up, from Brissie to England three years ago.
Their blog: Brisbane 2 Bristol

You would do well to hook-up with them to get some useful tips.

They're a delightful and very friendly couple. If you'd like an intro, then let me know.

cheers

Keith
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  #4  
Old 14 Mar 2016
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Location: Brisbane, Australia
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Hi Paul and Keith,
Thank you both for the advice.
Paul, I really liked your vid, looks like it was a great adventure.

Keith, I've had a bit of a look through the Brisbane2Bristol blog as well and will certainly take up the offer when the list of questions gets too long!!
Brett
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  #5  
Old 15 Mar 2016
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Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Oztralia
Posts: 646
Whatever you do, use a road bike and NOT an offroad bike. You can travel on any road between Oz and Europe on a road bike, with maybe a small comprimise on some of the rougher sections.

Conversely, an offroad bike will be a major compromise on 98% of the roads you travel.

As an example, I rode Oz - Europe - Southern Africa two-up on a road bike back in 1977 without problem, and believe me, the roads are much better nowadays.
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  #6  
Old 17 Mar 2016
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Location: Calgary AB
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Roads? Sounds boring. Fighting for space with drunk truck drivers. I interpreted "off the beaten path" differently.

Sent from my SM-G920W8 using Tapatalk
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  #7  
Old 8 May 2016
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Hi Brett, am planning the same only from Adelaide in May 18. Would be keen to keep in touch and follow your plans and trip

Darrin
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  #8  
Old 12 Jun 2016
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Posts: 1
G'day Mate I'm also thinking of doing a trip across Russia to England leaving in may17. I live in central Qld but my daughter goes to boarding school in brisbane so l get down there a bit.I may have a mate from Rockhampton who may come with me but is still unsure at this stage.I'm not real keen to do this trip by myself as its good to have a riding partner for safety etc even know I've been riding bikes (offroad) since I was a kid .we should catch up when im in Brisbane next to what your and my trip plans are. I currently ride a GSA1200 but properly sell it and get something smaller. Looking forward to hearing from you.

Thanks Robert D
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  #9  
Old 2 Aug 2016
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Robert P Donaldson View Post
G'day Mate I'm also thinking of doing a trip across Russia to England leaving in may17. I live in central Qld but my daughter goes to boarding school in brisbane so l get down there a bit.I may have a mate from Rockhampton who may come with me but is still unsure at this stage.I'm not real keen to do this trip by myself as its good to have a riding partner for safety etc even know I've been riding bikes (offroad) since I was a kid .we should catch up when im in Brisbane next to what your and my trip plans are. I currently ride a GSA1200 but properly sell it and get something smaller. Looking forward to hearing from you.

Thanks Robert D
Hi All, I also am new to this site and am looking to travel from Vladivostok to England. I haven't set a date or finalized a route as yet but was hoping too join another rider or two. Brett, I could be wrong but my understanding of riding from oz is that you either have to get a guide through china(expensive) or ship your bike across Burma,(you probably already know this) thus I was heading to Russia via South Korea. Robert, I am 54, no kids anymore and as mentioned looking at May. I have a Triumph Tiger and in the process of setting it up. I'm from Melbourne, looking at Mongolia the Stans and so forth. Also going to the HU event in Jindabyne in Nov. Cheers Dave.
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  #10  
Old 2 Aug 2016
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Join Date: Jul 2016
Location: Rosewood Qld Australia
Posts: 21
Hi All
New to HU & looking for the courage to kiss Aussie soil goodbye for a year or so on the road to the Uk. Great to read your post Brett & the reply's from Robert D & Huddo123, to see how many like minded travellers there are in Oz.
I am thinking to leave Feb/March 17 & check out SE Asia for a couple of months whilst the Northern weather warms up, then see how I feel about the rest of the trip. Asia should be easy on the budget (was in N Thailand for 2 weeks on 650 versys recently ) with a bit of restraint !! I'd love to head for Himalayas & Stans from there, but doing it alone is both daunting & challenging. The thought of hooking up with a fellow rider for at least some of the trip is very confidence inspiring.
Anyway, great to be on HU. ( this is my first post on any forum! ) Each time I check out the HUBB, I come away feeling so much closer to my goal.
Hope to meet some of you in Jindabyne later this year
All the best
Mark N (Bonnieo)
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  #11  
Old 10 Aug 2016
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Location: Brisbane, Australia
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Hey guys, apologies for the delay in replies to all your posts. I appreciate your comments and Mark's right, it's great to see so many like minded travelers in Oz.
I've kicked off a blog to start documenting the planning firstly and then something to use more frequently while on the road. Check out www.twowheelsoverland.com for more details.
I usually follow the HUBB on Tapatalk on my phone and I mustn't have something setup right as I hadn't seen your replies but I've got the blog setup for comments so if you want to get in contact, send me a note thru there. Hope to hear from you soon.
Brett
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