- Joined
- Apr 9, 2012
- Messages
- 1,293
- Location
- Perth, Western Australia
I can't say enough about this bike. This is just ramblings from my weekend solo ride.
I'm smitten all over again. I wish we had some smoother roads here but regardless every time I take to the country I feel like I'm in an Isle of Man TT video - hammering through the countryside on a less than perfect surface at speeds that would make your teeth rattle out in a car.
My favourite short stretch of road through the local forest is heralded by a sign warning me of trees on the edge of the road (no .... Sherlock!). I love this perfect tarmac and smooth sweeping bends through the trees, I just wish it lasted longer but its over in a flash.
I'm out beyond any hint of suburbia now. The growl from the engine is angry, aggressive and purposeful, and just when you think its on full song you realise you've got another 3-4,000 rpm in hand. Twist the throttle then and its like you've hit a nitrous button, except this one doesn't run out after 10 secs.
Overtaking lines of 5 or 6 cars in one hit, I passed a Diavel and left it in the dust, although he looked like he tried to keep up for a bit. I love the downshift behind cars when you have to slow and pause before launching an overtaking move, the racing down-shifting engine behind them making drivers strain to see you in their mirrors.
I'm deep in Emu territory now and I try to block out the spectre of wandering or hopping wildlife. Anytime something could nip out in front of me but you just cant dwell on these things riding in Oz.
I get lucky, slowing to zip up my jacket pocket I pass a police car in the middle of nowhere and he flashes me with his headlights. I wave back acknowledging I was probably 10-20kph over the limit (thanking God I wasn't 100kph over the limit). Anyway turns out he was warning me about a dead kangaroo on the road further ahead (although I smelt it before I saw it!) - the fauna doesn't have to be alive to be a hazard!
I'm back going so fast now I really doubt the effectiveness of the DP higher screen, my neck is straining with the wind pressure on my helmet and I'm gradually losing my sight to the splattering of bugs that are constantly hitting my visor. I've given up trying to clear them, too dangerous, and it adds to the adrenalin rush as I sweep through a set of bends on the bumpiest stretch of road so far. I find myself wishing for racing tear-offs.
Straight roads are just temptation to try and top out the top speed but seriously, the bike starts to feel very hairy, and common sense kicks in again as the next set of bends approaches fast. Knowing I have ABS is some consolation, the quartz gravel they use to make the roads here can sometimes be a hidden hazard. Note to self to get the front suspension as sorted as the rear.
Slowing down to enter a smal town creates anticipation of when !'ll be able to accelerate out the other side. Stopping for gas again I think of the Pearl Jam lyrics about 'gas in the tank' being like 'money in the bank'. The bike feels even better when I set off again, after a red bull and a couple of Nurofen to fend off the aches. (I'm 45 and I've done 350km so far this morning and I'm far from home so pain killers keep things enjoyable a bit longer) Just a note though - the fuel consumption at this speed is pretty bad. Not really counting but second tank only took me 150km.
I'm really in the middle of nowhere now, probably nothing for a couple of hundred kms around me and it does cross my mind that if I was to have a mishap it would be a long time till anyone found me. Did I say you can't think about this stuff, well its bloody hard not too, perhaps its an age thing, more aware of my mortality! I'm riding through a stunted forest of silver gums contrasting with the red earth and gravel of the Australian outback. The road is almost single track so I'm really hoping the local farmer is not moving his harvester!
I finally hit one of the main highways - the one that all of the road-trains, often 3 trailers long, shipping pigs and cattle also use. You can smell the road-trains before you see them as well. There is a technique for following and passing three trailer loads shedding piss and .... liberally as it bumps along - position yourself at a fair distance with a view of whats ahead, drop two cogs and nail it, using sheer speed to punch through the turbulence. Same goes for passing a road-train going the other way. Tuck behind the screen and accelerate.
The next hazard is a wide load, a seriously wide load, normally that wouldn't slow me much but I have to pull completely off the road to avoid a couple of massive earth moving machines bound for the mines up North.
By the time I stop to meet some friends for a late lunch I am physically and mentally drained and I'm actually glad to get off the bike for a while! The ride home late that afternoon is a lot more sedate, I've taken more out of myself than I realise and I feel like I might have used up my luck for the day. I look at the tyres, they look weird, scrubbed in is probably how I would describe them - running at high speed on such rough roads for a long time seems to have take its toll. Note that the comfort seat has made this a relatively painless trip!
A day later and well rested I can't wait to hit the road again and she sits downstairs tempting me!
I'm smitten all over again. I wish we had some smoother roads here but regardless every time I take to the country I feel like I'm in an Isle of Man TT video - hammering through the countryside on a less than perfect surface at speeds that would make your teeth rattle out in a car.
My favourite short stretch of road through the local forest is heralded by a sign warning me of trees on the edge of the road (no .... Sherlock!). I love this perfect tarmac and smooth sweeping bends through the trees, I just wish it lasted longer but its over in a flash.
I'm out beyond any hint of suburbia now. The growl from the engine is angry, aggressive and purposeful, and just when you think its on full song you realise you've got another 3-4,000 rpm in hand. Twist the throttle then and its like you've hit a nitrous button, except this one doesn't run out after 10 secs.
Overtaking lines of 5 or 6 cars in one hit, I passed a Diavel and left it in the dust, although he looked like he tried to keep up for a bit. I love the downshift behind cars when you have to slow and pause before launching an overtaking move, the racing down-shifting engine behind them making drivers strain to see you in their mirrors.
I'm deep in Emu territory now and I try to block out the spectre of wandering or hopping wildlife. Anytime something could nip out in front of me but you just cant dwell on these things riding in Oz.
I get lucky, slowing to zip up my jacket pocket I pass a police car in the middle of nowhere and he flashes me with his headlights. I wave back acknowledging I was probably 10-20kph over the limit (thanking God I wasn't 100kph over the limit). Anyway turns out he was warning me about a dead kangaroo on the road further ahead (although I smelt it before I saw it!) - the fauna doesn't have to be alive to be a hazard!
I'm back going so fast now I really doubt the effectiveness of the DP higher screen, my neck is straining with the wind pressure on my helmet and I'm gradually losing my sight to the splattering of bugs that are constantly hitting my visor. I've given up trying to clear them, too dangerous, and it adds to the adrenalin rush as I sweep through a set of bends on the bumpiest stretch of road so far. I find myself wishing for racing tear-offs.
Straight roads are just temptation to try and top out the top speed but seriously, the bike starts to feel very hairy, and common sense kicks in again as the next set of bends approaches fast. Knowing I have ABS is some consolation, the quartz gravel they use to make the roads here can sometimes be a hidden hazard. Note to self to get the front suspension as sorted as the rear.
Slowing down to enter a smal town creates anticipation of when !'ll be able to accelerate out the other side. Stopping for gas again I think of the Pearl Jam lyrics about 'gas in the tank' being like 'money in the bank'. The bike feels even better when I set off again, after a red bull and a couple of Nurofen to fend off the aches. (I'm 45 and I've done 350km so far this morning and I'm far from home so pain killers keep things enjoyable a bit longer) Just a note though - the fuel consumption at this speed is pretty bad. Not really counting but second tank only took me 150km.
I'm really in the middle of nowhere now, probably nothing for a couple of hundred kms around me and it does cross my mind that if I was to have a mishap it would be a long time till anyone found me. Did I say you can't think about this stuff, well its bloody hard not too, perhaps its an age thing, more aware of my mortality! I'm riding through a stunted forest of silver gums contrasting with the red earth and gravel of the Australian outback. The road is almost single track so I'm really hoping the local farmer is not moving his harvester!
I finally hit one of the main highways - the one that all of the road-trains, often 3 trailers long, shipping pigs and cattle also use. You can smell the road-trains before you see them as well. There is a technique for following and passing three trailer loads shedding piss and .... liberally as it bumps along - position yourself at a fair distance with a view of whats ahead, drop two cogs and nail it, using sheer speed to punch through the turbulence. Same goes for passing a road-train going the other way. Tuck behind the screen and accelerate.
The next hazard is a wide load, a seriously wide load, normally that wouldn't slow me much but I have to pull completely off the road to avoid a couple of massive earth moving machines bound for the mines up North.
By the time I stop to meet some friends for a late lunch I am physically and mentally drained and I'm actually glad to get off the bike for a while! The ride home late that afternoon is a lot more sedate, I've taken more out of myself than I realise and I feel like I might have used up my luck for the day. I look at the tyres, they look weird, scrubbed in is probably how I would describe them - running at high speed on such rough roads for a long time seems to have take its toll. Note that the comfort seat has made this a relatively painless trip!
A day later and well rested I can't wait to hit the road again and she sits downstairs tempting me!
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