And other unsolicited advice that will probably bore you. After all, I'm no expert. In fact I'm a bit of a hack, especially when riding off-road; I've so much more to learn myself. So this page is more about sharing my point of view of things rather than the definitive guide.
Come on now, if they were not important, would I bother putting them here:
Tours:
Timor Adventures: I went on my first tour in 2014 and it was brilliant. Only seven full days on the bike, a mighty Honda Mega Pro, codenamed "the real Streetfighter". At only 160 cc, I'm not too sure about what the Mega Pro is supposed to be fighting, but for Timor it is a brilliant bike. The tour was a blast and I met some great people. I plan to be back as soon as money and circumstances allow for the the 11 day tour. If anyone reading is interested, here is the flyer current as at September 2014 of their motorcycle tours. Their website can be found at: http://www.timoradventures.com.au .
General travel, map and destination websites:
Trans-Australia Trails. A list of different trails and tracks, including GPS mapping etc.
http://transaustraliatrail.com.au
Sunday Morning Rides - although I tend to ride them on Saturday or Sunday afternoon. This has international listings.
http://www.sundaymorningrides.com
Horizons Unlimited. THE international home of motorcycle travel. I'm a member of Horizons Unlimted and really enjoy being part of this group. We have meetings every year where riders from across the world come together to chat about their travels. The founders of Horizons Unlimited are Grant and Susan Johnson and they are quite a couple.
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com
Adventure Travel Film Festival. If you missed out in 2012, you must not make the same mistake in 2013. Log on to this web site and find the nearest location to you and rectify this life changing mistake immediately. In Australia, the 2013 will again be in Bright in February. See you there.
http://www.adventuretravelfilmfestival.com
Hema Maps. I use Hema maps and guides when planning my trips. My most recent purchase was "CAMP6" as the next trip will be my first one caming as much as possible. I also use their Motorcycle Atlas and spiral bound Handy Atlas when on the road. At home when planning, I use the Easy Read Atlas because it is bigger and easy-to-read.
http://www.hemamaps.com.au
And the most important book I take with me when riding is my metal-case Bible.
Biker friendly accomodation within Australia websites:
Let's face it, a nice bed and a warm shower is always nice at the end of a day's ride and it should not cost a fortune. Maybe somewhere here you can find a place to stay. I'll do a different section for camping and tenting etc sometime in the future.
Netrider forum, accomodation thread.
Bike Stay Australia
Aussie Pubs website.
GDay Pubs website.
Golden Chain Motels. I use Golden Chain as they are usually fairly cheap but still quite clean and comfortable and almost always have a couch, which is great for dumping motorcycle gear on.
Bike friendly Australia thread on the Horizons Unlimited Bulletin Board.
Tentspace resources from advrider.com and Google.
Other people's blogs and website that are worth a good look:
The Motorcycle Network. Put together by a very clever friend, a very valuable resource for everything bike related in Australia.
Guzzi Overland. Join Kevin and Karen as they take their Moto Guzzi Spada to places it was never intended to go. Mind you, the Spada was never intended to look like theirs.
http://www.guzzioverland.co.uk
2 Ride The World. Join another couple, Lisa and Simon Thomas as they take their BMWs, well, everywhere actually. At our Horizons Unlimited meeting in Dayboro Queensland in 2012 they celebrated Lisa's birthday as well as nine years on the road.
http://2ridetheworld.com
Becsta's Motorcycle Adventures. Read how a desire to avoid parking fees has turned into a new way of life for Bec. I've seen her Triumph Scrambler but the way, what a machine.
http://www.becsta.id.au
Haydyn and Diane's Motorcycle Adventures. These two are just the best. A really warm and genuine couple who have been two-up just about everywhere.
http://wanderlust04.com
Sam Manicom Adventure Travel Motorcycle Books. Sam has travelled the world on his BMW R80GS and his books are great reads. Sam's story is that as little as three months before heading into Africa, he did not even know how to ride a motorcyle but that was not going to stop him and now even today, years afterwards, the same bike is his primary means of transport. In 2012 Sam also released his first audiobook and instead of hiring a personality to read it, did his own narration; it is a great listen. All of his books and the audiobook get my personal recommedation.
http://www.sam-manicom.com/
This blog is put together by one of the guys in Brisbane who does much of it using his smartphone. It is very well put together and he is a true adventurer.
http://seqtrailrider.typepad.com/my_weblog/
Shops etc who I think are tops.
I've received no kickbacks etc from these places. I'm just liting out the places that have always helped me and treated me well. However should anyone from these shops want to give me a freebee, that's AOK too.
Tyres For Bikes, Brisbane. These guys always look after me. The day I type this the guys put on a new rear tyre, a Mitas E07, balanced, new tube, straightened the rim for AUS$165.00. Brilliant.
http://tyres4bikes.com.au
Northstar Yamaha. If you want a new or used Yamaha in Brisbane, see Northside Yamaha. Spare parts, no problem. Always have time to help. Marty at the parts desk is one cool and knowledgeable guy and I've been dealing with him since 2004 when he first encouraged me to try Bucketts Way in NSW.
http://www.northstaryamaha.com.au
Crazy Dogs Kawasaki. Just north of home in Burpengary Queensland. These guys have supported me in my endeavours everytime. If they do not have a special tool, generic or Kawasaki part, they will order it in and always at a great price. I know of two friends who have bought bikes from Richard; a Kawasaki Ninja LAMS and a KLR650. Both were very happy with the price, after sales service and cheerful manner that business was done in.
http://www.crazydogs.com.au/
Brisbane Motorcycles, Caboolture branch. The Suzuki DR800 is a parts cookie monster. From late 2013 I have been sourcing parts from Stan at the Caboolture branch of Brisbane Motorcycles. A knowledgeable and distinguished gentleman and a heart a motorcyle enthusiast. Unlike the people I used to deal with for Suzuki OEM parts, Stan knows how to use email, have a conversation to discover the real problem and keep to the price quoted. Enough said.
Some maintenance/work on bike tips.
Stuff that I've learnet the hard way, usually things that I had to do several times before getting it right.
Carbie bolts. Read the page on the Rainmaker for an idea on bolts that actually work.
Magnetic parts tray. Get one, you will not regret it. Probably one of the best workshop tools I have bought. I have a double tray in the workshop and now keep a single tray with the tools for each bike. One tip taught to me recently was to place a mark in the tray with a punch. Then when removing bolts you can put the first one next to the mark and keep them in the same order you remove them and thus replace them in order. This is especially helpful when working on side cases that have bolts with different lengths.
Decent tools. My favourite brand in Kinchrome. Not as expensive as Sidchrome, but yet to let me down. After that, Stanley tools. There are some cheaper brands that are AOK but I have been let down by several of the cheaper brands breaking down and tend to avoid these now. In fact the most well used piece of kit is my 40 piece Stanley socket kit, basically the same as below, but in a red case.
A word on hammers. Be sure to have the right hammer for the right job. Using the carpenter's claw hammer for everything is a recipe for disaster. Its important to know the different types of hammers and their respective uses. For example, a rubber mallet is great for tyre changing. The dead blow hammers (pictured below) are filled with either sand or lead and when combined with the soft face they don't damage surfaces or bounce and therefore are great for bearings and avoiding damage to frame, rims and teeth.
Cleaning visors and windshield. Be sure to NOT use cheap window cleaner on helmets. visors or windshield. They use ammonia and whilst that is fine on glass, may have a negative affect on plastic, perspex, acrylic, Lexan etc, sending clear product cloudy. From April 2017, I have started using top line automotive cleaner that is marked "Suitable for use on tinted windows" to clean and then finished of with the same brand top line plastic polish. I did trial the products on a small patch on the visor and windshield first that was out of the line and vision and all went well. So I did the entire helmet, visor and windshield with the cleaner and just the visor and windshield with the polish. Excellent results. The brand I used was Meguiars but I am equally confident that other top line brands like 'Mothers' would do well too. Just be sure to use products marked safe for tinted windows and test first.
The other hint is to clean off the bugs ASAP. Their innards damage the surface the longer they stay.
And for a bit of fun ...
I'm working on Youtube clips. Not very good at the moment, but here are my first attempts:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dADv4QDB2zY&feature=plcp
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fLXFUJ760Q&feature=plcp
I've got a lot to learn on this, so I hope that things improve over time.
Come on now, if they were not important, would I bother putting them here:
Tours:
Timor Adventures: I went on my first tour in 2014 and it was brilliant. Only seven full days on the bike, a mighty Honda Mega Pro, codenamed "the real Streetfighter". At only 160 cc, I'm not too sure about what the Mega Pro is supposed to be fighting, but for Timor it is a brilliant bike. The tour was a blast and I met some great people. I plan to be back as soon as money and circumstances allow for the the 11 day tour. If anyone reading is interested, here is the flyer current as at September 2014 of their motorcycle tours. Their website can be found at: http://www.timoradventures.com.au .
General travel, map and destination websites:
Trans-Australia Trails. A list of different trails and tracks, including GPS mapping etc.
http://transaustraliatrail.com.au
Sunday Morning Rides - although I tend to ride them on Saturday or Sunday afternoon. This has international listings.
http://www.sundaymorningrides.com
Horizons Unlimited. THE international home of motorcycle travel. I'm a member of Horizons Unlimted and really enjoy being part of this group. We have meetings every year where riders from across the world come together to chat about their travels. The founders of Horizons Unlimited are Grant and Susan Johnson and they are quite a couple.
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com
Adventure Travel Film Festival. If you missed out in 2012, you must not make the same mistake in 2013. Log on to this web site and find the nearest location to you and rectify this life changing mistake immediately. In Australia, the 2013 will again be in Bright in February. See you there.
http://www.adventuretravelfilmfestival.com
Hema Maps. I use Hema maps and guides when planning my trips. My most recent purchase was "CAMP6" as the next trip will be my first one caming as much as possible. I also use their Motorcycle Atlas and spiral bound Handy Atlas when on the road. At home when planning, I use the Easy Read Atlas because it is bigger and easy-to-read.
http://www.hemamaps.com.au
And the most important book I take with me when riding is my metal-case Bible.
Biker friendly accomodation within Australia websites:
Let's face it, a nice bed and a warm shower is always nice at the end of a day's ride and it should not cost a fortune. Maybe somewhere here you can find a place to stay. I'll do a different section for camping and tenting etc sometime in the future.
Netrider forum, accomodation thread.
Bike Stay Australia
Aussie Pubs website.
GDay Pubs website.
Golden Chain Motels. I use Golden Chain as they are usually fairly cheap but still quite clean and comfortable and almost always have a couch, which is great for dumping motorcycle gear on.
Bike friendly Australia thread on the Horizons Unlimited Bulletin Board.
Tentspace resources from advrider.com and Google.
Other people's blogs and website that are worth a good look:
The Motorcycle Network. Put together by a very clever friend, a very valuable resource for everything bike related in Australia.
Guzzi Overland. Join Kevin and Karen as they take their Moto Guzzi Spada to places it was never intended to go. Mind you, the Spada was never intended to look like theirs.
http://www.guzzioverland.co.uk
2 Ride The World. Join another couple, Lisa and Simon Thomas as they take their BMWs, well, everywhere actually. At our Horizons Unlimited meeting in Dayboro Queensland in 2012 they celebrated Lisa's birthday as well as nine years on the road.
http://2ridetheworld.com
Becsta's Motorcycle Adventures. Read how a desire to avoid parking fees has turned into a new way of life for Bec. I've seen her Triumph Scrambler but the way, what a machine.
http://www.becsta.id.au
Haydyn and Diane's Motorcycle Adventures. These two are just the best. A really warm and genuine couple who have been two-up just about everywhere.
http://wanderlust04.com
Sam Manicom Adventure Travel Motorcycle Books. Sam has travelled the world on his BMW R80GS and his books are great reads. Sam's story is that as little as three months before heading into Africa, he did not even know how to ride a motorcyle but that was not going to stop him and now even today, years afterwards, the same bike is his primary means of transport. In 2012 Sam also released his first audiobook and instead of hiring a personality to read it, did his own narration; it is a great listen. All of his books and the audiobook get my personal recommedation.
http://www.sam-manicom.com/
This blog is put together by one of the guys in Brisbane who does much of it using his smartphone. It is very well put together and he is a true adventurer.
http://seqtrailrider.typepad.com/my_weblog/
Shops etc who I think are tops.
I've received no kickbacks etc from these places. I'm just liting out the places that have always helped me and treated me well. However should anyone from these shops want to give me a freebee, that's AOK too.
Tyres For Bikes, Brisbane. These guys always look after me. The day I type this the guys put on a new rear tyre, a Mitas E07, balanced, new tube, straightened the rim for AUS$165.00. Brilliant.
http://tyres4bikes.com.au
Northstar Yamaha. If you want a new or used Yamaha in Brisbane, see Northside Yamaha. Spare parts, no problem. Always have time to help. Marty at the parts desk is one cool and knowledgeable guy and I've been dealing with him since 2004 when he first encouraged me to try Bucketts Way in NSW.
http://www.northstaryamaha.com.au
Crazy Dogs Kawasaki. Just north of home in Burpengary Queensland. These guys have supported me in my endeavours everytime. If they do not have a special tool, generic or Kawasaki part, they will order it in and always at a great price. I know of two friends who have bought bikes from Richard; a Kawasaki Ninja LAMS and a KLR650. Both were very happy with the price, after sales service and cheerful manner that business was done in.
http://www.crazydogs.com.au/
Brisbane Motorcycles, Caboolture branch. The Suzuki DR800 is a parts cookie monster. From late 2013 I have been sourcing parts from Stan at the Caboolture branch of Brisbane Motorcycles. A knowledgeable and distinguished gentleman and a heart a motorcyle enthusiast. Unlike the people I used to deal with for Suzuki OEM parts, Stan knows how to use email, have a conversation to discover the real problem and keep to the price quoted. Enough said.
Some maintenance/work on bike tips.
Stuff that I've learnet the hard way, usually things that I had to do several times before getting it right.
Carbie bolts. Read the page on the Rainmaker for an idea on bolts that actually work.
Magnetic parts tray. Get one, you will not regret it. Probably one of the best workshop tools I have bought. I have a double tray in the workshop and now keep a single tray with the tools for each bike. One tip taught to me recently was to place a mark in the tray with a punch. Then when removing bolts you can put the first one next to the mark and keep them in the same order you remove them and thus replace them in order. This is especially helpful when working on side cases that have bolts with different lengths.
The other hint is to clean off the bugs ASAP. Their innards damage the surface the longer they stay.
And for a bit of fun ...
I'm working on Youtube clips. Not very good at the moment, but here are my first attempts:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dADv4QDB2zY&feature=plcp
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fLXFUJ760Q&feature=plcp
I've got a lot to learn on this, so I hope that things improve over time.
Thanks for all the ionfo Shane...
ReplyDeleteAs I start to get ready for my Australian trip after the HU in Beaudesert, your information is much needed.
Cheers
Alex
Hi Alex,
DeleteSorry I haven't seen your comment earlier. Some new resources here and so I hope they help.Looking forward to catching up at HU.
Regards,
Shane