How the Journey began

My Big Aussie Loop

This is my trip, a trip around this wonderful continent that is Australia. I will cincumnavigate the Island in a 'big loop'. I am going to do it on a motorbike, and I am going to do it alone.

I have dreamed this journey for over 25 years. Every time I wanted to do it there was some reason why I couldn't or shouldn't do it.

Finally, this year it's going to happen.

A couple of years ago I decided that I enjoy the daily trip to work a lot more if I did it on a motorbike. I committed to this feeling and I sold my car. That's right, I don't own a car anymore, I just own 2 motorbikes and a bicycle.

For my daily travels I use a HONDA DEAUVILLE NT700V.

Yes, that's me on the Macquarie Pass.

It's a great bike. I have also used it on long trips of about 2000km return' It's OK for that, But painfullly that's it's limit. At high speeds it's noisy and vibrates. It is also not heavy enough and this affects how it reacts to the wind, especially when going past large semi-trailers.

The plan was then to purchase a bike that is up to the task.  I decided for the KAWASAKI 1400GTR.



GTR1400



Here I am on my first (test) return trip to Deniliquin, to make sure the bike works well and is comforatble during long trips. In fact, I spent 14hrs on it on 1 day, and then another 12 the next day (850km each way), and it was fine.


This bike is decidedly the best for what I am planning to do, it is and enormous piece of stylish machine. It's a beast that just wants to breathe, and if you let it, it becames a monster. I have done some indecent speeds on it (I won't document here how much), and the revs are always down, never more than about 2-3000 on a top range of 11,000. So, even at a crazy speed, if you give it a gentle nudge on the throttle it just shoots off as it still were on first gear.

This machine is in the category of 'long range sports tourer'. It's comfortable, fast, powerful; and it has an ABS brake system, which is a plus in a country with so much wildlife.

The plan was to purchase the bike at least 1 year before the trip, so I could get used to it and prepare it with all the gadgets (Yes, I know, I am a bit of a gadget man; I am not proud of it, but that's just who I am).

So I did, I bought the bike in September 2012 and have been fitting all the gadgets  that I will need for the trip. These include:
- A Cruise Control
- Heated Grips
- An E55 Givi Box with a top rack and break lights
- A couple of very powerful LED Floodlights
- A tank bag
- A Proper set of tools
- An Air Compressor
- A second battery
- An extra power outlet under the seat
- An Alarm system
- An oil filter protection armour
- A Bluetooth Communications system
- A Bluetooth Tom Tom GPS
- A Full set of rear and side reflectors
- A Lambskin seat cover
- Various ergonomic improvements to the handlebar and pegs
- A front fender extender
- A Reversing CCTV camera
- A Helmet Camera
- A couple of Side Sliders
- A Channel 40 communications system
- An additional box under the left saddlebo
- Etc (trust me, there are more, I am a bit embarrased to admit it...)

Then I need to fit all the gear in the 4 containers . The idea is that I could stop the bike enywhwere and there is nothing left on it that can be taken by a passerby. There is the tent, the camping stuff, the cooking facilities, the tools, the 1st aid kit, the spare battery, the extra fuel, the wet-weather gear, the clothes, etc. Not an easy feat. Its like trying to fit the contents of a full fridge into a small eski.

The intineray took a long time to decide. The intention is to 'circumnavigate' the country, therefore I will always try to stick to roads near the coast line. This makes the trip longer, but that's keeping with the spirit. What's the point in taking a shortcut, when the whole aim of the trip is the trip itself!

The trip, due to work limitations (I can't be out of the office for more than 2-3 weeks at a time) will take place in 3 stages.

Stage 1 - Sydney to Darwin (June 2013)
Stage 2 - Darwin to Perth (August 2013)
Stage 3 - Perth to Sydney (December 2013, January 2014)

I plan to leave Sydney on the 6 of June, travel up to the Sunshine coast, spend a couple of days with my beautiful girlfriend and then shoot off to Rockhampton, then Emerald, Winton, Mount Isa, Tennant Creek, Katherine and Darwin.

The plan is to do an average of about 5-700km a day, and stick to day-time riding whenever possible. Australia is not a friendly country for motorbike riders on country roads, there is a lot of wildlife and it canbecome very dangerous. However, if I need to ride at night, I will have the best lights money can buy already installed on the bike; I will also drive very slow and carefully.

Range
The capacity of my petrol tank gives me about 400km of range, depending on the wind and the road conditions. There are a couple of sections that are exacly 400km with nothing in between. For that, I am carrying extra fuel and water.

Wind effect
Wind is also a major factor in petrol consumption, Australia is mainly flat and wind can pick up a lot of speed. This is not a friendly condition for a bike, it can make it unstable at high speeds. However, I found that the heavier the bike, the less of an effect the wind has on it. The bike that I've chosen nears the 500kg when full, that's pretty enough, I'd say. I just hpe I don't drop it, because if I do, I don;t know how I am going to pick it up.

Other people's experiences
I have already heard a lot of horrendous stories of people attempting this trip; most accomplish it and then go to become member of an proud aussie elite. However, many fail, some with disastrous consequences; but this is not going to happen to me. Not because of good luck, but because of good management; I have researched to the exhaustion all the major risks, and developed mitigation plans for each one of them.
Have I eliminated the risks? Of course not! But I have reduced them to a minimum.

Risk Management
I have prepared a very comprehensive Risk Mangement Plan that attempts to mitigate most risks. Thus the amount of items that I take on the trip and the expenses that I incurrend on the bike itself.

I am now ready to go.