Riding Down Under - Tropical Cairns Australia

[MacDoc]

Partners ship building proceeds apace.



Love the lifeboats and jaunty smokestack.
...
Got stuck on a tricky Wordle this morning ...down to last clue...partner bailed me out - that's twice recently

Going for another Whopper pig out nearer to noon. It's hot now anyways.

 

[MacDoc]

Lavi and Ollie back on the road...good reminder why I have no interest in going to India let alone riding there but interesting to see from my almost equally hot in tropical Australia but far more peaceful.

They are buying Royal Enfields mebbe or a Hero -Pulse 200. Lot lighter than the REs

 

[MacDoc]

Partner house/dog sitting the kids for them to have a night out and no driving concerns....I'm sure they will imbibe their share.
So almost Happy New Year.... Will watch the fireworks in Sydney

The official website

The official Sydney New Year’s Eve site: Your complete guide to experience the celebrations.

www.sydneynewyearseve.com

 

[MacDoc]

Noraly on the go again, slightly better voice.

Using her phone to navigate but curious why her watch on the handlebar

Off to Dr appointment in too few hours but had silly amount sleep during the day.
appointment a 8.30 am and should get a bit of a ride in as well. Maybe up the Gillies, more likely to the nearest Hungry Jacks for the burgers and sundae deal.
Will be okay breakfast...lots of protein.
Out tonight for Bowl's Club.
Bike started fine today and enjoyed the ride to the clinic ( 15km or so ). Still not smooth with the clutch....grrr....maybe will miss the spacious seating on the GS.
With our limited budget and I'd prefer to be in a Honda I know is near bulletproof instead of the unknown of BMW service costs and a first model year bike.
And the Honda CB500F is a quicker bike. Be nice to be back in the 47hp class ....whoopdeedoo
No easy windscreen solutions for the CB500F ....many say it's fine naked and my tank bag picks up wind on my chest. Will try that for a while.
Week away from my trek to Townsville..really hoping stepdottor follows up on her offer to drive me.
We can go early and I might be fine driving back to Cairns same day instead of an overnight.

 

[MacDoc]

Lavi and Ollie starting off in India.

200cc Hero each. She's pretty new to take on traffic in India.

Lovely sunny morning with mid 20s temps - humid heat has broken at least. Promises good ride tomorrow to Kuranda with German mate for a German Tucker feed. Yum

http://www.germantucker.com/menus-d.htm

Won't even crack thirty today and dry air mass. Very nice
Was cool enough for sleeping last night had to had the duvet to the top sheet.

 

[MacDoc]

Didn't quite dodge the rain but was okay coming down the Kuranda Range Road ...mostly dry. Last ride on the GS ....no regrets. Bring on the RED CB500F.

 

[MacDoc]

GS stripped of all the bits I am keeping ready for roadworthy on Thursday.
Get paid the balance on Thursday.
Get to Townsville on Friday or weekend I hope.
Ride the Honda home.....likely have to stay over somewhere but depends on stepdottor.
••••
Noraly having a long hot day at borders.

 

[MacDoc]

Happy to be staying home. Have to finish the BMW - Thursday still looking okay for the roadworthy .....if it rains it's cancelled.
Cooler now at night. A lovely 24 at 7 am. We were laughing last night as competing kookaburras were causing a ruckus and some curlews adding to the din.
Right out of a Tarzan movie.....or perhaps Crocodile Dundee

On occasion I still pinch myself I landed here...

 

[MacDoc]

This Lavi and Ollie episode plays up how big India is. Damn Mercator maps.

 

[MacDoc]

Yay - getting early morning ride to Townsville to pick up new bike on Sunday. Should get there around 10 am and back heading north within an hour. 347 km +/- a bit....100kph+ highway the whole way so figure with stops 5 hours.
Should be doable tho there is some rain the forecast.
Can always bail out at Ingham about 1/2 way but should be able to dodge showers. Rather not spend $120 on motel.
Will have my AirHawk with me and large tank bag to break the wind plus space in the top case for overnight stuff if needed. Temps are warm so even if I get wet I'll be dry soon enough riding. Usually a tailwind coming north

make riding with no windscreen easier.

 

[MacDoc]

Watching this I channeled a few memories of scary night rides.

GS ready for roadworthy tomorrow and pick up by buyer.
Weather cooperating so far.
Might get wet on the return with the new bike from Townsville but the monsoon trough is staying well north so just local showers.

 

[MacDoc]

My brief affair with BMW motorcycles has concluded.
Long ago I took a demo ride on a BMW adventure bike at Mosport Race Track - it was early days for ABS ad it went against all instinct to point a motorcycle downhill on a grass and sand hill and haul on the FRONT brake.
I did finally and the bike walked very sedately down the hill with me holding a bit of weight on the front wheel which improved traction.
Normally without ABS the rear brake is the main anchor off road and one sits back to increase braking traction on the rear while only very lightly applying the front brake to maintain direction.
Dropped that demo bike a few times playing on the sandy hill, was impressed with suspension and traction on the single track portion. Thinking back it was likely the GS650 single.
Todays dual sport and ADV bikes often can turn off the ABS for improved behaviour in the dirt so you can actually lock up the rear tire- the bike I just sold had that.
Honda has a variation of ABS called CBS which combined the braking whether you use front or back or both. Developed for the road racing circuit, I've had it on a few bikes and like it. It is on the CB500F I'm buying and a good feature for the road conditions here.
That demo day was fun for me as I got to ride the race track ( sedately ) since no one else knew how to ride an automatic maxi-scooter.

It included a group ride with other BMW models on the public roads and I was fairly impressed with the C-600 power as was the lead rider on a 1300cc monster.
It was not as good as my Burgman 650 exec which dominated the category.

The only bike I could do back to back 900km + rides plus incredible weather protection. Put 100k km on that model from James Bay Road and all over the N East US. Very quick, superb storage and handling.....it was $17k out the door for the one pictured above...I snagged it for $7k from a rich guy who thought ...."it's just a scooter".
Nah...it's a 600 lb bike they used to race in Italy....he broke his leg only 1,700 km in....my gain for $10,000 less. No gears to shift just turbine like power thanks to the eCVT. So many good memories for me.

Fast forward to Sunday and I'll pickup my latest ride Honda 2014 CB500F a 5 hour drive away. Stepdottor driving me their Tesla - leaving at 5am - hoping to get back home same day.

and it's RED!!!!!
I am likely to get wet riding it home...

 

[MacDoc]

Weather gods throwing up some obstacles....head wind coming home but not a lot of it.
hot tho
Heat wave warning up for Tropical Queensland so will get into lower 30s from 10 am on but thanks to mighty Pacific will not get ridiculous.
Headwinds coming home but not strong and that's out of the dry center so low humidity.
Depending on if I dawdle might sneak home dry by 3 pm.
Will be pretty scenery the whole route. Coastal range on the left and Pacific on the right . Good pavement as major highway but 90% 2 lane and this time have a good bump in horsepower for passing tho most likely will be steady at 110 indicated. There is no elevation change.
Figure lunch at Tully and a break at Babinda. Not a bad way to get used to a new ride. Decent sleep - might snooze on the ride down in the Tesla. Little extra now won't hurt either as departure delayed an hour

 

[MacDoc]

Made it back home dry by a hair
Long day
Laptop is with kids
What temp drop .....heat wave to chilly 24 now - back to hot tomorrow 34.

 

[MacDoc]

bike was fine , body not so much
was thrilled to see the cloud cover, even a good shot of lightning came down as I took a break.

plus heat wave did not help - dropped from 32 real to 26 within an hour of the Tstrom I missed by 1/2 hour.
Feels really nice now. 23.4 C - where it was really hot and humid in the evening the last few nights.
Skirted the storm which at this point ( 90% of the way home ) would have been welcome rain. Got a few drops but at least a break from the heat dome
Bike looking very spartan. Did have the drink holder on the bars at least - life saver today. Was very glad to see the cloud cover.

34 tomorrow but no riding for me as found out license is expired - need a ride to Transport to renew. One more thing

Unfortunately these guys were closed as we arrived early. Was hot even at 8.30 am - Tesla very nice with tinted windows and good a/c
Sky promised heat and delivered....

Cool graphic

Cardwell got hammered by cyclone Yazi - water front just murdered by direct hit of a monster.

Bike needs a few adjustment but very nice to have the extra power.
Footpegs are silly small for size 12 riding boot
Shifting is clunky …think that is just adjustment. Much easier to find neutral - do miss the gear indicator.
Top case does not fit the brackets on the bike even tho both Shad …will sort tomorrow - the base plate not big cost. That was the biggest headache today.
I’ll wait a few days to consider if I need a windscreen.
Need to put risers on the bars…have them in hand and always put on new ride.
Made my back more sore than needed tho Robax fixed that up. Can’t get that here so have limited supply I brought from Canada.
Wanna visit??
Was nice to be back to magnetic tank bags and a big tank.
So given 12 hour “adventure” and aches and pains always with body adjusting to new ride it was okay,
Biggest issue was the top case….both seller and I surprised as we both thought 34 and 39 took same plate and I even sent him a photo.
Sleep time.

 

[MacDoc]

Knackered today and it's hot. At least my license issue is sorted, covid shot done.
....

She getsby with a little help from her friends

how does anything get done......?

 

[AFJ]

No riding M/Cs here in S. Ont. at the moment. Below freezing, snowing. A good old-fashioned winter.
Have had to blow snow four times so far and it looks like it will be the 5th time before the day is out.
AFJ
As suspected blew the snow out of the driveway. After supper went to the meeting of the local Off-Road Riders motorcycle club.
(by car, because of the snowy roads). 2 hours later the parked car had 3" of snow to clear off the windshield before driving the 5 km home.)
Reminded me of the old story of King Louis of France who, when told of the loss of Canada to the British in the 7 Year's War (1757-1763)
replied that "Canada was not significant - it was only a few acres of ice and snow."
Minus 11 degrees C this morning.
AFJ

 

[MacDoc]

So much for La Nina winter but it does indicate more moisture. That is a lot ....5 x a day. Isn't this the time when snowbirds fly.
....
Barely scraped by on Wordle today....foggy brain made mistakes and took me 6 to complete.
Still achy from the ride but doing better. Drugs are wunnerful

Fighting a nasty UTI so will take a culture over in a few hours when clinic opens.
Had some spare Amoxy so hit with a double dose tho not an overdose.
My doc will likely disapprove but his pee ain't burning. Feel like a sailor that caught a dose in port and paying for it.

It is also uncomfortable warm and humid even at 5 am - heading to 35. No riding today for me. Going back to bed until pathology opens at 7 am.

Put on a few farkles and discovered my spare Grip Buddies which are too expensive to import here and I much prefer over the Puppies version.
Ordered a windscreen, sorted the drink holder and phone bracket.
Have to order some larger foot pegs....size 12 boots don't feel secure on the stock pegs....had really nice ones on the GS.
Did not hear from Shad on the top case bracket so will call them. They are usually really responsive.

Kookaburras kicking up a ruckus already.

 

[MacDoc]

Just too warm. Good day to laze in a/c and binge Survivor. 33 feels like 39. Even partner retreated to a/c
Tstorm likely which would be terrific

 

[MacDoc]

Noraly has the same reaction as me with horses WTF is this!!! Look on her face is hilarious.

Hard core - lost his hands in an explosion ...still riding.

Hard to think that area has been in habited for thousands of years and the birthplace of farming, Looks more like Mars.
......
Already hot at 6.30 am. Considering an early ride but got go right now pretty much and nothing will be open cept Hungry Jacks and they do have a brekkie deal