Riding Down Under - Tropical Cairns Australia

[MacDoc]

My redo operation is Dec 4th
Muffler for the GS arrived today - surprised shipping was both quick and cost effective. I guess cuz was Australian based source. Lucky that. Heavy little bit of kit - just hoping it is quiet.

​ Exhaust Muffler BMW G310GS G310 GS K02 20-24 18519457918​

​

​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Total: AU $211.85 Order number: 20-12254-52389 Item ID: 156341013906

Links arriving in early Dec. and contact made with the mechanic.

 

[MacDoc]

Lavi & Ollie go upmarket in Sri Lanka
Their video gear is sooooo much better

 

[MacDoc]

Their second day is out already. Nice to have continuity.

Almost somnolent warmth this morning at 11 am...31 feels like 34. Not too humid - Tstorm in the afternoon would be nice. Current happy to read and listen to partner practice cello....and snooze.

All parts in hand for BMW project and appointment for Wednesday. Will try and get some rides in before then while weather holds. Then more before two weeks off after Dec 4th operation.
Good science books lined up to read plus Mother of Storms.
While it is lovely and calm here, b-in-law ( Qantas captain) had a wild flight in from south of us with dozens of air sick passengers, countless lighting strikes and seat belt sign on the whole way. Earned his salary.

 

[MacDoc]

Off across the Daintree tomorrow. Still have no water container, I've still got the cup from an old cupholder - maybe can jury rig something...or put a 1.2L bottle on the back edge of the rear deck
Not inclined to stuff it in my jacket but ....will figure something
Chance of a Tstorm tonight ....would love that....clear out the humid funk that's around.

 

[MacDoc]

Lovely day - 26c and some early showers that will disappear shortly. Great day for a ride across the Daintree.

put off til Monday due to showers....partner is on 50/50 tires and since there has been no rain the roundabouts will be very slick.
I'm 70/30 so I need to be cautious too plus they are brand new.
They don't leak air at all and stay cool according to the TPMS. Bigger tire than the other bikes lately.
Did a quick run down to Babinda and ate too much at the very busy bakery there.
Pie was hunky and I had intended to bring half the trifle home....
Quite strong coffee so a bit buzzy this aft.

 

[MacDoc]

While we're not as impacted as remote outback stations to the north of us we still make plans for indoors activities during The Wet coming up. Good read.

This grazier's shopping list hasn’t changed much since 1986 — 34kg of flour, 26kg of sugar, four litres of tomato sauce

As wet season looms in northern Australia, the stockpiling of food in pantries and freezers is underway. Here's how the experts prepare for the big wet.

www.abc.net.au

Have about a week left of reliable riding weather left then will be luck of the draw and the monsoon trough. At least the Daintree Ferry is free now til March.
Of course cyclones represent a regular risk so cyclone kits are prepped. This year for the first time we have electric hot water heater so nice showers but grumbles about the power bill.
We have lots of LEGO to construct and a few jigsaws not yet done for the rainy days coming.
Looking forward to the ride to Cape Tribulation in a few hours.

 

[MacDoc]

Decent ride across the Daintree.

..chatted with riding partner for a bit ...turns out he likes mountain climbing movies so we swapped some titles. Carried enough water in my jacket so not dehydrated. Was happy having the litre+ bottle under the rear rack as reserve tho filled up the 750ml at Cape Trib.
Was doing okay except for the last 30 km or so and ass was really sore despite being able to stand up.
Think I will try a ride without the AirHawk under the SitnFly. No issue getting on and off but still very unhappy with the front brake tho fading gone - still no where near smoooth the last 3m.
278 km round trip and that's the longest on this bike. 7 hrs riding including early lunch break and quite a number of construction stops.
Could have used an extra break on the way home but pushed through....not smart. Feel okay after a nap this aft. Was a gusty ride along the coast especially on the exposed capes. 20+ kph. Quite a few construction halts
Did not feel like I had enough sleep last night. The Wet is on the way...we got damp but nothing serious.
Still some fuel left after fill up at beginning. Did not look to see what the range reported. Pretty windy. BMW not pushed around like the CB300.
260 km on the trip meter from fill up about 15km north of me then home. Showing 99 km left....suspect that is not real but still gets me close to the same range as the CB300....that's okay with the accuracy of the gauge.
Maybe do a short ride tomorrow with the AirHawk out and different padded shorts ( maybe just the bamboo undies. Almost felt like the seams in the riding shorts I had on today were irritating toward the end of the ride. I likely did not take the extra Panadol early enough,

 

[xrljoel]

Decent ride across the Daintree.
View attachment 71065
..chatted with riding partner for a bit ...turns out he likes mountain climbing movies so we swapped some titles. Carried enough water in my jacket so not dehydrated. Was happy having the litre+ bottle under the rear rack as reserve tho filled up the 750ml at Cape Trib.
Was doing okay except for the last 30 km or so and ass was really sore despite being able to stand up.
Think I will try a ride without the AirHawk under the SitnFly. No issue getting on and off but still very unhappy with the front brake tho fading gone - still no where near smoooth the last 3m.
278 km round trip and that's the longest on this bike. 7 hrs riding including early lunch break and quite a number of construction stops.
Could have used an extra break on the way home but pushed through....not smart. Feel okay after a nap this aft. Was a gusty ride along the coast especially on the exposed capes. 20+ kph. Quite a few construction halts
Did not feel like I had enough sleep last night. The Wet is on the way...we got damp but nothing serious.
Still some fuel left after fill up at beginning. Did not look to see what the range reported. Pretty windy. BMW not pushed around like the CB300.
260 km on the trip meter from fill up about 15km north of me then home. Showing 99 km left....suspect that is not real but still gets me close to the same range as the CB300....that's okay with the accuracy of the gauge.
Maybe do a short ride tomorrow with the AirHawk out and different padded shorts ( maybe just the bamboo undies. Almost felt like the seams in the riding shorts I had on today were irritating toward the end of the ride. I likely did not take the extra Panadol early enough,

Perhaps your brake issue would be resolved with a master cylinder rebuilt kit. They're not expensive, the one for my Husqvarna was around 30.00 CDN., as was a kit for the rear brake on a previous KTM 530.

 

[MacDoc]

There were reports on master cylinder issues on the GS310 but it really feels like it is at the pads/rotor interface.
Will know more tomorrow.
What symptoms did yours entail?

My ST1100 had very similar issues and it was due to a known problem of hot spots developing on the rotors that would cause uneven friction. It is REALLLLY annoying me that I cannot come to a smooth stop.

The dealer is cleaning the discs and putting on a sintered pads ( recommended by other GS310 riders ).
Will bed them in carefully and go from there.
Tomorrow is stock muffler, lowering links and the pads/disc cleaning.

 

[oioioi]

The more you post about it, the more she sounds like a keeper.

 

[MacDoc]

Still not convinced entirely...seat height, noisy exhaust fixed tomorrow and mebbe the brake issue.
Right now the braking is the biggest issue. Just cannot get a smooth controlled stop.

I decided to move to a larger tank bag from Nelson Rigg that fits my laptop and camera gear as well as the usual tank bag bits. Straps are already in place as same as the 4L I have. Big jump to expandible 12 to 16 L.
That's the kind I took across Canada. Let's me do a minor shop.

Skipping trying for anything on the buddy seat. Found a spot under the rear rack to store a 1.2L water bottle so that's resolved.
Have a flaky left hand mirror ....some locktite and the two correct wrenches will sort that. Was bugging me yesterday.
32 oz cupholder enroute tho my Joe Rocket jacket holds a 750 L water bottle without leaking.
Used it yesterday and was not dehydrated.

I have brand new tires and no rego cost until August next year so that's a long run to decide.
The whole thing started when I got my price for the CB300 which I had not expected.

 

[xrljoel]

There were reports on master cylinder issues on the GS310 but it really feels like it is at the pads/rotor interface.
Will know more tomorrow.
What symptoms did yours entail?

My ST1100 had very similar issues and it was due to a known problem of hot spots developing on the rotors that would cause uneven friction. It is REALLLLY annoying me that I cannot come to a smooth stop.
View attachment 71086
The dealer is cleaning the discs and putting on a sintered pads ( recommended by other GS310 riders ).
Will bed them in carefully and go from there.
Tomorrow is stock muffler, lowering links and the pads/disc cleaning.

Both the KTM (rear) and the Husky (front) suffered from greatly reduced braking power to intermittent uneven power, and sometimes seemingly normal, all with varying, seeming too much pedal and lever travel. Honestly, I stumbled on the solution as the pads were well within service tolerances, the disks were fine and I had changed the fluid the year before. I did the rebuild kit because it was inexpensive and seemed like the final frontier. It was MUCH easier to do than I thought too.

 

[MacDoc]

Astonishing ride along the Euphrates River in Turkey and spectacular use of the drone. Gsave me a good fix.

Been without a bike for a few days...nearly a week I guess.
Combination of delays.
The good news is the last bit needed .....shortened kickstand should be ready tomorrow morning and on the bike by noon. Still have some good riding days left.

The larger tank bag also arrived. Fingers crossed for completion tomorrow.
,,,

Marc struggling with his tire and at 16,000'...ouch.

 

[MacDoc]

Might be too ambitious today. 37 is scary tho it is dry.

have a full tank but would fill up in Mareeba just to be on the safe side and snag a large drink bottle
Maybe Petford - That's 300 round trip. i've been before on the CB300 to Petford, a long ways back on the KLR to Chillagoe.
Chillagoe has a short gravel to get there, Petford not. Lots of unfenced cattle - horses and roos.

THEY’RE a hardy bunch, those who call far north Queensland’s back country home. They have to be. It’s harsh country, as we discovered on our road trip to Chillagoe, 200km west of Cairns, late in 2020. Our road trip took us along the Burke Development Road west of Mareeba, where we visited remote bush pubs, explored their history, and chatted to their publicans. Two hours from Cairns we visited a former pub that has been dry for as long as anyone can remember. In fact, the former Espanol Hotel at Lappa Junction has been unlicensed since 1966; but that doesn’t stop visitors enjoying a beer at its famous bar. The current owner of the corrugated iron shanty says his pub is strictly ‘BYO’, and anyone can wander into its public bar at anytime and enjoy its historic charm. Tim Prater, aka 'Yappa from Lappa', has been the owner of the old pub for over 30 years. You could say Yappa is almost as famous as his pub! Read the story at the Time Gents website: https://timegents.com/.../road-trip-the-pubs-of-north.../
Well it is an Adventure bike and I have Darwin's The Voyage of the Beagle on audio book.

 

[MacDoc]

Day did not get off to a good start despite getting Wordle in 3.
Had decent sleep and felt pretty solid leaving.
Forgot my wallet so that was one turn around ..was literally I just closed the gate so that was minor.
The Voyage of the Beagle was excellent - the exhaust note not quite as quiet as I'd luck but much better than before.
Did not get anywhere near the Outback ...made it to Skybury and ordered up a way too expensive Eggs Benedict, good coffee as usual.
Managed to spill some of the egg yoke down my shirt.
Had a catheter malfunction
Ordered some onion rings and the worst I've ever had and managed to spend $31.
Gave up and came home.... reload for another day....once I figure out what I did to my right leg which is aching

 

[MacDoc]

We're doing up the Space Shuttle and Hubble in LEGO - Wet season projects.

Canada Arm and the Hubble ...
We spent the evening building the Hubble.