Apply For Your Leave Now...Border Run and Beyond - 2015

[boomer61]

Well talking of crossing the Nullarbor in the old days a relative of mine studying medicine in Melbourne rode a Vespa across before the road was sealed!
Unfortunately he is no longer with us so I can not provide much more detail.
I hate to think of riding a scooter with small wheels on dirt with the big old bull dust holes.
May be the saving grace was the Vespa probably did not go that fast!!!

[Digger]

Digger
Jamie's bike was still throwing mud bombies even after hundreds of k's on

I spent an hour on Sunday 'washing' the bike....parked it in a large puddle and use a 'scoop' to throw water at it. If I didn't and had some mechanical problems (even a puncture) I would have regretted it. It is a lot easier to get rid of the mud before it has set like concrete.

[jls]

One thing I did at the Caltex at Eucla after playing in the mud was clean the number plate,s and low and behold the police had a blitz at the border breathalysed and Lic checks a big contingent present
I think we deposited a couple of kilos of mud at the servo got a few looks

[Goldie1]

In the. 70s when the Nullarbor was dirt we came across an old couple riding a pair of Moto Becans mopeds the tyres were that narrow that they cut in the sand and mud that they pushed them more than they rode.An ex club president rode a yellow Vespa over the old Great centre road to Alice it broke in half and had it welded at Giles weather station and he made it all the way to the centre rally

[SPANDAU BALLET]

On the Left "Triumph of the Will" riden by Leni Reifenstahl








Observations:
it was wet
I'm glad I chucked some Mirrors on the RT with the SWAG strapped on the back $75 Reich-marks each from Munich.
My expensive Rallye Jacket is not sufficiently warm (curses curses) so i brought some thermal gear at Kalgoorlie.......Looks Bloody Fabulous as compensation: Spandau Ballet rating 8 Charlie Boomans out of 10
Spurious claims of waterproof gloves from Dryrider. Spandau Ballet Rating: 5 out of 10 Chinese fortune cookies
New BMW Pro Touring Boot (2) were great.Feet were dry at the end of the day Spandau Ballet rating: 10 synthesisers out of 10
I met some great people out there on Saturday Night. In truth I just don't get out much so I made the most of it and conked out at the Camp Fire
The Bike. Ive Had this Bike for a couple of months now. Its a marvellous conveyance. Really like the noisy exhaust which is most un-BMW like.
Cheers to BOZO, Digger and Diggers Mate , Jamie and others.
A nasty slice of rock threw up and chopped by Helmet when I was following a Moto Guzzi quite Closely(Norseman). My visor was open. Three inches saved me from a possible off/ loss of sight etc. Spandau's good fortune continues in accordance with the prophecy.....So Mote it Be
Overall i'm really glad I went and it gets an overall Spandau Ballet rating of 10 Rubber Cows out of 10

[Digger]

Interesting to read some of the tales from when the Nullarbor crossing was still an adventure. The next generation of Adventure Riders will hear similar tales of when the Great Central Road and Outback Way we're still unsealed 'back in the day'.
By then, there will probably be a Maccas at every refuel stop. That'll only leave the Canning and Smpson for those who want to go 'off road'. Pity, really!

[Digger]

Spent the night in the Gawler Ranges and was going to head further north to Kingoonya from there. The bike is acting up...think it is a fuel delivery problem. Gunna seek refuge at Port Augusta to see if I can get the matter sorted.
May the Adventure continue.

[profoundly_disturbed]

May the Adventure continue.

Bloody oath. At this rate you'll be home before me!

[bully1]

Spent the night in the Gawler Ranges and was going to head further north to Kingoonya from there. The bike is acting up...think it is a fuel delivery problem. Gunna seek refuge at Port Augusta to see if I can get the matter sorted.
May the Adventure continue.

Should be a couple from ADV in Port Augusta, Pops is one if you require workshop,etc. worth a try if you're stuck.

[Digger]

Thanks Bully...not stranded; yet.

[Digger]

Well, the Adventure continues...the mechanic who test rode the bike almost got stranded as well and nearly flattened the battery getting it going again. That brought me a level of comfort cause when I dropped it off it was running fine...the fault was intermittent. He also thought it was fuel related. Stripped the carby; couldn't fault it. Bike still wouldn't run properly. Started swapping out coil(s), ECU's, Stators and a few other checks. Couldn't pinpoint any one thing but the bike appears ok now (loose connection???).
Took the bike for a 80km test ride and appears fixed.
Port Augusta (and half the State) had wild weather this afternoon and the all of PA was blacked out. I have to go back in the morning to pay the invoice cause all the computers shut down.
From here; possibly Flinders Ranges, Coober Pedy, Oodnadatta and the Bad Lands heading West (I think it's called the APY Lands).

[old betsy]

Since you are going that way Steve.
Have you been to Andamooka, it's out from Roxby Downs.
Go have a look if you have time

Ahab

[Hugh.Jars]

So Steve what are the symptoms with your bike ... there's like a million fixes out there for DR's

eg DRriders.com

There's also this forum's readers i'm sure will help out if they can.

Sort of like Apollo 13 " Houston we have a problem "

[Digger]

The bike is back on the road and hasn't missed a beat for the last 48 hours since I left Port Augusta on Wednesday morning. The most likely suspect was a loose or weak electrical connection on the ECU under the seat. The mechanic did some trial by elimination and swapped out the ECU when the bike was running poorly. As soon as he connected his spare one up the bike ran fine. When he reconnected my original one back up it continued to run fine. It hasn't played up since. I was happy to pay the invoice ($195) because I was all ready to crate the bike up and freight it back to Perth. I did not feel confident in going Outback if the fault hadn't been diagnosed.

As it is, I have arrived at Coober Pedy via the Fraser Ranges and will depart tomorrow (Friday) for Oodnadatta and then head north west to Marla. Once there, I will head into the APY Lands and head west toward Surveyor Generals Corner and into WA. I've been told by several travellers that the road is good and the landscape is interesting.

If time permits, I'll do the old gunbarrel from Giles to Warburton. When the APC Rally went thru there they had graded it as a 7/10 on the difficult scale and they graded the 'other gunbarrel' as a 9/10....I did the 'other gunbarrel' earlier this year and although difficult, it was manageable so the other part should be doable as well.
All going well, I'll meet some of you Slackers at the races...if I'm not there; start without me.

Here at Coober Pedy, I'm camping underground....thanks for the tip Shane. If you decide to do the same, bring a big hammer and steel pegs (unless you have a free standing tent).

I'll post some photos if I can later.

Back to w***

[Digger]

The Organ Pipes in the Gawler Ranges. It was the following day that the bike started playing up so instead of heading north to Kingoonya I headed for Port Augusta instead