Bike Repairs

  

Murray River

Murray River

Only three days into our very long ride and I noticed a little oil, around my rocker cover gasket, shining in the afternoon sun. There was barely enough to dirty a white tissue but it was oil all the same. A quick call to our mechanic said we should “ride on and monitor.” To add insult to injury, Steve's rocker cover gasket also started weeping. The brains trust, at the BMW National Rally, all said this should be fixed before riding into remote places.

 

Love the little ferries across the Murray,
Did many crossings.

Getting bikes fixed can lead to long wait times as everyone is busy. Josh, from McPeake Motorcycles BMW, came to our rescue, ordered the parts and had us back on the road with only a few days delay.

 

View from the top of the Corksrew

We moved our camp from Nuriootpa to Christies Beach, so we were close to Josh's place. Steve navigated a intricate route, got us lost a couple of times and purposefully included The Corkscrew where we both admitted “We were glad no-one was coming the other way.”

 

What do you do when you are holed up waiting motorcycle repairs? You visit The National Motor Museum in Birdwood, you take a ride to Mannum to admire the cliffs and the mighty Murray River, and you hustle, in Adelaide town, and get your hair cut at the same barber who cut your hair 5 years before, on our last long ride.

 

Port Noarlunga

It was with some relief that we left behind The Adelaide Hills. Those hills still had the last word and made us pass that way in a light drizzle, which tested our temperament and the grip of our tyres. But those hills were behind us soon enough and we were on the road again, heading eastwards to Mildura.

Christies Beach,
We are camped on the point with the pine trees

2024 National BMW Motorrad Rally

 

Our camp was set up in Nuriootpa a day early and we were one of the first to register for the National Rally. Our welcome packs included a badge and a very good bottle of wine giving us reason to ponder South Australia’s wine heritage.

5 of the 7 West Aussies camped together

Morning and afternoon guided rides led us through vine country and small villages and a dirt ride option kept the dirt riders happy.

Lining up ready for the first group ride

Like herding cats,
trying to get Bee Ems lined up 
for the official photo shoot

A communal pizza night, in the host caravan park's camp kitchen, was a great success and some of us enjoyed a potato pizza, for the first time.

A walk along Nuri’s main street found us admiring sidecar’s, amongst other rides, mostly of the GS variety.

Great tour of the High School
wine making facilities

The local high school's innovative wine making program renewed our hope that the education department can see the wood through the vines. The students who participated in the demonstration all said they planned to work in South Australia’s industrious wine industry.

The Vine Inn kept us warm, and fed us well on the last night. Then, as if by the stroke of a pen, the rally was over. The BMW Owners Club of SA (BMWOCSA) hosted a  well managed and memorable event and the badge will have pride of place on my motoring jacket.

The West Aussie contingent at the rally
Photo Credit: EJ

 

Our Twelfth Nullarbor Ride

Southern Cross

Two days before our scheduled departure, Steve and I caught Covid. This delayed us leaving for sometime. 

 Eventually, Southern Cross caravan park welcomed us for our first night with the cheapest camp site of our journey at $16 per night. 

Balladonia

The next morning we were on our way again on the road to Balladonia. At Norseman we were notified of the closure of the Eyre Highway near Yalata; two trucks had collided, all occupants died at the scene. Yalata was two days ahead of us, so we rode on until we handed over $50 to camp at Balladonia together with no drinking water. The road house were willing to fill our water bottles but this was a great inconvenience to us. The Balladonia sunset soothed our souls before we settled in for a chicken parmi in the dining room and a dark night in the tent. 

Madura Pass

The open road beckoned us onwards and by lunch time we were truck spotting at Madura Pass lookout and smiling all the while. 

Eucla

There was room for our little tent at Eucla but by 5pm the camp ground was full and caravaners were turned away. The accident near Yalata had bearded those travelling west and there simply wasn’t room for everyone. 

 

Kimba, half way across Australia

Day 4 and we were on the road to Ceduna. We had passed this way many times before so the savage winds across the plains of Penong were expected and wearied us still. Ceduna was a haven amongst the dust and dreams of our Nullarbor crossing and we were delighted to camp on grass in this fishermen’s town. 

Top of Germein Pass

We never feel our Nullarbor crossing is complete until we have Port Augusta well in our sights. The western sun shining on the Flinders Range welcomed us for many a mile of riding and by early afternoon on the 5th day, our Nullarbor crossing was complete.

2024 Ulysses National Rally - Mandurah

Mandurah Estuary.

Quilt, showing off all the AGM patches.

It could be true that men cannot do two things at the same time as Steve didn't leave enough room for the gate post when reversing my bike out of the garage. His attention was undoubtedly taken by our house alarm blaring; I had selected "away" before the garage door was closed. Take two commenced fifteen minutes later when the gate was lifted back onto its mountings and appeared to function as before.

F650GS & R1200GS.

Note to self - consider very carefully the accessibility of back roads when you are wrestling with impatient peak traffic. Our city ride, from Fremantle, to the rally location in Mandurah, took us down Stock Road, then left onto Wattleup Road, which turns up just before the Ten Mile Well Tavern. With the tailgaters hot on our heels I heard myself saying "I hope to God there is a slip road for Wattleup." I needn't have worried, Steve later admitted this was by luck.

Finally got setup.

We turned up at the rally check-in, in Pinjarra, just after 9am, then we were on our way to set up camp at The Mandurah Caravan and Tourist Park. We should have followed our usual routine and made tea before the tent assembly commenced. Impatience rarely wins. Firstly we tried to stand the tent with the wrong colour coded poles. Next the fly was completely tied on, and a couple of pegs were in the ground, before we realised that it was 180° out of position. Order was only restored when the tent was up and we had a cup of tea in our hands.

Cuppa & a good yarn with Ulysses president, Allan Pratt.

Mandurah Caravan and Tourist Park was well appointed to host the rally. The camp kitchen was home to an extra large fridge and a very big freezer, which was much appreciated by those living under canvas. I particularly enjoyed dining in the second gazebo, decorated Balinese style, a quiet and reflective space to share stories with those folk who had come from faraway. Bikes, dog's in sidecars, camper trailers, caravans, and campervans continued to arrive and by Wednesday night's Meet and Greet sausage sizzle most had set up a base somewhere in Mandurah.

Meet & Greet Night.

Haven't seen a Keytar on stage for quite a while.

Each night food trucks arrived at the caravan park, to tempt us and fill our bellies. The waffle, with the works, was memorable and the forty-five minute wait was forgiven after the first mouthful. On the Thursday night we ordered pizza. The chef said "this will be the best Pizza you have ever had." This was a big call, but I must confess it was nearly true. Well chosen live music entertained us, every night, and rally central was a nice place to hang-out at the end of each day.

Pristine Kawasaki 900. 

Beautiful 1941 Indian 741 Scout.

Every day group rides disappeared in all directions. We took a self ride to Bunbury, to visit the Bunbury Geographe Motor Museum. If you are a petrol head, get yourself down there. The museum is right in the middle of town with an engaging display of classic cars and bikes and motor racing stories.

I'm not scared of clowns.

On the Saturday night, we attended the “Villains and Heroes” rally dinner, at Greyhounds WA. The staff knew how to serve a beer, quickly, and the fancy dress participants entertained us all night long. A collection of rally photos, doing their rounds on the overhead TV screens, gave us quiet reflection on the week that was. The roast dinner seemed to please everyone and time passed quickly.

I'm not scared of pirates or witches, either.

Thanks a million to the countless volunteers who made the 2024 Ulysses National Rally run like clockwork.

In a week's time we should be heading east across The Nullarbor,

until then...

Shake Down

 

Porongurup Range.

Mother & Joey @ Porongurup.

Our 7th journey across Australia is nearly upon us, but first we needed to give the bikes a run, to check out our newly, fully serviced buddies and road test our Michelin Anakee Adventure tyres, which we hadn’t run with before.

Quite simply the ride from Fremantle to Collie (180km) wasn't far enough to settle in for a two hour brunch at Top Top Cafe. The longer second half of the ride, to Porongurup, wearied us, not helped by the belly full of Pad Thai and mango smoothies, and we were pleased to arrive at our cabin at 3:30pm.

Adventure sidecars were well represented.

The magic of Porongurup soothed our souls for a day, and then we were on the road again, taking our chances with the March long weekend traffic, on our way to the annual Maranup Ford Motorcycle Rally. This should have been a magic ride, through the curves and tall trees along the South Coast Highway but not on the Friday of a long weekend. I followed a 4WD, towing a boat, and he dipped his trailer wheels into the dirt about 25 times before I eventually got past him.

Maranup Ford Homestead.

Always a camp fire tune or two
 with Lefty's homemade
aluminium guitar.

Good company and a cold 6 pack recharged our batteries as we settled in at Maranup Ford for three nights in the tent. We took a look at The Nannup Music Festival on the Saturday, and on Sunday we managed to spend hours in the collection of antique shops in the friendly town of Balingup. I found an old copy of the sheet music for McCartney's song, “Yesterday”. Even this song, which was written solely by Paul himself, still has Lennon and McCartney on the writing credit. I don’t perform many cover songs and “Yesterday” is one of my favourites.

Nannup Music Festival
Bluegrass Jam @ the Bowling Club

Not everyday you have to give way to sheep.

We saved the best until last, and the ride from Maranup Ford back home through Boyup Brook, Darken, Boddington was riding magic. The sheep encounter nearly turned me vegetarian, I just wanted to take them all safely to a place where the fields were green and they wouldn't be frightened anymore. Even the last stint towards home, along the Albany Highway, was quiet for the last day of a long weekend.

New Moto Guzzi V85TT
and
an older BMW R75/6.

The bikes ran like clockwork for the 1,350km ride. Our new Michelin Anakee Adventure tyres were quiet and confident on the sealed roads and had good grip on the unsealed. Nothing broke, and a few things made it on to the "continuous improvement" list.

Until next time....

Homeward bound lunch stop at 
Riverside Roadhouse, Bannister.

Reflections of the South West

Hamlin Bay

Margaret River, Wooditjup National Park

The most difficult aspect of a motorcycle journey is leaving behind the comforts of home. As soon as I'm on the road, panniers mounted and Devil (BMW F650GS) looking more than two lanes wide, the dream of riding the open road comes alive again.

Kookaburra

The first day's ride was a short 70km as we were staying at the Miami Caravan Park, in Falcon, so we could walk to a friend's 70th birthday bash. We took our time, enjoying morning tea overlooking beautiful Warnbro Sound, then we lunched at our favourite Thai restaurant in Mandurah before setting up camp around 3pm. Miami was all charm, if you can accept the ablutions cleaning schedule which begins, in the ladies main shower block, at 7am. I waddled over to 'B' block and all I can say is at least I know how it feels to shower in a MASH tent, my head sitting well above the stable door in the change area.

Margaret River Tourist Park

We were all packed up and on the road by 8am, trying to catch a few comfortable miles before the day warmed up too much. When you have recently lost a friend, in a motorcycle crash with a kangaroo, it makes you pay more attention on country roads. We took it easy along Estuary Road and by 9am we were drinking tea at Stirling Cottage, just outside Harvey. Then it was onwards and upwards to Wellington Dam. The Google Maps route took us across the dam wall but this road is still closed so we took a chance along River Road. When the road narrowed, I missed the "One Way" sign. I clawed my way along the narrowest piece of single lane, expecting to find someone coming the other way around the next bend; all the while Steve was wondering why I was going so slow.

Wanandi Track

We stopped for a while in the main street of Nannup, to hydrate, and then we rode the last stint to Margaret River. We made ourselves at home, amongst the grape pickers, on an unpowered tent site at the Tourist Park on Station Road.

The following day we enjoyed walking some of the trails through Wooditjup National Park. As we followed along what was once a railway track, you could nearly feel the old railway sleepers beneath the stones under our feet. The early morning reflections caught our attention, and it was easy to believe that The Margaret might be 100ft deep so vivid was the picture before us.

Hamelin Bay

Back at camp a Swedish backpacker serenaded us with an original song. He had picked grapes in the morning and in the afternoon had spent three hours busking just off the main street of town. He said "I am working to buy myself some freedom."

A ride to Margs is not complete without spending some time riding the curves of beautiful Caves Road. The following morning we rode southwards to Hamlin Bay. When we arrived the Stingrays were visiting and many a beach goer ignored the warning signs and tried to get close-up and personal with the rays. Our friend's yacht, Edna May, was in the anchorage but we couldn't raise them as the mobile signal was patchy.

Cape Leeuwin

Cape Leeuwin lighthouse

"Let's do something different," said Steve, so we trundled on to Cape Leeuwin and bought tickets to climb the lighthouse. The 176 step spiral staircase was strenuous on the way up, scary on the way down; great entertainment.

By the time we were ready to leave Margaret River we had walked the length and breadth of town a dozen times, checked out Cape Naturaliste, Meelup, Quindalup, Busselton, feasted on lamb ribs at Black Brewery, taken afternoon tea at The Chocolate Company, confirmed that the French Patisserie in Cowaramup is still the best and got caught out, on the road, in the tail end of a thunderstorm.

Cape Leeuwin lighthouse - view to north

Maranup Ford Bike Rally 2023

The best ride of them all was the day we left behind the hustle of Margaret River and Caves Road and found ourselves riding towards Pemberton. The road was clean and clear ahead and it seemed like we had found the open road once more. We joined in a motorcycle rally at Maranup Ford Caravan Park for the March long weekend. This is a BYO everything event. A thoroughly enjoyable gathering of classic and modern bikes, solos and sidecars. We were first timers for this rally but I noticed, as I rode towards home, I made a mental note to bring more beer next year and don't forget the bacon and eggs.

Maranup Ford Bike Rally 2023

Stay safe, cheers Jane

Blackwood River, Maranup Ford