2022 Australian FJ Rally March 26th Bermagui NSW

[Sparky84]

G'day Al, guess away buddy.

The oil is a joke about how much oil I'm using. The body of the message is missing, not sure why

Wirrulla SA, at the General Store and about halfway there.

How'd you feel at that point knowing you only had the next half to go?

[Troyskie]

Pretty good mate. We stopped there because our planned fuel stop was closed, I think permanently. We didn't have enough juice to get to Ceduna.

It was pretty funny seeing some towns like Kimba doing real well, but some others in decline

[Bozo]

The price you pay for having it in your backyard  
I might have to catch up with them on way back from Bendigo or meet them somewhere.

Cheers
Alan

G'day Al, the way things are looking at the moment, it's going to take me around 8,000 kms to attend the Rally that is probably less than 3kms
from my front door.
And NO, I am not kidding!
  Regards, Pete.  

Sounds like you're hanging 2 lefts instead of a 2 right to get to the Rally there Pete  
Will you be pillioning Mr Witt to the Rally also?
Have you organised new rubber somewhere, just in case, which day are you leaving and where's you first stop?
Very Jealous

Cheers
Alan

G'day Al, heading off this Thursday, hoping to get to Mildura for the first night. (approx 1,000kms) that should be the longest day we put in on the way over.
Not sure that I'd want John on the back for the ride home but I would if I had to.
Brand new tyres should (hopefully) get me there and back and will be ready for the bin once I get home.
The original ride was via Katherine and down south along the west coast but thanks to border closures that ride is on hold.
Looking forward to seeing WA, never been there before.
  See you at the Rally mate. Regards, Pete.  

Just noticed this, OUCH, that hurts Pete, I was looking forward to riding on the back as your bitch, I have Teddy packed ready for the trip. Unfortunately not this time. We went for a ride today, Pete Troy, Mark,  Nevv +1 (sorry bad with names) , My brother FZ1, Stan R6 and me on the Limo. Great ride to Waroona (Western Oz)where my group went back and the others continued to Margaret River

[Troyskie]

Couldn't miss this amazing mural at Wellington Dam on the way to Margs

[Bozo]

I had to escort these undesirables out of WA and sent them back to the Eastern states.

[ribbert]

Couldn't miss this amazing mural at Wellington Dam on the way to Margs

Spectacular Troy, have you seen all the silo art through Victoria?

I take it from the photos Pete got your brother's bike whipped into action and you're all heading East as per the original plan.

Pete, how good are those RJ's bags for the money? I travelled with a pair of those for years, best bang for buck out there.

Noel

[Troyskie]

Thanks for the escort John.

Us diseased eastern staters need to get back to our Covid crops  .

Pity you and Bella can't make the rally  

Thanks heaps for that clutch cover gasket  

We made it to Ravensthorpe just inside skippy hour but safe.

Lunch in Albany was a very quick bite before moving on.

We took the tourist ride via Porongurup, what a beautiful ride through some ancient hills.

Marks new flat slides are too rich and have fouled a plug, easy fix and then we dodge emus to Esperance on the way towards the border. We might stop early at Madura or if we get ahead we might make it to border village.

Noel, we did see some silo art, it is oz wide now. Where did it start? Each state seems to claim origin.

[Bozo]

Troy, it was an absolute pleasure meeting you Pete and Mark (others as well). We are in Albany a present going for the Skywalk in the Porongurup tomorrow. The GPZ purred like a kitten, had a drag with a couple of newer Harley's on the way back. not too bad but still had an edge.
Hope you guys have a safe ride and do the manly thing at the rally - Give them all a kiss and hug from Bella and me,,,,,,well the hug at least. If things don't get too bad we'll be there next year. OR is the rally going to be in WA?

Forgot to add, tell Mark at constant 240Kph he won't notice the rich mixtures.

[Troyskie]

Made it back to Kimba SA.

Yesterday was a run from Ravensthorpe to the Madura Pass. Fuel stops were more of a problem than we expected with many servos only having 91 which is no good for our higher comp bikes. The method was splash and dash to the next servo up the road. We finally found 98 at Norseman.

This (and possibly the worlds worst coffee later at Salmon Gums) caused us to be a bit late but with the 90 mile straight coming up we thought we could make up some time and still get to Border Village.

Unfortunately we came across a coupe who'd blown their radiator and were 160km from the nearest town with no mobile reception. Mark was able to get through for them to organise a tilt tray. This cost us another 45min. Although it was still early arvo we still had over 500ks to go and really needed to stop for an early dinner at Caiguna for a lambs fry and bacon special.

We did the 90 mile, but with temps sitting at 37C we were unwilling to push too hard, basically sitting at 5-6k on the tacho. We each did WOT for a short while, but with all our gear we each backed off once the front end got light.

I suggested we pull off at Cocklebiddy as we were losing the light, but with recent rain we all agreed that we would thread the skippy/emu/camel needle and push in to Madura Pass. Not a fun ride as all our bikes have standard useless FJ headlights. Fortunately the recent rain has kept the animals from the road. Given it is a desert this was a bit of rare fortune for us, including a big bright moon.

Here's a few pics

[Troyskie]

Righto, serial post to back up day two which is the rerun to Kimba in SA.

A fantastic early start from Madura Pass in WA for a great coffee and brekky in Eucla and fuel stop at Border Village just inside SA.

Here we go lads, high speed cruise across the Nullarbor and end to end of the Bight.

A few quick stops at the famous places with our Kimba goal looking like a real possibility.

There were a few issues, mainly my fuel range at speed and the cooked rings burning oil like Saddam. We did most of the cruise between 5 & 6k.

Mr Plod was blessfully absent. We did another skippy run from about half an hour out of Kimba, but again recent rare rain and an even fuller moon saw us to the pub for the night.

Tomorrow Mildura or nearby (not a fan of that place as a bike destination).

Here's some pics...

[Troyskie]

Chose to dodge Mildura and surrounds. Great when not wanting a pub stay on a bike. But crap for this trip.

We had a latish start from Kimba, but made up heaps of time to Port Augusta. The local bike shop was great, but are closing down in two weeks, so limited offerings for us.

I'd used 5 litres of oil over about 3000km. Most of it pretty high speed. Def need new rings, but Yummy will be still good for the rally, if a bit smokey. I call this the Bond effect so the pack can get away whilst I decelerate and cover all the plod screens in oil 

Nothing much else to report. Arrived in Berri and staying at the pub, on the banks of the Mighty Murray 

Here are the pics ...

[krusty]

Any chance of adding some castor oil to the mix to cheer up some of us old timers.

[ribbert]

.....Not a fun ride as all our bikes have standard useless FJ headlights. Fortunately the recent rain has kept the animals from the road. Given it is a desert this was a bit of rare fortune for us, including a big bright moon.

I like riding in the Outback and your photos and commentary bring back some great memories, I have photos of my FJ in many of the same places. Thanks for the travelogue.

On the last trip I did before fitting auxiliary lights, I too got caught out in the wonderfully named Orroroo, with the only servo in town suffering a power failure which meant no fuel), and ended up with a few hundred Km to travel after dark in serious roo country on roads even the locals didn't travel at night!

What I discovered accidentally was that I could see many times better by moonlight than with the headlight, so that's what I did for the last few hours, turned the headlight off and it was much less stressful. The country was flat and there was no other traffic.

I'm jealous guys, what a trip.

Unfortunately I won't be seeing you at the rally, turns out the soonest I can get the FJ inspected is April 4th. It never occurred to me they'd still be clearing a Covid backlog and working with reduced staff levels.

I hope the last leg of the trip is uneventful, it's been an epic journey, well done.

Noel

[Sparky84]

Great Photos Troy, takes me back but those roadhouses look pretty upmarket these days, not sure if I'd be allowed in....

As Noel says, jealous and you had good weather
Good to see the big Galah in Kimba. Good to see Pete loving every minute getting his photo taken. 

Any chance of adding some castor oil to the mix to cheer up some of us old timers.

Used to use that when bikes were new, give the mufflers some inside rust protection.

I'm jealous guys, what a trip.

Unfortunately I won't be seeing you at the rally, turns out the soonest I can get the FJ inspected is April 4th. It never occurred to me they'd still be clearing a Covid backlog and working with reduced staff levels.

I hope the last leg of the trip is uneventful, it's been an epic journey, well done.

Noel

Sad news that you'll miss the rally there Noel.
Pss, (I'll see you in Bendigo then but don't tell anyone)

Cheers
Alan

[Bozo]

Brilliant guys, glad to hear you're safe and well. I don't know what happened to the bacon patrol/ pigs in space (aerial ), I made at least five calls telling them some bikers were escaping from the WA fortress!.
Figures when we go through the Nulla we constantly see the cops - maybe its the Brisbanates making the phone calls. Brilliant Pics Troy, I can imagine you at the servo, "Fill up with Oil and Petrol for the rest"