I went for a ride a couple of weeks back.
My usual interest is hunting out great bitumen and avoiding traffic but this time I went somewhere different - The Outback.
It is impossible to describe or adequately photograph the magic of the Australian Outback so I won't even try but there is no place on earth like it and the most spectacular way to get there is via the Flinders Ranges.
The first 1000km's or so was over familiar and well travelled roads. Single digit temps and squalls all day did not bode well as fine weather was needed to reach my destination.
Turning right a few Km's before Port Augusta (the best way to visit Port Augusta!) towards Quorn, the the dreary slab I had spent the morning on gave way to fabulous twisties. The cattle grid and the "You are now entering unfenced country" sign along with the change in vegetation, unique to this part of the country, left no doubt we had left civilisation behind.
Our destination that night was Wilpena Pound (below).
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/444/18872545424_5119bec086_o.jpg)
To give some ideal of the scale of this place, the picture below is a road we travelled inside part of the rim.
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This shot was taken within minutes of leaving the next morning, just as the sun was creeping through the cracks in the mountains.
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We headed North to Blinman then Parachilna on fairly tight dirt. Floodways were often so close together it was like riding a roller coaster. Recent rain had left the bottom of them wet. As the roads are clay, the dips were treacherously slippery. I soon figured out that if you hit them fast enough, the bike could only get so far out of shape before hitting the dry stuff on the other side. It was either this or paddle through at walking pace with both feet down.
Crossings like this helped keep the mud build up in check.
(https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3764/19495076365_22e6c272f1_o.jpg)
We were obliged to hit the bitumen again at Parachilna to reach our next destination, the Vulkathunya-Gammon Ranges.
The "Prairie Hotel" at Parachilna is the one of only two buildings that make up the town and a relic from from bullock dray days.
Doesn't it just make your mouth water?
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-o40wWpzKWX0/VZvSn6H-VUI/AAAAAAAAl4I/l08WPkOK6Ng/w800-h401-no/Parachilna%2Bmenu%2B3.jpg)
(http://)
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/547/19488645442_1a0ea59900_c.jpg)
Bangers and Mash, Outback style
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(the scones had Quandong jam on them, and outback thing)
Back on the road we made the most of the bitumen and sat on 160kph plus all the way to Copley on roads like this
(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-6WMyzpisc6s/VYgfiZCMGpI/AAAAAAAAlVw/vWD0XwihBk8/w1145-h859-no/P1000702.JPG)
and did not see a single vehicle. The roads are in excellent shape, no pot holes, not even repaired pot holes (lack of use maybe) a lovely mix of straights and magnificent high speed sweepers.
The floodways on this road were great fun, at 160 the suspension would bottom in the dip and you could feel your stomach rise over the top.
As soon as we turned onto the dirt we were confronted by this sign.
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Search and rescue is very expensive up here and travelling these roads in unsuitable weather almost a guarantee you will need it. The penalties are strictly applied and "severe" translates to a whopping $5000.
It said nothing about motor bikes so off we went.
This country blew me away.
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/344/19495075535_53a673c659_b.jpg)
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/516/18873379404_2bab9b37fa_c.jpg)
Once I got a feel for the colour and grade of the loose stuff, these hard packed clay roads could be ridden at a decent speed. The biggest trap was muddy tyre tracks, even shallow ones. If they were wet, is was like ice, if it was dry they set like concrete which was even worse. On some sections, it was like riding a plank width track between the two.
As it turned out, that car we saw earlier in the day ended being the only one we saw all day. We had all this to our selves.
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-nGOUQtnK-Wg/VY7QRmebYJI/AAAAAAAAlsI/O889K8MVF7M/w1145-h859-no/P1000798.JPG)
Breaking out of the hills onto vast plains with mountains in the distance was very Jurassic Park like, I would not have been surprised to see dinosaurs romping about.
This nights destination was Arkaroola, that's another whole story. Both here and Wilpena are world famous for various reasons so despite their remote location, the accommodation and facilities reflect that. Their remoteness is reflected in their prices!
I have not seen a night sky like this for 40 years (they have an observatory there) So many stars it didn't look real.
My brother spent much time spruiking the wonders of the GS for this sort of trip. I don't recall a single moment anywhere I couldn't have taken him on the FJ.
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/368/19469111236_2980410420_c.jpg)
Not much grip to be had a these temps.
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/525/19307660720_3be5171d29_c.jpg)
Some roads were rougher than others.
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I have never seen terrain change so abruptly. One minute you are cruising through the hills, you round a corner and ........
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/458/19251117529_36ee6e9903_c.jpg)
Photographic equipment included a couple of stock photos, a point and shoot that is water proof and lives in my jacket pocket, my phone which takes way better pictures than my camera but is not water proof, a compressed and emailed photo and my brother's camera that I think cost more than my bike.
The FJ used 500ml of oil in the first 1000km's and none for the next 3000km. We also had a few more hours at 160+ on the way home trying to beat the dark after being held up in a single servo town that had no power (just the servo) The owner had kindly offered to drive a one hour trip to get fuel in drums from the nearest town. Just after he left the electrician turned up restored power within 30 mins.
The last two hours of the day was spent riding at 50 - 60 kph at night through really bad roo country. This didn't eliminate the risk of hitting one, it just meant it probably wouldn't kill you.
I was absolutely exhausted after that.
We had two huge days to get home and I must admit by the evening of the second day, for the first time ever, I wished I had the BMW under me, but it only lasted till I got home.
Noel
Awesome Noel!
Sounds like an incredible journey. Stunning scenery!
Great post and pictures Noel ! I like how your bike was packed :lol:. If I did that nothing would go back on correctly the next day. I also enjoy open spaces with no traffic. I bit of heresy here but I enjoy the long isolated roads of Nevada :).
George
Great report Noel....you are the official guide if I ever get down under. I see an "FJ Adventure" modification the future.
Jeff
Great ride report Noel. Beautiful scenery. Amazing roads to ride on an FJ. Looks like you have everything but the kitchen sink on the back of that FJ. Just finished breakfast but with the food pictures I am hungry already. Dave
Awesome adventure Noel!
Thanks for sharing.
The pictures are superb! :good:
Other worldly for the uninitiated Stateside. Fantastic pics. Thanks for the tour. ------ Rick
The FJ is not the first pick of bike for such travels but it is amazing what you can do on one..
Cheers
Beautiful country, I hope to visit and enjoy the land we call down under....
Nice one Noel. My Bro & I we talking about a trip as well, but reminded each other we're not 20 anymore, those 1000k days would be pretty hard on my dodgey shoulder!
Awesome images mate. :good2:
Noel...that's incredible scenery and I love all the different roads you got to ride. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you for sharing. Looks like an incredible trip. Great photos.
Fred
Wow!! Fantastic trip and amazing pics.
I guess that proves that FJs are not restricted to paved roads.
Maybe it'll become the next fashion in Adventure Bikes :-)
Great pics Noel, This country has some fantastic scenery if your prepared to get out there and travel to see it.
I've said it once and I'll say it again, you need knobby tyres on that thing :biggrin:, not sure if they come in a 180 though, might handle like a pig on the bitumen, but imagine the size of the rooster tails you'll be throwing in the dirt. :biggrin: :good2:
Fantastic report, Noel! You get an A+ for sure. Nice to see I'm not the only one crazy (stupid) enough to ride an FJ on roads where it was never intended to go.
Zwartie
Quote from: Arnie on July 08, 2015, 10:57:25 PM
Wow!! Fantastic trip and amazing pics.
I guess that proves that FJs are not restricted to paved roads.
Maybe it'll become the next fashion in Adventure Bikes :-)
Arnie, I thought that we'd already proven our FJ's are a good choice for Adventure riding. NUNDLE springs to mind.
Great pics and ride report Noel. Would have been great to have been with you. My style of riding!
Regards, Pete. :drinks:
Quote from: oldktmdude on July 09, 2015, 06:55:00 PM
Arnie, I thought that we'd already proven our FJ's are a good choice for Adventure riding. NUNDLE springs to mind.
Great pics and ride report Noel. Would have been great to have been with you. My style of riding!
Regards, Pete. :drinks:
I'm not a dirt rider. Didn't grow up riding in the back paddock, nor in the woods that made the JackPine rally so famous. I even bought a trials bike that I rode around my property here, but never got much good at it.
That said, I've ridden more unpaved roads on my FJ than I really care to remember.
Some were good hard packed clay, some were sand, some were gravel, and one was even baseball sized gravel. On none of them was I comfortable. Not uncomfortable enough to cause me to turn around, but enough to cause me to tighten up, which I knew was the wrong thing to do, and made me less safe and more tired once I got through it.
The biggest problem I had at Nundle was being the tail rider of the 4 or 5 of us and dealing with all the dust. You, with your riding style of "close eyes and give it heaps" were in front and didn't have to deal with the fog of camoflauge you were causing. No matter, we all got through and to the destination.
:drinks:
Arnie
Quote from: Arnie on July 09, 2015, 09:58:27 PM
The biggest problem I had at Nundle was being the tail rider of the 4 or 5 of us and dealing with all the dust. You, with your riding style of "close eyes and give it heaps" were in front and didn't have to deal with the fog of camoflauge you were causing. No matter, we all got through and to the destination.
:drinks:
Arnie
Sometimes tunnel vision can be a good thing. Many a time I've led a group of mates up the local coast road (race track) and when we arrived home, they'd ask me if I had seen as many roo's or wallabies as they had. Usually, I honestly reply
"what wallabies? if I had seen them I would have slowed down".
Pete. :shok:
Just awesome! The trip, the scenery and the ride report! Thanks for sharing!
We've got a mate up here in the German Forum who uses Conti TKC80 on his FJ during the winter. The right stuff to make those slippery passages comfortable; he reports those rubbers aren't too bad on paved roads up to 160 km/h.
Cheers Jo
What a great story Noel. Brilliant pictures and story. Would love to do that one day. Certainly had the FJ loaded up. How long did you go for? Jeff
Mmmm, nice photos Noel, would have been a great trip. I bet that FJ of yours was back to its pristine condition the day after you got back, any stone chips? :unknown:
Would I do that trip on the FJ, I doubt it. I would think the low profile rear tyre plus short travel suspension would make it a very uncomfortable ride? Give me a nice Tenere or similar and I'm there though. :good2:
Awesome ride report mate!
So great you shared that ride with a brother.
One of the best adverts I`ve seen for putting the "Australian Outback" on a bucket list!
(Pretty "Central" and would make a great FJ rally destination for 2017!) :drinks:
Thanks for the great read Noel, wow.
How was the fuel situation? Did you have to carry any to get to your fuel stops?
With country like that, it's good to travel with a buddy. Who knows what could happen?
Amazing, daunting and beautiful.
Cheers.
Quote from: X-Ray on July 10, 2015, 10:37:17 AM
Mmmm, nice photos Noel, would have been a great trip. I bet that FJ of yours was back to its pristine condition the day after you got back, any stone chips? :unknown:
Would I do that trip on the FJ, I doubt it. I would think the low profile rear tyre plus short travel suspension would make it a very uncomfortable ride? Give me a nice Tenere or similar and I'm there though. :good2:
Yes Ray, it was back in pristine condition but not the next day, took a week and half. The mud and dust doesn't just cover everything, it stains it. Normal washing hardly touched it. Everything needed scrubbing and polishing.
I took it out yesterday for the first time since I cleaned it and was about to ride into a 10,000 ft high wall of weather so I pulled over and took one shot of it clean just before riding into the storm. I did 650 km's on it today in the rain and it's filthy again, but nothing like before.
No stone chips, they mostly come from other vehicles, and there were none. The mud protected the leading edge of the belly pan and interestingly, the underslung caliper which is the one part that does cop a lot of debris, still doesn't have a single chip on it with the polyurethane paint.
The ride was very comfortable. The preload was backed off to within a couple of threads of it's limit. If the roads had been worse, I would have dropped the tyre pressures to 25psi, that makes a
huge difference.
It was interesting to see when cleaning the tyres, the marks left in the sidewall from distortion over rocks, some of them almost to the rim.
Overall, it wasn't that demanding on the FJ and the roads were the best dirt roads I've ever ridden.
Noel
Quote from: Jeff0308 on July 10, 2015, 08:15:15 AM
What a great story Noel. Brilliant pictures and story. Would love to do that one day. Certainly had the FJ loaded up. How long did you go for? Jeff
Good to hear from you Geoff.
I could only manage 6 days, 2 or 3 more for the same ride would have been great.
I fully understand your feelings on the RT. I have been trying to buy one for a while and have travelled interstate twice to look at them. I love that boxer motor. My brother's done a 180,000km's on his since '09, having ridden a bike for the first time only a year before at age 60! and he doesn't commute.
The last one I rode had a Sargent seat which looked hideous but was incredibly comfortable, dropped pegs, raised and pulled back bars and a better screen. You could not only ride this thing to Queensland, but if you could find some way of taking a leak, you could turn around and come back again without even getting off it.
Gold wing comfort but light and with sporty handling. The sale of the FJ would let me buy the year model I really want, but it's going nowhere, I could never part with it, so it will be a slightly older RT.
Who cares if they break down, I know a good mechanic.
Noel